AMBYSSUS | Prologue (Patreon)

Joey woke with a blunt blow to his chest. His training kicked in, and his muscles tensed. Before he could fight back, another hit squeezed the air out of his lungs, and he heard his daughter calling out to him.

"Daddy! Wake up! Mom says it's time for dinner."

"Molly, why are you jumping on me like that?"

"You didn't wake up when I called nicely." So that's what it was. Joey relaxed. It wasn't surprising that his daughter had struggled to wake him up. His biological clock was in complete disarray. He was getting too old to be running this kind of operation. Perhaps his wife was right; he should be behind a desk. He couldn’t say that out loud, though. It would set a dangerous precedent in his marriage.

"Come on, Daddy! I'm hungry!" Joey dragged himself out of bed and reached for the oil lamp on his nightstand. Molly had already run out of the bedroom, and he could hear his wife congratulating her on a successful mission. Now that the pain in his chest had abated and his head cleared from the night haze, he could finally find the humor in his daughter's violent wake-up call. How could something be so infuriating and adorable at the same time? His mind went to when he was Molly’s age. He remembered the lazy weekends when he would storm into his parents’ room and wake them up like this.

He went to the bathroom and washed his face with chilled water. The temperature shock dispelled more of the drowsiness. As he washed his face in front of the mirror, Joey saw a tired middle-aged man with bags under his eyes. He looked like his father, even though he was slightly shorter than his old man had been. He was now as old as his father had been when he'd passed. He brought up hands filled with cool water to his face again. This time he did so to dispel the gloom in his thoughts.

Feeling refreshed, he exited the bedroom in his pajamas and smelt the powerful alluring smell of his wife's cooking.

"Hi, honey.”

"Hello, dear. How are you feeling today? Were you able to get some rest?"

"Kind of. I'm getting too old for this..." She spared him a judgmental look. "I know, I know. You warned me." His tongue had slipped. She wouldn’t let this go the next time he wanted to do something crazy.

"Good thing you admit I’m right. Now sit down and eat."

His wife had made something that served as dinner to her and Molly and breakfast to him. It was a colorful casserole with more ingredients than Joey could name. He could see some sausage and eggs. As his wife dug into the casserole, he could also see the strings of half-melted cheese. The sweet smell of onions, spice, and garlic was in the air.

He had always admired his wife’s creativity in the kitchen. He couldn’t say that was the main reason he’d married her, but it sure scored her some points when they were dating.

“It’s delicious.”

“There’s coffee in the pot too.”

“Why don’t you tell me about your day, girls? What were you up to today, Molly?”

“Mommy took me to the park, and then we had some candied apples together.” Joey felt a pang of panic and distress punch him in the gut. Had they eaten outside? How many times had he… As his eyes met his wife’s, his anger instantly quenched, and he tried to focus on the sweet aroma from the plate. Marie often told him he couldn’t force his traumas on his daughter.

“That’s… wonderful. What else?”

“Hmmm… There was this boy in the park who invited me to play hide-and-seek with him and his cousin, and I hid behind Mommy,” the little girl giggled at her genius. “They couldn’t find me.”

“That’s amazing, Molly.”

“What about you, Joey? Will you be out all night?” Joey could see how Marie was trying hard to control her concern for him, just as he had fought earlier not to panic over his daughter having a toffee apple outside.

“I have some great news! I think I found what I was looking for. I sent word to the commissioner, and if all goes well, I can stop working at night for some time.” His wife smiled radiantly.

“That’s great. Will you get some days off?”

“Yes. I think so.”

“Molly! Did you hear that? What do you want to do now that we’ll have your daddy to ourselves?” When the girls talked in this tone, it caused shivers to run down Joey’s spine. He wasn’t looking forward to seeing his little Molly become a teenager and their feminine conspiracies gain momentum.

“Daddy can take us to the zoo!”

“OK! That’s a deal," he agreed. "We should probably visit Grandma too,” Joey added between bites.

“And my parents,” Marie chimed in.

“Yes, of course, honey. We can even stay the night with them if they want us.”

“I’ll send them a telegram first thing in the morning.” Joey smiled, seeing his family so happy at the chance to spend time with him. He’d also felt like that every time his father had taken time from his business to be with them. Every little outing had been an adventure back then, and he felt happy that he could do the same for Molly.

Molly kept sharing tales of her afternoon exploits. Sometimes, Marie would prompt her and remind her to add one more detail or exciting part of the story. Sometimes, she interrupted Molly to straighten her story. The little girl had a habit of painting herself in the best possible light while omitting all her mischief, but her mom wouldn’t have it.

After what was to Joey a perfect breakfast, he cleaned his mouth on a napkin and stood up.

“Well, this was delicious. I’m going to get ready to go out.”

“Daddy, will you tell me a story before you leave?”

“Of course! Go ahead. I’ll be with you shortly.”

