“I know people who could get us through the front door,” Skye said. “But we don’t really want the front door. If we want to find your friend, we need the back door.”
“If Dalton sees me, he’ll try to make contact,” Cole said.
“Right, if he sees you,” Skye said. “The Silver Lining is enormous and built like a labyrinth. As the biggest and best confidence lounge in Merriston, it is supported by a huge staff. We could visit the Silver Lining multiple times without your friend noticing.”
“So how do we get in the back door?” Cole asked.
Skye furrowed her brow. “I’m a senior member of the Unseen. I’m a gifted enchanter. There has to be some other way.”
“Other way?” Cole asked.
“Security is very tight at the Silver Lining,” Skye said. “Getting into the back with the staff is much harder than getting through the front door. They have some of the best scrubbers in Elloweer.”
“What are scrubbers?” Cole wondered.
“They wipe away illusions,” Skye said. “Verity was basically a powerful scrubber. Before the staff at the confidence lounges place their seemings on you, they want to know who they’re dealing with.”
“So we can’t really use disguises,” Cole said.
“Not seemings,” Skye said. “Not to get inside. We won’t be able to dodge the scrubbers at the checkpoints.”
“Without the scrubbers, can enchanters tell when you’re using a seeming?” Cole wondered.
“Not if the seeming is done right,” Skye said. “I’m no novice, and a skilled enchanter can easily fool my eyes. I only know I’m looking at a seeming if the enchanter does sloppy work. That’s why good scrubbers are so valuable.”
“Can somebody sneak us in the back way?” Cole asked.
Skye bit her lip. “Of all my contacts, I can think of only one person who has a chance of succeeding. She isn’t a member of the Unseen, she won’t be willing, and she’s very unpleasant to work with.”
“Who?” Cole asked.
Skye gave a defeated sigh. “My mother.”
After getting dropped off beside lush gardens full of luminescent flowers, Skye guided Cole and Jace along wide, empty streets lined with neat yards and tidy buildings. No lights glowed in any windows.
“Let me do the talking,” Skye instructed. “I know you two like to joke, but my mother was born without a sense of humor. I’ll introduce you as orphans I’ve taken under my wing.”
“True enough,” Jace said.
Cole glanced at Jace. Maybe it was true for him. But Cole had parents who loved him. They might not remember him, and they might live in another world, but they were out there.
It was strange to think that right now, his mom, dad, and sister were living their ordinary lives back in Mesa. Didn’t they notice his stuff in his room? Didn’t they wonder who the kid was in the pictures with them? He would find a way back to them and make them remember. There had to be a way.
“Only talk if she speaks to you,” Skye went on. “Be brief and polite. Don’t mention my dazzle show. Or the rebellion. Try to look as innocent as possible.”
“You sound scared of her,” Cole said.
“That’s right,” Skye agreed. “It wouldn’t shock me if she turned us in.”
“But you think she’ll help us sneak into the Silver Lining?” Jace asked.
“Not if she thinks we’re sneaking,” Skye said. “I have a plan.”
She stopped outside a gate and stared up at a stately townhouse. Squaring her shoulders, Skye opened the gate and led them up to the front door. As with the surrounding homes, the windows were dark.
“Isn’t it kind of late?” Cole whispered.
“Believe me,” Skye said, “this will be equally miserable at any hour. Catching her a little off-balance may work to our advantage.”
Skye knocked loudly. Before long, a light came on, and a butler in a dark suit answered the door, holding a fragile lantern. Cole wondered if the guy slept in his clothes, although they looked neatly pressed. He was balding, with noble features, and he considered them with disdain. “Are you aware of the hour?”
“Yes, Jepson,” Skye said. “I’m here to visit my mother.”
“Lady Madeline has retired for the evening,” Jepson said. He poked his head out the door and glanced up and down the quiet street. “As has everyone else in the neighborhood.”
Skye walked right through Jepson, as if he were nothing more than a hologram. The butler blinked in annoyance, then turned to face her. Cole heard a low growl.
