Quicksilver Soul

by Christine d'Abo

  He shook his head, but answered, “You’re an archivist, sir.”

  “Yes, I am. And if you don’t fetch Sergeant Hawkins and bring him to the abandoned warehouse closest to the river from here, I’ll be certain to make mention of your name to the Guild Masters.”

  The boy swallowed hard, turned, and bolted. Emmet used the time to do battle with the growing consciousness that was Mary Edison. With each passing moment, her voice grew in strength, her suggestions becoming more demanding. She seemed to be able to paralyze him, holding him captive as she bombarded his mind with sensations.

  By the maker, how had Piper survived with the thoughts of a prostitute in her head for as long as she had? It was so easy to let himself slip away, dive beneath the surface of her presence and drown. When the sound of carriages and footfalls reached him, he barely had the strength to silence her.

  You men are all the same. You put yourselves before us, shove us away unless it’s to breed, fix your meals, or satisfy your desires. I hate you all.

  “Dennison!” He looked up to see Samuel and his man Timmons jump from the carriage. Samuel quickly closed the distance between them, frowning all the way. “What the hell sort of mess did you get into?”

  “One that didn’t require him to bathe.” Timmons stood behind Samuel, the moonlight glinting off his metal hand. “You look like shit, man.”

  “Fuck off. We’ve been held captive.”

  “I’m aware. The guild has been combing the streets for you for well more than two weeks now.” Samuel took him by the shoulder, stopping short when he caught sight of his eyes. He opened his mouth twice before he managed a soft, “Bloody hell.”

  “Don’t.” He didn’t need an interrogation by his friend. “Nicola needs help.”

  Timmons barked orders to the men, sending them off down the alley. “She’s in the warehouse?”

  “With our captor, Edison.”

  “David will be happy to hear she’s unharmed. I haven’t seen him that unnerved by news since Aiko insisted he stop experimenting for a month. Let’s move, boys. Get the lead out.”

  Emmet waited until Timmons was gone before cocking an eyebrow at Samuel.

  “David was a Company man. Rory won’t go into details, but I suspect he’s a specialist of sorts.”

  “We might need him to help us clean up this mess.” He wanted to continue, but Mary chose that moment to scream as loud as she could. The pain dropped him to his knees, clutching his head.

  “Emmet, what’s—”

  “She won’t stop.”

  Evil bastards! You take and take, use and use, without caring about the results. I hurt all the time, my head nearly split open with pain, and no one cared. The doctors pumped me full of medicine that didn’t help. Thomas left me alone to deal with it on my own. Bastards, every single one of you!

  “You mean you haven’t had your memory wiped?” Samuel grabbed him once more by the face to look into his eyes. “There’s someone still in there?”

  “Yes. It was done tonight.”

  “We need to get you to the Archives before there is damage done.”

  “Not until Nicola is safe. Not until you know everything.”

  “You and Piper.” Samuel growled. “Did they teach you both how to become extra stubborn after my departure, or had I always been blind to your pigheadedness?”

  “The boy built an automaton. A giant metal woman. Edison had us build an extractor and pull the memories of his dead wife to plant into the robot. They’re out there now doing who knows what.” Samuel stared at him for so long, Emmet grew concerned. “What?”

  “You built an extractor yourself? That explains it.”

  “Explains what?”

  Samuel’s mouth tightened and he squeezed his arms hard. “Your eyes have gone white.”

  “That’s normal, Sam.”

  “Not as much as this. It’s nearly half your irises.”

  If he’d had the time to think about it, he might have panicked. But given everything else that had happened, his changed eye color was the least of his concerns. “Remind me how calm I currently am when I revisit this at a later time.”

  “I will. Let’s find your charge and get you both to safety.”

  Emmet drew what little strength he had left and followed Samuel. It gave him a sense of rightness as he fell into step behind his friend just like when they were kids. He’d have never admitted it, but Emmet had hated Samuel for a long time when he’d left them behind, fleeing from the Archives. Emmet had hated him for not only what it did to Piper, the woman who now shared Samuel’s home, but for leaving him to fill the void as leader of their little group.

