Feargus

  Days Until Lidia Dies: 1

  Crew Placement:

  Oskari ? Michael, Varis, Strauss, Bells, Adeline, Rhian, Rhydian, Sebastian

  Estate ? Alexander

  Lawing ? Zacharias

  The Weird Room ? Everleigh

  In those long, quiet moments after finally saying Zacharias’s name, it felt like nobody knew where to start—not even the Writer herself.

  “Let me hear it,” Ever broke the silence. “I want to hear you whistle the nine consecutive notes.”

  It had been a few hours since I’d had anything to drink and I was feeling mighty dry, mates. I fished around in my bag for my canteen and took a few sips while I prepared myself mentally for what was no doubt a trap. May as well play along. I puckered up, and notes one through seven went perfectly, but that eighth note—

  Everleigh rolled her eyes, and Matilda smirked.

  “Tough break,” Ever said. “You’re lucky you ran into Sebastian.”

  “Look, he asked me not to tell,” I said. “And until a few minutes ago, I literally couldn’t.”

  Matilda’s quill drifted toward me, tickling the underside of my nose before returning to her side. I tried wiggling my nose, in hopes I could scratch it without scratching it, but I reckon all it did was make me look like a rabbit, and it didn’t actually work.

  I rubbed at the itch.

  “I’ve felt him in Amalia for a couple weeks now,” Everleigh admitted.

  And to that, Matilda added, “Avis feels him, too. She hasn’t said it outright, but I know it. He hasn’t come up this often in conversation since he left Amalia, and I keep catching her sitting in the salon staring at his portrait.”

  “If you’ve known he’s been here, why haven’t you seen him yet?" I asked Ever.

  “I’m not ready to see him yet.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m not.”

  These Anima had a real problem with not wanting to see the people they wanted to see. But I wasn’t getting paid enough to get to the bottom of that. Meanwhile, I wanted nothing more than to be with my mates. No offense to present company, but I still missed Rhian—so much—and I was eager to bother Strauss, check in on Michael, and introduce myself to Adeline. Assuming everything went to plan where Lidia was concerned, the next time I’d see them ought to be a celebration.

  We had a lot to cover, so Matilda made herself comfortable on the couch. Everleigh stood in front of me, eying the chair I was sitting in. I scooted over against the armrest, patting the empty space beside me. Three, five, seven—she considered it for eight seconds before smoothing down the back of her dress and having a sit in the chair beside me.

  I draped my arm around her shoulders, and Everleigh’s posture tensed. But I gave her a little squeeze, and she relaxed—even cracking a faint, but fleeting smile.

  “Obvious question time,” I said. “Why are we here?”

  “The next stage in Zacharias’s awakening.” Matilda gestured around the room. “We’ve been working tirelessly getting everything ready. Everleigh especially.”

  “Aye, it’s a notable step up from my cabin,” I remarked.

  “The fact you were able to get him that far,” Matilda said. “From what I saw while sorting through your memories around the brothers—apologies, but there was no other way—Zacharias is operating as the Law once more. Good, but not what we need.”

  “What do we need?” I asked.

  “Avis needs her husband. Not Zacharias Vonsinfonie, not the Law, but her husband: Zack Adler. And for Zacharias to become Zack again, he needs his brother. Not Sebastian Vonsinfonie, not the Light, but Sebastian Adler. And we all need Jakob.”

  I didn’t know how I was meant to handle any of that, mates. I’d been pushing my skills as a makeshift Anima psychologist to the limits already. What I was actually hoping for, was a reasonable way out of this whole family drama. Once the crew was finished dealing with Lidia, I’d be getting new orders from Kelly, Faust, and Hall, and until then, there was no point making plans. At the minute, I was all about gathering information.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “I have a question about Jakob, actually.”

  Matilda nodded. Everleigh shifted in the chair, pretending to get comfortable, but we all know: she just wanted to give me a cuddle. She rested her head against me when she was done. There was nothing romantic about it, mates, so don’t get any ideas. But you know I like a good cuddle, and I reckoned she needed one.

  “First, did you see my conversation with Delilah in the workshop?” I asked.

  “Yes, I saw it the day Avis and I wiped your memory at the Studio, actually. Delilah is talented, but no match for me in the realm of telepathy. I kept it from Avis, but I also let you keep the note in your underwear.”

  What I wouldn’t give to go back to the days when finding a mysterious note in my underwear was the most complicated thing in my life. “So my question is: why did Delilah’s story not include Jakob?”

