Boots for the Gentleman (28 page)

The crew of the
Lady
waited on deck, rifles and pistols of their own aimed at the new invaders. Querry could have sworn somebody, or several people, picked off his attackers from the roofs of the nearby buildings. A few times when they were nearly caught, the men closest to Querry and his friends fell to one of these mysterious bullets. At this point, Querry gladly accepted any aid offered. He had no time to consider the source; he needed to get himself and his companions on that ship. Querry, Reg, and Frolic would be safe when they made it behind that wall of armed and angry sailors. They had only a few feet to go.

A horrible scream spun Querry around. In slow motion, he saw a skeletal hand, the fingers made of metal and the joints built with gears, sprout from Frolic’s chest amidst a shower of metal shards. Frolic’s face contorted with pain and surprise. His knees buckled. Without thinking, Querry ran toward him, barely even aware of his own voice cursing and crying out. The clockwork hand drew back, taking Frolic’s heart with it. Frolic fell facedown, and his cloaked and hooded assailant disappeared among the throng before Querry could reach him.

He got to Frolic and dropped to his knees, screaming his throat raw. He was vaguely aware of Reg coming toward them, of the bullets whizzing over his head as the thugs and sailors exchanged fire. Querry turned Frolic over and pulled him into his lap. His glorious eyes stared silently at the sky, and his lips hung open. The hole in his chest exposed the champagne alloy of his skeleton. Two of his ribs and his sternum had cracked, and his spine bowed to the side. The tubes and piping where his heart had been hung in tangled disarray. The millions of tiny gears were still.

“No!” Querry screamed, sobs wracking his body.

“Querry, the ship!” Reg urged, tugging on his elbow. “We’ll be killed if we stay here.”

Picking up Frolic, Querry ran, bent almost in half. They got aboard the deck of the
Painted Lady
and the sailors closed ranks around them. Querry collapsed, cradling his dead lover. He hardly noticed the battle raging around him as he touched Frolic’s white eyelashes, his perfect lips and soft skin. He remembered finding Frolic, kissing him, showing him things, and touching him for the first time. Reg sat opposite him and held Frolic’s knuckles against his mouth. Tears streamed down his face.

“I can’t believe we’ve lost him,” Reg choked. His other shaking hand closed around Querry’s knee. “Frolic is gone.”

Querry dropped his head to Frolic’s decimated chest and wept until he had no more voice and no more tears to shed. Eventually Thimbleroy’s hirelings retreated and the sailors, who’d suffered no more than a few minor injuries, tended to one another.

A hand on his shoulder made Querry lift his head. “I am truly sorry,” Captain Nelson said, and by his face he meant it. He handed Querry a clean, white sheet. “We’ll bury him at sea.”

Querry looked at the crisp, white cloth, then at Frolic’s face. He dried his tears on his sleeve, lifted his chin, and said, “No.”

“Oh, Querry,” Reg said. “It will be a good way to lay him to rest.”

“We aren’t laying him to rest,” Querry said. He set Frolic’s body gently on the deck and got to his feet. “I’m going to get him back.”

“Querry—”

“No! I’m getting him back, Reg!”

“He’s gone.”

“I’ll fix him!”

Reg took hold of Querry’s shoulders and shook him hard. “You can’t fight against this!” he yelled. “Frolic is dead, Querry! He can’t come back.”

“Yes he can!”

“He can’t! You can’t go against death itself!”

“I can! I will!”

“How?”

“I can get the book! I can fix him!”

“We’re putting ourselves in great danger by staying in this city,” Reg said. “Do you think Frolic would have wanted that? He’s very complex; I don’t know if you have the skill. And you’ll need tools and supplies—”

“We’ll take him back to Dink’s!”

“Querry, love, please hear reason!”

“I am not leaving Frolic to die! Are you coming with me?”

“You know I am.”

Querry took Reg’s hand and squeezed it. “Trust me, Reg. I can do this. I’ll bring him back to us.”

“I hope you’re right, Querry.”

Chapter Fifteen

“
L
AST
of the tea,” Reg said forlornly as he set a steaming cup and a few stale biscuits next to Querry’s elbow. Querry didn’t lift his face, encased in bulky, cylindrical goggles that magnified his vision, from Frolic’s chest. Tweezers, spools of fine wire, and screwdrivers as thin as needles lay scattered over the metal table where he worked. Gas lights hung low over Frolic’s body, illuminating his still form as it lay among gears, tools, and stacks of paper.

After retrieving the book, Querry had spent more than a week analyzing it and drawing up diagrams. He’d mended the small tear in Frolic’s lung sack, repaired and straightened his ribs and spine, and patched the steam conduits that twisted hundreds deep within his chest. He’d replaced and reset hundreds of gears, some no bigger than a drop of water. He’d checked and re-checked his work, comparing it to his schematics and the descriptions in the book.

Reg rubbed his shoulder and said, “Please have a break. You haven’t slept nor left that table in almost three days.”

Querry barely heard him and continued to work, staring at the delicate metal cage that had housed Frolic’s heart. It was just about as big as his fist, and all the steam channels converged there.

“Querry, I insist you stop and have tea with me,” Reg said, inviting no argument.

With a deep sigh, Querry slid the goggles off of his head and ran his fingers through his hair. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the non-magnified world, and he leaned back in his metal chair. Reg sat on a stool next to him. He pressed the teacup into Querry’s hand.

“You look awful,” Reg told him. “You need to get some rest.”

“I’m almost there.”

Reg made an exasperated sound. “It’s been over three weeks, love. I think it’s time you face the facts. It’s time we let him go.”

