by Liv Olteano
“It’s never that easy, though, is it?” I murmured.
“Perhaps it is. You’ll make it worth my time, I’m sure. It seems excitement follows you around wherever you go. Like last night outside of my shop. Quite exciting, wasn’t it?”
Nana squinted. “We don’t know what you mean.”
Chuckling, Nikola kept her gaze fixed on mine. “I’m sure Cristina Mera knows what I mean. Don’t you?”
I couldn’t tell what it was that made me sure, but I knew it in my bones—she knew. She knew how I sucked the life right out of that man, how the pink tendrils of smoke crawled into him. And it dawned on me that was why she actually said yes. She was researching the phenomenon. Hadn’t Natalia said so? And this was the chance to keep the subject of her inquiries closer.
“I simply can’t wait to give Herveux the news,” I said, grinning wide. “But I want my house back, Nikola. We’ll move with you for a short time if it’s necessary, and it’s so very kind of you to offer, but I will keep my home.”
A strange light shone in her eyes and she nodded. “Of course we’ll get your house back. The senator won’t be able to move in or take anything out before we do, I promise you that much.”
So it was “we” already, was it? My stomach jumped around at the notion. Of course it was “we.” Apprentice and master were tight-knit while it lasted. But no matter how much I tried to reprimand myself, those stubborn ants crawling under my skin and the butterflies in my stomach paid me no attention.
“He’s going to visit tonight,” I said, full of enthusiasm. “We simply must be here together to give him the news.”
Nikola chuckled, leaning back in her chair. “I love the idea. I’ve never really liked Herveux. He seems strangely inclined to collect some of those canes in other places than his hand, like up his—”
“Miss Skazat!” Nana sputtered. “You’ll do well to remember you have two proper ladies in the room with you, even if your own notions on what’s proper are terribly lax.”
She smiled sheepishly. “It never slipped my mind. I’m sorry if I offended you. I’m still getting used to the town’s norms and whatnot.”
I frowned. “Where were you before that they had such… lax notions?”
“Your town is a very… conservative setting. Verner loved the Victorian time period and fashioned much of the whole shebang after it. Though I know he does allow hair dye and more rebellious things like piercings and tattoos. Interesting mix, I’ll give him that. But you’ve only seen Verner’s notion of ‘proper,’ and I assure you it’s a very limited one. There are lots of other options, Cristina Mera. There’s a lot to see and find out about the world out there, or what’s left of it. One of the greatest things about human beings is the more of them there are, anywhere, the greater the diversity they create and promote.”
It sounded fascinating. “I’ll see more of this diverse world you talk about.”
It was a promise to myself, really. If the alkemist business would unfold as it might, I’d make it my duty in life to know as much of the New World as I could. In the meantime I’d have to settle for the tidbits of information Nikola might be generous enough to share. “Would you tell us about these other towns you’ve seen?”
She smiled and nodded. And once she started talking, I was unwaveringly breathing in her every word. Hours flew by until Cannari announced lunchtime. The stories kept on through lunch and into the evening. Cannari returned, I thought, to announce impending dinner.
“Miss Richards, Senator Stanislaw Herveux is here to see you.”
The moment of truth had come. I fixed my gaze on Cannari’s, only to see him flinch and look away. Interesting.
“Invite the gentleman in.”
Herveux loomed in the parlor door. His face turned ashen when he saw Nikola. So there was someone who took the peep right out of him, at least—and I was so very glad for it.
I gestured toward a chair. “Good evening, Senator. Please come in, have a seat. We were just discussing the news.”
He stared down at me and flexed his fingers on the cane. “I see we’re in the company of the esteemed Nikola Skazat. Good evening to you all.”
Though she didn’t move a muscle, a blaze of cold air shot from around Nikola toward the edges of the room. It gave me the chills. Nana shook and seemed to free herself from a daze as Herveux narrowed his synth eyes to slits.
Nikola fixed him with her gaze. “Mr. Herveux, I’m afraid I have some bad news. You have a fiancée no longer. As I was telling Mrs. Herran here, Cristina Mera has officially become a changeling.”
