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Trinity stood in the Tea Room while Stella and the dressmaker spoke about fabric, stitching, colors and a whole bunch of other things that were foreign to her. She was so glad she’d dragged Stella with her.
The young Almighty had argued with Mrs. Champfur that it didn’t matter if everyone else wore white and pastels, Trinity would look better in darker colors.
At first, Trinity had wondered if the other female was trying to make her look foolish, but she liked those shades better. They were the colors of the forest in the fall—rich and dark, a vibrant display before the sparsity of winter.
“Trinity. We need...” Tim walked into the room, stopping when his eyes landed on the two Almighty females.
“Hey, Dad.” She’d have to explain Stella’s presence later, but right now, she’d ignore the look her father was giving her.
“When you’re done. Come to your suite. We need your help.”
“With what?”
“Ah...”
She glanced at Stella who quickly turned away and started talking to Mrs. Champfur.
Tim grabbed her arm and pulled her into the hallway. He lowered his voice to barely a whisper. “We’re going over some maps. We’re trying to figure out where you-know-who took you-know-what.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know who I’m talking about and what he did to...others.” He exposed his claws and made a face, showing his teeth.
“I really don’t.” She tried not to laugh. “Just say it. She can’t hear us out here.”
“You never know.”
“We do know. She’s an Almighty. But it doesn’t matter because I’m done. Give me one minute.” She walked back into the room. “I’m sorry, but I have to help my dad with something.”
“But what about the dress?” asked Mrs. Champfur.
“I trust Stella. She’ll pick out something perfect.”
“Are you sure?” asked Stella.
“Absolutely.” It had to be better than the last two. The dress the seamstress had delivered today had been worse than the haystack. It was a soft pink, poufy thing with so much lace and frills that she looked like a giant, pink milk thistle.
“Okay, but what about dancing and what to do at dinner?” asked Stella.
“Yeah. Uhm.” She did need help with that stuff. “We’ll do it later.”
“When?” asked Stella.
“Ah...I’ll find you.” She darted out the door. She didn’t want to learn to dance or to know what piece of silverware to use with what dish. That was all boring. Whatever her dad was doing had to be more exciting. She grabbed her dad’s arm. “Let’s get out of here.” She pulled him down the hallway toward her suite of rooms.
“Are you sure? This can wait until you finish. I know you’re nervous about this party.”
“I’m positive. I can’t stay in there another minute. I’m not meant for that kind of stuff.” Give her the forest or farming any day.
“Okay, but you don’t need her help. I’ll teach you to dance and how to get through dinner.” He smiled at her. “Sarah entertained a lot, and even though I couldn’t attend as a guest, she made sure I knew how to do all those kinds of things.”
“Thanks, Dad.” She kissed his cheek before glancing at the empty chair outside the door to their suite.
“Where is the hulking Guard?” asked Dad.
“Hugh gave Rex a job at the jail.”
“Tell him to give him another one because the Guard was sleeping on this chair last night.”
“I know. Hugh found him an apartment, but Rex insists on staying here.”
“He should stop. It’s creepy how he basically lives outside your suite.”
“I don’t know. I kind of miss seeing him.” She opened the door and stepped inside.
Hugh sat on the floor surrounded by maps. One of the city and one of the forest were spread out in front of him, while others were scattered on the couch and nearby chairs.
“This is so unfair.” She walked over to him, her heart melting a little when he looked up at her and smiled. “I’ve been wasting my entire morning getting fitted for a dress and listening to two females argue about color, fabrics, and a whole bunch of other things that I don’t care one bit about, while the two of you are having fun.”
“I told you not to bother with a dress.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the floor by him. “You look great in whatever you wear.”
She kissed him. “I love you for saying that, but you know it’s not true.”
“It is true.” His face grew serious. “I want the world to see the female I love. The warrior. The girl who can't be tamed.” His hand cupped her cheek.
She fell into his dark blue eyes. She loved him so much it hurt. He leaned forward to kiss her.
“I'm sitting right here,” said Tim.
She grinned at Hugh but didn’t move.
“Aren’t there more maps you need to go get?” Hugh’s eyes sparkled.
“No. There’s not. So get your hands off my daughter and look at the maps.”
“If I have to.” He winked at her.
“You do,” said Dad.
“Okay.” His face became serious as he pointed to a spot on one of the maps. “This is where Conguise lives, and the lab is right next to his home.”
“Are you sure they didn’t turn the creatures loose?” She ran her finger along the map. “These are canals, and they flow right into the forest. It’d be the perfect thing to do with the experiments. You said the ones you saw were aquatic. They could drop them in and let them swim away.” The idea sent fear skittering through her blood. The River-Men were bad enough. If the things her dad and Hugh had seen had free range of the waterways, nothing would be safe trying to get a drink.”
