Sebastian’s song was faint, but could still be heard from the office where Strauss and Rhian were fast asleep. While Everleigh played, Sebastian sang:
“Step in, step in, my marvelous crew,
the cosmos has dress rehearsal for you.
No law, no courts, no judging above,
just spectacle stitched out of love.”
By the sound of the lyrics, he was making a veiled dig at Zack, which didn’t exactly help the situation at hand. I stepped over and wrapped my arm around my friend, then pulling out my green pocket square to wipe his nose while he worked on getting himself together. Deep breath in, deep breath out. “So,” I said, “that could have gone worse.”
“I wasn’t judging them,” he answered, his voice hitching. “I only wanted them to be honest with me, and to understand the danger of conviction without empathy.”
“Mate, they were scared. But did you really have to use V as an example?”
“I didn’t know you were there,” Zack confessed. “And would you have preferred I use you or your sister as an example?”
It was my turn to take a deep breath in and out through my nose. He wasn’t wrong. Should Rhian and I have never been born knowing we’d be raised to become murderers? My sister was responsible for killing more people in a matter of six years than the Widows had in centuries.
“You’ve made your point,” I said. “But why did you do it? Why did you turn V?”
“When I found Ivana Novak in that alley, she’d lost too much blood. I couldn’t save her, and my intention was to be there with her while she died. No one should be alone while they die, Feargus Finlay.”
I thought back to the brothers’ story, and how Zack had been there when Sebastian died, but that nobody had been there when Zack did. Aye, he’d made the choice to drink the elixir knowing it might kill him, but I still reckoned he must have been terrified in those final moments, all alone in the snow.
Over in the auditorium, Sebastian still sang:
“Rise up, rise up, conspirators mine,
tonight every star’s in your line.
No audience here, no observers apart,
you’re all co-authors of art.”
I rubbed Zack’s back. “And then what happened?” I asked.
“I tried to resist it, but she was so desperate to live. And I—well, my foundation was built upon saving the lives of those taken before their time.”
“Because everything started when you were looking for a cure for Sebastian?”
“Because of that, because of the trauma of losing our troupe—our parents, all of our friends—to something vicious and unfair. Ivana had a beautiful heart and so many things she wanted to accomplish, so I offered my help, and she said yes. The rest was a compulsion beyond my control, but at the same time entirely within my control—again—and it remains one of the many reasons I chose self-isolation for four hundred years.”
I rubbed my beard, and we stood in silence for a time, watching Rhian and Strauss sleep on the floor.
“How did you know what happened tonight?”
“The auditorium has windows, Feargus Finlay.”
“Right,” I said. “Fair play.”
Zack nodded slowly. “I can also feel it when one of mine is destroyed.”
“How many of them were yours?”
“The mass annihilation made it difficult to tell.”
“If it makes you feel any better, Everleigh’s careful about who she ends.”
Zacharias shrugged.
Over in the auditorium, a new song began. This time, Everleigh was singing, so I imagined Sebastian had taken over the strings. We watched Rhian and Strauss sleep again.
“How are you planning to tote both of them home?” I asked.
“Well, I hadn’t exactly planned on any of this, but I was thinking I would bring them one by one to the nearby underground library. Leave one there, and take the other home, return to the library to collect the next.”
“Mate, that’s incredibly inefficient,” I said. “Let me help you instead.”
But we paused at the sound of footsteps clinking through the atrium.
Eventually spotting us in the office, Adeline rushed over.
Zacharias greeted her with a cane tip and a, “Miss Blanchett,” meanwhile Addie smiled and performed a curtsy for Zack, and told him she was thrilled he’d decided to come. She then gave me a quick kiss, finally locking her eyes on Strauss and Rhian on the floor.
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“Why are they sleeping?” she asked.
“Zack wants to take them home with him.”
Zack ran a hand through his hair. “I thought I could handle it, but it was too much—with the—whatever Sebastian’s doing in there, and the—this place. No, if I’m to get to know Rhian Sinclair and Andrei Strauss without becoming overwhelmed, then I must adjust the conditions.”
“Do they know this is happening?” Adeline wondered.
I nodded.
Adeline set a hand on her hip, regarding us both. “Then how can I assist?”
“Addie, I’m gonna help Zack tote these two back to his man-cave. I’ll be back here to meet up with you all, or catch up with the caravan on the road. Everyone ought to be focusing on where Rhian and Strauss have gone off to bother noticing I’m missing, and even then, it’s basically expected of me at this point.”
“Understood, Agent Finlay. I will do my best to carry the ruse and come up with a plausible reason for Father Strauss and Enforcer Rhian to be missing.”
Zack eyeballed us. “Tell them they are with me—that you found us here. Leave Agent Finlay out of it, but there’s no sense delaying the inevitable otherwise. Tell them I’ll be in touch soon.”
“Not nearly as challenging, but I suppose it’ll do,” Adeline commented. “Oh, and Mister Vonsinfonie?”
