Deep Roots

by Beth Cato

  “Your major duty. You’re going to kill all of them?”

  “If they’ve contributed any parts, yes. It’s more . . . merciful than releasing them. I’m trying . . . you see . . .” He took a deep breath to compose himself. “There’s a group that fights against gremlin abuse. Not a very popular cause around here. I get some gremlins to them, but they don’t have much money or enough space. And I can never sneak out enough of them. There are so many that . . .” He seemed to lose the ability to speak.

  “I guess you expect me to ask how you can stand it since you know what you’re doing is wrong.” Rivka stared into her hands. Her fingers had turned ruddy with cold, but she welcomed the brisk air. “I’m not going to judge you like that. I know you hate it. I know you hate yourself.”

  “But I keep doing it.” His laugh was choked. “I can’t even figure out why. It’s not even for money.”

  “No. It’s never that straightforward. I understand that much. You’re not the only one who’s stained, Broderick.”

  She caught his steady sidelong glance. “You don’t have to talk about it.”

  “I can. I think you’d understand more than anyone. More than Grandmother, even.” Over the sprawl of the city, distant airships almost blended in with the clouds. “About the time of armistice last year, a man moved onto our tenement roof. He was badly scarred on his face and wore a mask. We all took to calling him Pigeon Man because he lived up with the birds. He came down to our flat most every day to buy bread from Mama.”

  Pigeon Man never said his true name. He never acted like he’d known Mama so many years before. He and Mama would have been so young back then—­younger than Rivka was now. And the war had changed him. Those changes seeped far deeper than the burns across his face.

  “Pigeon Man told me he wanted me to construct something for him. He had to gather the parts first. Weeks later, I was out on rounds when our building caught fire. Mama . . . hundreds of others . . .”

  She drew quiet. Broderick said nothing. Even the wind slowed down to listen.

  “Pigeon Man found me near the wreckage. He said he didn’t think the materials would be that volatile on their own.” Seeing Broderick’s confusion, she continued, “I didn’t know until then that what he wanted me to make was a bomb. He had stored the components on the roof.”

  “You didn’t cause it, then. You hadn’t done a thing!”

  “I know that. Most of the time,” she said, purposefully echoing his words. “Pigeon Man never acted sorry for what had happened. More . . . inconvenienced. Out of nowhere, he offered me a bakery to manage. He’d just won it by betting on a game of Warriors. I said yes, because it had always been Mama’s dream to have a shop of her own and not work out of the flat. Besides, where else could I go?”

  She couldn’t say more, and not simply because of the tightness in her throat, or that the cold had shifted from being brisk to being painful. She couldn’t describe the months after, her numbness, his sneers, the beatings, the horror at finding out Pigeon Man—­Devin Stout—­was actually her blood father.

  Rivka and Broderick stared out on Tamarania City. The roundabout below was packed with steam cars and automated cycles, and few horses and wagons. Mr. Cody had said something about Rivka sounding like ­people who had worked to save horses. She wondered what he meant.

  Miss Leander had saved Rivka from Mr. Stout. Now Rivka needed to save Lump and the other gremlins in turn. It was only right.

  She looked at Broderick. “What Tatiana was saying yesterday, about Miss Leander helping with your training. I know Miss Leander, too. I think she would help you, if possible, but Tatiana can’t make any guarantee. She uses ­people. She used me, us, from the very start so she could find some way to become a jockey.” The words tasted foul in her mouth.

  “I understand.” Broderick slowly nodded. “I appreciate your honesty. I envy you, your strength. The way you stood up to Mr. Cody.”

  She said nothing. “You’re not strong, rabbit. Just a weakling, ugly girl. Leave such work for men.”

  “No one stands up to Miss Arfetta or Mr. Cody,” continued Broderick. “You did.”

  “There you two are!” Tatiana’s high voice rang out. Rivka spun around. Tatiana stalked toward them. “Rivka, you need to come back downstairs. That chimera—­Lump—­is awake and he’s growling if I step near the circle—­”

  “Good. You shouldn’t be near him, and you certainly shouldn’t ride him,” snapped Rivka. “That was your plan from the start, wasn’t it? You never cared about saving the gremlins. It was all about your being a gallant mecha jockey like your brother.”

