Of Tinkers and Technomancers

by Katherine McIntyre

  Styers let out a belly laugh, the man’s towering height and girth not in the least intimidating with the jolly smile on his face and the ruddiness of his cheeks. Sally offered Silas a coy, knowing smile as she tipped her glass in his direction as well. She’d be shocked if there existed a woman in this town the cad hadn’t slept with. Ah, hold on a tick here—me.

  “Don’t suppose you could spare a glass or two of absinthe for the lovely Theo Whitfield and me? We’ve got a business proposition to discuss,” Silas said, making something innocent drip with intent. Freddie the Rat snorted into his pint but didn’t dare glance back at her. Theo’s jaw twitched in instinctive irritation. The man knew how to light her temper’s match every time.

  “We don’t have time to be rotting about while you flirt with Styers here.” Theo pushed past, elbowing him out of the way to step in front of the bar. She lowered her voice before she cast a glance at Sally. “Ellie’s gone missing.”

  “Thought the younger Whitfield was running with Jack Blair? Don’t suppose she might’ve stayed the night at their shack uptown?” Jefferies spoke, his massive numbers of wrinkles moving with his mouth. He peered at her with filmy eyes while he clutched tight to his pint glass. As gaunt as the old man had become over the years, he threw a mean right hook at anyone who tried to part him from his ale.

  “You sure you’re not worrying over nothing?” Sally asked, her gaze softening as she turned to face Theo. “I know how close your family is.”

  Theo pounded a fist against the surface of the bar, rattling the glasses and drawing a few glares. “Ellie’s always stopped home. Always.”

  Styers dropped off two glasses of absinthe, the emerald elixir glittering under the murky bar light. Theo placed a coin on the countertop that Silas pushed back in her direction before he handed the barkeep his shillings. Theo must’ve glared without realizing, because Silas lifted an eyebrow with an amused smile.

  “I owe you for the help on this,” he said, grabbing the two glasses and handing one off to her. “Now let’s get down to the brass tacks.” Silas winked at the denizens lining the bar. “Ladies and gents, hope you don’t mind me stealing Miss Whitfield for the night.”

  Those right bastards were too quick to forgive Silas for skipping town in the first place, smiles and chuckles when they should’ve been shunning him. Freddie the Rat had the gall to let out a wolf’s whistle as she followed Silas to one of the tables in the back of the public house. Theo turned around and lifted her finger in a rude gesture, eliciting a loud laugh from Sally.

  “I must admit, your pleas for attention grow tiresome rather quickly,” she murmured as she took the seat opposite him. “Are you sure there’s not some traveling circus you could join? I hear they’re a delight for someone in need of an audience.”

  Silas placed a hand over his breast, mock indignation written on his face. “Cruel barbs. I suppose it takes a certain amount of intellect to understand my humor. My apologies. I didn’t realize you were so afflicted.”

  Theo’s grip tightened around the glass of absinthe. Silas Kylock was intolerable. An utter menace. She must’ve huffed too many fumes in the aether bomb explosion for her hormones to have taken a liking to anyone as arrogant as him. Whatever aspects of himself he’d revealed while they’d walked through Camden Town had vanished to be replaced by the familiar mask he wore. The sharp scent of anise and fennel wafted from the glass of absinthe, demanding her attention. She tilted the glass to her lips and drank a draught, the smooth liquid gliding down her throat.

  Silas lifted his glass in salute to her, his dark eyes gleaming and his smile wicked. He took a sip before setting it back to the table. “As irresistible as my charms are, that’s not why we’re here. Do we need to pay Jack Blair and his cronies a visit?”

  Theo ran a hand through her curls. She swigged down another sip of absinthe before responding, the options ahead of them appearing quite unkind. “If we do, the two of us won’t stand much of a chance. He’s got at least six or seven men living in the bungalow, and given the amount of stolen goods they fence, someone is guarding the door at all times. Chances are we’ll be shot or stabbed before getting five paces inside.”

