Lycans and Legends

Chapter 2: The Boatswain Museum of Mechanicals, Clockwork, and Aether Aviation

I left Twickenham, arriving at Hungerford Market just before ten o’clock. The new museum, funded by the London Tinker’s Society, was located a block away from the ever-busy marketplace. It seemed like all of London had turned out to celebrate the opening. Of course, Londoners didn’t care much about the obscure tinkers, clockmakers, or engineers whose works would be on display in the new museum. It was the Hall of Aviation that had brought out the crowd. More passionate about aether sports than rugby or football, it was the airships that drew people in. Brits loved airship racing.

I pushed through the crowd, stopping in the edibles aisle to grab a scone. I was late, but how could I resist the allure of butter and sugar? Nibbling my clove-and-orange pastry, I made my way to the museum.

A platform had been set up at the base of the stairs leading into the museum. The crowd assembled behind wrought-iron security barriers placed between them and the stage. The perimeter was guarded by the Bow Street Runners. Some palace guards had already arrived and were in position on the platform.

I eyed the setup.

The stage was secure. It was a lot of security. Everywhere I looked, I saw uniforms. Victoria didn’t usually travel with so much detail.

I flashed the badge on my vest to the constable then headed up the steps toward the museum. Agent Fox was at the door.

“Martin,” I said, giving him a nod.

“You’re late, Louvel,” he said with a grin.

“No, I’m not. Want a bite of scone?”

He shook his head. “No, thanks,” he said with a laugh. “Hunter and Agent Harper are inside.”

The wind whipped up the steps and under my cloak. I shuddered. “Bloody cold for March, isn’t it? Shouldn’t it be warming up by now?”

“Better get used to it.”

“And that’s because?”

“Since you were late—of course, you’re not late, right?—you missed the briefing. You’ve been assigned a spot on the platform with Her Majesty. In the cold. In front of the crowd.”

“Oh, no. They did not.”

“Oh, yes. They did. I guess that’s what you get for not being late.”

I chuckled then turned and headed inside.

“Hope the scone was worth it,” Agent Fox called. I could hear the smile in his voice.

I took another bite. The scone was good, but it was not worth getting stationed in front of the crowd. I touched the scar under my eye. It wasn’t that visible anymore, but still.

I gazed up at the front of the museum. It really was an extraordinary structure. A massive clock trimmed the entrance above the door. The gears, exposed behind glass, turned and clicked. The moving cogs also powered a carousel of armored soldiers just outside the door. Like the figures on a cuckoo clock, they rotated, each figure taking a turn to face the crowd. The clockwork soldiers, dressed in an array of armor from different time periods, saluted the crowd when it came to the front. The massive structure looked like a living clock.

I headed inside.

Suspended from the ceiling above the main foyer was a massive planetary orrery. The planets, situated on metal arms, slowly circled around the sun, the constellations moving on metal bands. It was an impressive sight. Also on display in the main lobby was an antique airship. The burner on the balloon of the old, one-person craft had been lit. The ship was aloft several feet off the ground but was tethered down by ropes. The airship swayed. It was an extraordinary work of aviation history—if one liked that sort of thing.

Glancing around the room, I spotted a number of Bow Street Runners, palace guards, and other secret service officers in their tell-tale black suits. But on the balconies of the upper levels of the museum, I saw red capes.

Why had Victoria asked for us to be there? What was going on? How was this related to the India case? I suddenly felt very annoyed. Whatever was happening, it was being kept from us field agents. Edwin had pulled Harper in for the task to help him with detail, which was fine. Harper had taken over all the communication between Edwin and me ever since All Hallows. It had seemed easier just to avoid one another and let Harper be the intermediary. It worked. Edwin and I never saw one another. I could avoid feeling like the worst human being on the face of the planet, and Edwin could avoid heartbreak. But the side effect was that I didn’t know what was going on beyond my beat. Now everything was just…murky.

“Clemeny,” Harper called.

I looked up to see Harper, Hank, Cressida, Pippa, and Edwin at the entrance of the Aviation exhibit. Harper waved for me to join them.

Edwin looked up when he heard Harper call my name.

My stomach clenched when our gazes met.

I smiled lightly.

Edwin returned the gesture—briefly—then looked away.

I swallowed hard, stuffed the last bite of scone into my pocket for safekeeping, then joined them.

Harper was pointing to her clipboard. As I approached, Edwin stepped closer to her, suddenly taking an intense interest in the papers thereon.

“You’re late,” Harper scolded me.

“No. You said ten.”

“Exactly. It’s ten-thirty,” Harper said.

“Your clock is wrong,” I replied.