“Yey!” Molly ran off to her bedroom. Joey went to get ready.

“Remember, no stories from the force!” warned his wife.

“I know, Marie. I know.”

Joey put on his clothes. Tonight was probably going to be chilly. He ignored the uniform and chose a more sensible option for a stake-out. He stuck to darker colors and worn-down clothes. He left his hair slightly disheveled to match his scruffy beard. He hadn’t shaved in a few days to have a more rugged look and blend in more easily. Happy with his appearance, he went upstairs and found his little princess in bed, hugging her teddy bear and waiting for her bedtime story. Joey entered the room and sat in the bed next to her.

“What story will you tell me tonight? Will you tell me the story of the bear general again?” Joey chuckled. He prayed that Fabius never found out that Joey portrayed him as the bear general in these bedtime stories.

“No! Tonight, I'll tell you a story about your grandpa!” Molly’s moving legs and restless hands showed her excitement about hearing one of her grandpa’s stories. “Did you know that your grandfather built a school in the city?”

“What? Was it a small school or a big school?”

“It was a giant school!”

“Wow! Grandpa was rich!” Joey laughed.

“Yes, he was. He called it the Opportunity School. He built it out of the finest materials that could be found and hired the most talented faculty that money could buy. He even got one of the scientists from the Science Academy to serve as the school's dean!"

"Wow!"

"The school was so good that everyone in the city, including the children of rich families, wanted to be part of it. But your grandpa was no ordinary man. He made it so that half of the school was made of children of wealthy families, whereas the other half was made of orphans and kids from poor families.”

“Hmmm… Why?”

“Your grandpa said there was wealth in diversity and that it was supposed to be an opportunity for everyone to learn something. Rich children learned that the world wasn’t only made of wealthy people. Your grandpa hoped meeting children from families with big problems would help them be kinder. Poor children also saw that money made no difference in people's happiness. Teachers, too, were reminded that there were geniuses everywhere, even in the most unlikely and poor places.”

“It sounds like Grandpa was a nice person.”

“He was kind of crazy too.” Molly laughed. “Remember your grandfather’s example, Molly. Always look at what’s inside a person’s heart. It’s more important than what’s in their wallets.”

“How did Grandpa die?” Joey felt a catch in his throat. He wasn’t expecting that to be his daughter’s follow-up question. “I-I’ll tell you another day. OK?”

“OK.”

“Sleep tight, my princess.”

“Good night, Daddy.”

Joey turned off the lamp and, sparing one last look at his baby, went downstairs again. He found his wife carefully packing a sandwich, snacks, and a flask of hot coffee into his rucksack.

“What would I do without you?” asked Joey as he embraced her from behind, catching her by surprise and causing her to yelp.

“What story did you tell your daughter, constable?”

“I told her about when Dad had the school built.”

Marie turned to face him with an adorable pout on her lips. “Aaw. You told her about our school!”

“Sure thing, I did.”

“Your dad was such a good man.”

“Yes, he was.”

“And so are you.”

“I try.”

She passed him the rucksack. “Now, go get some bad guys so you can come spend some days with your wife and daughter!”

“Will do.”

Joey went to the door and left the house. He found his mare, tied to the post in the back of his house, and unlocked the gate. As he jumped on his horse, he felt the lungs of his steed fill and her muscles brimming with power. He spurred Luna and galloped downtown.

The sky was cloudy tonight, covering the moon and stars, but the lampposts illuminated the streets enough for Joey to see where he was going. Every single one of these lamps played its part in fighting crime. When the world had gone dark in the Whale Wars, thefts, rapes, and murders had skyrocketed. It was impressive how much power these lampposts had. The light they shone on the night stopped more crimes than the whole police.

New Lisbon was a big city, one of the biggest. Even though his mare was an incredible animal, it would still take her one hour in full gallop to cross the city in breadth. Luckily for him and Luna, his destination was only ten minutes away. There weren’t many trams or trains running, nor horses. A few passersby looked curiously as he passed, but the streets were mostly deserted.

When he reached a public stable, he parked his mare and let her out to graze on straw as she kept other horses company. He left a crown with the stable guard and took off. He would walk from here.

With each step, the scenery around him descended further into deterioration. The walls went from pristine to having paint flaking off to being bare brick. The smooth stone roads became a muddy smelly mess. The few who walked the streets smartly dressed slowly became rowdy and rugged troublemakers. Joey kept walking, always confident, always relaxed. Criminals preyed on fear, and Joey’s confidence was an invisible shield that protected him as much as the light from the lampposts.

After twenty minutes, he finally made it to his destination. Here was one of the streets with the abandoned warehouses, back when bone carvers and tanners had populated this neighborhood. Now, it was just a collection of empty buildings falling to pieces. For the past few weeks, Joey had been coming here to spy on the one building in better shape. All the windows had been shut with wooden boards, but in the darkness of a moonless night, slivers of escaping light revealed activity inside.

