Lucky Rabbit

With Sir Bailey injured and ‘Daedalus’ turning traitor – and thus most of the Knights of the Royal Eagle under suspicion – they only knew of one person they could trust to help, and coincidentally, his house was in the direction they needed to go. Augustus and Pandy were back on Soot – she refused to call the horse-elemental Slaughter, no matter how appropriate it now seemed – and headed for the Reedsley estate within three minutes. Chancellor Lockhart barely even blinked as they ran by, just lifted a hand as if to wish them well.

Soot was no Cloudmane, to race through the sky with distance-eating strides, but the horse could run. After Augustus reminded him they were supposed to be sneaky, just in case there were still some bad guys who didn’t know where the party was being held, the Dire Steed even turned off his hooves so they didn’t leave smoking crescents burned into the earth behind them.

Without her Shifting Faces timer, Pandy had no idea how long it took to reach Lord Captain Reedsley’s pastoral home. Far less than the several hours it would have taken by carriage, she was certain of that. When they stopped in front of the house, Soot was breathing heavily, but he wasn’t sweating, which actually made sense once Pandy stopped to think about it, since he was a Fire elemental. Gathering Pandy to his chest, Augustus dismounted.

Rather than knocking on the door, Augustus simply strode in, startling the butler who had been approaching to open it. The butler, Dalton, who Pandy remembered from the time she and Thaniel stayed here, rarely showed any emotion, but at the audacity of this, his mouth actually dropped open and he seemed at a complete loss.

“Augustus Blackwood to see Captain Reedsley,” Augustus told the man, coming down hard on the military rank. Dalton stiffened, his usual imperturbability settling over him, and he nodded. “Yes, sir. Captain Reedsley is taking tea with the family. I will-”

Augustus ignored him, walking past to the conservatory door, which stood open, revealing the beginnings of the greenery within. As they entered, they found Captain and Lady Reedsley already standing, obviously having heard the door and the brief exchange. Lady Reedsley stood behind Clara’s chair, her hand resting protectively on her maybe-daughter’s shoulder. Lord Reedsley stood between the door and the rest of his family, his expression as blank as Dalton’s.

“Sir,” Captain Reedsley said, snapping a salute that managed to make Dalton’s eyebrow twitch in surprise. Augustus’s not-entirely-former job wasn’t going to remain a secret much longer at this rate.

“I require your assistance, Captain. Are any more of your soldiers here?” Augustus asked.

“Two, sir. Justus and Sims.”

Augustus nodded. “Full gear. I don’t know what we’ll find when we arrive, but assume the worst. If you can call in any others, do so, but do not send for Knights or anyone in Knightmere.” He hesitated. “In fact, if you receive orders from anyone other than myself, I am invoking Kingsman protocol to allow you to ignore anything that contradicts what I’ve told you.”

By the time he finished speaking, Captain Reedsley looked grim. He didn’t remind Augustus that he wasn’t actually the Kingsman anymore, just snapped another salute and turned to his wife and daughter. “Call in the servants. Spend the day at home. You know what to do, Alice.”

Lady Alice, who might look fluffy and flighty, but had been a soldier’s wife for almost twenty years, just nodded, in spite of the look of terrible worry in her eyes. “Yes, Corbin. Clara-”

But Clara was already standing. “I’ll come, too,” she said, and Lady Reedsley let out an inarticulate cry of denial. Clara reached out and gripped her mother’s hand, looking into the other woman’s eyes. For the first time, Pandy realized that the girl was the same height as her mother, and probably still had a few more inches to grow. She looked remarkably adult as she said, “I’ll keep him safe for you.”

“You will not,” Lord Reedsley said, his voice gravelly with emotion. “If there is protecting to be done, we will do it.” He approached his daughter, who might also be a Demon Queen, and embraced her, pressing a kiss to the top of her dark head before he drew back, staring into her slightly confused blue eyes. “You are our daughter,” he told her. “That means we get to take care of you, not the other way around. That’s how it’s done.”