“Hush, Kimber,” Skye said, crouching to let a dog sniff her, then massaging the loose skin behind its neck.
“It is discourteous to invade my boundaries,” Jepson chided.
“Not as discourteous as turning away your employer’s only child,” Skye shot back. “Do you think I’d be here if it wasn’t important? Please wake her.”
“As you insist,” he said with a slight bow. He turned to the door. “Am I to understand these urchins form your entourage?”
“They’re with me, yes,” Skye replied. “Come in, boys.”
“Are you certain they’re safe?” Jepson asked, eyeing them warily.
“I’m positive,” Skye said.
Cole stepped through the door, careful not to touch the butler. Jace came after him.
“Kimber, door,” Jepson said.
The dog padded away from Skye and nudged the door shut.
Jepson faced Skye stiffly. “You may wait in the parlor. Please encourage the young gentlemen to keep their hands off the furnishings.”
The butler went up the stairs, taking the small lantern with him. Skye produced a glowing orb in her hand to replace the lost light. She led the boys down a hall floored with glossy, reddish wood. Cole passed a vibrant floral arrangement in a delicate, pale green vase. A sliding wooden door granted access to the parlor.
The room had a high coffered ceiling, a huge marble fireplace, and a floor where narrow, crisscrossing boards formed complex patterns. A tall grandfather clock stood against one wall, pendulum swinging. All the furniture looked too expensive to use.
Skye tossed her orb up, and it split apart, darting to various glass objects around the room and filling them with light. The objects worked as lamps, illuminating the room evenly.
“How’d you walk through Jepson?” Cole asked.
“He’s a figment,” Skye said. “An autonomous seeming that mimics life. Like a semblance with no substance, made of pure illusion.”
“Are there many figments around?” Cole asked.
“They’re not common,” Skye said. “Figments are extremely difficult to create. I’m no rookie with seemings, and I can’t make one. My mother has some skills as an enchantress, but a figment is far beyond her abilities as well. I’m not sure anyone in Elloweer, besides the Grand Shaper, could currently make a figment with enough complexity to imitate a human being. Mother inherited Jepson from her parents. He has been in the family for generations.”
“He didn’t actually open the door,” Cole realized.
“Right,” Skye said. “Kimber did. Jepson partners with trained dogs. He trains them himself—no small feat when he can’t pet them or directly feed them. Each dog is named Kimber. The current Kimber is looking old. I’ve seen her twice before, I think. He’s probably already working with a replacement.”
They sat in silence for a moment. The clock tolled the half hour. Cole saw that the clock read six thirty. He pointed at it. “Does that mean six and a half hours since sunset?” Cole asked.
“That’s right,” Skye said. “Sometimes I forget you’re from outside. Those with clocks reset them to twelve at dawn and at sunset. Some nights are eight hours long. Some are fourteen. Eleven or so is most typical.”
“How’d your mom get so loaded?” Jace asked.
&n
bsp; “She inherited most of her fortune,” Skye said. “Father worked with a local bank. He passed away more than ten years ago. My great-grandfather was a well-regarded alderman. He accomplished a lot of good for Merriston and for Elloweer. Mother keeps a busy calendar, but doesn’t really do much. She knows everyone, though.”
“Do you think she’ll help us?” Cole asked.
“There’s a chance, or we wouldn’t be here,” Skye said. “It depends. She’ll make us wait before appearing. It’s all part of the social games she plays. You might want to get comfortable.”
Cole sat down on a soft armchair. Jace lay down on a sofa. Cole only lasted five minutes or so before his eyes began to droop.
He awoke with Skye shaking his shoulder. “She’s coming,” she said. “Look alive.”
Standing up, Cole rubbed his face, hoping to wipe away the signs of sleep. His mouth tasted fuzzy, and his eyes didn’t want to focus quite right. According to the clock, they had been waiting for nearly an hour.
