Clocks and Daggers (The Thief's Apprentice Book 2)

by Sara C. Roethle

  “What exactly are they asking her to do?” he asked calmly.

  Hazel seemed on the verge of breaking down, but took a deep, steadying breath at his question. “She will not tell me. She doesn’t want to risk involving me in anything.”

  Arhyen raised an eyebrow at her. “And why are you involved with her at all?”

  “She’s our mother,” she stated simply.

  “You left years before I did. We both thought you were dead,” he countered.

  Hazel frowned. “Well I came back. Mother isn’t the only one who hopes to make amends.”

  Arhyen sighed and slumped back against the sofa. “I’ll have to think upon all you’ve said.”

  Hazel nodded and looked down at her lap again. “We’ll contact you soon. I fear I have no permanent address to give you.”

  Arhyen stood and offered her a hand up. “Will you be alright traveling alone so late at night.”

  She nodded and seemed to relax. “I have a carriage waiting down the street. I’ll be fine.”

  He nodded and showed her to the door.

  Liliana had not budged from where she stood, unsure of what had just transpired. Was Arhyen truly considering helping them? Although Catherine, according to Arhyen, could not be trusted, she was still his mother. How could she blame him for wanting to help?

  Once Hazel was out the door and it had been locked behind her, Arhyen returned to the sofa, slumping down tiredly before patting the cushion beside him. Liliana made her way around the low table and sat, her spine rigid. Would it be presumptuous of her to ask all of the questions running through her mind, or to voice her concerns about Hazel? She wasn’t sure just what it was, but something seemed off about the woman.

  Arhyen slouched a little further down in his seat, then let out a long breath. “This might sound crazy, but I don’t believe that was my sister.”

  Liliana inhaled sharply. She had not been expecting that. “What do you mean?”

  He shrugged. “I haven’t seen Hazel since we were children, and I can admit, the woman who just left looked like someone she could have grown into, but something felt off. While you were in the bathroom, I subtly tossed out a few references to our childhood. Whenever I did, panic flashed in her eyes, like she feared being caught in a lie. Not to mention the fact that she’s helping Catherine. Hazel was always a little spitfire, and when she decided to do something, she never looked back. When she left home, I felt certain we’d never see her again.”

  Liliana’s shoulders relaxed. There was fortunately no need to voice her concerns if he already had his own . . . but still, the fact that Hazel would be contacting them again left her feeling unsettled. “Do you plan on helping them?”

  Arhyen sighed. “I cannot say for sure. It’s likely better to not get involved, but I feel they might help us solve Hamlet’s case. Not to mention Catherine’s connections might be useful in removing the price on my head.”

  She nodded. “I suppose if they could be useful, we might at least investigate their claims.”

  He turned his head to meet her eyes. “There is no we about it. You nearly died last night. I’ll not have you put at risk any further.”

  She sat up straight and crossed her arms, ignoring the twinge of pain at her side. “You’re not going to endanger yourself without me.”

  His eyes widened at her tone. “Oh yes I am. You’re still just a thief in training. You should have never been in the line of fire to begin with.”

  She glared at him. It was in her nature to simply obey, but now that he was issuing an order, she found it surprisingly easy to refute, and was compelled to not go down without a fight. “I’m going and that’s that,” she snapped.

  He sighed. “We should get some rest. We’ll discuss things further in the morning.”

  She nodded, though there was nothing to discuss. She could survive injuries better than Arhyen. It only made sense for her to be the one to incur them, not him. She was already feeling almost normal again, except for some residual pain. Automatons were made to efficiently heal their injuries with little to no medical intervention.

  She stood, then looked down at her shirt. “I should change,” she muttered, glancing back toward the bathroom. And take a bath, she mentally added.

  Arhyen draped himself across the sofa as she spoke. With half-lidded eyes, he murmured, “I was going to recommend that.”

  She smiled in spite of her annoyance. He was only trying to protect her, but it wasn’t his job. She excused herself to bathe and don fresh clothing.

