Chapter 14 Zaria #2
“Not unless we happen across our good friend Henry Cole or any of his ilk. And I don’t expect them to be here on a day like this.
” Kane indicated the seemingly unending glass hall before them, then addressed Fletcher.
“Head in the direction of the crystal fountain. We’re right behind you, but if we get split up, wait there. ”
Fletcher gave a mocking salute in response, and then Kane and Zaria followed him into the masses of people.
“I know what you’re doing,” Zaria said, hating how close she had to bring her lips to Kane’s ear. He was too warm. Too alive. She saw his right cheek crease in response.
“Oh, yeah?”
“You’re not worried we’ll get separated. You’re worried I’m going to try and slip away from you.”
This time, he brought his lips to her ear, breath tickling the delicate shell of it. “And why would you do that? I’m quite sure you told me you don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“I’ve been known to make rash decisions.”
“Don’t I know it,” he said, and Zaria swore she felt him smile. The pressure of his hand atop hers grew firmer. “But fine—I’m keeping you close, Miss Mendoza, because I don’t trust you.”
She jerked back to get a better look at him. “I want to find this Curator, too, you know. Especially if the alternative is that Jules and I go to prison.”
“And yet you’ve proven you have no issues lying to me.”
Zaria lowered her voice as they left the fabrics behind and made their way past the furniture displays.
“I know you’re furious, Kane. You’ve made that abundantly clear, and I’m not asking you to forgive me.
But if we’re going to do this, you might try to make working together more bearable.
That means not treating me like a child you can’t let out of your sight.
” Saying it aloud emboldened her, and she added, “Besides, I know you weren’t going to keep your end of the deal.
Fletcher told me the truth. You never had any intention of stealing the rest of the Waterhouse jewels for me, did you? ”
Kane continued staring straight ahead. For a moment, Zaria thought he might ignore her, but then his lips twisted, the bravado seeming to drain away. A cold bitterness replaced it. “I had changed my mind.”
“What?” Zaria said, certain she must have misheard. They were approaching the crystal fountain now, the sound of rushing water dampening the chatter around them.
“About the Waterhouse jewels. I’d changed my mind.”
She frowned up at him, trying to make sense of that. Did he mean that he had decided to fulfill his end of the bargain after all, even if he hadn’t originally planned on it?
“There you are.” Fletcher’s voice made her jump and Kane angle his head away. “Sorry. I didn’t want to yell over the crowd. It’s madness in here.”
“Indeed.” Kane relinquished Zaria’s arm.
She wanted to ask what else he’d been about to say, but the tether between them had snapped.
His mouth was clamped tightly shut, that impassive mask back in place.
She resolved to raise the subject again later as her attention shifted to what she could see of the crystal fountain.
It was surrounded by throngs of admiring patrons who blocked her view of the wide base, but she could see the way it narrowed into a mushroom-shaped set of elaborate, twinkling tiers.
Water spouted from each level and collected in the basins below.
Plants had been arranged around it, and in the background, Zaria could see one of the great elm trees that had been here long before the palace itself.
Though ostentatious, she had to admit the sight was beautiful, especially with the sun streaming through the glass ceiling.
“There’s India,” Fletcher said, pointing to the overhead banner.
His declaration was unnecessary; Zaria recognized the beautiful howdah that sat atop a shockingly realistic taxidermied elephant.
She hadn’t gotten much of a chance to look at it during their previous visits, and as they approached it, she was struck by the sheer size.
She’d never imagined an animal could be so large.
“There,” Zaria said once she had dragged her gaze away from the elephant, pointing to a mass of people near the creature.
She couldn’t see what they were looking at, but since they weren’t gathered around one of the exhibitors’ stalls, there was only one thing that could draw so much attention.
Her pulse quickened. “That has to be it.”
The change in Kane was immediate; he looked like a hunting dog encountering a scent. “You’re right.”
“How are we going to get a good look at it?” Fletcher asked. “Unless you expect us to shove everyone else out of the way.”
“I don’t see the problem with doing that.”
Neither did Zaria, if she was being honest. She could sense the collective excitement in the air, and as she watched, a handful of people shuffled along to reveal two fully uniformed coppers.
They were flanking the device, their stern expressions unchanging as they waved away patrons who had loitered too long.
“Recognize those two?” Kane asked Fletcher, noticing the officers at the same time Zaria did.
Fletcher shook his head. “No, but that doesn’t mean much. They all look similar in uniform.”
“I only want to know if they might have any connection to Inspector Price. I don’t want to find ourselves in a sticky situation.”
“Doubtful, but I can’t be positive.”
“I thought Price wanted you to track down the Curator,” Zaria put in, lifting up onto her toes in an attempt to get a better view. “Why would it matter if any of the coppers recognized you?”
Kane shot her a sidelong glance. “It’s not us I’m worried about. The inspector knows how our last little heist went—I don’t think he’d be pleased to learn I’ve invoked your services a second time. You can see how that would make me look rather like an idiot.”
