The Mirador (60 page)

“And you should probably promise her,” Simon said, “that the Mirador has no, er, official interest in her. I’m just doing a favor for Mildmay.”

The look Jenny gave me was sort of awed and sort of resentful, like if I was so grand that I had hocuses doing favors for me, why hadn’t I got her out of the Kennel a decad ago? But neither of us wanted to start arguing again, and she just said, “Okay. I’ll tell her.”

We didn’t talk on our way through the Lower City. Jenny sat hugging the box like she was afraid Simon might take it away from her again. Simon and Gideon might have been talking, but it was hard to tell, since they were both looking out the fiacre windows, one on each side. And I thought, since I didn’t want to pick a fight with Jenny, maybe it would be better if I just kept my mouth shut. Me and Jenny never had been able to go more than a septad-minute or so without arguing, and it seemed like all the things that had changed hadn’t changed that.

Scaffelgreen Theater’s this big open square like the Plaza del’Archimago, only in the middle are the gibbets and scaffolds and Madame Sanguette instead of the Mirador. And maybe that ain’t so big a difference as you might think. The fiacre pulled up right on the edge, like the cabbie was afraid if he got any closer, the ketches would come out and hang him and his horses.

Jenny said, “Thank you. I mean . . . thank you.”

“Just talk to Mrs. Fenris for me,” I said.

“Our pleasure, Miss Dawnlight,” Simon said, like she was a real lady, and held the door for her. “Will you tell the cabbie please to take us back to the Mirador?”

“You got it. And I
will
talk to Miss Gussie, Mildmay. I promise.” Simon shut the door. A moment later, the fiacre started rolling again with another nasty lurch.

“He hates us,” Simon said.

“He’ll be shut of us soon enough,” I said.

Before rehearsal, Jean-Soleil had a very pointed and public word with Drin about upstaging other actors and generally being an asshole. Drin was dark with embarrassment by the time he was done, and Corinna nodded when I glanced at her. It would do the trick.

And it did. Not that rehearsal went smoothly—there was no such thing as a smooth rehearsal the night before an opening— but at least problems were no longer being
caused
. They were simply happening, and thus could be fixed. And both Gordeny and Semper improved tenfold simply from not having Drin stepping on their metaphorical heels.

“We might pull this off after all,” I said to Corinna afterward, and she lifted her skirt to show me the saint’s medal pinned to her petticoat.

And then I went to my dressing room, where I found Isaac Garamond practically clawing the walls.

“Where have you
been
?”

“Doing my job, Lieutenant Vulpes. Why are you here?”

He was pacing the room in a distraught way. “I don’t know. I wanted to talk to someone, to . . . oh, I don’t know!”

“What in the world is the matter?”

“I hate him, you know. I can’t stand his eyes. How can people bear looking at him?”

“Felix?”

“Yes! I can’t stand having him look at me. I can’t stand
him
.”

“Sit down,” I said. Because whatever I thought about Isaac Garamond, nobody would benefit from a wizard being discovered in strong hysterics in my dressing room. “Take a deep breath. What’s happened?”

“Happened? Nothing’s
happened
, that’s the problem. Do you know what it’s like to have Louis Goliath staring at you in your dreams?”

“I’m happy to say I don’t.”

“You should be happy. He wants to know why I’m not getting anywhere, and I can’t tell him. I don’t know.
I
don’t know what’s going on behind those goddamned spook eyes of his.”

“Pity the poor spy,” I said, and I said it scathingly.

“You don’t understand.”

“Nor do I want to. Is there something I can
do
for you, lieutenant? Or did you just come to whine?”

“Bitch,” he said vilely and flung himself out of the room.

“And good riddance,” I said after him, though under my breath. At that moment, I wished him and Felix much joy of each other.

Me and Felix weren’t talking to each other. I think we both figured it was safer that way. I was fine with silence, but Felix was getting more and more fidgety, and so I was glad when somebody knocked on the door.