  By the time she emerged from the bathroom fresh and clean, Arhyen was asleep. With a final glance around the dark apartment, Liliana made her way to the bed, though she decided against truly sleeping. She didn’t require actual sleep, and wanted to keep an eye on Arhyen. She wasn’t about to let him slip out of the apartment to continue the investigation on his own, especially after those men had chased them like they knew just who she and Arhyen were.

  She rested her head against her pillow, plagued with worries. Who could have known they’d show up at that building that night? Had Hamlet betrayed them, or was it coincidental? The only way to find out was to return there, this time prepared for battle.

  Liliana stared at the dark ceiling for many hours. She’d been created to care for others, but she could also fight. Sometimes, they were the same thing.

  Chapter 11

  Arhyen woke to the smell of cooking eggs and toast. He sat up and rubbed his eyes blearily. The past two days seemed to encompass the time of several weeks. So many altercations had him feeling monumentally fatigued, but that wasn’t the whole of it. Had that truly been his sister last night? He couldn’t quite bring himself to believe it, and not just based on her forgetting a few childhood facts. Something told him that if that woman had been the true Hazel, he would have sensed it. As it was, he didn’t trust her at all. Perhaps Catherine had that coin because she’d undergone a surgery to cure her consumption, or perhaps she had it because she was working for those Hamlet sought.

  His thoughts dark, he glanced over his shoulder toward the kitchen at Liliana’s back as she finished shoveling a freshly cooked batch of eggs onto two plates resting on the countertop. She wore a burgundy dress, the only wearable one she had left after her and Ephraim’s alchemy debacle. They’d need to purchase her another.

  Arhyen flopped back onto the sofa with a groan. He’d almost forgotten they were nearly out of coin. Perhaps he could procure a new dress from one of the shops while they were closed.

  Liliana suddenly appeared in front of him with a plate in each hand. He swung his feet to the ground and sat up, then took the plate she offered him, which contained an enormous helping of eggs, along with buttered toast and sausages.

  He raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you trying to fatten me up?”

  She took a seat beside him, her own plate, with much smaller portions, in hand. “You exhausted yourself caring for me,” she explained. “The most efficient ways to regain energy are sleep, and proper nutrition.”

  He looked down at the plate. He had a hearty appetite, but knew he’d be hard-pressed to actually fit such a large amount of food into his stomach. Setting the plate in his lap, he lifted his fork to take a bite, when he noticed Liliana eyeing him warily.

  He lowered his fork. “Um, thank you for the food. You didn’t perhaps put some sort of sleeping powder in it, did you?”

  She stared at him blankly. “I do not possess the proper components for a sleeping powder.”

  Well, that wasn’t exactly reassuring. She continued to watch him.

  “Is there a reason you’re staring at me?” he asked, feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

  She blinked at him for a moment, confused. “You said we would discuss things further in the morning.” She paused for a moment. “It is now morning.”

  He sighed. “I was hoping to avoid this until I’d had some tea.”

  She shook her head, tossing her loose red hair from side to side. “We need to fi
gure out why those men were so willing to fire at us. Someone must have tipped them off to our arrival. We must find out who, and we must find out together.”

  He set his plate on the table, then turned his torso to face her. “And why is that? The together part, I mean?”

  Leaving her plate in her lap, she held up a finger. “First, there’s strength in numbers.” She held up another finger. “Second, my senses are superior to yours. I will hear or see possible assailants before you do. I was caught off guard last night, but will not be again.” She held up a third finger. “Third, you’re a wanted man. I’m a better candidate for speaking with any contacts.” She held up another finger. “Fourth—”

  He reached out and grabbed her upraised fingers. “Did you stay up the rest of the night formulating a well-organized argument against me?”

  She withdrew her fingers from his grasp. “Perhaps,” she admitted, lowering her hand to rest beside her plate, “but I simply cannot allow you to leave me behind.”