  “I’m always sport for a good stabbing,” Silas murmured, his gaze sharpening on the table ahead of them. He tapped the side of his glass with his finger. “Though I’d prefer we avoid the promise of death, mayhem and destruction.” He shot her an intentional glance, the cockiness slipping from his face for a brief moment in the wake of the genuine frustration they both shared.

  Theo shook her head, a bitter smile slipping onto her face. “Those three seem to be plaguing us no matter where we turn.”

  A warm hand rested over hers, drawing her attention to him. Silas didn’t offer some cocky barb or anything to take her mind off the troubles they faced, but the heat from his hand and the steadiness of his presence took the edge off. Her throat tightened as she failed to summon her irritation from mere seconds before. These genuine moments of connection were such a contradiction to the front he posed before the masses that they left her mind spinning.

  Except Silas Kylock would always be forbidden fruit. Even though he was willing to traipse through the slums with her, they were stations apart now, and on top of that, she doubted he’d ever be faithful. Dalliances weren’t a worthwhile endeavor for someone like Theo, who had both her mother and her sister relying on her.

  “Ey, Whitfield.” A shadow spilled over their table.

  Theo wasn’t sure who proved faster on the quick draw when they pulled their hands back, her or Silas. She rested her palm on her Derringer and looked up at the newcomer.

  Freckles, gangly limbs and clothes three sizes too big, Arthur Darlington didn’t cut a menacing figure, but Theo had seen the newsboy around town enough to place a name to the face. He sometimes ran errands for Blair’s crew, but he tried to stay out of the way as often as possible.

  Based on the furtive glances he kept casting behind him, whatever he wanted to say wasn’t meant for curious listeners. He leaned forward, bracing his palms on the table. “I might have something you’ll be wanting to hear.”

  Chapter Six

  The newsboy appeared ready to relieve himself where he stood, with the way his knees knocked together. Silas almost felt sorry for the lad.

  “Come take a seat, Arthur,” Theo said, leaning over to the table beside theirs and dragging the empty chair over. The boy plunked into the stool while he fidgeted with his cap in his hands, like he’d tear the thing in two. Whatever he had to say, Silas would place a ha’penny that it related to their missing girl.

  “Look, I overheard you asking about your sister,” Arthur murmured, barely above a whisper. Bingo. His gaze skated the table, and he lapsed into silence again. Silas leaned back in his seat while the boy fretted, probably waging an internal war over whether to share information or not. “She’s been gone since yesterday, right?”

  “Vanished from Islington, it appears,” Theo responded, sipping at her absinthe as her grip tightened around the glass. Silas knew her—she was probably restraining the urge to shake the answers out of him.

  “When I saw her yesterday, she wasn’t around the usual spots but by the stretch near the warehouses and the Technomancers’ Guild building. Don’t know what trouble she’s stirring, but that’s the last glimpse I caught of her, ducking into Remington’s. I figured you’d want to know.” He scratched the back of his head, finally lifting his gaze. “Wouldn’t go tromping down there tonight, though—an operation might be in the works as we speak.”

  Theo placed a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks, Arthur. You’re a good lad.”

  “Had to say something,” he mumbled. “You’re a good sort too, Whitfield.” He gave her a nod, his lips forming a thin line when he rose from his seat. The boy preferred to stay on the fringes. The chair squeaked against the hardwood while Arthur excused himself from their table and returned to the crowd of boys.

  Silas tapped the side of his glass of absi
nthe, unable to quell the nerves racing through him. On top of his own concerns of finding Kylock Industries’ diamond core, Theo’s worry over Ellie had infected him too, because the longer they went without finding her, the greater the chances that she’d end up in the morgue.

  Theo lapsed into silence, the fears burning in her eyes as she stared at the wood grain of the table. The slight hunch in her shoulders and the way her fingers curled into fists made him want to tug her into his arms. He longed to offer comfort to the proud woman, who would always, always try to shoulder the weight of her burdens by her lonesome.

  “Well,” he drawled, forcing a smile. “If we’re not going to be taking Islington by storm in the wee hours, I can think of a much better way to spend our night.” His voice dripped with suggestion, and while Silas rolled on half-bravado, he had to admit he wouldn’t mind getting to know the woman carnally.

