A Peculiar Time in 1944 - A Millard Fanfic (Miss Peregrine's Home) #wattys2020

Chapter 73

"My name is Caul, and you are all my prisoners now."

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"Prisoners!" Sergei said with a laugh, "What he mean, we are prisoners?"

"Where's Miss Peregrine?" Emma shouted, "What have you done with her?"

"If you'd actually permit me to speak, I'll explain everything." Caul said with a bored tone.

"Where is she?" Emma demanded again.

"Don't worry. She's safely in our custody. We kidnapped her days ago."

"Then the bird we rescued from the submarine was. . ." Jake began.

"Me." Caul said with another darker grin.

"Impossible!" Miss Wren shouted finding her voice, "Wights can't turn into birds!"

"That is true, as a general rule. But Alma is my sister, you see, and though I wasn't fortunate enough to inherit any of her talents for manipulating time, I do share her most useless trait – the ability to turn into a vicious little bird of prey. I did a rather excellent job of impersonating her, don't you think? Now, may I trouble you for some pants?"

His request was ignored while Millard's head began to spin. He reached back for Aurora's hand and she willingly gave it. It felt like everything had been pulled out from under them and now he'd been tossed to the floor and didn't have the energy to even attempt to get up. Everything they'd been through to save Miss Peregrine had been for nothing and their will to continue seemed to have finally reached its limit.

"All that time why did you stay a bird?" Jake asked, "Just to watch us?"

"While my lengthy observations of your childish bickering were fascinating, I was quite hoping you could help me with a piece of unfinished business. When you killed my men in the countryside, I was impressed. You proved yourselves to be quite resourceful. Naturally, my men could have swept in and taken you at any point after that, but I thought it better to let you twist in the wild a while and see if your ingenuity might not lead us to the one ymbryne who's consistently managed to evade us." he turned and grinned at Miss Wren, "Hello Balenciaga. So good to see you again. and as a nice bonus we paid a visit to your menagerie. My men came by not long after we left. The stuffed heads of that emu-raffe and boxer dog will look magnificent above my mantelpiece."

"You monster!" Miss Wren screeched.

"Oh my bird!" Olive exclaimed, "The twins, Fiona and Claire!"

"You'll see them again soon." Caul said, "I've got them in safekeeping."

The ones who weren't reeling in horror frothed with anger. Several were shouting that Caul should be killed and all the while Caul stood calmly waiting for it all to die down.

"If I may?" he said, "I wouldn't entertain any ideas about killing me. You could, of course, no one can stop you. But it will go much easier for you if I am unharmed when my men arrive. All fifty six of them covering every conceivable point of exit all armed to the teeth. Beyond the teeth. They've been watching me closely and I gave my signal to them the moment Balenciaga revealed herself to us." he turned to Miss Wren and Althea, "I do recommend you melt this ice because it will save us all a world of trouble. Just give up and come quietly."

"It doesn't matter how many of them there are. They'll never be able to get through my ice." Althea said with more emotion than they'd seen her display since their arrival.

"She's absolutely right." Caul said brightly, "So there's a quick and painless way to do this, where you melt the ice right now. Or the long, slow, boring, sad way which is called a siege. Where for weeks and months my men stand guard outside while we stay in here quietly starving to death. Maybe you'll give up when you're desperate and hungry enough. Or maybe you'll start cannibalizing. Either way, if my men have to wait that long they'll torture every last one of you to death when they get in which inevitably they will. And if we must go the slow, boring, sad route then please, for the sake of the children, bring me some trousers."