Quicksilver Soul

by Christine d'Abo

  It was then she caught a flash of movement from the corner of the courtyard. They were being watched. She stiffened.

  “What’s wrong?” He whispered once more into her ear.

  “I believe I might have found a witness.”

  Nicola stepped past Emmet toward where the young girl was hidden. A small head poked around the corner of the crate, her eyes widening when she saw Nicola’s approach. Scared the girl would bolt, Nicola held up her hands and smiled.

  “Hullo there. That’s a rather cleaver hiding spot. No one would think to look inside a crate. Good for you.”

  The girl said nothing, but nor did she run. That was something at least.

  “There are a lot of strangers here now. A lot of mad goings on today.” She edged herself closer to the side of the box. The girl had pried off two large planks, making a space only large enough for her to crawl into. “I bet you were quite scared.”

  The girl sucked on her bottom lip and tears welled in her eyes. “The monster killed the Baron.”

  “Yes, she did. What’s your name?”

  “Cat.”

  “What a pretty name. Well, Cat, I’m Nicola, and I’m trying to stop the monster.”

  Cat flexed her fingers around the wood, and looked around at the people. “I wanta go home.”

  “And I’ll make sure you get there. But I need to know one little thing first. Do you think you can tell me? One tiny thing?”

  “Can I go home?”

  “Yes, of course. Right to your mum and your dad.”

  “Just me mum. Da’s gone off on them ships. The ones the Baron makes.”

  “So he’s a brave man, then. Flying in the King’s Navy. I bet a brave man like that has a brave girl for a daughter.”

  Cat inched her way from the box. “I’m brave.”

  “I can see that.” Nicola smiled and held out her hand. “Why don’t you come out here now? I promise the monster is gone and it’s safe.” With another tentative step, Cat emerged from her hiding spot. Nicola let out a breath and gave the girl’s hand a squeeze. “See, you really are quite brave.”

  “Ta.” She sucked on her bottom lip once more. “The monster took the boy. I was scared she’d take me.”

  Nicola looked around for Emmet, but he was keeping his distance, ensuring no others would approach. “Did you know the boy?”

  She shook her head. “Mum only sent me here to work for the Baron a bit ago. I don’t know them all.”

  “That’s quite all right, Cat. Did you see where the monster went? Which direction?”

  Cat pointed in the direction from which she and Emmet had come. “The boy spoke to the monster.”

  “Did you hear what he said?”

  “He wanted to make them pay.” Cat buried her face against Nicola’s chest. “I want my mummy.”

  “Okay, sweetheart. I’ll get someone to take you.”

  “No, you!”

  Nicola dropped to a squat and brushed the tears from Cat’s cheek. “But I need to go find the monster. I need to make sure everyone is safe.”

  Cat sniffed, but said nothing else. Nicola quickly found a runner to take the girl home and then shared what information she had with Emmet. “Shouldn’t we have seen them? I mean, Mary isn’t exactly something easily missed.”

  “Not if they kept to the alleys. But it’s daytime. Someone must have seen.”

  “Or else they’re still close.” The thought didn’t bear repeating. If Keegan and Mary were backed into a corner, she could only imagine the chaos that would ensue. “We need to find them before they kill someone else.”

  * * *

  Mary set Keegan on the ground moments before he was violently ill. Sweat covered his skin, his body shook, and his head throbbed. They’d gone farther into the city, hiding in the slums as best they could. But as the day drew on, more and more people saw them. Thankfully, most turned and fled.

  Hurry. We must go. Find them all. Kill them all.

  Keegan spit, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “I need rest.”

  No. No rest. They won’t stop. We can’t stop. We must find him and end this.

  “I don’t know where they took Mr. Edison.” Why had he grown ill now? He never got sick, and the few times he had it wasn’t this bad. “I need water.”

  I helped you. Killed the man. It’s your turn to help me.

  Mary reached down and picked Keegan up by the back of his collar. He was too sick and too tired to put up a struggle. Instead he hung limp, knowing if she wanted to take his life there was nothing he could do to stop her.

