Days Until Lidia Dies: 0

  I woke up later than I’d hoped to on The Big Day, but still on time. When I opened my eyes, Zacharias was sitting at the edge of the bed, staring at me.

  That might have been strange, but that was just Zack.

  “You were right,” he said.

  I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and sat up against the wall. It took me a second to remember the argument we'd had when I'd asked him to help the crew by luring Anima to their deaths. “Maybe, but I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that, mate.”

  “You’re anxious about today.”

  “Aye, but still.”

  Zacharias nodded. He hadn’t bought his new suit yet, even though I was sure he had enough money saved. His burgundy suit was in perfect order, though, and there wasn’t a honey-blonde hair out of place. His cane rested beside him against the bed.

  “I’m leaving for the village now,” he said. “To observe.”

  “I’ll work on tracking Rhydian down before he leaves, see if I can get him to take me to the lair. That’ll be the first step to getting Jakob home, right?”

  “What did she do to him?” he asked, pleading more so. He knew I didn’t know.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know the full extent of what’s happening in Leberecht, with Jakob, or at the lair, and whatever’s going on with Avis sounds pretty bleak. But we’re gonna help her, too. We’re gonna get everything sorted, everywhere, somehow.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s all wrong, and because I’m going to be an uncle.”

  The way to Rhydian Sinclair was through his embark. I didn’t know where it was docked, but it was an embark, so that ruled out everywhere except the coast. Again, the clock was ticking. So, I couldn’t just go circling Amalia willy-nilly. I needed a strategy. Least likely areas: anywhere near the Drop or the coast of Jaska. Too busy.

  The coast near Leberecht would be a solid choice, since few people ever left or entered the mountain, it was practically a dead zone. But Leberecht was far to the north, and Bach had told me the lair was an island. North was a solid option technically, but winter was impractical, so strategically, I wasn’t sure. I locked that in as option number two.

  Option number one: the coast near Verena. I took off for the south. It was the perfect spot, I reckoned. Palisade Partisans wouldn’t be going anywhere near it, unless they were my sister, and Verenians themselves tended to keep themselves isolated in their city—like Leberecht, but without the mountain around it. They generally considered themselves culturally, socially, and intellectually above the rest of the slow-progressing territory. The fact they were given their independence from Palisade was another bragging right.

  Anyhow—I wasn’t pulling all of that out my rear, mates. Rhian and I hunted defects for a living, so locating an embark wasn’t exactly complex math. The difficult part about locating the embark, was what you were likely to find when you got there.

  Sneaking up on a Celestian is infinitely scarier than sneaking up on a Strachan.

  I located the embark parked in an inlet at the end of a network of caverns. And aye, there was a single Celestian lass aboard. Typically, groups of defectors had different methods of approaching a friendly: sound effects, pass phrases, that sort of thing. It’s something you’d want to find out, but I had no idea. So what I needed to do was give the Nav something recognizable, but something that didn’t take too long to say. Once they’re on to you, you can’t really hide from a Celestian. They’d be able to pick up my heat signature.

  “RS,” I said.

  She looked my way.

  “EB,” I added.

  She tilted her head.

  “JD.”

  “Which one sent you?” she called out.

  “RS.”

  “Which one’s dead?”

  “EB.”

  “How do you know JD?”

  “I’m their son.”

  “Approach slowly. Hands up. No fast movements.”

  My proof of identity was in the fact that I looked exactly like my parents, and I’d been banking on that. I approached slowly, arms raised, but not for long.

  “Oh for fuck sakes, you really are JD’s son,” the Celestian said. “Get over here.”

  I grinned, bolted for the embark, but didn’t board. I introduced myself as Jack Finnegan with a fun little wink, and she introduced herself normally.

  “Where’s Rhydian?” I asked. “He said he was leaving today.”

  “He was supposed to be, but he came by earlier to tell me we’d be sticking around another day or two. Don’t love it, but what can you do?”

  "Thanks."

  "Sure."

  It was mid-afternoon by the time I got back to the cabin, but instead of that warm, fuzziness I usually felt when coming home, my whole body tensed, squeezed in vice of incomprehensible dread. The niggling was real, mates. Something was wrong.

  I rushed through the door.

  I want to say time stopped for everything but the melody but it didn’t. Time stopped for everything, period. And there was nothing mystical about it. The evidence of what was happening was all around me. The bottom of Zacharias’s shirt was torn. His suit was dirty. Strauss was in our bed, under the covers. The missing piece of Zacharias’s shirt was tied around his head like a blindfold, covered in blood. He was sleeping—or unconscious.

  Zacharias just stared ahead, unblinking. “She did this as a message to me. My son—”

  I saw it now. Who Zacharias thought Strauss looked like. With his pale skin, long black hair, beautiful face, cleft chin. He looked so much like Jakob.

  My eyes burned with tears. “Is he—?”