His tone was cool, but the words held no malice. Zaria pursed her lips. “Right. Well, I’m going to take a closer look.”
She caught only the start of Kane’s objection before she was engulfed by the crowd, able for once to block out the racket as she pushed her way toward the device.
The first thing she noticed was its size.
It was hardly enormous—perhaps coming up to her chest—and quite narrow, tapering from the base.
Zaria thought it was shaped vaguely like a lighthouse.
The bottom third of the device appeared to be little more than a metal casing, but atop that was a sphere held aloft by a curved hook.
It reminded her of a globe, although the sphere was translucent, a faint glow pulsing at its center.
She yearned to get a better look, but the copper nearest her was already indicating that she should step back.
Irritated, she obliged, promptly abandoning all spatial sense and colliding with something—no, someone—firm.
“I told you I didn’t want to get separated,” Kane hissed from behind her, his hands fastening, clawlike, around her upper arms. Somehow he managed to maneuver both of them out of the way as another wave of patrons swept by.
Zaria found herself leaning into him, the grounding warmth of his body a distraction from the chaos before sense came flooding back.
“You were taking too long,” she said.
“We were being careful—something I would have thought you’d appreciate. Did you get a good look at the device?”
She shook her head. “The coppers aren’t letting anyone come too close.”
“They’re probably afraid it’s a weapon of some kind.”
“It’s not.”
“I thought you said you didn’t get a good look.”
Zaria glared, even knowing Kane couldn’t see her face. “I didn’t. But I know what it isn’t, and it’s not a weapon. I would have thought you’d realized that as well.”
A thinning of the crowd allowed him to move to her side. He crossed his arms, staring at the device with a contemplative tilt of his head. “I never get too confident when it comes to alchemology. What’s the light at the center, do you think?”
“I’d guess solanum, but there’s no way of knowing for sure without closer inspection.”
“Move along, now!” The booming, impatient voice of a copper carried over the crowd.
The man gestured with a great sweep of his arm, and reluctantly, the loitering patrons began to shuffle away from the device, Zaria and Kane caught up in the current.
As they reached one of the columns at the edge of the India exhibit, an arm shot out and grabbed hold of Kane’s, yanking him out of the flow.
Zaria was quick to follow, not interested in being chastised a second time.
“There you are,” Fletcher said, letting go of Kane as though just realizing what he’d done. “We ought to have known they’d be keeping people at a distance.”
“I was hoping Zaria might recognize what we’re dealing with,” Kane replied, “but apparently that’s not the case.”
Zaria raised her brows, stepping closer to the column to avoid being jostled.
“Any identifying parts of the device will be contained in the metal casing. From what I can see, it’s nothing more than a sort of…
light source.” She lifted a shoulder. “Have we considered the possibility that the device doesn’t do anything?
I mean, an eternally burning light is enough to interest people with no knowledge of alchemology.
Maybe the Curator simply wanted to cause a stir.
Maybe the device has no function other than to intrigue. ”
Fletcher appeared to chew that over, but Kane set his jaw. “Of course I’ve considered that possibility. But the Curator left a calling card, which suggests he’s proud of what he created. I doubt he’d be proud of a device with no function.”
“How do you know the Curator is a he?” Zaria shot back, then faltered.
Her attention snapped to a figure visible just over Kane’s shoulder.
It was a girl: young, tall, with reddish-blonde hair and a purposeful stride.
She stood on the other side of the crystal fountain, the falling water turning her features indistinct, but she was recognizable nonetheless.
Maisie.
Zaria’s heart leapt into her throat, thrumming violently alongside the roaring in her ears. She ducked between Kane and Fletcher.
“I suppose the Curator could be a woman,” Kane was saying. “It’s just that—what the hell are you doing?” A frown settled between his sharp brows as he noticed her odd behavior. At the same time, Fletcher shifted his stance, and Zaria released a hiss through her teeth.
“Don’t move,” she said, positioning herself behind the much-larger boy. “We need to get out of here.”
Kane gave a wry twist of his lips. “Which is it? It’s difficult, you see, to simultaneously not move and also get out of here.”
Too late, Zaria realized she wouldn’t be able to explain her reaction.
Telling Kane about Maisie would mean telling him about Vaughan, and she certainly wasn’t about to do that.
Gaining a hold of herself, she straightened just as Maisie glanced over her shoulder, mouth tight.
Her eyes found Zaria’s for the barest fraction of a second.
Then the girl was gone, ducking between two men sporting top hats.
Zaria let out a shaky breath. “I thought I saw… the copper I shot. Price Junior.”
It was enough to ease Kane’s and Fletcher’s suspicions—for now. The mention of Price distracted them precisely as she’d hoped it would.
“I highly doubt that,” Kane said sternly. “But just in case, let’s get the hell out of here.”