Secrets of the Dragon Tomb (25 page)

“He must have.”

The guard pushed open the door to the captain's office. I straightened, brushing down my filthy clothes. I knew that I looked awful. If I'd been the ambassador, I would have taken one look and sent us back to the cell.

I'd hardly taken a step inside when something hit me so hard I almost fell. Arms wrapped themselves tightly enough to choke me.

“Putty?” I managed, staring down at my sister.

Olivia was there, too, standing by the captain's desk, her cheeks pink and her fingers clutching nervously at her dress.

“These are your brothers?” the captain said, looking at Livvy.

Olivia nodded. “Oh, yes. We were so worried. My older brother, Viscount Winchester, and my younger brother, the Honorable Edward Winchester.” I tried not to choke.
Viscount Winchester?
Livvy had managed the lie without blinking. “We were in the museum with them. When we discovered the poor dead professor, they went looking for the culprits, and they did not return. We did not know what to do. Had Viscount Winchester been harmed, the scandal…” She shook her head. “It is unthinkable.” She peered closely at Freddie. “What have you done to him?”

The captain cleared his throat. “We had no idea … If only you had said, sir…”

Olivia shook her head again. “I don't know what the ambassador will say when he finds out that Viscount Winchester has been abused in your cells. He gave the Prince Regent his
personal
assurances that Viscount Winchester would be safe, and what with Viscount Winchester being a confidant of the Prince Regent himself…” She turned sad eyes on the militia captain. “In these uncertain, war-filled times, I shudder to think. I once saw His Majesty's Royal Aeronautical Brigade bombard a city over a matter of honor. It was a frightening sight.” She lowered her voice. “It is said the Prince Regent sees allies of the French everywhere.”

The captain came out of his chair, his face reddening. “Your ladyship, I assure you—”

“I take it we're free to go?” Freddie interrupted, drawing himself up.

The captain stared, unmoving, for a second. Then he pulled himself together. “Of course. I will send a detachment of my men to escort you—”

Freddie held up his hand. “That won't be necessary. Now, you have my walking stick, I believe?”

*   *   *

I felt the captain's worried gaze follow us all the way across the prison yard.

The moment we were outside the walls, Olivia turned to Freddie. “You're hurt!”

“It was scarcely skin-deep,” Freddie admitted through gritted teeth, “but the cell was full of foul humors. They've seeped in, and we weren't able to clean the wound properly. I'll be well now that we're out of there.” He reached out and touched Olivia's arm briefly. “You were wonderful. We didn't think we'd ever be released.”

Olivia blushed.

“I've never heard of His Majesty's Royal Aeronautical Brigade,” Putty said.

“Neither, I suspect, has His Majesty,” Freddie said. “Otherwise Britain might be better placed to see off Napoleon. Your sister made it up.”

Olivia's blush deepened.

“You were wonderful,” Freddie said again, “but Edward and I have failed you. Sir Titus's man was released before us. We lost him. We have no way to find your family.”

Olivia tried to hold back a smile, but she couldn't. “Shall I tell them or will you?” she said to Putty.

“Tell us what?” I said.

“Livvy wanted to get you out straightaway,” Putty said, “but I made her wait.”

I stared at her. “Why on Mars would you make us wait around in that horrible cell?”

Putty grinned up at me. “Honestly, Edward. I don't know how you manage anything without me. We waited because we knew your Martian would be released sooner or later. When he was, we followed him.” Her grin widened. “We have found Sir Titus's house.”

 

20

Into the Desert

“Then we have him!” Freddie slapped his walking stick into the palm of his hand. “He's not going to escape this time.”

“He already has,” Olivia said. “We found his house, but we were too late.”

Freddie stopped. “What do you mean?”

“They were loading his airship. We couldn't stop them. They're gone.”

“They've found the dragon tomb,” I said.

“Papa must have deciphered the code,” Olivia said.

I shook my head numbly.

“He had no choice,” Freddie said.

