Boots for the Gentleman (35 page)

“Querry?” Reg said.

“I- I don’t know what to do!”

“Please, don’t worry,” Kristof said, kneeling down next to Reg. He touched Frolic’s forehead with his first two fingers, looked into his eyes, and said a soothing word. Frolic’s seizures subsided, but he still panted, looking at the hole in his body with horror. Kristof noticed his distress, smiled, and waved his hand over the wound. Both the metal plate over his heart and the skin beyond it knit back together seamlessly. It was a bit paler than the skin surrounding it, and the scar reminded Querry of a child’s drawing of a five-petaled flower. Gradually Frolic’s breathing became slower and more regular, and Querry and Reg petted his hair and spoke to him softly. At first he didn’t recognize them and looked at them with fear and confusion.

“You’re safe, my love,” Reg said, happy tears spilling down his cheeks.

“R-Reg?” he croaked in response.

Reg could only laugh out loud with joy and kiss him hard on the brow. His laughter mingled with his sobs as he hugged Frolic around the neck. “I thought I’d lost you, my dear, dear Frolic. Oh, thank God.”

“Querry?” Frolic asked weakly.

“I’m here, beauty.” He squeezed Frolic’s hand. “I’ve missed you.”

“Kristof, is that you?” Frolic asked.

“Yes,” the magician said, confused.

“How do I know you?” Frolic wondered aloud. “I feel strange. How do I know…? I know—”

Frolic sat bolt upright and said a word that was clearly a fey profanity. “I know! I know how the clock tower works!”

Chapter Twenty

Q
UERRY
opened his stateroom door and crossed the dark and empty saloon, emerging on the deck of the passenger steamship
Unicorn.
Reg claimed the constant rocking of the large vessel helped him sleep, and he rested soundly in his bunk. The motion made Querry sick, and the weeks he’d spent cooped up made him restless. Worst of all, he’d woken in the night to find Frolic gone again. Needing fresh air and hoping to find his companion, Querry walked around the first of a pair of huge metal smokestacks. He saw a figure leaning against the railing on the port side of the ship, and he headed in that direction.

When he got closer, Querry discovered not Frolic but Kristof with his elbows on the metal bar. The young man stood looking out to sea with his hood up. The water lapped calmly against the boat’s metal hull as Querry joined the magician. He gazed out in the direction Kristof looked, but beyond the caps of sea foam closest to them, he saw only darkness. At least it was warmer; Querry’s hands felt fine without his gloves.

“Trouble sleeping?” Kristof asked. He offered Querry the pipe he’d been smoking.

“I suppose,” Querry answered. Though he didn’t smoke often, Querry accepted Kristof’s pipe and took a few pulls. It calmed his nerves a little. “Have you seen Frolic around?”

“No. Is he missing?”

Querry nodded and passed the pipe back. “He slips away during the night. Says he likes to be under the moon and stars. Last night I found him over by the masthead, singing a song. He told me he was talking to the ocean.”

“I think he’s reacting to the fey in him. The effect is more profound than I would have thought. Without it, though, I doubt he’d have had the knowledge to understand the magical workings of your clock tower. You mentioned he couldn’t figure it out before?”

“No, he couldn’t.”

Kristof nodded, almost apologetically. “Because we used fey words and emotion in the spell, and possibly because of those parts of myself that we used, Frolic understands magic now.”

The explanation ignited the bitter feelings Querry had been trying to douse since meeting Kristof. He couldn’t help his envy. He didn’t want the faerie gentleman as his partner or permanent companion, but the idea that he preferred Kristof, found Kristof worthier and more interesting, burned at the edges of Querry’s ego. Being the favorite of such a powerful person had defined his sense of worth more than he’d realized. But Kristof was not to blame. He was a humble and gentle sort, especially for a magician. Querry wondered if it hurt him to know his lover would never be exclusively his. “How is he doing?” Querry asked.

