Hard Bound, page 23
“Thank you, Clara,” Gaili said, bowing her head again. She flinched as Clara moved past her.
The scholar raised her hands toward the ice wall where the hole was. She gritted her teeth and then waved at the wall. Frost rose from the ground up and over the hole covering it. In a moment it was as if no door had been made. A wide grin stretched on Clara’s face as she took a deep breath. Shoulders back and head high, she spun around. “Queen Clara, Gaili. Mind your betters.”
“Yes, my Queen,” Gaili said without missing a beat.
Fiona shifted so she could better see. If Clara blocked this part of the maze, that meant she needed time here. Otherwise, she didn’t need so many things and hours, of which the play would take, to concoct her plan. What was she doing?
On the same wavelength Gaili moved forward. “Can I help you with anything now, my Queen?”
“You can stop asking questions, for one. You’re a terrible distraction.” Clara sauntered back to the statue. “But you do solve a minor problem. Grab those two rods.”
“What are they?” Blinking rapidly, Gaili grabbed the two rods of blackened metal from the table. “They look like watch hands.”
“That’s because they are. Two hands attuned to Book time in our page. A watch is still a watch, no matter how it’s presented. Now hold them, one on either side of the statue, exactly perpendicular to each other.” Clara took a step back, taking out a small pocket watch similar to Fiona’s. She glanced at it and nodded. “There you go. Now touch them together at the ends. Whatever you do, don’t drop them.”
Gaili nodded but her rose eyes were wide, fearful. She positioned herself as directed, though around the back of the statue farther from Clara.
Clara placed her hands on the watch hands, gripping them above Gaili’s. “Now, to align my own time.” A mixture of orange, brown, white, and green auras shimmered and spiraled from the gap between the hands as Clara started to pull them apart, straining against some unseen force.
The ground trembled as the shimmer began to sway, spiraling larger. Whatever was happening, one thing was clear: it needed to not finish. Fiona took a step but faltered as the auras grew. It was as if what Clara did was pulling her energy the way that Mac’s bond had. She took another step, but her already tired body protested, forcing her to slip on the wet pavement. Gritting her teeth, she pushed forward, trying to remain quiet and take advantage of Clara’s preoccupation as long as she could.
Clara laughed, delighted. “Oh, this is more power than I could’ve dreamed. Those selfish Seasons had this and more?” The crowns glowed in their various hues. She pulled her hands apart, straining but moving the rods farther from each other. A resounding ripping sound broke through the center. The world shook as if it was a die in someone’s hand, the statue wobbling, the bushes moving, the amber sky and its red moon swaying. It wasn’t a quake. It was a shattering.
Through the gap instead of the statue was a swiftly shifting current of crystal blue water pouring through to the Copper page. Dark-green algae pressed itself against the edges of some unseen barrier, trying to float through the gap among the wave of rushing cool water. The page had been torn straight through to the Depths.
Fiona took another step, and another, until she felt as if she would fall exhausted where she was. She moved away the handkerchief, feeling the piercing metal of the turn stoppers. It forced her to forget the exhaustion as a spike of nausea and prickling sensation took over. But it didn’t force her body to forget. She fell to the ground, all dexterity diminished.
“Time, intellect, and a little willpower can do anything. Bear witness to my newest discovery.” Clara shifted the rods so that the hour hand moved closer to the minute. There was a fizzle, like a spark that seemed to jump from the crowns and across the clock hands.
Another ripping sound, this time above the hour hand, sounded through the center courtyard. That it could be heard above the bubbling Depths was alarming. A new gap opened up, smaller and dark. Muted cap-like shapes dotted the distant area. There was bioluminescent blue light coming from somewhere, but it was far off and cast shadows on large objects that seemed to loom.
Clara pulled the rods farther, shouting at a terrified Gaili to keep her arms up. She pushed once more.
A frosty wind whipped around from her ice cascading across the ground where water had been.
A flame sparked to life above them, a ball of fire that drifted, seemingly looking for direction.