It was Fleur. I’d noticed the way she’d taken to standing farther away from Felix than she had, and had been wondering if it was because of me and Cornell Teverius. But the first thing she said cleared that up—and made me a sight less glad to see her. “What have you been doing to Gideon?”

“Fleur!” Felix said. “How delightful to see you! Please, come in.”

“Don’t play games with me.” She did come in, but not very far. “What made him leave you?”

Felix folded his arms and glared at her. “What business is it of yours?”

“Felix, I am your friend. I’m not going to stand by and watch while you destroy yourself.” It was a pretty thing to say, and I knew she meant it—she was all flushed and wide-eyed and earnest—but, powers and saints, she didn’t have a clue.

Felix just kind of sneered at her. “Are you attempting to bring me to an understanding of my wicked ways? I know what I am. So does Gideon. That’s why he left. Your crusade is useless.”

“What’s
wrong
with you? You used not to be like this.”

That made Felix laugh, but not in no nice way. “I’ve always been like this. I just used to be better at hiding it. Good night, Fleur.”

She stood her ground. “Are you trying to make enemies of everyone in the Mirador?”

“No. I’m trying to tell you that I don’t want to talk about it. If you really want to be my friend, leave me alone.”

Her look was pleading, but Felix wasn’t budging an inch. “Very well,” she said, “but, Felix, you know if you
want
to talk to someone—”

“Yes, yes, I can come to you. I’m touched, really. Good
night
, Fleur.” He all but shoved her out the door, and he slammed it behind her. I sat there and tried to look like I hadn’t understood a word they’d said.

He stared at me, daring me to say something. I was nowhere near stupid enough for that. Finally, he said, “I’m going out.”

“Okay,” I said. I wanted to ask him where he was going, but I’d been wanting to ask that for months.

“You must be solid rock from ear to ear,” he snarled and slammed out of the room.

I knew he’d said it only to hurt me—not because he believed it or anything—but it was a long time before I was able to make my hands unclench.

But I figured since he wouldn’t be back for a while, I might as well make the most of it, and went over to the Altanueva and St. Holofernes, where Septimus was getting better at looking like he was waiting for a girl. Fidgety instead of bored half to sleep.

I told him about getting Jenny out of the Kennel and the corpse’s name and how I didn’t know yet what Mrs. Fenris wanted Luther Littleman for, but Jenny was going to get me a meet. “Unless Kolkhis don’t need to know,” I said, not real hopefully, but there was always the outside chance—not that she didn’t want to know, but that she didn’t want
me
to know.

Septimus said, “Um,” and looked down at where his fingers were rubbing over a chipped spot on St. Holofernes’s toes.

“Yeah?”

“I, um. I ain’t told Keeper.”

“Ain’t told her what?”

“Well, anything. Since you said the resurrectionists didn’t know anything. I told her about that.”

I knew I was staring at him like he’d sprouted wings and started barking, but I couldn’t fucking help it. “Why the fuck not?”

“Um,” said Septimus and got even more interested in St. Holofernes’s feet.

“Look, I remember what she does when she catches you holding out on her, so what the
fuck
?”

He looked up at me, real quick, and then away. “I, um . . . oh
shit
. I don’t know what to do.”

“You could start by answering my question,” I said, and only realized after it got out of my mouth that it was exactly what Felix would’ve said. I sighed. "C’mon. Let’s sit down.”

I sort of slid down the wall, hoping like fuck I’d be able to get up again. But it was worth it, because after a moment, Septimus sat down next to me, and a moment after that, he said, “She really fucked you over, didn’t she?”

I didn’t need to ask who he meant. “She’s pretty pissed at me.”

“I don’t mean
that
. I mean . . . I dunno. But she really fucked you
over
. I remember when you left.”

Oh powers and saints. “You got a point here?” I said and hoped like fuck that he was avoiding eye contact hard enough he wouldn’t see I was turning red.

“She said you failed her, but you didn’t, did you?”

