Save Aether (The Trinity Key Trilogy Book 3) (9 page)

“You are friends with Eli?” She asked in a thick French accent.

“Yes, he’s our friend,” Valera snapped at Alouette.

The way she purred Eli’s name irked Valera. The girl was clearly trying to size them up. Valera noticed Julia ball up her fists. She touched Julia’s shoulder. It was ice cold. Julia grit her teeth and shrugged Valera’s hand away. Alouette stopped and turned with her hands on her curvy hips. Her violet eyes flickered over the girls one at a time. With her nose upturned, her pouty lips grinned.

“Humph, I too am his…
bonne
amie,” she simpered. She continued down the hall muttering, “Mais, je ne savais pas qu'il aimait les chiennes hideux ausi.”

Even though Valera had a French tutor, she’d never picked up the language. However, she knew enough to know that Alouette was insulting them – something about Eli liking dogs. She felt Julia draw on aether.

Easy, Julia. She’s not worth it,
Theo said.

Julia huffed,
Why not? The tramp deserves a good beating.

She does, but now’s not the right time,
Valera said, scowling at Alouette’s back.

Theo moved to Julia’s other side and linked arms with her. The gesture seemed casual to an ordinary onlooker, but Valera knew Theo was holding Julia back. Valera felt Julia release aether, but saw that she kept her fists in tight balls. Alouette opened a room with three small cots in it. A small cracked washbasin sat on a square table, and a dingy lace curtain hid a view of the alley. Valera stepped onto a damp spot on the threadbare rug and cringed.

“Désolé, we had a small incident in here a few days ago… blood stains are quite difficult to clean.” Alouette feigned a frown. She shrugged, and her smirk returned. “This is our finest room. Nice and cozy, oui?”

Valera doubted that this was anywhere near their finest room. She was about to complain, but Alouette slammed the door on her way out. Valera approached one of the cots and lifted a corner of the blanket, expecting to see stained sheets covered in creepy crawlies. The clean white sheets covering the beds were a surprise.

“Well at least the beds are clean.”

Julia scoffed, “I guarantee a black light would prove otherwise.”

Julia threw herself on a cot and crossed her boots on the footboard. Valera didn’t understand what Julia meant, but she didn’t want to know either. Valera slumped onto the mattress. She could feel one of the springs poking through the blankets. She didn’t care if it were a bed of nails. She was exhausted.

“How do they know each other?” Julia blurted. “I mean, of course, I don’t really care. I’m just making conversation. I just didn’t think this is the kind of place Eli would frequent. You know?”

“Maybe they’re just acquaintances. I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure Eli has way better taste than a wispy, innkeeper’s daughter.” Valera closed her eyes and yawned.

“What kind of acquaintances giggle and bat their eyes. Did you see her? She was practically drooling,” Julia hissed. “It’s not that I care.”

Valera rolled her eyes behind her eyelids. If Julia said she didn’t care one more time, Valera would scream. She obviously cared a great deal. Eli and Julia were perfect for each other – they were both arrogant and stubborn.

Theo sat next to a Julia and sighed, “You should ask him about it. Don’t torture yourself with speculation. Trust me.”

“Why should I… I don’t ca—

“For Danu’s sake, you
DO
care, Julia. Just admit it. Go talk to him and get his side of the story,” Valera groaned.

Julia’s eyes grew wide. The room grew colder, but Valera countered it with heat.

“Will you two stop it! Enough, Julia, Valera’s right. Go talk to him,” Theo said opening the window for some air. 

“Fine, I will. But not because I care—

Both Valera and Theo screeched, “Just go!”

Julia stood up and marched to the door. The knob turned before she could grasp it, and Eli’s face appeared in the crack. His smirk had transformed into a sheepish sulk. Julia faced him, murmuring under her breath. She stepped out, leaving the door open. Theo and Valera moved closer to the door just out of sight, but within earshot.

“Before you say anything, let me explain,” Eli pleaded.

Julia scoffed, “What is there to explain?”

Eli let out a long exasperated breath, “Just hear me out. In the past, Madame Blackbird has done favors for certain members of the Elders. She… attains items, which can’t be obtained otherwise. The leadership is pretty strict and forbids various human made goods. A certain professor has a penchant for whisky. On occasion, she asked me to run orders. That’s how I know Madame Blackbird and Alouette.”

“You’re talking about Professor Scrod? You expect me to believe that she drinks whiskey?” Julia gritted.