Flowers burst into bloom and the bushes grew rapidly, cutting them off from the stars in the sky.
And Gaili’s hand started to brown and shrink, a pungent smell mingling into the air. She screamed with pain trying to pull back from Clara. Clara gripped her hands, holding them taut against the rod. “You can bear it for the reward. This is how I get what I deserve. Not only complete control of Copper but anywhere I want in the Book. People will bow before my genius. They always do.”
Fiona crawled toward Clara among the dirty, slippery ground. The hard edges of pebbles sunk into her skin. A mixture of briny water and earthy fungus was all she could breathe as she got to the faun’s legs. She reached out with the manacles but was met with a hoof to the face. Arcing pain tore through her head as burning wetness trickled into her eye.
“No, this is mine,” Clara screamed tearing away from her hands a brief second.
Fiona saw pinpricks of copper light start to gather in front of her. She would not lose consciousness. She would not lose like this. She clicked one end of the turn stopper around her wrist, its cold metal shuttering her access to the book with an icy snap. Nausea threatened to overtake her, but the bond and the energy Clara was draining from it ceased. With the last shred of energy, no longer fighting herself, she threw herself forward, closing the other manacle around Clara’s ankle.
The world stopped moving. Fire fizzled and ice melted. The arcing wave of water collapsed, flooding the maze and its inhabitants. With a reverberating snap the tears closed.
Gaili cried out in pain, backing away from the statue and holding her hand as the clock hands dropped with a clatter to the ground.
Thrown off balance by the cresting water, Clara fell backward into Fiona, who wasted no time pinning her to the ground. With a knee pressed on her gut and a hand on her wrists, she wrenched the Winter Crown off the faun’s shaking head.
“How dare you! This is my power. My turn to be blessed.”
Fiona ignored her, tugging the Summer Crown off as fast as she could while wrestling with Clara, glad to find her weakened. She hollered to Gaili, “Grab them.”
“You little nobody. You are nothing. You are useless just like the other ones. I am a genius. I—”
Gaili thrust her hand over Clara’s mouth, shoving a torn black square within. She pressed her jaw closed and covered it, forcing Clara quiet.
Fiona got the last crown off, but it wasn’t a struggle. Clara was deeply asleep and no longer fighting her. She looked at Gaili with a raised eyebrow but said nothing. Sometimes people needed to fight back in their own way.
“How did she do all this?” Gaili said. “I’ve seen what she can do, and this…this is far beyond even her talents.”
“With time,” Fiona said, getting off Clara and trudging to the worktables. Across them were scattered tools, open books, and old journals. Fiona picked one up to confirm it as Mac’s handwriting. “And stolen knowledge.” The dagger had fallen out of Clara’s gown, and Fiona handed it to Gaili.
“What do we do now?” Gaili said, wincing.
Dorin came running through the melting hole with Cascade and Jacopo close behind. “Everything shook. We thought the whole theater would collapse. But then we saw a copper flare from here. What happened?”
“Clara happened,” Fiona said, leaning on the worktable for strength. “We found her. In the middle of the maze. Ripping the world apart. She had all the crowns and journals.”
“I don’t understand. Why would she do this?”
“For more power,” Gaili said quietly. “Running a page wasn’t enough for her. She wanted total control.”
“You’ve done a great service for us,” Dorin gave her a small bow. “We won’t soon forget it.”
Fiona pushed the items on the table toward him. “You should put those in a safe place. They are more powerful than they look.”
Olea showed up with wardens, who cuffed Clara with fresh turn stoppers, untethered her from Fiona, and took her away.
“I think this should prove that Orsa didn’t have anything to do with the thefts. That and what Cascade heard.”
Cascade nodded. “It’s true. It was all Clara and another person, Sadie Stoneguard.”
“If that don’t beat all,” Jacopo said, shaking his head. “Never thought Keeper Clara would cause so much trouble. Well, I can see these things back and get a cleanup crew here.”
“Thank you, Jacopo,” Dorin said, handing him the crowns and Mac’s journals. “I’d appreciate if you put these in the vault directly. I don’t trust handing them off to anyone else.”
