PRAISE FOR
BRONZE GODS
“Fantastic . . . Intricately layered, Bronze Gods is a fabulous introduction to a dark and dangerous world filled with tricksy magic, fantastical steampunk elements, and a detective duo worth their weight in gold.”
—The Book Swarm
“[Aguirre] does an amazing job giving the readers plenty of action and mystery to work their teeth on.”
—Whatchamacallit Reviews
“Steampunk noir, fantastic world-building, characters I fell in love with almost instantly, crime scenes worthy of Patricia Cornwell, clockwork, LOTS of sexual tension, and a heart-stopping conclusion. All in a single book.”
—The Nocturnal Library
“An engaging and entertaining mystery with an amazing duo!”
—Rainy Day Ramblings
“Humor, romantic chemistry, fantastic mystery, and one heck of an ending.”
—Seeing Night Book Reviews
“Aguirre’s steampunk world has a gorgeous backstory . . . As for the plot, it speeds along with plenty of action, tension, surprises, heart-stopping moments, additional delightful supporting cast, and fantastic attention to detail . . . If you enjoy steampunk, fantasy, mysteries, or thrillers, I think you’ll find plenty in here to enthrall you.”
—Errant Dreams
“Intricate world-building and complex characters are the result of an exciting new collaboration between Ann Aguirre and her husband, Andres . . . Team Aguirre delivers protagonists whose strengths and weaknesses complement each other, forming a first-rate partnership . . . This is a killer blend of steampunk and fantasy!”
—RT Book Reviews
“Outstanding! . . . A. A. Aguirre has crafted a dynamic team in a fantastic world that I cannot wait to visit again.”
—SciFiPulse.Net
Ace Books by A. A. Aguirre
BRONZE GODS
SILVER MIRRORS
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) LLC
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
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penguin.com
A Penguin Random House Company
SILVER MIRRORS
An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the authors
Copyright © 2014 by A. A. Aguirre.
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For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) LLC,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-13966-4
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Ace mass-market edition / May 2014
Cover art by Cliff Nielsen.
Cover photo by iStock/Thinkstock.
Cover design by Judith Lagerman.
Interior text design by Kristin del Rosario.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
Praise for Bronze Gods
Ace Books by A. A. Aguirre
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
About the Authors
To Enrique, the original Doctor Hu
Acknowledgments
First, we offer thanks to Laura Bradford, a wonderful partner and advocate. It’s impossible not to appreciate her hard work and sincere regard for our books. Next, we tip our hats to Anne Sowards and the Penguin team for polishing our words and then packaging them so prettily. Thanks to our amazing copy editors, Bob and Sara Schwager. They do such a splendid job that it’s a pleasure to do edits. Much appreciation to our keen-eyed proofreader as well, Fedora Chen.
Most sincere gratitude to our friends and colleagues who welcomed us into the steampunk world and made space at the bar. Especial thanks to Karen Alderman and Majda Colak for reading early drafts of the book and convincing us there was gold in the river. At your behest, we mined after it most assiduously.
So many thanks to Bree, Donna, Lauren, Megan, Tessa, Courtney, Viv, Enrique, Erika, and other worthy souls whose contributions we may have overlooked.
As ever, we cherish our children, who thought it was quite bad enough when their mother was lost in a fictional world, and then their father wandered into Wonderland, too. Alek and Andrea, your self-sufficiency and cleverness is a marvel to behold. And we thoroughly appreciate it.
This book was a challenge, mostly because of life, which has a way of going on even when you’ve two children and a novel to complete. We’re pleased with Silver Mirrors and hope you will be, too. Which brings us to our most important thank-you: the one to readers, hungry for Mikani and Ritsuko’s next adventure.
Read on, for as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, “The game is afoot”!
CHAPTER 1
ONE MONTH AGO, THE WORLD NEARLY ENDED.
Interrupting the ritual meant to summon all the lost Ferisher spirits should’ve been enough, but as Ritsuko had told Mikani, it would’ve been impossible for Lorne Nuall to complete such dark work on his own. There was no way for him to kidnap those girls, move his infernal machines, and elude the authorities without aid from somewhere, probably a high-ranking accomplice. Therefore, a murderer still needed to be brought to justice, and Ritsuko wouldn’t rest well until the job was done.
She didn’t mind the research aspect of detective work. Ritsuko had fond memories of the archives, even if the place appeared to try Mikani’s patience. The stack of tomes yet to be examined still towered higher than her head, with a much smaller pile of books that she’d paged through, looking for some sign of who stood to gain most from a change in the status quo.