  Tatiana recoiled as if struck. “I wanted to be a jockey, yes, but I care about the gremlins. Riding on Lump is part of the grand plan to save them!”

  “Then please, share this grand plan,” said Rivka.

  ­“People need to see chimeras in a different way, as something more than monsters. They only know gremlins for stealing silver and food. They can cheer for Lump!”

  Broderick shook his head. ­“People may cheer, but they cheer for the all-­metal mechanical beasts out there, too. If Lump is injured, they’ll cheer even louder. It’s all entertainment.”

  Public opinion mattered. Rivka might not be able to convince Mr. Cody and Miss Arfetta of their wrongness, but what if her voice was one of a multitude?

  “How can we get ­people to understand that chimeras aren’t really monsters?” she slowly asked.

  “But they are monsters. Don’t look at me like that.” Broderick held up his hands. “I’m not saying they deserve this treatment. You know I don’t believe that. But behemoth chimeras are made to be both vicious and intelligent. The first big chimera killed and injured scads of men. Every time I go inside that circle these days, I wonder if I’m next.”

  “See, Rivka? That’s why I need your help!” said Tatiana.

  “Why do you say that?” Broderick asked, looking between them.

  Rivka shrugged, a bit embarrassed by her own initial idiocy. “The first day we found the laboratory, I walked right up to Lump and petted him. He purred.”

  “Really?” His expression brightened. “No snapping, no lunging? That’s curious. That doesn’t mean you can let down your guard, though.”

  “So it’s a good thing we’ll have a medician with us, isn’t it?” Tatiana smiled at him. He didn’t smile back.

  “I still don’t see how riding him in the Arena will help,” said Rivka.

  “We’ll figure that out.” Tatiana flicked her wrist as she turned toward the stairs.

  “No.” Rivka lunged to grab her by the shoulder. “You’re not going to dismiss the issue like that. This isn’t about you, Tatiana. This is about Lump and the other gremlins. If you ride Lump in the Arena, we give Mr. Cody exactly what he wants. For him, it would make the deaths of the little gremlins worthwhile. Plus, it encourages more scientists to do the same awful thing.”

  “Wait,” said Broderick, “Mr. Cody might not be the only one who gets what he wants from this. If you two really can work with Lump to get him Arena-­ready, that plays into what you need, too: continued access over these next few weeks. It gives you more time.”

  “There’s a problem with that,” said Rivka. “Miss Arfetta gave me the chuck.”

  Tatiana grinned. “Miss Arfetta left already. Mr. Cody doesn’t mind if you’re in there, he said so before he departed. He thinks it’d do you good to see the mechanist’s limb construction up close before the shielding skin goes over it.”

  Mr. Cody was setting out bait for Rivka despite all she said before. Why? What did he want from her? Could they really outmanipulate a politician of his caliber? “What if Miss Arfetta comes back?”

  “If both legs are done, she won’t return today,” said Broderick. “She has a hair appointment this afternoon.” Rivka stared at him, hoping he was being facetious. He didn’t smile.
“I’m the one who works down there much of the time, not her.”

  “See? That awful woman is gone, so come help me! Let’s show Mr. Cody we can do this, and we’ll figure out our plan of attack from there.” Tatiana skipped toward the stairs. Rivka and Broderick followed her much more slowly.

  “Damn her,” Rivka growled beneath her breath. The world continued to revolve around Tatiana Garret. The noise of the gremlins faded as they entered the interior stairwell.

  Broderick lingered next to Rivka. “I know you mean well,” he said quietly. His words didn’t echo in the passage. “But you’re taking big risks here. I tranquilize the chimera if I work in close proximity. And . . . I’m not a full medician. If something happens . . .”

  “If I’m stupid enough to get my arm ripped off, that’s my own fault. Will Lump be in a lot of pain right now?”

  “Yes. And that could make him even more aggressive.” His brow furrowed. “Chimeras, even the little ones, lead hard lives. Their bodies fight against their mishmash of parts. Organ failure and tumors are common. Chimeras like Lump are so much more in every way, and injuries are inevitable in the Arena, too.” He sighed. “Death is the only way to truly stop a chimera’s pain.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Lump stared at Rivka, one cheek scrunched against the floor. His round black eyes were lined with severe wrinkles of strain. He was still chained in place in the middle of the circle though now on his opposite side.

