by Becca Andre
Molly rose to her feet, an amused smile already on her face. “Of course. I was just composing a list of the supplies I needed. Eli and I were going to go shopping to replace the pans Grayson re-formed into shackles.”
“Oh, yes.” Briar had forgotten all about that, but then, she hadn’t been thinking about restocking the boat with all the other troubles on her mind. And speaking of the shackles, she wondered if Liam and the others had broken her spell and were on their way here—if they weren’t in town already.
One problem at a time, she told herself.
Leaving Perseus to field Eli’s questions, she followed Molly into the aft cabin and closed the door behind them.
In a scene reminiscent of their past, Briar found herself standing still while Molly laced up the back of her green gown. Grayson would be pleased, but he was the only one.
“All right.” Molly straightened, then stepped around in front of Briar. A fond smile curled her lips. “You always did look good in that gown.”
“Thanks, but that isn’t the point.” She walked to the table. “I should probably take my fiddle.” She reached up to take the case down from its shelf and set it on the table. Lock had been watching from the back of one of the benches and hopped down to investigate the case.
“Ready to go, Lock?” she asked him.
In response, he flew to her shoulder, and an instant later, became the multi-stranded choker.
Briar reached up to rub the medallion hanging from the bottom strand. She debated whether to wear him so openly, but she wanted the other ferra to know that Grayson was hers.
“Just a moment.” Molly crossed to her own bunk and pulled out her trunk.
“What are you doing?” Briar asked as Molly dropped to a knee beside the trunk and began to sort through it.
“Ah, here. This will work.” She rose to her feet, a hairbrush and a length of green ribbon in hand.
“Tristan is in trouble. I don’t have time for this.”
“This will just take a moment and will make it look less like you threw on a formal gown for some nefarious purpose.”
“Who would think I put on a dress for such a reason?”
“Anyone who knows you.” She pulled the brush through Briar’s hair with quick sure strokes.
Briar flinched at Molly’s lack of gentleness on the tangles. A moment later, she set aside the brush and gathered Briar’s hair, lifting it from her shoulders. With a twist and a couple of ribbons, she was finished in moments.
Molly walked to her trunk and returned with a handheld mirror, then passed it to Briar.
Not all that concerned about how she looked, Briar obliged her and looked into the glass. She was surprised to see the artful way her dark red hair had been styled, the green ribbon setting off the look.
“Wow, you are good,” Briar admitted.
“I have many skills.”
Briar laughed in spite of her worries. Setting the mirror on the table, she picked up her fiddle case. “At least I’ll look good when I punch the bitch.”
Molly chuckled as they headed for the door. “Perhaps we should have chosen a color less likely to show blood.”
“Perhaps,” Briar agreed. “I’ll keep that in mind next time.”
Somehow Briar managed to leave without too much of a fight with Eli. Either he bought her argument that she would be safe with Perseus, or he wasn’t comfortable leaving Molly to fend for herself on this shopping excursion. Whatever the reason, Briar was grateful to get back to rescuing Tristan without any more complications.
“Is Solon on to me, yet?” Kali asked as they walked back to where the steamboats were docked.
“I haven’t heard anything,” Briar admitted. “Let me ask.” She reached out to Grayson. Any luck?
No. A rush of annoyance accompanied the negative response. It was born from concern for Tristan and also frustration with Solon. Grayson assumed that since she was asking, she hadn’t had any luck either. She didn’t want to lie to him.
I might have some information for you shortly, but say nothing to Solon.
Oh? He waited for her to share more. She didn’t want to get his hopes up, or have him insist on joining her. The last thing she needed was him near a ferra.
It might be nothing, she said. I’ll get back to you. Keep Solon busy?
That shouldn’t be a problem. Another burst of annoyance accompanied that. Solon wouldn’t rest until Tristan was found—and God help them all if the boy had been harmed in any way.
“They’re still looking,” Briar told Kali and Perseus. “But by the sound of things, Solon grows more ill-tempered by the moment.”
“When is he not ill-tempered?” Kali asked.
“True.”
They were approaching the boat now, so they fell silent. Briar eyed the large sternwheeler they were approaching. She had seen them many times and even transported cargo that would eventually end up on the deck of one, but she had never been on one of the river behemoths.
Briar forced her focus back on the matter at hand. “Any words of wisdom?” she asked Perseus, keeping her voice low.
“You know how to lead. Use that,” he said.
“And add a whole lot of arrogance,” Kali suggested.
Perseus nodded. “Kali’s right. Remember that we are your servants, as is any guardsman aboard that boat.”
“They are?” Briar eyed the men standing around the deck of the steamboat.
“You can’t overrule a command from their ferra, but otherwise, remember that they are beneath you. Servants of another household, if you will. You do not solicit them for advice or take any sort of command from them.”
“Got it.” Briar eyed the gangplank as they neared and continued in a whisper. “What do I say once we are on board. I assume we’ll be approached since I’m unfamiliar to them.”
“Demand to see their mistress,” Perseus answered, then turned to Kali. “We have a role to play as well. As guardsmen, we are obedient and respectful of our ferra.”
