by Liv Olteano
“Am I?”
She nodded once, a brusque motion of her head. “You have great potential. I can see it clearly. I’d take selfish joy in knowing such a lovely lady alkemist resides in my town.”
Her town, was it? I supposed it was, in some ways. After all Natalia was more powerful than local law enforcement. She was the one who truly enforced law—death by termination. Everyone else was just keeping decorum, clerks to gather complaints and run papers around the courthouse, mostly.
Slowly spinning my teacup on its plate, I shrugged. “I’m no alkemist yet, Ms. Alexeevna. Not even a changeling, in fact.”
“Please, call me Natalia. We’ll be working together soon, yes?”
The woman wasn’t going to let it go, was she?
“All right, Natalia. But I don’t see how we’d be working together.”
“Liquidator and alkemist, my dear. I’ll apprehend and contain criminals. You execute their termination. I think we’ll make a great team, if Edgar will allow it.”
My gut roiled at the name. “I’m not sure what it is you’ve heard, but I’m not about to become… that. I’m just a simple woman.”
A low chuckle slithered out of Natalia’s throat. Her eyes turned all the scarier as something resembling emotion flickered through her gaze. “You’ll move beyond the modesty as you adjust to the changes. No ‘simple woman’ can call Death to her orders, not even a liquidator such as myself. But you, you can summon Death itself and displace souls from suffering bodies. Don’t sell yourself short, Cristina Mera. It’s unbecoming.”
I glanced at my hands in my lap, then looked back up at her. “What are you really here for?”
Her pale-blue eyes flashed almost white as the pretense of a light mood evaporated from her face. “You’re a changeling, though not officially declared so. And there’s no choice but becoming Edgar’s apprentice at this point. Don’t be foolish and squander your talents. Your time with him will be so much shorter than the rest of your existence. You may not like him—and I’d see no fault in that, mind you—but he’ll make an efficient teacher. Learn what he has to teach you. Take what he has to give.”
“And this would concern you because…?”
She shrugged. “I’d rather work with you, if given the choice. If you accept his apprenticeship offer, you’ll soon be in charge of your own hovering platform. If and when you’d do so, I’d love to accompany you there as your liquidator.”
I couldn’t tell if the woman was trying to goad a reaction out of me or if she truly meant it. Reading Natalia’s face was close to impossible. She gave away nothing.
“Am I to understand you’re not looking out for Verner’s best interests?”
She chuckled. “Darling, I didn’t make it this far looking out for anyone’s best interests but my own.”
She was scary, but strangely also easy to like. Maybe not exactly like, but admire. I decided I did admire the woman’s tenacity, her confidence, and abilities. After all, Natalia managed to walk beside an alkemist but be on her own path, and Verner wasn’t exactly the live-and-let-live type.
“How would it be in your best interest to go with me instead of Verner, then? Even if I am a changeling, and I’m not so sure about that, wouldn’t Verner be the much better choice? An experienced, well-established alkemist is surely a much better choice than a young one.”
Wanting to leave him didn’t fit with the common belief Natalia was his lapdog. Lapdogs were loyal, or at least that was how I imagined them. Natalia was nothing close to loyal, it seemed. Her skin remained perfectly smooth as she smiled wide, the synth face giving chills even to a tech lover like myself.
“Edgar has been a good choice since he was the only one. If I had an alternative, I’d take it. Reapers are… difficult allies, for lack of a better description. And working with you would prove to be interesting, to say the least. You have a rare gift, from what I understand so far. Edgar would be delighted to have you as apprentice, which says a lot about your potential and skills. I believe you’ll become a prestigious alkemist, and your liquidator, whoever it may be, will receive equal respect and admiration for working with you. I’d like to be that liquidator, if the thought appeals to you. We could do so very much for one another,” she purred. “But don’t misunderstand me. I won’t trade a certainty for a possibility. If you do turn out to be a budding alkemist, I’d be entirely interested in becoming your liquidator. I believe we’d build a great town or run this one beautifully.”
