Iron Horsemen (28 page)

A large white man with a scraggly beard and a disgusted expression walked around the terrified workmen. An emaciated man dropped a small copper coil as he tried to maneuver around some crates. The foreman rushed over, unfurled his whip, and struck the man three times in his back.

I pulled back from the hole in disbelief. Genevieve and I looked at each other with horrified expressions. Of course I'd read the newspaper accounts of atrocities committed during the American Civil War, but seeing it made my blood boil.

I dared to look again, driven to learn what was happening inside. A strange sound drew my attention upward. The domed roof of the observatory atop the house rotated around and a large, narrow door slid to the side.

I locked eyes with Genevieve. “Why would they be opening the doors for the telescope? It's still daylight, and it's cloudy.”

“I don't know.”

As I stared up at the observatory, Genevieve peered through the fence and Rodin, sitting on her shoulder, tried to see, too. Her gasp drew my attention. “What is it?”

Genevieve pulled back. “It's Lord Kannard.”

I looked through the hole and saw the nobleman standing on one of the balconies. His long white robe billowed in the rising winds as he stared out over the Thames with eager anticipation. Col. Hendrix came up behind him and bowed. The bronze plated Confederate appeared to give him an update and the news must have been good because it brought a large smile to Lord Kannard.

Fuming, I yanked myself from the fence. I wanted to
scale this wooden barrier and challenge them both, but even though I'd done a lot of foolish things lately, I knew that was too foolish. Genevieve spied through the hole as I paced behind her.

She whispered. “I can see into the house. Some sort of machine rises from the basement up to the observatory. What is it, and what could the large coils of wire be for?”

“Maybe it has something to do with the stolen Tesla papers. He works with electricity, maybe it's a giant lightning cannon.”

I looked up at the storm that formed overhead, and through a break in the clouds I saw the comet. It was daytime, and the sun, dimmed by the clouds, sat just to the east of the long-tailed star. I turned back to the house, and noticed the observatory's door was aimed directly at the comet. What were they going to do to the comet?
What could electricity do?

My head snapped up. “An electromagnet, that's it! If the comet has a core of metal, they could drag it down and it would strike the heart of London.”

Genevieve eyebrows rose. “Are you sure?”

“We made one in my science class. Wrap a copper coil around an iron nail, charge it with electricity, and it becomes a powerful magnet. They've built one the size of a house and aimed it at the comet. That's why they wanted Plato's papers back on Gibraltar.”

Genevieve gasped. “We have to tell Indihar and the others. He has no idea what he's about to face.”

“Looks like that walk home will have to wait.”

We slipped off from the fence being careful not to be seen by Lord Kannard and ran back to the Tinkerer's shop with Rodin soaring just above us.

When we arrived, I slid the large door to the side and rushed in. I looked for my father, the baron, anyone, but only the Tinkerer sat at one of the tables working on some
contraption. I looked for Mr. Singh and the Iron Knight, but they were gone. The Tinkerer looked up and his magnified pupils grew into a stunned expression.

“What are you two doing back here? Everyone thought you went home.”

“Tinkerer, they've already left?” I asked.

“Aye, the baron went back to his house with the professor, and Sinclair went to coordinate her majesties armies.”

I threw up my arms. “Now what?”

Genevieve charged forward. “We found Lord Kannard's lair.”

His eyes widened and he pulled off his goggles.

I stepped closer. “They're building a giant electromagnet. We think they may pull the comet down to strike London.”

The Tinkerer jumped up. “Not to mention what it will do to the Iron Templar.”

“We have to help Indihar.” A worried expression crossed Genevieve's face. “Tinkerer, you must have some other contraptions we can use. If Indihar's already left, there's no way to warn him.”

The Tinkerer nodded. “Over here, but your father is going to kill me.”

“We'll all be dead if we don't do something,” I said.

Genevieve, Rodin, and I followed the Tinkerer to the back of his shop, where no light shone. He walked up grabbed two tarps and whipped them off in a single pull. I strained to see the outline of two more Iron Knights tucked away in the darkness. I saw the glint of bronze from one contraption but the other was too dark to see.