Professor Scrod didn’t seem the type to drink hard liquor, but then again she was muddle-headed. Valera giggled behind her hand, eliciting a jab from Theo. Theo put her finger over her lips. Valera shrugged.

“She does. I swear it,” Eli muttered.

Julia pretended to be disinterested. She picked at her fingernails and yawned. “Well, I don’t care how you know
these
people. I mean, it’s clear that Alouette is quite… smitten with you. If you’re into
that
kind of girl, then who am I to judge.” Julia’s voice became more strained as she spoke.

“No, it’s not like that. I mean… Yes, Madame Blackbird kind of has her eyes on having me as her son-in-law. But only because there aren’t many
options
around this part of the city and, well, the Blackbirds aren’t exactly welcome in the nicer parts of the city.” Eli sounded tired. “BUT, I’ve turned her down every time.”

Valera wondered how long Julia would deny her real feelings. It was obvious to her that Eli liked her… a lot. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a blonde head pop up near the stairs. She pointed it out to Theo, and they both slunk closer to the door. Julia was too busy arguing with Eli to notice, so they waved to Julia. When Julia saw them, Valera nodded toward the stairs and mouthed the name “Alouette.” Julia grinned and grabbed Eli’s face, planting a kiss on his lips. He jumped at first, then wrapped his arms around her. Valera and Theo burst into a silent fit of giggles.

A loud gasp interrupted the couple.

Alouette growled, “So this is why you don’t want me. Humph, you have such cheap tastes, mon chère.”

“Cheap? I’m cheap?”

Valera felt Julia soak herself in aether. Before she started an indoor blizzard, Valera and Theo burst from the room and grabbed Julia’s arm. Julia struggled against her friends’ grasp. Alouette’s eyes formed slits. She crossed her arms under her chest and tapped her foot on the ground.

“Oui. Cheap,” Alouette chirped.

Julia’s skin turned to ice in Valera’s hands. If they didn’t ease the tension soon, she’d get up with frostbite and Alouette might end up a human snow girl. Valera tugged Julia’s arm toward the bedroom door. She tried to pull in aether to warm the hall up, not wanting to raise suspicions. They didn’t need anyone inquiring about their real identities or why they were hiding at a boarding house in the Lows.

“Julia, we have something to show you… in the room…” Valera muttered.

“Yeah, in the room,” Theo mimicked, giving Julia a shove.

With a lot of effort and a bunch of coaxing, the girls moved Julia safely into their room. Eli shrugged at Alouette and followed Julia. Valera slammed the door. Outside, she heard an ungodly shriek and a string of what she assumed were French curses. Just in case Alouette tried to make good on her threats, Valera locked the door and leaned against it. Julia sat on the bed huffing.

“She’s so… so… so… GAH! I’ve never been so insulted in my life,” Julia griped and pointed to Eli. “This is all your fault! Coming here was your idea.”

“The Hostelry was the only place we could hide,” Eli said, staying far away from the fuming Julia. “Madame Blackbird is good at keeping secrets and helping… fugitives.”

Valera grinned behind her hand. He was trying so hard not to make things worse. Julia scowled at him. She wasn’t going to fall for it. Valera shook her head, wrapped herself in warm aether, and waited for the inevitable mini-blizzard.

“Fugitives? Is that what we are? Ha! Slammy Magee wants to murder us in some ridiculous attempt to bring back a dead woman and that makes
us
fugitives.”

As predicted, the room temperature dropped. Valera could see steam rising from the other people’s breath. She smiled nice and cozy in her aether cocoon.

“And just how long are we meant to suffer that… that… guttersnipe hussy?” Julia ranted.

“Julia… Alouette isn’t at fau…” Eli stopped midsentence.

Valera bit her tongue. Eli was about to cause the next ice age, and the poor fool didn’t even have a parka. She noticed Theo wrapped in her blanket, watching the exchange with trepidation. Valera saw icy fingers crawl across the window.

“Look. Madame Blackbird’s spies are posted all over Pacifica. If the True Followers come for you girls, we’ll know. We’ll stay until morning, and then find a way out of the city. Okay?”

Valera thought overnight was too long. Keeping Julia from killing Alouette would be difficult – not that she could actually stop Julia from turning the blonde into a popsicle. Valera felt aether slip away from Julia. The room returned to normal, and Julia wilted on her bed.

“Okay, just one night,” Julia bit out.

“Perhaps, you three should stay in here.” Eli suggested. “I’ll ask Madame Blackbird to keep Alouette busy.” He turned to leave, but then added, “There are some less than reputable men staying at the inn, so don’t wander around alone. I, uh… I’ll see you later.”

