And a little bit afraid of what it said about his feelings for her, were her fears true. You didnt kill for a casual acquaintance. Afraid because no matter how much simpler it would be to choose Jack Dandy, crime lord, over Griffin King, Duke of Greythorne, she couldnt. She chose Griffin.
Though, right now with him being all secretive and standoffish, even though everyone knew something was wrong, she sometimes wished she didnt choose him. She was good enough to be kissed but not good enough to be trusted. At least she wasnt alone there. He wouldnt confide in any of them. He might say they were all a team, but this sort of behavior made it perfectly clear that he was lord and master in this house and the rest of them just lived there.
And just who was this Silverius Isley to be given breakfast and a private audience?
You wont hear anything, Emily told her, gesturing to the ornophone. The brass horn-shaped instrument was in need of a polish. He uses an Aetheric amplification transducer whenever he wishes to have a completely private conversation.
Ah, yes. Of course. What the devil was an Aetheric whatever-it-was?
It turns Aetheric energy into sound waves, Emily explained as though reading her mind. Basically he uses it to make just enough noise that no one can eavesdrop. I wonder who he thinks might listen at doors?
Well, she felt fifty different kinds of ridiculous now. I reckon Ill put this useless thing away then. She lifted the ornophone. It made me feel like an old woman anyway.
Emily smileda sly quirk of her lips. I do have a device that can dissipate Aetheric sound waves.
Of course she did, clever chit. Finleys eyes narrowed. I thought you didnt like me eavesdropping?
I dont, but I dont blame you for it. And if this continues much longer Ill give you my device with my blessing. Better yet, Ill make one for all of us. Regardless of what Sam says, Griffin will not tell us if there is something wrong until its verging on too late. Sams so caught up in worrying about me that he cant see his best mates in trouble.
She didnt want to think about what too late might include. Had a chat with Mr. Morgan, did you? She began walking down the corridor and Emily fell into step beside her. Intentions of eavesdropping were forgotten for the time being.
Yes. I think were finally beginning to understand each other. I just wish
What?
Emily looked away. That I could make him as happy as he makes me.
Happiness is an individual pursuit, Em. He has to let himself be happy first. You spend far too much energy worrying about him.
I loI care about him. She gestured at Finley. I may not be listening at doors, but I worry about him.
Meow. Retract those claws of yours. I dont care if you write sonnets about his eyes and rhapsodize about his hair. Im just suggesting that maybe if you stopped trying to make him be happy hed find happiness on his own.
How?
Well, maybe hed realize that you accept him as he is. Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe part of the reason hes unhappy is that he thinks youre unhappy with him?
Emily stoppedobviously she hadnt considered that at all. And perhaps Griffin keeps secrets from you for the same reason youre afraid of him discovering yoursthat youll think less of him.
Now there was a thought. I hadnt entertained that possibility. She hadnt thought that perhaps Griffin had insecurities of his own. She was too busy second-guessing herself and worrying that he might not like her if he really knew her.
Sometimes she did reckless things just for the sheer joy of it. And sometimes she fought the urge to get into street brawls with men twice her size. Other times she felt guilty about keeping books from Griffins library in her room because no one else could read them. It was no more fun being too good than it was being too bad. But would Griffin still want her if she was sometimes bad? He never seemed to do the wrong thing, while she sometimes deliberately set off in the wrong direction.
Although, that blatant display of his abilities at the dock had been incredibly daring.
You want to see if cooks made any cakes? she suggested, tired of thinking. Did blokes have any idea just how much of a bother they were? We could make some tea and eat ourselves silly. That was the good option. The bad was jumping on their velocycles and driving into the east end for a little danger and excitement.
Actually, I have another idea. Emily stopped and turned to face her. Lets go to the St. Pancras station.
I thought we werent going to go until we discussed it with Griffin?
Emily tilted her head to one side. How long do you reckon it will be before that happens?
She had a point there. Besides, it was something to do that would take not only her mind off Griffin, but Emilys off Sam. Lord knows they could both benefit from that!
Finley shrugged. Why not? She had nothing better to do. Can we have cake first, though? She was starving.