“That’s an extraordinarily terrifying thing to say.” Dad shivered.
“I know, but it makes sense. They could also use it to get rid of the dead. The current would take the bodies. They’d either rot or get eaten.”
“It’s a possibility, especially for the dead, but I don't think the professor would turn them loose. That’d be losing his life’s work.”
“But he wasn’t there,” she said. “He was under arrest at the time.”
“Yeah, but he would’ve had a plan for evacuation in case of an arrest or suspicion from the Council.”
“And you think his employees followed that?” asked Dad.
“I do,” said Hugh. “I’m guessing they would’ve started the evacuation at the first sign that we might win. They wouldn’t have waited to know for sure if we won or if we could hold the Council Building. They definitely wouldn’t have wanted to fail if the old rule was successful.”
“You think they were really that scared of Conguise?” asked Trinity.
“Parson faked his own death to escape. Rumors are that the professor would feed anyone who wanted to quit or didn’t get results to those creatures.”
“I saw those things,” said Tim. “I agree. They’ve would’ve done anything to avoid that fate.”
“Okay.” She sat back on her feet and studied the maps. “The creatures that you saw were all aquatic, right?”
“Yeah,” said Hugh.
“Were they like the River-Men and Cold Creepers who can breathe air or like fish that need water?”
“The fish-creature that was in the tank with Tim definitely needed water to live.”
“But that tentacled thing in the room Laddie took us to when he freed Scar wasn’t in water,” said Tim.
“So we should assume that there were both kinds. The air breathers would be easier to move. That fish thing that was in the tank with Dad was little, right?”
“Yeah,” said Hugh.
“But it had a lot of teeth,” said Tim.
“I didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous.” She sent Hugh an amused look. Her father had a very fragile ego. “I just mentioned the size because in order to transport fish you have to take water. Do you think it was the only one?”
“I doubt it,” said Hugh. “From a scientific point of view, it’d be better to create many because most of them probably wouldn’t survive.”
“Did your soldiers search the surrounding area as well as Conguise’s property?” She stared at the map.
“Yeah. Why?”
“They would’ve had to have used carts and carriages to transport tanks of water. If they went into the forest, they would’ve left big indentations on the ground. Plus, navigating something that heavy through the brush and trees would’ve been next to impossible.”
“There were no tracks leading into the forest.” He trailed his finger along the map. “They had to travel by roadway, but we interviewed everyone who lived nearby. No one saw anything. Maybe a carriage or two but not a whole bunch of them or even one going back and forth over and over again.”
“Then they didn’t travel by road.” She tipped her head, staring at the map again. “And they didn’t go by forest.”
“They could've traveled the road at night,” said Dad.
“I don’t think so,” said Hugh. “Any other time I’d agree but we’d just taken the city. Those out here would’ve been watching the roads to see if anyone came for them.”
“When did you send the soldiers?” They were missing something, but she had no idea what it was.
“About a day and a half after we knew for sure we’d won and could hold the city,” said Hugh.
“And nothing was in the lab,” she muttered to herself. This didn’t make sense. The creatures didn’t just disappear.
“Nothing but regular lab equipment,” said Hugh.
She stood, moving some of the papers off the couch before sitting down. She stared at the maps from above to get a better perspective. “What are we missing?”
“I don’t know,” said Hugh. “But those creatures are out there somewhere.”
“Why? Why did you have to say that?” Tim gave him a disgusted look.
“I didn’t mean they were out there running loose.” He glanced at Trinity and smirked.
“I know that, but I don’t want to hear it. The fact that we have absolutely no idea where they are keeps me up at night. I still have nightmares about that tank and”—he made a face—“the tunnels. Araldo, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the tunnels.”
“The tunnels.” She looked at Hugh.
“That would explain everything. All they would’ve had to do was move the creatures and equipment into the sewer. They could’ve transported them to another place later.”
“Or,” she said. “They could’ve even taken them back into the laboratory.”
“You think they’re still there?” Dad’s face relaxed a bit.
“No,” said Hugh.
“I hate you,” said Dad. “I really hate you sometimes.”
Hugh looked at her and rolled his eyes before saying, “I’m sorry to upset you, but it’d be too risky to take them back to Level Five. We can search the facility at any time.”
“Then they took them somewhere else through the sewer. Do we have those maps?” She started helping her dad who was already sorting through a stack of maps when someone knocked on the door.
“I’ve got it.” Hugh walked over and opened it. “Townsend. Great timing. You can help us look through the ma—”
“No time. We have to go. They found another body in the Holstein area.”