Chapter Seventeen:

Kathryn…

So many questions ran through Kathryn's mind as she raced back to the study. But they couldn't be answered… Yet.She entered the study and shut the door behind her. She pulled her pistol out of its holster at her hip and aimed for the 'body' of Sir Lucas. She hated this man more than anyone she knew and she couldn't let him live.

She heard a pistol cock to her side. She looked over and saw the offending weapon floating in midair. "Skinner," she said, "what are you doing?"

"How can the League trust you, if I can't?" he asked, the pistol shaking slightly.

Kathryn kept her pistol trained on Sir Lucas' skull, but turned her head towards Skinner. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "You can trust me. I swore it to you."

"I know that," he said, bitterly. "But, if I can trust you to keep your word, why are you preparing to shoot a dead man?"

"Because," she said, thinking of how she could explain the situation to him. "Because he isn't dead."

"Liar. I saw him drink the poison, just the same as you did," he said. "See? Now you're lying to me."

Kathryn's emotions had gone completely haywire upon seeing the photograph of Sir Lucas on the Nautilus, so she had little control over them at the moment. Tears came to her eyes and she fought the urge to cry. "I'm not lying, Skinner," she whispered.

"Drop your gun," he ordered. She complied. The pistol clattered to the floor. Skinner kicked it away. "On your knees." She obeyed. He brought his own pistol to her throat. She stopped trying to control her emotions and was openly crying now. "Hands where I can see them."

Sobbing quietly, Kathryn brought her hands to her chest and clutched at her necklace. "Rodney, please…" she whispered.

"No," he said, sounding like he was crying as well. "I can't trust you. If I can't trust you, the League can't trust you. And the agreement was if the League couldn't trust someone, they couldn't be a part of the League."

"Rodney, don't do this…"

He dug the pistol harder into her throat. "Shut up!" he ordered. "However, if the person was part of the League before the distrust spread through the other members, the distrusted one would have to be disposed of."

"Gods, Rodney, listen to yourself!" she said, quickly pulling the pistol from her throat. "Do you even understand what you're saying?"

Skinner fought with her to regain complete control of the weapon. "I understand perfectly well, wench!" he spat. Then the pistol fired.

Kathryn felt an excruciating pain in her chest. She cried out in pain and let go of the pistol. She heard Skinner run across the room and exit through the window. She staggered to her feet and pressed her hand against the new wound in her chest. It was just below her right collarbone. And as far she knew, the bullet didn't hit any vital organs. She could hear footsteps running through the house, investigating the sound of the gunshot. Kathryn ran as best she could to the window, grabbed her cloak and jumped out the window. She drew her cloak about her shoulders as she half-ran, half-staggered off the property.

After an hour of running, knowing she couldn't possibly return to the Nautilus, Kathryn collapsed on the side of the dirt road. She rolled into some bushes for as much protection as they could offer and pulled the object from Mr. Holmes out of her bodice. She could barely see it in the dark. It looked like a cylindrical bottle made of iron. She couldn't open it, but there was a button on one end of it. The last thing she remembered was pressing the button and losing consciousness.