by Gin Hollan
“I apologize for calling you here late in the evening. I’ve been considering whether or not to tell you this in person, or not. Effective Monday morning, all gadgeteer’s must be licensed. Tinkers too. The city council debated it most of the day, and we wound the meeting up about an hour ago. I wanted you to know right away that I’ve voted against this. He saved my wife and my daughter. I can never repay that. What I can do is warn you that the criteria for being licensed as a public safety standard in it. Naturally, with you being the leading gadgeteer in the area, or rather the most public one, your name came up.”
Arabeth held her hand up, palm facing him. “I appreciate your consideration. I have no intention of moving back to Blastborn in the near future. Unless the area across the river is also in city limits, you don’t need to worry. I will still come if you call and help as I can”
Harbertrope visibly relaxed. “Sadly, many of them turned a deaf ear when I told them that none of the incidents you’ve been involved with happened in any of your workshops, and they didn’t care that your technology actually saved many lives and stopped more than one catastrophe. I don’t believe it is your gadgeteering that stands between you and licensing. I couldn’t prove it.”
“I assume I’m not banned from the city, itself.”
He chuckled. “No, you’re fine. Having the parents you do goes a long way toward preventing it.”
Arabeth nodded.
Harbertrope walked over to his desk and picked up a large manila envelope. “With everything that’s been going on, the mayor hasn’t been able to give you this. He hoped it would act as some small compensation for the work you’ve done in protecting Blastborn.”
Arabeth took him opened it. Wide enough to look inside. To her surprise, there is a certificate of service with her name on it. “For valorous service in defence Blastborn and its citizens.”
“That’s the best I could do,” he said “Well, I almost had it framed, but I don’t want this to go to your head.” He said with a grin.
Arabeth sat back in her chair, genuinely touched. If only her grandfather had been around to see it. He never lost faith in her.
The thought of his unsolvable puzzle crossed her mind again. She had a couple ideas she to try. The puzzle with which he sealed his top secret workspace was his last gift to her. She was the only person he’d given clues to. She was close, she knew. Now that the house had been shot up, she didn’t have many opportunities to test new ideas.
Arabeth held up a hand and I’m sorry looked at the palm. Her grandfather knew about the silver in their blood. Could it be that simple? She shot up onto her feet, standing so fast she nearly lost her balance.
“Thank you, I mean that.” She stepped forward and shook Harbertrope’s hand before turning to go. “I’m sorry, I’ve just had an idea.”
“Occupational hazard, I understand.”
“Exactly,” she said with a smile. There was one locked room in her house. It was off-limits to everyone but her grandfather, since it used to be his home. Her curiosity had itched for decades.
// Chapter 32 //
ARABETH STOOD in the house, staring at the door to her grandfather’s workshop. His real workshop. All of his secrets lay behind it. He had left the house to her and a few clues to getting this door open.
His only real clue hadn’t made sense when she first heard it. Silver and gold intermix, casting a hue and a haze. Now she suspected it was going to take a drop of blood - her blood, with the silver in it, and a formula. How he knew about the sage’s books, about the formulae was a little unsettling.
She knew she was stalling. As excited as she was to get in there, fear also hovered at the edge of her mind. She wiped the sweat of her palms and pulled out a lancet to prick her fingertip. With that hand, she drew the symbol for unlocking things. It would have to work for a door, she thought.
As the gold letters hovered in front of her, seeming to whisper against the door, the drops of blood on her fingertip started to hover and mix with the formula. A pattern soon formed on the door. Quietly, as though intentional, whirring sound started inside the door and it clicked, opening barely an inch.
Arabeth swallowed hard and tried to calm down. Her heart was racing, and her mouth went dry. This was really happening.
She pushed the door open slowly, and as she did a light resembling the ones from the shuttle tunnels clicked on. As she stepped inside, she was surprised to find it was actually a small space. The walls were lined in maps and diagrams, and there was a large desk filled with rating implements and papers. Stacked along the back of the desk where paperbound books, each labelled with a date range. She swallowed hard. Her grandfather’s journals.
She turned around and shut the door behind her. There was no way she was going to let anyone in here, accidentally or otherwise.
The maps were hand drawn, each with a consistent map legend of symbols. To her surprise, then say it was well mapped out, as was the rest of her country. Not surprising was the detailed map of the underground shuttle system. Going over to his journals, she sat down at the desk and pulled the top one towards her, hesitating to open it only for a moment.
She was going to be busy for a long time, she realized as she started reading through. These were more than journals for his projects. They detailed all of his travels and the information he learned there. This was a lifetime of knowledge, and he had bequeathed it to her. For a moment she was awestruck. She might even learn how to fix the serenthex in these pages, in one of these books.
She closed the journal and put it back with the others. There was only one small change she would have to make to the room. She needed a Fox door.
// Author’s Notes //
Thank you so much for reading Book 3 in my Arabeth Barnes series! It nearly broke my heart when Sam broke their engagement, but Arabeth really isn’t ready to settle down. I’m not sure if she ever will.
A little about me – I live in a small, old-fashioned town with my family, three cats, a dog, and my therapists… I mean, horses. I sincerely grateful that you are reading my stories – your patronage means I get to keep my horses -- Kate, River and Foxy.
If you’d like to find out more about my books, or just connect online, you can find me at:
https://ginhollan.com,
https://www.facebook.com/GAHollan/, or
https://twitter.com/gin_hollan.