“Then we’ll meet outside after,” Zaria insisted. “Look, it’s going to take ages to fight our way through the crowd. We’ll get out of here faster if we each go look at one of the devices. Not to mention it’ll look far less suspicious, should any of these coppers happen to recognize us.”
As much as he was loath to admit it, Kane saw the logic in that plan. “Fine. Fletch, head back to the device we looked at last time—see if anything’s changed. Zaria, go to the one across from it. I’ll find out what’s going on in China.”
“And where should we meet afterward?” said Fletcher.
“Outside the westernmost exit,” Kane decided, “near the steam room.”
He didn’t like it, watching Zaria disappear into the fray. Not only because he worried about losing her, but because he knew she wasn’t comfortable here.
Kane let the crowd carry him along, setting his teeth against the press of unfamiliar bodies. God, but other people were soirritating, with their incessant babble and shrill laughter. Here for the thrill of it all, he supposed, the majority of them with nary a clue about magic. They didn’t even realize what they were looking at. And yet they had come nonetheless, pushing toward the newest alchemological device like livestock corralled into a pen. One man had even hefted his son onto his shoulders to give the young boy a better look.
Tensed against the pain, Kane shoved past them, glancing at the lanterns dangling overhead. He had to admit that China’s display was lovely, with its ornamental vases and intricate porcelain tiles. A couple of representatives in lavish red outfits that could only be Chinese national dress stood off to the side, muttering to one another in obvious irritation. Kane couldn’t blame them—they hadn’t traveled all this way for their exhibits to play second fiddle tomagic, of all things. Yet here he was, come to see the device like everyone else.
As he had the thought, the crowd finally parted, affording him an unimpeded view of the device.
It looked… well, precisely like the first one. Kane was far from an expert in such things, but he couldn’t see a single difference in the design. For some reason, that fact rattled him. Why bother going to the trouble of sneaking something into the Exhibition thrice, only to deliver the same object each time? It was hardly as impressive once it had already been done. Any criminal worth their salt would have moved on to something larger. Something more interesting, more difficult to smuggle in. If it was about the challenge—which had been Kane’s initial suspicion—then this didn’t make any sense. He didn’t know why he’d bothered coming here at all.
As he turned away, however, a realization hit him.
He whipped his head back around, frowning at the device. At theopalescent light emanating from within. Last time he’d come here, standing in the shadow of a taxidermied elephant, he recalled seeing the barest flicker of luminescence from the orb-like protrusion. It was weak enough that he’d nearly missed it altogether. This one, though, burned brighter. More vigorously. Almost as if it had gained something the first device didn’t have.
Heart slamming against the base of his throat, Kane went back the way he’d come, the sound of the crystal fountain crashing in his ears. Impatience was a relentless thing that drove his pulse ever higher. He twisted and slipped between bodies without a care for propriety, gaze trained on that abominable elephant. More than a few protests sounded in his wake, but he ignored those, too. Although he’d assigned Fletcher to reexamine the first device, Kane needed to see it again for himself. He needed to know if his suspicions were correct.
When at last he reached it, he skidded to a halt. A woman’s shrill laugh sounded far too close to his ear, but he scarcely registered the sound.
The first device was brighter, too.Farbrighter than it had been the other day.
“What the hell,” Kane muttered under his breath, squinting as if that might alter what he was seeing. He could be remembering things wrong, he reasoned, but knew that wasn’t the case. He was certain of what he’d seen. The device had definitely changed.
The question was:Why?
Objectively, it wasn’t that big of a deal. So what if the device was glowing brighter than it had before? They didn’t even know what itwas. Still, Kane couldn’t help feeling a bone-deep sense of foreboding. As if the device were slowly but surely coming to life.
He tucked his chin and backed away from the gawking onlookers,melting into the rest of the crowd again. Thoughts turned over and over in his head as he made for the exit, the Crystal Palace’s grandeur already lost on him.
That was when he noticed someone familiar standing just inside the doors. Someone who was deep in conversation with two other coppers, agitation obvious in his stance as his gaze lifted to meet Kane’s.
Son of a bitch.
Richard Price Senior was here.
KANE
There was no use pretending he hadn’t seen the man. Kane strolled toward the inspector with purpose, rearranging his face into a cool, pleasant expression.
Price trailed off in whatever he’d been saying to the other coppers, waving them away as Kane approached. He straightened with a sigh. “Durante.”
Somehow he appeared older than when Kane had seen him last. The furrows in his brow were more pronounced, the shadows under his eyes darker. His downturned lips were nearly colorless. Kane pretended not to notice this, extending a hand. “Inspector. I hadn’t thought to see you here.”
Price gave a short laugh. “Indeed? Well, as I imagine you’ve noticed, I’ve quite a lot to deal with today. How are you getting on?”
Kane knew the man wasn’t asking after his well-being. “I’veuncovered some rather interesting information. That said, I need more time to fit the pieces together.”
“You have four days. I expect that will be enough?”
“Of course,” Kane said smoothly. Nonetheless, the reality of his dwindling time had just set in with sickening ferocity. “I’m making excellent progress.”
There was sweat beading on Price’s brow, he noticed, and the inspector reached up with a kerchief to wipe it away. His eyes were flinty. “That had better be true. In light of recent events, my position is more in jeopardy than ever. The effectiveness of my entire division has been called into question. The Duke of Wellington is furious.”