“Near as I can tell, Theron is all that’s left of the Nuall line.” Mikani shoved aside an old ledger to make room for a leather tome older than their great-grandparents. “So whatever help his brother had, it likely didn’t come from their family, immediate or otherwise.” He looked up, giving her a pained look. “House Saermine of the Summer Court, mighty kings and lords of Hy Breasil, now consists of one creepy old chap
with a gardening fetish.”
“Through deduction, we can rule out a number of Houses,” she said thoughtfully. “The Elemental Houses stand to lose the most if the city descended into the chaos Lorne seemed to want. They lost a lot of money during the riots.”
“True, and they’re not known for complicated plots,” he said.
“The ruling Houses don’t benefit from a complete change in the order of things.”
“Who does that leave, then?” Mikani asked.
Ritsuko opened an old book, one that detailed the bloodlines of the initial Houses. The pages were yellowed, so she took care as she scanned the genealogy charts. Frowning, she answered, “There are Houses that don’t seem to be around anymore, but if there are survivors, like Theron Nuall, any of them stand to gain if his brother’s plot had succeeded.”
Mikani rubbed the bridge of his nose and leaned back on the wooden chair. “That’s right down Thorgrim’s alley. Manipulative buggers, the lot of them. They have been trying to rebuild their power ever since they sided with House Saermine in the royalist wars and lost. And there’s a few thousand of them still around.”
Ritsuko nodded. “I’ll put them on our list of potential suspects. It shouldn’t take us more than ten or twenty years to clear them all.” Then she grinned. “But seriously, there can’t be too many people positioned high enough and with sufficient resources to have helped Lorne.”
He shook his head. “I doubt there’s more than a couple of dozen members of Thorgrim who could do that. And maybe half that, if we consider that most of them are too busy trying to blackmail, poison, and coerce each other to have time for outside interests.”
“Where are Thorgrim’s holdings?”
“Around Northport, I believe. If memory serves, the governor’s been a Thorgrim for the last forty years.”
Ritsuko went back to studying the rest of the names. “This might be too obvious, but . . . how can we be sure there are no Nuall refugees? If distaff relations have been absorbed into other Houses, they might be obsessing over their lost heritage. Such individuals might see it as a great deed, bringing their people back to the old ways. Wasn’t Nuall’s family considered akin to royalty long ago?”
Mikani pulled the first book he’d been reading closer, opening it with a sigh. “The Nualls became an offshoot of House Saermine over five hundred years ago. Two cousins married, so yes . . . if House Saermine had succeeded in their bid to overthrow the Council and restore the monarchy during the royalist wars, the Nuall family heir would’ve been fourth or fifth in line for the Summer throne.”
Not that it matters these days. The Council meant that royal blood was rather beside the point. There hadn’t been kings or queens in the isles for a thousand years, but three hundred years ago, the royalist uprising, if it had succeeded, would’ve restored the monarchy. Now the system was far more intricate.
She offered, “It’s possible, then, that these unidentified souls are embittered about their lot. Lorne might’ve been just the vanguard.”
“If so, they got a martyr instead. That said, I’m not sure how we could track down other lineages hiding within other Houses.”
Ritsuko thought for a few moments. “We can quietly put out the word for merchants and vendors to be alert for coins like the ones Lorne used to build his murder machines. It’s likely that if identical antique currency surfaces, it must be connected.”
“Good idea. We can always say there’s some counterfeit coinage going around, spread the description.”
She nodded decisively, pleased with that course of action. “I think we’re done here. Try not to weep, Mikani.”
He closed the book with an echoing boom and was on his feet before she had quite finished speaking. “I swear you make up reasons to bring me here, Ritsuko. Let’s go talk to some fences and gold dealers, then, shall we?”
“Good plan. And you know it’s just because I like watching your lips move when you read the big words.”
“I know. You can’t take your eyes off me.”
She gave him her best mysterious smile. “Could be.”
He smirked over his shoulder at her. “Some truths, my dear Ritsuko, are self-evident.” He held the door for her. “If we hurry, we can catch the lowlifes still waking up near Iron Cross.”
Iron Cross was an industrial district, full of factories and tenements. Not Ritsuko’s favorite place, but since they had spent the first part of the day buried in old books, it seemed fair that they should end it in seedy surroundings more to her partner’s tastes. She was quiet as they walked out to the cruiser. Gunwood didn’t exactly know what she and Mikani were up to, today. She had a feeling he wouldn’t be amused. Gunwood didn’t like conspiracy theories or ideas that complicated his life. He liked cases closed and documents filed while this was such a mess that it could take years to untangle.
But she hoped not. Mikani would lose patience and shoot someone long before then.
