Crew Placement
With me ? Sebastian, Adeline, Michael, Jakob
At sea ? Everleigh, Riz, Rhydian, Evelyn
At the base ? Maryse, Markus, Bells
Man-cave ? Zack, Rhian, Strauss
The Gander ? Quinn
While Derek and Della celebrated their accomplishment and Derek’s newfound freedom, Addie and I read to Sebastian in the bath. And aye, I realize how absurd that sounds, but it was loads of fun, and how many other people get to say they’ve done that? Once we finished up with the bath, we didn’t have long to hit the road before the kids came home. Derek and Della said they’d hire a temporary stay-in nanny, so that when we were ready to enact the plan, we could pop by any time to pick them up.
Finishing up at the Tragers’, we headed back to the base. Nothing particularly interesting happened—we just ran, and Sebastian toted Addie because he was stronger.
Ultimately, we arrived a few hours after Riz and company had already left for Stracha, and those who were still at the base had found Zacharias’ invitation waiting for them. Which, by the by, said:
I cordially invite the residents of this measure for a conversation at your soonest convenience.
Sebastian will know where to lead you, and if he chooses not to indulge my invitation, then consider it rescinded.
Zacharias Vonsinfonie
“He has lovely handwriting,” Adeline commented. “So precise.”
He did have excellent handwriting, and I could tell by the formality, and by the way he’d flipped everybody the bird in case he was rejected, that he was panicking. He’d been spiralling since his encounter with Quinn, and I’d been hoping to spend more time with him before the reunion, but his having my sister and Strauss over at the man-cave put a spoke in my wheel.
What’s important is: I was panicking, too.
Jakob was happy Sebastian was back, and actually, he was eager to get going. He said he missed Strauss, and surprisingly, that he missed his father, too. Maryse was still quite upset about something none of us could put our fingers on. There were still plenty of Anima for her to research, if that’s what she was after, and if her goal was to prove they could be rehabilitated, I had a prime example. Either way, whatever was going on, she didn’t want to leave the base. Markus and Bells, not wanting to leave Maryse alone at the base, and eager to have some precious almost-alone time together, said they’d stay behind with her.
“I wonder if he’ll actually speak to us,” Adeline mused, acting as though she’d never met the man outside of being recited at, kidnapped, and serenaded in her sleep.
Sebastian scoffed. “Don’t waste your energy. If he speaks, you’ll only wish he hadn’t.”
I loved Sebastian, mates, but Zack was my best friend outside my sister, and if someone said something like that about her, they’d be the ones who’d wish they hadn’t spoken. And here I couldn’t even defend him. Obviously, I didn’t want to hurt Sebastian, but what I’m trying to say is: what Sebastian said about Zack hurt my feelings, and my stomach ached thinking about the sass he’d be contending with soon.
Before leaving, I went for a wee, grabbed a quick snack, and managed to get a few minutes alone with Addie in Rhian and Strauss’s bedroom where Teeth was asleep on the bed.
Addie and I hugged for a while until she asked, “How are you feeling?”
“I’ve got a massive niggling, but it’s out of our hands now.”
“Sebastian really is delightful, but still quite resentful, isn’t he?”
“Aye, with everything going on, and his being away for so long, I haven’t had the chance to work him over, so—”
Addie toyed with my hair while we chatted. I rubbed her lower back. “Are you at least a little bit excited? I know I am, and I’m incredibly proud of you as well.”
Well, that was nice of her to say, and seeing as I couldn’t come up with anything more elegant than, “That means a lot, and I mean it—like, it really, really does,” to say back, I gave her a tight squeeze and answered her question. “If this goes pear-shaped, everything else does, too. So am I excited? I don’t know. But I do know this feels nice,” I said. “Here with you.”
Addie smiled, and I matched her dimples with my own. We kissed for a just under a minute.
“All set to put on a performance for the crew?” I asked.
