Masque of the Red Death (21 page)

His voice holds a sense of authority that wasn’t there two days ago. What has happened while I was here with Will?

Elliott turns to Will. “My sources tell me that things will get ugly tonight. The upper city is already in chaos. Stay inside with the family.”

“Did someone hit you and black your eye?” Henry asks in a high-pitched, excited voice.

“Yes,” Elliott says without inflection. “A very bad person hit me.”

The soldiers pace restlessly. We have to go.

Elise buries her head in my skirt and whispers, “I wanted you to stay with us.”

I lean over to tell her that I will see her again soon, but April pulls me back.

“Thank you for keeping her safe,” Elliott tells Will. His voice sounds sincere, but I don’t trust sincerity from him.

“I will always keep her safe,” Will says, raising his eyebrows.

They stare at each other, over my head. I look back and forth between them, trying to think of something, anything, to say. April rolls her eyes.

The buildings surrounding the little park seem more sinister than they did just a few minutes before. The empty windows, the door hanging from its hinges. The lack of sunlight…

“How will you protect your little siblings, if you are trying to protect Araby?” Elliott says. “Be careful that you don’t spread yourself too thin. The more people you care for, the harder it is to protect them. Come—”

We are turning away when two men in dark cloaks run toward us. One of them is carrying a torch; the other has a cudgel. The man with the torch throws it through the only unbroken window on the building that stands to the west of the park. He runs directly for us.

I stand frozen until the sound of breaking glass convinces me that this is real, and by then the man with the cudgel is only a few steps away. He leans down and almost casually scoops Henry off his feet.

Elise screams.

CHAPTER

NINETEEN

B
EFORE I CAN DRAW THE BREATH TO SCREAM
myself, Elliott springs into action, pulling a long sword from his walking stick. But the blade is thin, and the club the man is carrying is large and heavy.

Will tears at the park bench, ripping up a piece of rotted wood. It won’t be much of a weapon.

“Do something!” I scream at the soldiers. The one who is closer aims his musket, but I don’t watch. I run toward Henry. April grabs my arm, and we almost fall.

The man holding Henry raises his club over Elliott’s head. For a moment I imagine it crashing down, but before the man can move, Elliott stabs him through the heart.

The man falls backward, clutching his chest.

I dive, but April wraps her arms around me, and I can see, even as I plunge forward, that I’m not going to get there fast enough.

Henry hits the ground, hard.

His mask connects with the bricks of the sidewalk with a sickening crack. The soldier finally fires his musket into the air, and Elliott is already chasing the second attacker.

“Follow him!” Elliott yells to the soldiers.

Elise stares at the dead man. Her shock is a testament to Will’s care. Even in the upper city, we see death every single day. In the silence, we hear the crackle of flames as they start to spread through the first floor of the building. I hope no one is inside.

“They broke my shiny mask that Miss Araby brought,” Henry says, and puts up his arms. He is speaking plainly, so he isn’t badly hurt. When I pick him up, I’m amazed how light he is.

“Elliott shouldn’t have followed them. They may not be alone,” April says.

“Elliott has a sword,” I say, to reassure her.

“It’s a flimsy blade,” she retorts. “Maybe Elliott would think more clearly if he wasn’t distracted, wondering about you and William.” She gives me a pointed look.

Henry wiggles, and I nearly drop him. His trust in me to keep him safe is painfully misplaced, yet he wraps his arms tighter around my neck.

“Take them home and keep them there,” April tells Will. “Today is a violent day.”

“Who hit you, April?” I reach out to her with the arm that isn’t cradling Henry.

“A madman,” she says. “Who has reason to hate my brother. And my uncle.” She sighs. “Elliott is the one we need to be fighting for, he’s our best hope, but he makes it so hard sometimes.”

“You’ll tell me all about it later?” I ask. She nods. Will steps forward. I hand Henry back to him and immediately miss Henry’s warmth. It’s too cold to stand alone, and I’ve pushed everyone away.

Elliott returns, racing back to us with his guards close behind.

