Coldmaker(77)

Cam’s face scrunched up with disgust. ‘Lizards under stones, shut that off!’

I nodded, smiling through the sound, which was like someone howling after a whipping. I rubbed the pieces a bit faster, and the volume increased, sounding even more like a high-pitched moan.

Cam’s hands went to his ears, and he gave me a pleading look. ‘Mercy. Mercy.’

I put the rod and rare glass back on the table, the vibrations cooling. ‘So I figured I’d make a system with a series of gears on notches which would be timed to rotate in—’

Cam held up a hand. ‘I don’t speak Inventor.’

I paused, raising an eyebrow. ‘Want me to translate it to … “Camlish”?’

Cam laughed and bowed over the table. ‘Fluent.’

‘Basically, you put the box in some alley, crank this piece as a timer and then go about your business. When it goes off, the taskmasters will be drawn to it, and you can slip behind their backs unnoticed. And I’m going to paint the Decoy Boxes deep black so when the sound stops, they’ll be lost in the shadows. Useful for the simple Jadan scavenger, or someone devious.’

Cam took his eyes off the table to meet mine. ‘And this is something you came up with? Without Leroi?’

I nodded. I knew this was nothing which would bring down the Khat, but I felt that it was a solid invention that might be able to help someone.

Cam wobbled the rubber rope some more. ‘I’m in.’

I opened my mouth, but he knew what I was going to say.

‘To watch,’ Cam said, catching the look on my face. ‘For company. Don’t worry, I won’t mess with anything.’

I grinned at him. ‘I might take a while. Some of this is going to be tricky.’

Cam tapped his shirt pocket, pressed into the shape of a book. ‘I brought supplies. For when I get bored.’

I reached across the table and snatched the rubber strip from his hand. ‘Good, because this will be quite complicated. See, the crank is going to be—’

Cam put his feet up with a wink, and then pulled out his book with the Opened Eye on the cover. ‘Phew. Don’t think I could have taken much more of that.’

The dribble finally reached Cam’s chin.

Which meant that I had lost the bet against myself.

I sighed. I’d been using the slow trickle of spit from Cam’s sleeping mouth as a challenge, racing to see if I could get the timing gears aligned before the drip hit his chin. Now I’d lost, and I owed myself three more hours of not worrying about Abb.

Or I could at least try.

I’d thought about waking Cam, as a lot of this tinkering would have been easier with an extra hand to press glue here and keep the rubber from snapping there, but he looked so peaceful that I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I was shaving down a piece of the Glassland Blue with some sandpaper when the study door slammed open.

Cam woke with a start, nearly falling to the floor, his book toppling from his chest.

Leroi’s crumpled body slumped against the doorframe. His eyes were bloodshot, his cheeks were sunken, and his silver hair was outrageously unkempt. He looked like he’d aged a few years in a few days, and, if anything, his complexion was even paler than before, so pale that I wondered if the magic lights might just shine right through him.

Leroi croaked something, his voice gravelly and soft, but his eyes weren’t focusing on us.

Cam and I exchanged a look.

Then the Tinkerer seemed to realize that no one was on the other side of the door, his eyes blinking furiously, and he ducked back into the shadows.

Cam yawned, wiping the dribble from his chin. ‘Do you think—’

Leroi shot out of the study, his wiry arms wrapped around a large crate. The bars were too thin to see through properly, but I saw glimpses of steel, curved and sleek. Inside were dozens of different little items that I had to assume were the anklets. From here they looked like normal shackles, and I couldn’t tell what all the fuss was about.

I stood up, so Leroi might see where we were, but at the sight of my face he took off, smashing and bumping his way to the main stairs. The crate was unwieldy and obviously heavy, controlling him more than the other way around. Leroi knocked against a table leg, stumbled, and sent a small shelf of starscopes cascading to the ground, lenses smashing.

‘Cousin!’ Cam shouted, but Leroi didn’t stop. He almost didn’t make it up the stairs, the weight of the crate making his feet falter – but he reached the top, and didn’t look back. The veins in his neck strained with effort, purpled and bulging, but he managed to knock the chain loose with his elbow and burst through the door.

I ran behind, straight through the stench of strong alcohol, but when I got up the stairs and to the door I heard voices in the hallway. I knew I couldn’t risk going out, so I stopped short. Closing the door with a sigh, I returned to my table. Cam’s head was deep in his book although his cheeks were flushed. Even though the desire was now burning, I knew this would be the wrong time to ask again about the anklets, so I kept quiet and went about my tinkering.

Leroi didn’t return for three days.

When he showed up he didn’t come through the main door, instead appearing from somewhere in the back of the workshop. I’d already assumed there were secret passages in and out of this place, but now there was proof.