Briar gave Kali a grin.
“Yeah, yeah,” Kali whispered. “Enjoy it now. We’ll spar more later.”
“Then I guess I’d better enjoy this,” Briar answered.
“Also,” Perseus continued to Kali. “We defend her against all threats. Someone gets mouthy, and—”
“I get mouthy back.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem for you,” Briar whispered.
Kali winked, then gave Perseus a nod. “Got it.”
“Let your oath guide you. It’s as natural as breathing.”
Briar frowned at that, but surprisingly, Kali merely nodded again. She seemed to take the whole oath thing a lot better than Briar expected. Actually, she took it a lot better than Briar did.
They had reached the gangplank, and Perseus stepped up on the long wooden expanse, leaving Briar to follow and Kali to bring up the rear.
The moment they stepped onto the boat, one of the men who had been leaning against the rail walked forward to meet them. Briar noticed with unease that all of the men who had been casually relaxing on deck were now on their feet and facing them. She counted seven of them.
The fellow who had walked over gave Perseus a stiff nod before turning to her. “My lady,” he greeted her. “I assume you are here to meet with the others.”
Briar’s heart was already beating fast, but surged at the plural. There was more than one ferra aboard?
“I am,” she answered, trying for a haughty tone while struggling to hide her surprise. She bit back a polite request for directions, choosing something more direct. “Where are they?”
“The lounge on the upper deck.” He gestured, and she saw the wide staircase leading upward.
An expression of gratitude rose to her lips, but fortunately, Perseus spoke first.
“Thank you.” He dipped his hea
d to the man, then turned toward the stairs, leading Briar away, Kali falling in behind.
No one said a word, allowing them to climb the stairs without any sort of hindrance.
“That was easy,” Briar muttered as they reached the landing.
“Of course, my lady.” Perseus started up the next flight of stairs, seeming at ease with this whole situation. But then, he was used to dealing with ferra and their guardsmen.
“What did he mean by others?” Kali asked, voicing Briar’s concern.
“It seems the ferra have gotten word of the gala as well,” Perseus said. “Perhaps it is fortunate we found them when we did.”
“How’s that?” Briar asked. “Aside from removing the surprise factor.”
“I would think they want to save the males as badly as you do,” Perseus answered.
Briar grunted. “Are you suggesting they might be willing to become allies?” She wasn’t so sure how she felt about working with ferra, but it might give her some leverage against Solon and force him to give her more time.
“It’s possible.”
They stepped out onto the deck, moving toward the next set of stairs at the same moment a woman alit from them.
Briar gasped. “Aunt Agatha?”
Agatha looked up, and her eyes widened. A wrinkle creased her brow for the briefest moment before she gave her a wide smile. “Briar!” She wasted no time closing the distance between them and pulling her into a hug.
Kali cleared her throat, apparently not certain what to do in this situation.
“Perseus, Kali, this is my Aunt Agatha, Liam’s wife.”
Agatha eyed the pair, her gaze returning to Perseus. “Nice to finally meet you, Perseus. Liam has told me much about you.”
Perseus dipped his head at the greeting. “Ma’am.”
“What are you doing here?” Briar cut in. “Did Liam tell you what was going on?”
“About the ferromancer gala? Yes, I know about that.”
“You’re part of this, too, aren’t you?” Briar asked, her words soft. Come to think about it, Agatha had a bit of an accent as well, though not as heavy as Liam’s Scottish brogue. Briar had never stopped to think it through. She’d never had a reason to. It was simply part of the Agatha she had always known. But maybe she didn’t know her as well as she thought.
“Part of what, Briar?”
“The ferromancer world.”
Agatha addressed Perseus and Kali. “Would you excuse us? I need a private word with my goddaughter.”
“It’s fine,” Briar reassured them before any protest could be raised. “I can take it from here.”
A faint frown appeared on Perseus’s face.
“Kali could give you that tour of the engine room,” Briar told him. “I know you expressed interest in the inner workings of a paddlewheeler.”
“I did, my lady. Thank you.”
“This way,” Kali said, gesturing for him to follow. “There’s another set of stairs on the back of the boat. You can see the paddlewheel up close.”
Briar watched the pair walk away, trying not to laugh. This would work well. They could deal with the chimera while she approached the ferra—once she figured out what Aunt Agatha was doing here.
“Walk with me?” Agatha asked. “There is much we need to talk about.”
Was she going to come clean with her? Tell her what her connection was to the ferromancer world? Briar didn’t know exactly when or where Liam and Agatha had met, but she couldn’t imagine Agatha as part of the ferromancer-hunting Scourge. She was far too kindhearted. But didn’t some female half-bloods serve their ferra mothers as a more of a lady’s maid?
“All right,” Briar agreed.
Agatha took her hand, then tucked it in the crook of her arm as they strolled along the deck.
“Well?” Briar prompted when Agatha didn’t immediately speak. “What are you doing on a steamboat? You came down from Columbus.”
“Some friends invited me to stay.”
“Friends?” Briar pulled her to a stop. “So you’re friends with a ferra who would use a chimera to capture an innocent?”
