Steamsworn (Steamborn Series Book 3) (10 page)

“Why?”

Smith and Mary locked gazes for a moment before Mary nodded.

He turned his gaze to Eva and said, “I am Targrove’s last apprentice.”

“Targrove?” Eva asked, and she looked like Smith had just declared himself the king of the entire world. “Targrove didn’t take any apprentices after the Deadlands War.”

“He designed the early skeleton of the technology I used in my arm, Eva. He taught me most of what I knew when I first became a tinker. Proving that to the tinkers here could be the difference between their support or their continued fear of Biomechs.”

The table fell silent when the server returned with two steaming plates, heaped with fried breads and salted pork. She brought another round of drinks, but no one touched them. Eva stared at Smith while everyone else watched Eva.

“That’s not possible,” Eva said. “Targrove wouldn’t have touched biomechanics if his life depended on it.”

“His did,” Smith said quietly. “And I would not be alive if he had not become proficient in them. Targrove’s pilgrimage to Bollwerk was not without its tragedies. The other men traveling with him died when they were swarmed by Tail Swords. Targrove found shelter in an ancient ironwood, only to lose his arm to a Tree Killer.”

“Like Jacob?” Alice asked.

“Yes, but closer to Bollwerk. One of our patrols found him and brought him into the city. Archibald rebuilt Targrove’s arm with a rudimentary biomech valve. I do not know the entire story, but at the end of it Targrove became a revolutionary. He built things you cannot imagine.”

“He built you?” Eva asked.

Smith let out a slow chuckle. “Parts of me, yes. It is not an inaccurate statement.”

Eva took a deep drink of her beer and then drank some more. She gasped when she finished the stein and set it onto the table. “Smith, you intend to tell the other tinkers about this?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“We need their help. For one, we don’t have enough biomech tinkers to repair our soldiers and tend to our city at the same time.”

Eva cursed and grabbed Mary’s stein. “I’m going to need about ten more of these.”

Mary took it back and smiled at Eva.

“You can’t,” Eva said. “They could kill you for even suggesting it. Biomechanics are forbidden in Belldorn.”

Smith nodded. “If that were entirely true, I suspect the Lady Katherine would have killed me during our audience. She knew what I was. She knows what Archibald builds. Do you really think she does not know what Targrove did in Bollwerk? Look at the world with an unbiased eye, and its secrets will fall away.”

Eva froze. Alice was a little afraid the girl had just died at the table she’d become so immobile.

“That’s … that’s the mantra of the Skyriders.”

“Yes,” Smith said as he tapped his stein with his index finger.

“No one knows that outside of Belldorn. It’s their code.”

“Targrove knew. Targrove wrote it. Our early biomechanics were based on the weapons and gliders of the Skyriders.”

“What if they won’t go with you?” Eva asked.

Smith shrugged. “That is secondary, honestly. If we can get them to understand that Targrove changed his opinions of Biomechs before he passed away, they will be more likely to support our initial request.”

Eva slumped back onto the padded bench. “That’s brilliant.”

Mary grabbed a piece of the fried Sweet Bread off the platter and chewed it up. She pushed the plate toward Alice before turning back to Eva. “Don’t tell him that. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“End of what?” Smith asked. “That your girlfriend thinks I am brilliant?”

Eva started in her seat. “Did you tell him?” she asked as she fidgeted.

Mary shook her head.

“You two weren’t exactly subtle about it in the elevator,” Alice said as she snatched up a chunk of fried Sweet Bread.

Mary laughed and crossed her arms. “Shut up, kid.”

Alice grinned. “These are so good! I haven’t had cinnamon since I won a cake at Festival last year. We ate off it for a week.”

“It is good Sweet Bread,” Smith said. “I admit, I was a bit concerned Mary meant ‘sweetbreads.’ She likes those disgusting things too.”

“You’re not upset?” Eva said as she looked at Smith.

“Upset? Why?”

“I thought … I thought we’d be frowned on by people from Bollwerk.”

