Confusion ached behind Nate’s eyes. Alden hadn’t hurt him—not terribly, not like that. But when Agatha said it, he wondered at his own memory, if he’d made himself believe they’d been friends.
The grief he’d pushed down swelled once more, spreading like an ink stain. But he had to focus. He couldn’t let her get to him.
“All right.” Agatha patted the chair. “Come here, Nathan.”
Pixel burrowed against Nate, and he wished he could take her fear away. Not that he was unafraid. The more he studied the huge prongs in Agatha’s hand, the more he wanted to crawl under the blankets with Pixel.
Val fidgeted with the straps on the chair.
He dragged himself off the bed, haunted by how submissive Val’s behavior was when he’d seen her so confident and carefree up on the rails. “What does that mean? Serum?” he asked, wishing she’d at least look at him.
“It’s an element of blood.” Juniper shot him a smug grimace. “Agatha makes Remedy with it.”
“With the same machine?” Nate failed to hide his surprise. The still had to have interchangeable parts somewhere—some way to convert for different outputs. His fingers itched with the desire to find tools and pry open the gauges and cylinders to understand how it worked.
“Do you seetwoof them?” Juniper asked.
Nate exhaled a laugh. He’d never played dumb in his life, and the wrongness of it prickled up his backbone. Legs shaking, he approached the big chair, feigning childlike curiosity. “Guess it’s magic.”
“I’m sure it seems like that.” Agatha twisted a valve on the thin tube attached to the prongs. “In Gathos City, we used a synthetic serum. No mess, no need for volunteers. But I make do.”
“We?”
Agatha made a sound like a rusted hinge. “There was a time I had freedom to work alongside the Lands. I’m surprised you don’t remember.”
“You worked with my parents?” Nate blurted.
“If you could call them that. Enough reminiscing. Pull up your shirt. Let’s see if you have any flesh on those bones.”
Nate swallowed hard against a knot of emotion. She wasn’t going to tell him anything. And even if she did, she’d mete it out like tastes of her GEM-laced chem until he craved more and more. He inched his shirt up, exposing his belly and shivering.
“Not much to work with. Hope you’re feeling strong today.” Agatha batted at his hand. “That’s enough. I don’t need to count your ribs.”
“What’s the story with the new runners?” Val asked, awkward and loud, like she wanted to change the subject. She turned a rusted metal crank, and the chair lifted with the squeaking cry of dry gears.
“They’re former associates of Nathan and Pixel. Carlos took them to the port. We’ll give it a week, see if they can keep up. The girl is strong. The boy is quick.” Agatha frowned. “And sharp. They’re both clear-eyed, and we need more reliable runners.”
Nate wavered, his knees shaky with relief. Brick and Reed were alive. They hadn’t mentioned Sparks, which hopefully meant she was tailing them—keeping an eye out. He had to stop wallowing in thoughts of his parents and focus on that.
“Nine must be something special,” Val said. “You’d think that door was secure enough without a couple of trappers waiting to brain somebody for knocking.”
“There’s no harm in being extra cautious these days.” Agatha met Nate’s eye, daring him to say anything.
He pressed his lips together.
“That’s no joke. Wouldn’t mind my own personal guard.” Val let out a snort and stoked the furnace beneath the big copper tank with a long poker. Coals glowed white-hot inside and cast a flickering red light, boiling water inside of the tank, as far as Nate could figure. He’d seen systems rigged for distilling fermented fruit, but didn’t know exactly how they worked. Something about boiling water and steam. He’d always preferred the instant gratification of electricity over the slow game of alchemy.
A wide chimney rose from the furnace and up through the roof.
Nate looked away from it quickly, startled by a thread of hope he knew better than to tug on.
What if. . .
“Is this the room we’ll always stay in?” Nate asked.
Agatha’s hand snapped out and caught Nate by the hair, twisting it hard enough to drive him to his knees. He gasped and grabbed her wrist, but he couldn’t shake her off. She yanked his head back and forced him to look up.
His pulse thundered, and his head spun. She was so fast.
