by Becca Andre
The Briar Rose would not be arriving in Roscoe until well after dark. It would be nice to have this matter taken care of before then.
“Come,” Perseus said. “If the devolved one is in this town, the four of us should be able to find him.”
“Won’t that scare him off?” Briar asked.
“It could,” Grayson agreed. “It would be best if I approached on my own.”
“Uh-huh.” Kali crossed her arms.
Grayson turned a cool stare on her. “Yes, I once counted Farran as a friend, but that man is gone. What is left must be destroyed.”
He turned his back on Kali, giving Briar his full attention. “Once I locate him, I will send for you.”
She nodded, understanding. Lock could lead her to him, and ultimately to Farran and Molly.
Grayson’s hand came to rest on her shoulder. “No foolish risks.”
“That goes for you, too.”
He smiled, then faced Kali and Perseus. “Protect her. Without her holding my little construct, this lesser talent will become a very big problem.”
Not giving any of them a chance to comment, Grayson walked away.
Briar frowned after him, trying to decide how much of that had been for Kali and Perseus’s benefit, and how much was truth.
She decided it had to be the former. She had no true power over him despite what Liam had made her do.
“Anything?” Kali asked for what felt like the thousandth time.
“I told you,” Briar said, again. “You will be the first to know.”
Kali drummed her fingers on the worn table at the Black Horse Tavern. They had ordered drinks to give their visit purpose, and now sat nursing a mug of thick dark ale. Or at least, Briar was. Kali and Perseus had chosen not to drink.
Briar slipped a finger in her pocket, rubbing the warm metal that was Lock. She wished she was alone so he could take his animated form. She sensed his anxiety and longed to comfort him—which would in turn comfort her. Grayson had been gone over an hour, and night was now full upon them.
Lifting her mug to her mouth, Briar had just taken a drink when a familiar figure walked through the tavern door. Briar choked on her ale as Dale Darby stepped into the room.
Kali turn to follow Briar’s gaze. “Someone we should know?”
“I seriously doubt it.” Briar was grateful for the low light in their corner of the room. She didn’t want Darby to see her.
He had arrived with his willowy son and another crewman, but both went their own way after stepping through the door. Darby crossed to the bar and took a seat between a couple of men, then waved the bartender over.
“So, who is he?” Kali asked.
“Captain of the River Shark.”
Kali glanced at Perseus before turning back to her. “And…”
“He doesn’t normally run this stretch of the Ohio & Erie.”
“All right.” Kali watched Darby for a moment. “I’m not getting ferromancer, or soulless.”
“He’s human,” Perseus said.
Briar didn’t comment and chided herself on what she had said. She doubted there were any ferra who were canal boat captains. From what she understood, they all lived together in some sort of stronghold.
“You going to share why you’re so interested in him?” Kali asked, refusing to let this go.
Well, she and Perseus had to know that Briar and Grayson were traveling by canal boat. “I had an altercation with his daughter earlier on this trip.”
“Oh.” Kali leaned forward. “Are you hoping for a rematch?”
“I would love one,” Briar admitted.
“She kicked your ass, didn’t she?”
“She brought a knife to a fistfight.”
“Underhanded.” Kali surprised her by taking her side. “Nothing worse than a cheater.”
“Agreed.” Briar continued to watch Darby. She suspected he wasn’t here to let Hester have a rematch. He was looking to collect the reward money. No doubt he had gotten the offer from Andrew himself. After all, Andrew had been in contact with him after Briar’s fight with Hester in Lockbourne.
“Aside from being a cheater, what’s the daughter like?” Kali asked. “These canal people like to fight, don’t they?”
Briar smiled. “Some do.”
Darby pulled something from his pocket and handed it to the bartender. Briar’s hand tightened on her mug as she watched the barkeep unroll a large piece of paper. She couldn’t see the details from here, but she would bet her last dime that it was her wanted poster.
“Do you travel the canal often or—”
Briar didn’t hear what else Kali had to say. A burst of anxiety had her on her feet and ready to run to Grayson. Briar reached in her pocket and pulled out the silver pocket watch.
Perseus was suddenly beside her, his hand closing over hers. The hand that held Lock.
Chapter 9
A panicked tingle enveloped her hand, and Briar jerked it free from Perseus’s hold. Heart hammering in her chest, she took a hasty step back.
“Don’t,” she whispered.
Perseus held up his hands and stepped back, as well. “I didn’t.” He gestured toward the door. “Let’s go outside.”
Briar nodded, her heart still pounding. She needed to remember not to let down her guard. Either of these two could destroy Lock—and Grayson along with him.
Another glance at Darby showed him with his back to the room. She would love to confront him, but that would have to wait. Briar hurried to the door, keeping to the perimeter of the tavern where the shadows were deepest. She was aware of Perseus and Kali following, but didn’t look back to verify until she cleared the door.
“Let’s step around the corner,” Perseus suggested.
Briar took his suggestion, hurrying around the side of the tavern.
