A Student's Dream (Twisted Cogs Book 1) (28 page)

“
Right, that’s taken care of, you almost finished with your breakfast?” Erik entered the kitchen, wiping his hands on the cloth shirt that stuck out of his Rhetorguard’s breastplate, but when he saw Elena and Ele standing in the opposite doorway he froze. “What...what are you doing here?” he asked guiltily.

“
What were you doing NOT here?” Ele asked. The corner of Garnet’s mouth tilted up in a smile, but Erik of course couldn’t hear him.

“
We came in early to help with breakfast,” Elena stammered, “sorry.”

“
Why are you apologizing?” Ele said, “where the hell was he? He just left Garnet here without a mask? What was he thinking?”

“
We just came in early, and I had to use the restroom...I figured,” Erik shrugged, “no one was around for him to talk to, I thought it’d be fine...he didn’t say anything to you, did he?” Elena shook her head. “Good, good, I didn’t think so, he’s a good Rhetor, that’s why I trusted him to...look, I’d take it kindly if you didn’t tell Rolf about this. He thinks I’m a poor Rhetorguard as it is...”

“
I WONDER WHY?” Ele yelled.

“
...and even though this didn’t hurt anyone, I doubt he’d see it that way. He’d turn me in to the Guardhouse, and they’d be even less understanding. Chances are they might even strip me of my armor. I’m not much of what you’d call a skilled worker, I don’t...” Erik fumbled with his gloves, as if he didn’t know what to do with his hands, “...don’t know what I’d do if that happened. I’ve got a niece on the city outskirts, and if I didn’t have the money to take care of her...” he trailed off awkwardly, seeming torn between the desire to avoid their gaze and to look at them guiltily. After a few moments he walked over to Garnet with knife drawn, holding it to the man’s neck as he finished his apple.

“
As far as reasons go to not turn him in, ‘I’m not a skilled worker’ is a pretty bad reason,” Ele said. Elena looked back and forth between Garnet and Erik, the former continuing to meet her gaze as he chewed, the latter nervously watching her out of the corner of his eye.

“
What d’you say, Miss Elena?” Erik prodded.

“
I...I think I’d better start cutting potatoes so I can have it done by the time Cook gets here,” Elena said.

“
Elena! Are you kidding me?” Ele said, “he’s a Rhetorguard! He has
one job
, to guard Rhetors! It doesn’t matter that Garnet behaves himself, just how badly does a person have to mess up before you’ll treat them even the slightest bit forcefully?”

Elena ignored him. She could’ve responded, Erik had been around the Stormtouched garzoni enough to be used to them and their Echoes, but she wasn’t entirely sure how to defend her decision. She wouldn’t be responsible for stripping Erik of his armor, especially when no one had been hurt. Whoever his niece was and whyever she needed money, Elena wouldn’t be the one to remove Erik’s means of supporting her. Besides, having two Rhetorguard in the studio made her feel safer, even though she now knew that she had never been in danger from Cross in the first place.

“
I’d give you the ‘you’re going to get in trouble being so trusting’ speech, but for some reason it seems like I’ve already used that today,” Ele continued to fume, “...oh yes, it was just a few minutes ago. Is it going to take a disaster for you to actually listen to me?”

It felt like a long time since Elena had pretended Ele didn’t exist, but she slipped into the old habit easily, pulling the bag of potatoes from the pantry and settling down at the table across from Garnet, who was carefully putting his mask back on.

He worries too much. I would rather take a risk and keep friends around me than be as paranoid as him and not have anyone,
she sliced the potatoes a little more ferociously than she needed to.
If it was up to him, I wouldn’t have any friends, I’d be suspicious of everyone I ever talked to, but oh at least I would be “safe”. How much danger could I really be in, tucked away in the most prestigious studio in Milia? What is he so terrified will happen to me?

She glared at Ele, who was too busy glaring at Erik to notice.