She smoothed out my beard some. “Agent Finlay, I’ve never felt more ready.”
Sebastian explained that the bolted up door in the workroom at the base was actually a corridor (he called it a bridge) connecting his place to the rest of the underground—namely, Zack’s section. But he had no interest in unsealing it, and was adamant about it staying that way. All that’s to say, instead of using the passage, we had to go out in the cold again.
We ran most of the way to Zack’s man-cave, with Jakob toting Addie, and Sebastian toting Michael. Mates, we really needed to stop traveling places so often. Not only was the experience quite discombobulating for non-Strachan folk, making it so we couldn’t even travel at top speed anyhow, it really wasn’t cute after it had stopped being funny.
Not long before arriving, we slowed to a walk, and everyone disembarked their person. It was a frosty day, but at least it wasn’t also snowing.
“I still can’t wrap my head around this,” Michael mused. “I don’t remember much about my life, I think? But I remember going to bed most nights to my mother reading us stories about you and Zacharias.”
Sebastian hummed. “And what did these stories say, Mister Reider?”
“Well, there were so many variations, and scriptures, too, which weren’t really my thing, but they always ended the same: with the foretold return bringing law and light back to the world. And now, here we are, about to experience the foretold return.”
“Well, Avis always had a vivid imagination, my friends,” Sebastian said.
I rubbed my beard with my mitten while we trudged onward.
“I miss mother’s stories,” Jakob said. “She always did the voices.”
Sebastian paused for a moment, clearing his throat before ultimately smiling to appease his nephew. We were still ten steps away from the hatch when he replied with, “We’re here.”
Addie and I shared a knowing glance, and we walked the last ten steps in silence.
Down the hatch, we filed our way down the corridor and stopped in front of Zack’s door. The lock clicked open, and judging by the lack of a dramatic gesture to accompany the trick, it was probably Jakob who unlocked it.
When the door swung open, Zack stood several steps back on the opposite side. He wasn’t in pajamas and his hair was combed properly again, so that was a good sign.
He regarded us quietly at first, peering down the line.
“Where’s my miscreant brother?” he asked, which actually meant, “I’m dying to see Sebastian, but I’m too scared to admit it, so I’ll say something awkward instead.”
We all shuffled around so Sebastian could wiggle his way to the front of the line.
So, as you know from The Second One, the brothers surprised us all when, instead of slinging air blades or shouting, they hugged and reminded each other how angry they still were. While that went on, Addie, Jakob, and I all joined Strauss and Rhian at the piano. I hugged her immediately, but not as long as I’d have liked, because I had to share her with Adeline. And believe me, mates, almost nothing made me happier.
I gave Strauss a friendly pat on the back. It was so good to see him, and even better to see him looking relaxed and happy. Not to mention, foxy as ever sitting behind that piano.
After a bit of back and forth between the brothers about Avis, Zack came over to introduce himself. “I believe formal introductions are in order,” he said.
And I thought about introducing myself as Brighton Noseworthy.
Sebastian shook his head. “All this time and you haven’t bothered to introduce yourself, Zacharias, why start now?”
“My methods are my methods, Sebastian.”
“Your methods are ridiculous.”
We were off to a sub-par start, so when it was our turn to shake, I suppressed the urge to give him a hug, gave his hand a special squeeze instead, and introduced myself as Feargus. Also, I added, “Boy, you’re even more handsome in person.”
Sebastian rolled his eyes, but Zack cracked a tiny smile before moving on to Adeline who put on an even bigger show, gushing and awkwardly fixing her hair.
Anyhow—nothing much more happened in the man-cave than you already know, so, let’s move right along to the tavern, shall we? Aye, the tavern where it all happened—the tavern where the brothers finally told their story to most of the crew.
Also, the tavern where I lost a few years from my life just listening to it.
The stress of it all, mates.
