Steam Guardians 01 - A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious by Mary Wine Page B

you claiming Dr. Nerval has knowledge of Deep Earth Crystals?”
    Darius asked the question, his voice low and edged with suspicion. It sounded like a challenge, and she felt her strength returning with full force to face it.
    “More than knowledge. He has a room full of them. When I refused to handle one he claimed was a level-four—like the one I caught in your Solitary Chamber—he had me strapped to that chair to teach me obedience. How did you find me anyway?”
    Lykos put the top back on the flask with a quick twist and dropped it onto the seat between them. Both men wore hard expressions.
    “Did he tell you how he knew about the one you caught inside the lecture hall?”
    “Answer my question first. I already responded to one of yours.”
    Darius frowned, but Lykos snorted with amusement. “I’m beginning to understand your irritation with her.”
    “I am not irritating, sir. How unkind of you to say so,” Janette admonished.
    Lykos grinned at her as his expression became one of contemplation. He studied her for a long moment. “Perhaps that is the wrong word, but you are certainly…an active element.”
    “Enough. We’re straying off the topic,” Darius said. “I bribed one of the bullyboys Dr. Nerval employs on his way back to the slums. The man was happy enough to spill a little information. Now answer my question.”
    She had to think for a moment to recall which question he meant. “Oh…well, Dr. Nerval claimed to know about the crystal I caught during the lecture from his sources. He pointed at one he said was similar and told me I was a…Pure Spirit. Which is the same thing the Professor giving the lecture said I was.”
    The two men glanced at each other again, confirming she was correct without a doubt.
    A tingle of apprehension went across her skin as the carriage slowed down. There was suddenly much more light surrounding the carriage. Janette peered out the window to see some sort of gate. It rose on either side of them, apparently constructed of the same material as Darius’s desk. The moment the carriage entered it, she felt the current go through her. The lapel pins on her Illuminist companions lit until they passed through the gate.
    “So…this Pure Spirit business, it makes it possible for the current from the crystals to not harm me, but your pins protect you…by completing the circuit.”
    “Clever girl.” Darius wasn’t giving her a compliment. He was back to watching her suspiciously.
    “Is it so wrong to want to understand what I seem to be? It’s rather a relief to know there is a reason behind the melody I hear when I’m near those crystals. The only other explanation is I’m going insane.”
    “You aren’t.” Darius offered the pair of words with a hint of approval in his voice. “At least our community doesn’t believe you are. I won’t offer you the same assurance beyond our gates.”
    The carriage stopped, and the driver let down the stairs. Darius left his seat first, closing the space between them.
    “But you’re very lucky we were able to find you.”
    Tension renewed its grip on her along with the horror that had kept her company through the long hours of the day.
    She might still be there.
    “I believe Darius is offering that hand for you.”
    Janette jumped, startled by the comment. A quick glance toward the door showed Darius was waiting, his hand outstretched for her to steady her exit from the vehicle.
    “Oh…yes.” She took the offered hand, then stumbled on her way through the narrow doorway, stepping on her petticoat ruffle.
    Darius’s hand closed around hers, holding her steady when she would have lost her balance.
    “You need to recover.”
    There was a hint of disgust in his voice, or maybe it was more like he’d been proven correct because she wasn’t holding up better.
    “I am right as rain now that I’m out of that horrible chair.” She pulled her hand loose and smoothed her skirt while making sure her back was ramrod straight.