“No,” I said, because I hadn’t. Not once.

“Did you ever, you know, do something for her you wish you hadn’t?”

“Yeah,” I said and kind of laughed, because that was such a
nice
fucking way of putting it. Weren’t hardly any teeth in it at all.

And he shot me this look, sideways but meaning it, and said, “How d’you know?”

“Sorry?”

“How d’you
know
? How d’you know you’re gonna wish you hadn’t done something before you fucking do it?”

“Um,” I said, but he wasn’t stopping for answers.

“I been staying away from her so she can’t ask and I won’t have to answer, but I can’t keep that up forever, you know? I mean, it’s okay for now, ’cause she thinks it means you ain’t got no place and I don’t want to tell her, and she’s got other shit to do. But sooner or later, she’s gonna want to
know
and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to
handle
it.”

Oh, kid, there was your first mistake right there, thinking anybody could “handle” Keeper.

I said, “What is it she’s wanting you to do?”

He really wasn’t looking at me now, staring down at the floor like he was welded in place. But his voice was still steady. “I’m new—she was training Kelso until he got his stupid self offed last Thermidor. So she ain’t telling me everything yet. But she’s got something big, something with
backers
, and I think . . .” He ran down for a moment, but he got the clockwork going again. “I think she’s after the Lord Protector.”

“Mother
fuck
,” I said.

“Yeah,” Septimus said, unhappy like a cat in a rain barrel. “And I don’t wanna do nothing like that. I don’t wanna do nothing that
big
. I don’t wanna be like you.” And then he seemed to hear himself and said quickly, “No offense.”

“Nah, it’s true. You
don’t
wanna be like me. I mean, look at where it gets you.” I waved a hand at myself. Nothing but scars, one way or another.

“That ain’t what I meant. You’re a legend, and I don’t want to be one. Not like that.”

I didn’t ask him why he’d let Kolkhis train him in the first place, along of knowing the answer, down in my bones. I didn’t want to be a legend either.

“Well, anyway, I can promise you you don’t want to go after Lord Stephen. You won’t be a legend, you’ll just be dead.”

He was going to get offended, but I said, “Lord Stephen’s got more protection on him than Cerberus Cresset did. And Miriam’s gone.”

“Miriam?”

“The hocus who made it so I could kill Cerberus Cresset and not be dead before I touched him.” She’d died the winter after I killed Cresset, and she hadn’t taught no other hocuses how to work that spell.

“Oh.”

“Kolkhis didn’t mention that part, huh?”

“I told you, she ain’t giving me all the details yet. I ain’t even sure Lord Stephen’s the hit.”

Except I was willing to bet he was sure. Because he was a smart kid, and Kolkhis might not ever
tell
you much, but she purely did love to hint. I said, “What d’you want to do?”

He gave me a sort of wild-eyed look. That ain’t a question kept-thieves get asked much.

"C’mon,” I said. “You can’t just hide from her forever.”

“Yeah. I know. But.” He chewed on his lip, still giving me that wild-eyed look. “I think maybe this Jenny thing has something to do with the other thing.”

“How d’you figure that?”

“I dunno. It just . . . well, it’s the only major thing Keeper’s got right now, and I mean, why else would she
care
?”

“About Jenny?”

“Yeah, and the corpse. It ain’t like Keeper’s into necromancy or anything.”

Or like she gave a rat’s ass about Jenny. “So you think Jenny’s stiff has something to do with offing Lord Stephen?”

“I think it
might
. And I don’t want to tell Keeper anything without knowing.”

“You know I got reasons for wanting Kolkhis to get her answers. ”

“Yeah. And I mean . . . I just want to
wait
, that’s all. I hate trying to make decisions without enough information, you know?”

I didn’t say it, but that all by itself was a sign he should take himself away from Keeper, and do it soon. Anybody who talked about making decisions that way . . . him and Keeper were just a war waiting to happen. And I was kind of surprised they hadn’t gotten into it already.