Fic: De Profundis 2/5
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Chapter 2
Things Fall Apart
“Master Payne,” Tarvek said backstage, “I owe you an apology. Well, a couple of apologies, really.”
Master Payne raised an eyebrow. “Indeed?”
“First, for my father’s behavior tonight. I, um... Lucrezia Mongfish was a dear friend of his, and he’s been... mourning her heavily of late. I suspect that’s why he ordered your performance, to catch a glimpse of her again. And from what he said....”
“It’s not her,” Father sighed, watching as the voice print identifiers failed to register a match. “It’s not her. I was... I was so sure this would be the one....”
Tarvek put a hand on Father’s arm. “Father, can’t you just-”
But Father pulled away and left the box in tears.
“... your Madame Pix did a remarkable job of capturing her likeness. Too good a job, perhaps; he didn’t say much before he left. All I know is that he was deeply disappointed to remember that she wasn’t Lucrezia herself.”
Master Payne sighed and nodded. “I suppose in a way that’s high praise for Pix.”
“I agree. It was an enjoyable performance; I’m sorry he missed so much of it.”
“And your other apology?”
“First-” Tarvek pulled a coin purse out of his pocket and handed it to Master Payne. “I tried to send you that after your last performance here, but you’d already left town.”
Master Payne frowned. “Whatever for?”
Tarvek took a deep breath. “I’m not proud of this, sir, but... when you were last here, my sister had just suffered a terrible lab accident. I wished to make her a new body-a puppet, if you will, through which she could continue to interact with the world. But I needed a template to follow, and so... I’m afraid I’m the one who ordered Tinka taken from you.”
Master Payne’s frown became a scowl. “And you think this is sufficient repayment rather than returning what you stole?”
But she’s mine! Tarvek wanted to retort, but he couldn’t reveal that secret yet. “Would that I could return her,” he said instead, which was mostly true. “I did her no harm myself. Unfortunately, my father found her, and... well. I haven’t been able to repair her fully, though not for lack of trying.”
Master Payne sighed. “Have you thought of taking her to Tarsus Beetle?”
“Briefly. But even if Father would allow Tinka to leave the castle now... Dr. Beetle’s dead.”
“What?!”
Tarvek nodded. “Two months ago, or thereabout. Baron Wulfenbach took Beetleburg, and somehow in the process, the baron’s son killed Dr. Beetle. That’s really all I know.”
An unreadable expression flashed across Master Payne’s face before he swore quietly. “Well. Thank you, Prince Tarvek. And... my condolences to your father.”
Tarvek nodded. “Thank you.”
He was just turning to go when one of the circus members, a fellow with curly dark hair and a goatee, ran up to Master Payne. “Sir, it’s Augie. He’s disappeared.”
Tarvek turned back with a frown. “When was he last seen?”
“Wanda hasn’t seen him since intermission.”
Tarvek’s frown deepened. He’d left the box during intermission to stretch his legs and do damage control if anyone in the audience had seen Father’s precipitous exit. That meant no one had been in the box... which housed a key component in Anevka’s latest project... the one he’d refused to help her with.
“Gentlemen,” he said gravely, “I give you my word of honor this will go no further, but an honest answer will help me locate your colleague. This Augie... is he a spark?”
The other men looked at each other, and then Master Payne sighed. “A minor one, yes, Your Highness.”
“Then I think my sister may have taken him. Come; my carriage is waiting. If we hurry, we should still be in time to save him.”
He didn’t have to tell them twice, nor did he have to order the carriage driver to hurry more than once. They arrived at the palace in short order and raced inside to the lab wing, where an unfamiliar woman’s voice was coming from Anevka’s lab. And yet certain tones of that voice were... strikingly similar to the voice Madame Pix had used as Lucrezia.
Tarvek sprinted toward the lab door and reached it just in time to hear to his horror, “And now, little spark, let me hear you beg for your life.”
“ANEVKA!” he thundered. “STOP!”
Anevka, holding a scalpel over a cowering fair-haired man on his knees, straightened and turned to him. “Ah, there you are, Tarvek.”
Tarvek ignored the gasps from Master Payne and his companion. “Let him go, Anevka.”
“Oh, really. Can’t I have a little fun once in a while?”
“You had no right to abduct this man.”
“But you wouldn’t help me retune my voice.”
“I told you it’s not necessary. Let him go.” When she continued to do nothing but look at him, he added, “Or I’ll tell Father what you’re planning.”
She huffed and put the scalpel back on the bench. “Oh, very well. You are dismissed,” she added to the man who was probably Augie.
“Please forgive my sister,” Tarvek said as the man stood. “As you can see, she still needs work.”
“Er, thank you, Your Highness,” the man said awkwardly and hurried out to where Master Payne was waiting.
Master Payne and Tarvek nodded to each other, and the circus men left. He had a feeling they’d leave town as quickly as possible.
Anevka huffed again once they were out of earshot. “Honestly, Tarvek.”
“Honestly, Anevka,” he mocked. “You don’t even sound like my sister anymore.”
“You know why I need this voice. We can’t count on the Geisterdamen to support us.”
“But we should be able to count on the people. We shouldn’t need-”
“I am ensuring the outcome!” she snapped, sounding very much like Pix indeed. But the harmonics were different somehow, richer and more powerful, in ways that made him understand why Pix hadn’t matched the voice print. “And as it’s already done, perhaps you will condescend to make any further adjustments that might be needed.”
He couldn’t shut her down yet. Father was too close to the edge as it was. And he couldn’t risk her kidnapping another wandering spark to do her bidding. “Fine,” he snarled. “But we’re not doing it tonight. I’m tired and might make a mistake.”
“All right. But not a word to Father, or else.”
“You still need me, for maintenance if for nothing else. No other spark has the skill for such things. Remember that, Anevka.” And he spun on his heel and left.
As soon as the three performers were out of immediate sight of the door, Payne cast an invisibility charm and grabbed Augie’s and Abner’s shoulders. “Stay close and listen,” he hissed in their ears. “I’m going to look for-”
A door further down the hall opened, and Tinka hesitated at the threshold as if she were trying to get her balance. Looking around, she whispered, “Ma-Ma-Ma-”
Payne ran to her, hustled her back into the lab, and shut the door, then cast a muffling charm before revealing himself. “I’m here, Tinka.”
“I-I-I have missed you, Ma-Master Payne,” she said. “How-How-How is my si-sister?”
“She misses you terribly, as do we all. But other than that, she’s all right. And you?”
“I-I require maintenance.”
“Come with me, then. We’re going to see Lady Heterodyne in Mechanicsburg. She’s a strong spark, and Moxana’s given her your creator’s notes. She should-”
“No-no, I mustn’t le-leave my prince. He-he-he is the one we were ma-made for.”
His eyes widened, but then he frowned. “Tinka... you were made for the Storm King.”
“Yes, His Hi-Highness is of the Va-Valois line-my prince, not his fa-fa-father. But it’s-but it’s-you mustn’t-it’s a se-secret.”
He sighed. “Tell me the truth, Tinka. Which of them broke you?”
“His fa-father,” she replied promptly. “My prince has-has tried to re-re-repair me.”
“All right, then. I don’t like it, but I’ll respect your choice, provided you say nothing to Prince Tarvek about Moxana or about Mechanicsburg.”
“The la-lady... she-she-she is good?”
“She’s Bill Heterodyne’s daughter. I didn’t know it until she left us, but it makes sense; she’s like him in the best ways. And Moxana trusts her.” He paused. “She’s not Euphrosynia.”
She nodded jerkily. “Then I-I will keep silent.”
He put his hands on her shoulders gently. “I wish I could help you, dear friend.”
“Te-tell Moxana, and tell the la-lady. Maybe she can-she can-later, maybe-”
He cut her off with a nod. “I understand, and I will.”