“Has she now, Miss Skazat?”
Nikola smiled, the glacier effect shooting up.
“I’m afraid it’s the truth, senator,” Nana said, not blinking.
I schooled my gaze into perfect emptiness and turned it in the toad’s direction, tilting my head slightly to the side. “Devastating as it is, our engagement has been… terminated.”
I wanted to grin. The desire almost twitched its way to my lips.
His face turned sour as he examined me and Nikola in turns. “Has this claim been made official with the Universal Authorities?” the toad spat.
Nikola smiled in that odd way that made my skin prickle. “Within the day, of course. We wanted to give the news to Mrs. Herran first as a courtesy. Regardless of the claim’s status under law, upon my acknowledgment, it’s become universally official.”
Herveux gritted his teeth hard enough for everyone to hear. “I expect compensation for this loss, then.”
Nana’s eyes widened. “Compensation? For my miss’s alkemization? Surely you must be joking, senator. You know as well as I do that no such thing is legal.”
Nikola shrugged. “Perhaps you’d like to take this matter up to discussion with the Authority, Senator? I can have an emissary visit you first thing tomorrow.”
Herveux’s eyes widened and he turned truly white as a sheet. This Authority I knew nothing about didn’t practice diplomacy through its emissaries, it seemed. The hovertown’s laws were impotent before an alkemist, and so was the senator. I couldn’t wait to ask Nikola about the Authority, though, because if it was real, then I was committing a grave act of false pretense in its name if I wasn’t truly a changeling after all.
The cold blaze radiating from Nikola softened a tad. “Now, Senator, I have decided to master Cristina’s apprenticeship while she’s a changeling. Effective immediately she’ll accompany me and set up with her helper, Beatrice Herran, in my home. I’ll personally acquire Mrs. Herran’s bonds from you if you claim to hold them. You will of course see to all legal matters in the coming days. All regarding her inheritance will be processed as prescribed by your laws. Come next week at the latest, sir, you will have no legal bindings or issues with her any longer.”
Herveux turned toward me, squinting. “You will not regain all of your inheritance, regardless. Perhaps none of it, if I so choose. Are you entirely sure this is the path you want to take?”
Synth smile. “You’ve been a good fiancé, but I’m your charge no more.”
I would be my own charge, I realized with elation. Focusing on keeping my eyes away from Mama’s portrait, I reached for my teacup. I blinked and swallowed my tea and looked at Nikola, only to find her looking back. My own charge, right. And partly hers.
Herveux left the parlor, only to have his guards rush in, swords drawn. “Senator Stanislaw Herveux orders that Cristina Mera Richards be detained for committing a crime of honor against him. We’ll take you into custody until the liquidator arrives, Miss.”
Or I could have them drop dead. I squinted and tried to summon the tentacles of smoke, but they refused to appear. The harder I tried, the more they refused me.
Nikola rose calmly from her chair, arranging her jacket with lazy motions. “You and what backup, gentlemen?”
They looked to one another, sly grins covering their faces. “We’re our own backup. Are you going to resist us executing the law?”
“Cristin
a Mera Richards isn’t subject to your puny little games,” Nikola said, shrugging. “Hasn’t your senator told you? She’s a changeling now, my apprentice. In case you don’t know, I’m the Wanderer Alkemist. I wouldn’t advise you getting on my bad side, gents.”
The two guards advanced on us.
Nana rose to her feet, and I could picture the knives flying toward their throats. Actually I was quite looking forward to it.
“You won’t touch my miss,” Nana spat.
One of the guards laughed, a dirty sound. “Sit back down, old woman. We don’t want you to stumble over your own feet and hurt yourself.”
Nana’s face grew grim, but before she could say a thing, my teacup lifted from my hand and flew smack into the middle of one guard’s face. I watched, amazed, as it flew as if it were in slow motion. I hadn’t thrown it, or at least I didn’t remember intending to.
Nikola chuckled. “Couldn’t have put it better myself, Miss.”