“Lock, where’s Grayson?” Briar squeezed the silver pocket watch.
“Lock?” Kali asked. “It looks more like a pocket watch.”
Briar pressed the watch against her stomach to hide him from view. She didn’t want Kali to make out the dragon engraving on the cover. Before Kali could ask any more questions, an image of a multi-story building filled her mind. It sat on the bank of the canal, a large water wheel turning in the moonlight.
“He’s at the mill,” Briar said.
“Is the devolved one with him?” Kali asked.
“Lock?” Briar prompted.
She had barely asked when a surge of worry washed over her, along with a desire to go to Grayson.
“I think so,” Briar answered.
“You’re not certain?”
“Actually, it’s impressive that she can see so much,” Perseus cut in. “Let’s get over there before he runs off again.”
Kali nodded, rubbing her hands in anticipation. “And once we have him cornered? My disruptor is gone, remember?” She turned to Briar. “You have your stylus, right?”
Briar remembered the little metal stick Grayson had made for her. “When I left the boat this morning, I was only going to the market. I didn’t bother to bring it with me.”
“You left it?” Kali demanded. “It’s not that big. Why would—”
“There’s nothing to be done about it now,” Perseus said. “I can demobilize him with my quarrels. Then we can finish him off the old-fashioned way.”
Briar wanted to ask what way that was, but held her tongue.
Kali nodded. “Let’s go.”
That was all the prompting Perseus needed. They left the tavern behind and walked quickly toward the canal.
“How close can we get before he senses you?” Briar asked, hoping her lack of knowledge didn’t give anything away.
“It depends on the ferromancer,” Kali answered
. “And how badly he’s devolved.”
“Does being devolved make him more sensitive or less?”
“I don’t believe they lose sensitivity,” Perseus spoke up. “They lose interest as they lose their humanity.”
“Once they think they’re immortal, they lose all fear,” Kali added. “But that can work in our favor since they don’t flee from us.”
“Huh.” Briar could come up with nothing better to say. They made their way through the small town until they emerged onto the street bordering the canal.
“Am I to assume you’ve never met a devolved ferromancer before?” Kali asked after a moment. For once, she sounded more curious than mean.
“Nothing like Farran,” Briar hedged.
“You really have led a sheltered life, haven’t you?”
“To you, I guess.” Briar considered how defensive that sounded. “Two weeks ago, I considered myself quite worldly.”
“What happened?”
Briar debated how to answer without giving away too much. “Grayson.” Finding him really had set everything into motion—well, kidnapping him, to be completely honest.
Kali glanced over, but Briar made a show of studying her surroundings. In the moonlight, she could see the canal in the distance. On its bank, a three-story gristmill sat.
Briar stopped. “There’s the mill,” she whispered. She didn’t need to whisper—they were still too far away to be heard—but that didn’t make her any less cautious.
“Let’s circle to the dock side and enter at the wheel room,” Perseus suggested. “That will put more distance between us if he’s upstairs.”
“If he’s not?”
“Kali will have pinpointed him by then.” Perseus pulled his crossbow from where it hung over his back, and walked on without further comment, clearly confident that Kali would keep him informed.
Briar glanced at the woman beside her, but she was frowning at the mill. “You can sense ferromancers from a greater distance than your partner?”
“Significantly farther,” she answered without pride. “But he can charge soul iron with his gift.” She shrugged. “We make a good team.”
Kali hurried after him, leaving Briar to follow.
Briar pressed her back to the side of the mill, watching the water wheel turn in the moonlight. She doubted whether anyone was milling at this time of night. There hadn’t been a single light shining through any of the windows in the building.
Perseus stood at the door to the basement room. A moment of study, then he led them inside.
Moonlight seeped in around the wheel and the open door, but it was still hard to make out the details. The rumble of the wheel filled the room, accompanied by the clatter of the gears turning the drive shaft.
“Why is the mill running?” Briar whispered.
“I don’t know,” Perseus answered, then turned to Kali. “Have you found them?”
“They’re both on the first floor,” Kali whispered.
Briar looked up at the shadowed ceiling. Grayson and Farran were on the floor above them? She didn’t hear any voices, but the water wheel made it hard to hear anything. She had asked Lock to let Grayson know they were here, but she didn’t know if he had heard—or understood. She needed to work on communicating with him through Lock. Though it was silly to practice if he was leaving in a few days.
She pushed those thoughts from her mind as Perseus led them across the dark room to a set of stairs on the other side.
While Perseus and Kali had their backs to her, Briar lifted the watch to her neck. “Lock, become the necklace, but hide the engraving,” she whispered. A burst of static, and the multi-strand choker settled around her throat. She lifted a hand to touch the medallion that hung from the chain. The engraving was still present, but it faced inward. Rubbing the medallion between her fingers, she drew comfort from the warm metal.
The stone steps were worn smooth and gave away nothing as they climbed upward. A wooden staircase would have creaked, but with the noise from the mill, perhaps that wouldn’t have been a concern.
