by Becca Andre
“It certainly smells good in here,” Briar said, stopping beside Molly. “Have you been promoted to full-time cook while Mr. Martel plays with his toys?”
A faint smile curled Grayson’s mouth so she knew he wasn’t completely oblivious to his surroundings.
“Oh no.” Molly laughed. “He did most of the early work, but after he repaired the meat grinder,” she gestured at the device clamped to one side of the cutting board, “he began working on another project.”
Briar could tell by the way Molly used the word that it had been Grayson’s phrasing.
“But it is good that I get to do these things on my own,” Molly continued. “Soon, I will not have Mr. Martel to rely on.”
“True.” Briar sobered at the reminder.
She left Molly to finish her johnnycakes and crossed to the table.
“And what is my cook-turned-mad-scientist working on now?” she asked.
“Would you like to see?” Just as he had the time he repaired Jimmy’s watch, Grayson shifted over on the bench to make room, though he kept his attention on his work.
Briar glanced at Molly, who had her back to them. There was probably some etiquette taboo about an unmarried woman sharing a small bench with an unmarried man, but Molly was used to Briar’s inability to do what polite society expected.
She sat down beside Grayson. “Go ahead.”
“I’ve been thinking about how handy it would be to have a compact lantern on hand that doesn’t require a flame.”
“Such a thing is possible?”
“There have been recent advancements made with electric lighting, though without a ready power source, it hasn’t seen much practical application.”
“You follow things like that?”
“Of course. I never cease to be amazed by human ingenuity.”
She shook her head, remembering well how he went on and on about his mundane powered locomotive, while shrugging off the brilliance of Lock’s design.
“Although, as I’m not making this to sell to a human market, I will admit that I cheated.” He winked.
She bit back a laugh. “Show me?”
He nodded, clearly pleased by her request, and launched into a detailed explanation of soul iron filaments and current generation. Briar’s head was spinning as he pointed out the various components he had built to serve as the contraption’s inner workings, each tiny piece a marvel in itself.
“Could this be created by mundane means?” she whispered.
“Currently, it would be impossible to design such a portable power source, not to mention making it this compact.” He tapped his silver cylinder that would house his light. “The technology just isn’t available at this time. But some prominent inventors and scientists are studying such things.”
“So in a few decades, they might be able to do what you do now.”
“Oh, they’ll never be able to do what I can do.”
She nudged him with her shoulder. “Conceited ferromancer,” she whispered.
“Most ferromancers couldn’t do this, either.”
“Oh really?”
He gave her another wink then returned to his work.
“Briar?” Molly cut in.
Briar looked up in surprise, having almost forgotten that Molly was in the room. Fortunately, she didn’t look like she’d overheard the banter.
“Dinner is ready,” Molly said. “Shall I carry it out?”
“Yes.” Briar got to her feet. “I’ll help you.”
“As will I,” Grayson offered.
“Nah, finish what you’re doing,” Briar told him. “I know how engrossed you are. I’ll bring you a plate.”
“I couldn’t ask—” He started to stand, but she placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You need this, Grayson, more than we need the device.” She squeezed his shoulder. “Stay.”
He settled back onto his seat. “Thank you,” he muttered, his attention immediately returning to his work.
Smiling to herself, Briar walked over to help Molly carry the meal out to the cargo hold where the crew had already set up the table. The sound of voices and the occasional splash of water suggested that they were at the rain barrel on the upper deck, washing up for the meal.
“Mr. Martel is a unique individual,” Molly commented as she laid out the plates.
“Absolutely.” Briar wanted to laugh. Molly had no idea. “He has been a real asset since he came aboard.”
“After you released him from captivity.”
“After that,” Briar agreed.
“Considering that, the two of you seem to get on well.”
“There are no hard feelings.”
“Huh.” She laid out the cutlery while Briar uncovered what looked like a thick stew. It was made with vegetables and ground meat. Probably beef.
Selecting a couple of plates, Briar filled them.
“Two plates?” Molly asked.
“One is for me,” Briar clarified, selecting a hearty chunk of johnnycake for each.
“You’re eating with him?”
“I want to see how he finishes the device he’s making. I find mechanical gadgetry fascinating.”
“You are an unusual young woman, Briar Rose. I say you and your Mr. Martel are peas in a pod.”
“We do share some interests.” Grabbing a couple of spoons, she flashed Molly a grin, then hurried back to the cabin.
Grayson hadn’t moved, but her coming and going made her realize how warm the cabin was. Setting the plates on the table, she took a few moments to open the windows wider.
Finished, she returned to the table. “Can you eat before it gets cold?”
He glanced over. “Do you think I’m that hungry, or are you eating with me?”
“I’m eating with you.”
