The Alchemists of Loom (Loom Saga #1)(77)
The Philosopher’s Box would change everything, and that was why no one believed it could ever be real.
“This is meant to be a Philosopher’s Box,” Ari insisted again. “You can see it in the casing, the way it opens and closes in place of heart valves here, right here.”
“In place of heart valves?” Florence repeated, confused. She’d always imagined the Philosopher’s Box to be a sort of Chimera-making contraption—like a golden coffin.
“Yes, it’s obvious by the tension in the springs and the way this is drawn to have a circle stopper.”
Florence would have to take her word for it.
“Let’s say for a minute that I believed you on all this.” Ari looked instantly hurt that she would imply any differently. Florence continued, determined. “That this is a part of a schematic for an actual Philosopher’s Box. Why would Cvareh bring it to Loom, to the resistance? Doesn’t that seem like he’s trying to help us?”
Arianna didn’t miss a beat. “He’s doing it to earn their trust. He wants them to think they can trust him.”
“And what if he wants them to think that because they actually can?” Florence shook her head. “If he just wanted to try conning them into belief, couldn’t he have brought anything and said it was a piece of an unfinished Philosopher’s Box? By the time they finished investigating, he could have what he wanted.”
“It’s more realistic if he brings them the real thing.” Ari set the paper back down on the table with a sigh.
“You don’t quite believe yourself…” She stood, taking a step toward her teacher. Florence wrapped her arms around the woman’s waist, resting her cheek in the center of Ari’s back. “You want to, you’re trying to, but you don’t believe the words you’re saying, either.”
“I do.”
“You don’t.”
“How can you say that with such certainty?” Arianna grumbled.
Florence laughed softly. Her teacher, the brash and beautiful. “Tell me this: Does Cvareh still have his head and heart intact?”
“He does.” Though Ari’s tone implied it was a fact she might regret. An error she might be inclined to remedy sooner over later.
“Since when have you spared a Dragon’s life when you thought he was guilty of crimes against Loom? Or even the sincere possibility of committing crimes against Loom?” Florence waited a long second, giving Arianna a chance to grab for straws at an answer she knew she didn’t have. “That’s right, you don’t. So somewhere in you, you must be questioning this. You must be wondering if what he’s saying is true. His actions must have spoken to your heart clearly enough that you know he is not the evil you’re painting him to be.”
“You don’t know him,” Arianna whispered.
“After all we’ve been through? I think I have a pretty good idea. And I think you do too.” Florence rounded Arianna, leaning against the small table for support. The older woman looked down at her tiredly. “Ari, I don’t know what demons you face. I know they’re there, but I promised you I would never ask. Don’t let the shadows of the past smother the possibility for a bright future.”
It looked as though she was going to triumph. Arianna’s face relaxed, but the older woman’s eyes pressed closed, and she took a deep breath through her nose as though bracing herself.
Arianna opened her mouth to speak, when the airship lurched violently. Florence stumbled, off-balance and too hopelessly weak to correct herself. Arianna grabbed her, supporting her as a primal cry rose from outside. They heard the sound at the same time and it washed the gray from both their faces—the magical zip of a Dragon Rider’s glider.
“Bloody cogs.” Arianna was tearing off her clothing, throwing it about the room in a sprint for her harness and coat. “They weren’t supposed to have any idea where we were headed. Do you see now, Flor? The man lies! He’s in cahoots with them.”
“Then why are they hunting him?”
“It’s all a ruse!”
The ship jostled again. Florence gripped the table for support. “This is a pretty deathly ruse.”
“You just stay here.” Ari tightened her harness, feeling for her daggers, running some line through her winch box. “Stay here for now, and don’t be anywhere I can’t find you. I have a feeling we’ll be needing to make an exit before we reach port.”
Florence nodded, looking about the room, already making a list of what she needed to pack. “But find Cvareh too.”
“Oh, I will.” Arianna left with murder in her eyes.
She sighed heavily, leaning against the table. If she could go her entire life without ever seeing another King’s Rider, that would be ideal. Florence leaned back, wondering for a brief moment how she would make that come to pass. Her hand rested on the paper and Florence brought it up for inspection with a sigh.
Such a tiny thing had caused so much drama in what had been going so smoothly.
It was then that she noticed a small area that Arianna’s fingers had covered the first time she’d shown the page to Florence. Her eyes looked over it once, twice, three times. A few notes were scribbled on the paper, ripped off in the corner where the drawing had been taken from a larger schematic.