Von Zinzer stared at the water below. “No, thanks.”
The Castle broke into another nasty laugh.
Professor Mezzasalma stood near a row of ancient vacuum tubes that stretched off into the darkness. “And all of this bric-a-brac is necessary to extract the power from the waters?”
“Of course not. The systems in the Great Movement Chamber serve many functions. There are thousands of systems and devices whose motive force originates here. Or did, rather, when everything was functioning…why, the bird baths alone require several dedicated steam turbines. All those little brushes, you know.”
Gil and Tarvek had found a good spot and were, together, slowly pivoting in place as they looked around. When they returned to their starting place, the two men glanced at each other and scowled.
“I don’t even know where to start,” Tarvek confessed.
“This can’t be all of it,” Gil said. He waved towards the broken paddlewheel. “This thing has been broken for quite awhile, yet the Castle still has power.”
“There’s obviously some sort of voltaic pile, but to run a place like this…”
Gil grinned. “Oh yeah, I can’t wait to see it.” They walked back to Agatha. She had her back to them, staring at the hole in the floor and dabbing her cheeks with a handkerchief. “It’s your Castle, Agatha. Where should we go next?”
“Hm?” She turned towards them, blinking. Gil and Tarvek gasped. Agatha’s skin was a bright emerald green. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m feeling a bit—” She saw their stares and glanced at her hand. “Ooh. That’s bad.”
Tarvek turned to Gil. “No! She wasn’t hooked up to us! How is this even possible?”
Gil crossed his arms. The purple of his skin deepened. “I knew it. You did kiss him.”
Tarvek looked surprised. “She—what? I don’t remember that!”
Agatha’s blush turned her skin slate-grey. “What would that have to do with anything?” she asked hotly.
Gil indicated his now magenta skin. “I’m just replicating symptoms because of the Si Vales Valeo process.” He pointed at Tarvek. “But he’s actually infectious! You put your mouth on his dirty, diseased skin!”
Tarvek glared at Gil. “I would have used better words than that.” He turned to scold Agatha. “But he’s right. You’ve shown a shocking disregard for basic medical safety.”
Gil pointed to Tarvek. “What he said!”
Tarvek continued in a gentler voice. “I can’t say I’m not touched, but when in the lab, it can be very dangerous to yield to one’s romantic impulses—”
Gil rolled his eyes. “Oh, you’re definitely ‘touched’ all right,” he told Tarvek.
“—No matter how difficult it is to resist.”
Gil shook his head. “Before we die of this,” he said conversationally, “I am going to kill you.”
“Stop it,” Agatha said. “We’re not beaten. We can still do this. We’ll find a sufficient power source, and finish the Si Vales Valeo. I’ll just hook myself into the circuit as well.”
The two young men stared at her. Tarvek glanced at Gil. “Well… theoretically…”
Gil shook his head. “I don’t think anyone has ever made something like that work.”
Agatha poked him in the chest. “We’ll make it work.”
“LOOK OUT BELOW!” The scream was followed by the crash of the lift platform against the lip of the shaft. Fraulein Snaug held onto the controls, even as she was thrown about. Quickly, the others rushed in and grabbed hold of the lift. They dragged it more firmly onto the floor beside the shaft and Snaug shakily got to her feet.
“Here’s the equipment! S-sorry about that, Lady Heterodyne,” she said breathlessly. “I sort of came in a little fast and…” She looked around and worry filled her face. “Violetta was with me! She was!”
“I’m right here.”
They looked up in time to see the Smoke Knight slide down the last meter or so of cable and land delicately upon the roof of the platform.
“I’m fine,” she declared airily. “When Snaug lost control, I simply—”
Von Zinzer ignored her. “Are you all right?” he asked Fraulein Snaug, as he half-carried her to a bench. “You should sit. Better yet, lie down while I get you something to drink.” He paused. “Not water.”
Snaug smiled gamely at him. “How sweet,” she whispered.
Violetta stared at them sullenly until Tarvek derailed her thoughts. “Come, come, Violetta, let’s get this stuff unloaded.”
Violetta swung smoothly down from the top of the platform, bringing her face-to-face with Agatha, who was currently orange.
“What have those pigs done to you?” Violetta screamed. She rounded on Tarvek and Gil. “I can’t believe it! I hardly let you out of my sight and you morons violate enough medical protocols to get her infected? I’ll kill you both!”
Agatha put a soothing hand on Violetta’s arm. “Mistakes were made,” she said vaguely, “but please don’t kill them. I need them alive, for the moment, and I am somewhat fond of them.”
“What? Why?” Violetta began a full catalog of Tarvek’s faults, Gil’s probable equality of malfeasance, and a detailed suggestion about the benefits of taxidermy.
Gil tried to get Agatha’s attention, but Tarvek shook his head. He waved Gil to a seat. “Don’t bother trying to ask Agatha anything, she’ll be busy until Violetta’s done ranting.” He turned towards Gil with a serious look on his face. “Just as well, actually. Listen, about these devices she built…” he patted the unit strapped to his chest.
Gil gave Tarvek a wicked grin. “Well, we could get started right now if you’ll let me take yours apart to see how it works!”
Tarvek nodded. “Good. I’m glad we’re on the same page.”
Gil looked startled. “What? Hey, no, I was just—”
Tarvek was serious. “You’re hooked up to me so you’ll keep me alive. Now you’re expected to manage for both Agatha and me? Ridiculous. The stochastic variables will start degrading the system almost immediately.”
Gil looked away. “Yes, of course. But…”
“I really don’t see this working,” said Tarvek. “If things even start to break down, we’re going to cut me loose.”
“That won’t be necessary! If we do this quick enough—”
Tarvek held up a hand, cutting him off. “If we do, that’s great, but, if not, no heroics. We save her. Right?”
Gil nodded slowly. “Well…right. Of course.”
Agatha came back to them, frowning suspiciously. “Are you two fighting again?”
“No,” they said in unison.
Professor Mezzasalma gave a shout and waved excitedly from a dark archway. Everyone else hurried over. He had discovered another cavernous room filled with long orderly rows of glass spheres. Each sphere was almost two meters in diameter and rested on squat little stands made in the shape of rather sullen looking lizards. Their red eyes glowed dimly in the dark. Inside each sphere was a strange column of metal and crystal, rising from a pool of liquid. Each was capped with a dull metal lid, and each lid was hooked into an elaborate swirling net of wires that connected and interconnected in a dizzying tangle that stretched off into the shadows.
Tarvek gave a shout of recognition and dragged Gil to the nearest sphere. “Baghdad Salamanders!86 An entire room full of them!”
He turned to Agatha. “I did a whole thesis on these!” He turned back and regarded the room in awe. “But this isn’t a corroded, broken ruin in a buried tomb! These are active! Functional!” He stared around the room. “Blue fire,” he whispered. “There’s got to be over a thousand of them!”
Gil nodded. “At least a thousand.” He turned to Agatha. “He’s right. These have got to be the power source.”