Genevieve stared into the corner. “What are they?”

The Tinkerer flipped on an electric light, tilted the tin shade toward the dark corner, and illuminated the two machines. One, made of dark iron, looked black in color. The second was mostly iron, but the shoulder guards, shield, and other accents were bronze.

I stared in awe. “I thought there was only one.”

“The Iron Templar was number two. The Black Knight was the prototype; I worked all the kinks out on that one, and the Bronze Knight, well… I'm not certain why I made it. I had a lot of parts sitting around and couldn't sleep one week.”

Genevieve turned and asked, “Do they work?”

“Oh yeah, they just need a few things, ammunition, fuel, and the black one needs a new hose. It burst during testing. They don't have all the goodies the Iron Templar has, but they've got everything that counts.”

Genevieve toyed with the locket around her neck. “You did all of this in the last few weeks?”

“The second two. The prototype I've been working on for a year. Ever since Sinclair told me about the horsemen.”

“Tinkerer, I know that the baron and the Grand Master, even my father said no, but will you help us get these working so that we can help Mr. Singh fight the horsemen?”

The Tinkerer's greasy hands ran through his tussled hair as he paced in front of the two Iron Knights. He paused, and I leaned forward, but the Tinkerer continued to pace.

The Tinkerer stopped, smiled, and in his thick Scottish drawl said, “It's Archibald's own words. You
want
to be a knight. Knowing the Grand Master the way I do, that means you
are
a knight.”

Time slowed as the Tinkerer spoke the words. I repeated them in his head. Could I be a knight? Did someone find me worthy of the title?

Genevieve smiled. “Thank you. You may have just saved London.”

“We haven't won yet. Here, let me show you how to operate them. We'll start with the Black Knight.”

The Tinkerer opened the iron chest plate. I climbed in and sat on the seat. My legs slipped down into the iron appendages, as I stood on the machine's knees with my feet
locked into the pedals. I fit my arms through the holes and felt the controls.

It was like sitting inside an iron box. The walls of the chest seemed far away; maybe if I were bigger, I'd fill in the armor. I was tall enough to fit into the helmet, though. The whole contraption moved like an extension of my body. I felt like I
was
the Black Knight.

The Tinkerer looked at us. “The steam engine on the back powers the knight.”

The Scotsman rushed around getting the Iron Knights ready, Genevieve and I helped out, loading the weapons, filling the water tank, and getting the fire hot enough to power the machines. The Tinkerer made the last few adjustments and brought out two thick steel blades that resembled swords. Swords used by giants.

Once everything had been loaded and the Iron Knights were fully powered, Genevieve and I each climbed inside. The Tinkerer closed the chest doors and locked them in. I was surprised by the ease of movement. I stepped on the pedal and the Black Knight rolled forward on its large tank tread feet.

I flipped down the visor from inside with my hand and said, “Open the door, we're ready to roll.”

“Remember—they're just machines. Steam and oil may be the blood flowing through their veins, but it's the driver's soul that is their heart. That's their real strength. As Archibald might say,
think like a knight and you will be a knight.”

Genevieve rolled by and raised the bronze covered arm in salute. “Thank you, we won't let you down.”

The rough metal handles bit into my palms as I gripped the Black Knight's controls. I needed a lighter touch or my hands would be bleeding before the battle started. My heart pounded as I rolled down the cobblestone streets, searching for the house Genevieve and I had seen earlier.

I couldn't see her, my armor had no slits behind me, but I heard the Bronze Knight's engine and the treads rolling over cobblestones.

Dark clouds above kept the sun at bay and threatened rain.

I stepped on the pedal and the Black Knight roared. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a passing window. Dual smoke stacks angled downward sent twin black columns arcing behind me like the wake of a boat. I smiled, I liked being as tall as the second story.

Cannon fire and clashing metal echoed along the narrow street. I signaled Genevieve, and rounded the corner.

Mr. Singh's Iron Templar stood before the four Iron Horsemen. Demons covered in bronze plates and tattered, colored shrouds whipped up by the wind. The ground crumbled beneath their hooves. A deep inner fire shone through their hauntingly absent eyes and through every
joint. Tendrils of black smoke spilled out from their nostrils.

