Cogs in Time Anthology (The Steamworks Series) (34 page)

Draegan, the unwanted defect, never loved and never praised. The seed of destruction was planted at his moment of his birth.

Trembling and damp with sweat, Draegan returned to the present. He cast his eyes on Astrid who lay bound and restrained. Her lips were cracked and parched, slightly bluish in color. Her eyes were only partly open and bloodshot. Dark circles hung under them, etched with veins. She looked beaten and half-dead. Her dress was torn and hung loosely on her frame, yet she seemed unembarrassed and not concerned about modesty or her body.

Astrid had no idea that Luca was getting closer to the river. Draegan watched her closely, waiting to see if she would recognize his presence. He derived much pleasure in her hopeful despair. She was his guarded and chained up little animal—a toy to nurture and destroy.

Chapter Thirteen

River Reborn

Luca wandered along the edges of the Thames River searching for anything to lead him to Astrid and Draegan. He ran across pipes leading into the river and searched for a way to enter the underground system. A large tank stood to the South with empty grounds surrounding it; an eerie silence encased the area.

Luca lifted his face to the sky, trying to find Draegan or Astrid’s scent, but his powers were weakening from the hunt. A pang of incompetency clutched at him. What would he do if he were unable to find Astrid? It was wretched enough that Draegan had her in his clutches, but what if he couldn’t get to Astrid before the quarantine went into effect?

“Wait. Wait for me to find her. Don’t enact the quarantine yet,” he pleaded in his mind to Mordecai. “Give me some time.”

“There is no time,” was the reply. “I must save what I can.”

Luca rushed towards the tank, trying to visualize the underground system surrounding it. Slowly his mind received a picture. Old rotten woodwork, fungus-lined damp walls, puddles of muddied water, and darkness filled him.
 
Tunnels, are there tunnels?
 His mind spun like a top, black and white haze blurred his thoughts.

Luca knelt to the ground. The sound of fire crackling through rows of houses and streets popped in the night air. Glass breaking and the howls of the dying lined the river.

I need a sign, please a sign. Dear God, if you exist for the humans, help me now. 
Luca was dazed. Nothing happened. He stood in desperation to leave.

Hopelessness overwhelmed him as he moved towards the main gate. The sticky claws of desperation grasped at his stomach, tearing him apart. The only sound breaking the peace around him was the gentle call of an owl. Luca smiled in the direction of the sound as the owl swooped down over his head, grazing his shoulder. The bird stood in front of him, next to a dry pipe leading down to the aquifers. The creature scratched at the ground, staring at Luca, unblinking.

He walked toward the creature to see the strange pattern on the ground, as he drew closer the owl disappeared with no sound and left no trace, yet, on the ground were a series of arrows scratched into the dirt. A trickle of water spurted up from one of the scratches, forming a tiny rivulet in the dry earth. The arrows pointed to the wet area as the water formed into a letter – the letter A.

She’s here.
 
Thank you. She must be underground. 
Luca ran along the shore, following the owl’s arrows, looking at the ground for the right sign of entry. The owl had drawn three arrows to the left, two to the right, with a circle in the middle. Then the water, there was water from the ground, and he must find the source.

***

It lay submerged in the earth like a large copper coin; its ornate face stared at the sky. Luca peered at the oxidized surface; he wondered what the strange craters were and why the owl had directed him to this spot.

Where is Astrid, if not here?

He slid down the dark, dampened, brick walls, landing on the orb half-buried in the ground. He kicked away at the dirt and realized it was the old seal of Gravesend. Gravesend before the vampires, before the Society, and long before Draegan’s virus began to destroy its citizens. The old seal of the old order, it was there that Draegan chose to bring her.

Luca kicked a small grate to the side; the iron bars ringing in defiance. He managed to slide the grate over and slip down the opening. He moved like a feline, finding his footing on rickety old iron steps in a narrow passage leading into the bowels of Gravesend.

