Madman's Dance (Time Rovers #3)(159)

“Say hi to Klein for me,” she told him.

Chris’ murderer vanished in those pinwheels of light the Ascendant had found so compelling: a devil headed home. Guv would take it from there.

This one’s for you, Theo.





Chapter 22




It took some effort to adjust the Dinky Doc one-handed. Once it was set, she pressed it against her neck and tried to relax. The dizziness evaporated, along with the ache in her chest. The wound would clot quicker now, but she still felt weird. It would take some time for the neural med to dissipate.

When she went to collect the knife, it was gone.

Cynda’s eyes tracked upward. Satyr was caressing the blade reverentially.

“Well done. I am impressed,” he remarked. “You sure you don’t want a job as an assassin? I’m short a couple.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Since the beginning.” He spread his hands. “I couldn’t resist following you. You’re so entertaining, Twig.”

Her attention remained on the knife. “Is there a new Ascendant?”

“Yes, they elected Cartwright since he cast the first vote. He’s a very malleable soul. He’ll live longer than most of them.”

“What about the rest of the explosives?”

“The previous Ascendant was ever so kind to tell me where they’re located right before he met his end. I dispatched an anonymous note to your Sergeant Keats. I would guess that at this very moment the cache is being retrieved.”

Keats will be the hero, again. “Thanks.”

Satyr nodded. He scrutinized the blade in his hand. “Fine, isn’t it? I see why the Ripper liked it. Too unwieldy in my opinion, but then he was a novice.”

“Novice?”

“All that hacking. Second-rate,” he observed, shaking his head in disapproval. “The mark of a true psychopath.”

“This from a guy who cut off Ahearn’s balls?”

Satyr looked hurt. “He deserved that. I left him near Traitor’s Gate for a reason.”

Her puzzled frown made him explain.

“He’d always had his eye on Fiona Flaherty, even though he was married. He kept after her. When she threatened to tell her father, Ahearn took his revenge. He followed her back to Effington’s house and sold her out to Effington for a few coins. When she resisted Hugo’s advances, he revealed her true identity to me.”



“So that’s why you chopped him up.”

A nod. “He betrayed his employer’s trust. He deserved what he got.”

“But you told the Ascendant about Fiona.”

The assassin scowled. “That was a mistake. He promptly ordered me to kidnap her as leverage against her father. I did not approve of that. It was not proper.”

“Didn’t fit your code of honor?”

When there was no reply, she realized that’s exactly what he meant.

The last of adrenalin bled away. Suddenly she felt washed out, like she hadn’t slept for months. She was too tired to fight anymore. She just wanted to see Theo.

A triple beep came from her interface, reminding her that the rest of the world was still on schedule. “The constable is due here in three minutes. Does our truce still hold?”

“Certainly, Twig.”

Cynda nodded. Taking him at his word, she collapsed the baton. Satyr dropped the knife and gave it a kick; it halted at her feet. She struggled to jam it in inside the Gladstone. Leaving it behind would open up an entirely new branch of Ripper investigation.

“Allow me.” To her unease, Satyr stepped to her side, knelt and inserted the knife into the bag. She threw the medication patch inside and he snapped the bag shut.

Without a word, he pulled out his handkerchief, then expertly tied it around the wound. It slowly soaked up the blood. “Best I can do,” he said. “Looks very nasty.”

As she stood, she scooped up the coat. Her interface sat open on the ground. He picked it up and for a moment, she thought he intended to keep it. Surely he knew what it was. Instead, he handed it to her.



“Yours, I believe.” She clicked the stem to halt the recording.

“They’re going to need a new female on the Twenty.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem.”

When Satyr helped her with her coat, carefully positioning it to allow for her injured arm, their eyes met.

“We’re kindred spirits now,” he said, his voice curiously mellow. “You were one heartbeat away from murder. Revenge was within your grasp, yet you backed away. You kept your humanity.”

“It was very close,” she admitted.

“It always is.”

As Cynda put the baton into an inside pocket, it thunked against the spare interface. She made the decision in a heartbeat. She tossed the pocket watch to Satyr. He deftly caught it, blinking in confusion.

“You need a Dinky Doc?”

“No. The clueless Rover was so kind as to lend me his.”

He clicked open the dial and then looked back up. She had just given him the means to go anywhere, any time.

“They can follow me if I use this,” Satyr replied, gesturing toward the interface.

“It’s untraceable. When the heat gets too much, go somewhere they can’t find you.”