Wings of Sorrow and Bone by Beth Cato Page B

her conviction to the cause.
    â€œGood luck with that.” Mr. Cody chortled. “Very well. You can take three gremlins. I’ll leave their cages here empty so that when you bring them back, my ­people will tend to them.” It was quite clear what he meant by that.
    Only three. Maybe there was still time to save the others. Lump’s wings weren’t on yet, after all.
    Tatiana wore her best scowl. “I assure you, Mr. Cody, we won’t bring them back.”

 
    CHAPTER 6
    â€œT aking those gremlins was the stupidest idea.” Tatiana threw herself down in a riveted leather chair, one hand to her forehead.
    Rivka sat in a plush chair as she eyed the contents of Tatiana’s flat. The decor was very white, very austere, elegant in a way that seemed devoid of personality—­very Tamaran, really. She set her tool satchel by her feet.
    â€œYour message said there was an emergency with the gremlins?”
    â€œYes! What am I supposed to do with them?”
    Rivka shook her head. She should have known it would be an exaggeration. “Tatiana! I was in the middle of reassembling a cabriolet engine—­”
    â€œAn engine? In your workshop on the tenth floor?”
    â€œYes, it’s for the steam car of another resident. I did have some funny looks when I hauled it up in the lift the other day.” Rivka made a dismissive motion and immediately realized she’d picked up the gesture from Tatiana. “I also need to complete my grammar assignment before my tutor comes later, or Grandmother will string me up like a dinner roof rat.”
    â€œWell, I have a guest bedroom that reeks of ammonia. The gremlins stripped the bed—­I mean that literally! They tore the sheets into strips and wove some kind of . . . thing. It’s awful! It’s only been a day, and they destroyed everything in there!”
    â€œDo you want me to take them?”
    Tatiana’s mouth was a tense line. “Mr. Cody knows I have the gremlins. I’ll keep them here. But what purpose does this really serve?”
    â€œLook here.” Rivka opened her satchel and pulled out a book. “This isn’t the best of sources since it’s fairly old and only shows humans, but see?” She flipped to the first of many bookmarks. “This diagram shows how a replacement human arm is made. The skin, the metal bone, the bands for tendons . . .”
    Tatiana began to fidget and frown; she simply had no stomach for the stuff.
    Rivka closed the book. “I want to make replacement limbs for little gremlins and let them live full lives again.”
    â€œYou gave me grief because of my idea to ride Lump in the Arena, but how is this supposed to help? There’s a reason ­people cover their mechanical limbs with clothing, you know. Lump’s metal extensions make him all the more monstrous.”
    Rivka stared at the book on her lap. “I thought it would make them look more sympathetic. See, Mr. Cody is a politician. He cares about what the ­people think. If we can change how citizens view gremlins, maybe they won’t be so thrilled to see a mecha-­chimera in the Arena. Maybe it’ll be alarming rather than exciting.”
    â€œHuh.” Tatiana sat back. “Now that’s a good idea, but do you really think it’ll be easier to change how millions of ­people think than to change Mr. Cody’s mind?”
    â€œLook at your dress. How everyone here must wear the same color and style.” Rivka grimaced at her own dress. The waistless form was all the rage, and she had scarcely any curves to grant it shape. “Maybe we can make gremlins . . . well, fashionable.” She stroked the cover of her book. “Then maybe ­people will care that Mr. Cody is ripping apart living gremlins to make larger ones. Broderick said all of the little ones will be killed when Lump is done. Saving these three here isn’t