Hmmm. Could I trust Natalia? A liquidator ready to bite off the hand of the alkemist who fed her didn’t inspire much trust at all. But then again I had a burning desire to kill Verner, and it didn’t seem too strange someone else would rather remember him than be in his presence.
She leaned forward, her too-light blue eyes somewhat speculative. “As a sign of my sincerity, I’ll share with you information even though I don’t have to. We’ve been aware that you were a changeling for a while, since your first mercy, in fact. Care to guess why Edgar decided to move in and offer apprenticeship at this point?”
I took a sip of my tea, balancing options. Supposing I could trust Natalia’s words at all, something must’ve prompted Verner. She had a point. “Perhaps the fact he… terminated my father? He thought I’d be more susceptible to the idea now that I’m on my own?”
Natalia smiled, but there was nothing kind or warm about it. “A good explanation. Thinking you’d be more vulnerable could’ve been his reasoning, and I think he counts on it helping his plan along. Losing your father has left you without a pillar of support, so Edgar might have a better chance at becoming one, true. But that’s not why he made the offer now, of all times.”
“Then why?”
Leaning back in her chair, Natalia crossed her legs, causing the crimson fabric of the dress to swish softly. “Have you ever heard of a Nikola Skazat?”
Nana’s mysterious solution to the whole apprenticeship predicament, the Wanderer Alkemist? The marauders’ ally could be no friend of Verner’s. Natalia mentioning Nikola certainly got my attention on her motives.
“I may have heard the name, but it doesn’t ring a bell right now. What about her?”
“The Wanderer Alkemist is in town, asking about your mercies and investigating the phenomenon. She has clearly taken an interest in you. It’s a threat to Edgar’s plans, I’m sure. What if you get a better offer from the Wanderer? Edgar just terminated your father. You might have some… reticence where he’s concerned. That’s why he moved in with the proposal now, I believe. He really wants you, and I don’t think it’s just the pride of mentoring a budding alkemist. Perhaps he has some personal interest beyond mastering an apprentice. Have you considered such a possibility?”
I searched her face, curiosity and fear mixing in my chest. Did I really want to know about this Nikola Skazat and her interest in me as a “phenomenon”? An irrational voice inside said “yes.” The very notion Verner might have a personal interest in me made me shudder, though.
I pulled on my lip piercing. “I refuse to believe Edgar Verner has any interest in this but gaining a new apprentice, should I indeed be a changeling. And I’m still not sure why having an apprentice would be that interesting to him, anyway.”
Natalia chuckled, a clear and chilling sound. “My dear, you’re young and naïve. It’s rather refreshing to experience such traits, but I advise you to outgrow them soon. Our world doesn’t take kindly to innocence, I’m sure you’d agree. If you can use your charms to gain a better position or more security, I do believe you should. Will a man hesitate to throw a punch if he is strong? Will he hesitate to smile and charm if he is lucky enough to pull it off?” She shook her head. “If Edgar is interested in you as more than a simple apprentice, then that will only help you do better while you’re under his care.”
I cringed. “I’m not interested in gaining any such benefits. And I highly doubt he’s interested in offering them. I’m not sure why you’d even think of it, but I am sure you’re wro
ng.”
“Perhaps,” she said, shrugging slightly. “It’s hard to make out his intentions at times, I admit. It’s one of the reasons I believe I’d work better with you. You strike me as a sincere woman.”
I smiled. “Thank you. Are you sure this other alkemist is making inquiries about my mercies?”
“Quite sure.”
I sighed. “It’s like going to bed in a normal world and waking up in a parallel one. What possible interest would this Nikola Skazat have in all of this? Why would she care?”
“Don’t be foolish. A changeling is the equivalent of a gold mine for alkemists. And an apprentice like you, with Death at her beck and call, that’s no small thing. Even reapers need the extraction device for souls. You, on the other hand, have them popping out on their own. I’m sure you understand the advantages of having you on anyone’s side. Maybe meeting Nikola in person would help you understand your situation better. It would balance things, perhaps. She’s not a reaper, so her interests would be somewhat different than Edgar’s.”
