Agatha H. and the Airship City

Gil frowned. “But you made such a cute couple—” Without visible effort he dodged the mallet handle that sailed past his head.

“You know perfectly well he is not my lover! Now send me home! I have to find my parents!”

Gil looked serious. “Yes, your parents. I can certainly understand your concern. We still haven’t been able to find them. The Jagermonsters haven’t been able to find them, none of your neighbors has seen them. According to the University records you don’t have any other family in Beetleburg. Do you have any other family anywhere?”

“I have an uncle, but he… he disappeared over ten years ago.”

“Not much help then. Did they have any enemies?”

“Enemies?” Agatha looked shocked. “No!” Then certain things she had seen and heard over the years assumed a possible new significance. “At least, I don’t know of any. Why?”

Gil sighed. “It is not uncommon, when my father takes over new territory, that during the confusion, some people take the opportunity to… settle old grudges.”

“That’s… that’s terrible.”

“Foolish, certainly. My father prides himself on maintaining law and order within the Empire, it’s kind of the whole point really, and we come down very hard on things like this. Up until now, we’ve been assuming that your parents were hiding from us, but now we also have to consider the possibility that something has happened to them.”

“Why? What’s changed?”

“One of the things I did was place public notices throughout Beetleburg advising the Clays that we had you in our possession and providing an address where they could anonymously send you a message to at least let you know that they were safe. So far there’s been nothing.”

“I… I have to go back! I—”

Gil interrupted. “And do what? My worry now is that if someone is responsible for your parents’ disappearance, they might be after you as well. Until we find your parents, I’m afraid my father will insist on you being kept here under protective custody.”

“That’s outrageous! He can’t—” Agatha suddenly stopped as she realized who she was talking about.

Gil nodded grimly. “He most certainly can. Now I can understand you not wanting to work with Herr von Zinzer—” Gil nudged the prone mechanic with the toe of his boot—”But I’m afraid everyone aboard the Castle is expected to justify their weight—” Agatha opened her mouth—”Would you consider working with me?”

Agatha’s mouth hung open for a second, then closed with a snap. Her eyes narrowed. “…Why?” she finally asked.

Gil ticked off points on his fingers. “I found your daily reports to be concise and well-written, you very efficiently re-organized the parts warehouse, and, most important, your suggestions regarding my flyer’s engine increased its efficiency by seventeen percent.”

Agatha looked pleased. “Seventeen percent? Really?”

Gil nodded. “Really. And I believe that by working together, we could do even better. Interested?”

“Yes! Yes I am!”

Gil smiled. “Good.” He casually reached down and with one hand hauled Moloch up by the collar. “I shall deal with Herr von Zinzer here. Be at my lab this afternoon.”

Agatha drew herself up and performed the traditional bow. “Yes, Herr…” she paused.

“Doctor,” Gil supplied.

“Herr Doctor Wulfenbach.”

Gil coughed discretely. “Ah, there is one thing, Miss Clay… If you’re going to be working with me, I’d appreciate it if you wore more clothes.”

For the first time Agatha became aware of her appearance and with a strangled “Eep!” vanished inside the lab.

Gil puffed out his breath and grinned. A slight movement at the end of his arm caused him to set his face in sterner lines, and he briskly slapped Moloch’s face several times until the man began to thrash feebly. “All right you, let’s go.”

Moloch’s eyes opened, rotated in different directions, focused upon Gil and then snapped open in terror. His feet began to move, but as they weren’t touching the ground, nothing happened. When he became aware of this, he seemed to give up, and with a sigh, went limp. Gil cocked an eyebrow. “You’re not a very good soldier, are you?”

Moloch shrugged. “That’s why I became a mechanic, sir.”

Gil nodded. “Now I believe this little charade has played itself out, hm? You are not a Spark.”

Again Moloch spasmed within Gil’s grasp. “No! Sir! I… I can explain!”

“Sh—sh—shhh! Relax.” With an alarming smile Gil gently lowered Moloch to the floor, and reached around to drape a friendly arm over Moloch’s shoulders. Another smile and Gil had gently propelled him down the hallway. “I want to help you.” Zoing gathered up Moloch’s coat and scuttled along behind.

Inside the lab, Agatha leaned against the door, her head swimming. She looked over and saw the large white cat, which had bitten Moloch, sitting on the nearest bench glowering at her. “He listened to my suggestions! He actually tried out my ideas—and they worked! Nobody has ever listened to me!”

She hugged herself and did a quick jig over to the bench. The cat continued to stare. “And he asked me to work with him! Do you understand what that means, you beautiful leg-biting cat? Everybody knows that the labs on Castle Wulfenbach do the real, cutting-edge science! The stuff the universities only dream about doing! And I’ll be working with the Baron’s son! Doing real science, in a real lab, with someone who actually listens to me!” Overcome with emotion she scooped the surprised animal up and swung him around. “What do you think of that?”

The cat frowned and leaned into her and pointed at her with an oddly shaped paw. “I think,” he said clearly, “that you’d better be very, very careful.”

CHAPTER 7

“With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. But wait, I thought, why not give it the ability to spit acid? Or a few extra claws? Or, yes! A total disregard for the sanctity of human life! That will show them!”

—A typical last entry from the journal of an emergent Spark

Agatha stared at the cat. “Oh,” she said carefully, “I’m dreaming again. How disappointing.” The cat rolled its eyes. “You work with mad scientists and you’re surprised at a talking cat? I’m the one who’s disappointed.”

Agatha gently placed the cat back onto the lab bench. Instead of dropping to all fours, it remained on its hind legs, which Agatha now saw didn’t look like normal cat legs at all.

She took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m sorry. You really talk. You just startled me.” The cat nodded briskly. “Right. Now  that we’ve got that settled, I’m here to help you.” Agatha nodded back. “Help me. Okay.” She paused. “Do I need to get you some boots?”

The cat glowered at her and his tail lashed back and forth in annoyance. “I don’t do the boot thing, so knock