The horses were similar to the one we'd seen on Malta, but bigger and meaner looking. The bronze plates, spaced further apart, exposed more of the iron underneath. Two cannons stuck out of thir chests. On the back, the riders sat not on a saddle but within one. Who were the other riders? I was still to far away to see, but I wanted to know their names before I fought them.

My smile faded, as the throbbing in my temples matched the beat of the engine.

This was not about proving I was not a child, this was about doing what was right. Doing what was needed. I couldn't cower or hide as I'd done at Eaton. All London depended on us.
I would think like a knight. I would be a knight
. I thrust the controls forward hoping this surge of confidence would carry me through the battle. Well, at least the charge.

The four Iron Horsemen surrounded the Iron Templar, but Mr. Singh raised his shield, blocked a striking hoof, and locked swords with Hendrix.

As we drew closer, I could see that upon the red-shrouded steed of war, the Colonel carried a huge broadsword sword and screamed a ferocious battle cry. His iron horse not only held cannons within its chest but also a multi-barreled Gatling gun.

Lord Kannard rode the white-shrouded horse; his white robes and cape whipped about in the quickening wind. A golden crown sat atop his head and he held the reins tightly in one hand.

Captain Zerelda rode the black-shrouded horse with a wild gaze in her eyes. Her raven hair and clothes, the color of night, merged with the iron beast whose tail split in two like a tuning fork.

Tobias, Zerelda's first mate, rode the pale-shrouded steed. He wore a gas mask with canvas and brass coiled
hoses that stretched into the metallic beast. Two large tanks sat on the hind flanks. Would that have been my steed if I'd accepted the Colonel's offer?

The four of them sent shivers up my spine. My hand flexed repeatedly as I tried to release the tension building within.

No matter what the outcome, I wouldn't let Mr. Singh face it alone. I raised the Black Knight's arm and yelled, “We should announce ourselves. Isn't that what knights do?”

Genevieve stopped. “Let our cannons herald us.”

We raised our left arms, aiming at different horsemen. I eyed Col. Hendrix, but hesitated. The weight of this machine nagged at my doubts. Could I really fire? This wasn't a game. Genevieve hadn't fired yet either, I wondered if she felt as I did.

Col. Hendrix slammed his sword against Mr. Singh's shield.

I gasped. “I am the Black Knight!”

Genevieve and I fired simultaneously. The long cannon tucked behind my shield belched smoke. My round smacked into the side of the red steed's head. The explosion ripped past Col. Hendrix and knocked off his hat, but as the smoke cleared, the steed and rider appeared unaffected by the blast.

Genevieve's round impacted Captain Zerelda, but her steed reared up and it exploded harmlessly against the chest plates. The iron horse slammed to the ground. Everything shook and my iron knight wobbled. Fear engulfed me like the cloud of kicked-up dust. I pushed the forced, unnatural, feelings aside as if this fear emanated from the Iron Horsemen and not from within.

Lord Kannard rotated his steed and opened fire. Genevieve and I dodged the shots by weaving down the street as explosions blew cobblestones into the air.

Pebbles rained against the iron skin of my machine, and a feeling of invincibility overtook me. Sitting on the back of their steeds the horsemen looked vulnerable, but encased in iron, I knew no one could touch me.

The horsemen pulled back from Mr. Singh and formed a line across the street.

The Iron Templar bore the order's cross on the shield and chest plate. It was the most complete, the most heavily armored and impressive looking of the three machines. Its crest, made of real horse hair, blazed like a red streak, unlike the Black Knight which had no ornamentation or the Bronze Knight which had bronze plates rising out of the helmet.

Genevieve and I rolled around Mr. Singh and stopped. Rodin jumped off the bronze knight's shoulder and soared over to the Iron Templar. I held up my shield to defend us while Rodin delivered the message around his neck. Genevieve wrote it, and it detailed our plan.

All four Iron Horsemen opened fire. Three rounds slammed into my shield. I struggled to keep my arm in place, but I gritted my teeth and forced my arm to hold. The fourth round impacted Genevieve's shield, but she appeared unaffected.