  He sighed, then leaned forward to retrieve his meal. “Though I’d rather you stayed behind, all you needed to do was state your absolute refusal. I would not sneak away without you. I only hoped to convince you to agree.”

  Her mouth formed an oh of surprise.

  “Did you truly think I would force you to stay behind if you disagreed?” he questioned.

  He was always forgetting that she wasn’t a normal human woman. She expected him to order her around, giving her no choice in what she did. While that was the dynamic of many men and women, it had never been one that appealed to him.

  She stared down at her plate, seemingly abashed.

  He used his free hand to pat her shoulder. “Cheer up,” he consoled. “I’m the one who started the argument. You did nothing wrong in finishing it.”

  She nodded and finally met his eyes. “Still, I apologize for needing to argue. I know you’re only trying to protect me, but I can easily heal most injuries. If you had been the one who was shot . . . ” she trailed off, shaking her head. “I cannot even bear to imagine it. You’re the first person I’ve ever trusted. It would . . . hurt to lose you.”

  He watched her face carefully as he tried to devise something clever to say, something that might lighten the mood of the conversation and make her smile. What came out was, “I feel the same. About losing you, I mean. It’s the only reason I want you to stay behind. Truly I’d much rather have my partner at my side, if it weren’t for the inherent risk.”

  Despite his lack of joking, she smiled, then gestured for him to eat his breakfast. He wondered if she knew how difficult it was for him to admit he cared, or if she was even the slightest bit aware of the fact that he’d never admitted such a thing to anyone. A normal woman might have read into any romantic implications that might exist between the lines, but likely not Liliana. He wondered if that was a good thing, or if he wanted her to read between the lines.

  He shook his head and took a bite of his now-cool eggs. Reading between the lines would have to wait for another time. Today they’d need to worry about staying alive, and delving deeper into the case Hamlet had laid before them. Tomorrow, perhaps they could worry about the price on his head. The day after, well, he could only hope there would be a day after.

  A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Placing her plate on the table, Liliana rose to answer it without a word. Arhyen sincerely hoped it wasn’t Hazel. He still wasn’t sure what to do about that.

  He watched over his shoulder apprehensively as Liliana opened the door, revealing Ephraim, wearing tan trousers, a black overcoat, and a highly beleaguered expression. He stepped inside while Liliana held the door, then looked her up and down as she shut it behind him. “I’m pleased to see you standing,” he commented, “and no longer dressed like a street youth,” he added with a twitch of his eyebrow.

  She smiled faintly, then closed the door.

  Ephraim lifted a shopping bag in his hand that Arhyen hadn’t initially noticed. He handed it to Liliana without explanation. As she took it and peered inside, he walked around the sofa to claim Liliana’s vacated seat.

  “An alembic?” she questioned, still peering into the large bag as she moved to join them.

  “And a few rudimentary compounds,” Ephraim explained. “Necessary things, according to the apothecary I visited. You’ll need to practice if you ever hope to make a career out of it.”

  Arhyen watched as her eyes whipped up to Ephraim in surprise. “A-a career?” she stammered.

  Arhyen turned a suspicious gaze to Ephraim. Was he simply trying to acquire some explosives and smoke bombs, or was there something else going on?

  “You likely won’t get shot as an alchemist,” Ephraim added.

  Ah, there it was, though Arhyen was quite surprised. He hadn’t known Ephraim Godwin was even capable of caring for the wellbeing of someone other than himself. It seemed Liliana had affected them both, though he doubted Ephraim was hoping for any reading between the lines. Arhyen frowned. He’d better not be.

  Liliana took a few more steps forward and placed the bag on the table. “I have a very well-formulated argument ready if you’re about to tell me I should stay behind where it’s safe.”

  Arhyen held a hand to his chest in mock-terror, then peered over at Ephraim. “Please don’t make her do it,” he begged. “I already heard it once today.”

  Ephraim snorted. “She was shot. We’re allowed to be a bit worried.”

