The Lantern's Ember

  After a few moments, a sulky Serina approached. She glared daggers at Deverell now that his mezmer had worn off. “Your dinner will be served in the back room.” Leaning closer, she bit her lip seductively and grinned as if she’d just cornered her next victim. “Payne can’t wait to see you again.”

  Dev sighed as she wandered off, then took Ember’s hand. “Come on,” he said. “The back room is this way.”

  Ember followed Dev through the swinging door, which was still swaying after Serina’s entrance. They stepped into a very different section of the building. Instead of ale and the laughter of men, the back room smelled of cigars, perfume, and copper. The furniture was covered with plush red velvet, and men, women, and creatures Ember didn’t recognize lounged on them drunkenly.

  Scantily clad beautiful women stroked hair, brows, and various limbs as they filled glass flasks with blood from the veins of their chosen victims. She heard the plinking of blood as it filled the containers.

  On settees, both men and women gave long, drugging kisses to those lying prostrate. When they pulled away, ghostly vapors were drawn from their victims’ mouths and deposited in catchments that were promptly corked and handed off to others, who waited for the contents. Ember was scandalized, to say the least, but she was also morbidly curious.

  A man she passed coughed violently enough to make Ember jump. He held a jar to his mouth and expelled a sticky phlegm that fell into it with a splat. He handed it off to a man who gave him copper coins in exchange, and then he wandered out the door, heading back into the pub side of the establishment.

  “What is this place?” Ember asked Dev softly.

  Before Dev could answer, a bald man wearing a leather apron with a gut the size of Ember’s favorite cauldron took hold of Dev’s shoulder and spun him around. “You black-hearted, earwiggin’ conveyancer.”

  He slapped Deverell’s cheek with his meaty palm hard enough to knock Dev aside, though Ember didn’t sense any maliciousness in the gesture. In fact, the pudding-bellied man was all smiles.

  “What’re you after this time? Escapin’ a catacomb? Or are you here ta take a break from the eternity box and sluice yer gob?” He leaned closer. “Jes got in a fresh batch o’ lantern blood. You and I both know how rare that is. Only thing harder ta come by is the boogeyman’s fingernail clipping. But I figure ya must have more than a few coins ta rub together, considerin’ on how you skipped out on the last job I offered ya.”

  Ember was immensely curious about what one might do with the fingernail clipping of a boogeyman; or was it “the” boogeyman? Either way, she made a mental note to ask Dev later. She daren’t ask this man himself. She heard the implied threat in his tone and her eyes fixated on his fingers rubbing together with a papery sound, ostensibly to demonstrate coins. She wondered if Dev owed the man money.

  Deverell attempted to straighten his sorry jacket and tucked his hair behind an ear. “I assure you, Payne, once you are made aware of the reason I’m here, you will more than forgive my abandonment of before.” The large man grunted as if nothing Dev could say would win back his favor. “However, as you can see, my companion and I have recently fallen upon hard times and we require your help as well as your…discretion, regarding our circumstances.”

  “Do ya, now?” Payne replied. “An’ what in the bathysphere makes ya think I’d be willin’ ta help the likes o’ ya?”

  “We have something very valuable to trade.”

  “Really?” Payne folded his arms across his chest, his thick black brows meeting in the middle of his forehead. “I very much doubt ya or yer little human girl, a creature what’s mighty heavy baggage in these parts, have anything o’ worth ta peddle ta the likes o’ me.”

  Ember could see the steel trap hidden behind Payne’s smile and the thought occurred to her that such a moniker fit him very well. A large, orange tabby cat stood on the bar and stretched languidly, then, before Payne could push it aside, it leapt into Ember’s arms.

  “Blasted creature,” Payne said. “Hate those things.”

  Ember turned away, nuzzling the cat and then gently setting it on the floor. It ran quickly out the door and disappeared into the night.

  Deverell leaned closer to the man—so close that his lips almost touched his ear. Ember couldn’t hear what he whispered, but she saw Payne’s eyes widen and the tavern owner looked her up and down with interest. There was a light in his eyes that wasn’t there before.