Much like in The Second One, Rhian and Strauss debated how to present the Vonsinfonie story, and I’ve thought a lot about the very same thing myself. Now, they did it their way, so I’m gonna do it mine, and seeing as I’ve promised you all sorts of exclusive content, I’ve decided to bring you two very special interviews, starting with:
An Interview With Zacharias Vonsinfonie
“You’re a very tricky man to get on the schedule, Zacharias. Really, thanks so much for finally joining us.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Would you mind sharing with the people what has you so busy lately?”
Zacharias smirks.
“The very same thing that has everyone else so busy while you’ve decided to write a lengthy book.”
“Fair play. Well, we’re actually here to discuss that day in the underground tavern. The day you and your brother Sebastian finally reunited after over eight hundred years apart.”
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“I remember the day. What would you like to know?”
“In hindsight, how do you think that went, and why is the answer, ‘badly’?”
Zacharias chuckles.
“…”
“Miss Blanchett, why are you still typing? No one’s speaking.”
“Well, I’ve included the chuckle for flavour.”
“I don’t like the word chuckle.”
“Which word would you prefer so I can use it next time?”
“Say I appear amused—wait, why are you still typing? Are you including this, too?”
“Of course!”
Zacharias sighs.
“…”
“…”
“Yes, Feargus Finlay, the reunion with my brother went badly.”
“And today, we’re here to get to the bottom of why that was. Let’s pull some quotes, shall we? Addie, where are the quotes?”
“They’re here on the table.”
“Thanks. You’re the best.”
Adeline smiles.
“Right, so—let’s start with our first point of contention between you and Sebastian when you said, ‘You must understand, our parents were deeply proud of their sons.’
“They were.”
“But your father abused you.”
“Our father was a violent alcoholic, and he was proud of us.”
“So why not validate your brother’s experience?”
“I should have. Because where I saw it as protecting him from feeling wholly despised by reminding him he was partially loved, I failed him. He and I have since spoken about this.”
“That’s great; I’m really glad to hear it, and I’m sure the people are, too. Now, let’s move on to our next quote, this one on Avis: ‘She was infuriating, talented, and beautiful, but she was in love with Sebastian.’ The people might be wondering: what was that about?”
“What, was I being insecure? Assigning blame? I was stating fact. Avis was in love with Sebastian long before she was in love with me, Feargus Finlay. She was the daughter of our benefactor, and the same age as my brother when we met. I’d always known Sebastian oriented toward men. Everybody did, so Sebastian always assumed Avis knew, but she didn’t know until I told her. They were fifteen, and she was heartbroken. Sebastian had no idea.”
“Wow.”
“Well, it was her mother who urged Avis toward me ultimately, and we did genuinely fall in love. I never questioned that. But there’s something about your first—something sticky—even, or maybe especially, if they were unattainable.”
“That’s some fascinating insight. So, why did you choose then to tell Sebastian that Avis was in love with him first?”
“Because I was hoping it would remind Sebastian how much he meant to Avis, and that he might remember how much she meant to him.”
“I see. So—let’s talk about the troupe.”
“They nearly all died from a mysterious plague.”
“And would you say that contributed heavily to the compulsion to fill the Vonsinfonie troupe with immortals?”
“Almost exclusively.”
“Thank you for your candor. Now, what about Avis, though? She may not have been there, but she lost many of her friends and family, too, and then to find out Sebastian was sick as well. That must have been incredibly difficult for her.”
“Avis had a history of colourful flights of fancy—it’s what made her such a talented caricature artist. But she became much more invested in them after the losses. And she became more and more high maintenance, high-strung, compulsive, and more like her mother following her death. She was never the same but I still loved every version of her the same. And then Sebastian? The thought of losing him was…”
“I understand.”
“…”
“Now if Avis was prone to impossible ideas, why did you think there was any merit to the elixir fable?”
“We didn’t, but we loved her, and the thought made her smile at a time she had no reason to. And I wanted to spend some quality time with my brother before he died.”