  Theo shot him a glare as they returned to their normal status quo—she loathed him and always would. As if the time they’d bonded today had never existed in the first place. Silas lifted the absinthe to his lips and tossed back a draught, the sweet, licorice taste gliding down his throat.

  “The bar isn’t watching you, Kylock,” she said. “I might have been hoodwinked by your act in the past, but I’d rather you not waste your breath with false affectations around me.” Her intense gaze arrested him on the spot. Her lips pressed together with that same stubbornness he’d always admired, and the way she looked at him— Lor, the woman saw right through his attempts at distraction.

  Silas cocked an eyebrow, meeting her gaze head-on. He wasn’t the only one hiding.

  “I’ll drop the charade if you do,” he challenged.

  She averted her eyes, glancing at the emerald surface of her absinthe. Silas’ chest warmed at how she’d reached to the heart of him rather than accepting the arrogant veneer he wore. After so long hobnobbing with the gentry, he’d almost forgotten how to speak without hiding behind veiled threats and subtle implications. Unlike him, Theo never abandoned her truth. She’d suffer behind it until she was devoured whole.

  Silas reached across the table for her hand to wrap his around it. “You don’t have to shoulder the weight of your burdens alone.”

  Theo sucked in a sharp breath, her hands curling into fists beneath his. “When you’re the one an entire family is relying on, yes, you do. Ever since my father ran out and Mother got ill, I’ve been the one keeping a roof over our head. Ellie’s always contributed in her own way, but at the end of the day, the responsibility is mine.” Her gaze skated the table, and the lost, hopeless look that overtook her features scraped him raw. “If anything happens to Ellie, I…” She trailed off, her voice thick.

  Silas squeezed her hands, the touch between them bolstering his confidence. “I know,” he said. Words weren’t necessary with the understanding that weighed the air between them.

  Somehow, the woman he’d always admired from a distance sat here before him offering a vulnerability he’d never expected and one he treasured. Her slight hands beneath his, and her soft skin, provided a connection he’d long missed. Blazes, even coming down to the Bell Tavern reminded him of the camaraderie he’d left behind when he’d abandoned Islington for a solitary, hollow existence amongst the gentry. As much as his love for tinkering provided comfort on a day-to-day basis, at night the loneliness crept in with the shadows, threatening to steal away what little of him remained.

  The silence between them deepened, not with awkward hesitation but the descent of something powerful. Every time their eyes met, he couldn’t deny the electricity racing through his veins. Even with a table between them, he’d never been closer.

  Theo pulled her hands away first, breaking the connection. She tipped back her glass of absinthe, taking an extra-long sip. Silas saluted with his own glass before drinking more of the dwindling liquid. The absinthe burned on the way down his throat, taking the edge off the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

  “So we’ll meet in the morning and put this case to a close, yes?” she asked, tapping the side of her glass. Silas lifted an eyebrow, but he didn’t say a word about her quick reroute to business. A cheer came from one of the tables of drunks, nanty narking and even singing with an enthusiasm that spread to other tables.

  “I’d be a cad not to offer you an escort home through these lovely streets,” he said, hoping to steal another couple of moments with her. Once they found their quarry, this temporary alliance would dissolve. He’d be expected to stay far away from the Whitfields, and she’d have no reason to visit him at Kylock Industries when she often worked for his competitors. His stomach soured.

  Theo crossed her arms over her chest. “You’ve got an odd definition of lovely. You do realize I cross these streets by my lonesome every night, yes?”

  A smile rose to his lips. “My dear, no one is questioning your competency. Is it so terrible for someone to want to spend more time with you?”

  A flush spread across her cheeks before she fumbled with several escaped curls, tucking them behind her ear. The desire gleaming in her eyes got his pulse pounding in seconds. “I suppose I could tolerate your presence for a little while longer,” she teased, a grin playing on those petal lips.

