“Shit.” Emmet muttered as he stepped back.
Indeed. She moved around Emmet, ignoring the way her body longed to fall back into his embrace, to stand before the cell bars. “Keegan?” The boy didn’t move immediately, though she could see his eyes had opened. “Are you well, Keegan?”
With what appeared to be great effort, he pushed himself into a sitting position. “Aye.”
“You were coughing. If you are coming down with something you must tell Thomas immediately.” While she wasn’t certain what the boy’s role was in Thomas’ plans, if he was here then it was significant. Thomas wouldn’t risk anything happening to Keegan until his job was completed.
“I wouldn’t want to bother Mr. Edison. Not when there’s so much work to get done.”
“What work?” Emmet shouldered his way beside her, far closer than he would have before their kiss. “What does Mr. Edison have you do?”
Keegan got to his feet and shuffled out into the hallway. Unlike the previous day, he looked a bit more rested, though Nicola didn’t care for the pallor of his skin or the way his cheeks were sucked into his face. The boy needed food, proper rest, and a warm place to recover. If there was once a spark to his eyes, it had been extinguished.
“I help find the metal. The bits that will work with the cogs and gears. Mr. Edison… he hadn’t told me for what.” An obvious lie. “It’s important though. I’m important. I know that.” Keegan smiled, his lips cracking as he did. “If I do a really good job I get treats along with my coin. Don’t tell Mr. Edison, but I would be happy just to have the treats.”
“Oh, I’d never tell him.” Nicola smiled as brightly as she could manage. “I would love to try some of the treats if I could. Maybe the next time you have a few.”
“Maybe.” He turned to look down toward the workroom. “I should go.”
“What are you doing today? Finding more metal?”
“Oh no. Today I have an important task. Very important.”
She could feel Emmet shifting, the tension taut in his body. Emmet asked, “What is it?”
A well-placed elbow into Emmet’s side sent him away from the door. “Don’t mind him, Keegan. He gets grumpy when he hasn’t had his breakfast. Though I have to admit, I’m curious too about what it is Mr. Edison has you working on.”
Keegan blinked slowly twice before he shrugged. “You work for him now, yeah? That’s why yer here.”
“Yes, he’s asked me to build a special machine for him. Emmet here is going to be my assistant.”
“I am not—”
“So that makes us colleagues.” Nicola carefully pushed her hand through the bars, offering it to him. “Hello, good man. I look forward to working with you.”
Keegan’s face split into a grin. He slipped his hand into hers and gave her a surprisingly hard shake. “Yeah, me too.”
“And in the vein of being friendly co-workers, it only seems fair for me to tell you about my project. I’ll be building an extractor.” She retracted her hand through the bars and braced it on her hip. “Do you know what one of those are?”
“That’s one of the things them zombies use.”
“That’s right. Mr. Edison wants one for his own, so that’s what I’ll be doing.”
Keegan cast another quick glance toward the workshop before he leaned in and whispered. “I’m not supposed to tell, but Mr. Edison wants me to build an automaton.”
“How exciting! And you look to be the perfect person for the job.” Nicola ignored the way her stomach turned at the idea. “Well, I wouldn’t want to keep you from your task. You move along and we’ll speak later. Perhaps we can exchange status updates. That’s what we do at the Company.”
Keegan’s grin widened. “I’d like that.”
“Well then, I’ll report in after.”
With one final wave, Keegan turned and sauntered to the workshop. Nicola managed to wait until the boy was from sight before rounding on Emmet. “An automaton? What the hell does he want with one of those and a memory extractor?”
Emmet ran his hand along the back of his neck. “He claimed he knew how to use the memories once they’d been taken. It’s possible he’s found a way to integrate them into the robot.”
“Automaton.”
“Whatever. If he can store the memories in the orb, and use the robot to access them, then that will provide him with a means unprecedented in the history of the Archivist Guild.” He closed his eyes. “We can’t do this.”
“Do we have a choice? Thomas is a smart man. If we don’t build what he wants, he’ll kill us and still find another way to accomplish his goals. It will take him longer, but he’ll get there eventually. Better for us to cooperate and learn what we can, figure out how to stop him, than be dead.”
And just like that, she was back to worrying about her fate.
“I don’t like this. Any of it.” But she could tell from the slump of his shoulders that he knew she was right.
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”
With nothing else to do, and nowhere else to go, they both sat down on the cot. With their legs close together, Nicola took some comfort in the idea that regardless of what would happen here, Emmet was with her. “I hate waiting.”
“I can tell.” He patted her thigh. “We’ll find out what his plans are for us soon enough.”
Before I have the boys here slit your throat…
“Yes, I guess we will.”
* * *
Keegan had started humming at some point during his time in the workshop. He’d liked talking to the pretty woman—Nicola—before he’d come here. Other than Mr. Edison, the rest of the men who worked here paid little attention to him. It was nice to have a conversation, be treated like an equal rather than some gutter rat who would rob a person blind. He would, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed being treated that way.
