A Study in Ashes (69 page)

That almost made her smile. “Your support will of course be an important factor, but I also have my own means, and my own staff. Not to mention my own tools of the trade. I know how to
maintain discipline
.” She lingered slightly—just slightly—on the last words.

He caught his breath, the pupils of his eyes expanding, and she knew she had him.
It’s always the dominating ones that secretly want it
.

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” he said. “I don’t want to hear a word that anything here is different. Not a whisper about Mrs. Cutter. I’ll send Yellowbacks to watch you.”

And she had no illusions that he’d let her live one second longer than it suited him. She gave a low curtsy. “I’ll be waiting.”

Keating left.

I’ll be waiting and we’ll see what sort of a reception we can arrange, Yellowbacks or no
. Hyacinth rose and waited a
moment, looking around the room but avoiding the sight of the dead woman on the floor. The place still wasn’t as lush as the home she’d grown up in, but it was a sight better than Whitechapel.
A step in the right direction, at least
.

She went to the door and called in Tigress and Gareth, then gave them a series of orders beginning with the quiet removal of the body. Such things weren’t unheard of in their line of work, although thankfully not all that common.

Then she found an unopened bottle of wine, uncorked it, and poured herself a glass. She bet the Violet Queen had a nice bedchamber, and nice clothes, and perhaps a nice little safe with lots of jewels. She could see herself holding court in the demimonde, young and beautiful, courted by rich men, pretty men, and titled men. But she would keep her heart for the Pomeranian. The dog at least would be likely to love her back.

Hyacinth finished the glass of wine, wondering if she should reclaim her real name of Violet, or if that would just be too confusing.

And then she went to the back of the house, opening doors until she found the one she wanted. As expected, there was a plump, pale body strapped to a chevalet much nicer than the one in her old house. “Hello, Mr. Tunbridge. You were quite a naughty boy, sneaking out to come here instead of to our usual appointment.”

The man strapped to the table made an inarticulate sound—that special mix of anticipation and fear—as she opened the doors to a very lovely mahogany cabinet. Floggers of all kinds hung on gleaming brass hooks. She picked one out, testing its flexibility.

“I believe we shall have to clear the air between us, don’t you?”

Over Bath, October 14, 1889
ABOARD THE
ATHENA
3:30 p.m. Monday

“WHAT WENT ON DOWN THERE?” STRIKER DEMANDED
, catching Nick’s arm as he tried to walk past him in the
Athena
’s narrow corridor. Striker’s dusky skin was scraped off in some patches and bruising in others, and it looked like it hurt.

“I found Evelina and I brought her back,” Nick replied tersely.

“I’d expect more celebration,” Striker said dryly. “She hasn’t stirred from your quarters. Normally, I’d say that was a good thing when a pirate catches a wench, but this isn’t like that.”

“She needs time.”

Striker’s eyes narrowed. “I saw the body. You didn’t do that. Did she?”

Nick grabbed the front of Striker’s jacket, pulling him close. “And what of it?”

The man held up his palms. “I had your back, remember? I just want to know what I’m dealing with. This big ship could get small enough if there’s danger on board.”

Nick swore and let him go. “Evelina’s no danger to us.”

Striker folded his arms, his bulk nearly filling the corridor. “Your wench was with the sorcerer and it doesn’t look like it went well for him.”

“I wouldn’t call her a wench to her face. Or mine.”

“Then what is she, Captain?”

“She has the Blood like me.” Nick scrubbed his hands over his face. He had slept a few hours after they’d got back to the
Athena
, but it had been the collapse of exhaustion and not true rest. “She’s my responsibility.”

Striker’s silence was eloquent.

“Get used to her,” Nick growled. “We’ll need her talents before this is over.”

Striker grunted. “If she wants to fight for us, then that’s all right.”

“Good,” Nick said with finality.

Striker shot him a look that bordered on amusement. “We’re an hour outside of Bath. Maybe this time we’ll actually get to dock.” With that he turned and limped toward the navigation room.

Nick stood in the corridor, the narrow doors of the crew quarters looking clean and neat in a way that still surprised him. The
Red Jack
had been a fine ship, but old. This had the scrubbed look of a debutante.

The thought catapulted him into a memory of seeing Evie before her first ball, her dress white as whipped cream and just as tempting. Of course, he’d been gawping at her through the iron bars of a gate. He’d wanted her with all his flesh and soul. He still did. Nick strode to the last door, a shade larger than the rest, and went into his quarters.

Evelina was on the bed, curled into the corner of the room with her knees tucked under her chin. It was dim, the only light coming from a modest porthole above the side of the bed. A tray of food sat on the desk, untouched. Nick’s gaze swept the tiny room and concluded she hadn’t stirred from that spot since he’d left her. Sadness, tinged with a pinch of frustration, stiffened his shoulders.

Something in the way she held herself reminded him of a spooked horse. He didn’t know exactly what had gone on at Magnus’s castle, but it had shattered any ideas Evie’d had about a benign universe. Rebuilding them would be long and hard, and he would have to be patient. And yet, he couldn’t help a surge of pleasure at seeing her there, in his room and on his ship. He was on the right side of the gate this time.

“You should come out and see the rest of the
Athena
,” he suggested mildly.

“I saw it coming in. It’s lovely.” Her voice was soft, as if made from the subdued light. It was also just as gray.

With an inward sigh, he crossed the room and sat down beside her, his back to the wall. He put an arm around her and pulled her close. “I’m sorry, Evie girl.”

She let out a shuddering breath, leaning into him like a tired child. “I was foolish not to tell you about the laboratories, but I wanted you to find your ship.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Stop making choices for me. It never ends well.” Twice she’d even parted from him, thinking it would be for his own good. But they always ended up back together, where they belonged.

