Days Until Lidia Dies: 6

  Things That Happened While I Was Getting Rich, Babysitting Zack, and Dying:

  ? Rhian was still in Verena with Alexander.

  ? Strauss returned from the lair with Bach and Rhydian.

  ? The Anima staged a scene to make RAAM look bad, also forcing Strauss into killing one of them publicly. The villagers turned on the crew.

  So, Feargus Alistair Finlay was dead, and I, Jack Thomas Finnegan, was… well, I was.

  See, Jack Finnegan wasn’t just a fun name. It was an official alias, meaning, there was a false history for a Partisan named Jack Finnegan back at Palisade, and all the false paperwork to go with it. So I knew there was always the possibility of something like this happening—a reason for Feargus Finlay to disappear, and for Jack Finnegan or whoever else, to take his place. I didn’t like they were using it against my mates, but Faust had a point about everything else: it opened up our options.

  Anyhow—finding out I was dead wasn’t the worst news, but I liked to think Strauss and Michael were my friends, and I reckoned it wouldn’t be easy for them. Rhian would never believe it, though. She’d know if I were dead. Hopefully the others believed her.

  “We’ll go together,” Zack suggested. “Then it may feel less for you like spying and more like two curious individuals stumbling upon a scene.”

  “Well, that’s a stretch.”

  It was rare to squeeze a smile out S.R. Pie. But occasionally even he couldn’t help it. He had a great smile, mates. “So—what do you say? It isn’t often a mortal gets to see the aftermath of their own demise.”

  Jack and Zack sitting in a tree, actually. We found a suitable one overlooking The House, and we perched at just the right height to observe the front door and see through the kitchen window. Zack was able to make us both invisible, so weren’t worried about being seen by the crew. It was cold and snowy outside, and inside, Adeline, Michael, and Varis sat around the table. We hadn’t arrived before the messenger did, but by the time we got there, he was standing outside the door, talking to Strauss. Lucas Bellamy—I recognized him straightaway. Good egg.

  “Wake her, then?” he said.

  Strauss shook his head, awkwardly leaning against the door frame as if it might stop a slippery Strachan from bolting inside. “She’s asleep because she’s ill.”

  As far as I knew, Rhian wasn’t back from Verena yet, but I supposed she could have just returned. I wondered why he said she was sick. Did she tell him about the baby? Was she actually sick? We weren’t good with winter. I could see that happening. Unless—

  Adeline shuffled over, sniffling and coughing. “I’ll inform the Enforcer,” she said, and she disappeared up the stairs.

  “What’s wrong with you lot?” Bells asked.

  “Winter,” Strauss said.

  Bells shook his head.

  “So, why Bells?” Strauss asked, casually. Too casually.

  That’s when I understood what was happening. They were stalling because Rhian wasn’t back yet, and, given where I knew she was, the others didn’t want anyone knowing. Partisans weren’t welcome—or even allowed—in the city of Verena.

  So, as you know from The First One, Adeline played a game with Bells, putting on an accent and pretending to be Rhian behind a closed door. But when she read the contents of the missive, she broke character and confessed the ruse. We couldn’t see any of this from outside, though. We only picked up where Strauss, Adeline, and Bells joined Michael and Helena at the table. Strauss, looking fine but not fine, stood by Adeline while she delivered the news. She was crying. But not for me, she didn’t even know me. She was crying for them, crying for Rhian.

  Zacharias mused quietly, “My wife loved Sebastian first. As a friend, of course, but more than she loved me, maybe. It was one of the things I loved most about her.”

  I turned my head toward the disembodied voice to my left, but I didn’t have anything to add in the moment, so I looked back to my friends.

  Michael shook his head while he read and reread the missive. Varis looked annoyed until finally, Michael dropped his head into his arms and cried. When Adeline moved to comfort him, Helena narrowed her eyes, and Adeline took a step back.

