Soul Seekers (15 page)

37

Cas threw his hands up in desperation as the razor sharp blade flickered toward him, and then suddenly another blade flashed into view.

Du Pont’s sabre clashed violently against the new blade, blocked just inches from Cas’s face, and the Hessian looked up even as Cas craned his head backwards to see who was standing over him.

General George Washington wielded his sabre in one hand and a pistol in the other.

The general fired the pistol in a burst of noise and a cloud of blue smoke.

Du Pont shuddered violently as a ragged red hole appeared high upon his chest. He blinked, all of the rage vanished from his features as his sabre fell from his grasp. Cas saw thick blood spill from his chest, and then the Hessian’s eyes emptied of life and he slowly fell backwards and thumped down dead upon the field.

Cas turned as the sound of hooves thundered around him. The patriots were advancing down the hillside with a ragged cheer, firing at the Hessians fleeing into the forests below.

Cas turned to Du Pont’s dead body, and on an impulse he reached over and undid one of the lieutenant’s pockets. He hauled out the two bags of coin Du Pont had stolen from him. General Washington holstered his pistol and held out a gloved hand. Cas took it and got to his feet, holding his cut shoulder with one hand as he offered the bags of coin up to the general. ‘I have no more need for these. They belong to you.’

The general stared at him for a long moment before replying.

‘It is not often that I find even a man as good as his word,’ Washington said. ‘To find a child of such calibre is indeed a rare find. The coin is yours, Cas. It was well earned.’

‘Where is my father?’ Cas asked.

‘Safe in my house along with your friend, Kip,’ the general replied. ‘You can find them there. Did you free your friends from the press gang?’

‘I did, but I need transport,’ Cas said. ‘One of my friends was shot during our escape. She doesn’t have much time. They’re on foot for Lincoln.’

General Washington wasted not a moment. With a click of his fingers he sent his aide de camp running with orders for horses. Then he looked back down at Cas. ‘Where do you need to go?’

‘Lincoln,’ Cas replied. ‘What is the time, sir?’

‘Twelve of six in the morning,’ Washington replied. ‘What is your hurry? I have surgeons who can help your friend – I owe you that much.’

‘They won’t be able to help her,’ Cas assured him, ‘if we’re not in Lincoln by seven this morning.’

Even as he spoke a team of riders galloped down toward them, Captain Mitchell at their head. The general looked up at Mitchell. ‘Take Casimir by way of Dorchester Lines to my residence in Cambridge, and from there to Lincoln. He must arrive not later than seven of this morning, understood?’

‘Aye, general,’ Captain Mitchell said.

Washington turned to the other riders.

‘The rest of you, ride ahead and locate the other three children. They are patriots one and all and must also reach Lincoln by seven.’

As the rest of the horses galloped away, General Washington looked down at Cas and then extended a hand. ‘That we meet again, young Casimir.’

Cas shook the general’s hand. ‘I hope so, Mister President.’

Washington looked confused for a moment and then smiled. ‘If only I possessed your confidence, young man. Now go, and be swift!’

Captain Mitchell guided his horse alongside Cas and with one strong arm hauled him into the saddle.

‘Hang on boy, this’ll be rough.’

With a surge the horse broke into a gallop and thundered down the hillside. Cas hung on to the saddle until his knuckles were white as they rode at breakneck speed through Roxbury and out toward Cambridge, the trees flashing past in a blur to the sound of clattering hooves.

They reined the horse in alongside Washington’s residence just thirty minutes later and then changed horses. Cas waited in the saddle of a new horse as Kip and Joshua were led out of the house. To his dismay, his father was clutching his book and mumbling to himself, his head down and his shoulders hunched as though
he
were the old man, not Kip.

Kip looked up at Cas. ‘He’s not right in the head, boy.’

‘We’ve got to hurry,’ Cas agreed, and watched as his father was lifted gently into the saddle by colonial soldiers. ‘Where are Emily, Jude and Siren?’

‘They came through here with more horses a few minutes ago,’ Kip replied. ‘Said they were headed for Crazy Jo’s? Where in God’s name is that?’

‘Long story,’ Cas replied. ‘You’ve got a home in the woods right, a small shack?’

Kip’s old eyes widened in amazement. ‘Now how would you be knowing about that? I don’t never told a soul about it.’

‘That’s where they’re headed,’ Cas said.

They rode north-west again, following the Concord Turnpike until they reached the town of Lincoln. Kip guided the riders into the forests nearby, and they eventually reached the tiny shack buried deep within.