“And yet, Sebastian seemed to think you didn’t like spending time with him—all those nights with your scholar friends, right?”
“Most of those scholar friends were also investors, or journalists, or some form of public relations—business dealings at the core. Sebastian hated anything to do with the practical side of the business, he wasn’t shy about complaining loudly, and someone had to make it all work. But did I regret not having more time outside our rehearsals and performances to spend with Sebastian? Of course. Only by the time I realized it, it was too late.”
“So it must have really hurt your feelings when Sebastian said, ‘True, but I don’t—I didn’t hate you.’ How did that last second correction make you feel?”
“Terrible, if you must know.”
“Have you spoken about that, too?”
“I know my brother loves me, and I knew it then. But it still felt terrible.”
“Thank you for your candor on the matter.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Now, I won’t spoil specifics for the people about your grand adventure, so let’s skip to the part where you both drank the elixir, and you each woke up in the snow separately. Sebastian got home first, but you would have been closer to Amsteg than he was. How did that happen?”
“I spent several hours looking for him once I realized I wasn’t dead, and somehow, we never crossed paths.”
“You really can’t write this stuff, can you?”
“What? Of course you can.”
“It’s just a saying, mate.”
“I see.”
“The people may have noticed as the story went on, beyond the point of Sebastian changing Jakob and turning Avis, you became more defensive—especially when discussing your moral stance on the Anima and your decision to meet with the Six without Sebastian. Can you explain to the people what it was like for you up on that stage?”
“I was given very little positive feedback. My son and Andrei Strauss—stoic as ever. Michael Reider, brows furrowed, head shaking. Your sister, someone with whom I'd recently bonded, glaring at me with growing disdain. Adeline performing surprise beside you, and you—watching you look more and more worried for me by the second. And yet, when Sebastian spoke, my son and Andrei Strauss were still stoic, but Michael Reider was rallied, Adeline appeared conflicted, and your sister was resolved. How was it for you, Feargus Finlay, on that couch?”
“Terrible, if you must know.”
Zacharias appears amused.
“That almost concludes my questions for today. We’ve already gone over your reasons for choosing the Six’s plan over Sebastian’s, choosing certain safety for your family over the uncertain vanquishing of the Six. We know they eventually came to you and Sebastian and offered you demands for your cooperation. But what the people might still be struggling to understand is why you thought you could decide who Partisans could and couldn’t sleep with, and what’s with Sebastian’s Law, really?”
“If the answer to the first question hasn’t become obvious by now, then the people don’t truly understand the threat the world would be under if the Six incubated a collection of multi-powered Partisans and turned them. I knew first-hand from my own mistake with the Anima.”
“And Sebastian’s Law? Was it really because if you and Sebastian couldn’t play music together, then nobody ought to have it at all?”
“In part, petty sentimentality. In greater part, the people should know by now what an Anima wielding the power of song is capable of.”
“So again, you wanted to protect the world from any more unfair power advantages?”
“Yes.”
“Why not say that?”
“Because I was beginning to sound like a broken record, and nobody seemed to care who I was trying to protect or why. They’d already made up their minds about me.”
“I’m really sorry, Zack. I should have been there for you.”
“You were there for me, Feargus Finlay. In fact, no one has ever been more there for me.”
“Well, that concludes our interview today. The people and I thank you for your time.”
An Interview With Sebastian Vonsinfonie
“Thanks so much for sitting down with me today, Sebastian.”
“You know I quite enjoy our little interview sessions. What’s the topic for today?”
“Today, we’re here to talk about that day in the tavern—the day you and your brother Zacharias finally reunited after more than eight hundred years.”
Sebastian appears amused.
“I remember the day, who my brother is, and how long it had been when we reunited. So, what would you like to know?”
Let’s start with the following quote: ‘True, but I don’t—I didn’t hate you.’ The people may have noticed you made a correction there, and they may be wondering: how did you really feel about Zacharias that day? Did you hate him?”
