The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (Steampunk Chronicles #2)(63)

“Does this mean we can go back to the hotel now?” Sam asked.

“Yes.” Griffin rose to his feet. “Let’s go.” He needed to start planning. He needed to get in touch with Kirby and maybe try to get some sleep.

As they approached the foyer, Mrs. Astor-Prynn and Lydia stopped him. “Your Grace. You will be happy to know the girl who accosted you at our party has been arrested,” the older woman told him smugly.

At that moment Griffin was tempted to summon enough Aether to send the woman flying across to the other side of the theater. Perhaps farther. Somehow he managed to incline his head toward her. “Indeed.” That was all he could say. He didn’t care if it was rude. He turned and walked away from them, leaving the two ladies staring after him in shock.

He didn’t care if he’d behaved badly. He didn’t care what they thought of him or if they told their friends. He just wanted Jasper safe and Finley back. And he wanted to punch someone. Hard.

Perhaps he and Finley weren’t that different after all.





Chapter 13


Jasper was woken up at five o’clock the next morning by a gunshot. He bolted out of bed, grabbed a pair of trousers from the floor and made for the door. He’d kick it down if he had to. Oddly enough, it was unlocked for the first time since his arrival. This would be the perfect time to make a run for it, and yet he ran downstairs instead, wearing only his trousers, toward the sound of the shot.

He stopped in the doorway of Dalton’s study/library. Dalton stood over the desk at the back, which had been converted into a worktable. On it were the pieces Jasper had collected, fully amalgamated into one machine. On the floor beside the desk, there was a dead man, blood soaking into the carpet around him from what appeared to be a gunshot wound in his chest. He was facedown, so Jasper couldn’t tell for certain, but it seemed to be the most likely answer.

Jasper’s mouth went dry, and his chest squeezed tightly. He’d seen dead bodies before, and it was always sad and shocking. But to see someone who had been murdered, and their killer standing right beside them … It made him think of that day when Mei had shot Venton. He could see her so clearly in his head, a fine splattering of blood on her face and clothes. Years from now, he would remember this moment just as clearly.

The only difference was that Mei had done it in selfdefense and Dalton was just a monster.

Drawing a deep breath, he summoned his courage, straightened his spine and strode into the room with a bored look on his face. “What happened? Did he insult your waistcoat?”

Dalton looked up and smiled. “Did you kick the door to your room down to get here?”

“It was unlocked.” He made himself move closer and tried another tactic. “You all right?”

His companion wiped his hands on a black handkerchief. Blood didn’t show on black. “Thanks for the concern, but the good engineer didn’t attack me. He simply made the mistake of giving in to his curiosity. He wanted to see what the machine did once he put it together for me.”

“And you couldn’t let him live once he saw that.” Jasper’s tongue was thick in his dry mouth.

Dalton tossed the handkerchief aside. “Exactly. Word might get around, then everyone would want my new toy.” Jasper turned his head. If he hadn’t given Finley the schematic, this man would still be alive. Dalton wouldn’t have needed an expert to put the pieces together, and this man would be with his family right now. Instead, he’d no doubt be fished out of the harbor later today or tomorrow.

The sound of heavy footsteps signaled the arrival of little Hank. Jasper wasn’t surprised to see the giant. What did surprise him was that Mei hadn’t come down. Surely she had heard the shot? Then again, she might figure it was safer to stay in her room. At least she didn’t have to see the corpse on the floor.

“Where was she taken?” Dalton asked, glancing up from admiring his machine.

Hank wiped his nose with the back of his hand and sniffed. Jasper grimaced. “Kirby took her back to his place. Some bounty hunter’s setup. Couldn’t tell which cell.”

“We’ll have to figure that out.” Dalton rubbed a hand over his jaw. There was gunpowder on his fingers. “How many guards?”

“Just Kirby, far as I could tell. Could be more.”

“It doesn’t matter.” He stroked the assembled machine on the table before him. “This sweet little contraption will make everything all right.”

“Are you sure of that?” Jasper asked, moving closer. He made an effort to avoid touching the body on the floor.

Dalton’s light eyes twinkled as he shot him a sharp glance. “Dead certain.”

*

Nikola Tesla was not known for being particularly gregarious, but when Emily, Sam and Griffin showed up at his lodgings early in the morning with the schematic Finley had dropped for Sam, he became almost animated.

The inventor paced the rug with the paper in hand, as though committing every bit of it to memory. Then he seemed to remember his company and begged their pardon. “Please, sit. May I offer you tea?”

Personally, at that moment Griffin would have preferred something stronger, but he accepted their host’s hospitality and seated himself on the slightly worn sofa. He felt as anxious as Tesla appeared. Once they knew what the machine did, they would be better prepared to stop Dalton.