Julia sighed, “Whatever.”

The girls remained in their room the rest of the day. Thankfully, Alouette kept her distance. Madame Blackbird brought them a simple, but satisfying meal. Although the woman was friendly and accommodating to Theo and Valera, she seemed reserved towards Julia. Valera suspected that Alouette had informed her of Eli’s predilections and their confrontation in the hall– no doubt with a few exaggerated details.

“I hope you enjoyed the crab stew. It’s a family recipe,” Madame Blackbird clucked as she gathered up the dinner dishes. “It will be dark soon. The Lows electricity shuts off early. You should get some rest.”

“Do you have an extra pillow?” Julia asked.

Madame Blackbird harrumphed, “Non.” Then, she smiled sweetly at Theo and Valera. “If you need anything just ask. À demain, mes petite chouchous.”

The woman left with one final grimace at Julia. Julia rolled her eyes and beat her flat pillow into submission. Valera could only imagine whose face Julia was envisioning on that poor defenseless sack of fluff.

“Like mother, like daughter,” Julia huffed and dropped her head on the thoroughly thrashed pillow. “Tomorrow can’t come soon enough.”

Less than an hour later, just as Madame Blackbird had warned, the lights in the district blacked out. The dim glow of candle light shone under their door. Valera yawned and laid in the dark, listening to every sound the old building and its occupants made. Apparently, the residents in the Lows didn’t need lights to keep their festivities going long into the night. She couldn’t sleep. The bed was uncomfortable, the blankets were thin, and anxiety troubled her mind. It seemed that the world was against them. She tossed and turned and ended up staring at the peeling wallpaper.

Every few minutes, elephants stampeded down the halls. On Valera’s thousandth position change, heavy footsteps tromped down the hall and stopped at their door. She waited, thinking it was just a confused patron. The door creaked open, and the faint smell of liquor touched her nose. A large shadow crossed their room. Before she could scream, a hand covered her mouth. Another figure slipped into the room and pounced on Theo’s bed. Theo’s muffled screams woke Julia.

“What are you—

Julia was cut off by a third man, who grabbed her. The man holding Valera leaned over her face. He stank of sweat and rotten seaweed. His bristly whiskers rubbed against her cheek.

“I’d ‘ave paid double ‘ad I known ‘ow pretty you be,” he leered
.

Chapter Eight

Theo

The crushing weight of the man on top of her made Theo scream, but the taste of dirt and grease cut off her voice. His hand covered her mouth and nose, and she couldn’t get air into her lungs. Her confusion turned to anger. Aether coursed through her. A flash of fire appeared on the other side of the room, and a man shrieked as his beard burned. The air crackled around Theo, and a purple flash lit up the room. The intruder twitched and rolled off the bed. Theo gasped for air.

“Get off of me,” Julia screeched.

A third man screamed. Two white handprints were welts on his cheeks. Dr. Lawless and Eli charged into the room. The three intruders were already retreating toward the exit, wild-eyed and whimpering.

“What is going on in here?” Madame Blackbird shouted from the hall. She yelled at the three retreating men, “You three, what are you doing in this room?”

One of them stammered, “We was told them doxies were fer hire. We paid our coins.”

“WHAT?” Valera shrieked. “How dare you!”

“Who told you that?” Eli growled.

One of the men pointed to the hallway. Alouette shrunk behind her mother’s bulk. Everyone glared at the girl.

“She dun it. We paid the wench ten pence apiece,” the man slurred.

“I want me coin back!” Another one of the men shuddered. “I didna pay to be hexed by a witch!”

“Out, now. All three of you!” Madame Blackbird swatted the men as they left, then she turned on the girls. “I apologize for this. I’ll deal with them before they cause a problem.” She grabbed Alouette by the hair. “And I’ll deal with this one.”

The girl struggled in her mother’s grip and squealed. “Maman, ce n’est pas ma faute!”

“Are you girls hurt?” Dr. Lawless asked.

Theo shook her head. She wasn’t hurt, but she was furious. They all were. Tiny sparks crossed between her fingers, frost covered Julia’s bedframe, and the air rippled around Valera. Madame Blackbird was smart taking Alouette away, otherwise she’d be electrocuted, barbequed, and frostbitten. Eli dragged a wooden chair from the hall into the room.

“I’ll stay here for the night,” Eli said, sitting in the chair and facing the door. “In case, any more
patrons
come knocking.”