  “And here I am stompin’ around in my surly boots when I shoulda laid out the red carpet.” He turned and shouted, “Dorzin! Drakin! Get yer lazy limbs in here. Immediately!”

  Two lumbering…somethings with green skin and beady eyes appeared from behind a curtain. “Yes, boss?” they chanted as one.

  “Set up our best accommodations for these two.” The creatures Ember suspected might be half troll, half gremlin looked at each other. “And if I catch wind o’ either o’ ya askin’ ta nibble on the girl’s toes or fingernails while yer servin’ ’em, I’ll be kickin’ ya out without so much as a by your leave!

  “Forgive me, my lady,” the big man said to Ember. “We’re not used ta having one so fancy in our midst.” When she just shrugged, he turned to the vampire. “Whatever ya need, let me know. Sky’s the limit. No. Not even the sky. Ask anything and if I can make it happen, I will.” Then he leaned forward. “But if there’s any skullduggery on your part or any uncooperatin’ on hers, I’ll lay waste ta ya both. You can be assured.”

  “I pledge we are in earnest,” Dev said.

  The two manservants returned and indicated all was ready. With a flourish, Payne personally escorted them upstairs. He stopped next to a large cylinder made of glass and twisted iron gates. Payne took hold of the metal and pushed. It folded back with a screech and Ember peeked inside. There was a long cable running through the center of the contraption that fed through both the roof and the floor.

  “What is it?” Ember asked Dev.

  “It’s called a hoist. Go on. Step inside.”

  Dev rather liked the way Ember gripped his arm as she moved forward. When they were all aboard, Payne shut the gate and said, “You’ll be stayin’ in the penthouse tower. We jes completed construction so there may be a few kinks. But figured that would suit yer purposes. Now, seein’ as she’s a first-timer an’ all, the lady should go ahead an’ push the top button on the hoist. The one what says ‘tower.’ And then hold on.”

  Ember stuck out her finger and pushed. Payne took hold of a leather strap as the machine rumbled, coming to life, and he pointed to another strap above Ember’s head. Warm, yellow light filled the tube and steam hissed overhead as the floor jerked upward suddenly and then steadied, taking them higher and higher at a grindingly slow clip.

  Looking through the glass, Ember could see giant gears moving in synchronicity. They passed one open hallway filled with rooms and then a second and a third. She counted five, and then they exited through a hole in the roof. The tube ended, and now the hoist was dangling by cables in the open air, rising into the sky as Ember looked in awe out its windows.

  Ember’s stomach lurched, and she had the sudden feeling that she was a fish caught on a line, being reeled out of the comforting waters where she lived and thrust into the air. Her heartbeat quickened and the power overhead fluctuated. She closed her eyes, desperately trying not to be sick.

  Both Dev and Payne looked up at the lights and then at each other as the hoist bobbed in the dark. “She needs that tea,” Dev said quietly.

  “Not till after she gives me what I need,” Payne answered.

  “What he needs?” a panicked Ember asked, the hoist lurching with her feelings.

  Dev sensed her discomfort. He patted her hand in a reassuring manner. “He simply wants to siphon off some of your witchlight to fuel his business. Such a gift would save him quite a sum, a king’s ransom as it were, since witch power is so carefully regulated and rationed.”

/>   Ember shivered, feeling Payne’s eyes on her. She sidled closer to Dev, who wrapped an arm around her. It was strange how much she trusted the vampire. She’d only just met him, and yet she felt as comfortable with him at her side as she usually felt with Jack or Finney. Since her arrival, the persistent tug hadn’t left her, but it had settled somewhat. Walking the paths of the Otherworld with Dev felt right, intuitively, even though her mind told her to be wary.

  Ember knew Dev was keeping something from her, but when she gave serious thought to it, a calmness stole through her, and she ultimately decided he meant her no harm. She gave Dev a small smile and decided to trust her instincts. Up and up they went. Ember could see the roof of the building far below. “Is this tower in the clouds?” she asked. “We must be halfway to the moon by now.”

