The Dead Gentleman (27 page)

Bernie straightened up and adjusted his glasses. “But he was no traitor. Bernard Billingsworth Senior may not have been a brave man, but he was no traitor. It was the Gentleman who trapped Tommy in the basement of this very hotel. To hear my dad tell it, the two of them were exploring an attercop web—Tommy, of course, had gone first. But Tommy was ambushed and, when he fell to the bottom, the tunnel began to close in on itself. It must have been part of the Gentleman’s trap, so that if the attercop didn’t finish Tommy, the closing tunnel would.”

Merlin sang a quiet song while Bernie went on. “My father failed him. We Billingsworths are not natural heroes, I’m afraid. And with the attercop and the tunnel collapsing, well, my father just didn’t move fast enough, I guess. He froze. He never forgave himself.”

Bernie shrugged. “He tried to put the Explorer’s life behind him after that, but he couldn’t forget. It haunted him for years and he ended up here, partly, I think, as a kind of penance for a crime he didn’t commit. But he never lost the faith—he kept an eye on this place, just in case Tommy ever made it back out. And most importantly, he kept Merlin here, safe. First him, then me. This bird’s been in the family for two generations.”

Merlin cocked his head and flapped his wings, taking to the
air. He fluttered in circles around their heads and landed with a squawk on Jez’s arm.

“Ah,” said Bernie. “Now see there? He does like you.”

Jez petted Merlin’s head with her finger. His feathers were rough and felt like wrinkly tinfoil.

“When my father finally passed away, I took over as the building’s super,” said Bernie. “I honestly thought of all this Explorer stuff as ancient history. I cared for Merlin, kept him well oiled and such, but I was content just to look after the old Percy and change the occasional blown fuse. Never gave much thought to anything else.

“When they uncovered the basement during the renovations, well, I just didn’t have the courage to go down there. Too much history, you know? Then you came along and you saw … what you saw.”

“Tommy,” Jez said.

Bernie nodded. “So is it true? Does Tommy’s ghost haunt this place?”

“No, Bernie, he’s alive. And he’s here to stop the Dead Gentleman. You were right when you said before that the Gentleman was trying to get into this world. We haven’t figured out exactly why, but Merlin is the key to his plan.”

Bernie glanced at the hallway window and the dark storm blowing outside. “Doesn’t look like he’s waiting for the bird.”

“He knows he’s close,” said Jez. “I guess he’s so sure of himself that he’s starting the invasion a little early.”

“So what now, little miss?” asked Bernie. “Do we hide away with Merlin and hope for the best?”

His question went unanswered as the windows suddenly shook with an ear-splitting crash. It sounded like an explosion.

“The river!” Jez said.

Several doors down, a frightened face peeked out. Jez’s once-friend, Sasha, looked fearfully around and, spying Jezebel, let out a heaving sob.

“Jez! What’s happening? Is the world ending?”

Jez bit back the urge to tell her to call Max and ask
him
.

“Everything’s going to be all right, Sasha,” Jez said. “It’s just a storm. Go back inside and stay away from the windows. Get into the bathtub like they tell you to.”

“I can hear things … moving around in my closet,” Sasha said.

“Close your bedroom door and block it with something. Grab flashlights, anything with batteries, go to your parents’ room and stay there.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” answered Jez, then turned and went back into her apartment.

Through her window she could see that the sky over the Hudson was now totally obscured by the massive, swirling cyclone. Flashes of lightning were going off, rapid-fire, inside the cloud, and the air seemed to vibrate with the sound of crashing explosions. The prow of a ship was just visible at the edges of the portal—a great black ship was coming through from the storm.

“That doesn’t look like any storm I’ve ever seen,” said Bernie, coming into the room.

“It’s not,” answered Jez, pointing to the mural on her wall.

The mural was gone and in its place was a portal. On the other side was the deck of the
Charnel House
, but it had changed with the times. The great wooden prow was gone, replaced with a sleek metal hull. Heavy gun turrets lined the side where cannons
once stood. Though it had been no more than a few hours to Jez, a hundred years had passed since the twisted airship had left the Hollow World. In its place was a modern, armored zeppelin, as black as midnight.

As they watched, the
Charnel House
was rocked by an explosion that had nothing to do with the thundering storm around them—a shining, strangely ornate submarine had broken past the waves of the Hudson and placed itself between the Gentleman’s black ship and the city. Grave Walkers scrambled here and there along the zeppelin’s hull, some manning the guns and some struggling to put out fires. All around the two vessels was a great wall of dark clouds.

“It’s him,” Jez said, and she knew in her heart that she was right. “It’s Tommy. He’s fighting the Gentleman.”

“My god,” whispered Bernie.

At the mention of Tommy’s name, Merlin began to squawk and wind his little head back and forth.

“What’s wrong with him?” asked Bernie.

“I don’t know,” answered Jez. “I think he’s worried about … NO!”

Jez reached for Merlin, but she was too slow. The little clockwork bird leapt off her shoulder and flew straight for the portal, singing all the way. In an instant he was gone.

“They’ll get him,” Jez said, her voice cracking. “He thinks he’s going to save Tommy, but he’s running straight into the Gentleman’s hands.…”

Jez turned away. Her fists were balled so tight that her fingernails were cutting into her palm, but the pain didn’t matter.

“Find Merlin and keep him safe,” she said. “That’s all he asked me to do, and I couldn’t even do that right.”

Jez looked at the portal. She watched as the
Charnel House
’s one hundred guns wheeled around, slowly taking aim at the ship below, the ship that was standing between it and the city.

Jez took a step toward the portal. The Gentleman wouldn’t kill Tommy. Not while she was still able to do something. Not while she could still fight back. They wouldn’t lose this easily.

“Wait,” said Bernie, grabbing Jez by the shoulder.

