Agatha H and the Voice of the Castle

Von Zinzer checked the cable, hooked it up and, soon enough, declared the platform finished.

Violetta threw a switch, and the engine on the winch chugged to life. Von Zinzer climbed aboard the platform and gently moved a sliding switch. With a gentle jerk, the platform rose into the air. Von Zinzer nodded and moved the switch the other way. Nothing happened. He frowned, reset it, and tried again. This time the platform dropped and bounced lightly against the ground. He raised it again and gave Agatha a thumbs-up. “I think we’re good to go.”

“No, no, no! Absolutely not!” Mezzasalma declared. “The controls obviously need work!”

“The gearage looks loose to me!” Mittlemind said.

“I want all the weight-bearing areas double reinforced!” Diaz chimed in.

Agatha blew a lock of hair out her eyes. “We don’t have a lot of time—”

They weren’t listening.

“I need to install an entirely new backup system!”

“Maybe triple! Even quadruple!”

“The linkages—they should be rebuilt!”

Von Zinzer touched Agatha’s arm. “Leave this to me.” He turned to the three scientists. “I’m going, you’re staying here.”

They stared at him.

“Oh, well then,” Mezzasalma shrugged.

“It should be fine,” Mittlemind admitted.

“Let us get started!” Diaz said.

Violetta and Snaug watched with interest. As they helped load the platform, Snaug leaned in. “So. Your boyfriend is really good with dealing with Sparks. Has he served the Lady Heterodyne long?”

Violetta shrugged. “I don’t know.” For some reason, her face was suddenly bright red. “Um…and he’s not my boyfriend.”

Snaug regarded her in surprise. “Oh, reeeeally…” She turned her gaze back at von Zinzer and gnawed gently at her lower lip. She glanced back at Violetta and smiled. “I’m so glad we had this little talk.”

Violetta sat down hard on a box, her eyes slightly crossed.

Agatha handed a box of tools up to von Zinzer. “We’ll make a preliminary trip to make sure it’s safe, then we can bring everyone down.”

Von Zinzer nodded. “Who else is going?” he sighed deeply. “Besides me, of course.”

Gil and Tarvek stepped up. “We’re coming.”

Agatha spun to face them. “You? Don’t be absurd! You’re—” She paused. Aside from their exotic, ever-changing pigmentation, they were both practically glowing with good health.

Agatha’s eye’s narrowed. “You’re looking pretty good, actually.”

Tarvek grinned. “Aren’t we, though?”

“…Suspiciously good.” She bent to examine the device strapped to Tarvek’s chest. Her eye’s widened. “You—what have you done?” She examined Gil’s device. “These settings! You’ve rerouted the entire—” She stared at them, appalled. “You’ve cut your time in half! At least!”

Gil and Tarvek tightened their jaws. “Yes!”

“You need us functioning!”

“We’re not going to stay up here—”

“While you go into possible danger—”

“And do all the work!”

“Even if you can’t cure us—”

“If we all work together—”

“A few hours should be all we need—”

“To get the Castle repaired enough to keep you safe!”

This had all been delivered by Gil, then by Tarvek, back-and-forth at an escalating pace that seemed spoken by one person with two throats. With a jolt Agatha realized that they were now speaking in perfect unison.

“I thought you were dead! After losing you like that once, I’m going to make sure that you’re safe even if it’s the last thing I do!”

They fixed her with identical, challenging stares.

Agatha threw her arms around both their necks and hugged them to her fiercely. “I am going to save you both,” she whispered. They stood together for several heartbeats, and then she tightened her grip.

“And then I am going to kill you!” she shouted.

When they climbed onto the platform, Agatha looked over at the other Sparks. “Actually, it would be helpful if one of you came along.”

Diaz shrugged dramatically. “¡Que mala suerte! I have just remembered that I must see to my knitting! If it escapes, I shall have a devil of a time finding it again. Also, my narcolepsy, it is suddenly returning!” He dropped to the ground.

Professor Mittlemind regretfully pulled forth a small calendar. “Today is the Feast of Saint Bunge: My religion forbids excessive vertical travel today, and I really should polish the spikes in the pit trap!”

Mezzasalma watched their antics, his lip curling. “The two of you disgust me.” With a clatter of mechanical legs, he stepped aboard.

Agatha regarded him with respect as von Zinzer threw some levers and swung the platform out over the shaft. “Professor Mezzasalma, you actually want to come?”

Mezzasalma snorted. “Of course not, but they took all of the good excuses, and crying is undignified.”

Von Zinzer rolled his eyes. “Brace yourselves! Here we go!”

With a shudder, the platform began sinking down the shaft. To von Zinzer’s satisfaction, the platform descended slowly but smoothly, and the bright disk of light above them shrank and faded. Agatha flipped a switch and a jury-rigged set of lamps crackled into brightness, allowing them to examine the interiors of the rooms they were lowered through.