  Liliana opened her mouth, presumably to argue, but Arhyen lifted a hand to cut her off. “Our worry is no reason to order her around, unfortunately. She must make her own decisions.”

  Ephraim eyed him cooly, then looked to the bag on the table, then up to Liliana. “Well I would still appreciate those incendiaries you mentioned. You can decide on your career later. Perhaps after you get shot a second time.”

  Liliana grinned, fully used to Ephraim’s dry sense of humor. “Thank you for the alembic,” she said politely. “I will work on the necessary formulae.”

  Ephraim nodded sharply, then crossed his arms and leaned back. “I believe it was an officer of the Watch who gave away our location the night before last.”

  Liliana gasped.

  Arhyen blinked at him in surprise. “Are you mad?”

  Ephraim snorted. “While formulating our search boundaries, I had drawn a perimeter on a map, and also had piled together information on the various buildings within the perimeter,” he explained. “I had concealed the map and information in a locked cabinet before leaving my office. I would have destroyed it, but it was only a theory, one the LN already knew we would be looking into. When I returned to my office this morning, the lock on the cabinet was broken. The information was still in place, but someone could have easily divined our intended destination, and our ability to find it, hence the ambush.”

  “You could have gotten her killed,” Arhyen breathed, frightened to put any power behind his voice, lest he start yelling. By leaving that information in his office, Ephraim had allowed their enemies to set a trap. They might not have even been anywhere near the correct building. Those men might have simply chosen a random spot to wait.

  “I know that,” Ephraim snapped. “It was careless of me. Why do you think I want her to start staying behind? I don’t want to be the reason she gets killed.”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Liliana interrupted, seeming close to tears.

  “Yes it was,” Arhyen and Ephraim stated as one.

  Her tear-filled eyes narrowed into a steely glare. “You’re both being ridiculous,” she snapped. “I’m not a delicate flower, crushed with the slightest bit of pressure. If I get shot at it’s my fault for being careless, or at the very least, the fault of the gunman. Now I’m just as involved in this as either of you, perhaps more-so. Neither of you have the right to exclude me, nor do you have the right to blame each other or yourselves for my injuries. I’m the one who was shot. It has little to do with either of you.”

  Arhyen opened his mouth to
disagree, but found little he could say. His shoulders slumped. “I really must stop arguing with you,” he muttered. “I seem to lose more often than not.”

  Liliana nodded sharply. “Now that that’s settled,” she turned her gaze to Ephraim, “do you have any idea who might have riffled through your office?”

  He shook his head. “The only other person with a key to the office door is the Captain. The lock perhaps could have been picked without showing signs of tampering, but if whoever it was had such skills, they likely would have employed them on the cabinet lock, instead of breaking it.”

  Arhyen groaned. This was getting worse and worse. “So now, among everything else, we have to worry about the Captain of the Watch setting us up to get shot at?”

  Ephraim sealed his lips in a tight line, obviously bothered by the implication. “We do not know that it was him,” he said finally. “Anyone could have stolen the key. Perhaps it was not even an officer at all.”

  “So basically we still have absolutely nothing to go on,” Arhyen sighed.

  Ephraim nodded. “Yes, except the building those men guarded. It would likely be worth exploring in daylight, at the very least to find evidence of who the men were. We may also make it to the costumery while it’s still open to inquire about the mask maker.”

  “Then it’s settled,” Liliana agreed. “We’ll leave as soon as Arhyen finishes his breakfast.”

  He looked to the half-eaten breakfast in distaste. He wasn’t sure he could eat another bite, but he was beginning to suspect he didn’t have a choice. Liliana seemed ready to force-feed him, if need be. They should have never pushed her so far with talk of her staying behind. Her new, assertive self was downright frightening.

  Eventually Arhyen managed to force his entire breakfast down and had dressed in a navy shirt, black trousers, and waistcoat. He departed alongside Ephraim and Liliana, all huddled beneath heavy overcoats against the chill London air.