  Watching Michael collapse felt a lot like my heart getting slammed repeatedly in a drawer. Especially knowing what he was going through. I’d already decided I wouldn’t be keeping this secret from the crew for long, and even though I didn’t deserve it, I hoped he’d forgive me.

  Two, two minutes and fifty-one seconds: Michael’s head was finally off the table, but now he was aiming an accusatory glare in Adeline’s direction. Whatever they all said next, the conversation went back and forth rapidly between Michael, Varis and Strauss. If Bells had anything to add, we couldn’t tell from the back of his head.

  Then, suddenly—

  The Spark stood from her chair so quickly it fell backward, and she slammed her fist against the table so hard it toppled Michael’s mug. It was empty.

  “What is she—“ I muttered.

  Adeline’s finger was in Michael’s face now, her brows pressed inward, and she was—wait, was she scolding him? By the time she turned her finger on Varis, Michael looked properly shamefaced. Varis looked annoyed. Bells got a taste of the finger, too, but his came with a reassuring smile.

  To the side, Strauss observed everything passively. I reckoned he knew better than anyone what happens when you engage with raw emotion. And just so you know, mates: Michael wasn’t entirely himself at this stage in the game. Helena had been sowing seeds of doubt in his mind about all of us. And though it was unlikely she’d become competent enough with telepathy to actively affect his thoughts, her powers were volatile, could trigger on their own, and her resentment for Rhian was real.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Eventually, Strauss shook his head, leaving The House to brood by the pond alone.

  

  Days Until Lidia Dies: 5

  Crew Placement:

  Oskari ? Michael, Varis, Strauss, Bells, Adeline, Bach

  Somewhere ? Everleigh Gloom

  Verena ? Alexander, Rhian

  MIA ? Rhydian

  Crew Activity:

  Bach guarding Adeline Blanchett at the workshop, often accompanied by Strauss. Otherwise laying low at The House while being ostracized by the village.

  As you know, three separate people wanted me to find and wake Zacharias: Avis Adler, Councilwoman Faust (who now knew he was awake, but not where he was), and Everleigh Gloom. Well, he’d been found. He’d been awakened, and while we were making progress toward his reentry, he wasn’t ready to go home, let alone affect the world. He'd confessed that he was worried if the world saw Zacharias Vonsinfonie again, that the cycle would force him to be Zacharias Vonsinfonie again. Like the way he was when he met RAM in the crypts. So, I had an idea.

  “I refuse,” he said.

  “Why? It’s a great idea. Plus, you get to come to work with me.”

  “You say that as though I’ve won a prize.”

  “Because you absolutely have. Look, I won’t lie: there are Anima at the Gander sometimes, but nowadays, most go to the Jaskar, and they’re all looking for the S.R. Pie. Tonight, in these clothes I’ve lovingly selected for you, you’ll be…”

  “—I’ve always liked the name Elias.”

  “So, Elias, then?”

  “No, I’m still Zacharias, because I’m not going.”

  “You and I both know you’re going to end up caving. Be it tonight, tomorrow night, next week. It’s happening. Why fight it?”

  Zacharias picked up the brown vest from the bed, part of a roguish traveling ensemble I’d put together for him. “And you couldn’t have selected something a little more stylish and little less… you?”

  “That would defeat the purpose. Get changed, and then we’ll do something about your hair.”

  “You didn’t say anything about touching my hair.”

  “Mate, think of this not as being forced to wear clothes you hate and going to work with your weird roommate. Think of this as an opportunity to star in a performance nobody knows they’re watching. No expectations, no clapping, no flowers—just you, doing your thing.”

  “An anonymous performance?”

  “Aye.”

  “…I’m not sure if I look like an Elias.”

  “How about Isaak?”

  Reckoned once I got around to telling Strauss this story, and his middle name, he might like to hear I was inspired by him in that moment.

  “Fine, Isaak.” Zacharias stood from the bed. “I’ll get changed, and then you can touch my hair.”