“And you’d know this because…?”
“Because I know her, of course. Don’t look at me like that. Liquidating isn’t the kind of career you want if you don’t have connections.”
Natalia was an odd mix of funny and disturbing.
I nodded. “Thank you for sharing that information, then. I’ll think about what you’ve said.”
In the blink of an eye, she was up and preparing to leave. As she reached the drawing room’s door, she turned halfway back, grim as death. “Before you make any decisions, I’d like you to consider one more thing, though. I like you as a prospect, but I will liquidate you in a jiffy if Senator Herveux reports a crime against his honor and you’re responsible. Nothing personal. I’m sure you understand.”
“Nothing personal, of course. Thank you for visiting.”
Natalia smiled again, and the half of it I could see was eerie. “My pleasure.”
The soft taps of her boots carried awhile after she left. I sat there for a few moments, pondering. Not only were my prospects unsavory, but making a decision was becoming more and more urgent. As Nana slowly walked into the room, I ran a hand over my chest, erratic heartbeat thumping against my palm. For a moment I couldn’t see straight, and in the whirlwind of color before my eyes, the clear image of mother’s face floating a mere step away from me caused my breathing to stop altogether. Beautiful black-cherry hair flew around a serene face, the depiction I’d had manually tattooed on my back. I quickly managed to find my center again as the smell of cherry blossoms spread through the room.
“Miss? Can you hear me?”
Pressing my palm to my chest harder, I felt my pulse slowly calm down.
“I can’t take more time to think about this, Nana. You really think Nikola Skazat can help me? That she would?”
She carefully stepped closer and sat down. “She’s… interested in your fate. And Jean can help increase that interest. His influence would be no small help to….”
A shiver crawled down my spine. “What if I became Nikola Skazat’s apprentice instead of Verner’s?”
Eyebrows raised, Nana tapped a hand against her knee, considering. “I’ll get us that meeting today, I promise.”
I nodded and played with some strands of my hair. “Let’s go to the beauty salon, Nana. A lady should meet her fate with the best dress on, and everything else about her should match it.”
Chapter 6
NANA RUSHED behind me and her skirts swished. I hummed lightly—the picture of a happy, carefree young lady. In the back of my mind burned the restlessness of soon seeing another dying person to their end. There was no way to know the poor soul’s name yet, but the unease in my heart meant I’d learn it all too soon. My stomach was tied in knots as my mind throbbed with need to ferret out the secrets everyone around me seemed to be keeping. But the world outside would know nothing of my troubles.
Our guards looked alert as always, the three of them scanning the area as we stepped into the street. The house guards were the stoic, stalwart-looking types. My personal guards looked more like criminals. Their eyes sent shivers down my spine, an effect no doubt factored in by my butler. At least two of the guards were Herveux’s men, I knew for sure. I’d seen them salute him with more care than the third, the silent one. If the toad thought a few scary men would manage to keep me from my plans, he was going to be thoroughly surprised.
Settling in the carriage with Nana opposite of me, I took extra care to arrange my skirts well. I wore a lovely dress. Soft black lace covered my arms and chest, the black chiffon replacing it from my ribs to the rich skirts. At the bottom beaded black lace hugged the chiffon and forced the fabric to fall a bit heavy.
All colors held their own beauty, but black always spoke to me above all others. The sky of the Outside was almost black. Endless, mysterious, and impossible to contain within the margins of anyone’s understanding, the black of the sky wrapped the decay of our real world with the kindness of a devoted lover.
New Bayou lived in a continuous spring weather. Long sleeves and suits were never too warm and the cold never bit hard enough for us to need a thick coat. Each town had its own conditions. The cupolas that filtered out the poisonous air of the Outside also set the temperatures chosen by the town’s resident alkemist. We had quite a lot of rain and a constant chill. All artificially created, just like the citizens’ lives, more or less. It was said one knew the heart of an alkemist by visiting their town. Experiencing New Bayou’s climate certainly made an impression. The constant glum was a good indicator of Verner’s character, I thought. Murky, muddy, more like, and cold enough to give the chills with the appearance of being civilized.