“Then we’ll need to make room for Eli. He’ll be in here shortly.”
“That’s fine, but I really don’t think the topic interests him.” She sat down beside him once again. “Where were we? Did you make any changes while I was gone?”
He nodded. “Here, I’ll show you.” He picked up his pocket lantern and launched into an explanation of what he had done.
“Captain?” Eli stepped into the cabin.
“Told you,” Grayson muttered.
“Is there a problem?” she asked Eli. “Something wrong with the boat?”
“No, I…” He hesitated. “Why are you eating in here?”
“Mr. Martel was teaching me about electric lights.” She glanced over at him. “That’s still what you’re calling it, right?”
“Yes.” A twinkle danced in his eyes, perhaps amused that he had predicted Eli’s visit.
“Why would you need to know about that?” Eli asked.
“Why not? I find it fascinating. And since Mr. Martel will be leaving soon, I figured I’d better get my lessons in while I can.”
Eli frowned, but didn’t have an argument.
“Go enjoy your dinner. Molly did a marvelous job.” She gestured at her plate. “Or was that you?” she asked Grayson.
“My recipe, but once she got going, she soon got the hang of it.”
“Huh.” She glanced over and found Eli still watching them. “Go on, Eli, or there’ll be none left.”
With one last frown, and with a muttered, “Yes, Captain,” he left the cabin.
Briar sighed. “What is the deal with the two of you?”
“The two of us?”
“Eli’s a level-headed guy, but he’s disliked you from the start. I’ve got to believe there’s more to it.”
Grayson picked up his screwdriver and turned his attention to his work. “We just got off on the wrong foot.”
“You should be on th
e right foot by now.” She watched him study his component. “I’ve asked him, but he won’t really say. How about you? What’s your side of the story?”
“It’s just a misunderstanding.”
“Do I need to get out my little silver stick and point it at you?”
The corner of his mouth twitched, but he didn’t look over.
“Grayson?”
“Fine.” He huffed and laid down the screwdriver. “The first morning I woke on this boat, when I was groggy from the blow to the head, out of sorts from battling the soulless, and antsy as hell trapped on a wooden vessel on the water—”
“Impressive list of excuses,” she cut in.
“And valid ones.” He picked up the screwdriver again, turning it in his fingers before laying it back down.
“Go on,” she encouraged. “What happened?”
“I might have made some…suggestive comments about you.”
“You did?” She hadn’t expected that.
“He had me at a disadvantage, and I could see that he… respected you a great deal. I really didn’t mean anything by it—other than to nettle him.”
“You certainly got to him. What did you say?”
“I’m not going to tell you that. It was just a crudeness one man might say to another when no ladies are around.”
She smirked at his evident discomfort. “It must have been really bad if Eli is still upset over it.”
“Well, we’ve since become friends, you and I.” He cleared his throat. “I believe he took my, um, threat to heart.”
“A threat? Oh now you really must tell me.”
“Miss Rose, please.”
“Come on. I’m not going to hold it against you. I know you really were out of sorts at the time.”
He rubbed his fingers over a block of soul iron, the metal shimmering beneath his touch. “I told him, in crude terms, that I intended to seduce you. And each time you allowed me a little more freedom, or favored me in some way, I winked at him.”
Even expecting something along those lines, Briar’s cheeks still heated at the notion.
“But it was all just a means to torment him,” Grayson quickly added. “I never pursued it—aside from the time I kept my arm around you while we hid from Solon on the tiller deck.”
She remembered that. Eli had been standing over them.
“You believe me, right? I have no ill intentions toward you. Our friendship is a natural result of spending time together.”
“Of course. I’m not so fickle as to fall for a smile or some bit of flattery—or however one is seduced.”
“Besides,” he added, his voice dropping to a whisper. “You’re the one who kissed me.”
Her cheeks were now burning. “I was drunk.”
“So you claim. Maybe you’re trying to seduce me.”
She jabbed him with her elbow.
“Ow.” He rubbed his ribs. “Your technique could use some work.”
She was about to jab him again when a boom echoed through the boat at the same moment the boat was jarred to the side. The movement threw Briar into Grayson whether she meant to hit him or not.
“What the hell?” she demanded, pushing off him to climb to her feet.
“It felt like we hit something.”
“We’re not moving,” she reminded him.
She hurried from the cabin, aware of Grayson following her. She arrived in the cargo hold to find her crew already on their feet. Jimmy was climbing the ladder to the aft deck.
“It’s a boat,” he called down.
Evening was upon them, but it wasn’t so dark that another boat wouldn’t have seen them.
“Looks like a loose boat,” Jimmy added. “No visible crew or tow animals.”
“Must’ve come loose from a dock,” Eli offered.