  “Most days it is surrounded by clouds. Had ta negotiate with the skyport for three years ta build onto one o’ their tram stations. Then had ta commission a team o’ tinkers ta make it, and the hoist. Cost me most o’ me earnin’s, but I’m fixin’ ta make it all back within the first year. Got all the latest advancements, it does.”

  Ember peered into the dark through all the windows, but she saw nothing but sky. The city below them had started to regain power. Entire sections were now lit up. Ember thought it was a quite remarkable view. They were indeed technologically advanced. She couldn’t wait to tell her aunt all about it when she returned.

  Squinting as she peered out a window, Ember saw something moving over the town. It looked like a falling star, except for the fact that it seemed to stop in midair and then shine light down on the city below. When she pointed it out to Deverell, he sucked in a breath. “Will we make it?” he asked Payne.

  The man glanced up. “Almost there. Just need to wait for the hoist to rotate a bit.”

  Dev didn’t tell Ember what the object was, but both men seemed worried about it and followed its progress closely. She heard a grinding noise, and there was a lurch as the hoist stopped and then swung gently.

  Overhead, there was a flat surface in the shape of a circle with a dark opening in the bottom. The opening drew closer, and something above them clamped onto the hoist and pulled them inside with wrenching clangs, finally stopping with a resounding clank.

  “We’re in,” Payne said. “That light’ll not penetrate the tower’s windows. Even if her witchlight goes haywire.”

  Payne slid open the gate. Ember had to admit it was a relief to exit the hoist, but she felt as if she’d stepped into another world. She felt benighted when compared to Dev and Payne. They pushed buttons, pumped levers, checked valves, and wound cranks, revealing a panoramic view of the city through floor-to-ceiling curved windows. The view was punctured only by copper walls with sliding doors. She peeked into one and found the most exquisite bedroom she’d ever seen. Following the circular path, she found that the dome was at least four times larger than the home she shared with her aunt, and it hummed happily.

  She nearly stumbled when she felt the rubber floor under her feet shift slightly and become bouncy. “Mind that,” Payne said. “The floor’s pneumatic. It’s pressurizing as we speak.”

  Ember thought the two of them were speaking in another language as she listened to Payne tell Dev about the steamworks bath, warn him about the wraparound gangway, and teach him how to turn on the automatic furnace.

  Finally, he promised that new clothing and a hot meal would be delivered on the next rotation, as well as a number of other items Dev requested. Then he gave Dev a box before he opened the sliding door and climbed back into the hoist.

  Ember walked over to a table and found a large apple. She bit into it, catching the juice dripping from the corner of her mouth with her thumb. “If you’ll give me my bag, I’ll have a scrub and change my clothes.”

  “Very well.” Dev handed over her bag and went into the room with her, adjusting valves and turning knobs until water, almost too hot for Ember to touch, poured out from a brass spigot into the largest claw-foot tub she had ever seen.

  As Dev took the liberty of trickling in some scented oil, a powerful ray of light shone through the windows, illuminating Ember’s face even through the steam. “What was that?” she squeaked. “Can anyone see in here?”

  Dev’s blue eyes burned icily as he frowned. “No one can see in. The windows have ectoplasm running between the panes.”

  “Ectoplasm?”

  “Its origin is…well, do you remember the creature coughing into a cup?”

  “Yes?” Ember replied in a small voice, not really wanting to know where he was going with his explanation.

  “Basically, it’s a substance that can block out mostly anything, even witchlight. If it’s applied on only one side of glass, it prevents people from seeing in but allows those inside to see out.”

  Ember held up a hand. “Good enough for me. As much as I’d love to know more about a substance coughed up from the lungs of a…whatever that was, the water is growing cold. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to rid myself of the dust of the road.”

  “Of course.” Dev stepped out and pulled the door closed.

  The room was now full of steam, and as she pulled pins from her hair, her locks drooped around her shoulders. Ember called out, “And, Dev?”

  “Yes?” He cracked the door open.

  “Don’t get any ideas about sharing that rather large bed with me.”