“Let go, Bernie,” she said. “I’m going. I’ve got to get Merlin back or we’ll all die.”

“I know,” said Bernie. “I wish I could …” He stared at the portal—the swirling clouds, the deathly black ship—and leaned heavily on his cane, shaking his head.

“It’s not your fault, Bernie. And for the record, I don’t think there’s a cowardly bone in your body.”

Bernie nodded. “But you shouldn’t go unarmed. I can do this much at least,” he said as he took the knapsack from his shoulder and opened it on the floor. He pulled out a long leather jacket. A symbol was stitched across the breast—a clockwork gear with wings.

“Slip it on,” he said. “It might be a bit big, but it’s padded—it should give you some protection.”

As Jez put on the jacket—it
was
big; she practically swam in it—Bernie pulled out an odd-looking gun.

“Netgun,” he said. “Just point and shoot. It’s only got four loads left, so try not to miss.”

“Netgun?”
asked Jez. “Really?”

Bernie just shrugged. “But this is a real weapon. And by that I mean it’s dangerous, so be careful.”

He handed her a solid, tennis ball–sized orb of metal.

“It’s called a mayfly,” said Bernie. “Give it a crank like this.”
He made a twisting motion. “And throw it. It’s a portal closer—very destructive—and only to be used in an emergency.”

Jez very carefully stowed the mayfly in her jacket pocket. She adjusted the paragoggles on her forehead and hefted the gun, which was lighter than it looked. She felt ridiculous, but Bernie was right—it was better than nothing.

“I have to have a talk with Tommy about updating the Explorers’ equipment. This stuff is nuts.” Jezebel looked at the portal again. The ship’s cannons were nearly in place.

“No more time to lose,” she said. “If you see my dad again, Bernie, tell him … oh, I don’t know …”

“I’ll tell him, Jezebel. And good luck.”

Jez nodded, then she stepped up to the portal, took a breath and jumped through.

The
Nautilus
heaved to starboard just as an alarm began to whistle somewhere overhead. I’d asked too much of the old girl with that last maneuver, firing up the engines to full throttle too quickly and banking right despite a twisted propeller blade and a hundred years’ worth of silt that had built up on her hull. She was a wonder of engineering, but she was old and uncared for.

What a mess I’d gotten myself into this time. It was a miracle that the
Nautilus
had remained undisturbed for all these years, buried at the bottom of New York Bay. But it was even more miraculous that she was still seaworthy, and that she’d answered the compass’s call. I felt more than a little sad for her, knowing as I did that this would be her last mission—that I’d summoned her only to be destroyed.

I could practically hear Scott’s voice shouting at me from somewhere far off, scolding me for my foolhardiness. But I could
also picture the glint in his eye and the man’s barely suppressed smile, and I knew, deep down, he’d be proud of me. The Gentleman wasn’t going to take our world without a struggle. Tommy Learner and the
Nautilus
would be the first to fight back. We’d show the rest how it was done.

A warning light blinked at me. I tried to remember—that one had something to do with the steam power intake/outtake flow. Or was it air quality? It didn’t matter. I didn’t have the time to do anything other than pilot; repairs were useless now.

Light artillery bounced off the armored hull like raindrops on a tin roof. The Grave Walkers were firing down on me with whatever small arms they had handy, but I knew there wasn’t anything to fear from them. That ship’s heavy guns, on the other hand …

Opening up the forward porthole, I got a good look at the
Charnel House
. It was a risk—the porthole window was a full six inches of glass, though it was still just glass—but I needed a view of the battlefield with my own eyes. The
Charnel House
’s underside was already torn in two different areas, both places pockmarked and riddled with holes from my surprise attack. We’d broken surface underneath it, getting off a clear shot with the
Nautilus
’s guns at the ship’s exposed belly.

I wouldn’t get that advantage again. And though the giant zeppelin was badly damaged and the venting black smoke meant fire on several decks, it was still aloft. A wound like that would have sunk any normal sea vessel. But the
Charnel House
’s heart was its air engine; even this newer, armored version relied on the great gas-filled bag at its top—and the ship wouldn’t fall until that was destroyed.

Through the spray of river water and drifting fog I could see
that the
Charnel House
was pulling around, bringing its guns to bear.

“Emergency dive!” I shouted. “All hands brace for incoming!”

Wresting the wheel again to starboard, I cranked the dive-shaft. Every single remaining warning light went off, blinking and beeping in rhythm with the screeching sirens. As I shouted orders to the imaginary crew, I heard the Captain’s voice in my ears, telling me to give her all I’ve got.

Just as crazy as the old man
.

The
Charnel House
’s guns fired overheard.

The first thing Jezebel heard was the din of gunfire, the first thing she saw was a cloud of smoke that made her eyes sting and the first thing she felt was the scrape of metal against her cheek as the portal deposited her face-first onto a catwalk some forty feet above the main gunner’s deck. Directly below her, black uniformed Grave Walkers ran back and forth between the many gun turrets, some firing automatic weapons into the waters below, others tending to repairs. Above her roared the ship’s engine as it pumped superheated gas into the giant armored airbag. The whole contraption was bound together on a grid of thick, steel-wrought rigging.

Though she couldn’t see him past the smoke, Jez knew that Tommy was somewhere below them in the Hudson, piloting that strange submarine. But he didn’t know that Jezebel was above him, in the very ship he was trying to shoot down from the sky.

She needed to get Merlin back and then get off this zeppelin, and that meant getting belowdecks and finding where they’d taken the bird. She could shimmy down one of the steel cables, but that would just leave her out in the open, surrounded by
Grave Walkers. Above her was nothing but the airbag. She didn’t know what to do next, and she could barely hear herself think above the roar of the propeller, fueled by the churning engine.