It was a plausible reason, but a chill still crawled up Briar’s spine. She looked up into Grayson’s narrowed eyes and saw the same suspicion.
He turned and hurried up the ladder after Jimmy, and she did the same.
The loose boat, moving with the current, so moving in the opposite direction, had hit its bow against theirs. As they watched, the current continued to pull the other boat, the sides of both vessels scraping as they passed.
“What are we—” Jimmy didn’t get to finish as Grayson sprinted down the catwalk heading for the bow. With the boats still touching, it was an easy leap from the Briar Rose to the deck of the other vessel.
Grayson didn’t break stride as he ran along the other boat’s catwalk to its tiller deck where he captured the tiller. The boat wasn’t going that quickly, so the adjustments he made were slow to take effect.
Briar cringed as the boats continued to scrape against each other. Finally, Grayson was able to steer clear.
“Not much of a steersman, is he?” Eli asked.
Briar frowned at him and hurried down the catwalk to their bow. The midship of the other boat was just passing, and she was able to leap across to the stable roof. Once she had her feet set on the moving boat, she joined Grayson on the tiller deck.
“Steer it toward the heelpath,” she told him. “We can tie it up behind the Briar Rose. It’ll be out of the way, until its owner can collect it.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
She glanced over at the coolness in his tone. “Why do you say that?”
“I think the crew is dead.”
“How do you know?”
“I sense soul iron in the cabin below us.”
“Oh God,” she whispered. “Farran?”
Grayson nodded. “If I want the killing to stop, I have to go with him.”
She studied him in the fading light. “Why does Solon want you so bad? What’s so special about a dragon?”
“Captain?” Eli called to her from the Briar Rose. “What do you need?”
“Bring a lantern,” she answered. They had cleared the end of her boat and Grayson was steering toward the heelpath.
“Why don’t you want to answer?” she asked, returning to her question.
“Because it makes me look like a callous ass.”
She smiled at that. “All right. But let me judge for myself?”
“Fine.” His grip tightened on the tiller. “I have the ability to halt another ferromancer’s devolvement.”
“Solon.” She remembered Perseus saying that he should be completely devolved by now.
“Yes. And I was just a child when I helped him, though I only slowed it.”
“What’s the catch?”
“It accelerates my own devolvement.”
“Oh.” That was why he was running away.
“See. Self-centered ass.”
She laid a hand on top of his where it rested on the tiller. “I don’t think that.”
He glanced over, studying her for a moment. “Thanks.” He turned his attention back to his steering. “Hang on.”
She watched as he bumped the boat against the bank. It wasn’t as well done as Eli might have done it, but considering that Grayson had probably never steered a canal boat, she thought he did well.
“Let’s tie up and lower the gangplank,” she suggested. “Then I suppose we should have a look around.”
“I’ll do it. This was aimed at me, after all.”
“What does Farran get out of this? You can’t stop his devolvement.” Once flesh turned to metal, it couldn’t be turned back.
“Maybe he still feels a sense of obligation to our brothers.”
“I didn’t think the devolved felt anything,” she said.
“I believe they understand what they lost. There’s a price for immortality.”
“Ferromancers are immortal?” That was the fi
rst she’d heard of that.
“Once fully made of metal, what could harm them? No aging, no disease. The ferra believe we were at one time the perfect race, but something went wrong.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. As I’ve mentioned before, the ferra don’t tell us everything.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting this Esme.”
It was Grayson’s turn to lift a brow. “Have you something in mind?”
“That depends on how willing she is to answer my questions.”
“Esme is a scientist. If you can bribe her with some new mystery, she might share something.”
“A new mystery? Where would I find something like that?”
“I’m staring at it.”
She frowned.
“You, or rather, your unique abilities.”
“Huh.” Did she dare hope that she could ultimately find the answers she sought? Maybe Grayson wouldn’t have to be turned over to the ferra after all.
Despite Grayson’s offer to explore the boat on his own, Briar still accompanied him. Her crew joined them in the search, moving off to explore the rest of the boat.
“You don’t need to join me,” Grayson said as they stopped before the aft cabin door.
“I don’t,” she agreed, “but I’m going to.”
He didn’t argue. He just nodded and faced the door. She chewed her lip as he turned the knob, then followed him inside. Stopping just inside the door, he pulled out his pocket lantern and shined it around the room.
The layout was similar to her own cabin, though this one was more cluttered. Bunk beds replaced the single beds in her cabin, and every available space was crammed with belongings. It seemed a large family shared these quarters.
But aside from all the stuff, the space was empty.
“There’s no one here,” she said. “Are you sure you felt soul iron?”
Grayson wordlessly crossed to the stove and lifted the lid on the large Dutch oven sitting on top.