  “I want to see him, now.” Nicola stood in the center of the room, looking tired and dirty, a force to be reckoned with. She turned as they slipped through the wall, smiling when she saw him. “I should kick your ass, Dennison.”

  The men in the room chuckled as they went about their business. If it had been any other night, he would have sparred with her. But seeing her safe and Edison in custody of the King’s Sentry, Emmet gave himself permission to give up the fight. He smiled briefly before he let unconsciousness win.

  * * *

  Nicola was moving toward him the moment she saw his too pale eyes roll back into his head and his knees buckle. Their time together in captivity had forged a bond she hadn’t expected. She could feel the duress he was under from across the room, knew he was barely holding on, despite the brave front he tried to project. With them now safe and Thomas in custody of the King’s Sentry, it was clear that he could hold on no longer.

  Samuel was already on the floor at his side by the time she dove into place. He cast her a curious glance when she ran her hands across his cheeks and neck, reassuring herself that he had no additional external wounds.

  “Miss Tesla, I presume?”

  “He’s performed an extraction tonight. He tried to explain it to me, about her thoughts being in his head until they are removed.” Despite her understanding of the process and what she’d learned about the Archives, Nicola couldn’t assume to know what that entailed. “Do we need to get him to a physician?”

  “No, the Archives themselves have the tools required to help him.” The man swore none too quietly. “I’ll escort you back there myself.”

  She wasn’t certain, but he seemed less than pleased by the idea. “If you’re one of these people who have issues with the guild, or are scared of what they stand for, I’m certain we will be fine on our own.”

  “I was a part of the guild until I… left. My relationship with the Guild Masters is strained at best and my presence might cause more issues than Emmet would appreciate.”

  Nicola would have to ask Emmet about this sergeant once he regained consciousness. “The HBC would be forever in your debt for helping a member of her company.”

  “The HBC are a collection of thieves and villains who’d as soon stab their members in the back as help them in a moment of crisis.”

  She looked up to see another man, far larger than the sergeant beside her, his artificial hand wrapped around a pistol. There was something in his tone that would brook no argument. She promptly ignored it.

  “And pray, how would you know what the Company would or would not do?”

  “Because they used my brother to clean up their mess in the Orient and then left him to die.” The words were spat with a bitterness that seemed to surprise his companion.

  The sergeant waved him away. “Rory, why don’t you make sure the men have secured the perimeter and ensure they’ve spoken to all potential witnesses.”

  Rory Timmons. The constable Simon mentioned in his letter.

  “Samuel—”

  “That’s an order, constable.”

  “Yes, sir.” Rory turned sharply and marched away.

  “Not a fan, I see.”

  “He’s rather protective of his brother. I’m sure you can appreciate that.”

  “My brothers think I’m odd and better suited to live i
n the wilds of Canada than in civilized society.” She ran a hand down Emmet’s chest, pausing when she detected his heartbeat strong beneath her touch. “We should move him.”

  “The carriage is on the way. I’ll send word ahead to have the doctors ready.”

  When his pause stretched on too long, she finally looked away from Emmet. “What?”

  “Do you understand what happens when his memory is wiped?”

  “They remove traces of the extraction. Mary Edison is removed from his thoughts.”

  “Not just Mary. All traces of his time while he had her thoughts in his head. He won’t remember anything from the moment of the extraction until she’s gone. No thoughts, no conversations,” he looked away, “nothing intimate. He’ll be blank.”

  She remembered the brief conversation she’d had with Emmet regarding Jones all those days earlier. The fear and confusion the man had reflecting in his eyes. The trepidation with which Emmet had dealt with him. Then her mind turned to all that had happened this evening. The fear, the connection they’d had while standing over Mary’s cold body. She didn’t want to sacrifice even a moment of those memories.

