The Cerulean (Untitled Duology, #1)(46)

Leo could have told him that—unless she had jumped from Pelago to the Knottle Plains, there was no way she was from the islands. He had a feeling that she was somehow related to that shooting star he and Agnes had seen, as crazy as that sounded. Kiernan slipped the jewelry into his medical bag, then took out another needle and syringe.

“What’s that for?” he asked.

“For her blood, dear boy.” Kiernan sank the needle into the crook of her elbow, and what he drew out amazed them both. The girl’s blood was as blue as her hair. He held the vial up and Leo stared in awe—flickers of light ran through it, crackling and vanishing like synapses.

“Whoa,” he whispered.

“Indeed,” Kiernan said.

“What do you think it means?”

“I have no idea, but I promise you I am going to find out.” He tucked the vial away and took out a small pair of scissors, then cut strands of her hair and took clippings of her fingernails and secured them in their own vials. Then he shone a small flashlight into each of her eyes—their color was stunning, like a sapphire but clearer and brighter. Finally Kiernan took out a measuring tape. First he measured the length of her arm, then her leg, then around her neck and her head, then finally her waist, making notations in a notebook.

“Help me lift her,” Kiernan said, as he tried to get the measuring tape around. Leo rolled her onto her side—he didn’t like moving her unconscious form today any more than he had yesterday. It felt wrong. As he touched her, he saw her eyelids flutter.

“I think she’s awake, Mr. Kiernan,” he said.

“Nonsense. That anesthetic I gave her will keep her out for a good two hours at least.” He made his last notation and snapped the book shut. Something niggled at Leo, something he couldn’t place besides the fact that he was sure her eyelids had moved. Her face was peaceful, and Leo noted that her eyelashes were a very dark blue. Her skin was a color any silversmith in Old Port would drool over, her lips were parted slightly, and Leo detected the fragrance of her hair again, an intoxicating scent that he still could not place.

“All right, let’s get her back in,” Kiernan said.

“In the crate?” he asked.

“Of course in the crate, where else would we put her?”

Leo looked at the box of wood. She was just . . . a girl. It felt wrong to put her back in there. Kiernan had grabbed hold of her legs.

“Come on then,” he said impatiently. “We haven’t got all—”

He was interrupted by the door to the theater bursting open, and Leo stared, starstruck, as James Roth ran down the aisle.

“Kiernan! They said I’d find you here. We’ve got to see Xavier at once.” He stopped when he caught sight of the girl. “In the name of the One True God and all his holy missives,” he gasped. “Who is that?”

“We aren’t entirely sure,” Kiernan said, standing and wiping his hands on his trousers before extending one to James to shake. “I’ve taken some samples, so we should know more by the day’s end. What on earth is all this fuss about then?”

Leo couldn’t stop staring. James Roth looked just the same as when Leo had seen him in The Great Picando, except he was in normal clothes. He had brown skin, thick, dark hair, and piercing green eyes, and he was a bit shorter than Leo had thought—perhaps he seemed taller onstage.

“My god, haven’t you seen the papers?” James said. “There’s been a development. An island in Pelago has been discovered. We’re needed at—oh, hello,” he said, just noticing Leo. “Sorry, are you new to the production?”

“Why, this is Xavier’s son,” Kiernan said, surprised. “Surely you two have met before.”

“I haven’t had the pleasure,” James said, holding out a hand. “James Roth.”

“Leo McLellan.”

“Leo caught our newest addition here,” Kiernan said with a nod to the girl.

“Really?” James looked impressed. “Any idea what she does? Is she like the others?”

Leo assumed he meant the mertag and the Arboreal, but since he still didn’t feel entirely confident of what they did, he shrugged and said, “We don’t know much yet.”

“Well, you’re Xavier’s son, so I’m sure you’ll have it solved and sorted in no time.” He gazed down at her, cocking his head. “She’s sort of pretty, isn’t she? In an odd way. Unique.”

Leo hadn’t thought much on the subject either way. James glanced at Kiernan.

“All right, come, we’ve got to get going.”

“What does Father want us for?” Leo asked as Kiernan knelt to pack up his bag.

James’s eyes filled with pity. “Sorry, old chap, but he didn’t ask for you, just Mr. Kiernan.”

“Oh,” he said, trying to swallow his disappointment. “Right.”

He had thought things would be different now, after the talk in Xavier’s study. He supposed he should have known better.

“Just about ready,” Kiernan said. “We need to get her back into the—”

Suddenly, the girl leaped to her feet in a movement so fluid Leo could not discern the shift from when she was prostrate on the ground to when she was standing.

“Hey!” James cried, stepping back.