Dr. Lawless wrung his hands and frowned. “Perhaps, I, too, should stick around.”

“We’re perfectly capable of handling ourselves,” Julia snapped.

Dr. Lawless sighed, “Very well. I will speak with Madame Blackbird to ensure this debacle doesn’t reoccur.”

Dr. Lawless left, and Eli locked the door behind him. After all that had transpired, there was no way Theo was sleeping. She lay in bed, eyes wide open. All of them still held aether, so she knew they were all awake – all but Eli, who was snoring peacefully in the chair.

I’ve never been so humiliated in my life
, Valera said.
I can’t believe Alouette would do such a thing.

I can
, Julia hissed.
She’s a jealous…

We know, Julia
. Theo said.
So, what’s going on with you and Eli?

Theo turned to look at Julia and caught her starring at their sleeping bodyguard. Julia flipped over right away.

I don’t know what you’re eluding to, but absolutely
nothing
is going on with Eli.

Theo laughed.
Uh huh, we saw you kissing him in the hall. Why won’t you admit that you like him.

It is pretty obvious, Julia,
Valera added.

Julia scoffed
, As if… He snores… he’s arrogant… and… I only kissed him to get under Alouette’s skin. 

You like him. Admit it,
Theo needled.

Okay, I don’t not like him. Happy now? Can we just go to sleep?

They didn’t say another word about it. Julia saying that she didn’t hate someone was as good as declaring her undying love. Theo sighed. Thinking about Julia and Eli made her lonely for Victor. She worried that he’d never speak to her again after the way they had left things. Hopefully, he’d forgive her. She imagined life beyond all this craziness. She and her parents would live on Aetherland with Victor. Life would be happy. Julia and Eli would be there, and of course, Valera.

Before she knew it, light seeped through the window. She groaned and sat up. Glass shattered in the hallway, and Eli snorted, leapt off the chair with his fists in the air. Boots clomped down the hall and someone downstairs screeched. Something was wrong. Theo shook Julia and Valera awake.

Julia yawned. “What?”

“There’s something going on,” Theo whispered.

Someone banged on their door. Theo gathered aether and waited. Eli put a finger to his lips and gestured for the girls to stand to the side. The door swung open, Eli grabbed the person by his collar, and sparks shot from Theo’s hands.

Dr. Lawless shrieked, “Whoa, Theo. Careful. Eli let me go!”

Eli released him, and Dr. Lawless straightened his jacket. He harrumphed and frowned. Theo released aether.

“We don’t have much time. The True Followers are raiding the city,” Dr. Lawless warbled. “The men from last night disappeared before Madame Blackbird could deal with them. She believes they’ve informed the True Followers to your location. It won’t be long before they show up. Hurry! Change into these.”

He tossed a pile of clothes onto the bed. The dresses were much like the frocks that the Madame wore herself – colorful and cringe-worthy. They reminded Theo of Harmony’s Circus costumes. She held up a garish blue and red dress, whose petticoats were a thousand layers thick. She shook her head. They were worse than the circus outfits… much worse.

“Dibs on the yellow and green one,” Valera chirped.

“Here take it,” Theo threw it at her. “These are horrendous.”

The last dress was two shades of pink. Before Julia could argue, Theo threw the pink dress at her.

“I’m not putting this on,” Julia grumbled.

Theo slipped out of the white robe and pulled on the petticoats and dress. It was loose, but it covered most everything. She felt like a mound of frosting on a cupcake. Valera changed and twirled around the room.

“They’re not so bad,” she grinned.

Julia held hers in the air as if it were dirty dishrag. Madame Blackbird popped into the room.

“You don’t like the dress?”

“Dresses aren’t my thing,” Julia muttered.

Madame Blackbird scoffed, “Is going to jail your thing? You won’t make it out of the city looking like that. Suit yourself. I’m here to put your hair up. You sit.”

Theo sat in the chair, and Madame Blackbird got to work. She was none too gentle, yanking and pinning Theo’s hair into a scalp numbing coif. Valera went next. In the end, Julia gave in and donned the dress. After Madame Blackbird was finished, Julia looked like a miserable pink flamingo. Grabbing Professor Scrod’s book, they went downstairs.

“Where is everyone?” Theo asked the Madame.

“I sent them away. We can’t have prying eyes and ears around, while we get you out.” Madame Blackbird ushered them into a parlor.

Dr. Lawless held the bag of relics and waited by the window. He peered through the lace curtains, shaking his head. He sighed.