Perseus stopped on the landing at the top of the stairs to check his crossbow. Impatient with the wait, Briar tried to step past him, but he seized her arm.
“You have no weapon,” he whispered. “Let us go first.”
“I can—”
His grip on her elbow tightened. “I gave my word to protect you.” His eyes met hers, and even in the low light, she could see him well. There was something in his gaze that stopped any further argument. She was suddenly reminded of the way Liam had occasionally deterred some of her more impulsive actions when she was a child. A sternness would come over him, and he had only to look her in the eye, and she would acquiesce. Maybe it was a Scourge thing.
Briar gave Perseus a stiff nod.
He held her gaze for a second longer, then turned and stepped through the door.
“Huh.” Kali glanced between them, then hurried after Perseus.
Briar frowned after them. Grayson had demanded that they protect her, but she didn’t remember Perseus giving his word. Maybe he had nodded and she hadn’t seen it. Not that it mattered.
She hurried after them, reaching the first floor—the stone floor, where the mill stones were housed—a half step after them.
They stood behind the large hopper where the wheat grain was loaded. A pile of empty grain sacks lay nearby. A grain elevator carried the wheat from the brimming hopper upward, disappearing through a chute in the ceiling. More bags of grain stood in several high stacks, blocking their view of the room.
“…will not be manipulated like this,” Grayson’s voice carried to them over the clank and thumps of the machinery. “Where’s the woman?”
“Such concerns will not matter to you soon. You must fulfill your calling.”
“I don’t care what happens to the rest of you. I thought I made that clear.” Grayson sounded as if he spoke between clenched teeth.
“No, it is because you do care that you refuse.” Farran’s emotionless monotone was such a contrast to Grayson’s passionate refusal. “Or you think you care. It is simply human lust. You must listen to me. My vision is not compromised. That is why Solon sent me to guide you.”
“Then he’s slipped further over the edge than I realized.”
A muffled cry echoed down from somewhere above them. Molly!
Briar turned to see if Perseus and Kali had heard that, but they no longer stood beside her.
“Where—” Grayson’s question was cut off with a gasp.
“Perhaps you are still too human yet,” Farran answered. “A little more devolvement and you will begin to see.”
Briar leaned around a stack of bags and looked out into the room. She pressed a hand to her mouth when she spotted Grayson and Farran. They stood toe to toe over by the mill stones, Farran’s hand around Grayson’s throat. She watched Farran lift Grayson from the floor.
Where were Perseus and Kali?
Grayson grasped Farran’s wrist with both hands.
“That won’t work,” Farran said, his indifferent tone giving Briar chills. “You cannot stop your body from repairing the damage.”
Briar felt Lock stir against her throat.
“Yes, call it to you,” Farran said. “That will work as well.”
Briar reached up and gripped the medallion. “No.” She couldn’t let Lock go to Grayson. Perseus and Kali would see what he was. Where the hell were they? Did they refuse to come to Grayson’s aid?
Grayson gagged.
“Let him go,” she said, stepping out from behind the grain sacks. Time to see if Perseus was serious about protecting her.
Grayson pulled up both feet and slammed them into Farran’s chest.
Farran released him, the impact forcing him back
a few steps. Grayson dropped to the floor, a hand to his throat as he wheezed.
“Grayson?” She took a step closer, but stopped when Farran turned to face her.
He stood in a pool of moonlight shining through a high window on the wall above her. The cloak he’d worn was still clasped around his shoulders, but otherwise hung open. What she saw beneath froze her in place.
He was made entirely of metal, but it wasn’t like his skin had converted to soul iron. The metallic casing was smooth and streamlined with none of the muscle definition visible beneath human skin. The thickness of his limbs thinned out at the joints, leaving what had once been bone visible. His stomach looked as if it had been hollowed out, the metal covering not much more than the spine, leaving the hips exposed. It also revealed that any claim Farran might have had to the male pronoun was now gone. Only smooth metal remained.
Briar’s stomach turned, her mind struggling to grasp the horror of it all. This was a fully devolved ferromancer. This was Grayson’s destiny.
“Who is this?” Farran continued toward her. Though his body was no longer remotely human, he moved with a fluid grace that was strangely beautiful. In her mind’s eye, Briar saw Grayson’s locomotive. Its ingenious design had been just as breathtaking.
“Briar,” Grayson called to her, his voice hoarse. Lock stirred against her throat once more.
“No.” She gripped the medallion tighter.
Farran came to a stop. “You command his construct.”
Briar met his inhuman eyes and lifted her chin. She held his gaze, though she knew she had no hope of stopping him. If Perseus and Kali didn’t do something –
A bolt of purple lightning streaked across the dark room.
Farran attempted to jump back, but the lightning clipped the top of his shoulder. The metal seemed to catch fire, erupting flames of violet and gold.
Farran spun to face the far wall, his movement so fast it was a blur. “Scourge.” The flames continued to dance across his shoulder, melting the surface as they went. Yet he didn’t appear to be in pain. His attention was on the other side of the room.