She smiled. “Good-goodbye, Master Payne. See-see you soon, maybe.”
“We can hope.” He kissed her once on each cheek and left the lab.
Abner tugged on his sleeve as soon as he came out and breathed, “We need to get out of here now. Geisterdamen.”
“Right. Follow me.” Payne led the others to the nearest exit and dropped the invisibility charm before they emerged in the courtyard, where the steam carriage was waiting to return them to the theater. None of them said anything until the circus was out of town.
Once they’d reached a clearing and made camp for the night, however, Augie came trembling to Payne first. “Agatha’s going to kill me.”
“I doubt it,” Payne replied as Abner joined them. “It’s hardly your fault the princess insisted that you give her Agatha’s voice.”
“She won’t be happy about why, though,” Abner stated. “Somehow it can control the Geisterdamen.” He paused and lowered his voice. “She’s Lucrezia’s daughter, isn’t she?”
“You didn’t hear it from me,” Payne answered. “And this goes no further. But yes, I believe so.”
“And Pix is a good mimic, but she’s not Agatha. That’s what upset Prince Aaronev.”
Augie blinked. “But-but why would she call herself Agatha Clay?”
Payne sighed. “We’ll have to ask her in Mechanicsburg-after we report what you’ve heard to the baron’s people.”
“And warn Agatha about Aaronev,” Abner added. “Right. C’mon, Augie, you could use a drink.”
“This has been the worst week of my life,” Augie moaned as Abner led him away.
Marie leaned out the nearest window of the wagon to drop a kiss on Payne’s head. “Did you intend for me to hear that?”
“I’d have told you about it later if you hadn’t, dear,” he answered. “Augie could probably use one of your tonics.”
“Payne-”
He turned around and reached up to take her hand. “We’ll warn her, Marie,” he vowed quietly. “And we won’t let the baron harm her. She’s our Heterodyne.”
“All right.” She leaned down again and kissed him.
Tarvek did a good deal of brooding the next day, trying to figure out how to pull Father out of his depression and keep Anevka from going too far in her attempts to control the Geisterdamen. He did help her refine her new voice based on the voice print readings from the theater box, but he took his time so as to give the circus a chance to get well out of town lest she try to abduct another assistant. But neither he nor Tinka could shake the sense that something was about to go badly wrong.
After dark, however, Artacz knocked on the door of Tarvek’s lab. “Forgive the intrusion, Your Highness,” he said, “but an urgent message just arrived from Prof. Tiktoffen. I’d give it to your father, but he’s in conference with your sister and left orders not to be disturbed.”
Frowning, Tarvek took the message and dismissed Artacz with his thanks. Then he read the message-and had to sit down before he read it again. There was a real Heterodyne girl, the one Father had been searching for... and she was already in Castle Heterodyne.
Even though this development spelled disaster for all the Order’s plans, it might-might-be just the thing to improve Father’s mood. Tarvek steeled himself for recriminations and went to Father’s study.
He was still in the hall when he heard the shot.
“OPEN THE DOOR!” he ordered Anevka’s bearers who were waiting outside. When they only blinked at him, he kicked down the door himself... and took in Father slumped over his desk, pistol in hand; Anevka standing over him triumphantly; and the spark wasp engine Father had tried to hide from him abandoned on the desk... open.
“Anevka,” Tarvek said, Spark command harmonics practically echoing despite his quiet tone, “order your bearers to leave us.”
“All of you, leave,” Anevka called, and retreating footsteps resounded in the hall.
“How dare you!” he snarled. “How dare you kill my father like this?”
“Tch. It was an experiment, you silly boy.”
“You wasted the only prototype of the new wasp-for this?”
“Tarvek, you know he was suicidal because of his failure to find the Holy Child. All I did was give him a nudge to do what he already wanted to do, what he couldn’t find the courage to do. And this way there won’t be so many questions when the baron’s man arrives. It’s certainly an improvement over arranging a lab accident, wouldn’t you say?”
“It wasn’t time yet, and you know it. And the Holy Child’s been found.”
The clank’s eyes flashed. “And what would he have done if he knew? He’d have brought her here to put in that filthy chair, which would have killed her-or worse, actually succeeded in bringing back the Mistress.” She started toward him. “Of course, if you’re that upset over it, perhaps I’ll tell the baron’s man that you’re the one who killed him.”
“Anevka. FREEZE.”
The clank froze. “What-what-”
“You’re not my sister. You haven’t been for some time. I wasn’t sure of that until now. And now?” He walked around behind it. “I’m shutting you down.”
“I’m... not your sister?”
“No. My sister is dead. I suspect she died long ago... and you never even noticed.”
“But... then... what am I?”
“A very good first try. Goodbye, Anevka.” He took a deep breath and flipped the switches, shutting down the clank-and with it the life support tank that held the real Anevka’s remains. Then, after taking a moment to collect himself, he summoned servants to clean up the study and went to his own study to compose a message to Baron Wulfenbach. Once that was done and sent off with the appropriate emissary, he went to the dungeon to release Lady Vrin and her seconds, Eotain and Shurdlu, whom Anevka had ordered imprisoned.
“Master Tarvek,” Vrin said as the Geisterdamen left their cell. “I am surprised you come in person.”
“Prince Tarvek, Lady Vrin,” Tarvek replied, nettled. “My father is dead. The baron will be sending a questor within the week. You understand that he must not find any indication of my father’s work with the Mistress.”
“Of course. Therefore-”
“Therefore, the Geisterdamen have exactly twenty-four hours to vacate this city before I seal the tunnels leading into the Deepdown. Leave the chapel and the chair as they are; I shall see to them. We’ve had the baron’s people here before, and my father ensured that we would always have a way to hide the chapel.”
Vrin’s eyes narrowed. “And if you should locate the Holy Child and the Mistress returns?”
“I’ll bring her to the Jotun brothers.”
Vrin glared at him a moment longer. “Very well.” Then she turned to Eotain and Shurdlu and gave them orders in their own language, and the three of them left.
It took every ounce of patience Tarvek had to wait the day he’d promised for the Geisters to depart, though they sealed the tunnels to the surface themselves. But after they were gone, he hacked the infernal chair to pieces and dissolved the pieces in a vat of acid.
No one was going to suffer Anevka’s fate again. No one. Especially not the Heterodyne girl.
Whether and how he could win her heart was a problem for another day.
Klaus checked the dials one last time to ensure that his new construct was ready to decant. He’d suffered some twinges of conscience over putting a substitute brain in the body of Bill’s daughter to use for his own purposes, but he couldn’t have lived with himself if he’d left her dead, either. And at this point, it was far too late to turn back. Satisfied that everything was in order, he straightened... and froze as he looked, really looked, at the young woman in the tank for the first time.
Black hair floated out of the way of her face... a face that shared neither Bill’s nor Lucrezia’s features. This wasn’t Agatha Heterodyne!
“LACKYA!” he bellowed, and the door opened. “Fetch my son!”
“Begging your pardon, Herr Baron,” came the Lackya’s quavering response, “but... Master Gilgamesh is unavailable.”
Klaus turned to scowl at the servant, which was cringing and wringing its hands. “What do you mean, he’s unavailable?”
“He gave the strictest orders-”
“Does his authority exceed mine? SPEAK!”
“He’s not here.”
“Where is he?”
“The Great Hospital-there was a lab accident-”
Klaus cut him off with a snarl. “Then get me Dupree. MOVE!”
The Lackya moved, leaving Klaus to stare at the tank in infuriated disbelief.
“You called, Your Exalted Crankiness?” Dupree asked as she flounced into the lab a few moments later.
He turned to her and pointed at the tank. “Who the blazes is that?!”
She looked and shrugged. “Search me. Never seen her before.”
“That is the girl you brought back!”
“What are you-wait, you mean from the circus? Gil’s girlfriend? That doesn’t look anything like her.”
