The Spiritglass Charade (Stoker & Holmes 2)

Electric, then. Was he trying to get us arrested?

“Get on.” He shoved a pair of goggles at me.

“Don’t you want to know where I’m going?”

“Oi know where yer goin’, luv. T’ check on Miss ’Olmes and make sure she’s in ’er bed, safe and sound.”

He gave me a little shove and I stepped onto the platform, settling the goggles into place. He followed, closing the door behind us.

Gad, he was close. It was tight in the small space. A vehicle definitely designed only for one.

We started off with a jerk. I expected us to trundle along the street, but to my surprise, he turned down a dark alley. The only illumination was a small glow from the base of the vehicle. How could he see where we were going?

We drove between two very narrow buildings, and directly toward a brick wall. I stiffened when he made no move to slow, but to my surprise, the wall opened. Then we were going down into darkness. The sewers?

It definitely smelled like the sewers. Musty, crusty, and ugh.

As soon as the doors closed behind us, the vehicle stopped. There was a gentle click followed by a spark off the tail of the cart. Something rumbled gently beneath my feet and the whole contraption rose as if something inflated beneath us. Pix moved his arm near my waist and a light came on. It beamed into the tunnel ahead, illuminating a thick, glistening river of . . . I’m not sure what. I didn’t want to know.

“Through the sewers?”

He chuckled, his mouth very close to my ear. “If them blokes the toshers can do’t, why not us? Now ’old on, luv.” He shifted again and I heard a soft whirr as a clear shield rose from the front and sides of the vehicle. He pulled a lever, turned something, and the faint rumble turned into a pleasant roar as the transport leapt forward.

We sped through the tunnel. At first I was afraid the sludge would splash up all over, but the shield protected us, and there were hardly any splashes anyway. We zoomed along on top of the water. The ride was surprisingly smooth, and the unpleasant smells from the sewers were lost in the breeze. I couldn’t imagine a faster form of transportation—except maybe Inspector Grayling’s steamcycle.

We came out of the sewers and the vehicle lowered back to the ground. The wheels turned beneath us as Pix zigzagged through dark alleys and courtyards instead of streets.

When we arrived in front of Mina’s house, I jumped out before he even stopped. The building was dark. That was no surprise, for it was nearly two o’clock in the morning.

I hesitated, unwilling to knock and possibly waken the household (although as far as I knew, it was just Mina and occasionally her father; Mrs. Raskill lived in a separate apartment next door).

Before I could decide what to do, Pix was next to me. He bent at the door and I saw the flash of something slender and metal in his hands. His wrists moved sharply and neatly, and the door swung open.

“After ye, luv.”

I’d only been in Mina’s house once before. It took me a moment to orient myself, and I checked the laboratory first. She wasn’t there.

I came back out into the main area and slipped past the kitchen and through the living space. It took mere seconds to check the bedchambers—both were empty.

If Mina wasn’t here, she had definitely gone after Willa.

Ready to leave, I turned to speak to Pix and saw the golden filter of the streetlamp buffeting over the fireplace mantel. Something there caught my eye. I froze in surprise, then walked over. Surely I was mistaken.

No. I wasn’t. I picked up the photo, staring, unable to believe my eyes.

Very well, then. That answered one question that had been nagging at me for a while.

Now I had even more reason to find Mina.

Miss Stoker

The Point of No Return

We walked over to Pix’s vehicle, parked under a gaslight.

“I don’t even know where La société is.” Desperation made my voice high and tight. “I searched all around last night, but I couldn’t find the vampires in Smithfield. How can I help Mina if I can’t find her?”

“That, luv, is where I can ’elp ye out. Despite yer mollyin’ things up, I managed t’ smooth thin’s over wi’ me business associates.”

“You know where they are? Take me there. Hurry! There are lives at stake.”

Pix looked at me. His expression was filled with remorse, yet I saw determination in his gaze. “Aye, and it’ll cost ye, luv. I must ’ave that packet.”

I couldn’t believe it. “What the bloody Pete is it? Why is it so damned important?”

He shook his head. “Evaline. Ye can’t be involved in it. For yer own safety. An’ that’s the last I’ll say on it. Now, ye gi’ me the packet and I’ll take ye where ye wanna go. Or ye can waste the night wandering’ through Smithfiel’, looking fer wot ye canna find.”

I had no choice other than to agree. Fortunately, my house was on the way to Smithfield. I handed the palm-sized object to Pix with a glare.

He slipped it in his pocket. “I feel much better now, luv. Ye’ll thank me someday.”

I doubted it, but at that point it didn’t matter. We were off to Smithfield, where I hoped I wasn’t going to be too late.

By the time we arrived in the dark alley, I could see the faintest light in the eastern sky. My neck was frigid. There was no doubt of the presence of UnDead. This certainty was something that had been missing when I patrolled the streets of Smithfield.

Pix approached a heavy cog-and-gearworked door. I gripped my stake and waited. He leaned in, listening closely as he turned cog and gear in a variety of directions while I chafed at the delay.

Finally, the cagework loosened and the door opened a crack. I turned to him. “There’s no need for you to go inside. I told you, I can do this. Vampires are my specialty. You stay out here and—”

“An’ ye get all bent up when I tell ye t’stay out o’ danger.” His eyes were dark and furious and matched his tight voice. “Don’ be a bloody mug, Evaline. Ye ’ave a knack fer makin’ me see the red as of late, don’ ye?”

With that, he shoved past me into the dark building.

Fine. If he wanted to face a troop of UnDead, that was his blooming choice.

I slipped in behind him, hefting a stake in my hand. Pix was a dark shadow ahead of me as he moved along like a shadow himself. And why was I reduced to following him? Whatever happened to ladies first?

A door opened next to me and I hardly had to think about it: My arm pistoned back as the vampire emerged, then slammed forward before he even knew what happened. Poof.