  “My wife performed several extractions before she removed herself from the guild.” The sergeant’s voice had grown soft, but the steel remained in his eyes. “Even months later, she’ll wake in a panic, struggling to remember what had transpired. The human mind isn’t designed to forget such things. Isn’t meant to store information only to have it stripped bare.”

  “Is your wife… will she be okay?” Somehow the thought of Emmet waking all alone in the night, forced to deal with the disconcerting notion that his mind had been altered, while left to ponder the state of his soul, felt wrong. “I’ve only known Emmet for a short time, but I worry for him.”

  “She’ll be fine. My Piper is a strong one.” Samuel smiled, the light igniting in his eyes. “And don’t worry about Emmet. The bastard is far too strong to let something like this destroy him. He’s the third son of the Duke of Bedford, after all.”

  “Let’s get him to the Archives before he does any more damage to his upper-class head.”

  The entire trip back, Emmet remained unconscious. She wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or not. She had no means to relate to what he was going through, no way to help beyond listening to the advice of those around him. When the Guild Masters swooped in upon their arrival at the Archives, she nearly lost him.

  If Sergeant Hawkins hadn’t intervened with the Masters, she wasn’t certain she’d have seen Emmet again. “He’ll wake in a panic if she isn’t present. You know what he’s like, especially if there is someone under his protection. Let her stay to reassure him when he wakes.”

  That’s how she found herself sitting by his bedside once the Archives physicians had completed the wiping of his memory. Emmet hadn’t regained consciousness throughout the process, something she was told was quite uncommon. Of course he’d need to be difficult about the thing. She sat there, afraid to hold his hand even though that’s what she wanted, wishing she could do more. Until she saw the flutter of his eyes moments before they slipped open, she’d begun to doubt that he was going to wake.

  “Hey. It’s okay, we’re safe now.” She smiled, trying to put on her best performance of reassuring confidence. “We’re okay.”

  He swallowed as he looked around the room. “The Archives?”

  “Yes.” She wasn’t used to the idea that he’d have lost his memories of the event. The doctors had told her it was possible for him to have lost more due to the unpredictable craftsmanship of the extractor that he’d used. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

  Emmet was cute when he frowned. The lines around his mouth and in the corner of his eyes crinkled. His lips turned in such a way that she wanted to kiss him instantly. Instead, she leaned in a bit closer and waited.

  “He, Edison, he killed… someone.” He groaned and pressed the heel of his hands to his eyes. “I can’t get my brain to work.”

  “You’re doing great. Yes, he killed Jonas. Then he forced Keegan to perform an extraction as a test.”

  “They wiped my head.” He didn’t quite manage to hide his muttered fuck. “It’s not supposed to be this bad.”

  “The doctors said it had something to do with the nature of the extractor we made. We were good, but not precise.”

  He nodded, grimacing almost as soon as he did. “Did they mention anything about headaches?”

  “No. Should I fetch someone? Is it bad?”

  “Don’t. I’ll be—”

  “Doctor, can I get some help? He’s awake.”

  When she opened the door the only person on the other side was the young man she’d met briefly all those days before. “Mr. Jones, it’s you.”

  “Just Jones is fine.” He smiled and stepped closer. “Is he up for visitors?”

  “Get that idiot out of here.”

  “Of course he is. Come in.”

  Emmet turned his face to the side so his friend wouldn’t be able to see. “I said, get him out of here.”

  “Don’t be such a child.” There was no heat to his words. Jones looked at her and cocked an eyebrow. “They won’t tell me a bloody thing.”

  “Got kidnapped, built an extractor, took memories from a frozen body, and now a giant robot is on the loose. Oh, and apparently Emmet here is grumpy when he’s had his memory wiped.”

  “He’s like that on a good day. At least nothing serious happened.” Nicola could tell that Jones wasn’t discounting a single thing. “So, we need to catch a giant robot. Better than what I had planned for the day. Count me in on the adventure.”

  “Excellent!” Now that they were safe, that she knew Emmet would be fine, Nicola finally started to relax. “But I suggest we start our search in the morning. We both need to bathe and a chance to rest.”