Jacopo nodded and gave a sad smile to Fiona. He left, following the wardens with Clara.
Fiona sighed, something feeling off but she couldn’t tell what. There were so many things odd about the whole event. She picked up the clock hands from the ground. They were surprisingly light and attached at one end. She looked at them, not understanding how they had done what they did with the crowns. There was an edge to one, and she picked at it, removing an unseen cap. A sweet sickly smell invaded her nose. The clock hand seemed to be stuffed with almond-colored lace dusted with a yellow powder. But not simply lace. Bits of broken bronze intermingled within. Was this the fourth crown? She stuffed it back, keeping it close to her vest and slipping it into her scarf, unwilling to give it up until she was sure. Whatever it was, it had opened the page with the others. Opened it to someplace, somewhere, new in the Book. She looked around for Gaili and found her holding her hand to her dress protectively and talking to Dorin.
“Does it still hurt?” Fiona took her hand timidly to see that it was still dark, though not as black as before. It looked cracked and felt rough.
Gaili nodded, tears in the corner of her eyes. “It does, but I can still feel everything with it. It was like she was draining the life out of me.”
“It might have been one of the crowns. We should…talk to our authority on them. Perhaps she can do something.” Fiona let go gingerly. “I’m so sorry, Gaili.”
“Fi, you didn’t make her do this. This was all her and no one else.”
“I’m not so sure. Stoneguard at least seemed to be a willing accomplice.” It was the missing confirmation that worried her. Clara didn’t recognize the dagger and there had been no time to ask her. What was the niggling feeling still lingering in her mind about?
“We should alert the Rise and every other authority to her immediately.”
Fiona rubbed her temple. “Yes, in the haste to get here I should’ve seen to that. She could be anyone by now.”
“Well, you know her aura. You can pinpoint her again.”
Fiona stared at Gaili and then the faekin around her in turn. “Actually, I don’t. Not anymore. Perhaps that…tear, was using my bond as well.” She sighed and tugged her scarf tighter about her. “I don’t know. I just know putting on these stopped it.” She held up the turn stoppers with the edge of her sleeve.
Gaili put her unblemished hand on Fiona’s shoulder. “We can talk to someone who does.”
Dorin approached hesitantly. “Did you say Clara’s accomplice can be anyone?”
“More or less,” Fiona said slowly. “I think you know how. Do be careful about who you allow in your inner circle for a while. I’m not sure there’s a way to tell false friend from true. Watch people’s behaviors and if something seems off…” Fiona petered off. People acted consistently enough. They would have to be stalked quite a bit for someone to get to know their patterns and sayings. “Did…did Jacopo say ‘Clara’ or ‘firecracker’ before?”
Gaili shook her head. “I’m not sure.”
“I believe ‘Keeper Clara.’ Why?” said Dorin.
Fiona took off toward where Jacopo and the wardens departed. She ran through the maze, avoiding oncoming people until she got to the entrance. The wardens were placing Clara in a boat and preparing to leave, but Jacopo was nowhere to be seen.
Fiona sat in the drawing room waiting for Elinor. The faun entered, looking somewhat anxious.
“What did you find?”
“The real culprit. Orsa should be free soon.”
“I’ll be sure to see her at once,” Elinor said. “Thank you for finding a way to show her innocence.”
“Yes, well it might’ve been quicker if you had told me from the beginning who you were, Marcia.”
Elinor raised an eyebrow. Her visage changed and she shrunk a bit into a human form that was a tad more familiar to Fiona. Marcia Evenhall, Gilded leader in the Travel Guild, stood before her. “You are quicker than most. I think you can understand I was worried you wouldn’t take the case if it was coming from me like this.”
“I understand why you’d think that. You don’t know me well enough to know it wouldn’t have changed my answer.”
Marcia assessed her and then nodded. “I suppose I’ve misjudged you twice now. It won’t happen a third time, I assure you. I appreciate what you’ve done for my family.”