“I love my brother, and I always have.”
“Do you reckon there was anything he could have said that day that would have made you see, if not agree, with any of his points of view?”
“To be honest, no.”
“Why not?”
“Because I wholeheartedly believed his points of view were dangerous.”
“Do you still?”
“Yes and no.”
“That’s better than just yes, right? Actually, research shows that’s really all Zacharias wanted, was for people to understand that things aren’t always so black and white.”
“Maybe.”
“Tell me, Sebastian—the people might be wondering: why keep your illness from your brother?”
“Well, I didn’t have a death wish, Feargus Finlay. But I’d already been to several physicians on my own, and I believe the one who’s dying gets to decide how they die. I only wanted everything to remain status quo until it couldn’t any longer.”
“Avis was the first to notice you were sick. How did you feel that day in the tavern when you found out she was, at one time, in love with you?”
“I thought my brother was being petty and jealous, but I know better now.”
“You know, he once told me that Avis loving you first was one of the reasons he fell so in love with her. Did you know that?”
“…That’s sweet.”
Feargus nods.
“Did you really believe the Cursed Canticle would work against the Six?”
“I had full faith it would. I did truly believe there was nothing more powerful in the world than when my brother and I came together in song. Yes, I had faith it would work, and I’d have preferred to die trying than to have survived as a coward.”
“So you thought what Zacharias did was cowardly?”
“Yes.”
“Do you still think that?”
“Yes and no.”
“That’s fair. Now, my research shows your brother spent much of his life looking after you and keeping your image intact, but he never wanted anyone to know how difficult that was at times. He’s made decisions that plagued and paralyzed him for centuries. He threw himself under the wagon for your benefit, and you really hurt his feelings that day.”
“I know I did, and I’m not proud of it. And I’ve always known—about all those times he’d taken the blame for me, covered up for me, buried himself in business so I didn’t have to. But I felt as though if I were to admit that, that if I were to express gratitude to my brother for all the wonderful things he’d done, then it would somehow excuse all the terrible things he’d done, and that it would also make me complicit. But wait—have you brought me here only to admonish me? If so, I could think of more pleasurable ways, Feargus Finlay. Besides, Zacharias and I have worked through this already.”
“I’m sure the people are really glad to hear that. Tell me, how did you feel about Sebastian’s Law, and what level of influence did you really have over Delphia once you were exiled?”
“I felt that Sebastian’s Law as a sentiment was ridiculous, and that my brother had already done enough to make the world dangerous all on his own without having to outlaw music.”
“Do you still feel that way?”
“Yes and no. Zacharias saw it as a way of honouring me—of honouring us—and at the same time, eliminating a dangerous variable. I saw it as a slap in the face for all we’d achieved together, everything we’d built, and all of our sacrifices.”
“I’d say that’s understandable. On that note, how much influence did you have over the brand new territory of Delphia after you were exiled there?”
“To the world at large, Sebastian Vonsinfonie was dead. But over the hundreds of years I burned through hundreds of aliases, and almost everything in Delphia was directly influenced by a version of myself. The isles, the themes, the architecture, the language, the art, the music, the literature—all of it.”
“As far as the overseers of territories go, I do think you’ve got your brother beat there. Don’t we just love Delphia, people? I know I do. As for Amalia, though, Leberecht is nice.”
“Nice if you like rocks.”
“Seb, I do like rocks.”
“Do you really?”
“What’s not to like about rocks?”
“I find them to be quite dull.”
“Mate, I’ve seen some pretty rocks.”
“I prefer gemstones, or at the very least, minerals.”
“You would.”
“Have we reached the end of our interview?”
“Do you want to go help the others?”
“Yes, that would be fine.”
“Then aye, we can be done. Thanks for letting me admonish you for the sake of narrative tension. I love you, mate.”
“I love you, too, Feargus Finlay.”