He looked to her and cocked his head.
“If you could not mention anything to your house guests about Agent Finlay and me kissing, that would be wonderful. We’re having a clandestine affair.”
Zack quirked a brow with a rare smile. His best feature, actually—his smile. One, two, three and a half seconds and he stepped in toward Adeline, placed a hand on her shoulder, and looked her in the eye. “I promised you romance, did I not?”
“Yes, you did.”
“So then you should know: it would be my pleasure to enable your clandestine affair, Miss Blanchett.”
“Why do you have pajamas?” I asked.
“One never knows when they might have house guests. Like you, or—well, essentially just you. And sometimes I enjoy wearing pajamas.”
“All right, well, you get Strauss into his, and I’ll get my sister into hers.”
“If you say so,” Zack said. “But it appears as though you may have to cut the dress off.”
“Aye, it’s a problem.”
There was blood, there was sweat, and there were tears, but we managed to get Rhian and Strauss into their jammies and tuck them into bed in Zack’s man-cave.
“What are you gonna do with them?” I asked.
“Well, I don’t know.”
I nodded encouragingly. “That’s a great place to start.”
“Anything I should know about either of them?”
“Rhian will be trickier to win over because, actually, it isn’t that she doesn’t have empathy, it’s that she has too much empathy and still makes the difficult decisions. She does the hard thing, and believe me, mate: she lives every day carrying the consequences of those hard things. Now, I’m sure you and Strauss will have some nice chats, though, and frankly, if it were Rhian at death’s door, I reckon he’d do anything he could to save her. He just wasn’t ready to admit it. He’s also really gonna like the piano.”
“Thank you for the insight, Feargus Finlay.”
As you lot already know, everything I said was true. But let’s face it: I’d have said or done just about anything if it meant getting closer to having all my favourite people together in one place. We stepped over to the door together, because I hadn’t been planning on staying long.
“I haven’t been able to find you a cello,” I said.
“Don’t trouble yourself. Avis will have one.”
“Aye, so Sebastian’s quite upset with her, and as you may have noticed, he’s got the crew in his corner.”
“And Jakob? What is he hoping for with regards to his mother?”
“Jakob’s torn, mate.”
Zacharias glanced back to my sister and Strauss in bed, then looking back to me. “When are you planning to tell Sebastian about Florea?”
“Soon,” I said. “As soon as I can. When are you planning to get in touch with the crew?”
“Soon,” Zack answered. “I’ll leave a formal invitation at Sebastian’s place, to be received when they return, inviting them all here.”
“Well, you know I’m always up for another round of mystery theatre.”
“One of your many charms, Feargus Finlay.”
I smiled winningly. “Anything else before I go?”
“No, but thank you,” Zack said, “for being there.”
“Aye, mate. Always.”
Now, before moving on to What I Was Up To, let’s be reminded of what was happening inside Zack’s man-cave during that time. Strauss and Rhian were kept for around three days, which to them actually felt like three weeks. I reckon he didn’t think three days would be enough to do what he had to do, and I reckon he was right. So, today, folks, I’m bringing you another exclusive. You all know how I feel about journals: if it’s written, it meant to be read, and this time, I’ll be sharing an entry transcribed directly from the journals of Zacharias Vonsinfonie.
Aye, Zack kept a journal. Is it really that surprising?
A Page From Zack’s Journal
After spending time in evaluation with Rhian Sinclair, her difficulties with reading appear to stem from perception and interpretation rather than from an intellectual limitation—something Palisade was either ill-equipped or disinterested in addressing. I’ve had students present with this challenge in the past, and I will help her to adapt to the best of my ability. The language she and her brother have created together may be the key to understanding how she perceives.
My house guests have questions—about life, and about my role, and about theirs, and about what it all means.
But I only know I’m not ready, and they’re not ready. Timing is everything, and the timing is wrong.
They’ve asked about Avis, and I’ve declined to answer, asserting that we all deserve the chance to tell our own story. If they wish to see the full array of colours the Artist is comprised of, then they must let her live long enough to have her do so. Perhaps they will forgive her, but once she realizes what she’s done, however will she forgive herself? However will she forgive me? I miss my wife dearly, and soon I will have to answer for the multitude of ways in which I’ve failed her.
Andrei Strauss displays a natural aptitude for the fundamentals of music. His progress rivals that of my own as a beginner. Throughout our lessons, we’ve spoken of Jakob and their connection through years of misrepresentation, isolation, and their mutual blindness. I believe him to be an effective role model—better than I could ever be—and has therefore earned an eternity of my gratitude.
But lately, I can think of little else but seeing Sebastian again. Hearing his voice—hearing him sing last night? Hearing him play again? Perfection personified. He’s found acceptance among Feargus Finlay’s crew, and I will do everything in my power to protect his integrity, just as I’ve always done. One note, two hearts; one dream, two names; and if he’s to hate me forever, then I shall love him twice as long.