  “He won’t die. But he needs medical attention for his—”

  Zacharias squeezed his eyes shut.

  The man was about to fall apart, and who could blame him? I put my arm around Zacharias and rubbed his back. “If what we need is medical attention, we’re gonna get medical attention. And then we’re gonna talk about what happened, I promise. But for now, do you think you can hold it together enough to carry him?”

  Zacharias nodded.

  “All right,” I said. “Follow me.”

  “If you want to make yourself scarce,” I said, “I can take him from here.”

  “No,” Zack replied. “Go on.”

  For now, Zacharias stayed just out of sight with Strauss. It was still daytime, and I wasn’t sure if one of the kids would answer the door. They didn’t need to see that.

  I nodded, and knocked twice with the bronze heart.

  Della and Derek answered together. They said the kids were at school.

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  “I have a friend who needs a physician, and I know it’s asking a lot, but he was—”

  Della interrupted by pulling me inside while Derek had a look around outside. Zacharias came around the corner then with Strauss, and Derek let them both in.

  There were so many unspoken questions in the air, but there was no talking while Della led us to one of the many spare bedrooms in their townhouse. There was no doubt in my mind Della knew Zacharias Vonsinfonie was standing in her hallway carrying her patient, but she stayed focused on Strauss the whole time. She sent Derek for her equipment, and while we waited, she suggested we might not want to be in the room.

  When Derek returned with Della’s things and some clean sheets, Zacharias brought Strauss inside and laid him on the bed. There were few people I trusted more than Della Trager, and Zacharias, still in a mild state of shock, deferred to me.

  We stepped outside and joined Derek in the hallway, closing the door behind us.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said to Derek. I’d been doing everything I could to avoid dragging them into anything, but hospitals meant tons of bureaucracy and paperwork for Partisans. Palisade would get involved—it was a whole affair.

  Derek scooped me in for a hug. I hugged him back.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  “My fault,” Zacharias answered.

  I stepped in beside Derek, but he kept his arm around me.

  “Lidia did this,” I said. “Not you.”

  “All of it was me.”

  Mates, my mouth was so dry right about then, all my words tasted terrible. “Maybe, but Strauss is alive. You did that, too. And Lidia’s going to die—Rhian will do that.”

  “I believe it,” Derek said easily.

  “See? He believes it.”

  Zacharias sighed, but his posture straightened and he extended a hand toward Derek. “It’s good to see you again, Derek.”

  The two men shook. “Again?” Derek asked.

  “Zacharias Vonsinfonie,” Zack said. “Or Isaak.”

  “No—?” Derek looked between us.

  I shrugged and nodded. “We’re living together.”

  “You’re in a relationship with Zacharias Vonsinfonie? Talk about trading up.”

  I couldn’t help chuckle. “Strictly platonic.”

  Derek shook his head, looking altogether incredulous when he addressed Zack. “Della’s going to have so many questions. She studied your ways when she was helping me.”

  I looked to Zack. “Hear that? You did that, too.”

  Zack nodded, a little noncommittally, and then he turned to Derek. “Well—you have a lovely home. My platonic roommate didn’t tell me you and Della had children.”

  “Yeah, that’s new,” Derek said. “They’re adopted. Seven, nine, and twelve.”

  “What a thing,” Zack commented. “How wonderful.”

  “Well, we couldn’t have done it without—”

  The door opened. Della came out quickly and closed it.

  We all looked to her.

  “I’ll give it to you straight,” she said. “There’s no repairing the damage. I’m going to have to perform an—I’ll have to remove his—”

  “You’re good, Dells,” I said. “Do your thing. We trust you.”

  “Okay.” She took in a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”

  Derek leaned over and gave her a kiss, and then I gave her a hug while Zack watched quietly. For the record, Strauss was sedated the whole time, and with Della not only able to keep him asleep, but also able to heal him, he wasn’t in any real danger. She said it could take a few hours, and that we should go and make ourselves comfortable. She sent Derek out to go get me some food, which was sweet of her, and even though I wasn’t hungry, I was grateful for them both, so I’d eat anyway.

  For now, I sat on the couch in the living room with Zack.

  “He’ll need time to adjust,” he said. “He can’t do it in Oskari. Or in Jaska. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Could you bring him home with you? Not the cabin, but your man-cave?”

  “My ma—what, no—but, yes, actually. That’s not a bad idea. At least until—when does your sister’s father leave for the prison where he keeps my son?”

  “If I had to guess, it’ll depend on the outcome of everything tonight. If everything goes well, he might stay a day to observe the fallout. Two or more if things go sideways.”

  “And if you were to leave, how long would you be gone?”

  “It depends. A week, at least, considering travel.”

  “Should you really be gone for so long right now? You have obligations, and isn’t the Councilwoman coming to collect your reports?”

  “Mate, do you want me to help Jakob or not? I’m not going to get many opportunities to ride out that way.”

  “I know,” Zack said. “So, we’ll send Andrei Strauss.”