Kip dismounted and hurried to the door of his shack, throwing it open in time to see Emily dash out, her face flushed with tears.

‘Cas’! Come quickly!’

Cas jumped from his saddle and hurried into the shack.

Siren was laying on the bed within, her skin sheened with sweat. Jude was gently wiping her forehead with a cool cloth, but Cas could see that she was slipping away.

‘I can hardly find her pulse,’ Jude whispered, fighting back tears. ‘She’s almost gone.’

Cas whirled and dashed outside to call Captain Mitchell for help. The captain hurried inside and saw the sick girl lying on the bed. He knelt down beside her, checked the wound and then her pulse. Finally, he turned to Cas.

‘I’m sorry,’ Mitchell said. ‘She’s already too far gone.’

Cas ran a hand through his hair and felt all of the resolve drain from his body as he nodded.

‘Please, leave us with her. You’ve done enough.’

Captain Mitchell left the shack and joined his men. As they climbed onto their horses, he looked down at Cas.

‘You sure about this?’ he asked.

Cas nodded. ‘We’ll be okay,’ he replied.

Captain Mitchell spurred his horse and within a few moments the sound of galloping hooves vanished into the forest. The shack was utterly silent but for Joshua’s mumbling as he stood in the doorway clutching his book.

Emily looked up at Cas. ‘What now?’ she asked.

Cas turned to Kip. ‘Can you carry her?’

The old man nodded but seemed confused. ‘Carry her where?’

‘Not far,’ Cas said, ‘just to a hill nearby.’

Kip gently lifted Siren into his arms. He led the way out of the shack, with Emily and Jude following. Cas waited until they were out of sight.

As soon as they were gone, Cas reached beneath his shirt and lifted out a small leather pouch. The pouch was heavy with the thirty shillings inside. He set the money down on the table in Kip’s shack and then turned to his father, who was mumbling away to himself and occasionally chuckling as though he had heard a joke.

‘Dad.’

Joshua didn’t appear to hear him. Cas walked up to him and jabbed him in the side. Joshua looked down at his son, his eyes briefly focusing.

‘Give me the book, Dad,’ Cas said.

Joshua stared at Cas blankly for a moment and then handed him the ledger from the tavern in Boston. Cas placed it onto the bench in the shack, and then grabbed his father’s hand.

‘Run!’

Before his father could stop him, Cas yanked his hand with all of his strength and forced him to run in pursuit as they hurried through the forest. Cas could see Kip, Jude and Emily ahead of them, making their way toward the edge of the forest.

It took them almost ten minutes to reach the little hillside. They clambered up through the long grass until they were in the exact same spot as they had arrived, and Kip laid Siren down on the damp grass.

‘She’ll not last long out here,’ he said to Cas. ‘She needs warmth.’

‘She’ll get it,’ Cas replied, then grabbed the old man’s arm. ‘Thank you, Kip. I’ve left you something at your shack, for all you’ve done.’

Kip furrowed his brow. ‘For me? Ain’t nobody given me anything for many a moon now, Cas’.’

‘Then maybe it’s about time,’ Cas replied. ‘Thirty shillings enough for you?’

Kip’s old eyes flew wide in disbelief and his jaw gaped as he tried to speak. ‘Enough? I could buy a house with that!’

‘You buy what you want to, Kip,’ Cas said, and then stood back. ‘What’s the time?’

Kip looked up at the pale orb of the sun glowing through the scudding clouds, and judged its angle.

‘It’s about seven in the morning Cas’, why?’

Kip looked down at Cas, and his breath was sucked from his lungs as he realised that Cas, Joshua, Siren, Jude and Emily had all vanished.

* * *

38

Cas saw Kip glance up at the sky and then the light seemed to grow brighter, enveloping him in its embrace. The cold of the hillside vanished and he felt warmth flood through him as the light swirled around his body. The sound of voices reached him as though from far away, and then one became louder and punctured the warm bubble of light.

‘Medical team, now!’

Cas felt a sudden thump as though he had landed after a short fall, and blinked his eyes.

The facility lights were harsh compared to the soft glow of moments before, and he turned his head to see a row of beds. Jude and Emily were coming awake beside him, and he saw his father sit up.

‘Dad?’

Joshua looked at him, his eyes clear and focused, and in an instant he had yanked his headgear off and was on his feet, lifting Cas from his bed in a tight embrace. The elaborate headgear toppled off Cas’s head and landed on the bed beside him.

