by Becca Andre
Kali’s dark brows rose. “He did?” She gripped Perseus’s arm. “Does this mean we’ve been tracking a devolved drake?”
“No. What we’ve seen is far too mild for that.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Briar saw Grayson stiffen. She longed to ask for more information, but couldn’t without giving away her ignorance.
“Then what are we chasing?” Kali asked.
“Who,” Briar spoke up, letting her annoyance color her tone.
“Huh?” Kali frowned.
“Who are you chasing, not what. His name is Farran Lupus.”
“A wolf,” Kali concluded.
Briar sighed.
“You’re fighting a losing battle,” Grayson muttered.
Briar looked up, and he offered a small shrug. When she looked away, she found Perseus watching them, his expression unreadable.
“Yes?” she asked Perseus, annoyed with, well, everything.
“We would like to travel with you, my lady.”
“What?” Briar and Kali asked in unison.
“The one we seek has targeted your mate,” Perseus said. “It only makes sense that we lend you our assistance.”
“I—” Briar hoped the dim lighting hid her blush. She realized that was the impression Grayson had been trying to give. Her cheeks heated even more.
“If this man is your only guardsman,” Perseus waved a hand at Zach, “then you must lack proper ones. As I’m sure you know, his voice will not work on a ferromancer.”
She remembered Grayson telling her that the Scourge were the ferra’s guardsmen and executioners. “Don’t you work for someone else?” she asked.
“We work for no one,” Kali spoke up.
Perseus frowned at her, and she dropped her eyes and toyed with her belt buckle.
“My coven is no more, and Kali never had one.”
His companion crossed her arms, but maintained her silence.
“Then why are you tracking this ferromancer?” Briar asked.
“Did you miss the dead people outside?” Kali demanded. “You’ve been hiding in your ivory tower too long. That’s what ferromancers do.” She pointed toward the door to punctuate her last statement.
Briar returned her frown, but she could see things from the other woman’s point of view. The ferra seemed to be a self-serving lot, and if she were part of that, she would deserve Kali’s condemnation.
“Thank you for the offer,” Briar said to Perseus, “but we can handle it.” No way in hell would she let a couple of Scourge onto her boat. She turned to Zach. “Give Grayson your coat, and we’ll head back.”
Zach shrugged off his oilskin and passed it to Grayson. She didn’t want to chance anyone seeing his back, and that included these two. If it marked him as a drake, they would probably attack immediately.
Grayson pulled on the coat without comment, then buttoned it over his bare chest.
“What about the bodies?” Zach asked. “Should we bury them?”
“No sign of ferromancy,” Grayson spoke up, his attention on his buttons. “And these people might have some next of kin who will desire closure.”
“Finding them like that?”
“They’ll think an animal got them.”
“Like a wolf,” Kali spoke up. “I’ve heard wolves eat the organs first.”
Grayson glanced at her, but didn’t comment.
“I’d say it’s been nice,” Briar told them, “but I’d be lying. Goodbye. Again.” Gesturing for Grayson and Zach to follow she led them toward the door.
“My lady,” Perseus intoned.
“Good riddance,” Kali added.
Briar bit back a sharp response of her own. Better to get out of here without any further conflict. Maybe once Grayson had gone on his way, she would bump into Kali again—and beat her to a pulp.
They said nothing as they walked along the narrow lane that led from the barn back to the main road. Briar looked away as they passed the body. Why had Farran done that? To force Grayson to cooperate?
“Let’s walk down to the canal and follow the towpath back,” she suggested.
“Aye, Captain,” Zach answered. “Or shall I address you as my lady?” He tried for a serious tone, but didn’t quite pull it off.
“I was pretending to be ferra,” she told him.
“I know.” He had gone along with all of that surprisingly well. Had Grayson explained some things to him? “But that wasn’t all the pretending you did.” Zach frowned at Grayson. “I assume it was pretending.”
Briar realized that he referred to Grayson kissing her cheek. “Of course he was pretending,” she said before Grayson could speak. “It was all part of the ferra ruse.”
“Good,” Zach said. “Then I don’t need to call him out—and get my butt kicked.”
Grayson glanced over, an amused twinkle in his eyes.
“There’s certainly no need for that,” Briar told Zach. She led them into the trees, hoping the shadows hid her blush.
“You realize our Scourge friends will most likely follow us,” Grayson said once they reached the towpath. “I am the perfect bait for the prey they seek.”
“So be it, but I’m not letting them on my boat. Maybe they’ll take care of the Farran problem for us.”
Grayson sighed.
“Or do you not want Farran taken care of?”
“He is beyond all hope, but it still saddens me. I remember him when he was human.”
She reached over and took his hand, though she didn’t realize she’d done it until his warm palm pressed to hers.
“I’m sorry.” She squeezed his hand, then released it. Just a gesture of comfort for a friend. “What happened to you last night?” she asked, trying to hide her reaction. “Did you get lost?”