Harper pointed to the massive clock that made up the entire wall behind me. “Why don’t you tell that to the London Clockmakers Society?” she said with a shake of the head, but I also saw her grin.

“The auto gave me some trouble. And it’s a bit of a drive from Twickenham.”

“So it has nothing to do with those crumbs on your shirt?” Harper retorted.

The others chuckled.

“Did you at least bring us something to eat?” Hank asked.

“Sorry.”

“Figures,” Harper said with a light laugh. She then turned to Edwin. “Okay, Edwin, as I was saying…”

When did she start calling him Edwin?

“Agents are stationed throughout the museum,” she said, tapping her finger on the clipboard. “These sections of the museum are closed. I reassigned museum security, placing them at the entrances and exits. Her Majesty plans to visit the aviation wing, following this path, after the opening. She’ll depart thereafter, leaving through this exit. I have agents stationed all along here,” she said, pointing once more.

Edwin laced his hands behind his back as he studied the clipboard. “Yes. Very good,” he said, but then he began rocking onto his heels.

“The guards in the aviation wing have all been verified and searched, as you requested. Everyone is in place who should be there,” Harper said.

“Well done,” Edwin told her.

“And how is Her Majesty arriving?” I asked.

“By airship,” Edwin answered, but he didn’t meet my eye.

“She’ll be very exposed climbing down a ladder,” I said.

“They’ve made a special basket to lower her more fashionably—and quickly,” Edwin explained, still not looking at me.

“Are any agency airships accompanying her?” I asked.

“Two. They’ll fly in with her from Buckingham,” Harper replied.

I nodded. Avoiding Edwin had left me out of the loop, a fact that didn’t sit well with me. I was good at my job, partially because I wanted to be the best agent in the Red Capes. One day, I hoped I would be promoted. Only the best agents were tasked with events like this. I would have thought, after the incident with Marlowe, and Krampus, and the Vikings, and all the rest, that Her Majesty had noticed my work. Apparently, I had over-estimated my successes at the agency. With Edwin at the helm, and Edwin and me in the most awkward situation ever, things weren’t looking good for my career. I never thought I should be worried about my job, but it was Harper leading this detail, not me.

I cast a sidelong glance at Edwin. His jaw was clenched, and he was tapping his fingers behind his back

Something wasn’t right here.

Was that something me?

“Hank and I will sweep the Aviation Hall one more time then get into position,” Cressida said.

“I’ll check out front,” Pippa added.

Edwin nodded to them, and the other agents left.

“Agent Fox spoiled your surprise. I understand I’m on duty outside,” I said, giving Harper a knowing look.

“I wasn’t the one—” Harper began.

“Her Majesty asked for you,” Edwin interrupted.

Steeling myself, I met his eyes. It hurt to be this close to him. It bothered me to know I had wounded Edwin. I cared about him. I really did. It was just… “Why?” I asked.

Edwin cleared his throat, then cleared it again. “She said she wants her best agents close by. You and Harper—and me—we’ll all be on the platform with her.”

“All right,” I said cautiously. “You do know it’s cold out there,” I said with a slight grin, trying to ease the tension.

Harper smiled. “We’ll only be out there for a few minutes. There will be general introductions by the London Tinker’s Society, then Archibald Boatswain is scheduled to speak. Afterward, Her Majesty will open the museum, then we’ll all come back inside.”

“Archibald Boatswain?” I asked.

“Archibald Boatswain IV,” Harper clarified.

I nodded then scanned around once more. “There is a lot of security—well done, Harper—but maybe Her Majesty should have declined the invitation to come, all things considered. Do we have any leads on her would-be assassin?” I asked Edwin.

“We’re still sorting out the details,” he said then cleared his throat again.

He was lying.

I cast a glance at Harper.

She was also eyeing Edwin, an odd expression on her face.

“All right. Let’s say I buy that for the moment—which I do not—do we know what kind of preternatural we’re keeping an eye out for? In my case, quite literally.”

Edwin laughed softly then shook his head. “I should have known. No. We don’t. That is why we have our best eyes on the ground.”

“And if you’re upset about having to stand outside in the cold, you should know it could be worse. Agent Rose is under the museum,” Harper said.

“Oh, she must be pleased about that,” I said with a smirk. Knowing Agent Rose was lurking around had the dual effect of setting me on edge and putting me at ease. In a fight, Rose was handy to have around. But the fact that she’d been invited was proof enough that all was not well.

“I’ll wander about for a few minutes, see if I notice anything. It would be helpful if I knew what I was looking for,” I told Edwin.

He didn’t say anything.

“Right.”

“You need to be outside and on the podium by eleven fifteen. No later,” Harper told me, a stern look on her face.

