by Becca Andre
Perseus shrugged. “Again, I have no way of knowing, my lady.”
Felipe muttered a few more words in his native tongue, then turned to Solon. “Perhaps we should call off the gala.”
“Not possible. The gala is tonight. There is no time—or way to notify everyone.”
Felipe frowned, but didn’t naysay him.
Briar glanced over at Perseus, hoping he had more to tell them, when her gaze settled on Kali. That gave her an idea.
“Do you think you can track this thing?” she asked Kali.
“Maybe. I’d need a piece of it, but that might only lead me to the ferromancer who originally created the soul iron that makes up the thing.”
“Oh, right.” Briar hadn’t stopped to think about that. The soul iron that made up this creature hadn’t been created by the soul animating it.
“She’s a Tracker?” Orson asked, sounding even more appalled than when he complained about Perseus. “Now this is really too much.”
Perseus stepped forward. “Try anything, and I will end all of you.”
Orson snorted. “All of us?”
Perseus eyed him, his gaze as cool as any ferromancer’s. “All of you,” he repeated.
“There’s no need for that.” Grayson spoke up. “Let’s focus on the problem. How do we get a piece of this chimera?”
“That I may be able to help you with.” Solon stepped over to the doorway. “Mr. Rose, come here.”
Rapid footfalls carried in from the hall, the uneven thumps growing closer.
“Yes, Master?” Andrew stepped into the room.
Briar gasped, her stomach rolling over as she stared at her cousin. Half his face was a silver-seamed patchwork of scars, and judging by his empty sleeve, one arm was missing.
“What happened to you?” she whispered.
“He failed to stop the chimera from taking my son,” Solon said, his fury barely held in check.
“I am sorry, Master. But it did not want me, and cast me aside.” Andrew sounded devastated by his failure.
“Never mind.” Solon waved away his excuse. “Might the creature have left a piece of itself behind? Perhaps in your flesh?”
Briar stared at Solon. It was foolish, but she wanted to come to Andrew’s defense. This thing had mauled him. Had he been simply human, he would no doubt be dead. How could Solon be this callous?
Andrew frowned with his remaining eyebrow as he considered the question, then reached up and touched the remains of his face.
Grayson stepped forward. “Here, let me see.”
Andrew dropped his arm. “Of course, Mr. Martel. I was about to seek out a mirror.”
Grayson grunted, but didn’t comment. Instead, he wordlessly reached up and pressed his palm to the side of Andrew’s ravaged face.
“What are you doing?” Solon demanded.
“Checking,” Grayson answered, closing his eyes. “When you converted the skin, I believe you may have melded…” He fell silent, a frown creasing his forehead.
Solon crossed his arms, but to Briar’s surprise, remained silent.
A golden glow began along the edges of Andrew’s intact skin, but also over the soul-iron patch job, glowing brighter along the various cracks and crevices. The metal appeared to liquefy, then smooth out. Andrew’s features began to take shape, an exact replica of the other side of his face, though in silver. Except for just beneath his empty eye socket. A shard of soul iron rose to the surface of the still-flowing metal, then broke free entirely, floating in space a few inches from Andrew’s cheek.
Grayson took his hand from Andrew’s face and plucked the shard from the air. He didn’t seem to notice the shock on the faces of the other ferromancers. Briar didn’t know what that was all about. From what she understood, any ferromancer could re-form soul iron. Solon had done a crappy job of reforming Andrew’s face. Grayson had fixed that and removed the foreign piece of metal.
Turning to Kali, Grayson offered the shard. “Is that enough?”
Is it just me, or does that look like the claw Gordon collected, Briar asked silently.
It does, Grayson agreed. Perhaps it hadn’t been a construct after all.
“More than enough.” Kali took the triangle of metal from him and rubbed it between her finger and thumb.
Perseus took his gaze from the watching ferromancers. “What do you think?” he asked her.
The corner of Kali’s mouth crooked upward. “It’s living soul iron, Perce.”
“Promising,” he allowed.
“Why does that make a difference?” Briar asked.
“The one who made this soul iron is living.” Kali held up the silver claw. “I can’t track the dead.”
“How does finding the one who made the soul iron help us?” Solon asked. “A construct can be designed years before it is used.”
“That’s the best I can offer.” Kali shrugged. “Take it or leave it.”
Solon studied her through narrowed eyes. “Do it. Find him for me.”
“She does not take commands from you,” Perseus said coolly.
“She doesn’t take commands from anyone,” Kali added. “Except for Percy here, once in a while. Just to keep him off balance.”
Solon crossed his arms, but didn’t comment.
“But I’m not a big fan of anyone who would turn a creature like that loose on an unsuspecting public, so I’ll take a look.”
A muscle tensed in Solon’s jaw. “Thank you.”
“No worries.” She gave him a bright smile before turning her attention to the claw. “But no promises. I’ll only see and feel what he does. If he’s being held in a featureless room and thinking about his supper, I might learn nothing at all.” She looked back up at Solon. “Understand? I don’t want to hear any bullshit that I’m lying or trying to hide something. Got it?”
