She fingered the little knife in her boot. “Do you think you could teach me? It could be useful.” Even if she still didn’t know what it had to do with air terminal bars.
“Your brother said
no
.” Nonplussed, he removed the knives again.
Noli snorted. “Since when did you do anything that wasn’t an order?”
“True.” Shrugging, he eyed her. “Since you can’t even clean your teeth with that bitty girly knife I might as well teach you to throw it, then you can at least gamble with it.”
Pulling it out of her boot, she examined the double edged blade in the dim light of the engine room. “It has a sharp blade. I
am
I girl. I can use a sword a little. Is using a knife the same?”
Thad shrugged. “That’s an Asa question. But I suppose I could teach you how to do a little bit.” He grinned. “Just in case you get in a fight at a tea party.”
“Well, society events can be violent affairs.” Well, only in the sense that she often wanted to throttle Missy Sassafras. “I won’t tell Jeff, promise.” Since she was on a ship with air pirates she might as well learn a few things about fighting. Perhaps Jeff would teach her to shoot. No, he didn’t even want her to use a knife. She should ask Vix.
Thad nodded. “All right, little sister, we’ll do some throwing then I’ll teach you a few moves. First off, before you throw a knife you’ve got to learn the different kinds of grips and figure out what kind you like best … ”
Bitter cold whipped around Steven and James, tugging at their clothes and hair and impeding their progress as they slogged down the empty, muddy road.
Not a person, auto, or hoverboard was in sight. He didn’t even see any airships flying high in the clouds. Given how the cold chilled to the bone,
without
the wind, and the road filled with muddy snow, Steven didn’t blame them. Too bad they couldn’t be in front of a fire, with a nice cup of tea. He’d give nearly anything for a hot cup of good tea right now—or a hoverboard.
“Are we there yet?” James whined.
“Hopefully, we’ll arrive soon.” Steven glanced up at the darkening sky which threatened to add fresh powder to the soggy mess surrounding them.
“Let me see.” James tugged on the map in his hand. Steven handed it to him. “Here. It’s exactly the same as it was five minutes ago.”
Mathias had given them a map, clothes, and provisions. Steven still wondered why he’d been so nice, trying to see the trap even if James insisted repeatedly that there was none.
Frowning, James squinted at the map then looked up. “It should be over that ridge.”
That’s what they’d thought the past several times. With a shiver, Steven pulled his coat closer, his trouser legs heavy with mud and snow. No conveyance had been available at the tiny train station they’d gotten off at someplace in upstate New York, walking their only option.
Tiny snowflakes fell from the sky, their dance making him miss the wood faeries at his family’s home in the Otherworld. Noli loved those silly little things. They loved her, too.
“Flying figs,” James muttered, pulling his jacket closer against the flurry.
It was too cold to scold James for his language. Something loomed in the distance as they walked up the ridge. Please, please, please let it be the house they sought. Steven’s legs and hands felt like blocks of ice. Snowflakes fell larger and faster by the moment.
James grinned so wide it nearly slid off his face. He broke into a schoolyard lope. “It’s a house, it’s a house.”
Steven quickened his step, difficult in this slush, rucksack bumping across his back. “Hopefully it’s the house we want,” he muttered to the snow, since James dashed out of earshot.
Surely, no one would turn them away in this weather, miles from civilization. Then again, he never thought anyone would leave him naked atop a building in New York City.
“Hurry up, V,” James yelled as he neared the steps of a house.
Steven shivered as he drudged up the wooden steps, stamping the snow off his boots in the process. The threestory house seemed in good repair with big windows and spindly turrets. A swing hung from the snow-covered tree in the front yard. The window boxes probably held flowers in summertime. Not what he expected from a mad scientist.
James thumped on the door with the huge brass knocker. Steven joined him as the door opened. A uniformed maid, probably not much older than Noli, peered out with big blue eyes from the half-open door, blonde curls poking out of her neat white cap.
“May I help you?” she asked, accent heavy. German perhaps?
Steven took off his hat and bowed. “Good afternoon, we’re here to see Dr. Heinz.”
A frown creased her winsome face. “Is the doctor expecting you?”
“No, he’s not, but it’s a very important matter. I’m Steven Darrow and this is my brother James.” He had to see him, he just had to. Behind them the snow fell in white sheets as the wind howled in a way that sent shivers up his spine.