“No, she doesn’t, because that isn’t the Heterodyne girl.”
Dupree blinked. “But... she was wearing Gil’s ring. I was sure!”
“Fool! Did it never occur to you that the body could have been doctored?”
“Well, no. I mean, why-”
“Never mind why. The Heterodyne girl is still alive, and I want her back here!”
“But it’s been months. She could be anywhere.”
Before Klaus could respond, he heard Boris approaching the door and sighed. “Yes, Boris?”
“The emissary from Sturmhalten, Herr Baron,” Boris announced.
“Show him in.”
“Forgive the intrusion, Herr Baron,” the emissary stated as Klaus turned to the door. “I bring most grave news.” He bowed and handed Klaus a letter. “Prince Aaronev is dead-at his own hand.”
Frowning, Klaus opened the letter and read in handwriting that hadn’t so much changed as matured since he’d last seen it over a decade ago:
Most honored Herr Baron,
It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that my sister Anevka has found a way to take advantage of my father’s long depression and induced him to commit suicide. I have already executed her for this treachery.
As a token of my intent to remain your loyal vassal, allow me to impart to you some intelligence that reached me just moments before my father’s death. A young woman calling herself Agatha Heterodyne has appeared in Mechanicsburg and has entered Castle Heterodyne, which has accepted her claim but is still too broken to acknowledge her publicly. Several of her companions have also entered the castle in the guise of prisoners and are helping her attempt repairs. Known to be among her party is Gil Holzfäller-
Klaus’ mind ground to a halt and refused to process more of the remainder than Tarvek Sturmvoraus’ signature. Tiktoffen hadn’t reported anything out of the ordinary in his latest dispatch, but Gil might have ordered him not to. But if this girl was indeed The Other’s daughter-or worse, The Other herself....
“Boris,” he said, “see that this gentleman is made comfortable, and send me the Lackya that was here a moment ago.”
“Very good, Herr Baron,” Boris answered briskly and ushered the emissary out.
Dupree put a hand on his arm as he tried again to read the letter. “Klaus? What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Klaus replied, getting stuck again on Gil’s pseudonym and looking up. “There’s too much that doesn’t add up.”
The Lackya, looking scared spitless, hesitated in the doorway. “You called, Herr Baron?”
“Where did you say my son is?”
“He... was taken to the Great Hospital, at Herr Wooster’s insistence. He was severely injured by a clank.”
“Tsk,” said Dupree. “Shoulda known one of those toys Grantz was bringing him would get the better of him.”
Klaus scowled at her. “Toys?”
“Spider clanks from the Wastelands. No idea why. I mean, the one that-well, that we thought killed the Heterodyne girl was already destroyed.”
Klaus crumpled the letter without thinking and turned back to the trembling Lackya. “When was this?”
“A-a week ago, Herr Baron.”
“And the constructs he was saving?”
“I... I’m not certain, Herr Baron, but I think he may have arranged for them to be taken with him.”
“And NO ONE TOLD ME?!”
The Lackya fell to its knees. “He gave the strictest orders, Herr Baron!”
“CONFOUND THAT BOY!” Klaus hauled in a deep breath and made an effort to rein in his anger. “Right, order a medical team to take care of this experiment and have Boris meet me on the way to Bay 20. I’m going to Mechanicsburg.”
“Yes, Herr Baron!” the Lackya replied and hurried away.
“Going alone?” Dupree asked as she followed Klaus out of the lab.
“For the moment,” he replied, still unsure how far to trust her, given the lack of opportunity to date for the Vespiary Squad to test her. “I still need to assess the situation and find my son. If Gil is in the hospital, it makes no sense for me to arrive at the head of troops just to visit him. But I can’t depend on anyone to tell me the truth unless I go in person.”
“So... you want me to stand by?”
“Precisely. I’ll signal by radio if I need you.”
She huffed. “Klaus, you know I hate waiting.”
“As do I. But we know too little to know if there’s even a threat.” He didn’t want to suspect Bill’s daughter of anything, and he wasn’t going to accuse her falsely. But she was Lucrezia’s daughter, too, and there was Mr. Rovainen’s testimony to contend with, his utter certainty that she was The Other. Klaus simply couldn’t be sure what to believe.
“All right. I’ll head on to my ship.” She paused. “Be careful, Klaus.”
He managed to smile. “I will.”
So it was that after giving Boris instructions as to which units to have on standby and what to say if the Jägers turned up to inform him they were leaving, Klaus boarded the fastest airship in the fleet and sped off to Mechanicsburg. He tried not to worry, to tell himself that Sturmvoraus was only trying to cause trouble for Gil by claiming he was in Castle Heterodyne... but it didn’t exactly work.
Sun met the ship in front of the hospital. “Ah, Klaus,” he said. “You’re early. Punch and Judy won’t be ready for the final decanting until next week.”
Klaus blinked. “So they are here.”
“Yes. I gather Gilgamesh had given orders for them to be transferred as soon as possible.”
“-You gather? Haven’t you seen him?”
Sun shrugged and shook his head. “Should I have?”
“I had word he was injured, badly so. But then, I had to pry even that much out of the Lackya.”
“Well, he hasn’t been admitted here, and you know I’d have told you at once if he were, even if he tried to order me not to.” Sun smiled wryly. “He’s as terrible a patient as his father.”
Klaus huffed. “Very amusing.”
“I can see you’re worried. Why don’t you come in and have a look at Punch and Judy while I make some discreet inquiries? Gilgamesh has done a remarkable job with them; it was touch and go to keep them stable earlier in the week, but he’d done all the hard work with the repairs already.”
Klaus took a deep breath and nodded. He was proud of Gil for saving his old friends, which was one of the main reasons he hadn’t let on that he’d known all about them. The other was his belief that working on that project was as healthy an outlet for Gil’s grief over the Heterodyne girl as any. But now... now he didn’t know what to believe.
“All right, then. This way.”
“Wait, Sun, first... have you heard any rumors about a Heterodyne heir entering the castle?”
Sun scoffed and started inside. “Klaus, there are always rumors. Granted, I’ve been rather busy this week, but I haven’t heard any new ones. If there is, though, I suspect the castle’s already dealt with him.”
“This one’s a girl.”
Sun stopped. “That’s new.”
Klaus finally followed him. “She’s Bill and Lucrezia’s daughter.”
“You’ve met her?”
“I had her on Castle Wulfenbach for a time, though I didn’t know then who she was. Punch and Judy had raised her and turned up to help her escape; that’s how they were killed.”
“What?!”
“That wasn’t my doing! It was Von Pinn! You know how she was after... after Klaus Barry’s death. They got between her and Agatha, and she just... tore them to shreds.”
Sun hissed and fell into step beside Klaus. “But what about... Agatha, you said her name was? Where is she?”
“I don’t know. I was told she’d been killed in the Wastelands, but I’ve just discovered that that isn’t true. I’ve also heard she’s here-with Gil.”
“I’ll ask around. But if Gilgamesh is in Mechanicsburg, he never entered my hospital; I’ll swear to it.”
Klaus sighed heavily. “Thank you, Sun.”
Sun escorted him to the lab where Punch and Judy were being treated and let him check their monitors for himself. They were indeed in the final stages of healing but wouldn’t be ready to decant for several days yet. Then Sun went off to start his inquiries while his granddaughter showed Klaus to a waiting room, where Klaus paced as he waited.
And waited.
And waited.
“Herr Baron?”
Klaus spun to see a fresh-faced young guard standing in the doorway saluting him. “Report,” he ordered, returning the salute.
“Thursday night, Herr Baron, the town... shut down for several hours. The clocks, drawbridges, street lights, all stopped suddenly and restarted just as suddenly.”
“I see. And before then? Have you seen the prisoner manifest for the last week?”
The guard handed Klaus a clipboard. “There was a shipment of new prisoners on Wednesday.”