“I understand,” Solon said, obviously pissed.
Briar wanted to laugh at Kali’s nerve, though Perseus looked more concerned than pleased.
“Here goes.” Kali closed her eyes. An instant later, the claw erupted in a bright burst of violet lightning, then in a flash, vanished.
Kali grunted, as if she’d just been punched, and bent over to grip her knees.
Perseus placed a hand on her back. “Kali?”
“Did you learn anything?” Solon demanded.
Kali shook her head as if to clear it and straightened. “Your ferromancer is being held in a basement room, a root cellar judging by the shelf-lined walls and the damp earthy scent.” She looked over at Perseus. “He wasn’t the only prisoner. There were a couple of men, humans, I think. Probably his soul-iron sources.”
Briar cringed. She’d forgotten that the soul iron would have to be created to make a chimera, and soul iron came from the conversion of human organs.
“So, I’m looking for a root cellar,” Solon said, untroubled by the rest of it. But then, he had no qualms about using humans as resources.
“Yes,” Kali answered.
Solon rubbed a hand over his face, but surprised Briar by not complaining.
“And one other thing,” Kali added.
Solon looked up, his dark eyebrows lifting.
“Tristan is in the room with him.”
Perseus stepped between Solon and Kali, his hand gripping the hilt of his short sword. While Grayson took a more direct approach, grabbing Solon by the shoulder.
Oddly, Solon hadn’t moved. Yet both men responded the instant Kali had mentioned that she’d seen Tristan.
“I need more information,” Solon said softly, the words hard to understand around the tightness of his jaw.
“Do you have any soul iron that Tristan has made?” Briar asked.
“He refuses to make any,” Solon snapped.
Briar suddenly remembered Tristan’s comment about how he wish
ed his father wouldn’t make the soulless. Apparently, he’d stood up to his father on that front. Good for him.
“Any other details you can give us?” Grayson asked Kali. He released Solon, though he remained close.
“A wagon was going by outside, over a cobbled street.”
“That narrows it down,” Solon complained.
“It does,” Grayson agreed. “He’s in town. Anything else?” He directed the last to Kali. “Did this ferromancer sense you? Give you any sense of where he was?”
“No, he wasn’t like you.” Kali turned to Solon. “Maybe we should split up. We can cover more ground that way. Briar could even ask her human crew to help. This is their hometown.”
“The hometown he threatened to destroy.” Briar glared at Solon before she turned to Kali. “Good idea. Let’s go.”
“Grayson can go with Solon,” Kali suggested.
Briar hesitated. “Why?”
“So that if one of you finds a clue, you can relay it to the other.”
“That works,” Grayson said.
Briar frowned.
“Don’t look so concerned,” Solon said to her. “You still have his construct.”
“I’m not worried about him running off. I’m worried about you putting him in danger.”
“I wish to keep him whole as much as you do—just not for the same reason.” A smirk thinned Solon’s lips. He knew they’d spent the night on her boat.
“Careful,” Grayson muttered.
“Don’t make me play for you, Solon,” Briar added. She didn’t wait for a response before leading Perseus and Kali from the house.
They walked a block in silence, leaving Andrew’s house behind. It wasn’t until they rounded a corner that Perseus spoke, after a quick glance over his shoulder.
“You know where he is?” he asked Kali.
“I think so.”
Briar stopped to stare at her. “What?”
“It’s best we keep moving, my lady,” Perseus said.
Briar started walking again. “You didn’t tell Solon everything?” she asked Kali.
“I didn’t tell him anything. I made all that up.” Kali rubbed one shoulder, then continued in a whisper. “I don’t know how I kept my wits. It was awful.”
“What did you see?” Perseus asked, his brow wrinkled in concern.
“It wasn’t what I saw—I’ll get to that in a moment—it was what I felt. He was screaming, Perce. He was mad with…pain, I guess, but it wasn’t physical. Exactly.”
“I don’t understand,” Briar admitted.
“Sorry. I just don’t have the words to describe it.” Kali shook her head.
“You didn’t connect with the ferromancer who made the soul iron,” Perseus concluded. “You connected with the half-blood soul trapped inside.”
“Yes,” Kali whispered. “We have to find that thing and dissolve it—if for no other reason than to free him.”
“Of course,” Perseus agreed.
“So, creating a chimera works the same as creating a construct?” Briar asked, trying to get her mind around all of this. “The captured soul permeates the soul iron of the premade construct and becomes part of it.”
“Yes,” Kali agreed. “That’s why I can track it.”
Briar frowned. Did that also mean she could dissolve it with her fiddle? Maybe the claw Gordon had found really had come from the chimera.
“That is why chimera cannot be made from a human soul,” Perseus said. “Human souls have no affinity for soul iron. They would not bond with a construct.”
“Huh.” Once again, Briar had that sense that she was on the verge of understanding something important, but it faded before she could grasp it. “So, what did you see?” she asked Kali, returning to her earlier comment.
Kali looked pleased to be asked, though a little smug. “Good thing I grew up along the river, or I would have never recognized it.”
“River? The Ohio River?” Briar realized that though she knew Kali was an American by her lack of an accent, she had no idea where she was from.
