"You've been interested in my services before," I said. "Now I'm interested in your information."
His smile sharpened. "Careful. That sounds like an offer."
I took another step. The gas lamp guttered. Steam hissed through my teeth.
"I'm not offering," I said. "I'm collecting."
"Now, let's talk about that. Tit for tat." He tried with a gleam in his eyes. He thought he had me.
We glared at each other. I allowed the dragon to shift through, carefully, just enough for the Spook to see the fire in my eyes. Finally, he spoke. "I didn't order to have the child taken, but my bet would be that he is alive." My lungs unlocked, my eyes narrowed, and he must have realized I wasn't in the mood for games, so he added, "With family."
The word didn't make any sense.
"Inga is his family," I growled.
He sighed. "His Father. He's with the Russians—high-ranking and untouchable."
My blood went ice-cold, my mind whirled. Inga said her father went missing in Russia. If he were alive… no, there wasn't time for any of that right now, I would find out the details later.
"Address," I demanded. "Now."
He shook his head once. "And what will you do for me if I give it to you?"
"I'll let you live."
We stared at each other again. He backed down first. But he tried, "If you cross that line, you can't uncross it. East Berlin is not your playground."
I smiled, slow and cold. "Let me worry about that."
The dragon surged. The lamp shattered. Glass rained down around us, and the flame went out with a hiss. In the sudden dark, he swallowed hard and gave me the address. I stepped back, already pulling away, already shedding skin and bone as I ran. Within moments, Berlin reeled beneath me as I rose, the city small and fragile and flammable.
I would bring Klaus home. And anyone who stood in my way would learn exactly what kind of monster they'd just provoked.
Berlin — July 21, 1948, Wednesday night
The scentof boiled laundry and potatoes still lingered in Elke's flat, the scent that clung to every hallway in Berlin these days. Axel sat on the floor with Hilde, trying to feed her bits of chocolate Gideon had brought, but she only sucked them until they melted and smeared down her chin.
I couldn't sit. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't be still.
I kept pacing the narrow length of the room, hands twisting in my hair, my heart beating so hard it felt like I was bruising from the inside out.
"I can't just stay here," I cried for the fifth time, turning sharply at the wall. "I can't not do anything, not when Klaus—when?—"
"You have to calm down," Elke insisted, trying to pull me into one of her mismatched kitchen chairs. "Gideon is an Americanpilot. He knows what to do."
Her voice was steady, but there was something else in it too, a brittle edge. Envy. She'd wanted this for years. A man in uniform. A way out.
"I still can't believe you're engaged to one," she murmured, half dreamy, half sulking. "An American, Inga. How in heaven's name did you manage that? You never even flirt with the soldiers."
I shot her a look. "I didn'tmanageanything," I snapped, too raw, and added "Gideon… saved me" to soften it.
Elke sighed dramatically and pressed a hand to her chest. "Oh, romance…"
She leaned back in her chair, eyes drifting toward the ceiling. "Trust me, I've tried to get saved like that, and all I got was a man who smelled like beer telling menice legs."
Normally, I would have laughed. Tonight I couldn't. I knew she was just trying to relax me, to pass the time, and I loved her for it. But I was too restless. I didn't even have a chance to answer before a sharp knock rattled the door on its hinges. Elke jumped. Axel froze. Even Hilde let out a small squeak and hid behind his arm.
My heart thudded painfully.