What’s the worst that can happen?

“
You’re going to use your Storm to spy on royalty?” even with her back turned, Elena could hear the skepticism in Ele’s voice.

“
That’s not what I’m saying at all, and you know it.” Elena’s stomach growled, and she turned her attention back to the contents of the icechest. The pair had been working all day and late into the night, late enough that dinner was hours in the past and she was hungry again. Somewhere beneath the ice was a leftover hunk of cheese, and she was going to find it no matter how numb her hand became.

“
Maybe I’m just misunderstanding it then-”

“
You’re purposely misunderstanding it, stop being so exasperating.”

“
Okay, maybe I’m hoping that if you keep repeating it you’ll eventually hear how dumb you sound.”

“
There’s nothing dumb about it! You’ve been shooting down my ideas all day, but this one is solid.” The kitchen was too dark at night to see the bottom of the icechest, so Elena fished around blindly for the cheese, “it’s still trying to figure out our Storm, it’s just working backwards from how we’ve been trying. Instead of figuring out why and when it works, we take an instance where it worked and try to duplicate it.”

“
By finding out what Milian royalty is doing.”

“
The Storm told us about the laws that govern the studio didn’t it?” Frustrated, Elena slammed the icechest shut.

“
You’ll wake someone up.”

“
If I do it’s your fault,” Elena waited for a few moments, listening for noise before she continued, “De Luca told us we were more or less correct about the studio laws. If the Storm got that right, it can get other laws right. If we can figure out laws, we can figure out other things. Plans, plots, secrets, or court...stuff. Court stuff.”

“
You understand why this makes me nervous, right? That the best-case scenario of your plan involves learning very powerful peoples’ potentially dangerous secrets?”

“
That’s what we need! Something big and huge and dangerous and...fine. FINE. You come up with something then.”

“
Come on, Elena,” Ele sighed.

“
No, go ahead. You seem to have fun poking holes in my ideas, let’s hear one of yours.”

“
I don’t have any-”

The pair’s bickering was interrupted by a quiet knock on the kitchen door. Elena and Ele exchanged glances. It was rare for them to be awake so late, and had their sleep schedule not been so unbalanced lately the kitchens would’ve been empty at this hour. She crossed the short distance and opened the door.

Standing in the courtyard was a squat young man, his upturned nose and bright brown eyes giving him a charming air. His grin was mischievous and roguish, and it made him look distinctive. Behind him, a large woman stood with muscular arms crossed, her brown hair done up in a bun. Both wore nondescript clothing, the sort that was worn by merchants or laborers.

“‘
ello luv!” the small man said brightly, his accent so thick Elena could barely understand it, “I already knows Hundred-Eye an’ Maple, so you must be Cog? You’s prettier than I heard.”

“
Slug.” Elena had meant for it to come out as a question, but when she spoke the words there wasn’t a doubt in her mind. The knowledge was supplied so fast that she briefly wondered if her Storm had provided it.

“
Right you are in one,” Slug answered agreeably.

“
Elena get away from the-” Ele began, but before he could finish his warning Slug had punched Elena in the shoulder. She staggered back, caught completely off guard, and the motion was enough for the small man to follow her into the kitchen and kick the door shut behind him, his eyes never leaving her. The stocky woman slipped through the wood of the kitchen door after him.

“
I didn’t mean to...to,” Elena’s vision lurched in the midst of her apology, and she stumbled again, her legs almost giving way. Her shoulder throbbed, she glanced down to see a small transparent tube sticking fast, its contents empty. If her past experiences with Cross’ bolts were any indication, she would be passing out within a few seconds, and she could already feel the ground rising up to meet her. Her lungs tightened, and she panted hard to take in shallow breaths. “Ele, get help,” she managed to gasp, and without responding her Echo sprang through the kitchen wall.