Smith shook his head. “I would say those times died with the last Bishop, though some remnants may exist. People do enjoy their hatred. And really, Mary …” He turned his gaze to her. “Did you think I believed your stories about our scouting expeditions in the wastes? Every damn time we went, we ran into a Skyrider patrol. The
same
Skyrider patrol.”

“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable,” Mary said.

“Sometimes you should not worry about what people think, and you should only worry about living the life you want.”

“That’s why I needed the Skysworn.”

Smith popped a Sweet Bread into his mouth and smiled. “I know.”

S
mith made his
way from Mary’s favorite restaurant to the tinker guild’s workshop. It was not hard to find, being that Targrove had told him a thousand stories about it. It had been rather annoying when he was a young man, but now he was thankful for it. Mary had decided to visit her family that night with Eva and Alice. He hoped very much that it would be a happy reunion.

The ocean grew louder as he neared the workshop. The tower was close to the older parts of the city, much of which had been lost to the seas. He stopped before the iron-barred door. It looked heavy, and immovable, and Smith’s lips quirked into a half smile when he saw the subtle pattern of a Steamsworn fist etched into the rusted iron. His eyes followed the door up to its peak, and the peak to the windows far above that stretched into the brick and vanished into the night sky. He thought about Targrove standing here, admiring his handiwork, and there was a twinge in his heart, an echo that rode between happiness and loss.

Smith reached out and knocked on the old door.

The peephole slid open after a moment and a small, frail voice said, “Yes?”

“May I speak with the tinkers of Belldorn? I have information you need.”

The old voice on the other side of the door quieted as the peephole slid closed. A series of clacks and squeaks echoed around the door before it cracked open. “Come in and tell us what truly brings you here.”

Smith stepped inside, and he
knew
it had been Targrove’s home. Everything inside spoke to what he knew of the man. From the tall brass-emblazoned fireplace to the immaculate stone workbenches.

“Why did you let him in here?” one of the three men inside asked. They were all pale, with flaming hair, and it reminded Smith very much of his old mentor.

“I am Targrove’s apprentice, come to warn his homeland.”

Smith’s words silenced the room.

An aged, crackling voice spoke from the shadows. “None of Targrove’s apprentices still live.” Her voice was frail, and her body looked even more so as her wheelchair puttered into the light of the fireplace. “Do not lie to us.”

Smith couldn’t hide the broad smile that split his face. Targrove had described his lady as a vibrant goddess, and how could this beautiful old woman be anyone else? “Theodosia.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What did you say?”

“Theodosia, Targrove’s only regret for leaving Belldorn, you are her.”

He knows her true name.

No one knows that name.

It’s not possible.

But how else …

Smith let the whispers continue and watched as Theodosia shifted a lever on her wheelchair. A tiny puff of smoke rose from the back, forming a perfect ring.

Theodosia’s voice rose as she leaned forward. “It cannot be.”

“I am Smith, the last of Targrove’s apprentices.” Smith unbuttoned his vest and began to remove it as he spoke. “Targrove studied biomechanics with Archibald in Bollwerk. He became one of our greatest tinkers, a biomechanic unlike any other.” Smith let his shirt fall to the floor. “He gave me the knowledge to one day build this.”

“Sacrilege!” One of the men shouted. “Targrove would never defile his hands with biomechanics.” He made for the front door. “I won’t listen to you drag our patron’s name through the dirt.”

“Stop!” Theodosia snapped.

The man froze mid stride.

“We will not insult our guest further. Sit down.”

Smith did not often take his shirt off in front of people, even people he knew well. A handful of Steamsworn, and Mary, had been the only ones who had truly had a chance to study the masterpiece he’d built on Targrove’s foundation.

“By the gods …” Theodosia’s finger traced the pattern of the brass chest plate that covered the right half of Smith’s upper body. “What happened to you?”

“A cannon shot took my arm. It would have been my life if not for Targrove.”

“You’re too young to have been in the war, son.”

