by Lam, Laura
‘I think it overstated how close we are to the possibility of civil war. The Foresters and the Kashura are at odds more than they are together. The Foresters, now that Timur’s out, are actually well organized and have a solid plan to try and get more rights for the people. If it was just them on their own, I think they might be able to effect a lot, peacefully. But the Kashura are giving them a bad name. They have to expend so much energy separating themselves from that faction that it takes energy away from all they need to do. And then I think there’s internal strife, too.’
‘How so? And how do you know about it?’
‘I don’t. I see it in the streets. I read all those posters. A lot of Foresters joined the party under Timur. They liked him. His vision, his energy. They know that going through bureaucracy is difficult, arduous, and it might not result in anything. The article was right when it said some might think violence is the way to go, in the short term.’
‘That’s a trap, though, isn’t it?’ I mused. ‘If you join a violent group to topple one system, and that actually works, you still have leaders who are used to violence. Will they simply stop and become peaceful again?’
‘That’s the question.’ Drystan rubbed at his eyes, wincing. ‘I have no idea what’ll happen.’
‘Do any of us?’
‘Don’t think so.’
We stayed there, finishing our lemonade, until the bright sun threatened to burn us. Reluctantly, we stood and walked back through the twining streets of Imachara. It was time to visit Doctor Pozzi again.
16
SWEET ELIXIR
The thing about addiction is that I know it’s what will kill me. It won’t be a carriage in the road, or a common flu, or even the slow creep of cancer. It’s almost certain that Lerium will be what ends me. And there’s a strange, awful sort of comfort in that.
— From the anonymous memoir of a Lerium addict, discovered and published post-mortem
Pozzi took what felt like forever to prep the syringe.
I almost hissed at him, mentally willing him to push the needle in quicker.
Then he injected me, and it was all I could sense. That sweet, cold ice flowing through my veins. It was as though, before, my body was threaded with darkness, and then when I was injected, the drug was bright light that washed it all away. It purified me and I felt born anew.
I was addicted. There was no point denying it any longer. Even as I craved it, I hated it. I was high but also heightened. My senses sharpened, and the power within me grew stronger. I was alive again.
After a few moments, I came back to myself.
‘Better?’ Pozzi asked.
‘I suppose,’ I said guardedly, even as my insides sang. Being dependent on the drug made me feel weak, and I despised that I now looked forward to visiting Pozzi, if only for my fix. If it wasn’t for him I might not have needed the drug in the first place. He could have lied completely about my past, and never found me on his doorstep at all. More likely, my mother died in childbirth and he’d simply kept me until he found another home. One where he could keep an eye on me, to see how his experiment fared.
He put his things away. This was the part I hated the most. I’d gained what I wanted. I had no desire to sit and visit and have tea with the man I didn’t trust, but it always happened anyway.
We went into the lounge, where Drystan waited. I wondered if he’d stolen anything else from the cabinet of curiosities.
No matter how much time I spent with the Royal Physician, I would never truly know him. Did anyone? Yet I could still try to learn certain things.
‘Did you always know of the Princess’s condition?’ I asked as Pozzi brought out his Vestige tea set. I wouldn’t have minded owning one myself – it kept liquid hot as long as it was in the teapot, whether it’d been boiled an hour ago or last month.
‘As soon as she was born, yes. I was the one to deliver her.’
I had more of an idea of what childbirth was like now, thanks to Lily’s visions. And Pozzi had dosed Lily’s wife when she was pregnant. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye with new suspicion. Had he somehow worked this change in the Princess, to continue his scheme? No, the Princess had said the Alder traits went back centuries. But if they’d recently been growing stronger rather than weaker, maybe Pozzi had something to do with it.
I found it incredible that the Snakewoods’ secret had been kept all these years, despite the Glamours and Lethes. They had covered their tracks very carefully, trusting no one but the Royal Physician.
Had they misplaced their trust? Would he really go that far – treating royalty as his own laboratory rats?