“
Fran, be a darlin’ and catch the Echo before he wakes up the whole bloody studio,” Slug said. The burly woman took off through the same wall Ele had, and Elena shivered, waiting for the fog of darkness to sweep her away. Long moments slipped by, and then suddenly she was being lifted, hauled from beneath the shoulders up to rest on the stool in the corner, the favorite seat of Erik.

“
Oof. I’d never call a lady fat, Miss Cog, but I can say with certainty that I ain’t strong enough for this kinda lifting,” Slug was behind her, arranging the stool so that she leaned against the wall. When he took a step back he wore the same charming smile on his face. “Now that’s done with, we can get to the fun bits. Can you talk?”

Though she hadn’t passed out, Elena’s whole body was locked in place on the stool, her jaw included, but she managed to move her tongue enough to say something between clenched teeth.

“
Please, I didn’t mean to break your bolts,” she whispered.

“
Good good. What about somethin’ louder? Can you scream?”

She knew it was useless without even trying. Each breath was such a struggle through her tight lungs that it was all she could do to whisper.

“
I didn’t know there were rules,” she wheezed.

“
See that’s where we run into problems, Cog,” Slug said. Elena strained to understand his accent as he turned and dragged a chair to sit facing her. It reminded her of the Englissian traders that had visited her hometown, but it was somehow less civilized, more raw. “See, I somehow doubt De Luca sent you to Gritti’s without tellin’ you the rules.”

“
He didn’t know. I snuck out, I just followed my teammates! Please, Slug listen-” Elena’s pleas were cut short when Slug’s Echo came back through the wall, holding Ele in an armlock with one hand, the other arm slung around his mouth.

“
Thankee, Fran,” Slug said.

“
What’d I miss?” Fran’s accent was even worse than Slug’s, so much so that Elena couldn’t even follow it.

“
Cog here was just explainin’ how we should go easy on her, on account of she didn’t know there was rules. Problem is, even if she didn’t know there was rules, she still mucked up me bolts didn’t she? What you think, Fran, let her off easy?”

“
Not bloody likely. She thinks she got one over on us, give her a reason to think otherwise,” Fran said. Ele made a jerking motion to try to get out of her grasp, but she held on to him easily. “Oy, Cog, if your Echo don’t stop muckin’ about, I’m gonna break both of his legs. Don’t think I’ve heard of an Echo with crutches, but I reckon he could try it out.”

“
Ele, stop,” Elena breathed, “just stop, let them hurt me, it’s better than seeing you get hurt.” Ele stopped, but his gaze flicked back and forth around the room, as if searching for something that could help.

“
You hear that, Slug?” Fran said, “mebbe I
should
break his legs, jus’ to teach her a lesson.”

“
No, none o’ that, Fran,” Slug ran his hands over his belt, and Elena noted that he had several small clear capsules hanging on it, each similar to the one that stuck out of her shoulder, “Cog broke me bolts, Cog pays the price for it.”

“
Get on with it then.”

“
Gettin’ to it, Fran, gettin’ to it,” Slug murmured, finally selecting one of the small vials from his belt. Like the bolts, the vial had a small fang on one end, and he stepped forward and stabbed it into Elena’s shoulder, just below the one that already hung from her skin. It hurt, but she was anxious enough that the pain barely registered. “Right, that’s the enhancer.”

“
Talk it through, Slug, tell her what she’s got in store,” Fran said, jerking to hold Ele up a little straighter.

“
Ah, right you are me darlin’. See, Cog, we used to know this doc when we was younger, genius man. He used to give me advice. ‘If you’ve ever got work to do on a patient,’ he told us, ‘just talk to ‘em. Tell ‘em what it is you’re doing. It makes the work go smooth’, that’s what he said.” Slug looked Elena up and down again as he spoke, less like a man looking at a woman and more like a butcher looking at a pig. “It took me a while to figure, but wouldn’t you know it, it don’t just work for doctorin’, it works just as well for hurtin’!”

