Cogling (41 page)

Ike kissed her forehead. “Thank you. For now, go sleep. Even a talisman can’t save you from death.”

Edna stiffened.

“I’ll protect you.” He nudged her toward the bunks. “Sometimes good intentions are enough.”

“I have to tell you something.” She held her breath, squeezing her eyes shut.

“What is it?” He cupped her cheek.

Edna released her breath in a hiss. “I can trust you, right?” She peered into his dark eyes. “I never told anyone this. It hurts me, having the secret. Hurts me real bad.”

He rested his forehead against hers. “You can trust me, Edna.”

She pressed her face into his shoulder so he wouldn’t have to look at her. “Sometimes I feel this thing inside of me. Its like an energy, a power. It comes when I’m angry, or scared, or sometimes it just comes, and if I let it go, it can be destructive. It’s evil.” Tears burned her eyes and she pressed against him harder. “It won’t go away, and I can only push it back. I have tricks to keep it there, in my heart. When I’m near Harrison, or when I’m reading, or when I’m near you—”

He stroked the back of her head. “Edna, does it crawl across you? Does it creep out and cover your whole body?”

She leaned back to peer up at his face, frowning. “You’ve heard of it before? Do you think Hilda can heal me? I’ve never told anyone, not even the priests. I was afraid they would… shun me.”
Kill me.
A shudder coursed through her, but the evil stayed back.

“It’s magic.”

“What?” She wrinkled her nose. “This is something different.”

“That’s what magic feels like. We have innate magic in our hearts. It’s natural energy and it responds to our emotions. It will creep out over your body until you have a grip on it. I don’t even feel mine now. It’s always there.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s evil.”

“That’s because you don’t understand it.”

She swayed, and he held her around the waist tighter. After a lifetime of fear, could it be as simple as magic? Could magic be good? “I can’t have magic. I’m human.”

“That must be why the cameo reacts to you so well. We’ll figure it out together. After all this is over, I’ll practice with you. You’ll master it so you won’t have to be afraid.”

“Ike…” She choked on a sob. “Don’t tell anyone yet, please, not until we know for sure.”

The evil didn’t creep out from her heart so, for once, she didn’t have to push it back.

Why should I believe you now?

dna kept Harrison’s hand tight in hers as they dashed from the train. Her veins thudded in her ears, muting the chaos surrounding them: people screamed, luggage smashed, and the whistle blew. They’d finally reached the King, yet only the Saints knew how he’d receive them. She could almost feel the hot breath of the police scalding the back of her neck. However, the evil—or magic, if Ike was correct—stayed in her heart as if finally at peace.

Over the heads of the bustling crowd, a towering carousel rose up from the platform. Ribbons connected the spire to a wrought-iron fence and steam pumped out of pipes around the glass-domed roof, with violin music playing from a steam-powered phonograph player. Children in bright clothes rode the carved animals while parents and nannies watched from behind the fence.

“What’s that?” Harrison tugged her toward the carousel.

If only she could allow him to play on it and pretend they were mere visitors.

Ike grabbed his other hand. “That’s one of the grandest attractions in Flynt City. Nobles and business folk come from all over the kingdom for an audience with the King, and most bring their families.”

“I never got to come,” Rachel muttered.

“Do many people live here?” Edna pointed at the gilded sign over the train station, which read:
Flynt
. “I always pictured the city where the King lived as housing his court and that was all.”

“Most of the city consists of the castle,” Ike explained. “The buildings are hotels.”

“For the King’s advisors to stay in?” Harrison asked.

Ike laughed. “Those folks go to resorts on the beaches and in the mountains. The hotels are for the visitors. This way. We’ll hire a steam cab.”

Ike carried one satchel while Edna lugged the other, keeping Harrison between them. Hilda and Rachel brought up the rear, Rachel twirling a lace parasol. Edna thanked the Saints for the crowd, affording them cover to hide within, to disappear into the masses. “Remember, look like average tourists.” The air hung still and hot until they reached the street, where a sharp wind whipped between the towering buildings. The brick structures reminded Edna of Moser City, with gargoyles adorning the corners and cherubs engraved on the doors. She bit her lower lip. Home lay across the country. Even if she went back, nothing would be the same. Harrison had lost his innocence, and they were both jobless. Other than speaking with the King and reuniting with their parents, she couldn’t picture the future.

When they reached the street, Ike released Harrison and raised two fingers. “Cabbie!” A steam cab rumbled by, but another screeched to a halt beside them. Edna’s nerves tingled. She’d gotten to ride in a locomobile and now she would get into a cab. With her fancy clothes, she could pass as a real young woman of worth.

The driver tipped his hat. “Where to, m’dears?”

