Her movements were easy and fluid. These circumstances might be terrible, the equipment subpar and the workstation unfamiliar, but Thessa could do this kind of work blindfolded. Axio’s nerves, on the other hand, seemed entirely shot. He was trembling, sweating, his eyes looking everywhere at once. If Thessa couldn’t get him to focus, this wasn’t going to work. “Watch closely,” she instructed.
Axio shuddered deeply. He snatched down his bit iron, clutching it with both hands, still facing away from his own workstation. Thessa continued the task in front of her, rolling the small gather of godglass across the steel plate, adjusting it with her tweezers. She stopped once to hold the molten glass in front of the godglass funnel, operating a foot pedal to blow hot air up through the furnace and keep the godglass glowing.
Back on her workbench she bent over the tiny piece of molten cindersand, listening for the soft resonance of sorcery. “You do it like this. It might take you a few days, but you’ll get the hang of it. Twirl, crimp, shape. Move the molten cindersand around until you start to hear the hum of the sorcery, then slowly try and make that hum louder. If it goes away, undo the last thing you just did. If it fails, have no shame in giving up and starting over. You can reheat the piece at the funnel here, or discard it for a new one.”
Looking up to make sure Axio was paying attention, she saw silent tears streaming down his face. “I can’t do it,” he whispered.
“You can,” she shot back quietly. “You’re strong, Axio. You were strong enough to fight an Ossan soldier to give me time to escape.” Lowering her voice even further, she reached deep down, steeling herself, digging around in the anger and indignation she felt at her treatment. “They attacked our home. They killed Ekhi. They shot Captain Jero. Now they’re going to steal our labor and I will not stand for that. Understand? We’re going to survive this place and escape. We’re going to get through this together.”
Axio took a shaky breath. “You really think we can?”
“I know we can. But I need your help. I need you to be the strong man I know you are.”
Axio hesitated for a few moments and then gave her an uncertain nod.
It would have to be good enough.
“Practice,” she ordered him. “You need to look like you’re working. I’ll try to cover for you until you can do these on your own.” That meant twice as much work for her, and then sneaking finished pieces onto his tray. It wasn’t going to be easy, and she had no idea how terrible the consequences would be if she was caught.
She tried to keep all her uncertainties off her face. Escape did seem impossible. With Adriana Grappo dead, they had nowhere to go even if they did manage to flee the prison walls. She stopped herself. She couldn’t afford to despair. She had to figure out how to get those schematics back from the overseer, and now she had the extra burden of Axio. She couldn’t abandon either of these duties, nor would she. One step at a time.
12
It was Montego who picked up Thessa’s trail, following scant rumors of a young woman walking north out of Grent alone. He explained his method and findings in brief, and though Demir couldn’t be entirely confident that they had the right person, he knew all he could do was follow that thread until it either broke or proved fruitful.
Within four hours of Montego’s report, Demir stared across the café table at a diminutive woman sitting across from him. She wore a demure gray coat over her tunic, embroidered richly but not ostentatiously. She had light Purnian skin, an easy smile, and an affected calm manner that made her, at times, infuriating to deal with. Her name was Duala Jaass, and she was one of the thousands of independent brokers who made their living setting up deals between guild-families.
It was just after dark in the Assembly District, a humid chill seizing the night air and cutting through Demir’s light jacket. The café courtyard was lit by gas lamps, casting shadows across Duala’s face.
“I think it’s your girl,” Duala said.
“Thessa Foleer?” Demir confirmed, leaning back in his chair, trying not to look too eager. Duala had served as his spymaster while he was governor all those years ago. She might be a broker now, but she was damned good at moving around information. He’d been half tempted to send her after his mother’s killers, but violence was where she ended her services. “You’re sure?”
“As sure as I can be with the trail Montego was following,” Duala said, spreading her hands. “A woman matching Thessa’s description was filed into the Ivory Forest Glassworks this afternoon at three o’clock.”
Demir checked his pocket watch. It wasn’t that far after six. “How the piss did you find out already?”
“Because the Ivory Forest Glassworks is a labor camp for siliceers and the Foreign Legion has a standing order to send any Grent siliceers they capture directly there.” She gave him a tight, self-satisfied smile. “Thessa gave them a fake name – calling herself Teala – but I cross-checked with the records I had on hand and there was no Teala at the Grent Royal Glassworks. It’s either your girl, or a damned big coincidence.”
Demir let out a relieved sigh. So he’d located her. That was step one. Step two …
“Does the labor camp know who they have?”
“I doubt it. Ivory Forest is not a prestigious position, and it’s not run by clever people. All they care about is turning a profit off the back of prisoners of the state.”
“So how do I get her out before they realize they’ve got a genuine talent on their hands?”
“That’s more complicated,” Duala replied. “The Ivory Forest Glassworks is a government contract. It has exclusive rights for siliceer prisoners within the Empire, her provinces, and overseas colonies. They have very strict rules for how the prisoners are treated and how ransoms and prison sentences are dealt with. They are not going to let Thessa out of there until the war is over.”
“Then I need to gain access. Who owns it?”
“The Magna.”
“Will they sell any shares?”
“Absolutely not. Supi Magna likes to keep it completely within the family.”
Demir drummed his fingers on the table next to his teacup saucer, considering his options. The easiest way to retrieve Thessa would be to buy up shares in the glassworks, get access to their books, and figure out the right people to bribe on both the Magna and the government sides of things. But that didn’t seem to be an option. So how else could he gain access? “Do you have a list of names of the people who oversee the glassworks?”
Duala’s self-satisfied smile faded. “That’s harder to get with the Magna owners. They keep a pretty tight lid on things. I have the names of a few government secretaries involved, but that’s it.” She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and slid it across to him. Demir ran his eyes across the names, feeling irritated and glum, worried he’d hit another dead end, when his eyes fell on the name at the bottom of the page. It was a name he knew well. “All right,” he told her, “I think that’ll give me a good start.”
“I’m sorry I can’t help you more with that,” Duala said. “Is there anything else?”
“The Stavri deal is going through?” Demir asked, switching over from spy work to Duala’s basic brokerage services.