‘You could barely tell, at first,’ Pozzi went on. ‘A tinge of blue here and there. As she grew older, it grew stronger. And, sometimes, I wonder if her childlike innocence is an act. She’s wickedly intelligent, and sees more than she might. Good for a monarch, but perhaps unfortunate for a lonely little girl.’
I thought of the magic show and how most of the guests had been adults, and those few that were her own age she’d largely ignored.
‘Does she have any friends?’
He shook his head. ‘No true friends that I’m aware of. Every now and again she’ll have play dates with other children. She plays the part well, but it’s more like she endures them. She’d rather be on her own in a room with no windows, where she can turn off the Glamour. She loves to read and learn. The Steward encourages her to stay separate. It’s safer.’
I pressed my lips together at that. Safe, but isolating. I peered more closely at Pozzi and almost gasped. ‘You’re afraid of her.’
Drystan stayed quiet, watching our exchange, his blue eyes calculating.
‘No. Fear is not the right word. I am . . . wary. I have studied people with different abilities, but no one who is part Alder. I’d not have believed it but for the proof in front of my own eyes. But I’ve known her for her entire life, and she is sweet, if different. I like to flatter myself that I am one of the few people she has genuine affection for.’
His words rang hollow. Pozzi found her fascinating, as he did me and Frey. I did not doubt that hidden somewhere he had pages and pages of observation notes, and rued that he could never publish his findings.
I didn’t answer, but sipped my tea. It was mint, and the taste of it reminded me of the night I’d snuck down to the kitchens at my old house in Sicion for a midnight meal. On the way back, I had heard my parents discussing me. Mint tea would always be reminiscent of the night my life changed irrevocably. When I left Iphigenia Laurus behind and became Micah Grey.
‘We must be getting back,’ I said. ‘We’re performing this afternoon.’
‘Ah, yes, the street performances?’
‘Yes.’
‘I’m glad to see you are not letting the political situation deter you. And how very gallant, to perform for the everyday people after the Princess.’
I stifled a scoff.
‘Hardly gallant,’ Drystan said. ‘Everyone deserves entertainment, and we must keep our skills sharp for when the theatre is reopened.’
‘Naturally. Well, I’m afraid I must be off. I’ve been asked to cover another lecture at the university. Do you fancy coming again, Micah? They’ll be dissecting the liver.’
I suppressed a shudder. ‘No, thank you.’ But that reminded me of the resurrectionist dreams. ‘Have any more bodies gone missing?’ I asked, hoping I sounded nonchalant.
‘Yes, another one early yesterday morning; a young woman. From the hospital for the poor again. Strange, isn’t it? They’ve set up guards, but those stationed by where the body was taken were found sleeping like the dead, and would not wake for hours. It’s a puzzle, right enough.’
I hadn’t dreamed of the woman being stolen, and why not, when I’d eavesdropped on so many of the others? It was a puzzle. And I was staring at the man who might be behind it, or knew who was.
I had a front-row seat to it all, even if I did not know who starred in the show.
&nb
sp; Drystan and I made our farewells. On the way to the door, I passed the mantelpiece, and noticed the disc that had looked like an Aleph was no longer there.
‘You didn’t take the Aleph thing that used to be on his mantelpiece, did you?’ I asked as we made our way back to the Penny Rookeries.
‘No. Too obvious. I wanted to take a look at it, but it wasn’t there. He’s changed the lock on the cabinet of curiosities, too. I couldn’t hope to crack it.’
‘So he knows we stole from him?’ My stomach clenched.
‘Probably. For whatever reason, he’s not accusing us of anything. Today . . . has not been a good day.’
Physically, I felt magnificent. Mentally was another matter. I was dependent on a drug whose supply I could not control. So many events swirled around me and it felt like I was caught in the vortex. Drystan looked as close to crying as I felt.
We went to the park and sat on a bench, watching children play in the sunshine. We were going to miss that afternoon’s street show. Either Cyan would do something alone, or there’d be no magic on our corner that day. I couldn’t find it within myself to care.
‘Do you want to talk about it?’ I asked.
‘No. Not now.’