Klaus skimmed the names: Lars Apfelbaum, Moonsock (noted as a construct), Pix, and yes, Gil Holzfäller. “Red fire,” he breathed. “What about tourists? An Englishman, in particular, tall and dark with side whiskers.”
The guard shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything about him, Herr Baron.”
“Or a construct, a blue arthropod dressed in orange, stands maybe two feet high.”
The guard shook his head again.
Klaus sighed. “Anything else?”
“Not yet, Herr Ba-”
“Herr Baron!” interrupted a member of the Black Squad, appearing beside the other guard. “Something’s happening in the castle-some sort of huge fight we can hear clear outside!”
Klaus didn’t wait for more information. He charged out of the hospital, appropriating a clank gun along the way, and barged into the castle. “Castle, where is Gil?” he demanded as he ran through the front gate.
“Hello to you, too, Klaus,” the castle replied dryly. “So he is your son. The mistress said so, but-”
“Where is he?!”
“Tch, touchy. Well, as they do appear to be in a spot of trouble I can’t help them with at the moment-”
“They meaning-”
“The mistress and your twins.”
“WHAT?!”
“Oh, here, it’ll be easier to just show you.”
With that, the castle dropped the floor underneath Klaus and sent him down a chute to land mostly on his feet just a meter or two from the sound of gunfire. “CASTLE!” roared a voice far too like Lucrezia’s for comfort. “SQUASH HIM!”
“Forgive me, Mistress, but I cannot,” the castle replied. “But I have brought someone who can.”
Klaus rounded the corner to see Tiktoffen holding a gun on Agatha, Gil, and a green-haired girl with Skifandrian swords. He smelled blood, but the three of them didn’t appear to be injured, which was as far as he could let his focus go at the moment.
Tiktoffen turned and blanched. “Herr Baron!” he cried, aiming his gun at Gil’s heart. “This isn’t what it looks like!”
Klaus snarled and fired, as did Tiktoffen, but Gil had taken the warning and ducked. Tiktoffen’s shot missed. Klaus’ didn’t.
When no other prisoners came running to attack-and a glance around showed several corpses but no other live humans-Klaus took a deep breath, let it out again, and looked at Agatha. “Now-”
“Sorry, Herr Baron, but there isn’t time,” she interrupted. “Castle? Keep him safe until we get back.”
“Certainly, Mistress,” the castle replied, and two stone fists reared up from the floor and grabbed Klaus’ legs before he could run, startling him into dropping the gun.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Klaus demanded.
“Don’t worry, Father,” Gil replied, looking remarkably cheerful, as the three of them rushed off. “It should only take another couple of hours.”
“What-but-”
The Skifandrian girl kissed his cheek as she passed. “Mother says hello.”
And then they were gone.
“He’s right, you know,” said the castle, opening the floor in precise locations to dispose of the slain. “There’s only one repair site remaining. The mistress still needs to renew my energy supply, but that can wait. And I believe the Doom Bell is nearly ready as well.”
“You could at least bring me a chair,” Klaus snapped.
“I could, yes.”
He sighed heavily and resigned himself to an uncomfortable wait. To add insult to injury, a mimmoth emerged from a hole in the wall, caught sight of Klaus, trumpeted in dismay, and fled.
“Did you really call yourself Chump when you were in Skifander?” asked the castle with an air of making small talk.
“Castle,” he gritted out between clenched teeth, “shut. up.”
After a pause, the castle said, “You needn’t worry, you know. Your daughter’s giving the mistress warrior training, and they’ve all saved each other’s lives a dozen times or more.”
“Really.”
“Things... got a bit heated with some of the prisoners. Dr. Merlot, especially. I think your son was still under the influence of battledraught-”
“What?! Where would he-”
“Oh, Mamma Gkika’s, of course. I can tell you that now because... ah. There. The final repair is complete. One moment....” The castle launched into some terrible Heterodyne symphonic piece punctuated by screams until, presumably, Agatha and her party reached the front gate for her grand introduction to Mechanicsburg.
And then the Doom Bell rang.
“As I was saying,” the castle resumed once Klaus had mostly come around afterward, “now that the mistress has been properly acknowledged and the Jägers are returning-”
Klaus shook his head to try to clear it better. “What? No, they’re... they’re....”
“Honestly, Klaus, you ought to know them better than that by now. In any case, young Gilgamesh really was in quite a state when his friends brought him to Gkika-broken back, broken heart. I don’t know how word got to the mistress, but it did, by some miracle. Miss Zeetha was with her.”
“You were eavesdropping?”
“Well, not precisely. My awareness was still rather limited at the time. I learned much more once they spoke to me in the crypts, and again after they actually entered my halls. Oh, and that reminds me... what have you done with Von Pinn?”
“Why do you ask?” Klaus growled.
“She might like to know that her original body’s been vacated and is ready for her to return.”
“She... what?!”
“Of course, she wouldn’t be able to tell you. She’s really Otilia, Muse of Protection. As an experiment, Lucrezia transferred her mind into Von Pinn and a copy of me into Otilia. That’s how they were able to restore my consciousness, in fact, because that version of me was able to lead them to Lucrezia’s secret lab-”
“Her secret-”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure the mistress will be glad to show it to you when she returns; in fact, she said as much on the way down. And do stop interrupting!”
Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose. “Perhaps you’d better start over, then, and explain from the beginning. How did you speak to Gil and Agatha in the crypts?”
“Ah, well, that part is a Heterodyne secret, I’m afraid. But I can begin after the mistress proved her claim. You know, I suppose, that she’s Master Bill’s daughter.”
“Yes, but it’s...” Good? He wasn’t sure that was the right word yet. “Nice to have the word of an expert.”
“Well, by that point, your children and their companions had convinced young von Zinzer-who really is an excellent minion-to guide them to the area to which the mistress would be returning....”
Klaus stifled the urge to ask questions as the castle rambled on about the somewhat terrifying scrapes the children had gotten into over the course of their repair work. He did ascertain that Agatha had asked Wooster to run errands for Gkika and that Gil had insisted on Zoing also staying at Gkika’s until the castle was repaired. The castle also admitted that the construct that had come in with Gil was a cat-probably Vapnoople’s-and that Merlot and all the other prisoners likely to make trouble for Agatha were already dead. And from the sound of things, Zeetha had actually saved Gil’s life more than once, which was... something of a relief. But Klaus was about to lose his patience for the castle’s storytelling style when suddenly the Doom Bell rang again.
“What was that for?!” Klaus gasped when he could speak.
“Hmm? Oh, that,” the castle replied. “Double celebration today, don’t you know. The mistress has returned, and she’s taken a consort.”
He felt like Punch had just hit him in the solar plexus. “She’s... what?”
“Oh, yes, Father Yglyn announced it just now. They’re married.”
“They’re... no. No, if... if she’s... she’s....”
“Klaus,” the castle replied, much more seriously. “Do you honestly think I don’t know the difference between Lucrezia and her daughter?”
He ran a trembling hand over his mouth. “You’re sure, then, that Lucrezia....”
“Was The Other. Yes. And there are ways in which Mistress Agatha is like her-in the voice, especially. But she is Master Bill’s child in all the ways that matter... and some of the more annoying ones,” it added grumpily.
He couldn’t help laughing. “You mean the best ones.”
“By your definition, perhaps. She hardly lets me hurt anyone.”
He felt dizzy with relief. Castle Heterodyne was hardly the best character witness, of course, but it had known Lucrezia and been betrayed by her. Perhaps... perhaps he wouldn’t need to send for Dupree after all.
“Ah, Master Gil thinks you might need a lie-down. Come on, then.” The castle suddenly released its grip on Klaus’ legs-and dropped him through the floor and onto a rather dusty bed.
“Thank you so much,” he grumbled once he stopped coughing but lay down anyway.