  “And I will. But I’m sick.”

  Thomas did this. We will make him pay.

  If it was true, that Mr. Edison had somehow made him ill, then they really did need to find him. Keegan would need to know how to get better. “I don’t know where he is. But I think I know who will.”

  Mary lifted him back onto her shoulder. He was so far up, it would be easy to slip to the ground, smash his head and end it all.

  Oh no. You won’t get to do that, little man. I’ll keep you safe until we both have our revenge. Now, how to locate Thomas.

  “We need to find someone who knows where they would keep him. We need an archivist.”

  Mary’s laugher echoed in his head. I know just the one.

  Chapter Twenty

  Exhaustion gnawed at Emmet as the day wore on. Jones had attempted the extraction, even though the brain damage was obvious, and had no luck. At least his friend was spared the horrors of seeing what sick things the Baron had done in his life. If even half the tales Emmet had heard were true, Jones was lucky indeed.

  With the Archives being able to offer little insight, the bulk of the investigation fell on traditional investigative tactics. Emmet wasn’t used to being shoved aside or having his opinion ignored. He continued to be a thorn in the side of Timmons, who’d taken the lead in the Baron’s case.

  “Hawkins was put in charge of handling Edison, while I get to clean up the mess,” the constable groaned. “While trying to keep my brother from getting involved.”

  “We can pair him up with Miss Tesla.” Emmet wanted to keep her as far away from this place and the insanity of Mary as possible.

  “Are you insane? You don’t put two Company people together and expect the city to remain safe.” Timmons was then hauled away by one of his men.

  Nicola looked as tired as he felt when he next laid eyes on her. After she’d sent the young girl home to her mother, she’d gotten her hands dirty inspecting the machine the Baron had once used. Occasionally, she’d pick up a cog or gear and slip it into the pocket of her now recovered leather greatcoat. She’d never look, as though she wasn’t even aware of the action.

  “Bloody magpie.”

  The sun was falling toward the horizon when the body was finally taken and the scene cleared of any remaining evidence. The temperature had dropped with the sun, increasing the chances of frostbite the longer they stayed here to work. Sauntering over to where she was currently reconstructing a motor, he held out a mug for her.

  She gave it a passing glance, but didn’t stop working. “What’s that?”

  “Soup. One of the fair folk from this area decided to feed the coppers. I took some for us to help warm up.”

  “Thanks.” She set the mug on the ground by her knees. “I nearly have this up and running again. Your king won’t be without his new airships for long.”

  He dropped to a squat and picked the mug up again. “You need to eat.”

  “Later. When I’m done.”

  “Nikki—”

  She took the soup and swallowed it down so quickly he cringed. The liquid was still scalding. “There we go.”

  “What the hell’s the matter with you?” He thought he’d grown to know all her moods during their short acquaintance. Apparently, she was far more emotionally diverse than he’d first assumed. “And don’t say nothing, because clearly it’s something.”

  The spanner fell to the ground wit
h a clang, drawing the attention of several men walking past. She opened her mouth to speak, but clamped it shut just as quickly before getting to her feet and walking away. Emmet followed, but wasn’t fool enough to ask her what was going on a second time.

  Once they’d gone a short distance from the others, she spun on him. “Do you know what I don’t understand?”

  “What?”

  “Why your guilds are so busy taking children from the streets to do their bidding, but leave more of them to suffer the fates of men like the Baron. Do you know what Cat told me?” Her nostrils flared and her cheeks had reddened. “The Baron didn’t want her around because she was a girl.”

  “There are some men who don’t feel the girls are strong enough to do the work—”

  “Because he preferred little boys! He used their bodies in the most despicable way. I’m glad the bastard’s dead.”

  Her shoulders slumped forward and she swayed. Between their kidnapping, rescue, climbing the Clock Tower to Big Ben, and now working all day, he wasn’t surprised her exhaustion was catching up to her.

