The Pyrette Queen and the Clockwork Codex Read online

  THE

  PYRETTE QUEEN

  AND THE

  CLOCKWORK

  CODEX

  “EVERYBODY NEEDS SOMEBODY

  WHO GIVES A DAMN.”

  - TOMMY

  1

  The Dreadcranks had moved from their above ground headquarters complex in light of Asa’s new ban. Their very existence anymore was a crime in and of itself. So as a way of getting around laws, Luca moved his men underground, where the O’Briens had absolutely no jurisdiction. Thanks to Kassidy the Dreadcranks could now call the Lydia their new home. The spacious caves and magma chambers lent themselves nicely to enough room for the entire gang. It was a bit colder and had less amenities than they were used to, but they were free. The Ringers didn’t bother them down there, and there was no tension. The Lydia was nearly in disrepair, which meant it was an all hours of the day project. It was good it kept them busy and focused on something other than killing. Kassidy however was no part of fixing her father’s ship.

  Luca had a master plan set in motion for his gang, and Kassidy was a crucial part of that. For the past week while Dreadcrank had been making nighttime maneuvers to set themselves up underneath the city, Kassidy was moving herself back into Madame Chauvet’s good graces. Kassidy took up residence in the brothel upstairs, just as she had upon moving back into the city a few weeks ago. Her roommate was Harlan, all part of the plan. They were each other’s alibis. While busy doing paperwork of various dealings and loans, they were also left unattended in the office for long periods of time. The brothel was a strange building, in the fact that it had a large downstairs parlor set up with a bar and lounge chairs. Then upstairs it was more hotel like, individual rooms for further liaisons and what have you’s. The third story was where Madame Chauvet held her private quarters and her guest room, where Kassidy and Harlan were living for the meantime. And then the office was at the very top. The building was largely round, octagonal in nature like absolutely nothing else in the entire city. It was from another time, shingled roof and porthole windows, purple paint that stood out amongst the normally gray hued city. You couldn’t miss this place, not that many a lonely or single man wanted to. It was all Kassidy could do to make her rounds of the brothel without being mistaken as one of Chauvet’s Ladies. She kept Harlan with her most times to pass them off as just another set of customers. Keeping a low profile was an absolute must at this point. Harlan was as neutral as they came in the city, but his good word was all that kept

  Kassidy in line. She was having trouble biting her tongue when outlandish comments were thrown her way, and Harlan would have to swoop her off upstairs to cool her down. The Clockwork Codex was deeply hidden wherever it was, and she was growing restless.

  “What’s the m-m-matter Kass? You’re even angrier th-th-than usual to-d-d-day.”

  “It’s been a week Harlan. We should have found that Codex by now.”

  “May-may-maybe you were wrong. Maybe Do-do-doktor Roth didn’t hide it here.”

  “I know he had to have hidden it here. Where else would it be? He was a Dreadcrank. We trust no one with the exception of maybe a significant other, and even then, it’s iffy.”

  “It’s alr-r-right if you were wrong.”

  “No it’s not. Then that means I’ve wasted a week’s worth of time. We don’t have that kind of luxury anymore to take our sweet time figuring my father’s riddles out. Your brother is after us. And if it’s one thing I’m dead sure about, it’s that your brother is a very sore loser. This is only the beginning of his plan for us.”

  “Us?”

  “The Dreadcranks.”

  “I’m not o-o-one of you guy-guy-guys.”

  “You might as well be. You’re with me.”

  “Gu-gu-guilty by association. I could h-h-have it worse.”

  “That’s true. You could be freezing your butt off every night with the rest of the gang. I feel terrible they have to hide down there like rats. I’ve completely emptied that palace of anything useful for them. But still, a cave is a cave you know?”

  “A cave is sh-sh-shelter at least. For the p-p-past three days Lu-lu-lucky’s been sleeping under the br-i-i-idge.”

  “What?!”

  “I saw h-h-him the other day.”

  “Why are you just now telling me this?”

  “I don’t kn-kn-know. It n-n-never came up.”

  “What is he doing sleeping under a bridge? Not only is it dangerous, but it’s unforgiving down there. The river is freezing, not to mention filthy.”

  “He said he-he-he’s bringing in new recru-cru-cruits.”

  “It’s always business with him. Can’t be mad at him for that. His heart is in the right place, just not his head. Is he under his bridge then?”

  “Yes. Kass, you’re n-n-not thinking about-out-out going out there are y-y-you?”

  “I have to. Harlan he’s been struggling out there for three days. I have to at least try to bring him back here for one hot meal if nothing else. He’s stubborn, but I put up quite a challenge.”

  “But Madame Ch-Ch-Chauvet…the brothel is an-an-anti gang remem-em-ember?”

  “How could I forget? Look it’s just one little meal Harlan. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve snuck a guy around. I won’t tell anyone if you won’t. You won’t tell on me, will you Harlan?”

  “No.”

