Smoke and Iron (The Great Library #4)(65)

“No, no, no, we can’t do that. The chances of betrayal double with every person you tell!”

Morgan gave her a long, serious look, then took the older woman’s hands. “Annis,” she said. “It’s why I came here. It’s why I’ve risked my life and my freedom to enter this Tower. To make sure that no one is ever locked in it again against their will. There will be risks. And we have to start taking them now.”

Annis’s hands tightened on hers, and the woman’s cool, translucent skin seemed to pale even further . . . but then she nodded. “Well then. You’ll be wanting to know who in that section might be helpful.”

“I would.”

“I’ll make a list of those to avoid at all costs. Most everyone else in the Tower would listen to a plan, but mind you: there isn’t one of them that would risk imprisonment or injury. We’ve all heard talk of rebellion, and most support it in their hearts. It’s their cowardly bodies you have to convince.” Annis took a deep breath. “Perhaps I could mesmer one of them to bring us the crystals.”

“No.”

“It would minimize—”

“No,” Morgan said again. “I’m doing this to free us, not enslave us further. I don’t like what we had to do to Friedrich, but he was already being used; we just ensured it wouldn’t be effective. I won’t do the same to a fellow prisoner in this place.”

Annis looked sad, and she also looked wary. “Lass, I don’t think you understand. You were born out there, wild in the world. We are like birds who’ve never known but a cage. We see the world through our windows, but I fear if you threw our doors wide-open, we might be afraid to leave.”

“But you’d have the choice.” Morgan touched the collar around her neck. “Freedom doesn’t mean you have to leave. It means you choose. It isn’t done for you.”

Annis slowly nodded. “All right. I’ll visit the workshop. I’m sure I have a friend or two there.”

“Be careful,” Morgan said. “We’re going against Gregory now. And he’s already killed one Obscurist. He won’t hesitate to kill more to hang on to his power.”

Annis winked at her. “I’ve run circles around that little shite since we were both your age,” she said. “I’ll be back soon. Oh . . . almost forgot. Presta atención.”

She left, taking the food tray with her; Morgan felt the tiny snap of power as the listening scripts were activated again. She was tempted to follow, but she knew Annis was right; the Obscurist had eyes on her at all times, and the only safe place was here, in the rooms they searched daily for new intrusions. The crystals would be a fine way to spy on someone at a distance, she thought. Until that moment, she hadn’t thought of it, but now that she had, she wondered if there might not be a second use for the crystals, after making contact with Eskander.

Knowing what Gregory might be up to . . . that could be valuable.

Annis didn’t return for a few hours, which made Morgan pace the floor in worry, but when she finally did, she had a man of about her own age in tow. In fact, he had his hand around Annis’s waist and a smile on his face that quickly faltered when he saw Morgan in the room.

Annis shut the door. “Silencio. Morgan, this is Pyotr. An old, old friend of mine.”

Pyotr was a man who’d aged well; his hair had silvered, and his strong face—never pretty, Morgan guessed—still looked striking. He nodded to her cautiously. “Hello.”

“Hello, Pyotr,” she replied, and sat down on her bed.

He stared at her in confusion, then at Annis. “Forgive me, love, but . . . I must have misunderstood.”

Morgan realized that Annis had coaxed him here with a promise of something a great deal more intimate than a conversation, and had to stifle an uncomfortable laugh. Of all the things she didn’t want to think about, Annis’s love life was top of the list. Annis was the first to admit that it was quite colorful.

“You didn’t at all,” Annis told him cheerfully. “I lied dreadfully, but if you’re a patient man, I might just keep all my promises. Make yourself comfortable, Pyotr. We’ve got something to discuss with you.”

Annis’s instincts proved to be as good as ever; Pyotr, it turned out, had been dragged to the Iron Tower against his will when he was almost fifteen and had never stopped wanting to find his way out again. “You’re the one who escaped the Tower,” he said. “Twice.”

“I did,” Morgan said. “More than twice, actually, but once I came back without anyone the wiser. And I came back this time under my own will again.”

“Gregory says you were dragged back.”

“He would,” Annis said sourly. She sat on her bed and patted the spot next to her. “We’ve got a long story.”

“Short, really,” Morgan said, as the other man sank down beside Annis. “How badly do you want to get out of the Iron Tower? Not just as a fugitive. As a free man, no collar around your neck. Free to come and go as you please.”

He blinked. He’d been here a long time, and for a moment she was afraid that it had been too long for him to remember the rebellious, angry boy who’d been brought here fighting. But then he said, “If you can promise such a thing, I’d fight for it. And I’m far from the only one. But don’t say it if you can’t do it. Lives will be lost.”