  “You want us to ask Strauss to rescue Jakob?”

  “No, Feargus Finlay. We won’t have to ask.”

  Della finished working on Strauss only a few minutes before the kids were due home from school. There wasn’t time for dallying, so we thanked her and Derek, and together, Zack and I ran to the music note near Istok. He opened the hatch and led us easily to his old room. With Strauss secured over his shoulder, he used his free hand to wave the lock open. I wondered what the point of having locks in the first place was, if the Anima could just wave them open, but—time and a place, mates.

  Zack tucked Strauss into bed and turned to me.

  “I’m leaving now,” he said, “to see what I can do to fulfill your request.”

  “We can’t leave him here alone.”

  “He’ll be asleep. Come or don’t, but time is of the essence.”

  “You’ll make sure everyone’s okay?”

  “I’ll do what I can.”

  I looked to Strauss asleep, blindfolded, and blind. The man had so much promise, but he just didn’t know it, and my sister loved him so much. Mates, my heart just about imploded. “I can’t leave him.” I’d carried Zack’s cane for him while we ran, so I handed it over.

  He nodded.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “You’re welcome, Feargus Finlay.”

  Zack opened the door with a lever hidden behind the painting of a cello. And when I was alone with Strauss, I dragged a chair over beside the bed, took his hand, and fell asleep with my head on the mattress.

  I woke up to an impatient series of taps on my shoulder.

  When I opened my eyes, Everleigh Gloom stared.

  “How did you get in here,” she asked. “And what happened to him.”

  I explained. She sighed.

  My pocket watch told me it was just after three in the morning. “Do you know what’s happened in Oskari?”

  “Do I ever.”

  “Are you going to tell me?”

  “The church collapsed. Lidia’s dead. Your sister’s fine. I saw her leave the old schoolhouse with Alexander and overheard them talking. He had a hole in his suit, like he took a projectile through the back, and he was carrying your warrior friend. I don’t know what happened to him. They got picked up by the butler.”

  That was a lot of mostly good news. I released the breath I’d been holding since she’d started talking. “Bells? Adeline? Varis?”

  “The Anima’s dead. I don’t know who those other people are.”

  “You haven’t spied on Bells or Adeline?”

  “Are they new. Because I’ve been busy.”

  I nodded. “Aye, I guess so. Well, did Rhian seem sad?”

  “No, just worried.”

  “Zacharias should be back soon. We’ve found Jakob.”

  “What?” Everleigh’s voice inflected for the first time since I’d met her. “Here?”

  I explained Jakob and the lair.

  “No way,” Ever answered. “Why are you sending this guy.”

  “Zack says it’s inevitable.”

  “Did he do something to his brain.”

  “No, he did the math.”

  “What are you talking about.”

  “If you ask me, I reckon he’s thinking someone like Strauss won’t let someone like Jakob rot in a cell. He might be right. They’ve got a lot in common. Do you want to be here when he gets back?”

  “No.”

  “Then you should probably go.”

  “Okay, b—did you give Della the message about the renovations.”

  “Aye.”

  “Did you take Anne to her fitting.”

  “Not yet, mate.”

  “I’m sorry about your friend.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Okay, bye.”

  “See you.”

  Thirty-three minutes and ten seconds. The lock clicked, the door opened, and Zacharias rushed in. He’d tucked his shirt to hide the rip, and the blood on his jacket seemed to have been washed away. The burgundy colour helped hide the stains. But he didn’t stop to say hello, or to provide any updates, he just scooped Strauss and told me to follow. He was quiet until we surfaced outside the hatch.

  “I have to leave now,” he said. “There’s been minimal fallout. Lidia’s story is over, the runner and your sister are safe. Please go to our cabin and wait for me there.”

  I saluted, and we both ran south—top speed but with two separate destinations in mind.

  When I stopped at the cabin, Zacharias, with Strauss in tow, kept running.

  It sounded like everything went swimmingly over in Oskari, apart from the collapsed church, but it wasn’t like the gods were real, anyhow. Bells was safe. Rhian was with Alexander. Michael was free of Varis, and she was—aye, well, I hoped she was resting in peace. No mention of Sebastian, though, or—

  When I opened the door to the cabin and stepped inside, the last thing I expected to find was someone sleeping in my bed. Even higher on the list of things I didn’t expect to find was that the person sleeping in my bed would be Adeline.

  Why?

  Why was she in my bed?

  Did Zack put her in my bed?

  Why did Zack put her in my bed?

  I snapped my fingers. She didn’t move, but she was breathing.

  I poked her forehead. She didn’t move, still breathing though.

  Was I really going to have to explain to him why kidnapping cute lasses and putting them in people’s beds was highly inappropriate?

  No, that’d be ridiculous.

  He had to have been helping her, right?

  Right?

  …Right?

  I moved from the bed to the table, sat in the chair, and stared at the wall.