  The corner of Dev’s mouth rose. “The thought never occurred to me,” he said cheekily, in a way that let Ember know he’d definitely entertained such a notion.

  “Thank you,” she replied, turning her back to him and stumbling a bit as the dome rotated slowly on its axis.

  As Dev shut the door a second time, he wondered if he was losing his touch. He never usually had to work so hard to get a woman to swoon into his arms. Particularly if he’d already sampled her blood. There was an intimacy that formed when blood was taken directly from the source.

  Not only were those kissed by a vampire much more easily seduced, but they also developed an intense longing to be near him. And the vampire who returned to the same person repeatedly eventually grew fond, and occasionally protective, of them. Some vampires had even been known to fall in love, which was the ultimate in folly considering the life span of their race.

  The question in his mind now was: Why didn’t Ember feel the same as the others? Usually, once he’d given a girl his vampire’s kiss, she would enjoy the experience so much she couldn’t wait for more. He very well knew that Ember had liked it at the time.

  Perhaps it was rather roguish of him to think it, but he couldn’t help wishing that the little witch was just the tiniest bit unladylike. He took a seat in the comfortable leather chair and decided if he couldn’t enjoy the view of Ember soaking in her tub, then at least he could relish the splendid panoramic view from the tower dome, especially knowing that the searchlight that occasionally touched the tower with probing fingers was the thwarted lantern looking for his charge.

  Jack couldn’t understand it. He’d checked each city. Granted, he’d passed over them quickly, but his pumpkin cast a powerful light. Every single soul in the metropolis lit up in its presence, powerless to shield their own inner lights against its glare. There wasn’t a witch to be found in any of the five cities connected to his crossroad.

  He paced on top of his bridge wondering what he should do. He couldn’t just abandon his crossroad to search for her indefinitely. It was possible they’d kill him. But, then he realized that it was also his job to protect the Otherworld from witches. In fact, he’d be negligent not to abandon his bridge to seek her out. He went back and forth until he finally decided that whatever the consequence, he’d accept it. He had to find Ember.

  Jack was a good tracker, but he wanted someone on his side. Someone he could trust, who would have Ember’s best interests at heart. Someone Ember might listen to, since she wouldn’t listen to him.

  Jac
k materialized outside Finney’s window, letting his pumpkin light dance over the sleeping boy. Red hair stuck out at all angles from beneath the blanket, and he could hear the boy snoring loudly even through the closed window.

  Softly, he knocked, and the young man snorted, coughed, and rolled over onto his stomach, settling back into a light snore. Jack sighed and lifted his fingers. The window opened and snowflakes drifted inside, landing on top of the boy’s bare arms and shoulders.

  Finney groaned and jostled, sleepily trying and failing to yank the blanket over his body, to shield himself from the cold. Jack turned to mist and drifted inside, his pumpkin trailing behind. “Hello, Finney,” he said, his voice quiet.

  “ ’Ello,” the young man said, smacking his lips and then falling asleep again with his mouth open.

  “Finney,” Jack said. “Ember needs your help. It’s time to wake up.”

  “Ember?” he said, eyes still closed. Then his mouth turned up in a sappy smile. “Ember,” he said, as if he’d conjured her in a dream.

  “Finney!” Jack hissed. “Wake up.” He shoved the boy’s shoulder and, when that didn’t work, took hold of Finney’s blanket and yanked him from his bed, allowing him to fall to the floor with a thud.

  Finney finally roused himself enough to look around, run a hand through his hair, making it stand on end, and attempt to climb back into bed, as if falling out of it was something that occurred nightly. Jack shifted irritably from one foot to the other, making the wooden floor creak. Finney jumped back, startled, finally noticing he had a nighttime visitor.

  “Who’s there?” Finney said, and reached for a pair of bifocals on the bedside table. He slid them up the bridge of his nose. Jack found it interesting that he’d never noticed that the boy wore them before. He must have tried to hide his weak vision from Ember. When Finney got a good look at Jack with his floating pumpkin, he gasped and said, “What are you?”

  “I’m Ember’s lantern. You’ve been helping her with spells and weapons. Did she tell you why?”