  With the travelling clothes, his hair mussed, and a pair of plain glass spectacles I kept on hand for those need-to-look-smart emergencies, Zack was practically unrecognizable. Frankly, I liked the look for him. But what’s important is: he’d committed to the part, and we were in.

  On the way past reception, I grabbed a clean apron from the linen closet, and I ushered him to the bar. It was typically one of our quieter nights, and that night wasn’t an exception. A woman danced on the stage to nothing while the other customers chatted with their company.

  I poured Zacharias a drink—whiskey, not as if it mattered. He’d just pretend to drink it and evaporate it with his mind. “Would your wife be jealous?” I asked. “I hear that happens.”

  “Are you kidding? My wife is the most beautiful woman in the world, and I’m me. There’s no room for jealousy in our relationship. It would never have worked.”

  There it was again, mates. The new niggling. I poured myself a shot of Hocks Spirits, knocked it back, and grabbed an orange from behind the bar. Tails needed curling.

  On the other side, Zack eyed me, and my tails, but kept whatever he had to say to himself for a change. A pair of regulars in the corner clocked that I was in and waved. I grinned and waved back.

  The idea wasn’t to have a rip-roaring night out with an ancient legend. It was to get him comfortable with being exposed. That’s why I chose a quiet night, and so far, it was working out perfectly.

  While I sorted out my chores behind bar, Zacharias observed and occasionally mused.

  Once I’d finished what I had to, I swung around and had a sit on the stool next to him.

  “She’s quite flexible,” he noted. “But judging by the curvature of her spine, I suspect she experiences chronic back pain.”

  “Is that something we can help with? Maybe I can hook her up with someone.”

  “These days? I doubt it. And in my days it would have required a terribly invasive procedure just as likely to cause more pain.”

  “Like your leg?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve wondered—does it still hurt?”

  “Yes.”

  I reached my arm around Zack’s shoulders to give him a squeeze when Derek of all people popped around the corner into the theatre. He had a quick look around the room, spotted me, and then he spotted Zack. But he just smiled and wandered over.

  “Hey,” he said.

  Zack lofted a hand, and I took my arm back.

  “Derek—it’s good to see you, mate.”

  “Yeah, you, too—and…?”

  The two men shook hands. “Isaak,” Zack replied.

  “I’ve gotta say, Isaak, you look so familiar.”

  “I had unconventional sex in your house once,” Zack answered, and mates, I had to dig my nails into my palm to keep from dying. He knew what he was doing. The man was a comedian.

  Derek laughed. “Yeah, yeah—that’s how I know half the people in this town. It tracks.”

  I grinned, and Isaak smiled cheekily, shoulder-checking me gently.

  “So, uh—have you seen Everleigh today?” Derek asked. “Or yesterday for that matter.”

  Of all the people in my life that I could actually talk to about anything, Zacharias knew the most. At that point, the only things he didn’t know were the things I couldn’t tell him due to the food-related problem, and about Everleigh Gloom. I hoped if he hadn’t already read my mind at some point, that he wouldn’t ask questions.

  “I haven’t seen her,” I said.

  “Yeah, weird. I didn’t see her at all yesterday, and today she missed a meeting with me and Della.”

  Isaak adjusted his glasses, and observed the conversation with a casual but mildly interested vibe.

  “Do you have the keys to her office?” I asked.

  Derek shook his head.

  “Has she said anything out of the ordinary to you recently?”

  “Out of the ordinary for her?” Derek chuckled. “No, nothing I can think of.”

  “Well, if she turns up, I’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks.”

  The two other men shook hands again.

  When Derek was long gone, Zack asked, “Who’s Everleigh?”

  “Someone it sounds like I'm gonna have to find,” I answered. “But I need a minute to think, so for now—“ I gestured to the dancer on the stage.

  Zack turned to watch, swirling his drink before taking a pretend sip. Five minutes, seven, ten, eleven and a half before he said, “Well, at least you have this going for you.”

  “Mate.” I downed another shot. “Tell me about it.”