Briar wasn’t certain what she expected—surprise, shock—but she didn’t expect Agatha’s smile to grow. “Chimera. Perseus gave you that word.”
“Well, yes. That doesn’t answer my question.”
Agatha studied her, her gaze dropping to the multi-stranded choker before returning to Briar’s face. “How is Drake?”
“I found a way to reverse his devolvement.”
“What?” Agatha whispered.
“Well, Grayson and I found a way. Working together. It also turns out that legends were true. Grayson can stop the devolvement of another. It causes him to devolve, but I can fix him, so it doesn’t matter.” Briar took Agatha’s hands. “I found the answer, Aunt Agatha. I can save them.”
Agatha’s hands tightened on hers. It was surprising how much strength she had for a little old lady.
“Aunt Agatha?”
She blinked, then gave Briar a bright smile. “We must tell the others.”
“The others.”
“The ferra. Come.” She led Briar back to the stairs and started up. “You’ve astonished me at every turn, Briar. I hope it continues.”
Briar wasn’t certain what she meant by the last part, but didn’t ask. They stepped out onto the top deck and Agatha led her along the balcony toward the front of the boat. She stopped before a set of double doors and knocked.
“How well do you know these women?” Briar asked, suddenly nervous.
“Well enough.”
The door opened before Briar could ask more. A woman she didn’t know stood on the threshold. Was this the ferra who had been controlling the chimera?
“You’re just in time,” she said glancing at them. “We’re having something of a debate.”
“Shocking,” Agatha muttered, sarcasm heavy in her tone. “Come, Briar.” She walked into the room, leaving Briar to follow.
Briar eyed the woman at the door, who was studying her in turn. Her gaze dropped to the choker Briar wore, and a faint frown wrinkled her forehead. Did she just recognize it as soul iron, or did she know it was a construct?
Leaving the questions for later, Briar followed Agatha into the room. The lounge was well decorated with stylish wallpaper and elaborate wall sconces. Comfortable-looking upholstered chairs were arranged around the room, but no one was sitting. There were perhaps a dozen people, all of them standing and all of them women.
They had fallen silent when Agatha and Briar stepped into the room. No one pulled out a stylus, but most didn’t look pleased by the interruption.
“I did not expect you back so soon,” an older woman said to Agatha. “What have you brought us?”
“I never made it to my destination, Colette,” Agatha answered. “First, I wished to introduce you to my ward, Bridget Ellen Rose.”
“A human name,” the older woman—Colette?—said.
“As is tradition for human males to give their children their names.”
“She’s human?” Colette seemed puzzled by this.
“She is Melinda Traherne’s granddaughter,” Agatha continued in the same cool tone.
That pronouncement solicited an exchange of looks. The others must recognize the name of Briar’s ferra grandmother. She in turn stared at the women gathered around them. Might they all be ferra?
“I don’t understand,” Colette said. “Are you saying she’s a half-blood?”
“No, her mother was.”
A beat of shocked silence was followed by an immediate outburst. Briar heard several exclamations of not possible and never happened before.
Agatha raised her hand, and in a surprisingly short time, silence fell once more. “I have not lied to you. Bridget—or Briar, as she is called—is th
e daughter of Jenny Traherne and a human man by the name of David Rose. She became my ward upon their passing.”
An exchange of looks and whispered comments followed, but no one gainsaid Agatha.
“Is that a construct around her throat?” the woman who’d opened the door asked, coming up behind them.
“It is, and yes, she took it.” Agatha placed a hand on Briar’s shoulder. “It seems that Briar’s unique ancestry has given her a number of ferra-like talents.”
“Like what?” a blonde asked, her expression eager, though her tone was cool. She reminded Briar a lot of Esme.
“She can take a construct and resist soul fire like any ferra can.”
Briar was surprised that Agatha knew about that. It seemed Liam had given her a full report at some point.
“And though she can channel her soul, she can’t do it through a stylus,” Agatha said.
“What?” Colette asked, her question echoed by several others.
Agatha appeared pleased to continue, “She channels her soul through her music. It leaves me to wonder if that is where the term soul singer comes from. And yes, before you ask, she is a soul singer.”
Another burst of shocked conversation filled the room.
“Are they all ferra?” Briar whispered to Agatha.
“A few are handmaidens,” Agatha answered in the same undertone, then continued when Briar glanced over. “Half-blood daughters.”
“Ah.” Briar studied Agatha. Was she a handmaiden as well, or had she been one before she married Liam? Perhaps Agatha wasn’t human either, or not entirely. The notion was as disturbing as when she first learned Liam was Scourge. They had both kept so much from her.
Once again, Agatha called for order, though it took a little longer to get everyone’s attention.
“I haven’t gotten to the best part.” Agatha gave Briar a proud smile. “She can—”
“No! No, this cannot be!” a female voice screeched from the doorway.
Briar turned and her heart surged as she saw who had spoken. Lucrezia Bandoni stood on the threshold.
“Who dares bring this into my company?” Lucrezia stalked toward her, lifting her hand to display the stylus she held, the end already starting to glow.