“We’re willing to wait.” James shot her his wheedling smile. “We’ve traveled all the way from Los Angeles to see him.”
“Los Angeles?” Her eyes brightened and the door fell open revealing a cute, but not slender body. “I hope to go next year and be an actress in the moving pictures.”
Her and every other pretty girl in the world.
James’ smile became snow-melting. “Oh, I think you’d do well.”
A hand went to her lips to hide her own grin. “You think so?”
“Oh, I do.” He winked.
“Could you see if Dr. Heinz is available, please?” Steven interrupted, tiring of James’ shameless flirting. His brother’s wild moods were disorienting. Everyone coped differently, but perhaps he
should
have left him behind in Los Angeles to drink away his sorrows.
She bobbed and stepped back, gesturing to the open door. “Please, come in, it’s too cold to wait outside.”
“We appreciate that greatly,” Steven replied as she showed them into a comfortable parlor. A fire roared invitingly. He took a seat in one of the brown chairs, but James stood in front of the hearth warming his red hands.
“Captain Scott, is that you, do you have word?” an accented male voice called from the hallway. A tall, thin man, with spectacles and blond hair entered the room. Magnifying goggles perched on his head. A leather apron, like the sort Noli preferred, covered his clothing. The mortal mad scientist glowed with the Spark—as much as Noli had. More.
Looking them up and down, Dr. Heinz frowned. “You are not Police Captain Scott.”
Steven stood. “No, Dr. Heinz, sir. I’m Steven Darrow and this is my brother James. We’ve traveled a very long way. We hope you can help us.”
Dr. Heinz’s face fell. “Help you? I don’t have time to help.”
The maid bustled in with a tea tray.
“Bridgid,” he barked. “I thought I told you not to bother me unless it was the police.”
“I couldn’t turn them away in the snow.” She set the tray on the table. Bridgid poured three cups of tea and left, giving James a saucy wink. Dr. Heinz just stood there, scowling.
“Mathias, in New York City, sends his regards—and a bottle of whisky. He says it’s your favorite.” Steven took the bottle out of the rucksack and held it out toward Dr. Heinz.
“Mathias sent you?” Dr. Heinz eyed the bottle, then took it, carefully examining it. “He does have good taste in wine, women, and song.”
“That he does.” James plopped down in an opposite chair, grabbing a cup of tea.
Dr. Heinz took a seat on the settee between them, setting the bottle on the low table by the tea tray. He let out a sigh which trembled through his entire being.
“I apologize,” he told them. “I’m Dr. Maximilian Heinz, inventor. Usually, I adore guests. However, I’m currently in the middle of something … delicate. I may not have time to assist you. Given the weather, and the fact you probably walked from town, I’ll hear you out.”
“I appreciate that, sir.” Steven took a cup of tea from the tray on the table in front of them. “I’m looking for an automaton. Nothing specific, just very unique. Something no one has ever seen. It’s … ”
“It’s a gift for our mother. She loves amusements no one else has,” James supplied.
Steven glared at his brother over his teacup. “Anyway, Mathias says when it comes to automatons, you are the best.”
“True automatons are impossible.” Dr. Heinz laughed a little too hard and fast. “However, I do have some mechanical beings and creatures, if you wish to take a look. Perhaps you’ll find something you like.”
His belly unknotted, warmed by the fire, tea, and good news. “Now that would be splendid.”
Steven appraised the assortment of toys and animals in Dr. Heinz’s basement laboratory. Noli would love this place, crowded with gadgets and do-dads.
“The dancer has potential,” James whispered as a mechanical bird zipped around the room, perching on the good doctor’s wrist at his whistle. It was much like one Tiana already had.
“But she only knows three dances, that may bore Tiana,” Steven replied. “She also has a tiny one.” As nice as Dr. Heinz’s inventions were, none of them were extraordinary enough to satisfy the high queen of the Otherworld.
“Do any of these seem interesting, young gentleman?” Dr. Heinz put the bird back in its cage, look expectant. Through all his demonstrations he seemed … dispassionate. No, more like distracted, as if his mind strayed far from them and his inventions.
“Where do you keep the good stuff?” James asked. “This is nice, but we’re looking for something more … sophisticated.”