  “Hi there,” she crooned to Lump as she crept forward. His ears perked up.

  She was keenly aware of how Broderick and Tatiana stared. Tension thickened the air. Rivka’s hand quivered as she rubbed Lump’s forehead. Sporadic whiskers poked her. It’d be so easy for him to twist around and bite her.

  The purr started like a cabriolet engine. He leaned into her touch. Rivka almost sagged in relief.

  “He can purr. I knew it was possible, anatomically, but . . .” Disbelief was clear in Broderick’s voice.

  “Silly medicians,” Rivka whispered to Lump. “All that magic, all that power, and they really don’t know what they’re doing, do they?”

  Chains rattled as Lump lifted his head off the floor and to her knee level. Broderick yelped a warning. Rivka, stunned, didn’t move back. Lump nuzzled her legs and almost bowled her over. A nervous titter escaped her lips.

  “By the Lady, you’re giving me a heart attack,” said Broderick.

  “This is your vicious behemoth chimera.” Rivka rubbed Lump’s head and ears. Her hand trailed around the protrusion of Lump’s nose to his catlike mouth, as if she dared him to bite her. He continued to purr.

  “Rivka!” Tatiana called. “Can I come over?” She waited at the copper circle.

  “I think so. Approach slowly, okay?” She turned to Lump and pressed her head against his. “Tatiana is . . . well, I don’t know if she’s really a friend. She confuses me. But don’t kill her. It would probably upset Miss Leander.”

  Lump chirped, the sound positive, his breath appalling.

  “Where should I stand?” Tatiana stopped a few feet away, fidgeting.

  “Here. Come right up next to me. Gremlins seem to sniff a lot. Don’t worry. I don’t think he’ll bite off your arm.”

  “You don’t think so? That’s not very funny!” She squealed as Lump snuffled at her, his black nose leaving a moist trail down the front of her pale dress.

  Rivka snorted. “You sound like an air-­raid siren.”

  “I need to climb on Lump’s back. Mr. Cody said he’d return. He needs to see that I can do this.” The words were brave even as Tatiana’s voice rattled like a loose turbine.

  “What are you trying to prove, really?” Rivka spoke low enough so that Broderick couldn’t hear from where he packed away materials.

  “From the time I was young, I looked in awe at mecha pilots, but until Alonzo’s match, I never considered that it was something I could do. I still wasn’t sure if I could do it, then Mr. Cody laughed at me.” Her gaze turned cold. “Now I need to.”

  “I wish you had a different need. I don’t want either of you in the Arena.”

  “Then stop us before the bout happens. Stop Mr. Cody.” Tatiana stated it as a challenge.

  Challenge accepted. “Broderick?” Rivka called. “Can you loosen the chains?”

  “I can, but if Lump rolls with her up there—­”

  “I won’t blame you if I’m crushed to death, all right?” said Tatiana.

  “Will the weight of a rider hurt Lump?” Rivka asked Broderick.

  “No. His own weight is substantial. Both of you would be nothing compared to that.”

  “We can trust you, right?” Rivka murmured to Lump. The chimera’s gaze shifted to follow Broderick. The purr stopped, replaced by an unmistakable growl. The lips bared, showing two rows of gleaming teeth. Tatiana leaped backward and to the far side of the copper line.

  “Lump?” A sickening wave welled in Rivka’s gut. She didn’t want to lurch away, but she was keenly aware of the proximity of his mouth. It’d take a split second for her to lose an arm, or worse. She stroked his forehead again, her fingers trembling. Tense lines furrowed his green skin.

  Suddenly, she understood, and realized her own stupidity. “Stop, Broderick! We can’t expect him to trust you. He shouldn’t trust you.” The apprentice medician had torn apart gremlins to piece together Lump. His very presence meant pain and death. “Tell me how to go about adjusting the chains.”

  “I wish you’d get away from him,” Broderick said. “This is dangerous. I don’t want to be in a place where I have to heal either of you.”