Next
Chapter 2
Things Fall Apart
“Master Payne,” Tarvek said backstage, “I owe you an apology. Well, a couple of apologies, really.”
Master Payne raised an eyebrow. “Indeed?”
“First, for my father’s behavior tonight. I, um... Lucrezia Mongfish was a dear friend of his, and he’s been... mourning her heavily of late. I suspect that’s why he ordered your performance, to catch a glimpse of her again. And from what he said....”
“It’s not her,” Father sighed, watching as the voice print identifiers failed to register a match. “It’s not her. I was... I was so sure this would be the one....”
Tarvek put a hand on Father’s arm. “Father, can’t you just-”
But Father pulled away and left the box in tears.
“... your Madame Pix did a remarkable job of capturing her likeness. Too good a job, perhaps; he didn’t say much before he left. All I know is that he was deeply disappointed to remember that she wasn’t Lucrezia herself.”
Master Payne sighed and nodded. “I suppose in a way that’s high praise for Pix.”
“I agree. It was an enjoyable performance; I’m sorry he missed so much of it.”
“And your other apology?”
“First-” Tarvek pulled a coin purse out of his pocket and handed it to Master Payne. “I tried to send you that after your last performance here, but you’d already left town.”
Master Payne frowned. “Whatever for?”
Tarvek took a deep breath. “I’m not proud of this, sir, but... when you were last here, my sister had just suffered a terrible lab accident. I wished to make her a new body-a puppet, if you will, through which she could continue to interact with the world. But I needed a template to follow, and so... I’m afraid I’m the one who ordered Tinka taken from you.”
Master Payne’s frown became a scowl. “And you think this is sufficient repayment rather than returning what you stole?”
But she’s mine! Tarvek wanted to retort, but he couldn’t reveal that secret yet. “Would that I could return her,” he said instead, which was mostly true. “I did her no harm myself. Unfortunately, my father found her, and... well. I haven’t been able to repair her fully, though not for lack of trying.”
Master Payne sighed. “Have you thought of taking her to Tarsus Beetle?”
“Briefly. But even if Father would allow Tinka to leave the castle now... Dr. Beetle’s dead.”
“What?!”
Tarvek nodded. “Two months ago, or thereabout. Baron Wulfenbach took Beetleburg, and somehow in the process, the baron’s son killed Dr. Beetle. That’s really all I know.”
An unreadable expression flashed across Master Payne’s face before he swore quietly. “Well. Thank you, Prince Tarvek. And... my condolences to your father.”
Tarvek nodded. “Thank you.”
He was just turning to go when one of the circus members, a fellow with curly dark hair and a goatee, ran up to Master Payne. “Sir, it’s Augie. He’s disappeared.”
Tarvek turned back with a frown. “When was he last seen?”
“Wanda hasn’t seen him since intermission.”
Tarvek’s frown deepened. He’d left the box during intermission to stretch his legs and do damage control if anyone in the audience had seen Father’s precipitous exit. That meant no one had been in the box... which housed a key component in Anevka’s latest project... the one he’d refused to help her with.
“Gentlemen,” he said gravely, “I give you my word of honor this will go no further, but an honest answer will help me locate your colleague. This Augie... is he a spark?”
The other men looked at each other, and then Master Payne sighed. “A minor one, yes, Your Highness.”
“Then I think my sister may have taken him. Come; my carriage is waiting. If we hurry, we should still be in time to save him.”
He didn’t have to tell them twice, nor did he have to order the carriage driver to hurry more than once. They arrived at the palace in short order and raced inside to the lab wing, where an unfamiliar woman’s voice was coming from Anevka’s lab. And yet certain tones of that voice were... strikingly similar to the voice Madame Pix had used as Lucrezia.
Tarvek sprinted toward the lab door and reached it just in time to hear to his horror, “And now, little spark, let me hear you beg for your life.”
“ANEVKA!” he thundered. “STOP!”
Anevka, holding a scalpel over a cowering fair-haired man on his knees, straightened and turned to him. “Ah, there you are, Tarvek.”
Tarvek ignored the gasps from Master Payne and his companion. “Let him go, Anevka.”
“Oh, really. Can’t I have a little fun once in a while?”
“You had no right to abduct this man.”
“But you wouldn’t help me retune my voice.”
“I told you it’s not necessary. Let him go.” When she continued to do nothing but look at him, he added, “Or I’ll tell Father what you’re planning.”
She huffed and put the scalpel back on the bench. “Oh, very well. You are dismissed,” she added to the man who was probably Augie.
“Please forgive my sister,” Tarvek said as the man stood. “As you can see, she still needs work.”
“Er, thank you, Your Highness,” the man said awkwardly and hurried out to where Master Payne was waiting.
Master Payne and Tarvek nodded to each other, and the circus men left. He had a feeling they’d leave town as quickly as possible.
Anevka huffed again once they were out of earshot. “Honestly, Tarvek.”
“Honestly, Anevka,” he mocked. “You don’t even sound like my sister anymore.”
“You know why I need this voice. We can’t count on the Geisterdamen to support us.”
“But we should be able to count on the people. We shouldn’t need-”
“I am ensuring the outcome!” she snapped, sounding very much like Pix indeed. But the harmonics were different somehow, richer and more powerful, in ways that made him understand why Pix hadn’t matched the voice print. “And as it’s already done, perhaps you will condescend to make any further adjustments that might be needed.”
He couldn’t shut her down yet. Father was too close to the edge as it was. And he couldn’t risk her kidnapping another wandering spark to do her bidding. “Fine,” he snarled. “But we’re not doing it tonight. I’m tired and might make a mistake.”
“All right. But not a word to Father, or else.”
“You still need me, for maintenance if for nothing else. No other spark has the skill for such things. Remember that, Anevka.” And he spun on his heel and left.
As soon as the three performers were out of immediate sight of the door, Payne cast an invisibility charm and grabbed Augie’s and Abner’s shoulders. “Stay close and listen,” he hissed in their ears. “I’m going to look for-”
A door further down the hall opened, and Tinka hesitated at the threshold as if she were trying to get her balance. Looking around, she whispered, “Ma-Ma-Ma-”
Payne ran to her, hustled her back into the lab, and shut the door, then cast a muffling charm before revealing himself. “I’m here, Tinka.”
“I-I-I have missed you, Ma-Master Payne,” she said. “How-How-How is my si-sister?”
“She misses you terribly, as do we all. But other than that, she’s all right. And you?”
“I-I require maintenance.”
“Come with me, then. We’re going to see Lady Heterodyne in Mechanicsburg. She’s a strong spark, and Moxana’s given her your creator’s notes. She should-”
“No-no, I mustn’t le-leave my prince. He-he-he is the one we were ma-made for.”
His eyes widened, but then he frowned. “Tinka... you were made for the Storm King.”
“Yes, His Hi-Highness is of the Va-Valois line-my prince, not his fa-fa-father. But it’s-but it’s-you mustn’t-it’s a se-secret.”
He sighed. “Tell me the truth, Tinka. Which of them broke you?”
“His fa-father,” she replied promptly. “My prince has-has tried to re-re-repair me.”
“All right, then. I don’t like it, but I’ll respect your choice, provided you say nothing to Prince Tarvek about Moxana or about Mechanicsburg.”
“The la-lady... she-she-she is good?”
“She’s Bill Heterodyne’s daughter. I didn’t know it until she left us, but it makes sense; she’s like him in the best ways. And Moxana trusts her.” He paused. “She’s not Euphrosynia.”
She nodded jerkily. “Then I-I will keep silent.”
He put his hands on her shoulders gently. “I wish I could help you, dear friend.”
“Te-tell Moxana, and tell the la-lady. Maybe she can-she can-later, maybe-”
He cut her off with a nod. “I understand, and I will.”
She smiled. “Good-goodbye, Master Payne. See-see you soon, maybe.”