“Even your other sister?” Fiona said. “Did you know Sadie was living on Rise?”
Marcia flinched slightly. “My sister is dead.”
“She most certainly is not,” Fiona said, but then softened her voice. No matter Marcia’s tricks, she had lied out of what she probably felt was necessity. “Sadie is the reason Orsa was blamed. The reason Orsa couldn’t tell you or I what was going on. She bound her to silence. And to protect you.”
Marcia sat down. “You can prove that?”
“Barely, but Orsa can. One way or another.” Fiona stopped, but then pressed on, curious: “What happened between you three?”
The Gilded leader watched Fiona for a moment before looking away. “Before my sister…passed, we had a rift. They wanted to leave the cold Wilds, fight to regain our place in society. Some of the others did not. I was inked and taken away from Copper before our clan ever settled it. I turned the page back as soon as I could, but they had abandoned the area by then. It wasn’t as if I could ask the Seven to track them down. I didn’t even work at the Guild yet. It took me a long time to find them, but once I did it was as if no time had passed. Stella wanted to use my ability to somehow take back our place in Copper. Orsa thought the Inking brought change and wanted to work through it to create a new place for us in the page. Neither wanted to leave.”
Stella! A name to be tucked away for later. Fiona nodded. “And you were stuck here.”
“Stuck?” Marcia frowned. “That’s not how I feel. I feel bound to the only place that has ever truly wanted me. I’m around people who care for me, not just the wisdom and intelligence I can give them. Being a page turner is the only thing that has truly ever made me feel free.”
Fiona could understand that feeling. She stood, gathering her things. “I’m sure you have the means to turn with your sister. I’ve no doubt she may be easier to convince to leave Copper now.”
Marcia blocked her path. “Wait, what about your payment? As I said, I am good for the paper. I’d rather not owe you a favor.”
She had done her research on her preferred fee. Fiona pursed her lips. “Paper is not what I want actually. In fact, what I want might be more valuable than you want to give, but it’s the only thing I desire.”
“What is that?”
“An introduction to the Binder.”
Marcia tilted her head, assessing Fiona. After a moment she gave a curt nod. “I’ll see what I can do. He doesn’t just meet with anyone.”
“I know,” Fiona said and opened the door, waving off the running house steward, “but that’s what makes it worth the ask.”
Marcia nodded and closed the door behind her.
The light of day began fading away as Fiona made her way back to Thorne Investigations.
She opened the back door and walked into the kitchen area. Gaili was there putting together an odd assortment of beads on a length of rope. Fiona wasn’t sure what it was supposed to turn into, but she was sure when it was finished it would be magical. Though she favored her unaged hand, the aged one was no less nimble. Perhaps they could rectify what had happened when they visited Mac for dinner.
“Oh, Fi, you’re back already. How were things with Elinor? Did she admit she was a hag too?”
“More or less,” Fiona said, lowering herself down to the bench. “It seems her host Marcia has made a full recovery as well. Miraculous how those two things work together.”
Gaili tilted her head and then her eyes went wide. Fiona nodded and laughed. She picked up the cup of coffee Gaili had pushed toward her. Fiona inhaled deeply the heady aroma of her favorite brew. A perk that had been lost on her before without anyone in the house was coffee made for her.
“Well, I’m sure that’s just one more secret you’re going to keep, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but technically I never said a thing.”
“You’ve been around the faekin too long now.” Gaili laughed.
“Well, I’ll take a good long break from Copper as long as you stick around.”
Gaili looked at her hands and then back at Fiona. “I think I will stick around, if the offer still stands. You could certainly use the help. How else will you get on through the various pages? Your Aguan was atrocious.”
Fiona laughed, not at all needled. “I’m glad. I think we make a fine pair of investigators. Oh, and this belongs to you.” She pulled out a small paper envelope with the crest of the Order of Seven and handed it to her. “Dorin saw fit to give it to me while they were arraigning Clara. Your half is in there.”
Gaili frowned and opened it up. Inside was a small fortune of paper. “This is more than I’ve made in the shop in a week!”