Clara hesitated, her gaze flicking away toward something only she could see before dismissing whatever it was with a twitch of her hand. “It wants me to go, so I will stay,” she said before tilting her head. “Is this love?”

“Yes,” her father and mother assured her simultaneously, as if this was a question they’d become used to over the past few weeks. Clara nodded, and when the trio separated, the girl went with her mother. Lady Alice kept an arm around her daughter’s waist as Lord Reedsley became Captain Reedsley again and walked toward the door.

Pandy watched all of this with something like envy. What would it be like to be so loved? Was she really meant to be Clara? To have these two wonderful parents, an adorable younger sister, and a fun and romantic school life that would become a peaceful and happy future? But, knowing what she did now, and given the fact that Augustus never would have been a possible love-interest for Clara, nor would Clara have met Eleanor, Isidor, Abbington, Professor Beeswick, and everyone else who had made Pandy’s new life so fun and meaningful, would Pandy really trade places with her?

The answer was obviously no, and Pandy dismissed the thought along with the tightness of her throat as Augustus carried her back out into the entryway, Captain Reedsley close on their heels. Another man was already there, wearing a helmet and a long chainmail shirt beneath a blue and gold tabard.

“Sir?” he asked his commanding officer, eyes wary as he took in the blood-stained man cradling an equally bloodied rabbit.

“Send Sims to get the rest of the unit,” Captain Reedsley said. “They should be riding circuit around Greenbriar. We’re going to-” He hesitated, looking at Augustus expectantly.

“The Dunning estate,” Augustus said. “Kingsman protocol.”

The soldier’s expression went as flat as everyone else’s when he heard that. He saluted both of his superiors, then turned on his heel and left the house at a fast jog. Pandy heard a horse’s hooves from outside, though the sound faded rapidly away.

“Come ahead, and I’ll fill you in on the way,” Augustus said. “Do you have a fresh horse?”

One corner of Captain Reedsley’s mouth turned up. “I do, sir. Dalton will have sent for her already.”

Indeed, when they stepped outside, a harried-looking stablehand was just swinging down from a chestnut horse’s back. Pandy thought it was a mare, but she wasn’t going to check. “Lucy’s ready for you, m’lord,” the stablehand said, holding the reins out to Lord Reedsley.

“We always keep one horse saddled and ready, in case of emergencies,” the captain said as he grasped the reins, set his left foot in the stirrup, and swung astride the animal. He patted the bulging saddlebags. “She’ll have everything I need.”

Augustus looked impressed. “Well done, Captain. Rabbit, are you ready?”

Pandy felt a bit embarrassed when he used what she thought of as a pet name right out in the open like that, but it made sense. He couldn’t exactly call her Eurydice, and it would be a bit odd if he called her Pandora and then Pandy somehow managed to get her real appearance back, and she had the same name as that one rabbit, that one time. Though of course Captain Reedsley wasn’t stupid, and Thaniel had lived here for about a month.

“Isn’t that, ah, Bunny, Sir?” The captain asked, and Augustus gave a small snort of laughter.

“Not today,” he said, mounting Soot, who pranced impatiently as his rider settled into the saddle, clearly ready to be going.

Without another word, Augustus and Captain Reedsley set heel to their mounts’ sides, and the two creatures took off. Pandy could feel that they weren’t moving as quickly as Soot had been, but after a mile or so, Captain Reedsley’s mare edged forward, her nose passing Augustus’s foot. Soot either took that as a challenge or an offer to go faster, because he instantly sped up, and soon trees, houses, and even the occasional cart or carriage seemed to fly by in the opposite direction, left behind by the two steeds. Pandy couldn’t help but feel that this couldn’t be good for Lucy the Regular Horse, but perhaps Captain Reedsley was doing something magical to help her, because she kept the pace for a surprisingly long time.

They slowed a bit whenever the horse did show signs of strain, allowing Augustus to fill Clara’s father in on what they might find. The captain was obviously shocked to hear that Bryan Conroy was alive, but he didn’t question it, just listened intently and nodded when the tale was through. It was only when they reached a low wall, just like many others they’d passed that were intended to mark property lines more than keep anyone in or out, that they actually came to a complete stop. Augustus pulled on Soot’s reins – too gently to actually do much other than get the elemental steed’s attention – and said, “This is the edge of the estate.”