  “Let me take you back to the inn. You need to sleep.”

  “I need to find Keegan and stop him before someone else gets hurt.”

  “Perhaps he’s only going after the unsavory types. We could let him continue on a bit longer.”

  She blew a strand of hair from her face. “I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before an innocent gets in the way and is hurt. Enough have suffered already. Keegan included.”

  So there was a wide strip of empathy to go along with her sharp mind and sharper tongue. He wasn’t really surprised; if anything, it endeared her to him even more. “Timmons has his best men out looking for them. I’m surprised they haven’t been found, given the nature of what we’re looking for.”

  “Giant man-killing robot and her pet boy.” She rolled her eyes.

  Emmet grabbed a passing officer and gave him a message to give to Timmons. “We’ll check back in the morning. If the boy is found before then, send word to the George Inn.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “This is a waste of time. I don’t need sleep. I’ve gone for days without it, especially when I’ve caught onto a thread of a new discovery.”

  He’d heard Timmons complain about the same thing in regard to his brother. Perhaps it was a trait of a clockwerker, this intense focus that overrode all else. Emmet hadn’t been that driven, not even when on the trail of Jack the Ripper. He’d always taken the time for himself, hadn’t pushed things that bit farther that the others seemed to have. It wasn’t due to laziness or a lack of desire to see things resolved, but he’d simply been brought up to take time for himself. A fault from his upper-class upbringing? Maybe the Administrators and the Guild Masters were right in their lack of faith in him.

  Emmet reached down and took Nicola’s hand in his. Her entire body relaxed, and for a moment he knew they’d forged a connection, one that ran far deeper than either of them was likely to admit.

  “I’ll take you back to the inn and you can get some rest. We can take the irons from here. It will be fun moving in and out of the fog banks.”

  “Emmet—”

  “I’m not like you. I need food and sleep.” He tugged on her hand, bringing her closer a few inches. “I’d rather share a bed than return to the Archives and sleep alone.”

  “I don’t want to stop.” Her pout was childlike, projecting an innocence he knew she didn’t have.

  “Tomorrow. At first light.”

  After that, it was easy to move Nicola along. They didn’t need to say much as they made their way toward the irons, though he’d occasionally let slip something designed to pull a smile from her. When he’d become a flirt, Emmet wasn’t certain. Most likely around the time Nicola had crashed into his life.

  They hadn’t gotten far from what remained of the Baron’s when a breathless Bow Street runner emerged from the fog. “There’s been a sighting!”

  Emmet cast a quick look at Nicola before they both moved as one toward the boy. “Where?”

  “Sir. The boy and the automaton were seen leaving the market down near the Thames. They…” He gave his head a shake and looked away for a moment. “There’s not much left.”

  The carriages would take too long to come and Emmet didn’t want to delay for even a moment. “Take us.”

  “Sir, I need to report this to Constable Timmons—”

  Emmet grabbed another one of the officers who’d come to see the commotion. “Tell Timmons what he needs to know. Let him know we’re already on our way.”

  “Sir?”

  “Do it!”

  Nicola turned the runner and encouraged him forward. “Show us. We have no time to lose.”

  Samuel would have his head later. It would all be worth it if they were able to put a stop to this now. Nicola’s face had grown pale, but there was no mistaking the determined look in her eyes. He knew she felt responsible for the destruction that was now befalling the city, and he’d do whatever he could to remove that burden from her soul.

  They took the irons toward the marketplace alongside the river. The path Keegan had taken was nearly a straight line from the Baron’s to the market. It was strange. The merchants who peddled their wares here weren’t known for being the most honest of the trades, and yet it made little sense why he’d take out his frustrations on them. Was this simply a crime of convenience, or was there some deeper meaning Emmet had yet to discover?

  As they hopped off the irons and made their way toward the market, the echo of voices grew in volume. The normal smells of fresh market animals, metal and sulfur, flowers and dirt weren’t there. Instead the stench of blood and burned flesh turned his stomach long before he witnessed the destruction with his eyes.