They sped through the city, with Mikani taking every opportunity to push the machine to its limits. She had been jolted from head to toe by the time Mikani locked the cruiser tight, paid an urchin to watch over it, and threatened a couple of loitering factory workers for good measure. Then he turned to Ritsuko, hat somewhat askew and walking stick tucked neatly under an arm. She knew a silly, schoolgirl thrill whenever he wore the bowler she’d bought for him.
“Someone will probably try to break in anyway, but it should still be here when we are done.” He pointed down the main avenue, thronged with late-shift workers heading to work and day laborers headed for the myriad dives and makeshift brothels that lined the busy street. “One of the biggest fences in the city’s a few blocks down. He’ll be able to spread the word if we can convince him.”
She checked her sidearm and credentials, then followed her partner toward the little hole in the wall where Roman Quick did business. The surrounding houses were bits of scrap wood and tin, lashed together with hope and tattered twine. There was no sign that these premises condoned illegal activity, though a couple of hard-looking men near the end of the street clearly took note of their arrival. Ritsuko stepped through the open doorway behind Mikani, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the cool, dim interior.
“Good evenin’ to you both, fine and distinguished customers.” Ritsuko looked around the gloom until she spotted movement off to her left, behind a precarious stack of china plates and cups. Roman stepped closer, a big smile on his cherubic face. Middle height, middle-aged but with clean golden locks and a fair skin that House ladies would envy. “And what might Quick’s Emporium do for you today?”
“I’m Inspector Ritsuko. This is my partner, Mikani. We’re here to ask you to keep an eye out for counterfeit coins.”
“Bad business,” Quick said. “What’s the world coming to when you can’t trust a silver crescent?”
“No,” Mikani corrected. “These are purported to be antique. They may look quite convincing if you encounter them.”
“Is it some kind of alchemical glamour?” Quick asked shrewdly.
“Indeed.” Ritsuko was relieved he had given them a plausible explanation since it saved her the trouble of coming up with something.
“It would help if I knew exactly what to watch for.”
Mikani borrowed a piece of paper and sketched out the design from the Nuall coin from memory. Good job, partner. You’re not just a pretty face.
Quick took the drawing, studied it, then asked, “So it’s not gold, just lead or summat, dressed up to look sweet?”
“More or less,” Mikani said.
Ritsuko maintained a neutral expression, though she wanted to smile. She laid her card on the counter. “Will you get in touch if you encounter anything like that?”
“Of course I will.”
The sour note jangled in her left ear. An impulse she couldn’t explain prompted her to say, “That’s not true. What’s your plan? To find the source of the fool’s gold and get him to teach you how he does it?”
; Quick looked startled, though he masked it straightaway. “I’ve been more than polite, I think. If we have no business, you should move along, lest you discourage my customers.”
Mikani straightened up and tucked his card into Quick’s waistcoat pocket. The other man looked indignant. “Keep that just in case, Mr. Quick. There is, after all, a significant reward for helping the CID catch these counterfeiters. And, of course, friends of the CID tend to find that their businesses prosper.”
Ritsuko saw Quick’s eyes widen and his brow furrow in calculation at the implied promises her partner had made, even as the discordant tone in her left ear chimed louder. Mikani gestured for her to lead the way, and she headed for the street, mildly hopeful about their prospects for the first time since she’d realized Lorne’s death didn’t mean they’d caught all the guilty parties.
• • •
BACK AT CENTRAL, Mikani got on the lift, listening to the groan of ancient machinery. Ritsuko was quiet beside him. A minute later, the door opened, and they stepped off. The duty room was busy at this hour with lots of other inspectors filing paperwork, going out on calls, and generally cluttering up the place.
Their boss, Commander Gunwood, came to his office doorway, looking cranky. “Mikani! Ritsuko! What were you doing out there, planting roses? Get in here.”
Mikani heard his partner stifle a sigh, but they both answered the commander’s dulcet tones. “Something we can do to protect and serve?”
“Damn right. In case you hadn’t noticed, the city’s going insane. More than usual. She’s never been a sweet lady, but bronze gods, she’s gone well and truly mad this time.”
Mikani exchanged a look with Ritsuko. “What’s going on?”
“Take your pick!” Gunwood strode past them, all but shouldering them aside as he headed for the torn and weathered map of the city hung from the wall. “There’s a freak thunderstorm hovering over the Mountain District. Just the Mountain District; the bloody cloud ends at the walls. Something’s making the trains wail like damn’d souls between Temple and North stations. And every car, bus, and trolley that tries to make its way past Golden Way starts looping faster and faster around the park until they crash or break down.” He paused to glare at them, then slammed his open hand down in the middle of the map. “Two dozen suicides, and I’ve lost count of the number of calls for help with invisible intruders.”
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