  “Your suffering is duly noted,” he said, his smile broadening as he tipped back the rest of his absinthe. He finished off the glass and placed the empty at the edge of the table.

  Theo’s pointer finger circled around the rim of hers as she stared at the meager last sip. With a liquid-quick movement, she drank the remaining drops before pushing herself up from the table. Silas took the lead away from their booth, winding his way back through the public house.

  As Silas walked to the front, Styers caught his eye, giving him a nod. Sally and some of the other boys whose faces he recognized lifted their pints in acknowledgment. Silas couldn’t help the warmth of something familiar and real that filled him. When he’d moved away, he’d thought he had left behind the difficulties he’d grown up with—scraping for a meal, living in filth and having to watch for the lurkers around every corner. In the process, he’d forgotten about the friendships forged in blood and sweat and the laughter when a person only had that to cling to.

  His relief in returning to the Bell Tavern had made him want to slip away from his duties with his family and return here. Even as he entertained the idea, the yoke of the responsibilities his father had placed upon him smacked him in the face with reality.

  The moment he stepped outside, the bite in the air that the darkness brought had him tugging at his vest as if it would ward off the chill. The gas lamps all flickered at this point. The nebulous flames inside the globes cast haunting shadows along the pathway and highlighted the seams in the broken and split cobblestones. Even at this hour, shouts sounded through the streets from the drunks mafficking about. An older man pissed against the side of the Bell Tavern, letting out grunts while he swayed on his feet.

  Silas shook his head to hide his smile as he offered an arm to Theo. “Care to join me on a stroll?”

  Theo gave him the side-eye, her mauve lips pursed as she restrained a smile. He half-expected her to turn him down and hoof the way alone, but to his surprise, she slipped her arm through his.

  Together, they set off toward the tenements in the near distance, the massive building casting an even darker stain to the shadows around town. A couple of drunks stumbled by, and his hand went to his knife at the same speed Theo’s went to her pistol, but they didn’t stop to try to nab their coin purses. He glanced at her, and they shared a smile. He might have moved away from here, but he hadn’t forgotten everything.

  After traveling a couple of blocks, they slowed in front of his old home and the place she’d never left. The massive structure emanated shouts, creaks and shattering glass while the denizens inside fought and drank until they bled. Disappointment flooded his veins as they reached the cracked landing leading to the main entrance. He didn’t want the night to end, yet she didn’t have room in he
r life for any flings. Theo was dedicated to her family with a ferocity he admired and, from what he’d seen, she shared a deep affection worth fighting for with her mother and her sister.

  “We’ll find the core to your clockwork maid too,” Theo said, staring ahead at the tenement. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten my end in all of this.”

  He longed to dispel the distance in her voice, and even though their arms touched and they stood closer than ever, he felt the way she retreated.

  Silas shrugged. “Kylock Sr. will be displeased no matter the circumstances. There are certain things in life I’ve come to expect. My father’s disapproval is as constant as the Earth’s rotation.” He tugged at her arm, drawing her closer to him. “The important thing is getting Ellie back. I won’t abandon you in this.” As much as he worried over the repercussions with his father, he couldn’t help but wonder if the ability to tinker was worth a life enslaved to a man he detested.

  Theo’s grip tightened around his biceps, her fingers sinking into his arm as though it was a lifeline.

  Silas dared to look in her direction. The sight of her nearly took his breath away. The street filled with merriment and danger, bumbling drunks, cracksmen and lurkers, but their noise turned static. In that moment, only the scuff of Theo’s boots as she turned to face him, the rustle of leaves across the cobblestones by their feet and the slight buzz from the nearby gas lamp existed.

  She’d extricated herself from his arm, standing a mere inch away from him at this point. Close enough for her glossy dark curls, the ones he wanted splayed across his bedsheets, to lie within reach. Close enough that the dangerous slope of her hips and the curves that had been on his mind for days were a touch away.

  Their eyes met, and the jolt that traveled through him was stronger than any he’d felt before. Lust, desire—none of those were new territory for him, but this intense, devastating longing that seized him by the throat? He’d never faced the like.