  He didn’t think he’d be able to do it.

  Rivka continued to pet Lump. His hackles lowered, the growl vanishing. The purr didn’t return. Lump watched Broderick with the wariness of a dog often kicked by its owner.

  “Then I’ll do it myself,” said Rivka.

  “I have the key.”

  “I don’t need a key.”

  “She doesn’t,” added Tatiana. “That’s how we managed to come down here the other day. She’s good.”

  Rivka reached to her sleeve, where her trusty little screwdriver was threaded. She heard a frustrated, masculine growl behind her, and the hard chime of keys hitting the tile floor.

  It took Rivka a few minutes to adjust the chains. Lump was tethered at the neck and behind his front legs, with extra shackles restricting his new feet. Leather bound his arms against his torso, and Broderick slid her a knife to slit those bonds.

  At last, Rivka stepped back. “Up, Lump,” she called, making a rolling motion with her arms. He blinked, then imitated her gesture and rolled to his new feet for the first time. A prolonged groan escaped him.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, embracing him as well as she could. His ribs heaved as he keened in agony.

  Heat crackled against Rivka’s skin as the circle activated. A sudden, strange breeze caused her skirts to waft around her ankles. “Broderick, should I leave the circle so you can heal him?”

  “No. Stay put. I’d never confuse your songs, and neither will the Lady. Lump is like a drum corps. You—­you’re wind instruments. Flutes, clarinets, a piccolo.”

  “Oh.” That pleased her.

  Broderick pulled a bag from a supply shelf. He stepped just inside the circle, sending a new warm ripple around Rivka, and threw a handful of red powder toward Lump. To Rivka’s awe, it spun in the air as if dancing, bobbing until it flowed onto Lump’s broad back. The red vanished. Rivka caught the wonderful scent of cinnamon.

  The chimera’s keening stopped though his shoulders still heaved. He pushed himself to stand, briefly stretching and testing his new legs, then squatted.

  Rivka rubbed his long, tapered ears. “See, not everything Broderick does is bad.”

  The magic dissipated, the circle c
ooling in an instant. Tatiana lingered at a distance, her expression worried. She was obviously building up her courage again.

  Rivka looked between Tatiana and Lump. “You know what? I’ll take the risk. If he lets anyone on, it’ll be me.”

  She flung her upper body over his back. It was wide enough that she balanced there, stiff like a plank. She hooked an arm around the far nub for a wing and dragged herself to straddle him. Her skirt hitched up and uncomfortably swaddled her thighs, exposing her petticoat and the lace of bloomers beneath.

  “It’s just me, Lump. I’m riding you. It’s okay.” He quivered, and she kept rubbing circles into his neck. Her heart thrummed like a revved engine. She’d never even been on a horse, and here she was, atop a behemoth chimera. A designer monster.

  Lump’s quivering stopped, and he suddenly stood erect. Rivka gripped the wing nubs as she surged upward. His body shifted from side to side as he tested the joints of his new legs.

  “Tatiana, your turn.” Rivka pressed down on Lump’s neck. “Down,” she said to him, and he lowered to squat again. He learned incredibly fast. She slid over his side to the ground and tugged her dress to proper length.

  Tatiana looked terrified yet resolute. “Well, you survived. That bodes well.”

  Rivka snorted. “Yeah. If I’m going to kill myself in a stupid way, it’ll probably involve machinery going amok.”

  She shushed and soothed Lump as Tatiana took her turn. Unlike Rivka, Tatiana had ridden on horses—­some family friend’s estate outside of Mercia, she said—­and made a point of showing how to properly sit. Straight spine, relaxed seat, knees lined up just so. It also helped that her skirt was looser. Rivka let her nervously prattle on as she walked around to get a proper look at the mechanical additions.

  Mr. Cody was right. This was highly relevant to her interests. She ran her hands over the smooth lines of exposed copper and brass. The soldering was almost invisible. The constructed femurs were a good ten inches across, made to support a heavy bulk. The big, clawed feet could squash a person like a bug. The knees were ball-­in-­socket and about the size of her head. She’d made repairs on similar limbs for automaton beasts back in Mercia.