“We can hope.” He kissed her once on each cheek and left the lab.
Abner tugged on his sleeve as soon as he came out and breathed, “We need to get out of here now. Geisterdamen.”
“Right. Follow me.” Payne led the others to the nearest exit and dropped the invisibility charm before they emerged in the courtyard, where the steam carriage was waiting to return them to the theater. None of them said anything until the circus was out of town.
Once they’d reached a clearing and made camp for the night, however, Augie came trembling to Payne first. “Agatha’s going to kill me.”
“I doubt it,” Payne replied as Abner joined them. “It’s hardly your fault the princess insisted that you give her Agatha’s voice.”
“She won’t be happy about why, though,” Abner stated. “Somehow it can control the Geisterdamen.” He paused and lowered his voice. “She’s Lucrezia’s daughter, isn’t she?”
“You didn’t hear it from me,” Payne answered. “And this goes no further. But yes, I believe so.”
“And Pix is a good mimic, but she’s not Agatha. That’s what upset Prince Aaronev.”
Augie blinked. “But-but why would she call herself Agatha Clay?”
Payne sighed. “We’ll have to ask her in Mechanicsburg-after we report what you’ve heard to the baron’s people.”
“And warn Agatha about Aaronev,” Abner added. “Right. C’mon, Augie, you could use a drink.”
“This has been the worst week of my life,” Augie moaned as Abner led him away.
Marie leaned out the nearest window of the wagon to drop a kiss on Payne’s head. “Did you intend for me to hear that?”
“I’d have told you about it later if you hadn’t, dear,” he answered. “Augie could probably use one of your tonics.”
“Payne-”
He turned around and reached up to take her hand. “We’ll warn her, Marie,” he vowed quietly. “And we won’t let the baron harm her. She’s our Heterodyne.”
“All right.” She leaned down again and kissed him.
Tarvek did a good deal of brooding the next day, trying to figure out how to pull Father out of his depression and keep Anevka from going too far in her attempts to control the Geisterdamen. He did help her refine her new voice based on the voice print readings from the theater box, but he took his time so as to give the circus a chance to get well out of town lest she try to abduct another assistant. But neither he nor Tinka could shake the sense that something was about to go badly wrong.
After dark, however, Artacz knocked on the door of Tarvek’s lab. “Forgive the intrusion, Your Highness,” he said, “but an urgent message just arrived from Prof. Tiktoffen. I’d give it to your father, but he’s in conference with your sister and left orders not to be disturbed.”
Frowning, Tarvek took the message and dismissed Artacz with his thanks. Then he read the message-and had to sit down before he read it again. There was a real Heterodyne girl, the one Father had been searching for... and she was already in Castle Heterodyne.
Even though this development spelled disaster for all the Order’s plans, it might-might-be just the thing to improve Father’s mood. Tarvek steeled himself for recriminations and went to Father’s study.
He was still in the hall when he heard the shot.
“OPEN THE DOOR!” he ordered Anevka’s bearers who were waiting outside. When they only blinked at him, he kicked down the door himself... and took in Father slumped over his desk, pistol in hand; Anevka standing over him triumphantly; and the spark wasp engine Father had tried to hide from him abandoned on the desk... open.
“Anevka,” Tarvek said, Spark command harmonics practically echoing despite his quiet tone, “order your bearers to leave us.”
“All of you, leave,” Anevka called, and retreating footsteps resounded in the hall.
“How dare you!” he snarled. “How dare you kill my father like this?”
“Tch. It was an experiment, you silly boy.”
“You wasted the only prototype of the new wasp-for this?”
“Tarvek, you know he was suicidal because of his failure to find the Holy Child. All I did was give him a nudge to do what he already wanted to do, what he couldn’t find the courage to do. And this way there won’t be so many questions when the baron’s man arrives. It’s certainly an improvement over arranging a lab accident, wouldn’t you say?”
“It wasn’t time yet, and you know it. And the Holy Child’s been found.”
The clank’s eyes flashed. “And what would he have done if he knew? He’d have brought her here to put in that filthy chair, which would have killed her-or worse, actually succeeded in bringing back the Mistress.” She started toward him. “Of course, if you’re that upset over it, perhaps I’ll tell the baron’s man that you’re the one who killed him.”
“Anevka. FREEZE.”
The clank froze. “What-what-”
“You’re not my sister. You haven’t been for some time. I wasn’t sure of that until now. And now?” He walked around behind it. “I’m shutting you down.”
“I’m... not your sister?”
“No. My sister is dead. I suspect she died long ago... and you never even noticed.”
“But... then... what am I?”
“A very good first try. Goodbye, Anevka.” He took a deep breath and flipped the switches, shutting down the clank-and with it the life support tank that held the real Anevka’s remains. Then, after taking a moment to collect himself, he summoned servants to clean up the study and went to his own study to compose a message to Baron Wulfenbach. Once that was done and sent off with the appropriate emissary, he went to the dungeon to release Lady Vrin and her seconds, Eotain and Shurdlu, whom Anevka had ordered imprisoned.
“Master Tarvek,” Vrin said as the Geisterdamen left their cell. “I am surprised you come in person.”
“Prince Tarvek, Lady Vrin,” Tarvek replied, nettled. “My father is dead. The baron will be sending a questor within the week. You understand that he must not find any indication of my father’s work with the Mistress.”
“Of course. Therefore-”
“Therefore, the Geisterdamen have exactly twenty-four hours to vacate this city before I seal the tunnels leading into the Deepdown. Leave the chapel and the chair as they are; I shall see to them. We’ve had the baron’s people here before, and my father ensured that we would always have a way to hide the chapel.”
Vrin’s eyes narrowed. “And if you should locate the Holy Child and the Mistress returns?”
“I’ll bring her to the Jotun brothers.”
Vrin glared at him a moment longer. “Very well.” Then she turned to Eotain and Shurdlu and gave them orders in their own language, and the three of them left.
It took every ounce of patience Tarvek had to wait the day he’d promised for the Geisters to depart, though they sealed the tunnels to the surface themselves. But after they were gone, he hacked the infernal chair to pieces and dissolved the pieces in a vat of acid.
No one was going to suffer Anevka’s fate again. No one. Especially not the Heterodyne girl.
Whether and how he could win her heart was a problem for another day.
Klaus checked the dials one last time to ensure that his new construct was ready to decant. He’d suffered some twinges of conscience over putting a substitute brain in the body of Bill’s daughter to use for his own purposes, but he couldn’t have lived with himself if he’d left her dead, either. And at this point, it was far too late to turn back. Satisfied that everything was in order, he straightened... and froze as he looked, really looked, at the young woman in the tank for the first time.
Black hair floated out of the way of her face... a face that shared neither Bill’s nor Lucrezia’s features. This wasn’t Agatha Heterodyne!
“LACKYA!” he bellowed, and the door opened. “Fetch my son!”
“Begging your pardon, Herr Baron,” came the Lackya’s quavering response, “but... Master Gilgamesh is unavailable.”
Klaus turned to scowl at the servant, which was cringing and wringing its hands. “What do you mean, he’s unavailable?”
“He gave the strictest orders-”
“Does his authority exceed mine? SPEAK!”
“He’s not here.”
“Where is he?”
“The Great Hospital-there was a lab accident-”
Klaus cut him off with a snarl. “Then get me Dupree. MOVE!”
The Lackya moved, leaving Klaus to stare at the tank in infuriated disbelief.
“You called, Your Exalted Crankiness?” Dupree asked as she flounced into the lab a few moments later.
He turned to her and pointed at the tank. “Who the blazes is that?!”
She looked and shrugged. “Search me. Never seen her before.”
“That is the girl you brought back!”
“What are you-wait, you mean from the circus? Gil’s girlfriend? That doesn’t look anything like her.”
“No, she doesn’t, because that isn’t the Heterodyne girl.”