Smith unlatched the layered metal plates running down his upper arm and set the construct on one of the workbenches. He rubbed his hands together, such a simple motion that sent a hundred different gears and pistons to turning and pumping along his arm. “I was one of Archibald’s spies, sent to watch over Ballern.”

“Ballern?” Theodosia said as her eyes widened. “That is a mighty journey for one from Bollwerk.”

Smith nodded. “We were caught by one of their scout ships off the coast. They boarded us and interrogated the crew. Everything seemed okay, as we showed them our damaged navigation console—our excuse for being there—but before we could fully retreat, they opened fire. Most of the crew died. Targrove had been on the airship to make an appraisal of Ballern’s battlements. If he had not been, I would have died.

One of the tinkers, the shortest of the three, stepped closer and looked at Smith’s shoulder. “You’re made of metal. How is that pivot joint anchored?”

“It is in the bone,” Smith said.

The man shivered, his cold blue eyes meeting Smith’s. “That must have hurt something fierce. Gods, look at that.” He leaned in closer and reached out, before pausing and glancing up at Smith. “May I?”

Smith nodded.

“The core here, look how the top of the piston is braided. Only man I ever saw do that was Targrove. Too much damn work if you ask me.”

“I hope you will listen to the rest of the story I have to share. Dark times are coming for every city from Ancora to Belldorn, and we need your help.”

“How are you not mad?” The man who’d almost stormed out asked. “How are you not a Berserker?”

“It is the metal,” Smith said. “Targrove used a different alloy on me. One he had used on himself as it was stronger. It was not long before I discovered some metals would drive men insane, while others are harmless.”

The tinker cocked his head to the side and glanced at the others in the room. “What do you think, Theo?”

A broad smile raised the woman’s wrinkled cheeks. “Let him speak, Frederick. It is the least we can do for the last apprentice of Targrove.”

Theo extended her hand and clasped Smith’s forearm. “Welcome home, Smith.”

*     *     *

Alice looked up
at the small brick one-story house. She’d never seen a home quite that short. It seemed like a terrible waste of living space to only have one floor.

“Are you ready?” Eva asked.

Mary nodded, raised her fist, and hesitated just above the wood. She took a deep breath and then knocked three times.

“Coming!” A voice said from behind the door. There was one quiet click before the door started to open.

One click? Alice could scarcely imagine a home with only one lock. How could you ever feel safe with that?

The door opened fully to reveal a wide-eyed woman who could have been Mary’s sister if it weren’t for the perfectly white hair pulled back into a bun. “I … Mary? Mallory, get in here! You won’t … you won’t believe …” And then her voice fractured as she took two quick steps forward and threw her arms around Mary.

Heavy boots fell against thick wooden tiles before Mallory appeared at the door. Her gray hair lifted slightly in the breeze. “What is it, Maxine?”

Maxine stepped away, tears running down her blushed cheeks as she ushered Mary forward.

Something flashed across the woman’s face. Alice couldn’t quite place it, but she’d seen her own father look at her like that when she was top of her class one year. That was it, she was proud, but there was a deeper sadness there. Alice could almost feel her loss.

“Mary …” Mallory’s voice was barely a whisper. “Oh, we missed you so much.”

Mary choked on a sob and squeezed her mother even harder. “I got the Skysworn. It’s mine. I miss you both so much.”

“Come in,” Maxine said. “Bring your friends. We have food and drinks, and you’re welcome to stay as long as you like. All of you.”

Maxine reminded Alice of her mother, and it made her homesick and happy all at once. Alice followed the rest of the group through a modest hallway covered in paintings of airships and oceans so filled with detail she couldn’t believe they weren’t photographs.

Eva slid into a chair in the next room, beside a small brick fireplace. There were two framed photos on the mantle. One was a much younger Maxine and Mallory, beaming with a bundle of blankets in their arm. The other was Mary with pilot’s goggles and some sort of scroll held in her hand. It took a moment for Alice to realize it was a diploma.