  “Alright then. I’m going to go get him and bring him back. In the meantime, you stay here and keep looking. If Madame Chauvet asks about me tell her I went out on a checkup of a loan payment.”

  “Be care-care-careful Kass.”

  “I always am.”

  Kassidy had a skip in her step as she left the office upstairs. Harlan waited to hide his extreme discomfort until she was out of earshot. Then he slumped himself down in one of the oversized chairs and inhaled a cloud of dust. There were drawers in this room that hadn’t seen the light of day in years. Truth be told the Codex could be anywhere in this room, or some other room for that matter. The Madame was a secretive lady, and kept many details to herself throughout the day. Harlan didn’t do much talking with her directly, it was mainly Kassidy’s mouth that handled things. She had a way of manipulating people without them realizing they were being used. He envied her talent with working with people, but couldn’t help but feel she did the same thing to him. Here he was again, by her side day in and day out, but one mention of Luca and she goes running out after him. Literally this time she went running. But Harlan talked himself into a calmness, knowing Kassidy may run for Luca, but she always came back for Harlan. She always asked about him. She always wanted to make sure he was alright.

  Being out in the streets during the middle of the day was risky for Kassidy, but even worse for Luca. Both were too arrogant to remove their stripes from their clothing, but at least Kassidy was smart enough to cover herself up. She took a shawl from the back of a chair in the brothel and tucked it around her arms to keep her striped corset hidden from the public eye. She had it wrapped up around her hair too, just for extra measure. She kept her eyes to the ground as she walked down to the Old Mill Bridge where she was hoping to find Luca. There was little foot traffic during the middle of the morning, but she saw more than one man look her up and down funny as she came close to the bridge. Like they recognized her, but it was alright. They were on her side. She didn’t recognize them as a Dreadcrank, but smiled in response to the friendly passing. The last man rubbed his forearm, shaking his head from side to side with a grin, and she immediately gripped her own wrist. Her burn, that’s what the man must have been leading on to.

  It’d been a week since Luca had revealed himself as the boy who saved Kassidy from t
he fire when they were kids. The very same fire that followed the shootout that was responsible for not only killing both of their father’s, but decimating the Dreadcrank gang like never before. With Asa’s decree banning their gang, Luca and Kassidy had had next to no time to discuss anything from their past. She’d been putting together old memories in her head though, placing Luca’s face back into the picture as it always should have been. She remembered things she’d recently been blocking out. Suddenly she couldn’t ignore her past anymore. Every time she looked at him she remembered a little something more. They actually spent a lot of time together as kids. Since their fathers were so close, it was only natural they were close too. Luca had always had Kassidy’s back. He took the blame for her when she broke her father’s spyglass, or when his maps went missing. And he took the punishment for the bullet holes in the wall when Kassidy was playing target practice in his office with a collection of knives she’d stolen from the crew the day before. He got beaten really bad for that one. She winced now approaching the bridge with caution. He really had always been there for her, and she felt absolutely terrible for not remembering who he was sooner. He’d been so patient with her. She owed him. She owed him at least a warm meal tonight if nothing else. Checking for anybody who might be watching she sunk herself down to knee deep into the river and walked herself under the bridge. Tucked up against the stone she found Luca, smiling, but definitely confused and a little upset she was there. As he reached out his hand to pull her into a safer position she lost her footing and slipped on some mud. Luca instantly jumped down into the river and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding onto her a little longer than necessary before letting her go entirely and trying to play it off as if it never even happened.

  “You alright sweetheart?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just clumsy is all.”

  “So…”

  “So.”

  “What are you doing down here?”

  “Oh! Sorry, right. That. I uh…well Harlan told me…”

  “I knew he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Look, you have nothing to worry about. I’m just fine here.”

  “Yeah, because you look so great right now. The leader of the Dreadcranks, wallowing down in the Steele River under a bridge. Luca, you remind me of the trolls in the stories we were told as children.”

  “I’m not wallowing, I’m working. Being a leader isn’t always about keeping your hands clean.”

  “Or keeping yourself fed. Yes, he told me that too. I came down here to bring you back to the brothel for a hot meal.”

  “You must be crazy if you actually thought I was going back there with you.”

  “I guess I’m just your typical head case.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. There’s nothing typical about you. But you know Madame Chauvet’s rules better than anybody. Frankly I’m surprised you haven’t been found out yet.”

  “I’m quite clever when the occasion calls for it.”

  “I’ve had a little taste of that. Like I said, I’m surprised you haven’t been found out yet.”

  “Do you want a hot meal or not? Come on, don’t make me beg you to come back with me. Let me retain some sort of dignity. I smell like a whore being wrapped up in this shawl. Men are eyeing me on the street like I’m some sort of meal ticket.”

  “Apparently, you’re my meal ticket.”

  “Oh you’re going to make jokes now? Go ahead. Laugh it up. But I owe you this much.”

  “You owe me? What are you even talking about?”