  “I’ll make sure that you have a room prepared, Miss Tesla. While I’m sure you’d be perfectly safe in your hotel room, I know I’d rest easier knowing you were here under the Guild’s protection.”

  “Believe it or not, for once I won’t argue. Thank you, Jones.” The simple though of a bath and a comfortable bed was heavenly.

  “I’ll have the apprentices get one for you as well, old man.” Jones squeezed his shoulder. “Trust me when I say it helps.”

  Emmet rolled his head and slowly opened his eyes. It was strange to see the two of them, their eyes a pale reflection of the damage done to them both. Brothers, not by blood, but through circumstances and mutual admiration.

  Jones let out a soft hiss and squeezed Emmet’s shoulder once more. “They’ll be forced to leave you alone now.”

  “I have no more excuses for not going.”

  Jones held his gaze a bit longer, before lowering his head and moving away. “I’ll get those baths.”

  Nicola walked him out to the hallway, not certain what else she could do to help. “Thanks. I don’t think everything has sunk in for him yet.”

  “It hasn’t.” Jones looked past her briefly before meeting her gaze. “Knowing him as I do, knowing what I went through, he’s going to panic. The hole in our minds… it’s disconcerting to say the least.”

  “I’ll stay with him.”

  “He’ll push you away. Emmet isn’t the easiest man to deal with.”

  “I’ll stay with him.”

  There were many times over the course of their captivity when he could have shut her out and didn’t, when she’d tried to block him, but he refused to give quarter and back away. He’d been her silent support throughout the building of the extractor; the least she could do was be here for him now.

  “He’s stuck with me, whether he wants me or not.”

  * * *

  Keegan loved the moments before sunrise. It was the only time when New London held the feeling of promise. The air was crisp against his skin as a light breeze blew across the courtyard. He should want to get inside, find a steam room to warm up, get a hot meal. Instead, he was content to sit on Mary’s
shoulder and watch the sun rise above the peaked roofs of the city.

  “Hullo?”

  He twisted his body around to see a group of five boys standing behind them. They were all small and scrawny, and looked terrified. He didn’t recognize any of the faces, which meant Glyn sent out the new recruits to face the unknown.

  Typical.

  “Tell Glyn that Keegan’s back.”

  One of the boys peeled away and raced toward the house. The leader of the group edged closer, his gaze roaming over Mary’s body. “What’s this, eh? Bloody big robot?”

  “She’s an automaton.” Was this how Mr. Edison had seen him? A small, frightened child putting on airs to protect himself? “And she’ll kill you if I ask.”

  The group stepped back several paces. “Glyn won’t let you hurt me.”

  “Glyn doesn’t give a rat’s arse about ye. Better get used te that idea.”

  A door slammed open and a large boy stepped out. Glyn was easily as tall as Mr. Edison, though not as broad. Keegan knew from personal experience that Glyn’s body was as strong as he was slippery. He’d used that deceptive strength on more than one occasion to get exactly what he wanted.

  The older boy strode across the broken cobblestone yard and shoved his way through the group of boys to stand before him. Hands on his hips, he ignored Mary and narrowed his attack on Keegan.

  The best defense is a good offense. He tightened his grip on Mary. “I’ve come back.”

  “Where the hell were you then? Gerry told me he saw you a few weeks back and you ran away.” If he was intimidated by the automaton, he gave no indication. “I’ve a good mind to thrash you within an inch and toss your ass out from Underling protection.”

  Keegan tapped Mary’s arm and she plucked him from her shoulder to set him on the ground. Glyn was older than he by many years and far stronger. There was a time when Keegan would have feared for himself, feared for the boys around them. But not any longer. Mr. Edison had taught him that he had skills, could defeat someone stronger than himself. He simply needed to reach out and take what he wanted.

  “I don’t think so.” With a little mental nudge, Mary reached out and took Glyn by the shirt collar, lifting him from the ground. “In fact, I don’t think you’ll be handing out any more thrashings at all.”