Coldmaker(75)

Cam set his tray down slowly, his hand absently going to his chest where the necklace sat. ‘Is that trying to be the Opened Eye? I hate to break it to you, but it’s a bit askew.’

‘No.’ I shook my head, picking up the quill and adding the few final distorted lines around the pupil.

‘Not that I’m not all for what this almost-symbol represents,’ Cam said with a smile, ‘but I don’t think badly decorating a shirt counts as making something.’

I sized Cam up for a moment. The Wrap would be a bit tight, but this time I’d remembered to build a release valve. ‘Put it on.’

Cam pushed his glasses up his nose. ‘Won’t the ink run?’

I shook my head. ‘I pressed hard. Now put it on.’

‘Why’s it got a box hanging off it?’

I paused, giving him a wry look. ‘For someone who spat on a very holy painting, and who jumped in front of a whip for me, you seem awfully scared of a simple piece of clothing.’

Cam burst out laughing, his eyes twinkling. ‘A natural.’ He threaded the Wrap over his body, letting his arms hang at his sides as he looked it over. ‘Hmm. Fashionable.’

‘Okay, hold still.’ I put a Wisp into the crushing chamber, and gave it a hard twist. Now that I’d been able to make this version of the Wrap with all the finest materials in the Khatdom, the device worked flawlessly, puffing out and holding the Cold air inside firm and tight. Cam’s face lit up, not expecting the sensation, and he looked at me with a face full of awe.

The Opened Eye bloated outwards as the Wrap expanded, the symbol stretching into the right dimensions. It wasn’t perfect, but it was close.

‘Now it’s the Opened Eye,’ I said, running my foot across the smooth floor. ‘Kind of neat, huh?’

Cam seemed at a loss for words, looking down over his chest.

‘I call it a Cold Wrap,’ I said. ‘It holds the Cold in so you can walk around and battle Sun all day.’

‘Tears above! It’s so Cold!’ Cam’s teeth began to chatter, but his face was fixed in an expression of reverence. ‘Spout. This is amazing. Everyone should have one. Why isn’t this a real thing?’

A voice came from behind us: ‘It is. It’s called a Saffir.’

I spun around and found Leroi’s gaunt body hiding in the shadow of a large shelf. I hadn’t heard him come out of the study, and wondered how long he’d been watching.

‘Thank the Crier, I thought you might be the Vicaress,’ Cam said, hand over his chest. ‘Why are you sneaking around in your own tinkershop, Leroi?’

‘I’ve been watching,’ Leroi replied, his voice quiet. I imagined he must have tinkered a recipe for a sobriety tonic as well, considering he should have been asleep from the amount of spirits he’d imbibed. ‘I didn’t want to interrupt Spout’s work. Where did you see such a rare thing, Spout? Nobles never admit to wearing them publically. Did a Domestic describe one to you?’ he asked gently.

‘I just thought it would be a good idea, sir. I made one once before.’

Leroi’s eyes narrowed. ‘With your stolen scraps?’

‘Yes.’

Leroi walked over to Cam to appraise my work. He looked closely at the crushing chamber, and even smiled at the design on the chest. ‘This is good work, Spout,’ he said. Then he turned back to look me in the eye. ‘Tell me, I’d like to know. What did the Crier tell you? When you had your little chat.’

I was surprised at the question. ‘Sir?’

Cam nearly choked, the flesh on his arms prickled from the Cold. ‘Wait. You talked to the Crier?’

‘Course he did,’ Leroi said matter-of-factly, picking up a Wisp from the table and rolling it between his spindly fingers. There was a dark sort of amusement in his face. ‘What did He say?’

‘He told me that it’s not supposed to be this way,’ I said, trying not to be discouraged. ‘He told me that they put it in the ground.’

Leroi’s face jerked, settling into a frown. ‘What did you just say?’

I lowered my eyes, feeling foolish. It had just been a hallucination from the pain, and the voice was just repeating what Old Man Gum used to babble. ‘That’s what I can remember. They put it in the ground, He kept saying. But I used to have a family member that said the same—’

Without another look at me, Leroi walked out of the room. After a long silence, I could hear the door to his study open. Before it slammed shut Leroi called back: ‘You can stay.’

I turned to Cam, his face already busy with a hundred questions.

‘What?’ I asked.

Cam’s body was quivering as he plucked at the Wrap around his chest. ‘How do I get this thing off?’





Chapter Twenty-Five


I’d been tinkering for a few hours when Cam’s knocks sounded at the main door. Three raps – two fast, a pause, and then another – which was his way of letting me know it was safe, and that he was alone.

I laid down my tools to run up the steps and undo the heavy chain.

Cam checked the hallway behind him and then swept past me. He looked dishevelled, strands of his golden hair flying around him, and with dark circles under his eyes.

I locked behind us. ‘Good to see you.’