  “Because until recently, even Delilah and I didn’t know about Jakob. Avis told everyone he’d died at birth, including us. There was a death certificate and a funeral.”

  Poor Jakob. It wasn’t looking good for him, was it? “Zacharias said they were keeping him in the keyhole in the mountain. He doesn’t know what happened to Jakob after he went to sleep. He says he can’t feel him anymore.”

  Matilda shook her head, and her faithful quill shuddered. “I don’t know, either. When I learned what Delilah was asking of you—to find Sebastian and reunite the brothers—I realized we’d been aiming in the same direction unknowingly. We’ve joined forces now to help Avis, but our information on Jakob is incomplete.”

  “I found a journal,” I said. “In the keyhole in the mountain, under a small hatch.”

  Matilda tapped her temple. “I saw. And since discovering the partial truth about Jakob ourselves, Delilah and I are keen on exploring the room together, but Avis can be clingy. She thinks I’m busy writing a new book at the moment.”

  Everleigh shifted against me. “That’s how we know each other.”

  I looked from Matilda to Ever, not following.

  “Matilda’s an author,” Ever explained, finally. “She writes horror novels under a pen name. They’re really popular in the Anima community. She’s basically a celebrity. I’ve read all her books since arriving in Amalia. We met at a book signing.”

  Again, so many questions. “Have you considered trying your hand at writing smut?” I asked Matilda. “I hear there’s a market for it.”

  The quill twirled. “The act of circulating horror novels through the Anima community is in many ways tactical. But romance? What do you think, Everleigh?”

  “I’d read them.”

  It was good business advice. I hoped she’d take it, and I knew at the very least Della would enjoy the books. Short story: Everleigh had been attending Matilda’s signings for the past several years, but only last year, she got the nerve to go up and speak with her.

  “I had an important question,” Ever said.

  Matilda’s quill shimmied. “Everleigh found a plot hole. Now she receives advanced copies of my books for review.”

  So, the two became working friends, and it wasn’t long before Matilda connected the dots about Everleigh’s relationship to Sebastian.

  “She became someone I could trust on the outside,” Matilda explained.

  “And Avis doesn’t know you leave the mountain?” I asked.

  “No, and she doesn’t know I moonlight under a pen name either. She still thinks I write four books a year for myself.”

  Everleigh giggle-snorted. I gave her a squeeze.

  “How long do you estimate before you can get Zacharias down here?” Matilda asked.

  “Yesterday, probably. He hates that cabin.”

  “Naturally.” Matilda nodded. “So, do you understand your task?”

  “Get Zack back, and get him to move into his old place.”

  “Correct. I’ve seen it,” Matilda continued. “The evidence he still exists. And so have you: the night he cried, the night you cried, the night he improvised a song for you, the night you both got spectacularly high on Resonance. The night you enjoyed a private dance together in the back room of a brothel.”

  “You saw all that, did you?”

  “Saw, yes, and as the Writer I’m incapable of judgment so you needn’t worry about your dignity.”

  I side-eyed Everleigh who, unlike Matilda, was entirely capable of judging. She was looking at me with a narrowed expression. If I had to attach a sentiment to it, I’d guess, ‘That’s what you were doing with Zack for three weeks?” I smiled at her.

  She pinched my leg.

  “And what about Sebastian?” I asked.

  “He’ll require a period of adjustment now that he’s back in Amalia, though perhaps not to the same degree as Zack. He has his own space to go home to when he’s ready. Everleigh, you know him better than I do these days. I’ll leave his integration process in your hands.”

  Everleigh didn’t respond to Matilda, but after a moment, she looked to me and patted my leg. “I’ll pay you fifty notes a day to keep an eye on my father.”

  There she was, taking another page out of my book and outsourcing already. Good for her. But seeing as I was already planning on keeping an eye on Sebastian, I reckoned I might as well get paid for it.

  “Deal,” I said.

  “And,” Everleigh added, “I’ll give you one hundred notes before you leave today to give Della a message.”

  “What’s the message?”

  Matilda and her quill watched while Everleigh and I spoke.

  “That as long as she doesn’t mess up the floor, I don’t care about the renovations.”

  “Sure,” I said.

  “And while you’re at it, you may as well take Anne to her fitting at the Steel Needle.”

  “And why can’t you do all this yourself?”

  Ever shrugged. “Because I’m busy.”