“Langston Palace,” Ike opened the door to help the girls inside, and Harrison followed. Edna wished they were back on the street as soon as Ike sealed them inside. Stuffiness closed around her head to make her ears ring. The scent of spices tickled her nose, and she sneezed.

“Bless you.” Hilda handed her a lace handkerchief.

“Thank you.” Edna blew her nose and tucked the linen scrap into her sash. “I can’t believe I forgot mine. Sorry for dirtying yours.” Harrison pressed his face against the glass window in the door. “Look at the people. They all look nice.”

Edna glimpsed a man in a suit selling apples from a canopied cart and her mouth salivated for the juicy fruit. The shining red skin didn’t have the dullness engineered fruit possessed. “That fruit must be real.”

“Is this the nice section?” Harrison asked. “I don’t see any beggars.”

Ike leaned back on his bench, crossing his legs. “The police drive them out. Flynt is a city just for those who can afford it.”

“Then the beggars come to Moser.” Rachel shook her head. “Our city of poorhouses and factories.”

Ike scowled. “Why should the King see how his people suffer?”

Edna glowered at his sarcasm.

“That’s what advisors are for,” Rachel said.

Edna frowned, biting her fingernail. “You have to experience things to really understand them.”

Rachel shrugged. “He’s the King. He can’t be everywhere and do everything.”

“But the poor need him,” Edna said. “Think of the babes left abandoned on doorsteps awaiting someone to take them in, to drop them off at an orphanage, or to freeze at night. They can’t make enough on their own.”

“There is only so much wealth in the kingdom,” Rachel said.

“Once, my mother had laryngitis and couldn’t sing for a week, so the Music Hall didn’t want her.” The memory sent a shiver along Edna’s spine. “She couldn’t work, so she didn’t get paid. Harrison was too young to work then, and my father was still away. All we had that week were my coins. There wasn’t enough money for heat. We barely got by on a loaf of bread and a bit of cheese.”

“A hag could’ve cured that,” Rachel said.

“With an enchanted scarf made by children?” Harrison snorted.

Edna squeezed his hand. “How could we afford a hag’s healing?”

“Then what would you have the King do?” Rachel glared out the window. “He can’t give out free money.”

“He could open more shelters. The only orphanages are owned by private folk who want the child labor.”

“He could open public schools,” Ike mused. “Education wouldn’t depend on families and tutors.”

The steam cab turned a corner and Harrison whistled. “Is that Langston Palace?”

“Sure is.” Ike frowned at the ceiling. Edna glanced up, but didn’t see anything worthy of attention. Why did he go out of his way to avoid looking out the window?

The steam cab halted and the passengers disembarked. Ike paid the driver while Edna and Harrison gaped at the massive fence of brick and metal. Beyond it, past a manicured lawn, sat a six-story building with domed towers and balconies. The palace stretched long enough to occupy three city blocks. The beige stones of the outside were draped with flowering vines and hanging crimson flags.

Edna whistled. “Odds bobs, this place is unbelievable. Rachel, I thought your father’s mansion was exotic, but this sprawling palace is breathtaking.”

“Where the King has everything he could ever desire,” Rachel whispered.

“We have to see the guardsmen first,” Ike said. “They will take us to the king.”

Edna plucked at her gloves. “We will see His Majesty, or we’ll be turned away to face whatever plan comes next.”

“Why should they admit us?” Rachel asked as they followed Ike along the cobblestone path that wound around the fence.

“Just because we know information about how evil the hags are doesn’t mean we’re considered trustworthy,” Edna said, “and Rachel’s the only one of us with a title and she’s only eighteen.” They passed groups of people ogling the palace from the sidewalk.

A man in a top hat told a little boy, “The King has the entire top floor all to himself.”

“How does the King have so much space just for himself?”

Two guards in velvet livery stood at the locked entrance.

“Why are there only two men? Couldn’t someone assassinate the King?” Edna wondered aloud, and winced, realizing her question could be viewed as treason.

“The King has a head security hag,” Ike whispered. “Unless invited inside, no one can pass the invisible magical barrier.”

Neither of the guards looked at the group until Ike coughed.

“We’re here to see King Elias,” Ike announced. “We have important business.”

The taller of the guardsmen laughed so hard his black mustache twitched. “Move along, lad.”

“I’m serious.” Ike stared the guard in the eye. They were of the same height, although the man was thicker in build.

His mirth faded. “Only those with appointments see the King.”

“Appointments and
prestige
,” the other guard sneered.

Edna squeezed Harrison’s hand. They had to make the King listen to their plight. The hags couldn’t continue making coglings.

“He’ll want to see me if you tell him who I am,” Ike said.

The second guard snorted. “And who are you, lad? The King’s been busy these past few days and not seeing anyone. Not likely he’ll make an exception for you.”

“I’m sure he will.” Ike narrowed his eyes. “Tell him his son is here to visit.”