71. Jack
SEVENTY-ONE
JACK
The events of the day were blurring together as Jack took a shower and ate dinner in his room. The ball was approaching quickly. Jack was expected to make an appearance as the savior of Burrow Den.
A suit had been prepared for him. It hung off his bathroom door, ready to make its debut.
Jack dressed robotically, his mind on Abigail and Elizabeth.
After the tests were complete, Abigail just wanted some alone time with her sister.
Jack couldn’t blame her. If Elizabeth could really read minds, what kind of life would she be able to live?
Jack’s fingers fumbled with the clasp of his slacks and his tie. He was used to summoning magic and hunting the paranormal, not this. A mirror showed him exactly how feeble his attempts really were. The clothing fit well, but his bow tie looked like a noose. His hair wasn’t much better.
Jack grimaced at the burning pain he felt in his scalp as he combed his hair into place.
The bow tie was beyond saving. Coattails trailing behind him, Jack exited his room.
A glance to his left told him Aareth wasn’t back yet.
A silver platter holding dinner was still on the carpet in front of his locked door.
Looking the other direction, Jack knew something was wrong. Two guards stood in front of Abigail and Elizabeth’s room. One he recognized as Sergeant Harrison.
“Hello, Sergeant.” Jack did his best to act unconcerned. “What’s with the armed escort?”
Sergeant Harrison shifted uncomfortably as if he wished he could do anything now except answer Jack’s question. The guard beside him did the same.
“Hello, sir,” the sergeant said with a nod. “We’re under orders to accompany the girls … wherever they travel.”
“Under whose orders?” Jack pressed.
“Fenrick Trillion gave us the commands,” Sergeant Harrison answered. “They aren’t in any kind of trouble, if that’s what you think. We’re only here to accompany them. They’re free to move about and attend the ball.”
At that moment, the door to the room opened. Abigail stepped out, looking like a recently bloomed flower. Her dress was sleeveless, ornate, and flared out at the waist. Once again, Jack felt like the bumbling idiot who’d fallen over backwards in his chair the first time he saw her.
“I see you’ve met our new friends.” Abigail rolled her eyes, completely ignoring the guards. “I feel like I’m being babysat.”
“I have.” Jack tore his gaze from her red ball dress and matching earrings, but not before he noticed a scratch mark on her slender neck. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out. Is Elizabeth coming?”
“I’m here!” the younger Ahab sister shouted as she ran from the room.
Her dress was the same style as her sister’s, but blue instead of red.
Her fiery crimson hair was curled and fell behind her back like a waterfall.
She looked at Abigail. “Jack thinks you look really, really nice, by the way. But he didn’t use the word ‘nice’. ”
Jack felt heat rise to his face. “We need to go over ground rules now that we know what you can do.”
The three began to walk down the hall, followed by Sergeant Harrison and his clone.
“Actually, we don’t know where the ball is being held.” Abigail addressed their shadows for the first time. “Would you mind showing us the way?”
The guards complied, leading the group down the palace halls.
“The less people who know about Elizabeth, the better,” Abigail whispered.
“I understand.” Jack lowered his voice. “What happened to your neck?”
“And hands.” Abigail extended her palms, showing Jack her knuckles on both hands. Angry red scratches told a story all their own. “If I’m going to be able to protect Elizabeth, I have to learn how to fight. Sloan and I had our first lesson this afternoon.”
Elizabeth skipped next to the pair, oblivious to their conversation.
“Protect her?” Jack repeated the words. “She’s safe here in the palace. The Queen won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Jack, I know you want to believe the Queen has nothing but the best intentions at heart, and maybe she does, but not everyone will see Elizabeth’s abilities as a gift.
They’ll want to use her. Look at what’s already happening,” Abigail said, motioning to the backs of the two soldiers. “We’re already being monitored.”
“They won’t try anything,” Jack reassured her. “Nothing is going to happen to Elizabeth; we won’t let it. Sloan and Aareth will be on our side, too. And the Queen, she wouldn’t allow it.”
“I hope you’re right.” Abigail straightened her back as the group rounded a corner. “For all of our sakes.”
The low hum of dozens of muffled voices talking at once could be heard. A set of double doors were opened for them by palace guards as they approached.
Jack thought he was past being impressed by the city of New Hope and the palace. He was wrong. The ballroom was something out of a fairytale. The ceiling in the room was so high, Jack imagined Doctor Livingston’s entire building could fit comfortably in the chamber.
