Coldmaker(74)

‘Thank you for the orangefruits,’ I said, licking the roof of my mouth, trying to taste everything about the fruit that I could. ‘And this.’

‘Orangefruit is the plural. And with strawberries you don’t eat the leaf on top,’ Cam said with a grin, pointing to my mouth.

I tilted my head, swallowing everything whole. ‘Why not? It’s green.’

‘You sh—’ Cam shook his head, peeking back over his shoulder. ‘Never mind. I’m glad you’re awake. But let me in, because as far as the rest of the Manor is concerned, Leroi doesn’t have any assistants.’

I moved aside so he could lock us back in. He lowered the tray to me, and I snatched the rest of the strawberries with a sheepish grin.

‘Has anyone ever told you that you snore really loudly?’

‘I do?’

Cam nodded, tucking into the cheese, which looked to me like it might have gone bad. I wanted to point out the specks of blue on it, but he ate it so quickly that I didn’t have time.

‘It’s like,’ Cam tapped his lip, lost in thought, ‘if a camel was rolling down a hill, but having fun.’

I smirked, wondering why Abb had never brought this to my attention.

And then fear and realization slammed together in my mind like two slabs of heavy stone, crushing the dreamy mood in which I’d been idiotically awash.

Abb.

I’d been so enamoured with the tinkershop that I hadn’t even thought about the danger my father would be in. Leroi’s tonic had left me sluggish and unconcerned, and like a fool I’d been flitting about the tinkershop puffed up with a false sense of pride and security, buzzing with purpose. I couldn’t believe that worry over my father was only hitting me now, and I’d never felt so selfish in my life. The first place the Vicaress would check for me was my barracks, and she would do everything she could to get my family to talk.

And Moussa. Poor Moussa. Was he even still alive after her interrogation?

I coughed, spitting out some of the seeds.

Cam dodged the projectiles with a chuckle, somehow managing not to drop the food tray. ‘You can eat those.’

‘My father!’ I said, nearly falling to my knees. ‘She’s going to go after him!’

‘Abb?’ Cam gave me a sceptical look, his glasses now sitting at the end of his nose. ‘Shivers and Frosts, Spout! What kind of friend do you think I am? First thing I did was send out word to Mama Jana. She’s been keeping her ear to the ground about your barracks and we’ve been sending notes back and forth every few hours.’ He patted his shirt pocket, which was bulging at the moment. ‘You’re worth quite a bit of information.’

I couldn’t breathe. ‘You did? You have?’

Cam nodded sincerely. ‘You and that Shiver girl are the talk of Paphos right now. Both vanishing into thin air. But from what I can tell, the Vicaress wants to keep her failures quiet, so she hasn’t even shown up at your barracks yet. Everything is calm for now, and Abb is perfectly fine. I wanted to tell you, and checked on you a few times, but you were sound asleep.’ His face suddenly went hard. ‘Leroi was supposed to let you know. Where is he, anyway?’

I took a deep breath, trying to let Cam’s words sink in and find my calm. ‘Sleeping.’

‘Sleeping?’ Cam raised an eyebrow. ‘Or sleeping?’

‘You’re right,’ I said. I could barely talk over the sound of my thundering heart. ‘He’s a bit broken at the moment.’

Cam nudged me with an elbow. ‘Good thing he works in a tinkershop. Broken. Right?’

I would have laughed, but I was nowhere close.

‘Sorry,’ Cam said, wrinkling his nose, as if finally smelling the obviously rotten cheese on the tray. ‘Just trying to lighten the mood.’

I shrugged. ‘No, it was funny. And I have a friend, Moussa, at the barracks. Can you find out about him as well?’

‘Consider it done.’

A pause sat heavy between us.

‘I’m glad you came to me,’ Cam said softly. ‘And that you’re safe.’

I swallowed hard, not worthy of his kindness. ‘Thank you.’

‘So what have you been doing?’ Cam asked, his returning chipperness grating against my layers of guilt. ‘Polishing the equipment?’

I surveyed the magical land, a bit of enthusiasm finally peeking back through. ‘Better.’

‘Sorting the metals?’

I let the silence build for dramatic effect. ‘He wants me to tinker something.’

Cam’s eyebrows went up. ‘Already?’

I nodded.

Cam plucked a slice of meat and chewed with his mouth wide open, an evil grin in his eyes. ‘Do I know how to pick them, or what? Spout. You’ve done me proud.’

I felt my cheeks flush. ‘Do you want to see it?’

‘See what?’

I gave him a blank look. ‘What I made?’

Cam stopped chewing. A stray bit of meat flecked his chin. ‘Already?’

‘Already.’

‘I thought he meant, like, to plan something for you to do before next Crierday. You made something? How?’

I gave a little bow. ‘A natural, I guess.’

Leading him down the stairs and through the maze of shelves, we came to my work surface, cleared of everything except my invention, a cup of Wisps, and some inking supplies.