“Yes. Well, the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela. I’m from Pittsburgh.” Kali smiled. “So, I’m familiar with steamboats.”
“The chimera is on a steamboat?” Perseus cut in.
“I recognized the engine room.”
“Do you think Tristan is on the boat?” Briar asked.
“I have no way of knowing, but it makes sense. The water will insulate him, and make him more difficult for the others to find.”
“Right.” Briar knew all too well how ferromancers felt about boats. “Let’s go check it out. I can show you where the steamboats are docked.”
“We must proceed with caution,” Perseus said.
“Because of the chimera?”
“Because this chimera is not acting like the mindless creature Kali touched. It’s being controlled.”
Briar hadn’t considered that. “Who controls it?”
“The one who created it.” Perseus’s gaze met hers. “A ferra.”
Chapter 12
Briar stood on the edge of the street, studying the steamboats tied up along the shore. Here, along the river’s edge, there weren’t any permanent docks. They wouldn’t last with the yearly floods along the river. The steamboats used long wooden gangplanks to access the boats.
“Any idea which one?” Briar asked, eyeing the four steamboats.
“I didn’t see the exterior,” Kali said. “We’ll have to get closer.”
“It’s the second from the right,” Perseus said.
Briar glanced over. “I thought Kali was more sensitive to soul iron than you.” He had told her that once. “If she can’t feel anything—”
“Note the men along the lower deck.” Perseus nodded at the boat in question. “And the upper deck near the front of the boat.”
Briar looked where he indicated. He was right. There were several men milling around the deck. “And?”
“They’re watching the shore,” Kali said. “Plus, they’re all well-armed. They’re guards.”
“Yes,” Perseus agreed. “I suspect ferra guardsmen.”
Briar sighed. “This isn’t going to be easy, is it?”
“No.” Perseus eyed a carriage moving along the street toward them. “Let’s find a less conspicuous place to observe the boat.”
“We don’t have a lot of time,” Briar reminded him.
“We help no one if we are taken.” He started across the street toward the buildings lining the far side.
“Is that really a problem for you?” Briar asked as she and Kali followed him.
“I am hard to kill, but beyond that, I’m not all that different from those aboard that boat.”
“I’ve seen you fight,” she reminded him. “You’re fast as a ferromancer.”
They reached the sidewalk and he faced her. “Starting a fight with this ferra’s guardsmen would draw her attention. If she’s powerful enough to create a chimera, she will be a formidable opponent. Also, we do not know that Tristan is on board. We need to determine that before we do anything rash.”
Briar frowned and turned her gaze back to the boat. His points were valid, but she couldn’t help but feel they were running out of time. Maybe if she could come up with an excuse to go aboard, she could get a look around. If those were indeed guardsmen, they would think her only human…or ferra.
“I have an idea,” Briar said. “What if I pretend to be ferra? You two can come with me as my guardsmen. Maybe I could even have a little chat with this crazy woman who’s creating these things.”
“I like it,” Kali said, then turned to Perseus. “What do you think?”
He eyed the steamboat, a considering look on his face. “It would be a way for all of us to board the boat without raising suspicions, but it will only work with
preparation.”
“What sort of preparation?” Briar asked.
“You will not convince anyone dressed as you are.”
Briar frowned. “I tricked you and Kali when we first met.”
“No, you didn’t. I knew who you were. Liam sent me to you, remember. Though he did fail to mention that you’d taken the construct of a drake.” Perseus looked annoyed by that. “And as for Kali, she had never met a ferra.”
“Oh. Right.”
“Time to put on the fancy dress and walk around with a stick up your ass.” Kali grinned. “Think you can do it?”
Briar sighed. “The stick sounds more comfortable than the dress.”
Kali clapped her on the shoulder. “I’ll second that.”
The Briar Rose came into view, moored where they had left her, but the boat was no longer unoccupied. Zach and Benji had returned and were currently tending the mules and cleaning the stable.
She greeted them, then crossed the gangplank to find Eli and Molly seated at the folding table, Molly with a pen in hand as she wrote on a piece of paper. Perhaps a thank-you note to Eli’s sister for last night’s hospitality. It seemed like something Molly would do.
“Miss Briar.” Eli rose to his feet, surprise on his face. “You’re back. Dare I hope that you’ve achieved your goal?”
“We’ve made some progress,” Briar reassured him. “But I’m afraid we’ve had a setback. However, it’s not all bad.”
Eli didn’t look convinced. “What sort of setback?”
“Tristan was taken.”
“How is that not bad?”
“We believe the one who took him is the ferra controlling the chimera.”
“There are ferra involved, too?” Molly asked. This close, Briar could see that she wasn’t penning a letter, it was a list.
“Apparently,” Briar answered. “But now that we know where she is, we can stop her and destroy her creature.”
Eli frowned. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Perseus and Kali will do the destroying. I’ll deal with the ferra, and as you know, I’ve dealt with them before.” Briar turned to Molly before he could protest further. “Would you give me a hand? I need to dress a little more ferra-like to be able to get in this woman’s company.”