‘God, you’re alive son!’

Cas felt a different kind of warmth flood through his body as he held his father tightly.

‘So are you,’ he replied.

Joshua held Cas for a moment longer and then set him down and smiled proudly.

‘Thanks to you,’ he said.

A clattering of boots caught Cas’s attention, and he turned to see General Winchester leading several soldiers into the facility, his once stern crumbling as he saw Siren unconscious on the bed.

‘Serena!’ he gasped.

Doctor Harrison burst into the facility, aides carrying saline bags and all manner of medical equipment following him. ‘What happened?’

‘Gunshot,’ Cas said, ‘about an hour ago.’ He looked at General Winchester. ‘She took a bullet meant for me.’

The general’s already trembling eyes flooded with tears and he collapsed onto his knees beside Siren’s bed. Doctor Harrison and his team swarmed around Siren and yanked a curtain around the bed, sealing her off from view.

Jude looked at Cas in alarm. ‘There was no bullet wound, Cas’,’ he said.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, Siren’s bullet wound is gone,’ Jude explained, ‘but she’s still not conscious.’

Cas looked down at himself. He was back in his own clothes and all of the wounds and abrasions he’d picked up in 1776 were gone. He realised that he didn’t even feel tired any more. He turned to his father.

‘Why isn’t Siren better too?’ he asked.

Joshua sighed as he listened to the sound of Doctor Harrison and his team trying to save Siren’s life.

‘People can be injured when visiting the past, minor damage and fatigue vanishes when we return. After all, we’ve really just been lying down on a bed in this time. But a major injury, like being shot, causes more than just physical damage. It drains the body so much that it can prevent us from recovering, even though our real bodies are uninjured. The brain is starved of oxygen, the heart labours and all manner of things start to go wrong.’

Emily frowned. ‘But what does it drain from us?’ she asked.

Joshua looked down at them all.

‘Our essence,’ he replied and touched his own hand, pinching his skin. ‘We are all more than just this, flesh and blood. There is something else, something more, like a candle burning inside all of us. Sometimes, if that candle becomes too weak, it goes out altogether.’

Cas looked at where Siren lay behind the curtains and suddenly he felt ill.

‘I caused this,’ he whispered. ‘She might die because of what I did.’

Joshua reached down and grabbed Cas’s shoulders. ‘She might
live
because of what you did. None of us can predict what will happen in our lives, Cas. We can only face those challenges as best we can. You did more than a dozen people could do and you made me very proud.’

Cas felt his eyes fill up with tears but didn’t really understand if they were tears of joy or grief. His father’s arms folded around him again, but this time the warmth didn’t come so easily to Cas. Behind him he heard a stern voice.

‘You must all leave, now.’

Cas turned to see General Winchester looming over them. His features were hard again, carved in dark granite. He gestured to the exit.

‘We’re not leaving Siren,’ Emily insisted.

The general looked down at her.

‘I will stay with her,’ he rumbled. ‘But you must all leave this place and never return. You have seen things that no human being alive today has seen. You have done things that no human being has ever done and survived before. But nobody can ever know of this. You will be required to sign non-disclosure agreements before you leave. You may never speak of what has happened to any living soul, ever. If you do, you’ll spend the rest of your life in a prison so secret that nobody will ever find out what happened to you.’ Then general glowered down at them all. ‘Do you understand?’

Cas looked up at the soldier. Despite everything that had happened, he finally understood why something like the experiment they had become a part of should never become public knowledge. To see the past, to interact with it, was sometimes too dangerous and too painful to bear.

‘I understand,’ Cas replied.

Emily and Jude both nodded, their faces sombre as they were led out of the facility toward the underground passages of Hascomb Air Base.

Cas signed his non-disclosure document in a haze, and almost before he knew it they were being driven up and out of the huge hangar. Bright sunlight and warmth swept through the air force transport as they were driven across the air base to the main gates, and then they were outside and heading back toward Lincoln.

Cas looked at his father.

‘Do you think Siren will make it?’ he asked.

Joshua looked down at them all, at the furtive faces of Emily, Jude and Cas, and then he smiled. ‘Are you kidding? If she’s anything like her father she’ll be making home runs by the end of the week.’

Cas sat back in his seat and watched the quiet little town of Lincoln pass by.

‘If she does,’ he said, ‘then it’s over, isn’t it?’

Joshua nodded, one arm draped across Cas’s shoulders.

‘Yes son,’ he replied. ‘It’s over.’

* * *