Dr. Heinz pushed his glasses up, which had slid down the bridge of his very straight nose. His lips pursed into a hard line. “Mathias told you about Helga.” Unhappiness dropped from his voice as his hands shoved deep into his trouser pockets. “Helga is not for sale.”
James opened his mouth and Steven elbowed him in the ribs.
“Could we … see Helga? Please?” Steven ignored James’ scowl.
The doctor crossed his arms over his apron-covered chest. “I will never sell her.”
“This means you’ve created a true automaton—one with intelligence?” Sparks of hope zipped thorough him. Even if Helga wasn’t for sale, that meant the doctor could create something for them.
Dr. Heinz huffed, as if trying, and failing, to find the words he sought. “Let me show you. She is … she is unlike anything you have ever seen. Helga, Helga, come here, please.”
Silence blanketed the lab as Dr. Heinz expectantly watched the doorway to the other room.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
Metallic footsteps sliced through the silence like scythes. A figure made of brass appeared in doorway. Not all the pieces matched, making her look like a well-made quilt of metal. Most definitely female, or at least formed in the shape of one, she stood about the height and girth of a grown woman.
She stopped in front of Dr. Heinz but didn’t say anything. Dr. Heinz motioned to her. “This, young gentleman, is Helga. She’s my laboratory assistant. I have programmed her with twenty-seven routine tasks.”
“She is marvelous,” Steven breathed, taking her—and the concept behind her—in.
“Does she speak?” James’ eyes went alight with boyish curiosity.
“No, but she responds to simple voice commands which correspond with her programmed tasks as well as directions such as
come here
and
stop.”
Dr. Heinz puffed up with pride and gave the automaton a fond look.
Steven moved closer to get a better look at her. Helga’s back was as smooth as her front with the exception of a windup key. “She is clockwork?”
Twenty-seven task and voice commands? Wondrous.
“Partially. She also runs on an analog system … ” Dr. Heinz continued but Steven didn’t understand a word past
system.
“She truly is amazing,” Steven finally added trying to get the good doctor to cease speaking about things he didn’t comprehend and didn’t have time to understand. If only Noli were here. She’d probably have Dr. Heinz telling her all his industrial secrets in moments. Dr. Heinz shook his head. “She’s not for sale.”
“Of course, you need her for your work,” he soothed. Having often worked beside Noli he could understand the benefits of someone who obeyed orders perfectly and didn’t offer their own opinions.
“Is she intelligent?” James squinted at the automaton.
“Intelligent is relative,” Dr. Heinz replied. “She can perform up to three tasks in a series, but cannot look at something and decide which tasks to do on her own. Not yet, anyhow.” He twitched. “There are … .there are people who would as soon never see such a thing.”
“True. Not everyone has embraced the progress of the American Renaissance,” Steven agreed. People such as Noli’s mother, though she simply didn’t use it. Some sought to keep others from using advanced technology— or creating it.
“Could you make something like Helga, but make her tasks more … feminine?” James grinned cheekily. “I think mother would like something that responds to her orders.
That she would,” Steven replied dryly. Especially one that couldn’t think for itself.
Dr. Heinz rubbed his chin. “Yes, I could. But it would take time … months.”
“Oh.” Steven’s heart fell all the way to the floor and lay at his feet, gaping like a fish on land. “We need it in about two weeks.” To give them about a week’s buffer to get it back to the Otherworld, just in case they encountered more … helpers.
“I … ” The doctor went quiet for a long moment, then walked into the other room, gesturing for them to follow. When they joined him in what seemed like half storeroom half junkyard, Dr. Heinz pulled back a curtain. “There is Hilde. She’s unfinished. She’s being programmed to play games, tell stories, and sing songs. She, too, will respond to voice commands, but cannot speak directly.”
Hilde was smaller than Helga, a child instead of a woman, with a molded dress and hair.
“Could she dance?” James asked.
Now Hilde, Hilde would be
perfect.
“Could you have her ready in a week?”
Dr. Heinz’s mouth clamped shut and his eyes narrowed. “If you want Hilde and not one like her, it will be expensive, but yes, I could have her ready in a week for the right price.”
“Oh. Right.” Something else Steven had forgotten— Igan had taken everything. Mathias had given them supplies, but not money to purchase the item. That was his responsibility.