  “Oh, God,” Nicola whispered and fumbled for his hand. “What have they done?”

  Overturned carts spilled across the cobblestones, the remains of chickens and pigs spread this way and that. Radiation goggles were smashed, the darkened glass scattered and reflecting the falling sun at odd angles. The cries of men and women, shouting at anyone who came close, begging them for help, overwhelmed all other sounds.

  “There’ve been a few deaths, sir.” The runner, no more than a boy, stopped moving forward. “I’ve seen all I want. Don’t make me go any farther.”

  “We won’t.” Emmet cast an appraising eye across the scene. “Wait for the constable and the other men. Lead them in as soon as they arrive.”

  They needed to discover all they could, learn what madness had overcome Keegan so they could stop him. Emmet caught sight of a man standing in an alleyway. Far calmer than the others around him, he stood removed from the chaos. A latecomer like themselves, or someone with a far stronger constitution than the rest of the victims.

  Emmet approached him, surprised when the man didn’t move away. “Did you see what happened here?”

  “Aye.” His accent was thick, not from New London, but not instantly recognizable as one from any specific place. “Mad boy and his machine.”

  “Did you hear what they were after? Was it something specific, or were they simply out to cause destruction?”

  The man turned his crystal blue gaze onto him, and Emmet got the impression his worth was being measured. “I did.”

  Emmet said nothing else. This man would either share the information with him, or he’d withhold it. And there was one thing that the third son of the Duke of Bedford never did: beg.

  The man turned his attention to Nicola, his lips parting as his gaze traveled down her body. “What will ya give me for it?”

  “I’ll ensure you’re not thrown into the Tower. Or worse.”

  He winked at Nicola before looking back at Emmet. “The boy was in need of the poppy. His little toy tore the place apart lookin’ for it.”

  “Poppy?” Nicola frowned. “Why would he think he could find opium here?”

  “Ye can find everything here.”

  Emmet had listened to Samuel complain
about the nefarious nature of the markets the last time they’d had a pint together. It was growing to become quite a thorn in the side of the King’s Sentry. “Did you give him what he wanted?”

  The man chuckled. “No. He didn’t look good for me business.”

  “If he doesn’t get more of the drug, he’ll grow ill.” Nicola said once they’d moved from the man. “He’ll become more irrational, which will make his behavior more erratic.”

  “And more difficult for us to stop him.” There were a great many places around New London where Keegan would be able to find the opium that he needed. The question was, which one of them would he go to next? “We’re not going to be able to cover all possible locations.”

  Nicola knelt down and retrieved a spool of wire from the ground and slipped it into her pocket. “He won’t go to all possible locations. He’s still just a boy. He’ll stick to the areas of the city that he knows and is comfortable with.”

  The point was valid and would help them narrow things down considerably. “He got the opium in the sweets that Edison gave him. It seems logical that he’d want to find the same sweets.”

  Nicola’s eyes widened. “You think he’ll go after Thomas?”

  “It would make sense.”

  “Where is he?”

  Samuel had taken custody of Edison, and Emmet could only imagine where he would have been taken before a trial was conducted. But it didn’t matter where Samuel had put him. Keegan was like every other citizen of the city. As far as they were concerned, criminals were taken to the Tower. He turned and looked behind them, then looked ahead. Following a straight line from the Baron’s workhouse through where they stood led to the Tower.

  “We need to warn the others.”

  “Do you know where he’s going?”

  “He’ll want to get to Edison for the sweets. I suspect Mary will want to get to Edison as well, but for a much different reason. The Tower is where criminals are kept.”

  “It would be too dangerous for them to hit the King’s Sentry directly. They’d never get close enough.”

  Nicola had barely said the words when Timmons and a fresh complement of men arrived on the scene. They fanned out and started to help the victims, thinning their numbers to the point of barely being visible. A woman screamed, drawing everyone’s attention to another building up ahead. An eruption of steam shot high above the rooftops, sending with it a blast of clay shingles.