“Sleeping,” Kristof said, shaking his head. “He’s weak with the lack of magic already. I begged him to stay behind, but he’s as stubborn as ever. I told him he wouldn’t be able to help us, with that awful tower siphoning all the enchantment out of the world. He refused to leave me, though.”

“Because he loves you,” Querry said, trying to comfort the worried, young man.

“Believe me, I understand the magnitude of what he’s done, choosing my company over his own comfort. It’s contrary to his nature in every way. I just, I’m afraid for him. I—”

Querry put his arm around Kristof’s shoulders and squeezed him. He tried to think of words that might assuage Kristof’s concern, but he couldn’t summon them when he felt just as afraid himself. “What the hell are we going to do?” he whispered.

“I don’t know. I’ve never felt so helpless. We’re still a day away from home, but I can already sense the effects Frolic described. By the time I set foot on my native shore, I’ll be powerless.”

“I still don’t understand it,” Querry said.

“From your friend’s explanation, I assume that each of the guardians at the corners of the tower is designed to filter elemental magic: fire, air, earth, or water. When these powers are combined in the center of the structure, they’ll form a limitless power, pure possibility. A person controlling that power could do almost anything he wanted: create or destroy. He’d be godlike.”

“Frolic was meant to be that person,” Querry said.

“Not quite,” Kristof amended, “he was meant to be a tool by which another controlled that power. Only because his creator granted him free will could he resist. Luckily for all of us.”

“What will we do?” Querry asked.

“As I see it, we have only one option: destroy the mechanisms atop the tower. It will be difficult enough if they haven’t found a way to replace Frolic in directing the power, and if they have—” He shuddered. “I’m afraid I’m not going to be much help without my magic.”

“We’ll need weapons,” Querry said. He wondered where they’d get what they needed now that Dink had left the country. “God help us, what we need is an army.”

The two of them stood in silence, the weight of the situation crushing down on them. Before long they heard light steps approaching them. Frolic stopped a few feet away and greeted them. “I’ve been looking for you,” Querry told him. “How come you’re not in the bed with Reggie?”

Frolic looked haunted as he turned his face toward the first sliver of rose stretching across the horizon. “My dreams have been strange. I see and hear things that weren’t there before. I understand things that I never even knew existed. It’s unsettling to feel so unlike myself.”

“I’m sorry,” Kristof said. “If it’s any consolation, some of the things I saw in the Other Places disturbed me, until I grew accustomed to them. I think you’ll eventually get used to your new perceptions, Frolic.”

Frolic nodded sadly and thanked him. Querry stroked the curls on the back of his head and felt Frolic press back against his hand. Querry cupped the back of his neck and drew him into his arms. Frolic rested his head against Querry’s chest and said, “I
am
tired, Querry. Maybe we can try to get some rest. Hold me?”

“Of course.” He kissed the top of Frolic’s head. “Let’s try to sleep for a few hours before morning. Kristof, will you be all right?”

The young wizard looked back toward the sea, his features guarded and unreadable. He tapped his pipe against the metal railing, emptying the ashes into the water. “I will be fine. I wish to stay here and think for a bit. Good night to you.”

Q
UERRY
, Reg, and Kristof stood in line holding the false documents they’d procured before leaving the East. Querry resisted the urge to look over his shoulder and hoped none of the
Unicorn’s
other passengers would ask the whereabouts of their other companions. They’d tried to keep to themselves during the long voyage, and they’d decided even before departing that there would be no way to get Frolic or the faerie gentleman past the heightened security in their home country. Querry was nervous. The fake papers were good, but he and Reg were wanted criminals and Kristof attracted attention in his outdated clothes.

Finally their turn came and the few minutes the guards took looking over their paperwork felt like hours. Querry felt himself starting to sweat as the portly, balding man looked from his documents to his face and back again.

“You all right, mate?” he asked, furrowing his brows.

“Seasick,” Querry said quickly.

“Right, well, on your way.”