Lady Madeline glided slowly into the room and regarded her daughter coldly. She was old, with painted eyebrows and a gray pile of hair pinned at the top of her head. Slightly plump, she wore a dark dress with sleeves and a long, full skirt that rustled as she moved. Many rings sparkled on her fingers, and gems dangled from her earlobes. She carried a black cane, though she didn’t appear to need it.
“This seems an appropriate hour for a visit from a spy,” Lady Madeline said, her voice proper and authoritative, her words clearly pronounced. “At least there is a chance my neighbors did not see you enter. What possesses you, child?”
“I just got to town,” Skye said. “My caravan was attacked by the Rogue Knight.”
“Ah,” Lady Madeline said. “All is clear. You are famously successful and came here to turn over a new leaf, but the Rogue Knight took all your money, so you need an enormous loan to tide you over. You didn’t happen to discover his identity?”
“No, Mother.”
Lady Madeline shook her head. “If you’re going to be a spy, child, at least learn your trade.”
“I’m not a spy,” Skye said.
“Of course not,” Lady Madeline patronized. “You’re a revolutionary. One of those invisible people. I considered ‘spy’ a kinder term than ‘criminal’ or ‘traitor.’ How would you prefer me to label you?”
“For starters, I’m your daughter,” Skye said.
Lady Madeline shook her head sadly. “I am too literal to pretend. If you wish for me to view you as my daughter, you must act the part. I gave up any hope of that long ago.”
Cole stole a glance at Jace. His friend widened his eyes to convey astonishment. Lady Madeline seemed like the harshest mom ever! Why did Skye think she might help them?
Lady Madeline looked Cole’s way. “I see you brought along some of your fellow anarchists. Is it just me, or are your cohorts getting younger and younger? What would their poor mothers say about you keeping them up so long past their bedtimes?”
“This is Cole and Jace,” Skye said. “They have no parents. I’ve hired them as servants. They were with the ambushed caravan.”
“Hired orphans?” Lady Madeline exclaimed, eyebrows rising. “What luck! I suppose parents prove inconvenient when you pay children to overhear conversations and peep through windows. But relatives needn’t always function as barriers. Lady Fink’s daughter, Emilia, is expecting a child. Should I inform them that you are recruiting?”
“Thanks for your understanding,” Skye said. “Your mockery is exactly what we all needed after being robbed.”
“I was merely commenting on your life, dear,” Lady Madeline said. “If it comes across as ridicule, perhaps you should reassess your choices.”
Skye sighed wearily. “My involvement in the resistance has only led to hardship. I came here looking for honest employment. I hope to find work at the Silver Lining.”
Laying a hand on her bosom, Lady Madeline leaned her head back for a prolonged, joyless laugh. “If a confidence lounge has become your idea of honest work, let us pause to lament how far you have fallen.”
“The Silver Lining operates with approval from the champion, the alderman, and the High King,” Skye said. “Have you never crossed the threshold there? How many of your friends have abstained? The Silver Lining needs talented illusionists, and I’m one of the best.”
“You have talent,” Lady Madeline said sadly. “It only emphasizes your squandered potential. You could have had all the right people on your side. Instead, you willfully made enemies of them. Do I believe for one instant that you have changed? We both know the Silver Lining is where revolutionaries go to die. Like moths drawn to a bonfire, they are lured in by a lust for secrets, and they are inevitably destroyed. If you go to work at the Silver Lining, you’ll end up in Blackmont Castle before the week is out.”
Her harsh attitude about the Silver Lining made Cole anxious, though he tried not to show it. Skye didn’t think they could reach Dalton without her mother’s aid, but Lady Madeline didn’t seem willing to help them. They were so close! Would they be defeated here, in a stuffy parlor in the middle of the night?
“I want to interview for employment there,” Skye said. “My reputation was bad at Wenley, and not good in Carthage, but here I can use my actual name and wear my true face.”
“In other words, there are no warrants for your arrest in Merriston,” Lady Madeline scoffed. “No bounties on your head. Not yet, at any rate. Nobody trusts you, Skye. Your reputation is spoiled.”