Dupree blinked. “But... she was wearing Gil’s ring. I was sure!”
“Fool! Did it never occur to you that the body could have been doctored?”
“Well, no. I mean, why-”
“Never mind why. The Heterodyne girl is still alive, and I want her back here!”
“But it’s been months. She could be anywhere.”
Before Klaus could respond, he heard Boris approaching the door and sighed. “Yes, Boris?”
“The emissary from Sturmhalten, Herr Baron,” Boris announced.
“Show him in.”
“Forgive the intrusion, Herr Baron,” the emissary stated as Klaus turned to the door. “I bring most grave news.” He bowed and handed Klaus a letter. “Prince Aaronev is dead-at his own hand.”
Frowning, Klaus opened the letter and read in handwriting that hadn’t so much changed as matured since he’d last seen it over a decade ago:
Most honored Herr Baron,
It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that my sister Anevka has found a way to take advantage of my father’s long depression and induced him to commit suicide. I have already executed her for this treachery.
As a token of my intent to remain your loyal vassal, allow me to impart to you some intelligence that reached me just moments before my father’s death. A young woman calling herself Agatha Heterodyne has appeared in Mechanicsburg and has entered Castle Heterodyne, which has accepted her claim but is still too broken to acknowledge her publicly. Several of her companions have also entered the castle in the guise of prisoners and are helping her attempt repairs. Known to be among her party is Gil Holzfäller-
Klaus’ mind ground to a halt and refused to process more of the remainder than Tarvek Sturmvoraus’ signature. Tiktoffen hadn’t reported anything out of the ordinary in his latest dispatch, but Gil might have ordered him not to. But if this girl was indeed The Other’s daughter-or worse, The Other herself....
“Boris,” he said, “see that this gentleman is made comfortable, and send me the Lackya that was here a moment ago.”
“Very good, Herr Baron,” Boris answered briskly and ushered the emissary out.
Dupree put a hand on his arm as he tried again to read the letter. “Klaus? What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure yet,” Klaus replied, getting stuck again on Gil’s pseudonym and looking up. “There’s too much that doesn’t add up.”
The Lackya, looking scared spitless, hesitated in the doorway. “You called, Herr Baron?”
“Where did you say my son is?”
“He... was taken to the Great Hospital, at Herr Wooster’s insistence. He was severely injured by a clank.”
“Tsk,” said Dupree. “Shoulda known one of those toys Grantz was bringing him would get the better of him.”
Klaus scowled at her. “Toys?”
“Spider clanks from the Wastelands. No idea why. I mean, the one that-well, that we thought killed the Heterodyne girl was already destroyed.”
Klaus crumpled the letter without thinking and turned back to the trembling Lackya. “When was this?”
“A-a week ago, Herr Baron.”
“And the constructs he was saving?”
“I... I’m not certain, Herr Baron, but I think he may have arranged for them to be taken with him.”
“And NO ONE TOLD ME?!”
The Lackya fell to its knees. “He gave the strictest orders, Herr Baron!”
“CONFOUND THAT BOY!” Klaus hauled in a deep breath and made an effort to rein in his anger. “Right, order a medical team to take care of this experiment and have Boris meet me on the way to Bay 20. I’m going to Mechanicsburg.”
“Yes, Herr Baron!” the Lackya replied and hurried away.
“Going alone?” Dupree asked as she followed Klaus out of the lab.
“For the moment,” he replied, still unsure how far to trust her, given the lack of opportunity to date for the Vespiary Squad to test her. “I still need to assess the situation and find my son. If Gil is in the hospital, it makes no sense for me to arrive at the head of troops just to visit him. But I can’t depend on anyone to tell me the truth unless I go in person.”
“So... you want me to stand by?”
“Precisely. I’ll signal by radio if I need you.”
She huffed. “Klaus, you know I hate waiting.”
“As do I. But we know too little to know if there’s even a threat.” He didn’t want to suspect Bill’s daughter of anything, and he wasn’t going to accuse her falsely. But she was Lucrezia’s daughter, too, and there was Mr. Rovainen’s testimony to contend with, his utter certainty that she was The Other. Klaus simply couldn’t be sure what to believe.
“All right. I’ll head on to my ship.” She paused. “Be careful, Klaus.”
He managed to smile. “I will.”
So it was that after giving Boris instructions as to which units to have on standby and what to say if the Jägers turned up to inform him they were leaving, Klaus boarded the fastest airship in the fleet and sped off to Mechanicsburg. He tried not to worry, to tell himself that Sturmvoraus was only trying to cause trouble for Gil by claiming he was in Castle Heterodyne... but it didn’t exactly work.
Sun met the ship in front of the hospital. “Ah, Klaus,” he said. “You’re early. Punch and Judy won’t be ready for the final decanting until next week.”
Klaus blinked. “So they are here.”
“Yes. I gather Gilgamesh had given orders for them to be transferred as soon as possible.”
“-You gather? Haven’t you seen him?”
Sun shrugged and shook his head. “Should I have?”
“I had word he was injured, badly so. But then, I had to pry even that much out of the Lackya.”
“Well, he hasn’t been admitted here, and you know I’d have told you at once if he were, even if he tried to order me not to.” Sun smiled wryly. “He’s as terrible a patient as his father.”
Klaus huffed. “Very amusing.”
“I can see you’re worried. Why don’t you come in and have a look at Punch and Judy while I make some discreet inquiries? Gilgamesh has done a remarkable job with them; it was touch and go to keep them stable earlier in the week, but he’d done all the hard work with the repairs already.”
Klaus took a deep breath and nodded. He was proud of Gil for saving his old friends, which was one of the main reasons he hadn’t let on that he’d known all about them. The other was his belief that working on that project was as healthy an outlet for Gil’s grief over the Heterodyne girl as any. But now... now he didn’t know what to believe.
“All right, then. This way.”
“Wait, Sun, first... have you heard any rumors about a Heterodyne heir entering the castle?”
Sun scoffed and started inside. “Klaus, there are always rumors. Granted, I’ve been rather busy this week, but I haven’t heard any new ones. If there is, though, I suspect the castle’s already dealt with him.”
“This one’s a girl.”
Sun stopped. “That’s new.”
Klaus finally followed him. “She’s Bill and Lucrezia’s daughter.”
“You’ve met her?”
“I had her on Castle Wulfenbach for a time, though I didn’t know then who she was. Punch and Judy had raised her and turned up to help her escape; that’s how they were killed.”
“What?!”
“That wasn’t my doing! It was Von Pinn! You know how she was after... after Klaus Barry’s death. They got between her and Agatha, and she just... tore them to shreds.”
Sun hissed and fell into step beside Klaus. “But what about... Agatha, you said her name was? Where is she?”
“I don’t know. I was told she’d been killed in the Wastelands, but I’ve just discovered that that isn’t true. I’ve also heard she’s here-with Gil.”
“I’ll ask around. But if Gilgamesh is in Mechanicsburg, he never entered my hospital; I’ll swear to it.”
Klaus sighed heavily. “Thank you, Sun.”
Sun escorted him to the lab where Punch and Judy were being treated and let him check their monitors for himself. They were indeed in the final stages of healing but wouldn’t be ready to decant for several days yet. Then Sun went off to start his inquiries while his granddaughter showed Klaus to a waiting room, where Klaus paced as he waited.
And waited.
And waited.
“Herr Baron?”
Klaus spun to see a fresh-faced young guard standing in the doorway saluting him. “Report,” he ordered, returning the salute.
“Thursday night, Herr Baron, the town... shut down for several hours. The clocks, drawbridges, street lights, all stopped suddenly and restarted just as suddenly.”
“I see. And before then? Have you seen the prisoner manifest for the last week?”
The guard handed Klaus a clipboard. “There was a shipment of new prisoners on Wednesday.”