Taking his hand, I squeezed. We stayed in the sunshine, under the green canopy of the trees. Behind me, three or four streets away, I sensed a low, warm glow. Another Chimaera perhaps, one I didn’t know. The right thing to do would be to follow, try and meet whoever it was. Instead I stayed with Drystan, letting the yellow, buttery light fall on us. In that moment, he needed me more.
17
AHTI’S SCION
When I was little, I used to walk through the gardens at my parents’ house in the Emerald Bowl, looking down at the flowers. They were the perfect size to be teacups for fairies, I always thought. I went through the dark green leaves, my feet sinking into the grass. I wasn’t looking where I was going, and the ground fell off sharply, down to a ravine. I slipped, but managed to grab a root. I hung there, my feet dangling. I was only six or seven. I remember thinking how quickly all can change. One minute, you seem to be in a fairy’s realm, and the next, your life is in danger. It took a long time to crawl back up, and my nightdress was stained. Mother berated me for it the next day.
— From Micah Grey’s infrequently updated diary
Each day we performed street magic. Maske and Cyan held seances, with Drystan and I helping behind the scenes. A week went by, and then another, and I almost fancied we had fallen into a routine. Work, perform, practise. Drag through the last two days of the week. See Pozzi, have Elixir flow through my veins, and feel marvellous for the next five. The Steward didn’t call on us. Drystan seemed to recover from the shock of seeing his father. Yet I could not shake the feeling that it was but a brief respite before the storm.
I was right.
Lily Verre came to visit Maske. She’d been ‘on holiday’ for the last three weeks, though Drystan, Cyan, and I knew that she was still at her apartments. Maske was utterly delighted to see Lily, pulling her into a passionate embrace. I made a face behind their backs. Cyan, not missing a beat, ‘sent’ me and Drystan an image of her retching. Drystan disguised his laugh as a cough.
Lily stayed for dinner. I wished Cyril was here to lessen the tension. Cyril was as diplomatic as our father, able to steer a conversation into safer waters. Instead, we pretended we knew nothing about Lily Verre except what she had told us in her guise – a widow dating Maske who had worked for a time in the magic shop, Twisting the Aces. She’d quit that job months ago, of course.
Near the end of the meal, Maske went to fetch dessert.
Trouble is coming, Anisa said out of the blue. Her Aleph was in my pocket, as usual.
What? I asked her.
Answer the door. It’s about Frey.
There was a knock at the door. No one ever called this late.
I sent my awareness past the door, and Cyan did the same. We sensed a young man, nervous. It’s Kai, Pozzi’s assistant, I sent Drystan and Cyan.
I opened the door, and sure enough, there was Kai. He still wore his bulky coat despite the warm night. He asked for Lily. She came, and we retreated, Cyan and I mentally eavesdropping. The blood drained from my face. Kai squeezed Lily’s shoulder and left, almost running back to the carriage to wait for her.
Lily emanated terror, and locked eyes with us just as Maske returned with the cake. Lily slipped her own mask back in place.
‘Who was that at the door at this hour?’ he asked.
‘Someone trying to pass us a Forester pamphlet,’ Drystan said.
‘I’m sorry, my dove,’ Lily said regretfully, patting her stomach. ‘I’m afraid I cannot eat another bite. I’ve been battling a bit of a headache all day, and it seems to have come back in full force.’ She touched her temple.
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Maske said. ‘Would you like to lie down in my room? You can have your cake later.’
‘I don’t wish to trouble you. I think I’ll head back home. And if I have sugar this late, I might never get to sleep!’
Maske looked crestfallen, and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. ‘I’ll see you soon for the opera. I’m ever so looking forward to it, my love.’
I felt guilty. Lily claimed she loved Maske and it was no act, but how could I believe her when she’d lied about so much else? Maske loved the Lily that he thought he knew, but he didn’t know she was the most famous Shadow in Imachara. It wasn’t fair, but I was too cowardly to tell him and break his heart.
Lily left, but we nodded to her. We would follow to her apartments as soon as possible.
Something was very wrong with Frey.