He picked up his hammer and began tapping away at the sheet of metal that he’d placed on the bench. He’d decided that this would be the chest, because of the way it was nice and rounded. He’d make his automaton as beautiful as Nicola if he could. Not that the automaton would have hair, or skin that look smooth as snow, but he could make its casing shine, giving it the glow that Nicola had.
It would be stunning. And strong. She was that way, he could tell simply by talking to her. There was energy inside her, the way the metal had energy, and it bled around her body, glowing. It was weird, he’d never been able to see that before, not with people. Maybe he should mention it to Mr. Edison. There could be something wrong with Nicola, and Mr. Edison would be able to help make her better. Maybe.
Oh, that was the perfect curve for the chest plate. If he could find an equal sheet of metal for the back, then there would be lots of room for the gears and conduits. He’d even be able to make a special cage to hold the heart.
Yes, his automaton would be beautiful. She’d have a soul.
Chapter Nine
Once again Emmet found himself sitting in a chair, forced to watch Nicola work. It shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise, given his skill set and what it was Edison wanted accomplished, and yet it annoyed him to no end to once again be perceived as useless.
“I’m not going to be able to do anything productive if I don’t have proper tools, Thomas.” Nicola had been talking to her former employer with complete disdain most of the day. “I mean, really, you think I can manage these wires with a cutter that won’t slice through warm butter?”
“Do you think I’m fool enough to give you access to tools you can use as weapons?” Edison flipped the page from the morning paper over. His feet were propped on the edge of a desk he’d claimed as his own on the far end of the work area. “You forget that I know how vast your ingenuity is. I have no doubt you’ll find a way.”
Nicola simply rolled her eyes and used her teeth to remove the casing of the wire.
Emmet knew he couldn’t sit there for long without saying anything. It wouldn’t go well for any of them if he opened his mouth an
d said the wrong thing. Nicola was probably correct in her assumption that Edison would happily kill them and find another way to put his plan into action if either of them caused too many problems. Yes, he should keep his mouth closed.
“So you’re going to sit on your arse while she does all the work? I thought you were some bloody genius or something?”
Edison turned the corner of the paper down, casting a glance Emmet’s way. “I guess it would be expecting too much for you to refrain from speaking.”
“If the Guild Masters haven’t found a way to silence me, I doubt you could.”
Nicola snorted. “Don’t bother, Thomas. He’s surlier than you. Though far more pleasant on the eyes.”
“Oh, please. You couldn’t wait to get rid of me. I know for a fact you were planning to ditch me on our outing.”
“Well, maybe if you weren’t such an insufferable prig who thinks he knows what a woman should be rather than treat us like sentient beings, I wouldn’t want to bash your head in.”
They’d agreed it was for the best to cultivate the idea that they weren’t the closest of companions while in Edison’s hold. If anything, Edison might see them remaining in the same cell as additional torture for them both. It would do neither of them any good if one was used against the other. Though with Nicola, he wasn’t entirely certain if she was faking the comments, or if that’s how she really saw him.
“If you two can’t behave I’ll find a way to muzzle you both.” Edison flipped the corner of his paper back up and continued reading.
Nicola glanced once more at Emmet and rolled her eyes. Despite her obvious fears of Edison, she seemed to be able to handle them well enough. It was one of the things he was starting to realize about her, this innate ability she had to move forward with a job, regardless of how she felt. Emmet admired people who could do that, chose to spend time with them whenever possible. In a pinch, he knew he’d be able to count on them to do the job, whatever that might turn out to be.
Rolling his head to stretch the muscles in his neck, Emmet mentally reviewed all the information he had available to him that could potentially help. The Administrators would know of their kidnapping by now and would be out searching for them. He wasn’t certain of their location, but the search team would use the carriage as their starting point to begin their search. If the horses had been left in their original location.
Speaking of which…
“How did you stop the horses?” He sat straighter in his chair, his mind racing now that he’d thought on the topic. “For that matter, how did you draw them off course? I’ve never heard tell of that happening before.”
Edison sighed as he let his feet fall to the floor. “You won’t let me finish my morning paper, will you?”
Emmet shrugged. “If you’ve chosen to tie me up here, then expect me to speak. Otherwise leave me back in the cell. I don’t care either way.”
“I shall keep that in mind for tomorrow. Or maybe I’ll simply gag you.” Edison walked behind Nicola, her body stiffening for a moment as he passed. Emmet pretended not to notice, keeping his gaze locked on the other man. “It was a simple thing, really. I’m surprised more citizens of this city haven’t attempted it before now.”
Stopping by Emmet’s side, Edison pulled a small black box from his pocket. The casing was hinged, and with only the flick of his thumb was he able to flip it open, revealing the guts of the machine. “I like to call it a dampener. It sends out small pulses that can disrupt the workings of an automaton. If I trigger a pulse at the right time, I can send the automaton off in a different direction than its original path.”
“Bloody bastard.” Both men turned to look at Nicola, but she continued to work on wiring her panel and said nothing else.
Interesting. He’d have to ask her about that later on. “The people of New London have no desire to hop into a zombie’s carriage. They’re not fools.”