“He went underground. If a rebel group starts using the catacombs effectively, my uncle will lose control of the city.” His hands are fists. I think he’s afraid that Reverend Malcontent is working faster than he is. He stretches out his fingers, calming himself, before he puts his hand on my shoulder. “We have to go.” His voice is soft, and for a moment I think he understands how difficult leaving will be.

“We can’t just leave,” I say.

“Why, do you have another mask to give the boy?” Elliott asks. “No? Then there is nothing further we can do. William should take the children to safety.”

“We could drive them home,” April says.

“We’ll be safer by ourselves,” Will mutters, and he reaches for my hand. My heart nearly stops. I deserve a few more hours with him. Deserve to know what it’s like to kiss him, before our world goes up in flames. Again.

“I’m sorry, Will.” I slide my mask to the side and stand on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.

He pulls me close, but instead of embracing me, he whispers, “I’ve worked in the Debauchery Club for a long time. I know things, people. Maybe I could help you. It would be better than getting involved further with them.”

I shake my head. I can’t let him risk himself. He’s the only one looking out for Henry and Elise. I hug both children.

“Be good,” I say. “Listen to your brother.”

They nod.

“You’ll be safer.” I say it more to convince myself than anything else. Will picks up Henry and takes Elise by the hand.

“And I thought he was irresistible before,” April says in a dreamy voice. We watch their retreating backs, and I realize that I’m holding my breath.

They’ve left Henry’s ball. I place it carefully on the floor of the steam carriage, which is littered with pamphlets. I pick one up.

“It says the water in the lower city is poisoned.”

“Another attempt to frighten people,” Elliott says. “Malcontent.”

Smoke from the burning building stings my eyes. I steady Henry’s rubber ball with my foot. The world seemed safer yesterday. Maybe not for me or my family, but for everyone else.

The guards climb into the carriage, beaming at Elliott like he’s the greatest hero on earth. We ride in silence for several miles.

I start to ask about the Red Death, just as April speaks.

“I can’t believe that you went home with Will,” she says, laughing. “Every female member of the club has been trying for him. And it was wasted on you, wasn’t it? Or did you break your vow?”

“I didn’t…” I begin, and then trail off. She’s looking from me to Elliott expectantly, and I realize that she’s trying to reassure him. She thinks he cares what I did or didn’t do with Will.

“Of course you didn’t—”

“Shut up, April,” Elliott says. Maybe he does care.

Now he’s annoyed her, so she teases him. “Did you see the way they were…”

Elliott makes an angry gesture.

“It was nothing,” I say.

“Nothing? You were with him for two nights.”

“Henry was sick.”

I picture the faces of the children, innocent with sleep, but then I push the image away. Mother is a prisoner and Father is in hiding. Elliott’s right. It’s dangerous to care about too many people.

“Araby is good at getting men to sleep beside her without anything … happening,” Elliott says grimly, surveying the city.

His voice is strained, and there is a crease in his forehead that I never noticed before.

“You weren’t hurt in the fight?” I ask.

“Of course not.”

We pass building after building. Homes with quilts and blankets covering the windows. I’m in pain too.

We’re both looking out over the city, trying not to feel anything.

“I didn’t know you could fight with a sword like that,” I say, to break the silence. In the distance I can see another building blazing.

He makes a dismissive gesture. “They were untrained, clumsy.”

“When we lived in the palace he used to challenge the guards to fight him,” April says. “Until the prince made him stop because he had killed too many.”

“That’s not the way I remember it,” Elliott says softly.

One of the guards frowns. Elliott shakes his head, and the guard looks away, flushing.

It is starting to drizzle. I pull Will’s coat closer around me, hoping he won’t be cold without it. I am ridiculously pleased to have something of his.

We’ve pulled up to a crossroad, and I realize that it’s the same one where I first saw dark-cloaked men slipping in and out of the shadows. No cart blocks our path this time. There is no young mother, giving up her infant. Instead April ignores the cold wind and Elliott does his best to shelter me from it.

The canvas roof of the young woman’s building has been torn back, exposing the grim living quarters inside.

I realize then that we are not going home. We’re going to the Debauchery Club. The thought of going into our empty apartment horrifies me, but Will warned me not to go to the club. I should tell them. But for some reason I don’t.