Joey looked at his pocket watch. It was one in the morning. He told Fabius to come here at three. He searched his rucksack for the flask of hot coffee he had prepared and tried to make himself comfortable. He would do his best so that the operation tonight would be successful.

*

Geoffrey looked around him. It was sometime in the afternoon, and the school day had just ended. Something was hurting, although he could not figure out what it was. It felt like a hole somewhere between his chest and his belly. He opened his shirt and found there was no blood or any bruising. Of course, there wasn't. He was just hungry.

He felt the impact of something hit him on his cheek, knocking him to the ground and adding to the pain he felt in his stomach. Adrenaline kicked in, bringing blood and strength to every inch of his body and dissipating the pain of hunger that had bothered him just a few moments ago.

Just as he stood up again, another impact, this time in his stomach. Someone had kicked him. He tried to make sense of the situation. He couldn't remember how he had gotten here or who might be attacking him. He tried to look up, to make up the identity of his attackers, and saw that it was two well-dressed children. They looked respectable, but Geoffrey knew that beneath those fancy clothes, dark hearts loved seeing black bruises. On the one hand, he had plenty of experience in taking beatings and running away from beatings, but they had full stomachs and the element of surprise on their side.

"Just cuz you come to the same school we do, don't you dare think you're the same as us!"

"Yeah! You’ll go to the dean and tell her you’re dropping out. Now, beg. That's all you're good for."

Geoffrey curled up into a ball to protect his vital organs. There was no point in fighting back or arguing with them. He was not giving up on the one hope he had to get out of the streets, and he would certainly not beg. He'd play dead until they got tired or disgusted with what they were doing. Someday. Someday he'd be someone important, and no one would dare to speak to him like this. There had to be more to life than being mocked and beaten just for what part of town he happened to be born in.

"Stop! Stop!" shouted a distant voice in a judgmental, angry tone.

"Darn, it. It's Joey. He'll get us in trouble."

"This isn't over, Jeff." Their hurried footsteps became faint sounds.

There was someone else here. Another well-dressed boy lowered himself to his knees and helped him. It was Joey.

“Thanks, Joey.”

"Are you there?!" the boy screamed into his ears. The sudden scream startled him and hurt him almost as much as one of his hunger pangs.

"What? I’m right here, Joey." Couldn't he see that he was there, right in front of him? What was going on?

"Mr. Geoffrey! Are you there?"

Geoffrey woke up with sweat running down his forehead. Looking at his paneled bedroom and the comfortable sheets covering him, he realized he had been dreaming again. It had been a long time since he had this dream. He heard the sonorous knocks of someone downstairs. Who was making this much noise in the middle of the night? He checked the clock. It was three in the morning.

"Mr. Geoffrey?! It's urgent!" Consciousness and reasoning returning to him, he finally recognized one of his foremen's familiar accents and shrill tones. It was old Red. What in God's green Earth had brought Red here? As soon as he answered the question in his mind, he jolted upright and went for his wardrobe, quickly selecting an outfit appropriate to go to his estate lakeside. "Coming!" he shouted, silencing the old man's screams. He picked up a pair of boots in case he had to walk into the water.

For Red to come here this early, something had happened to his herd. He hoped it wasn't pirates again. He couldn't afford it to be so. As he hurried to get dressed and buttoned up his shirt, for a moment, he dazedly wondered how Joey was doing. He hadn't seen his old friend in years, and their busy lives had made them drift apart. He should invite his family to dinner one of these days; after all, he owed the man too much.

Now fully dressed, Jeff stormed out of his bedroom. The house was dark, but he didn’t bother lighting an oil lamp. He was about to leave home anyway. Supporting himself on the handrail and relying on the intimate knowledge of every nook and cranny of his home, he rushed down the stairs, crossed the vestibule, and opened the door.

Red looked like a haunted man. His usually cheerful and light disposition was twisted into a heavy frown, and his face looked creased and dark. The light of the oil lamp he held in his left-hand cast eerie shadows that only accentuated the gloomy lines on his face.

"Goodness gracious, Red. What's gotten into you? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"Ain't such a thing as ghosts, sir. I wished I’d seen a ghost, though. That would be easier to explain than what brings me here."

"Is it pirates, Red?"

"No, sir. It's something different. I'm not even sure how to explain it. There's something wrong with the lake, sir."

"With the lake?"

"Yes. It..." The man was stammering and stuttering. He wasn’t making any sense. Jeff tried to smell the old man’s breath discreetly but could not detect any alcohol. What had this man seen?

"How did you get here?"

"Came on my horse, sir."

"Leave it here. I'll have it taken to the estate later. Let's take my locomotive. I want to see what's gotten you all riled up like this."

INDEX

Ch. 1