As he descended, he placed an old and cracked pair of goggles over his eyes; the red lenses permitted night vision. He heard rats scuttling around and the scratching sound of other bugs and beetles thriving in the moist underground environment. Bending his knees to be able to maneuver the narrow tunnel, he ran as soon as he hit the ground level. Dry leaves and errant newspapers crunched under his feet, he hoped the noise wouldn’t alert Draegan.

He inhaled deeply, calling upon all of his powers. He thought of his mother, her strength and her weakness, and pulled the energy of all who had loved him to face and battle Draegan. Shocks of electricity surged through his powerful frame as he neared the opening at the end of the tunnel. He could see a small glimmer of light as the underground aquifer began.

Ahead of him, he knew his war would begin.

***

Astrid lay bound as she watched Draegan release the pressure valve from the tube in his arm. She recoiled as the blue blood poured into the water supply. She kicked at the ground, trying to move to stop his madness. She knew that the water would eventually reach all of Gravesend. Her family, all of her loved ones, and every citizen would drink the water, becoming infected with Draegan’s insanity. Her heart pounded and her mouth tasted metallic, slowly her eyes closed against her will as she fell into unconsciousness.

Astrid’s eyes opened as the light cracked into the room. Water beetles crawled and clicked around her and bats swooped through the room. A shiver ran down her spine as a knot of fear descended into the pit of her stomach. Draegan had disappeared. It was wretched enough when he was in her sight, but out of her sight made her more afraid of what he may be doing.

“Astrid?” a calm voice carried down the wet tunneled hall, barely above a whisper. She jolted away from her fears with a shiver of hope. The one creature that could find her, and the one creature that could save Gravesend, was finally there.

“Astrid?” he continued. “I’m here, it’s Luca. Everything will be fine. You are safe.”

“Here!” she cried. “I’m back here,” she was barely discernible, her voice muffled by the rag in her mouth that gagged her. Her hope escalated as he ran closer to her dark prison, and then like a stab in the heart, she felt an icy coldness grip her, as if someone was watching. 
Draegan!

 
“No, Luca. Don’t come back her. It’s a trap!” The cold feeling enveloping her body could only be Draegan’s presence, looming somewhere, leaving her as bait for his brother.

“Astrid? Where are you?” called Luca in a strange singing voice.

“Luca, leave! Draegan only wants to destroy you.” Her mind drifted to the water supply and the danger to the townsfolk. “You must stop the water. It is contaminated with the virus. Everyone will be infected.” Her mind oscillated between her selfish desire to safeguard Luca and her altruistic desire to save Gravesend. She shook her head and scratched her wrists against the wall, hoping to weaken the bindings of her restraints.

“I will leave soon enough, with you. Keep talking so I can find you.” Astrid furiously tried to free herself, her clothes and hair in disarray. She looked infected.

“No, I will not. Because, that is what Draegan wants. He wants you to find me, and then he can continue his game. Don’t you understand? He hates you, and he wants to destroy you and all you care about.”

“It’s revoltingly to see your blasphemous love for my heroic brother.” Draegan’s voice broke through the cold. Steeliness rushed into Astrid’s heart and mind, she must defeat him.

“You won’t win,” she bluffed. “You aren’t strong enough. You are sick and about to die.”

“My brother has fallen in love with an idiot. Those words you just heard from Luca were mine.”

Draegan’s laughter and uncouth words slammed into Astrid’s mind. She rocked back and forth, banging her head against the wall. Tears filled her eyes. 
How could I have been so gullible and deceived so easily?
 Large hot tears fell onto her soiled body but at least the warm wetness was real. Draegan was still unseen by her as she lay on the ground, chained and dirty until death would take her from this hell.

A yellow flicker caught her eye in the darkness of the crawlspace. It fluttered and undulated towards her. Astrid made out its wings, swiftly moving and dancing in the air. A butterfly, just like the ones in her dreams. She wondered how a beautiful butterfly could enter and survive the aquifers. She wondered if she was dreaming again, or if it was a hallucination created by Draegan’s mind games. She looked away, trying to forget the tiny creature as it flew closer and closer to her, its delicate wings brushing against her cheek.