I stole glances at Nana as the ride went on. PrettyU was my favorite beauty salon, and I couldn’t wait to get there. I focused on the window and smiled, took in all the streetlight as it filtered through thick crimson curtains. If one ignored the screams of citizens being snatched and the cruelty of it all, New Bayou was beautiful to look at from between the curtains of my carriage as we slithered through the night. If I ignored what happened on those semidark streets and didn’t really focus on any one building, everything looked quite beautiful.
As soon as we arrived at the beauty salon, the owner—Herr Rote—smiled tightly and led the way to my beautification. The sparkle would return to sensitive skin, the shiny and vibrant pink into my hair. Too bad they didn’t have a machine to return the sparkle to one’s heart.
“CRISTINA MERA, so happy to see you!”
I kissed both of Tora Sawaki’s cheeks and sat down. “I’m truly happy to see you too. Have any time for me today?”
The frown was comical. “Blasphemy! How could I ever not have time for you? Take the dress off and let’s get to work, shall we?”
I grinned as Nana made quick work of baring my back. The central part of the back piece of my tattoo was almost complete, but the cherry blossoms on both sides of my ribs had proven difficult—it was a painful area.
I kept my eyes fixed on the huge mirrors placed so one could clearly see the work being done. The beautiful black cherry tresses that curled all over my milky-white back brought me immense comfort. A woman’s face with fair skin, eyes closed, and serenity etched in her features took residence on the better part of the right side of my back. Wild hair floating freely around her like a sea framed her face in the most stunning way. The amount of detail Tora had included in the portrait got to me every time. Mother’s semblance was there to guard my back at all times.
Each time I focused on the tattoo, mother’s scent wafted up from some unknown part of the universe. She’d loved cherry blossoms, my mama. So her portrait was framed by hundreds of them, delicate pink petals that wrapped around my ribs. A trail of them reached for my heart and arched above both my breasts, small as they were. For some odd reason, the delicate petals looked less vibrant the farther away from my mother’s likeness they were. They’d been tattooed to look the same, yet the truly vibra
nt cherry blossoms were the ones surrounding Mother’s face.
Tora worked the traditional way, poking the ink into skin relentlessly with assorted needles. She had an adversity toward technology, like many of our fellow citizens. Perhaps it was because they felt they couldn’t master it, that they were just borrowing its obedience from alkemists. It was a position I didn’t share, but I kept that to myself. Regardless of any consideration, we both felt it was important the tattoo be done traditionally, manually. It would etch itself into my very soul, Tora said, draw out all the pain and protect me from it in the future. The torment of my loss had been somewhat diminished since we started the tattoo, but the mercies started just before that. It was hard to decide which of the two had proven better for my soul.
As Tora’s needles pierced my skin, a wave of warmth traveled through my body. Then the blessed dullness took over and I drifted through a pulsing core of pleasure and pain, anchored into it but floating between the two sensations.
Sometimes Tora hummed as she worked, some music from her ancestor’s home in Newsia. It sounded exotic and somehow old, as old as the substance of the first soul ever created, perhaps. Between the heat of my skin, the pleasure-pain pull on my heart, and Tora’s melody, I was strangely content.
The image of a stranger wearing black and wrapped in shadows danced at the edge of my thoughts, a strangely distant siren call that chose to torment me at the oddest of times. It had been but a few days since I saw that stranger in the street, yet it felt like she’d been with my thoughts much longer.
A knock on the door demanded Tora pause her work.
“Miss Richards? Someone’s here to see you.”
Though the voice on the other side of the door was a stranger’s, it gave me a familiar feeling.
“I’ll be right there,” I shouted at the door and shook my head. “You did amazing work as usual, Tora. Her portrait is so beautiful, she looks so….”