When we get within a block of the club, Elliott leans over and says to April, “This is where we separate. You take the guards, as we discussed earlier.”

April wants to say no. I can see it in the tilt of her head. But Elliott’s voice is plaintive. For Elliott, this is close to begging.

We climb out of the carriage, and April gives us one long look before hurrying to the back entrance of the club. Elliott’s steam carriage is parked at the end of the alley.

“You’ll have to go with my sister,” he tells the guard. “She needs your protection. We will rejoin you in a few hours.”

The guards who were with us in the carriage nod and turn away, but two others come out of the Debauchery Club. I recognize one of them; he was watching my father.

“Loyal to the prince,” Elliott mutters.

“Sir, you can’t—,” the guard begins.

But Elliott has turned away. He hands me into his carriage, cursing because the engine is cold, and when he tries to start it, the motor makes a strange grating sound.

Three guards have gathered on the sidewalk now.

“Sir, you should come with us,” one of them begins. More are approaching. Two of them have unslung their muskets.

“Elliott, they’re going to shoot us!”

“No, they aren’t.” Above his mask, his blue eyes are sparkling. He’s enjoying himself.

He hits the side of the steam carriage with his fist, and the engine comes to life with a loud roar.

Elliott’s soldiers appear to be arguing with the prince’s men. Elliott smiles. One of the guards who was with us in April’s steam carriage hits the man who was trying to stop us. And then we turn a corner, and they are all out of sight.

“What will your uncle do to my mother?” I ask.

“It depends on your father. No matter what happens, I don’t think my uncle will kill her.”

“You don’t think he will kill her,” I say flatly. “She has to live, Elliott. I owe her a lifetime of apologies.”

“Sometimes I think that’s all we owe our parents.” Elliott adjusts his driving goggles. “I didn’t crawl out from behind the curtain when my father was murdered. If I’d done so, maybe I could have bought him some time; he could have fought back.

“If he had lived, my mother wouldn’t be a paranoid wreck, and maybe April wouldn’t be so self-destructive. But I can’t even tell my mother that I’m sorry for being a coward. If I say one word about it, that would be treason.

“My mother is so scared of the prince that there is a chance she would turn me in. Wouldn’t that be amusing, if my own mother betrayed me? For trying to apologize?”

“But you’ve thought of apologizing.”

“Of course. Haven’t you?”

I hadn’t, not before two days ago.

Maybe Elliott is a better person than me.

“My uncle doesn’t understand people who can make things. All he knows how to do is destroy. Your mother makes silence into music. He is fascinated by that.”

I don’t know how to respond to this observation, so I stare out at the city.

Something is burning on the sidewalk. Usually I’d assume that such a fire was an attempt to generate warmth. But today it might just be a random act of destruction.

“We’ve always wondered why Uncle Prospero let your mother go. You had a brother, right?”

How can he not know this thing that defines me?

“We were twins.”

Elliott can’t comprehend what this means, but he has the decency to say, “I’m sorry.”

I fight back tears. Losing Finn never stops hurting.

“You are sure he’s dead?” Elliott asks.

“Yes.”

“You’re sure he’s not a captive?” When I shake my head, he continues, “Your father has held the prince at bay for years. But all of a sudden, the prince has decided that he doesn’t care. Either he no longer fears your father, or there is something he fears more.”

Elliott picks up a handful of flyers, but instead of handing them to me, he lets them fall through his fingers. Still, I see the words D
OWN WITH SCIENCE
repeated over and over. “I don’t want to live through another plague. This Red Death. I never want to see…” He gestures out at the city. Whatever sunlight there was is gone, and the buildings are dreary and dark. “I don’t want to watch this city burn to the ground.”

His voice wavers. Not enough that most people could hear, but I notice.

He makes an abrupt turn.

“After my uncle released us from the palace, my mother begged me to live with her and April in our old apartment in the Akkadian Towers. But it held too many memories of my father, so I lived in an apartment on campus. I was writing real poetry then. Agonizing over words. I was happy until I realized that I was the only one who could do something about the deterioration of the city. I could make something, the way my uncle never could. It is what I was meant to do.”