Her friend grinned. Of course. One of us needs to take a por-tel with us. I told Sam I would.
Emily had created portable telegraph devices for all of them that made communication so much easier. They were also very helpful if one of them found themselves in a spot of trouble and needed help.
They stopped by the kitchen for cake and teaFinley made a pig of herself while Emily watched with amusement. Then, they grabbed jackets and whatever supplies each needed for poking about the station. They were going to look for clues as to where the mysterious automaton-girl had been taken, and by whom. They met at the stableswhere the velocycles were keptten minutes later.
Finley appraised Emilys various items. She looked prepared for anything. Just what are you hoping to find there, Em? Sometimes she wondered at the many devices and weapons her little friend made or possessed. What had happened to her that she was obsessed with making certain she and everyone around her was as safe as possible? It went beyond ordinary preparedness.
Emily swung her leg over her machine and gripped the steering bar as she kicked the stabilizing bar out of the way. I dont know, but I promised Sam Id be careful, so I want to be prepared for any eventuality.
That was sweet. Respectful. Finley tried to ignore a stab of jealousy as she climbed onto her own machine. Would Griffin worry about her? Would he even notice she was gone?
She wasnt certain she wanted to know the answer.
Chapter 4
She woke up with a start, a strange pounding in her chest. Was one of her parts defective? A cog off its pattern? No, it was that organic thingthat lump of muscle that pumped blood through her system.
What was blood again? Oh, yes. It was essentially the oil that kept human organisms running smoothly.
She touched her head. Inside her skull felt oddas though her logic engine had somehow changedhad become more. Information assaulted her at an alarming rate.
She understood it. All of it.
She was learning. She was evolving. Her heartthats what it was calledgave another jump.
Theyd given her a nameEndeavor 312which she didnt like, and clothes, which she did. Theyd also given her access to a water closet should she need to expel fluid again. And theyd given her food and waterthings that would act as fuel in her changing system. Things she would have to expel later on, only to continue taking more in. It seemed wasteful to her, but she understood the necessity.
She was learning. She was evolving. Her heartthats what it was calledgave another jump.
Theyd given her a nameEndeavor 312which she didnt like, and clothes, which she did. Theyd also given her access to a water closet should she need to expel fluid again. And theyd given her food and waterthings that would act as fuel in her changing system. Things she would have to expel later on, only to continue taking more in. It seemed wasteful to her, but she understood the necessity.
It had been explained to her that she was the first of her kind, that she would notice changes. The spider had told her not to get emotional over them. She wasnt quite sure what emotions were, but she knew it was linked to this pounding beneath the cage that protected her internal workings.
Voices. Thats what had brought her system to wake. The machines had gone to gather supplies, leaving her alone. They told her that soon others would join them. Was this them?
She rose from the horizontal rest bay. No, that wasnt what it was called. It was a bed. An odd term. Rest bay sounded much more accurate. Slowly, she walked across the dirt floorit was cold against the bottom of her bare feet. She was much more aware of temperature fluctuations now, and anything else that engaged her sensory inputs. Her endoskeleton was now completely covered by the pale membranous material that was sensitive to everything around it, including a breeze that seemed to blow through the cavern.
It smelled of age and dirt and metal down here. She knew she was underground because of how muted the noise of the city was. And this was a city, because she felt the rumble of trains, both above and below street level.
Slowly, on limbs that felt awkward, she went to the door of her room. It didnt want to open at first, but one good yank solved that problem; the entire metal and wood slab came free. She propped it against the wall and slipped out into the main chamber.
There were boxes and crates everywhere, and more slumbering automatons, too, though none seemed to have the same covering that she did. They didnt wear clothing, either. Some of them looked battle-scarred and patched together while others gleamed with the brightness of new metal.
Normally she would stop to inspect them all, but she wanted to see their guests. There was another door on the far side of the room and she moved toward it. There was an odd-looking glass-front box mounted on the wallit showed the catacombs beyond the door. She knew this because part of her was still machine and she understood.