“When I…came back to myself, I found it raining heavily. I stumbled upon that barn and took shelter in the loft. When I woke before dawn, Farran was standing over me.”
“Dear God,” she whispered.
“He doesn’t want me dead.”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing. He just turned and walked away. Later, I discovered what he’d left for me.”
“What are we going to do about this? Despite what Kali believes, I’m not going to sit back and let him keep killing, but I don’t think pointing my little metal stick at him is going to be much of a deterrent.” She offered it to Grayson.
“Keep it. For those that believe you’re ferra, it will be quite a deterrent. Live soul fire is much more powerful.”
“Live?” She eyed the slender rod.
“Created at that moment, rather than stored in a disruptor.”
“Disruptor?” Zach asked.
“Like the gun Liam gave me,” Briar explained. “Kali shot us with one last night.”
“She shot both of you?” Zach asked. “So it doesn’t hurt humans? What about Andrew?”
“Andrew was soulless,” she reminded him.
“A disruptor deanimates the soulless. It kills humans instantly and can kill most ferromancers.” Grayson rubbed the back of his neck. “The only ones it doesn’t hurt are the ferra. Live soul fire is required for that.”
Zach stopped, his wide eyes on her.
“Hey, I’m as puzzled by this as anyone,” she told him. “According to Liam, my mother wasn’t ferra, and you can see for yourself that I am my father’s daughter.”
“I never knew your father, but I remember your uncle,” Zach said. “You certainly favor your father’s side of the family.”
“See? I’m not ferra.”
“How do you explain this?” Zack asked Grayson.
“I can’t, but I’ve been on my own pretty much since I was eight, and what I do know of my
race, I’ve been told by those who wish to control me.” He shrugged. “All I can say is that Miss Rose has a ferra-like talent in regard to her violin playing, along with a ferra-like resistance to soul fire. Otherwise, she seems completely human.”
Briar began walking again and they fell in beside her.
“Speaking of non-human abilities,” she said, “what was that quarrel Perseus had?”
The corner of Grayson’s mouth quirked. “His name was Perseus?”
“Yes.”
“Huh.”
“The quarrel?”
“Like the ferra, some Scourge have the ability to use soul iron to store their power.”
“What power do the Scourge have?” Zach asked.
“The ability to dissolve soul iron.” She looked over at Grayson. “What would that have done to you?”
“It would have hurt, but once the power was spent, the damage would self repair. He wasn’t aiming at me.”
Briar remembered how she had been standing between Grayson and Perseus, and placed a hand over her pocket. “Lock.”
“Yes.”
“He’d better be damn grateful I don’t possess any other ferra abilities.” She gripped her stylus.
“If his power is to dissolve soul iron, how can soul iron hold his power?” Zach asked.
“Soul iron is an alloy,” Grayson explained. “Once the soul is removed, the iron will still hold the power—at least for a short span of time.”
Briar slipped her finger in her pocket, brushing the warm metal that was Lock.
“This is all just so mind boggling.” Zach shook his head. They walked for a few moments in silence before he spoke again. “They thought I was soulless.” He phrased it as a statement, but Briar could hear the question in his words.
Grayson came to a stop.
Briar turned to face him along with Zach.
“I only altered what was damaged,” Grayson said, his eyes on Zach.
“Altered?” Zach asked, his tone level. “Turned it to metal, you mean.”
Grayson took a breath and released it. “Yes. Soul iron is created from the tissues in the body.”
“Which is how the soulless are made,” Zach said.
“Yes, but it takes many alterations to create the soulless.”
“I thought a ferromancer had to cut a person open to take out the organs and replace them with soul iron ones,” Briar said. “I saw the scars on Mr. Owens.”
“A ferromancer must hold what the organ as he changes it to soul iron.”
“You didn’t cut Zach open.”
Grayson spread his hands. “I’m not an average ferromancer.”
“You’re saying that a little of the soul is lost with each alteration,” Zach cut in. “And though you were only repairing the damage, I still lost some of my soul.”
“I probably should have asked,” Grayson said, “ but I had hoped the end result made up for the loss.”
Zach pursed his lips considering that.
“What becomes of those bits of a soul?” Briar asked.
Grayson hesitated. “The ferromancer absorbs them to try to stave off his devolvement.”
“That’s what you got from me,” Zach said.
“Yes.”
Zach studied him.
“What are you thinking?” Grayson asked.
“That you’re right. You should have asked.” Zach turned and walked away.
Briar opened her mouth to call him back, but Grayson gripped her shoulder.
“Let him go.” Grayson took his hand away. “What I did was wrong. If he’s angry with me, I deserve it.”
“You returned his voice and took away his scars.”
“At the price of his soul.”
“I can’t see how that’s changed him any.”
“Why do you think he’s mad at me? He can feel it. He’s known all along that I did more than just heal him.”
She frowned after Zach. It must be something she’d have to experience to understand, but the concept was unnerving, she’d give it that.