“I’m a soul-eating monster,” she said dismally.

“With cold feet.”

He felt her mood shift, resisting his attempt at levity. “You say you can stop me from turning into another Magnus, or worse.”

“All in a day’s work.” He wasn’t sure how, but it wasn’t the kind of thing one could plan in detail, anyway.

“He’d lived for thousands of years, stealing the life from others,” she murmured. “And it makes sense. If there was a way to stay alive, how could he stop himself from taking it?”

“Do you want to stay alive forever?” Nick asked, working to keep his voice calm. “It’s the sort of thing we all think we want.”

“No,” she said flatly. “The worst thing about Magnus is that I think he might have been a decent man once. Maybe even great. There were traces of who he’d been, relics like the arrowheads in a farmer’s fields, but the rest had been eaten away. And he was utterly alone.”

Nick thought about what he had seen of Magnus’s home in London. He’d been impressed by the huge library, the experimental equipment, and most of all the wealth. But there hadn’t been a single servant. “Why didn’t he have minions or lackeys or even a butler?”

“He had some at the castle, but not many. He had too
many secrets, I think. Or maybe one of his pets drained them dry and they died.”

She was shaking, a fine tremor that wouldn’t stop. He pulled her closer, warming her with his body. “I won’t let you do that.”

She lifted her head. “Promise me.”

“I promise.”

But that wasn’t good enough. She pulled herself up to sit facing him, one hand on his chest. “If it looks like I’m going to start killing people just to keep on living, you have to stop me, even if it’s the last thing you want to do.” She caught his gaze and held it, keeping him pinned with the fear in her eyes.

“I can’t imagine you doing that,” he said, and that was true. Still, cold was creeping through him, solidifying like frost in his veins.
By the Dark Mother, she’s asking me to kill her
. It was more than he had bargained for, but she needed to know he could make that hard choice if she lost her way. Love wasn’t just about flowers and kisses.

She shook her head, leaning forward in her urgency. “Not now. But in ten years or twenty.”

“It won’t come to that. Not with me here. I won’t let you go that far.”

Tears trembled in her eyelashes. “I may need you to remind me who I am right now, this day. I can’t forget that I love my friends and my family, even if I am a little afraid of Grandmamma Holmes. I can’t forget how much I hated choir, but that I loved geology.”

Nick grasped the hand she had pressed against him. It had gone chill with panic. “But we all change and grow with time, Evie. I can’t keep you under glass like a museum piece.”

Tears were standing in her eyes. “You can keep me from losing sight of what counts. Like the fact that I love you more than I can say.”

“Oh, I’ll remind you of that, Evie.” Nick felt an ache squeeze his heart. It was heavy as iron, but strangely light as well, as if he’d come to the end of a grueling journey. Everything he had ever done had led to this moment. He had her
trust, not just when it came to her life, but with her very soul.

His put his other hand over hers, clasping it tight. “And if it makes you feel better, I promise you that I will do whatever needs to be done. Trust me on this. I love you, and I will not let you fall.”

She bowed her head, her long hair tumbling forward like silk over his hands. The silver fire glowed softly between them, an echo of their desire for one another, but it seemed wrong to stir those embers now. There were many kinds of healing, and right now was the time for hard truths.

“I have one condition,” Nick said.

Evelina raised her tear-stained face. “What?”

“It’s time you ate something and came out of this tiny dark room. There’s a whole world out there waiting for you.”

“How can I even think of it?” She pulled away sharply. Clearly, he’d made the suggestion too soon.

“What else are you going to do?” Nick asked, using the same practical, steady voice he used with his men when they were under fire. “You’re being forced to face a piece of yourself that you fear. You have to find a way to use it to make you strong.”

A strange look came over Evelina’s face.

“What?” he asked, fearing he’d struck the wrong tone.

“I had this same conversation with Imogen in a dream.” She looked up at him, her expression drawn. “Except it was about Anna, and I gave her very different advice.”

Unsure what she meant, Nick picked his next words very carefully. “I can be your safeguard, but in the end you have to find a way to master this power.”

She looked away. “How?”

“Make it your ally. Make it your weapon.” He squeezed her hands in his.

“My weapon? What kind of advice is that?”

“I’m a pirate. I know something about darkness and choices.”

She gave him a long look, taking in everything he’d said. “And here I am struggling to stay on the path of goodness and light.”

“I know you’re capable of anything.”

“Anything?” she said dryly. “Such as?”

He shrugged. “I was hoping you’d come along and redeem me from my wicked ways. This business of redemption is a two-way street, you know.”

Evelina sank back against the pillows, her gentle curves reminding him why he had marched into a haunted castle to play the hero. “Saving you might take some time.”

And finally, she smiled.

AS SHE STEPPED
onto the bridge some hours later, Evelina felt exposed and vulnerable, like an egg that had lost its shell. Nick was right to coax her back into the light and air. The bright, brisk atmosphere of the ship was the opposite of Magnus’s gloomy castle, and the sheer normality of it kept her magic quiet. She played with Bacon until the little dog got lured away by the smells from the mess, and then she busied herself with all the novel equipment on the bridge. But the noise and press of so much active, eager energy was almost too much after the solitude of Siabartha. The greatest comfort was Athena’s presence, feminine and warm. Evelina had never been able to speak to the air deva, but it was something to know she was there, especially since Nick had gone down to the city below with Striker.

Evelina found a spot by the high windows and tried to stay out of the way. Bath spread out over the green earth, looking serene from this vantage point. She had been there a few times with Ploughman’s Circus, and remembered the warm color of the stone and the beauty of the River Avon. She could see the arcs of terraced homes and the roof of the cathedral. It was as small and perfect as a diorama—and it looked about as unreal. If not for the tiny moving specks that were people and carriages, she might have thought it all a toy.