I rolled my eyes. “Stop worrying, partner. Everything is going to be fine,” I said, but there was a nagging feeling in my stomach that something wasn’t right. Edwin was not telling us everything—which I hated. Well, I’d just have to figure things out on my own.

Leaving Harper and Edwin behind, I headed back across the museum. There was a plaque beside the antique airship in the foyer. I was right. It was one of the original airships designed by Archibald Boatswain I. The airship was gifted to the museum from Lord Rhys and Lady Isabelle Llewellyn. How posh.

Glancing down the Hall of Clockwork, I felt a strange tug. I headed in that direction.

A museum guard stood at the end of the hall.

“Dim in there, Agent,” he told me.

“Just having a glance about,” I replied then went inside.

He was right. Inside the hall, the gaslamps were lit but on low. The flickering flames brought the polished wood floors and walls to life. They glowed in rich shades of amber. The dim light cast long shadows in the room. I passed through a hall entryway where rudimentary clockwork devices were on display. Pausing a moment, I eyed an exhibition of small, wind-up gnome men. The little toys stared at me with their beady glass eyes. A windup key lay in the exhibition along with them. I read the plaque on the wall:

The Scarlette Automaton.

The clockwork skeletal structure prominent in today’s most advanced automatons was initially designed by Missus Scarlette Boatswain as a means to animate toys. Missus Boatswain is the first tinker to fashion a fully-functioning automaton. The Scarlette Automaton is the signature design used in the creation of automatons fashioned by the Boatswain Colossus Corporation. From gnomes to giants, today’s automatons first found life through the gift of childlike wonder.

Cute.

And a little creepy.

The eldest gnome held out a silk rose that looked as though he was offering it to me. Had he been holding that before? I couldn’t remember. I squinted at the creatures with my mooneye. Childlike wonder. Hmm. Something about these little buggers was off. But they were tiny, clockwork gnomes. In a glass display. Not a threat.

Passing down the narrow corridor, I emerged into an elaborate chamber filled with amazing clockwork devices. Steamcycles, velocipedes, steamautos, automatons of every shape, size, and use filled the room. The walls themselves were made of gears and cogs that turned and clanged.

Now, this was something.

This was the future.

My palms itched.

Of course.

Of course, they did.

“So, who is in here?” I whispered.

Exhaling slowly and deeply, I narrowed my vision and scanned the place. Automatons always triggered my senses. It was something about the way they were made. I knew they were no more than cogs, gears, and ethics boards, but something about them always set me on edge.

“Any sign of demons?” a voice called from behind me.

I turned to find Edwin.

My stomach tightened. “No, thank god.”

He had to bring up our first date.

“Anything?” Edwin asked, looking around the room.

“I’m not sure, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have someone stationed here. Just in case.” I looked back at Edwin.

He was staring at me. “All right.”

I swallowed hard. “Edwin…how have you been?”

He exhaled softly. “Well. I mean, I’m well. And you? How are you?”

“I’m all right. Edwin…I just…I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“I know, but I hate that it’s like this between us now.”

Edwin smiled softly, but I saw the strain on his face. “Yes. Me too. I don’t…I’m not angry or sad. At least, not anymore. I have…perspective. I only want what’s best for you. Even if that isn’t me. I only want what’s best for both of us, actually. Maybe…maybe we should talk sometime.”

I nodded. “All right. Sure. Edwin—”

“I’ll go ensure we have some extra guards in here. Let us know if you see anything,” he said then turned to go.

I stepped toward him but stopped. No. I shouldn’t say more. I had let him go. He had hurt me at the All Hallows Ball, allowing his godmother to treat me like I was rubbish, but that wasn’t why I had ended it. I had let him go. I had let him go…for Lionheart. Now, I needed to give Edwin space. I owed him that.

I listened to his footsteps as he walked away.

Closing my eyes, I tried to master the emotions that tugged at me. This was not the time to get sentimental. I had a job to do. Trying to refocus, I scanned the room once more. Whatever I had felt there, I didn’t sense it now. Maybe it had been Edwin. Perhaps he had triggered my senses. That seemed logical. Now the only thing I was sensing was the clockwork gnomes. Not helpful. I gave the room one last look. Why in the world did automatons unnerve me so? Strange. They were just metal, right?

Turning, I left the hall.

When I passed by the gnomes, I eyed the little elder of the group once more. This time, he was holding out a needle. There was nothing menacing about his posture. It was more like he was trying to be helpful.

I tapped on the glass. “Sorry, chap. But if something is on its way, I’m afraid that won’t be much help. Thanks for the offer, though. And by the by, you and your little troupe, whatever you are, need to stay out of mischief. Got it?” I said then turned and walked away.

Great, now I was talking to garden gnomes.