“Not with everyone,” Cole said, unable to contain himself.
Lady Madeline regarded him coolly. “Your opinions hardly count if you’re paid to have them. Don’t forget that you’re also paid to hold your tongue when in the presence of your betters.”
“It’s all right, Cole,” Skye said. “You don’t need to defend me. Mother, are you saying Gustus wouldn’t consider me?”
“I could set up an interview for you with Gustus at my leisure,” Lady Madeline said. “He might even hire you. But it would only be to put you under constant watch. You will enter to spy, but the opposite will happen. All your dealings will be laid bare to them. It would be the end of you.”
Skye approached her mother and took one of her hands in both of hers. “Mother, listen. I need your help. An interview with Gustus is important to me right now. I’m no novice. I’m not going to try to beat the owners of the Silver Lining at their own game. But I am strongly considering a return to Merriston. An interview with Gustus will teach me volumes about my standing here.”
“You don’t need an interview for that,” Lady Madeline said. “I do not overstate the matter when I say your reputation is utterly ruined. Using your true identity, you would be under surveillance every hour of the day and night. You might even be detained on sight. Were you really assaulted by the Rogue Knight? Will that outrageous tale be confirmed?”
“I was,” Skye said. “Those two boys both took up arms against him. He left them with their lives. The Rogue Knight stripped me of promissory notes and cash amounting to over three hundred platinum ringers. I still have major holdings in Carthage, though they are under assumed names.”
“Three hundred platinum!” Lady Madeline exclaimed. “Did you plunder the hoard of some pirate king?”
“If you must know, I ran a successful dazzle show.”
Groaning, Lady Madeline covered her eyes. “Skylark! I would prefer a dozen spies to an entertainer.”
“She’s really good,” Cole said. “The best. You should have heard the people applaud!”
“You certainly have support from the hired orphan.” Lady Madeline moaned. She placed a hand to her forehead. “Skylark, I don’t believe I can take much more.”
“I used assumed identities,” Skye said.
“You must have, or else I would already be the laughingstock of Elloweer. Child, how could you???
?
“Sometimes we do what we must to survive,” Skye said. “And sometimes we do what we must because of what we believe. Do you truly love the High King, mother?”
“What does it matter?” Lady Madeline exclaimed. “The sun shines. Sometimes it burns too hot, sometimes it bothers the eyes, but it is a reality of life, and so we live beneath its glare and seek shade and shelter as needed. The High King rules. He is not perfect, he sometimes elevates buffoons, he indulges his vanity on occasion, but this is the world we live in. Why not prosper in spite of him? Must he become an excuse to destroy ourselves?”
“Some people can turn a blind eye to what’s wrong in the world,” Skye said. “Some people cannot. I have my flaws, Mother, but I can honestly tell you that I try to do what I think is right.”
“You are a bothersome child,” Lady Madeline said. “You need fewer opinions and more practicality.”
“I need an interview with Gustus,” Skye said. “I want to bring my two young servants with me. They could help out behind the scenes at the Silver Lining.”
“Far behind the scenes, I hope,” Lady Madeline said. “Wearing gags.”
“We’re right here,” Cole said.
Lady Madeline ignored him. Setting her cane aside, she patted her daughter’s hand. “I fear that Gustus would gladly give you enough rope with which to hang yourself.”
“What I do with it may surprise him,” Skye said.
“I take it I will have no peace until I grant you this favor,” Lady Madeline said.
“None,” Skye said. “I must have the interview.”
“At least you’re not begging for money,” Lady Madeline said. “Or trying to interact with my friends.” She shivered theatrically.
“Thank you, Mother,” Skye said.
“Thanks,” Cole added sincerely. He had been braced for Lady Madeline to reject their request. They were going to find Dalton! It was actually happening! How long would it take before they came face-to-face?
“Thank me with your silence,” Lady Madeline scolded Cole, fanning herself. She turned to address Skye again. “Am I to understand that you and your stalwart footmen expect to sleep here tonight?”