“Yes, they seem unusually scared of your lot. I find it rather amusing. You’re simply pulling and mapping out the pathways of the mind. Moving a blueprint from an organic machine to a storage medium.”
“Funny. Most people think we are extracting their souls.” Emmet lowered his chin and smiled up at Edison. “I take it you’re not a believer?”
“My relationship with God is none of your affair.”
“Of course not. But you wanted to know why people don’t try to stop the zombies. Not many are brave enough to walk into the pit with the vipers, risking their souls.”
Edison stared down at him for a good long time. Emmet had borne such scrutiny many times before, from both family and strangers. He allowed the silence to stretch on, to pull at Edison until the man felt the weight of it upon him. Edison looked away, but didn’t move. Much like Nicola, this man wasn’t afraid to face a challenge head on. It made him more dangerous than most.
“Do you believe?” Edison’s voice had dropped, had lost its condescending edge.
“In souls?” He’d been raised with the church as a child, much like his peers. He’d learned the readings, hymns, been able to recite the stories upon request. It was only after he’d moved to the Archives that he’d renounced all religions as foolishness practiced by the small minded. “Are you seriously asking an archivist that?”
“Answer my question.”
Emmet fought hard to keep his gaze upon Edison. He bit the inside of his bottom lip, enjoying the small rush of pain. “I do.”
“I see.” Edison slipped the dampener back into his pocket. “Is that why you haven’t performed an extraction?”
“It hasn’t been my time.”
“Liar. I’m very good at spotting liars.”
Takes one to recognize one. “I am very adept at receiving other assignments when my name appears at the top of the extraction list.”
Emmet hadn’t allowed himself to think too long upon what it actually was they were taking from the dead. It was easier to believe what the Guild Masters told them as acolytes, that these were little more than pictures that still resided in the deceased brain. They were doing them, their families, the city of New London all a favor by preserving these experiences. It would benefit future generations to have these human stories recorded and stored.
It couldn’t be a person’s soul they were taking. If they were, then that would mean there was a God. Wouldn’t he do everything in his power to cleave those to his bosom? Why would he allow them to be snatched from his grasp and forced to live for all eternity in a small vial?
No, best not to think too long upon that.
“I thought as much. Still, you won’t be getting out of this duty, so best prepare yourself to join your friends and become a zombie yourself.” There was something in Edison’s eyes that hardened. It was odd to see the steel beneath his surface rise up in such a manner. “You’re the perfect conduit for the job I have in mind.”
“Who? I don’t see any corpses lying around here. Do you plan on killing someone?” Even though Nicola hadn’t said as much, he knew she was terrified Edison planned on taking her life. If truth be told, he was more than a little concerned in that regard as well and would fight its happening tooth and nail.
“All in good time. For now, our little Serbian genius needs to build a working extractor. Then we’ll talk more about souls and storage.”
Edison waved the guards closer as he strode from the room. The large, brutish men quickly shifted away once Edison was out of sight. While Edison might not have any fears about being in the company of a zombie, his men certainly did. It took little more than a well-placed smile to send them scurrying away.
Nicola stood and stretched her back in an exaggerated manner, not too subtly looking his way and cocking an eyebrow. Of course she’d want to know what Edison had said to him. He gave his head a small shake and prayed she’d listen to him for once. Instead, she took the panel from her workbench, wires dragging on the floor behind her, and strode toward him.
“Whatcha’ doin’, miss?” The closest of the guard
s stepped in front of her to block her path.
“He’s the only one here who has seen one of these extractors work.” Holding it up, she looked around the hulk of a man to point at Emmet. “I need to have him double-check my connections to make sure I’m building this correctly.”
“Yer not to go anywhere near—”
“I’d be more than happy to tell Thomas you wouldn’t let me confirm my work. I’m sure he won’t be upset at all if our little experiment doesn’t work.”
The man grunted and pushed Nicola toward Emmet. “You have five minutes.”
“You’re too kind.” She grinned and strode forward. “Nothing like having our resident zombie available to check my work.”
“Don’t call me that.”
Nicola flipped the board around, showing off the exposed wires and connections she’d soldered to the board. “I didn’t know you were so sensitive, Mr. Dennison.”
“I’m not.” It only took the quickest glance to see that she’d made tremendous progress given her limited time and tools. “You’re moving too quickly.”
“I am?” She looked down and grinned once more. “I can’t help it. I only have one speed when I’m working on a puzzle. Forward.”
“Even if you might be the first and only test subject for the use of the extractor?”
“Unfortunately so. Shall we mark it up to a character flaw and move on? Now, what did Thomas say to you?”
“He asked me if I believed in the human soul. It was an interesting philosophical discussion.”
“The bastard is toying with you.” She closed her eyes and huffed softly before focusing her steely gaze back on him. “None of this makes any sense. It doesn’t at all seem the sort of thing Thomas would do. I can’t see the profit in it, and believe me when I say that profit is of paramount importance to him.”
Emmet couldn’t profess to know the man as well as Nicola did, but he knew she was wrong in this instance. “I’ll continue to engage him in conversation, see if there is anything else I can learn from him in our talks.”
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