“I can't believe it,” I said. My stomach felt hollow. “We were so close.” I couldn't bear it. We'd failed. Now Sir Titus would have his new dragon tomb and the fortune that went with it, and my family … I'd never see them again. I looked at Olivia and Putty standing there on the narrow Lunae City street. Soon they would be the only family I had. I didn't know how they would survive the loss. I didn't know how I would.

“Still,” Putty said brightly. “At least we know where they've gone.”

There was a stunned silence. Then Freddie leaned in close. “I beg your pardon?”

“The Lan-Kaltar Valley,” Putty said.

Freddie stared at her. “Don't tell me that you've deciphered that blasted map, too? Did you have your own water abacus secreted away all this time? Where have you been keeping it? In your pocket somewhere?” He was going rather red in the face.

“Don't be absurd,” Putty said serenely. “It's what Sir Titus's men said.”

“Sir … They said…” Freddie put a hand to his head. “I think I need to sit down. I'm feeling faint.”

“Perhaps we should continue this conversation back in the hotel,” Olivia said. “You look unwell, Freddie.”

With a great effort, Freddie pulled himself upright. “You're right. Come on, then. I want to hear everything.” He threw a glance at Putty. “Even if it finishes me off once and for all.”

*   *   *

Putty and Olivia had been hard at work while we were locked up. They'd obtained new clothes for me and Freddie, sturdy shoes for all of us, water bottles, a length of rope, a couple of lamps, and even a map.

Freddie blinked at them in astonishment. “How…? You didn't have any money…”

“Olivia is very persuasive,” Putty said. “You should watch out, Cousin Freddie. When she fixes her mind on something, she's very hard to stop. And you owe money to half the merchants in the city.”

“We thought we should be equipped,” Olivia said.

“I'm starting to think we should have stayed in our cell,” Freddie said to me. “Your sisters appear to have managed rather well without us.”

He sank into a low native Martian chair and let out a sigh as he relaxed carefully back. His face was pale beneath the dirt.

“Get him some water,” Olivia told Putty. While Putty was fetching it, Olivia peeled away Freddie's jacket and waistcoat. Her face reddened as she removed his shirt, and she kept her eyes firmly fixed on her work. Even though she wetted the bandages, Freddie still grunted as she pulled them free, and thick, tainted blood welled up.

Through gritted teeth, Freddie said, “Tell us what you've been up to.”

“It was Parthenia's idea, of course,” Olivia said.

“Of course,” Freddie murmured.

“We only meant to follow the Martian when he was released. We were going to hurry back and have you released, too. We knew he wouldn't take many precautions, with you and Edward locked up. He'd never suspect two young ladies would follow him.”

“The poor, innocent fool.”

“I think Cousin Frederick is feverish,” Putty said. “He keeps interrupting in a most odd manner.”

“No, no. Forgive me,” Freddie said. “Please go on. I shall say no more.”

“In any case,” Olivia continued, sluicing water over the wound, “when we reached Sir Titus's house, we knew we were too late. The airship was almost loaded, and the grounds were full of Sir Titus's men. There was no way we could get back to you, have you released, and return to the estate in time. If we lost Sir Titus, we might never find him again.”

Putty bounced out of her chair. “So I rubbed some dirt into my clothes and face—”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Freddie muttered.

“I beg your pardon?” Putty said.

“Nothing! Nothing!”

Putty smiled triumphantly. “Then I shimmied over the wall and mingled with Sir Titus's men.”

“That's insane!” I exploded. “Livvy, why did you let her? She could have been recognized. She could have been captured!”

“It's not me who gets captured!” Putty said. “Anyway, they were hardly going to suspect I would be there, were they? I listened to what Sir Titus's men were saying. I think I might become a burglar. I could have walked off with a fortune.”

“And you heard them say ‘the Lan-Kaltar Valley'?” Freddie said. “You're sure.”

“Of course!” Putty said. “And they were loading some interesting-looking machinery.”

I groaned.

“I didn't go and investigate!” Putty protested. “Not much. Anyway, Sir Titus was supervising the loading himself, so I thought I'd better stay away. Even though I was tempted to give him a good kick in the shins.”

“The Lan-Kaltar Valley is about fifteen miles northwest of here,” Freddie said. “In the desert. I wouldn't have guessed it was the place from the map. There must have been landslides since Sir Titus's map was first drawn.”