Klaus skimmed the names: Lars Apfelbaum, Moonsock (noted as a construct), Pix, and yes, Gil Holzfäller. “Red fire,” he breathed. “What about tourists? An Englishman, in particular, tall and dark with side whiskers.”
The guard shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything about him, Herr Baron.”
“Or a construct, a blue arthropod dressed in orange, stands maybe two feet high.”
The guard shook his head again.
Klaus sighed. “Anything else?”
“Not yet, Herr Ba-”
“Herr Baron!” interrupted a member of the Black Squad, appearing beside the other guard. “Something’s happening in the castle-some sort of huge fight we can hear clear outside!”
Klaus didn’t wait for more information. He charged out of the hospital, appropriating a clank gun along the way, and barged into the castle. “Castle, where is Gil?” he demanded as he ran through the front gate.
“Hello to you, too, Klaus,” the castle replied dryly. “So he is your son. The mistress said so, but-”
“Where is he?!”
“Tch, touchy. Well, as they do appear to be in a spot of trouble I can’t help them with at the moment-”
“They meaning-”
“The mistress and your twins.”
“WHAT?!”
“Oh, here, it’ll be easier to just show you.”
With that, the castle dropped the floor underneath Klaus and sent him down a chute to land mostly on his feet just a meter or two from the sound of gunfire. “CASTLE!” roared a voice far too like Lucrezia’s for comfort. “SQUASH HIM!”
“Forgive me, Mistress, but I cannot,” the castle replied. “But I have brought someone who can.”
Klaus rounded the corner to see Tiktoffen holding a gun on Agatha, Gil, and a green-haired girl with Skifandrian swords. He smelled blood, but the three of them didn’t appear to be injured, which was as far as he could let his focus go at the moment.
Tiktoffen turned and blanched. “Herr Baron!” he cried, aiming his gun at Gil’s heart. “This isn’t what it looks like!”
Klaus snarled and fired, as did Tiktoffen, but Gil had taken the warning and ducked. Tiktoffen’s shot missed. Klaus’ didn’t.
When no other prisoners came running to attack-and a glance around showed several corpses but no other live humans-Klaus took a deep breath, let it out again, and looked at Agatha. “Now-”
“Sorry, Herr Baron, but there isn’t time,” she interrupted. “Castle? Keep him safe until we get back.”
“Certainly, Mistress,” the castle replied, and two stone fists reared up from the floor and grabbed Klaus’ legs before he could run, startling him into dropping the gun.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Klaus demanded.
“Don’t worry, Father,” Gil replied, looking remarkably cheerful, as the three of them rushed off. “It should only take another couple of hours.”
“What-but-”
The Skifandrian girl kissed his cheek as she passed. “Mother says hello.”
And then they were gone.
“He’s right, you know,” said the castle, opening the floor in precise locations to dispose of the slain. “There’s only one repair site remaining. The mistress still needs to renew my energy supply, but that can wait. And I believe the Doom Bell is nearly ready as well.”
“You could at least bring me a chair,” Klaus snapped.
“I could, yes.”
He sighed heavily and resigned himself to an uncomfortable wait. To add insult to injury, a mimmoth emerged from a hole in the wall, caught sight of Klaus, trumpeted in dismay, and fled.
“Did you really call yourself Chump when you were in Skifander?” asked the castle with an air of making small talk.
“Castle,” he gritted out between clenched teeth, “shut. up.”
After a pause, the castle said, “You needn’t worry, you know. Your daughter’s giving the mistress warrior training, and they’ve all saved each other’s lives a dozen times or more.”
“Really.”
“Things... got a bit heated with some of the prisoners. Dr. Merlot, especially. I think your son was still under the influence of battledraught-”
“What?! Where would he-”
“Oh, Mamma Gkika’s, of course. I can tell you that now because... ah. There. The final repair is complete. One moment....” The castle launched into some terrible Heterodyne symphonic piece punctuated by screams until, presumably, Agatha and her party reached the front gate for her grand introduction to Mechanicsburg.
And then the Doom Bell rang.
“As I was saying,” the castle resumed once Klaus had mostly come around afterward, “now that the mistress has been properly acknowledged and the Jägers are returning-”
Klaus shook his head to try to clear it better. “What? No, they’re... they’re....”
“Honestly, Klaus, you ought to know them better than that by now. In any case, young Gilgamesh really was in quite a state when his friends brought him to Gkika-broken back, broken heart. I don’t know how word got to the mistress, but it did, by some miracle. Miss Zeetha was with her.”
“You were eavesdropping?”
“Well, not precisely. My awareness was still rather limited at the time. I learned much more once they spoke to me in the crypts, and again after they actually entered my halls. Oh, and that reminds me... what have you done with Von Pinn?”
“Why do you ask?” Klaus growled.
“She might like to know that her original body’s been vacated and is ready for her to return.”
“She... what?!”
“Of course, she wouldn’t be able to tell you. She’s really Otilia, Muse of Protection. As an experiment, Lucrezia transferred her mind into Von Pinn and a copy of me into Otilia. That’s how they were able to restore my consciousness, in fact, because that version of me was able to lead them to Lucrezia’s secret lab-”
“Her secret-”
“Don’t worry. I’m sure the mistress will be glad to show it to you when she returns; in fact, she said as much on the way down. And do stop interrupting!”
Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose. “Perhaps you’d better start over, then, and explain from the beginning. How did you speak to Gil and Agatha in the crypts?”
“Ah, well, that part is a Heterodyne secret, I’m afraid. But I can begin after the mistress proved her claim. You know, I suppose, that she’s Master Bill’s daughter.”
“Yes, but it’s...” Good? He wasn’t sure that was the right word yet. “Nice to have the word of an expert.”
“Well, by that point, your children and their companions had convinced young von Zinzer-who really is an excellent minion-to guide them to the area to which the mistress would be returning....”
Klaus stifled the urge to ask questions as the castle rambled on about the somewhat terrifying scrapes the children had gotten into over the course of their repair work. He did ascertain that Agatha had asked Wooster to run errands for Gkika and that Gil had insisted on Zoing also staying at Gkika’s until the castle was repaired. The castle also admitted that the construct that had come in with Gil was a cat-probably Vapnoople’s-and that Merlot and all the other prisoners likely to make trouble for Agatha were already dead. And from the sound of things, Zeetha had actually saved Gil’s life more than once, which was... something of a relief. But Klaus was about to lose his patience for the castle’s storytelling style when suddenly the Doom Bell rang again.
“What was that for?!” Klaus gasped when he could speak.
“Hmm? Oh, that,” the castle replied. “Double celebration today, don’t you know. The mistress has returned, and she’s taken a consort.”
He felt like Punch had just hit him in the solar plexus. “She’s... what?”
“Oh, yes, Father Yglyn announced it just now. They’re married.”
“They’re... no. No, if... if she’s... she’s....”
“Klaus,” the castle replied, much more seriously. “Do you honestly think I don’t know the difference between Lucrezia and her daughter?”
He ran a trembling hand over his mouth. “You’re sure, then, that Lucrezia....”
“Was The Other. Yes. And there are ways in which Mistress Agatha is like her-in the voice, especially. But she is Master Bill’s child in all the ways that matter... and some of the more annoying ones,” it added grumpily.
He couldn’t help laughing. “You mean the best ones.”
“By your definition, perhaps. She hardly lets me hurt anyone.”
He felt dizzy with relief. Castle Heterodyne was hardly the best character witness, of course, but it had known Lucrezia and been betrayed by her. Perhaps... perhaps he wouldn’t need to send for Dupree after all.
“Ah, Master Gil thinks you might need a lie-down. Come on, then.” The castle suddenly released its grip on Klaus’ legs-and dropped him through the floor and onto a rather dusty bed.
“Thank you so much,” he grumbled once he stopped coughing but lay down anyway.
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