Agatha H. and the Airship City

Encouraged by her silence. Gil continued: “The reason I… I like you is because you’re smart. I should treat you that way. Explain why I think this is in your best interest, as well as my own.” Agatha raised her eyebrows encouragingly.

A small explosion shuddered somewhere in the distance. Gil’s eyes hardened. “But I’m afraid I simply don’t have the time.” Agatha’s eyes widened in shock as Gil took her wrist in a grip like iron. “You’ll come with me now, and I’ll explain—”

A massive fist came down and connected to the top of Gil’s head with a meaty BONK, and he collapsed to the deck.

“Was this boy bothering you, dear?”

“Lilith!” Agatha shouted. “Adam!” For it was indeed her parents standing before her. To her surprise she saw that they were garbed in coveralls, peppered with small pockets carrying tools and useful bits of gear. The outfits appeared to be rather old and well-used, though Agatha was sure that she’d never seen them before. She looked down at Gilgamesh sprawled out at her feet. “You hit him.”

The burly construct allowed himself a self-satisfied smile. But Lilith noticed the concern in Agatha’s voice. “He’ll be fine, dear.” A touch of concern appeared on her face. “Who is he?”

Agatha leaned down and shifted Gil slightly so that his head was at a less awkward angle. “Gilgamesh Wulfenbach,” she informed them. “He… um… wants me to marry him.” A look of shock passed between the two constructs. Agatha continued, “In fact, he kind of insists.”

Seconds later Agatha found herself tucked under Adam’s massive arm while her step-parents were running down a corridor. “So you don’t think I should then?”

“We’re leaving,” Lilith informed her. “Right now!”

Agatha looked out the window at the flotilla of airships that attended the Castle. “How?” She thought for a second. “And how did you get here?”

“We’ve been following the Castle from the ground. We were planning on hijacking one of the regular supply ships, but today there was a flurry of activity, with dozens of ships bringing people to the ground.” They came to a massive bulkhead door which had been sealed. Lilith began spinning dials.

“There was an evacuation of the labs,” Agatha explained. “There was an accident with a Slaver Engine.”

Lilith froze on hearing this and then, without further ado, simply ripped the massive door out of its frame. “We commandeered a pinnace and we’ll leave the same way.”

They found themselves in an enormous, dimly lit chamber lined with pumps slowly thumping away on either side. “But this place is huge,” Agatha observed. “How did you manage to find me?”

Lilith shrugged. “We have done this sort of thing before, dear. We just looked for the center of chaos and there you were.” She shook her head. “We knew something like this would happen if your locket was removed.”

Agatha’s hand automatically went to the empty place near her throat. “My locket?”

Adam and Lilith looked at each other. Adam shrugged, and Lilith nodded. “You started to break through at a very early age—”

“You knew I was a Spark?”

Lilith nodded. “Your uncle made the locket specifically to keep you from breaking through completely.”

“But I was so stupid! How could you let me live like that?”

“We were hiding you!” Lilith answered hotly. “Young Sparks never survive without powerful protection! If they don’t blow themselves up or get killed by their creations, they’re likely to go mad and kill everyone around them.”

They turned a corner and Agatha began to note signs of the fighting. Smoke drifted through the air, and a single dead wasp warrior lay crushed beneath a gas cylinder that had obviously been taken from a stack of same that lined the wall. Lilith grimaced, and continued: “Your uncle was gone. Beetle wasn’t strong enough, and the Baron would have taken you instantly.” She broke off and caught Agatha’s eye. “And you don’t ever want that.”

Agatha opened her mouth to question, but Lilith plowed on. “In the country you would have been killed by the peasantry. Even burned as a Witch. Plus you’re a girl. Girls with the Spark, they usually just disappear. Even the Baron’s people have noticed that there’s a disproportionately low number of them, but they don’t know why. Every power in Europe is going to try to kill you or control you. You’ve already seen that with young Wulfenbach.”

“But I don’t understand,” Agatha cried. “There are a lot of Sparks wandering about. Why would I be in so much danger?”

Lilith stopped dead in front of the door. Her head briefly slumped forward enough that it rested on the cool metal surface.

“I suppose there’ll never be a good time…” she muttered. She looked at Agatha. “Your family. We never told you.” She leaned on the door, which, surprisingly, was unlocked, and began to creak open. “You’re the daughter of—”

The opening door revealed a large room lined with galleries extending several stories upwards. The room was filled with people, constructs and clanks. They all turned towards the opening door, revealing, at the center of the crowd, none other than the Baron himself.

Silence spread, until Klaus, his eyes wide in surprise at the figure in the doorway, stepped forward. “Judy?” he whispered.

CHAPTER 10

Go to sleep, lay down your head,

The Heterodynes, they are not dead.

They will return to us someday,

And send the monsters far away.

—Child’s lullaby

Lilith went white. “Klaus!” Adam set Agatha down and moved forward. Klaus saw him and his brows lowered. “Punch?” Without taking his eyes off of the little group he snapped out orders. “Contain them, and find my son!” Several of the guards began to spread out, and a small squad raced off, no doubt to try to encircle the three. The others began to move forward, but the Baron checked them with an upraised hand. Agatha noticed that he was dirty, and that his clothes were torn; with surprise, she saw that his left hand was bandaged. Another part of her mind took note of the fact that she was shocked that he could be injured. The rest of the group had obviously been through a tough ordeal. Many were injured, and all looked weary.

“Something very odd is going on here,” Klaus muttered.

Lilith swallowed. “Klaus, we—”

Suddenly a lone Jagermonster pushed its way forward until it was right behind the Baron. A distant memory was obviously fighting its way to the surface of its mind. “Vait! Meester Ponch?”

Without hesitation, Klaus backfisted the Jager in the face and it dropped to the ground unconscious. “Damn! He’ll be a problem.” To the others he said, “Seal the area, and keep the Jagers out of here.”

At this point Agatha didn’t know what was happening, but thought to correct things before they got further out of hand. “Herr Baron,” she piped up, “there’s been some sort of a mistake. These are my parents: Adam and Lilith Clay.”

Klaus nodded slowly. “Punch and Judy. So you’re the unfindable Clays. This explains so much. But the girl—she’s not your real daughter.”

“She’s just an orphan we took in,” Lilith interjected.

“I’m sure she is. Lucrezia and Bill’s, I imagine. Or is she a surprise from Barry’s