“Don't worry, Cousin Freddie,” Putty said. “We're completely prepared.” She pulled a small rock axe from the pile of equipment she and Olivia had gathered. “We're ready to uncover your tomb.” She swung the axe. “Or hit Sir Titus.”

“I do wish you wouldn't call it my tomb,” Freddie said. “It makes me nervous.”

“Fifteen miles is a long way in the desert.” I looked at Freddie, slumped there in the chair. “I don't know if we'll make it.”

“We'll walk at night,” Freddie said. “And we won't need to walk the whole way. We can make half the distance on the Martian Nile.”

“If we had a boat,” I said. “We don't have the funds to hire one.”

“Captain Sadalius Kol will help us,” Putty said. “He said that if I ever needed anything, I should just ask. He said he would make me a sailor.”

Olivia shuddered. “Please don't let Mama hear you say that.”

“I expect he was just being polite,” I said.

“No,” Freddie said. “Parthenia is right. We've traveled with Captain Kol and his men. We've eaten and drunk with them. By native Martian custom, we're part of their family. They'll help us. I'll go to the docks and talk with them.”

“You'll do no such thing!” Olivia snapped. “You can hardly walk. Edward will go to the docks. Your wound is infected and you need to rest. Edward, ask the concierge to send up some strong wine for the wound.” She fixed Freddie with a stern glare. “This is going to hurt.”

“Oh,” Freddie said faintly. “Good.”

“I'll go with Edward,” Putty said, attaching herself to my arm. “He'll need me to translate. I'm sure Cousin Freddie will hurt himself again some other time. I can watch then.” She smiled up at me. “Shouldn't you be getting changed, Edward? You smell like a dead fish.”

*   *   *

Captain Kol's boat dropped us on the shore of the Martian Nile at midnight. The moons were high and the sky clear. The rocky mesa was a dark shadow against the dark sky.

For the first hour, we followed well-worn paths through the fields and floodplains of the Martian Nile. But soon we had left them behind and entered a narrow valley that cut into the mesa. It was difficult to walk here. Stones and rocks had slipped from the cliffs and lay jumbled across the valley floor. In the darkness, I couldn't make out where I was putting my feet, and I had to feel out each step. We seemed to be moving at a crawl.

I was worried about Freddie. He'd slept most of the afternoon and evening, and he looked better than he had, but he was still pale, and I could tell his wound hurt.

“Do you know how many types of poisonous snakes there are in the desert?” Putty's voice drifted from behind as we trudged along the valley.

“No,” Olivia said. “And we don't want to.”

“Seventeen. Can you believe it? Seventeen!”

“Well, now we know,” Freddie muttered.

“And then there are scuttlebugs, which are even more poisonous,” Putty said, “and swarm moths, and—”

“We don't want to know, Putty,” I said.

“I'm just trying to be helpful,” Putty said. “Some of them are so poisonous that you'd be dead before you could fall over.”

I closed my eyes for a second.

“We'll have to hope we don't meet any of them,” Freddie said. “Now we should keep quiet. Sound carries a long way in the desert at night, and we don't want any sentries to hear us.”

“Maybe they'll be eaten by scuttle moths,” Olivia muttered.

“Swarm moths,” Putty corrected her. “They're about the size of your fist and they—”

“Hush!” Freddie said.

*   *   *

The first light of dawn caught me by surprise. I'd dropped into a hypnotic routine: put a foot forward, test the ground, step, repeat, over and over again. My body was numb with exhaustion, and my newly healed blisters had burst again. It was only when I noticed I could actually see where I was putting my feet that I realized dawn was arriving. Great red cliffs rose on either side of the valley, still deep in shadow. Ahead, our valley seemed to spread and open, and beyond, another high cliff rose dark and sheer.

I stopped, resting my foot on a large rock. There was more sand in the valley now, spreading like water around the stones. Freddie had fallen behind during the night. Now he came up beside me.

“It's almost light,” I said. The sky was turning clear above us, the night retreating like an ink spill washed from cloth.