The guard threw me a bitter glare and actually spat on the floor of the parlor. He stepped forward. Nikola sighed, as if bored. With a flick of her hand, the two guards fell to their knees, screaming, clutching their middles, and sweating profusely.
“You’ll get out as the slimy crawlers you are and tell your master senator that if he wants Cristina Mera, he’ll have to go through both of us. This is a matter of universal law, and he is in breach of his attributes. We can either forget this unbecoming event now, or I’ll have an emissary visit him at home. Of course he will remunerate my good will. He owes me for the generosity of leaving him alive. All of Cristina Mera’s inheritance will be returned to her in a week’s time at most. All of it, or your senator will suffer the consequences of having inconvenienced me. Run along now. Give him my message. Should you not return in this house, I’ll understand that your master has chosen the wiser path of not standing in the way—in our way.”
They staggered out, still clutching their swords but using them more like canes than weapons. My gaze was fixated on Nikola’s. I couldn’t help it.
She smiled, tilting her head to the side. “Your apprenticeship will be filled with fun events if this beginning is anything to go by. I’m really looking forward to it.”
I nodded and watched her sit back down and sip her tea. She didn’t seem all that bothered about bringing those guards to their knees. In fact, she seemed to have rather enjoyed it. It gave me the chills and brought a tightness in my stomach, the cold caress of fear. I had been imagining what she as an alkemist could do, focusing on how much good it would do me, on how useful she would be. But she was more powerful than I might have imagined. It scared and excited me that I had put my fate in her hands. For better or for worse, my heart twitched and beat faster for her, determined to listen to no reason at all.
Nikola sighed, looking content. “Now, Mrs. Herran, if you’ll sit back down. Let’s get over this excitement. Have some tea with us. We were talking about moving the two of you into Darkwillow….”
Nikola’s voice filled the room and swirled around, rendering me oddly at peace. But there was one thing plaguing my soul. If the cherry-scented smoke had come to my aid in the alley when the harvesters attacked us, why didn’t it help me with the guards? Just like the teacup flying in the guard’s face, it seemed less like it had been done for me but not at my will. Who else’s, though?
Chapter 10
MOVING OUT of Father’s house and into Nikola’s the next day went by in a blur. It seemed one moment I was packing with Nana’s help and the next I was staring at my temporary home as hired carriers took our trunks in. I followed them blindly, entering through the shop and going into the back to reach a flight of stairs. It brought me into a large foyer that led to the parlor. Stairs went up between the parlor and the drawing room. The carriers went up those stairs as well with Nana fretting about the trunks and giving them directions.
Nikola came out of the drawing room wearing her quirky smile. It sent a frisson through me.
“You’ll have to excuse the state of my home. I didn’t expect to be joined by guests. You might find the décor… dull, perhaps. You’re free to change rooms, of course.”
I fixed my gaze on the ground, face heating up. This all resembled a newlywed scene too much for my fluttering heart to bear. The knots in my stomach were misleading, though. Newlyweds were not remotely what we were. And yet my stubborn heart would hear no reason. Fleeting scenes of having breakfast with her and spending our evenings together filled me with bubbly excitement. Such a sweet predicament.
“Cristina Mera? Is everything all right?”
I shook off my thoughts. “Of course. Your home is beautiful. I truly appreciate everything you’re doing for us.”
She smiled. “I assure you I have my selfish reasons. Alkemists always do.” I stared as she winked and turned toward the drawing room. “Besides, you haven’t really seen my home yet. Allow me to give you a tour?”
I followed her through a drawing room dominated by shadows despite the flicker of so many candles and boasting a lush dark-wood piano. The parlor seemed less used. The paintings on the walls turned my thoughts dark. It was old-world art with nude or partially nude bodies, settings full of greenery, animals—images of a world teeming with life. Whispers flew all around, hushed murmurs, giggles—ghosts. I couldn’t tell if they had followed me here or if they were residents coming out to greet me. Then I walked with wide eyes into a large room with walls covered by endless rows of shelves and bookcases.