Querry struggled not to sigh with relief.

“Wait,” Kristof said. “Where do we pick up our cargo?”

“Cargo?” the guard asked suspiciously. “What kind of cargo?”

Querry froze. They hadn’t planned how they’d answer that question. Kristof was clever and quick, though. “I purchased a set of antique leather chairs for my study. The workmanship is quite exquisite. If you have a crowbar, we can open the crates and admire them.”

The guard, clearly bored, said, “No time for that. Off you go. You can pick up your things right over there.” He pointed to a gangplank stretching from a barge to a gravel circle where several horse-drawn carts and taxis, as well as a few steam carriages, waited to be hired by travelers. A few crewmen hauled two wooden boxes that looked just the right size to hold leather armchairs. Kristof hurried over and directed them to be loaded onto a flatbed cart pulled by a shaggy, gray gelding. He climbed in beside and pressed his cheek to one of the boxes, stroking it with his hand.

Querry cleared his throat. “I know those chairs mean a lot to you, but everything will be all right. Let’s not cause a stir.” He climbed into the cart beside Kristof and sat down in the straw. Reg took a seat next to the driver and handed him some money. The driver slapped the reins against the animal’s haunches, and the old beast grunted before starting slowly on his way. A long procession of carriages slowed their progress and caused them lengthy and frequent pauses. Querry longed to escape the crowds and scrutiny, and he wondered where Reg thought they might be safe. Finally the pony broke into a slow trot. Querry allowed himself the relieved breath he’d been holding. The thick snow that had been pushed to the sides of the streets had started to melt, and icicles dripped from the eaves. Querry smelled new grass forcing its way up through the piles of garbage and horse manure that littered the walks. He saw a few snowdrops blooming between the tree trunks and the fences that surrounded them. It surprised Querry not to see more people out strolling or visiting the shops and booths. Normally after such a brutal winter, every person in the city made his or her way outdoors as soon as the temperature reached above freezing. The streets should have been crowded and the air heavy with the new hope that spring always inspired. The few people Querry saw walked with their heads down, their eyes darting from side to side as they hurried to their destinations. The thief had seen enough fear and anxiety to recognize it, and he wondered as to the cause. Even so, Querry relaxed a little and smiled at Kristof. “It’s going to be fine,” he told the harried-looking wizard.

“Where are we going?” Kristof said. “When will we be there? Soon?”

“I’m sure it won’t be long.”

“Does this not seem odd to you?” the magician continued, looking at the empty walks.

“A bit,” Querry admitted. “But please don’t worry yourself.”

“How can I not? Imagine yourself stripped of your sword and pistol, without even your fists to protect the ones you love. I cannot remember ever being without this power; it has been my companion since childhood. Never could I have imagined anything to rival magic, let alone a machine! Can you understand how this feels to me?”

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Querry promised, and, looking at the crates, added, “any of us.”

“Thank you. I just wish I knew where we were going. This does not feel at all like the country I left behind.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Querry agreed. “But we’re going to put it right.”

The pony stopped at an intersection and waited while some pedestrians crossed the street. A blond young man pushed his way past the skittish stragglers and, to Querry’s surprise, jumped onto the cart and sat down beside Reg. It took a few minutes for Querry to recognize Lizard, as the boy had grown several inches in the months he’d been away. Lizard looked seriously at Reg and leaned in to whisper in his ear. Reg nodded gravely, spoke to the driver, and handed the man more money. The cart made a sharp left, shifting Querry, Kristof, and the two crates to the side. Querry crawled around the wooden boxes and tapped Reg on the shoulder. “What’s going on?”

“Lizard says the city is in trouble,” Reg explained. “He says there are people who will want to speak with us. That we’ll be safe there.”

“We need your help, mate,” the boy said. “At least hear us out.”

“I thought you were leaving with Dink!”

“Things happened,” Lizard said. “I’ll explain more in a bit. Ain’t safe to talk out here.”