Everywhere Jack turned, there were guests, soldiers, and the wait staff walking around with silver platters of sparkling drinks. Although Jack didn’t recognize anyone in the group, the whole room seemed to know who he was.
“There he is.” An elderly man sporting a cane approached Jack as if they were long-time friends finally reunited. “Berry Lovegood,” he said, extending a white-gloved hand. “We met briefly this morning.”
“Oh, right.” Jack shook the man’s hand as recognition struck. The owner of the store the assassination attempt had originated from had completely ignored him earlier that day. Jack wasn’t sure why he was being so polite to him now. A moment later, he understood perfectly.
A gaggle of middle-aged men and women approached. They all seemed to be dressed to outdo one another. The women wore obnoxiously vivid colors, their gowns ranging from bright copper bronze to deep purple. The men wore suits of black, gray, or brown.
Jack looked for an escape route from the oncoming conversations he had no desire to partake in.
“Good luck.” Abigail gave his hand a quick squeeze. “I think I’d rather face another mutated wolf than this group.”
“You’re going to leave me here?” Jack whispered out of the corner of his mouth. The gathering of city elites grew around him, chattering away like that annoying bird squawking outside your window in the mornings.
“I want no part of this bloodbath.” Elizabeth began backing away slowly. “Good luck.”
“I have to go watch her.” Abigail feigned a wince as if she were actually sorry to go. “Courage, Jack.”
The next few minutes felt like hours. Jack recounted the story of what was now being called The Burrow Den Beast. The men and women looked on in awe. When the story was finished, there was no shortage of comments.
“What a ghastly tale,” Berry Lovegood practically shouted. “It’s a shame we don’t have one of those monsters here to clean up our city.”
“Oh, Berry, you don’t mean that,” stated an elderly woman with enough jewelry to make even the Queen jealous. The proximity with which she stood next to Berry Lovegood and the familiar rebuke in her voice told Jack she was his wife. He was right.
“My dear Daisy, you must agree, this city has been in a rut since the creation of that horrid locomotive. The need to expand past our own walls to assist the rabble in the Outland has been our downfall,” Berry Lovegood said as if it were a matter of fact rather than opinion.
He looked around the group for support. “You all know it’s true.
Tax the rich to feed the poor and all that nonsense. ”
“Hear, hear!” a few men in the group agreed.
Before Jack could open his mouth and disagree with the statement, Doctor Livingston appeared, accompanied by his bodyguard, Commander Brookhaven.
The doctor was dressed as smartly as ever.
The thing that caught Jack’s eye was the transformation the commander had undergone.
Vanished was the rough exterior of the battle-hardened soldier.
She still wore her uniform with her mage sword’s hilt poking over her shoulder, but her hair was down. A lethal beauty haunted her features.
“Now, now, ladies and gentlemen,” Doctor Livingston soothed the groups with a playful reprimand on his tongue, “let’s not immerse young Jack in our city politics just yet.”
The group was all smiles when it came to the doctor. It was clear to see they respected the man on a deep level.
“I was wondering if I might steal the sorcerer away from you for just a moment,” Doctor Livingston told them more than asked. “I have some news for him.”
“Of course,” Berry Lovegood answered with a quick smile. “Come now, Daisy, friends, let’s leave the good doctor and Jack to their conversation.”
Like magic, the groups were gone, lost in the crowd.
“That’s better.” The doctor smiled. “I hope they weren’t too harsh with you. They can talk politics until one turns to stone, if you let them. Their views can be rather extreme.”
“It’s okay.” Jack shrugged off the comment. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion. What do you think about the Queen extending the locomotive to the Outland?”
The doctor remained quiet for a moment. He studied Jack behind his gold-rimmed glasses. The intensity of the doctor’s stare told Jack he was in a debate with himself on how much to say.
“I think that we have a solid economy and a city full of hardworking, good people.” The doctor spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully. “It would be a shame to see such dedication spoiled by giving handouts to those less willing to apply themselves.”
“But what if they need help?” Images of the many dilapidated small villages outside the city of New Hope came to Jack’s mind. “What if they’re trying? What if they just need that nudge to set them on the right path?”
“We can’t protect or provide for the entire Outland.” The doctor motioned to the silent Commander Brookhaven with an open hand. “But this is not what I wanted to speak with you about.”