“He’s not the only one I’ve healed,” Grayson added, his tone soft.
She faced him once more.
“The old man outside the barn had a bad heart.”
Her own heart beat faster. “You really did kill him?”
“Kill him? No. Farran did that when he ripped the soul iron from his body.” Grayson ran a hand through his hair. “I wasn’t drawn to the barn for shelter. I was drawn to the house by the souls inside. The old man’s wife had a bad liver.”
“How did you get them to—”
“They were asleep.”
“So you broke into their home and healed them,” she concluded.
“It doesn’t sound nearly so sinister when you phrase it that way.”
She smiled.
“Don’t smile. I’m walking a very fine line here.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “I almost took from you last night.”
She remembered how her skin had tingled just before he pulled away.
“Farran was just cleaning up my mess,” he finished in a whisper.
“What mess?” she demanded. “Who would have ever known what you did? Their deaths are not your fault.”
He looked away, gazing out across the canal.
“Grayson, don’t.” She stepped closer and gripped his arm. “We’ll figure something out.”
A soft snort of amusement escaped him. “And what will we figure out?”
“If I had a solution, I wouldn’t have phrased it like that.” She let her frustration out. “Don’t mock me.”
“I’m not mocking you.” His gaze held hers. “I love your spirit, my fiery redhead named for a thorn bush, but there is no solution.”
“I was named after a boat, and I’m not going to give up just because it’s never been done.”
He smiled, but the sadness in his eyes made her heart ache. “Take me to Esme and be done with it.”
She stepped back. “You’re not planning to run off once she amputates Lock. You’re giving yourself back to the ferra.” Zach was right.
“They’ve kept us contained for millennia. It’s the responsible thing to do.”
“And what of your brothers gathering in Portsmouth?”
“I’ll give you Solon’s invitation. Take it to your godfather. I’m sure he still has contacts. He can take care of the problem.”
“Giving up is not a solution. There’s got to be a way to—”
“There is no way. This,” he smacked his chest, “is what I am. Hell, you only glimpsed that last night, and you bolted. What happens when I’m as badly devolved as Farran, when I bring hell to earth? What happens when the music of your soul can no longer bring me back?”
She fisted her hands, caught somewhere between embarrassment, anger, and despair.
“But thank you for your willingness to try.” His tone softened. “You’re the first person to see what I truly am and still be willing to help. That means a lot.” Another bitter smile creased his face. “It almost makes me believe.”
“It’s called hope. It’s a human emotion. Maybe you should stop listening to what others tell you and listen to your heart.”
“My heart is made of iron.”
Tired of arguing with him, she turned on her heel and walked away. He was defeated before he had even begun. She would just have to prove to him that all was not lost. But she had no idea how to do that, especially when the nagging voice in the back of her mind suggested that he was right.
Chapter 6
The heavy rain had swollen the canal and given it a current as the water flowed toward its lowest point. Though they were running light, the flow of water still slowed them, and Briar fel
l short of the distance she had hoped to cover. Standing on the tiller deck beside Eli, she watched the sun sink toward the western horizon.
“Shall we tie up? We’re still several miles from Dresden,” Eli said.
“I was debating running a little longer,” she admitted.
“The mules are tired from pulling against that current all day. You chance one going lame.”
Their animals were hardy and well cared for, but his concerns were valid.
“Jimmy spoke to Mr. Martel earlier,” Eli continued. “He wishes to arrive in Cleveland as soon as possible, but he is not on a particular schedule. Jimmy said that he understands the obstacles we face.”
She turned to study her steersman. “What about you? I’m sure you would like to reach Cleveland as soon as possible and be free of this errand.”
“I will do what is best for the crew.”
“And Grayson?”
“Isn’t crew.”
She frowned, then turned back to the falling darkness. “Call Zach in and let’s tie up for the night.”
“Aye, Captain.”
The preparations for the evening soon took her attention, and for a while, Briar was able to focus on something other than how she was going to save Grayson. So far, all her thinking on that subject had netted her nothing. She didn’t know enough about the topic to begin to help him. All she could think to do was get to Cleveland and speak to this Esme herself. The woman was ferra, after all, and from what she’d gathered, the ferra were the ones who held all the knowledge about their race.
Once the mules were loaded, they poled the boat across the canal to the heelpath, leaving the towpath unobstructed should another boat come along that was traveling through the night. With the Briar Rose secured, Briar left the crew to clean up and prepare for dinner while she went to see how the meal was coming along. The smells escaping the aft cabin were making her mouth water.
Entering the room, Briar found Molly at the stove transferring some johnnycakes from the cast iron skillet to a cloth-lined basket. Grayson sat at the table, but he wasn’t working on meal preparation. Like the time he’d fixed Jimmy’s watch, he had an assortment of shiny silver parts spread across a towel, his small black tool satchel open beside him. He was so intent on his work that he didn’t look up when she entered the cabin.