Captain Reedsley urged Lucy up beside Augustus. Unlike Soot, the mare was soaked with some white foamy stuff and smelled strongly of Tired Horse. Her sides heaved, and she immediately dropped her head and began to crop the grass around her hooves. “She’ll founder if I force her to keep going,” the captain said. “There’s a stream not far off. We stopped there last time I was here.”

Augustus nodded, then looked down at Pandy, his expression conflicted. “Rabbit, you’re the most suited to doing reconnaissance. If Captain Reedsley waits nearby for the rest of his troop, you and I can go in and see what’s going on. We don’t want to endanger the hostages any further.”

Captain Reedsley looked between them, expression thoughtful. “Should we wait for a signal, or just go ahead when we’re all here?”

Augustus tapped his fingers against Soot’s saddle. “Give us one hour. If we signal, come in hard and fast. You know the layout of the building. We’ll try to find a way to let you know where we are, but if necessary, attack anything that moves, unless it’s one of the boys or Lord Conroy. Given that this is a Kingsman action, anyone who has left your sight is suspect until it’s confirmed they’re not Bound. That includes me.”

The captain’s lips twitched. “But not the rabbit? Sir?”

Augustus’s dry tone acknowledged the absurdity as well as the necessity of the question. “Not the rabbit. She has her own priorities, but she’s not a danger to you or your people.” Focusing on Pandy again, he said, “We’ll go together until we reach whatever perimeter they have set up. Then I’ll go around the outside and try to find an entry point for Captain Reedsley and his troops. You’ll have to go in alone until I can enter without letting them know we’re here.”

That was fine with Pandy. In fact, surely one overpowered undead-ish rabbit could handle a few crazy cultists or malicious mercenaries? She couldn’t have gotten here anywhere near this quickly on her own, or she would happily have left Augustus behind entirely. He couldn’t survive even a little stabbing or exploding. But he was counting on her to work with him, and she wasn’t going to let him down by going rogue.

I’m also not at all certain you’re as undead as you once were, Pandora.

Don’t assume things that wouldn’t have killed you before are still survivable.

Keros’s worried words floated in front of her eyes, and she nodded to both him and Augustus. Yes, this was a team-based, safe-as-we-can-be, nearly OSHA-approved plan, not a go-off-the-rails and maybe-die-more plan. Definitely.

Augustus swung down from Soot’s back, then turned to his mount. “Listen to Captain Reedsley. If Lucy hasn’t recovered by the time we send for him, let him ride you.” Soot half-reared, whinnying angrily, while Captain Reedsley also looked rather unhappy at the suggestion. Augustus met both sets of eyes with Great Firmness. “I need you at your best, Captain, and favoring an exhausted horse won’t allow that. Either way, Slaughter will go with you, so he might as well give you a ride.”

The two gave each other rather suspicious looks, but both nodded. Lucy, who was the only normal one of the bunch, just kept eating, ignoring them all. Her breathing had slowed, and she had found a bush heavily laden with what looked like raspberries and was pulling fruit off, one by one, with her flexible lips.

“That’s it then, Rabbit,” Augustus murmured as he crouched to set Pandy on the ground. She wished she could change back to Eurydice for even an instant, not only because she wanted to hug him, but because when she switched back to Bunny, she’d no longer be covered in flaking, dried blood.

Well, if wishes were fishes then Pandy would have a lock on the world-wide seafood market, so she turned and hopped off into the grass. Augustus cleared his throat, and when she popped her head up and looked back at him, he Twinkled at her and pointed in the other direction. So rude. She turned around and went the way he’d pointed, but she was already Plotting how to get back at him. Fish in his socks seemed overboard, but Pandy was willing to bet she knew a cat who would be glad to contribute a hairball in his shoes in exchange for tribute of a piscatory nature.