Four Dead Queens(16)

Hang on. I blinked. I couldn’t scramble a mind, but I knew what could. “Give me your destabilizer.”

The messenger looked at me as though I were mad. “No.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “I can unlock the vault.” Although I wasn’t planning on it. Once I had the destabilizer, I could use it on the messenger.

He looked between the wall and his weapon, then aahed in understanding. Too bad he wasn’t as dumb as his stony expression suggested. He removed his hat and ran a hand through his black curls. “Please move aside.”

“Only because you asked nicely.”

He held the destabilizer to the wall and pressed the small button at the base. A bright blue streak flashed before the bricks disappeared altogether, the microorganisms now unconscious.

And although I should’ve been concerned about Mackiel finding us breaking into his vault, I couldn’t help but enjoy the buzz. I forgot where I was, caught up in the game.

The vault yawned back into the darkness. I squinted. It hadn’t been this large the last time I’d been in here. Mackiel must have extended into the room next door—his quarters. Why hadn’t he told me? And what else was he hiding?

The messenger flipped a switch on his destabilizer, and light bled out in a circle, illuminating the alcove in an instant. The closest shelves were mostly empty, making the silver comm case easy to locate.

I darted forward and slid the comm case into my palm before the messenger could reach for it.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Ensuring my safety.” I stepped back out of the vault, my eyes fixed on the destabilizer. “We’ll do a swap. You give me your destabilizer, and I’ll give you the comm case.” Come on, come on.

The messenger stepped forward but then stopped, his gaze trained on the office doorway. I turned reluctantly.

“Hello, darlin’.” Mackiel was blocking the exit, a pistol in his hand.

The messenger held the destabilizer up, but it was useless against Mackiel at a distance. I’d seen more powerful versions that shot darts of voltage, but it was clear this smaller one was meant for hand-to-hand combat.

“Mackiel!” I said in relief. “Thank the queens above you’re here. This messenger said he’d destabilize me if I didn’t return his comm case.”

Mackiel moved to stand behind his desk, his pistol unwavering. “Is that so?”

I frowned at him, confused by his cold reaction. I knew how it looked, but I would never betray Mackiel.

“Yes.” Now was not the time to be playing games.

The messenger shot me an angry look, an expression I wouldn’t have believed he was capable of making.

“Kera, darlin’,” Mackiel mused. “My most daring, my most talented . . . my best dipper.” He didn’t say friend. I stayed quiet, unsure where he was going with this and scared by the deadly look in his eye. “And my best liar.” He smirked. “I’ve trained you well.”

Only then did I realize the pistol was aimed at me.

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “You know me. I would never—”

“Oh, be quiet!” he snapped. “I know exactly what you would and wouldn’t do. Hand over the comm case. Now.”

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked. “You know I wouldn’t betray you.”

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow. “You’re saying you’d never leave me for dead?” He scratched at his neck.

“That was years ago! You know that was an accident!” And what did that have to do with the comm case? What was so important about the memories the chips held?

“An accident?” He pursed his lips. “Like your father’s? Many people seem to have accidents around you.”

I flinched as though I’d been slapped. He’d never spoken to me that way. He’d grown cold, yes, but never cruel. This wasn’t my friend. The boy I knew would never have thrown that in my face. He had comforted me after my father had been gravely injured. He’d given me a place to live when I couldn’t face my mother. Why was he turning on me now?

“Give me the comm case before my finger slips,” Mackiel said with a sly grin, “accidentally.”

Was I about to become another body to dump in the sewer? Was it really the henchmen or Mackiel who’d been getting “carried away”?

“Please, Mackiel.” I held my hands out, my dipper bracelet dangling from my wrist. “Don’t do this!”

He pointed the pistol at the messenger. “Move.” He gestured to me with the barrel. “Stand beside her.”

He always wanted to prove he was tougher than he looked. Would he kill me to do it?

“Quickly!” he said.

Mackiel had selected the messenger to steal from; somehow he’d known what was on the chips and how vital they were. Vital to the survival of the auction house, which was all he had left of his father. Was it a memory from his father? Surely not. But he obviously cared more about this comm case than our friendship. I would have to use that against him.

I shoved the window behind me open. “Come any closer, and I’ll throw the comm case into the sea.” I placed my hand out in the frigid air. “Then you’ll have to take a swim to the bottom of the ocean to retrieve it.” Both of us could use that day. The day he almost drowned.