“And this is our laboratory. We’ll begin potionism studies here as soon as you feel ready for it. This is your lab coat. You’ll need it. I hope it fits well?”
I put the odd white thing on. It covered my dress all the way down and had long sleeves and a high neck. It fit reasonably well around the middle, so I guessed it was good.
“We’ll wear these when doing potionism. Substances are best kept from regular clothes.”
I nodded and said, “I see,” but I didn’t really.
“I like to keep my coat here,” she went on. “You can either do the same or take it to your room, as you wish. Just don’t forget potionism requires a lab coat. You’ll probably need a bonnet too. I’d hate to see your lovely hair ruined.”
Be still, silly heart. “How so?”
“Well, experimenting with potions…. Sometimes phenomena happen that you might not have planned. I may have burnt off my eyebrows once.”
A fit of giggles escaped me. “Truly? You, the almighty alkemist, are subject to error?”
Within a moment she was close enough to my face that I felt the heat of her skin. I blinked and looked up into a storm of green. The insistent thump of my heart made my breathing erratic.
“I’ve made mistakes. Great ones too. I’ll never pretend otherwise. But seeing you here in our lab, I did do one thing right. You belong here.”
I swallowed and looked down. “Do I?”
She quickly stepped away, hands clasped behind her back. Her shoulders rose calmly with a deep breath, contrasting the quick pace of my breathing.
“Of course. Common enemies make us good friends, don’t they? Now want to see the upstairs?” she asked, smiling.
“Please.”
I hung my lab coat next to hers. The sight of its smaller, slighter form next to the other one stirred a fondness in me I couldn’t quite afford.
My room and Nana’s were on the same level while Nikola’s was upstairs. I thanked her for not setting Nana up in the servant’s quarters. Just like my father had years ago, Nikola seemed to understand my need to know she was close by. My room was beautiful, spacious, and filled with dark-wood furniture, all the things a lady would need, deep shadows and whispers of ghosts included. Nana’s was pretty much the same, she told me. We got started on unpacking my trunks, a task that seemed to take forever.
“Miss?”
I looked up. “Yes, N—Mrs. Herran?”
A frown curled her brow. “If I’ve said something that upset you, I’m sorry. I never
meant to….”
I shrugged. “I’m a changeling now. Have to practice behaving like one. I can use all the practice I can get. I still love you dearly. Never doubt that.”
After a quick hug, we got back to unpacking.
An hour or so later, I was groaning. “I wasn’t even aware I had packed so many things.”
Nana chuckled. “We’re never aware. Miss… I have to ask you something. Have you seen any help in this house aside from the carriers?”
Hm. “Actually no. But maybe we’ll meet them later. She must have some help. Though her butler at least should have met us upon arrival, right?”
Nana nodded. “If he’s any good, then he should have met his mistress at the door. Not to mention he should have greeted the new lady of the house.”
I frowned. “I’m not the new lady of the house. I’m just living here. This house has only one lady, no new one.”
“And no helpers,” Nana grumbled.
When we finally made it downstairs, the delicate lull of piano music caressed my ears. We both stared at each other; a silent agreement was forged. We followed the music into the drawing room, finding Nikola with her eyes closed, moving her hands over the piano keys to give life to the softest, most melancholic melody I’d ever heard. I’d never seen anyone play the piano in such a way, like their soul trickled down into their fingers and from there into each note. It felt as though her melody crawled into me, becoming claws that poked at my heart, squeezed my chest enough to paralyze breathing.
A couple of black tendrils had escaped her strictly combed-back hair. I was oddly mesmerized by how they fell against her jaw.
She was a vision of beauty, and I felt a dull ache settle into my heart. The heart that was going to be broken, I knew it clearly then. And yet I was determined to see it through. The sweet scent of cherry blossoms swirled through the room, and I pulled on my lip piercing.
Nikola smiled, her eyes still closed, and kept gliding her hands over the keys. “All done unpacking?”
I gulped. “Yes. Mrs. Herran was wondering where your helpers are? She’d like to meet them.”