A photographic camera had to be positioned somewhere near the ceiling out in the catacombs, not far from the door. Harnessed Aetheric energy fed the images seen through the lens of the camera to the receiver in the box with the glass front.
The visitors appeared on the glass. She grinned and hurried toward the door. Halfway there, she came to an abrupt and unanticipated stop.
Scowling, she looked down at the limbs that refused to move. She pulled and strained but to no avail. She could not move. It was then that she became aware of a humming noise and realized that she was more prisoner than guest herself.
The spot where she stood was home to a powerful magnet, one that froze the metal inside her to the spot. This was why the others felt they could leave her, leave the other slumbering machinesbecause there was little chance of escape.
And if there was little chance of escape, logic insisted that she was to be kept there regardless of her own thoughts on the matter.
She stared at the girls on the grainy surface of the glass, and then through a small slit in the door. There were two of themone tall with light hair streaked with dark and another shorter one with hair that looked like ropes.
Part of her reacted to the sight of them. It was her heart again, kicking up a fuss in her chest cavity. She knew them. She didnt know how, but she had seen them before. The little one especially.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement and jerked her head around. For a moment she was terrified of the strange girl staring at her from just a few feet away. The girl had curly red hair, honey-colored eyes and pale skin. She was tall and slender and dressed in ill-fitting clothes.
The girl was her. It was nothing but her own reflection staring back at her from the scuffed surface of a long, framed mirror. She reached upit took real effort to lift her arm under the magnets pulland touched her hair, then looked back at the girls outside. They walked past the door to where she was as though they didnt even see it.
But she saw them. Or rather, she saw her; the red-haired girl. Her mother.
Somehow, in what was left of her logic engine memory capacitors, she recognized a physical connection between herself and that tiny girl. She recognized another connection with the taller girl, as well, but not as strong. She reached forward, but the two couldnt see her. She opened her jaw to cry out, but only a low keening noise filled the room. The fleshy thing in her mouth still didnt work properly.
To her left yet another door opened. The old woman stood there, and she did not look amused. Her disapproval was made disconcerting given the odd angle of her head. She looked like a corpse that had been reanimated after its neck was broken, though how she knew that was an apt description was a mystery.
What are you doing? the woman demanded. The hitch in her voice box sounded worse. Were you trying to leave?
I heard voices, she confessed, pointing at the glass, but her gaze was pulled past the old woman, into the room behind her. It was a sterile place, filled with soft lights and scads of machinery.
The badly repaired automaton pulled a switch on the wall, and the magnetic force abruptly disappeared. Meanwhile, her companion skittered toward the door, blocking her view of the catacombs. It didnt matterthe girls had passed by and were almost out of sight.
What interested her now was inside that forgotten room. She walked toward it and peeked over the threshold. Tubes and wires ran from a framework of machinery bolted onto the ceiling to a long metal containment tube with a thick glass cover. Inside the tank she could see the form of a man suspended in a green, viscous fluid. A mask covered his nose and mouth, and a hose ran from the mask to the inner wall. A bellows outside the tank rose and fell in a steady rhythm that matched the rise and fall of the mans chest.
Apparatuses hummed and buzzed, clicked and chirped. Bladders filled with liquids hung from hooks, their tubes attached to one larger hub on the outside of the tank. One thicker tube ran inside and was embedded in the mans forearm. Were they giving him medicine? Sustenance? Poison?
No, they werent trying to kill him. They were trying to save him. As soon as she realized it, she knew who he was.
Get away from there! the old woman snapped, shoving her out of the room. Her voice hummed with an odd metallic echo. She smelled bad, and her gown gaped where it was missing a button, showing a stained chemise beneath the dirty silk. She shut the door.
Youve no business in there. None whatsoever. You were made for one purpose, to learn and understand. To be the perfect vessel. You should be content with that. It is a great honor that awaits you, little one. If you fail, you will doom us all. You will doom him. Now, back to your room. There are books there for you to read.
Reading. That was the deciphering of words upon a page so that they told a story. Yes, it was one of her favorite pastimes, though she was certain shed never done it before. In fact, she knew she hadnt done it before, because she had no idea how to figure out what the letters meant when they were bunched together.