We ate Maske’s dessert as quickly as we could, a cake he’d made himself flavoured with cherries and almonds. I barely even tasted it.
We helped Maske clean up, and then, though we knew he wanted us to linger in the kitchen and chat, we made our excuses, pleading exhaustion. He went to his makeshift workshop and bedroom, and before long we heard the distant sounds of a little hammer on brass. In our rooms, we put on light summer coats, and I grabbed Anisa’s Aleph. Then it was out the fire escape and down a drainpipe.
‘This could be a trap,’ Drystan said as we started towards Lily’s apartments.
‘Maybe,’ I agreed.
‘She was terrified,’ Cyan said. ‘And I’m curious about Kai, aren’t you?’
‘Of course,’ I said. I’d met him briefly at the hospital, and since learning he was Frey’s caretaker, my suspicion had only grown.
We slunk through the streets as quickly as we could, darting into alleyways at times to avoid the notice of the night watchmen. There were far more of those on the streets than even a few months ago. It must have stretched Ellada’s coffers to deploy them, but they had to ensure that people kept to their curfew. For all the good it probably did. If the Kashura wanted to attack the city, they would attack, curfew or no curfew.
What happens if we’re caught out after dark? I asked Cyan.
Fined and arrested, she said. Maybe even a beating for our trouble. I swallowed and kept an even sharper eye out for the night watch.
At Lily’s apartments, the doorman had evidently been bribed, for he let us in without hesitation and told us to make our way to number 209 as quickly as possible. He held his hand out for a tip, and we gave him what scattered coins we had in our pockets. Luckily, this doorman was not the same one we’d duped the last time we were here.
The door opened almost immediately after we knocked. ‘Thank the stars,’ Lily said, practically dragging us inside.
Kai was still wearing his coat, wringing his hands. ‘I didn’t know what to do. He was fine and then he went into a fit and collapsed. I was . . . was going to go to Pozzi first, but then I heard a woman whisper in my mind to go to your address. She said . . . she was the dragonfly woman, and you would know what that meant.’
My gaze flickered to my pocket.
We went to Frey’s bedroom. The bright colours and draw
ings warred with the worry emanating from Lily. Frey was unconscious. The low light glinted on his green-black scales and the curves of his horns. The power that emanated from him was almost unbearable. Cyan and I took involuntary steps back.
‘What’s wrong?’ Lily asked.
‘He’s rupturing power everywhere. The air is thick with it. It can’t be good.’ I staggered again, my temples throbbing. If before he’d been a furnace, now he was a forest fire.
Drystan and Lily looked uncomfortable. They couldn’t feel a thing. Cyan was a bit green around the edges. And Kai . . .
‘You feel it, don’t you?’ I asked him.
He nodded, uncomfortable. I wanted to know more about him, but I couldn’t spare the time.
Memories of Anisa and her old charges came to me. Frey was similar to Ahti, and that Chimaera had nearly destroyed the world.
Bring me out, Anisa said. They should know who I am.
I took the Aleph from my pocket and set it on the ground.
‘This is the dragonfly woman, Anisa,’ I said, looking into Kai’s eyes as I flicked the switch.
It did give me a small sense of satisfaction to watch Lily and Kai’s shock as the smoke swirled into view and Anisa appeared. The Phantom Damselfly went straight to Frey’s side. Normally, it was difficult to tell what the Chimaera ghost was thinking, but now she was clearly concerned.
‘Dev, come here,’ Anisa commanded, and, with a start, I realized she meant me, even though she’d called me by the name of one of her ancient charges.
‘I don’t know—’
‘No time for doubts. We must contain this or you will all be at risk.’
Her words sent a shiver down my spine. I didn’t doubt her – the power held a threat, and the air smelled alive and stormy, as if lightning could strike at any moment.
‘Reach out and take his hand,’ Anisa instructed. ‘We don’t have long.’
Outside, the skies opened in a torrent of rain, the wind lashing against the windows. The clouds completely hid the moon, as if nothing but a water-laced abyss existed outside of the small window.