“No,” Querry said, shaking his head. “I’m close, Reg. Everything is repaired. All I need to do now is find a heat source to replace his heart and stitch him up. I’m afraid he’s going to have quite a scar, but at least he’ll be alive.”

“If it’s that simple, why is it taking so long?”

“Because there’s nothing I know of that will burn at a constant heat without a great deal of fuel. There’s nothing in his design that allows for fuel to be stored or fed into his heart. The best I can do would be to attach a hydrogen tank to the outside and install a burner. The tank would have to be changed regularly, though.”

“Querry,” Reg said gently, “do you suppose he’d want to live that way, with a tank attached to him and a big hole in his chest? From what you’ve said, he was horrified when he saw the clockwork soldiers in Thimbleroy’s basement. It disturbed him to think he had anything in common with those things. I hate to say this to you, but you must decide why you’re really doing this. Are you doing it for Frolic, or for yourself? You can’t make him live as an abomination for selfish reasons. I’m sorry, Querry, but it would be wrong.”

Querry bowed his head and bit his lip, tears stinging his eyes. “You’re right,” he whispered, sick with himself for not seeing what Reg couldn’t miss. “Just give me a few more days. Let me try a few more things.”

“I will. I guess you have the right to feel that you’ve done all you could, so you don’t spend your life wondering.” Reg reached out and smoothed the bouncy, silver curls away from Frolic’s forehead. Tears ran down his cheeks. “When you’re satisfied, I think I know what he would have liked. I found some panes of glass in a work room. We can use them to make him a casket, and lay him to rest in the menagerie. He loved that place. He’ll sleep well there, among the trees and the animals. Then we can seal off these lower levels. Nobody will ever disturb him.”

His chest heaving with suppressed sobs, Querry looked into Reg’s red-rimmed eyes and forced a smile. “That’s a lovely idea, Reg. Just give me a few more days.”

“A few more days.” He stood and left.

Querry strapped the goggles to his face and picked up a screwdriver.

C
ANDLELIGHT
reflected off the glass panes of the casket Querry had made. Inside, Frolic looked peaceful with his arms folded across his chest. Reg had found a clean, white shirt for him, and gathered some of Dink’s metal flowers to place over his heart. The two young men stood at the foot of the coffin, holding hands.

“It’s just not bloody fair,” Querry said. “He had no time.”

Reg cleared his throat. “Frolic was one of the finest people I’ve ever met. He had nothing within him but innocence and good. He made me see the world in a different light. He made me see hope. I’ll miss him for the rest of my life, and the world is poorer without him. I can only pray that the universe will see the light within him, and reward him with a peaceful rest.” He kissed his first two fingers and pressed them to the glass above Frolic’s face. “Good journey, my love.”

Querry looked down at Frolic’s face, so pale and smooth in the low light, and tried to think of something eloquent to say. He looked around at the clockwork animals, still and lifeless now. He gazed up at the sheet metal tiling the ceiling, and he could think of no appropriate eulogy for this amazing person that he’d loved with all his heart. He couldn’t accept the finality, the egregious waste. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t right. Querry couldn’t speak to Frolic’s good when all he felt was anger.

“No,” he said, balling his fists. “I won’t let it end like this.”

Squeezing his hand, Reg said, “It’s over, Querry. Tell him goodbye.”

Querry pulled his hand free of Reggie’s fingers. “I can’t.” He flung open the lid of the glass sarcophagus and pushed the silver curls away from Frolic’s face. “I failed you,” he told his still lover, “but I’ll fix it.”

“You’ve tried to fix him,” Reg said. “It can’t be done. Give him his dignity and let him rest!”

“I’m going to give him the life he deserves!” Querry bent to lift Frolic, but Reg grabbed his elbow.

“You promised! You can’t bring him back!”

“No,” Querry conceded. “No,
I
can’t bring him back. I’ve tried everything I know. We need magic to power his heart. I can get that magic, and I can save Frolic!”

“Good God, no,” Reg breathed.

“Yes.” Querry lifted Frolic into his arms, forcing his knees to straighten when they buckled beneath the weight. “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”

“Because it’s dangerous!” Reg said frantically. “You can’t seriously be considering this!”

“Considering, no,” Querry said, his mind made up. “I will do this. I will get Frolic back, and the three of us will be together. As is meant.” He walked slowly out of the menagerie and toward the lift, oblivious to Reg’s protests.

Chapter Sixteen

Q
UERRY
walked with purpose through Neroche. As if sensing his unswaying determination and will, the denizens stepped out of his way as he carried Frolic’s prone body up the slope of a hill. Reg followed, nervous and incredulous, but loyal. Deep down, Querry thought, Reg held out hope the same as himself. They passed several faerie manors, all but obscured by mystical flora, before finding themselves in a central square. Unlike human crossroads, this intersection had at its center an ancient and twisting tree, rather than a statue or fountain. Glowing eyes stared down at the young men. Querry looked left and right, trying to get his bearing.

“I don’t like it here,” Reg said.

“I know. I’ll find him before long. Trust me.”

“I will,” Reg said, “and hope I’m not a fool.”

In the distance, Querry saw mountains wreathed in mist. Halfway up one slope, an archway cut the stone. The dark corridor beckoned him, and he moved toward it, trusting to instinct. Reg followed. They picked their way carefully over the steep terrain, holding onto branches for support as they crossed the bluish shelves of rock. The thick forest, with its hanging ivy and dense vines, slowed their pace. A few times Querry nearly dropped Frolic when he slipped on loose gravel or lost his balance along a winding path. Eventually, though, they reached a door cut into the rock. Two rough-cut columns, little more than unworked rock, supported the entryway. Blue roses bloomed at their bases.