  “I should have recognized who you were that day in the alley.”

  “Don’t even worry about that.”

  “But we have to talk about it sometime. You knew who I was right away. I had no excuse.”

  “You just blocked out anything from your past that hurt you.”

  “You never hurt me.”

  “But I was associated with a part of your life you’d rather forget. I don’t blame you for that. You were just trying to protect yourself. I tried to do that too. I just couldn’t ever let go. And you were on my mind all the time. I put my glove on every day and see that burn.”

  “I’m so sorry about that.”

  “I’m not. I never have been. I’d do it again right now if I had to.”

  “Please come back with me. One meal, just one. Then you can come right back and hideout under the bridge.”

  “One meal?”

  “Just one.”

  “Alright. But I’m not staying long. I don’t want to get you into any sort of trouble.”

  “Trouble? Whatever do you mean?”

  “Now you’re the one with the jokes?”

  “I told you I was clever. Now come on. I’m freezing down here.”

  “Alright. But just how are you expecting to get me into that brothel? I can’t exactly walk right in the front door. I have a pretty well-known face in this city.”

  “Who said anything about walking in the front door?”

  “Then how…”

  “You let me worry about that. By the way, when was the least time you snuck into a third story window?”

  “I haven’t done that since I was a teenager.”

  “Not even once?”

  “I’ve grown into much more advanced techniques of breaking and entering.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?”

  Kassidy laughed at Luca’s expense and ran out of the river. He chased her up the embankment and the two strolled back to the brothel with a distance in-between them. They didn’t want to draw attention, and there was no disguising Luca. He wouldn’t have it. Between his stripes, confidence, and mechanical arm, he was who he was. Kassidy wasn’t ashamed he was proud, but she was ashamed she didn’t share the same level of confidence herself. She got up to the brothel first, walked in the front door, and gestured for Luca to swing around the back. He did so, waiting in the tree line across the street for another signal. He desperately searched for a signal from one of the windows when she finally opened one up on the third story. Throwing down a rope Luca couldn’t help but roll his eyes. She dangled it carefully out of view of the lower story windows and had Harlan on lookout in the hallway behind her for good measure. Luca ran across the yard and slunk against the side of the house to figure out what the people were doing inside. It was barely even noon and they were already sloshed. Even if they did think they saw him outside, they’d probably already be at the point where they laughed him off as a delusion. Feeling safe now Luca began climbing up the side of the brothel. Scaling it like a cliffside he was doing great until he lost his footing when a drainpipe gave way underneath him. Kassidy immediately lunged herself out after him and gripped hold of his hands.

  “Don’t you dare let go Luca!”

  “Don’t worry. I had absolutely no intention of it.”

  Hearing Kassidy struggle Harlan left his post in the hallway and gripped hold of Luca as well. Neither of the men were happy to be put into the situation they were in, but for Kassidy’s benefit, they could both swallow their pride. As soon as Luca was able to help himself he did so, and jumped into the window, steadying himself on the four-cornered bedpost he’d hurdled into. He was catching his breath as Harlan left the room, but Kassidy felt awfully accomplished in herself. She let out a happily surprised sigh and put her hands on her hips as if to survey the situation as a great success. As far as she was concerned the hardest part of sneaking Luca inside was already over. As Luca was still holding onto the bedpost Kassidy walked over and grabbed his white gloved hand and led him out of the room and upstairs to the office. Harlan was already waiting there with the plate of food Kassidy had told him to get from the kitchen downstairs. Upon walking into the room Luca was overwhelmed by the amount of information he could gain from such a place, but the food smell wafting through the air was overtaking him. Conscious she was still holding onto Luca, she let go as Harlan’s eyes were burning holes into their hands from across the room.

  2

  Kassidy wasn’t fond o
f Harlan’s strong yet silent disapproval of Luca’s presence in the brothel. To maintain his importance, she gave her old friend the all so crucial task of going out to the caves and checking on the Lydia’s repair progress. Harlan was eager to get away from Luca and wasted no time removing himself from the room upstairs. While Luca was scraping his plate clean Kassidy stood in the window and watched as Harlan disguised himself into the inner workings of the city. He was such a loyal person, like Kassidy had never known before. She felt a twinge of guilt for sending him off on errands that she didn’t herself even believe in, but it was all for the betterment of the big picture. Luca was finished eating now and cleared his throat to draw Kassidy’s attention back to the room. But when she turned around she was surprised to see that it hadn’t been Luca who had cleared his throat. They weren’t alone in the room anymore. Kassidy was confused until she jumped back to the window and stared at the rope still dangling against the side of the brothel. She slapped her hand on her forehead and drug it slowly down her face as she turned around again. There was no getting out of this one. Luca took a defensive stance next to Kassidy at the window but she insisted it wasn’t necessary. Luca still refused to move to Kassidy just accepting his protection and addressed the intruder. In all mocking manner Blue took off his top hat and bowed deeply before Kassidy could say anything.