“There you are. We’re heading to another safe house.”

Eli stumbled into the room and choked when he saw the girls. He erupted in a fit of laughter. Julia glared at him, and the air cooled.

“Not now. There’s no time,” Dr. Lawless grumbled.

Madame Blackbird opened the front door. She waved them out, but as soon as they stepped into the street, a whistle sounded. Slammy Magee was at the end of the road and heading right for the girls with an army. Another group of men charged from the other side of the street. They were surrounded. They fumbled back into Madame Blackbird’s, and the woman barred the door.

“Zut, I thought we had more time,” she growled.

Slammy’s voice sounded over a blow horn. “Give me the girls, and the rest of you can go free.”

Madame Blackbird placed her hands on her hips and walked in a circle. Her face drained of color. She stopped next to Dr. Lawless who peeked through the curtains.

“There’s no way out,” he whispered.

Alouette stormed out of the kitchen, “Maman, just give them to him. They are not worth it!”

Madame Blackbird scowled at her daughter. “Go back in the kitchen, Bête Fou.”

Alouette huffed and stomped her foot, but one growl from her mother, and she ran into the back room. Theo had a bad feeling in her gut, and she followed Alouette through the corridor. In the front hall, she heard Dr. Lawless and Madame Blackbird speaking.

“I’ll stall him for as long as I can. You go out the back,” the Madame said.

With one eye on Alouette and the other on the front hall, Theo waited. She heard the front door open and Madame Blackbird stepping onto the front walkway. Dr. Lawless and Eli barricaded the door behind her. Madame Blackbird muttered something, and then shouted. When Theo turned her attention back to Alouette, the girl was gone.

“Dr. Lawless, we have a problem,” she shouted and went to the back door.

Alouette was in the back alley talking to a white robe. The man called for more men, and they ran toward the kitchen. Theo locked the door and stared at the men through the glass. The men leered back at her.

“Watch out,” Eli shouted, overturning a table and blocking the exit.

Behind it, Theo heard banging. Glass broke in the front room. Someone yelped. Julia covered the window in an ice wall, but the men tried to break through it.

“They’re everywhere,” Theo stammered.

Theo peeked out a small side window and saw Madame Blackbird fighting with Slammy. A white robe chained her up. Slammy turned and grinned at Theo. They were trapped.

We should turn ourselves in
, Valera said.

We can’t. You heard Dr. Lawless, they’re going to kill us,
Julia spat.

Theo racked her brain to formulate a plan.
We don’t have much choice. We can’t let him hurt Madame Blackbird.

“Fine, we can go outside and face Slammy. But I won’t go down without a fight,” Julia said aloud.

“What do you mean? You aren’t going out there,” Dr. Lawless fumed.

Theo pushed a chair away from the door and unlocked it. “We don’t have a choice. We’ll try to talk to him. If that doesn’t work, we’ll… use a different method.”

Eli grabbed Julia’s forearm. “Don’t do this.”

“We have to do something. I’ll be okay,” she said, gently removing his hand.

“Then let me go first,” Dr. Lawless said. “I’ll act like I’m turning you over. Maybe you can make a run for it.”

Theo nodded, and Dr. Lawless slipped onto the porch with his hands in the air. The white robes came for him and dragged him down to Slammy. Theo heard him muttering, and then the guards backed off. Theo took the cue to step onto the walkway with the bag of relics held tight against her body. Julia and Valera followed close behind. Slammy’s smile grew. He dropped the blow horn. The men behind him inched forward. He shot his hand in the air and the men paused.

“You’ve seen reason… excellent. I need you girls to come down slowly.”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t do that. We’re not going to let you sacrifice us, Slammy,” Julia yelled.

“We’ll find a different way to do what you want, but we need assurances,” Theo added.

The man shook in anger. “Do you think you can dupe me? There will be no assurances or sacrifices. No one makes a fool of me.”

Theo frowned. He was crazy. He fumbled for something at his belt, pulled a pistol, and aimed it at the girls. Without another word, he pulled the trigger. He didn’t anticipate the ricochet from the gun and was thrown to the ground. The rogue bullet missed the girls and flew off the protective dome above. A loud ping echoed through Pacifica as the bullet hit the glass. The sound of cracks forming along the worn barrier intermingled with the screams of people. The pressure of the Pacific Ocean pushed against the dome and water sprayed into the city. Slammy stared at the hole in shock. The gun fell on the ground beside him, and the mass of white robes stood in stunned silence.