The butterfly would not leave her. It circled her, then sat on her shoulder, and last her foot. A clean scent wafted over her, covering her senses in a cloud of fresh hope. The butterfly, its scent filling her with purpose, washed the dirt from her body. She knew then what was true. She knew that Luca had arrived.

***

Luca’s passage through the dark tunnel had taken him much longer than expected. He ran through tunnels and pipes for what seemed like miles. He carried a tiny bottle that contained a colorless but sparkling fluid inside, borrowed from the High Table. It glittered in the darkness as if liquefied diamonds. He twisted the small silver cap and allowed three small drops to escape. He closed his eyes and held the bottle above his head. An oriental fragrance, subtle but powerful, filled the tunnel, replacing the foul, sour scent of mildew. The drops, instead of falling to the ground, took differing shapes. First, a feather, then a white lily, and last a bright yellow butterfly.

The butterfly fluttered its wings, developing from a small colorless drop of liquid into a living insect. Its small and slender black body was weightless as Luca opened his palm to catch the delicate creature. It slowly descended to the tip of his index finger as Luca brought it to his lips. In a flash of color, contrasting brightly with the dank gray aquifer, the butterfly flew straight ahead.

Its journey was arduous but critical, for the creature would be Luca’s messenger and beacon, its purpose of existence to find Astrid and evade Draegan.

Its powerful antennae, similar to the bat’s use of ultrasound in the darkness for echolocation, sent out waves to detect warm-blooded life. Hovering over small rodents, the butterfly sent a signal of mass to Luca. Luca shook his head, sending a message to the butterfly to continue forward until a woman, Astrid, was found.

Luca knelt to the ground, praying once again for success. About to give up, the butterfly transmitted a signal to him. A warm-blooded creature of similar mass to Astrid was located deep in the aquifer. The fear and doubt that he felt moments before dissipated into the darkness of the tunnel like thin wisps of smoke.

Luca ran, following the scent of the butterfly. Tremors of joy and excitement flew through him like electricity. He ripped off his night vision goggles as his eyes became accustomed to the warm glow of the tungsten lamps. Through half closed lids he saw a figure in the distance, a female tied with shreds of cloth, her clothes ripped to shreds.

His heart stopped in shock as hatred for his brother filled him. Ever since Draegan had stolen Astrid, Luca’s mind created dreadful visions of the damage Draegan would wreak. He had prepared himself, thinking he envisaged the worst. Yet, as he looked at her from a distance, nothing could have prepared him.

Her body crouched in the corner, her arms and legs bound. Her large eyes stared at the ceiling as he approached. Her milky-white skin had scratches along her arms and her neck was badly bruised. Her chestnut hair lay in matted clumps, like hardened mud. Her face was hollow, her cheekbones gaunt, and fear swam in every pore of her face.

“Astrid,” he cried from deep in the tunnel, but she continued to stare at the ceiling. “It’s me, I am here.”

Astrid looked at the butterfly on her foot and smiled. The small creature covered her in a strange white veil, giving her strength. Looking down the tunnel, she spotted him running.

“It’s Luca, Astrid. I promise. It is no one else but me.”

Astrid said nothing for several minutes until she blinked as if waking from a deep sleep. He ripped the bindings from her hands and rubbed them. She sniffed his cold skin, taking long breaths, and then looked into his eyes. Her own were filled with tears.

“You’re here. It really is you.” He untied the rope around her ankles and picked her up. “You must go.” Astrid’s voice was a hoarse whisper. “Leave now, block the drainage system and water supply to Gravesend. It’s tainted with the infection.” She stared into Luca’s gray eyes and streaks of her old confidence returned. Her eyes spoke of her love for him more clearly than ever, as Luca hugged her closely and breathed deeply into her hair.

She looked back at the chains still attached to her waist, tying her to the wall. Luca’s fingers touched the chinks, melting them where they intersected, making them fall to the ground in a loud clang.