“
Surprised to learn that, we was,” Fran broke in.

“
Surprised as anythin’. So, Cog, let’s talk it through. What I just injected you with was some of me own venom, compliments of me Storm. First injection as I came it was obvious, borin’, a paralytic. This second one is more interestin’. In a few seconds you’ll feel a little heat rush, then we can really get started. In the meantime, a little gab never hurt anyone, don’t you think?”

“
What...what’s gab?”

“
Gabbin’! Chit chat. You know, talkin’. So what’cha do, where ya from?”

“
I’m from Carpi,” Elena said, “De Luca will-”

“
I wasn’t
actually
askin’ where you’re from,” Slug rolled his eyes, “or ‘bout what you fink De Luca’ll do. The chest of coin he sent over, that’s all he’ll do. On that subject, here’s somethin’ interestin’, did you know there’s five hundred florin’s worth of venom flowing through your bloodstream right now?”

Elena was at a loss. Pleading wasn’t working, nor had explaining the situation. She couldn’t move, and if Ele tried to make a break for it he risked even worse danger than her. Slug kept on talking conversationally, “It‘s funny, you bein’ in this situation on account a thinkin’ you was above me. Ironic, I call that, ‘cause now your blood’s worth five hundred, technically, you
is
better than me, jus’ like you thought.”

Elena was trying hard, but his accent was so thick that it was hard to follow what he was saying.

“
Never...said...I was better...than...anyone,” she gasped. Was it becoming harder to breath, or was it her imagination?

“
Didn’t have to say it,” Slug looked down at his nails, “you smashed the bloody bolts, didn’t’cha? Rules don’t apply to Cog do they? Cog’s master’ll pay a fine, an’ who cares about Slug’s effort? No one. No one cares.”

“
Cross cares.”

“
Aye! Exactly!” Slug’s facade broke for just a moment, and he jabbed a finger towards Elena’s face, “Belloza cares. She cares on account of I taught her to care. Taught that whole studio to care ‘bout what happens to me. That’s what you do when someone don’t think about anyone but themselves, you teach ‘em to care. You think you’re better’n me, Cog, you’ll think different after your lesson.”

“
So you’re not going to kill me?” Even
she
knew it was naive to feel hope at the words, but Elena was grasping at any straw she could.

“
Nah, Cog, I ain’t gonna kill ya,” Slug chuckled, “no matter how much ya beg me to.”

A sudden rush of heat made Elena’s head feel light, and for a few moments of blind terror her throat closed completely. All of a sudden every sensation was too much; the fabric of her clothes rasped across her skin, the weight of her body crushed painfully against the muscles of her rear where she sat, and the cool tile against her trailing foot seemed like ice. When she could breath again the breaths came raggedly, the air freezing as it scraped into her lungs.

“
You’re blushin’, Miss Cog. Is that on account of the heat rush or have you just been overcome by me rugged good looks?” Slug asked. He reached out and pinched the skin on her shoulder.

Despite the shallowness of her breathing, the pain was so intense that Elena tried to scream. Her lungs locked up, and nothing came out but a strangled whimper. Across the table from them Ele tried to jerk out of the Echo’s grasp again, yelling something too muffled to be heard, but Fran only grinned and twisted his arm further.

“
Ah, that’s the magic rush we was waitin’ for,” Slug said, “lowers the pain threshold, heightens the senses. Means we can have some fun without gettin’ into too much trouble afterward when the Masters find out. ‘I swear I only pinched her a bit, gave her a few cuts and scrapes!’ Golden.”

Ele suddenly went limp, using the weight of his body to pull his mouth away from Fran’s arm.

“Help! Someone help, they’re killing-" he managed to scream before the other Echo clamped her arm back down over his mouth. Slug and Fran froze, looking nervous for the first time as they listened for a reaction. Elena struggled to move, to yell, but she was still panting with what little breath she could manage. Slowly, the pair relaxed.