alive.”
“And we shouldn’t work with Rephs.” Ivy looked away. “We all know what they’re like.”
“ But he helped Liss,” Jos said, frowning. “I saw it. He got her out of spirit shock.”
“Give him a medal, then,” Nell said, “but I’m not working with him, either. They can all rot in hell.”
“What about the amaurotics?” Felix said. “Can we work with them?”
Nell snorted. “Sorry, remind me why the rotties would give a rat’s ear what happens to us?”
“You could show some optimism.”
“Yeah, the weekly executions make me
really
optimistic. Anyway, London rotties outnumber us ten to one, if not more,” she added. “Even if we got a tiny number of them on our side, the rest would overpower us. So there goes that brilliant plan.”
You could tell they’d been stuck in a small room for a while.
“The amaurotics could end up helping us. Scion have always taught their denizens to hate clairvoyance,” I said. “Imagine how the average denizen would react if they found out Scion was
controlled
by voyants. The Rephs are more clairvoyant than we are, and they’ve had us wrapped around their finger for two centuries. But we need to focus on voyants first, not rotties or Rephaim.” I went to stand by the window, watching the narrowboats pass with their wares. “What would your mime-lords say if you asked them for help?”
“Let’s see. Mine would beat me,” Nell mused, “then . . . hm, probably throw me out to beg with cuts on my arms, seeing as he’d think I was such a good liar.”
“Who’s your mime-lord?”
“Bully-Rook. III-1.”
“Right.” The Bully-Rook was as much of a brute as his name suggested. “Felix?”
“I wasn’t a syndie,” he admitted.
“I wasn’t, either,” Ivy said. “Just a gutterling.”
I sighed. “Jos?”
“ I was a gutterling, too, in II-3. My kidsman wouldn’t help us.” He hugged his knees. “Will we have to stay here, Paige?”
“For now,” I said. “Will Agatha ask you to work?”
“Of course she will. She’s already got twenty gutterlings to feed,” Ivy said. “We can’t just sponge off her.”
“I understand, but you’ve all been through a lot. Nell, you’ve been away for ten years. You need time to adjust.”
“I’m just grateful she’s putting us up.” Nell leaned back against the wall. “Getting back to work will do me good. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to be
paid
for doing a job,” she added. “What about your mime-lord, anyway? You’re with the White Binder, aren’t you?”
“I’m going to talk to him about it.” I looked at Ivy, who was pushing at a callus on her knuckle. “Does Agatha know about the colony?” She shook her head. “What did you tell her, then?”
“That we broke out of the Tower.” Ivy kept shaking her head. “I just . . . couldn’t face explaining it. I want to forget it all.”
“Keep it that way. The truth is our best weapon. I want it to be heard for the first time at the Unnatural Assembly, or they’ll think it’s just a rumor that’s gone out of control.”
“Paige,
don’t
tell the Assembly.” Her eyes widened. “You didn’t say anything about fighting back or going public. You said you’d get us
home
. That’s it. We have to stay hidden. You could put the rest of us in—”
“I don’t want to stay hidden.” Jos’s voice was small, but firm. “I want to make it right.”
Agatha chose that moment to return, carrying a tray of food. “Time to leave, love,” she said to me. “Ivy needs her rest.”
“If you say so.” I glanced back at her four charges. “Stay safe.”
“Wait a second.” Felix scrawled a phone number on a scrap of paper. “Just in case you need us. It’s for one of the hawkers, but she’ll take a message if you call her.”
I tucked the paper into my pocket. On my way up the rotting stairs, I cursed Agatha. What kind of idiot was she that she’d let two voyants die on her watch? She seemed kind enough,
“And we shouldn’t work with Rephs.” Ivy looked away. “We all know what they’re like.”
“ But he helped Liss,” Jos said, frowning. “I saw it. He got her out of spirit shock.”
“Give him a medal, then,” Nell said, “but I’m not working with him, either. They can all rot in hell.”
“What about the amaurotics?” Felix said. “Can we work with them?”
Nell snorted. “Sorry, remind me why the rotties would give a rat’s ear what happens to us?”
“You could show some optimism.”
“Yeah, the weekly executions make me
really
optimistic. Anyway, London rotties outnumber us ten to one, if not more,” she added. “Even if we got a tiny number of them on our side, the rest would overpower us. So there goes that brilliant plan.”
You could tell they’d been stuck in a small room for a while.
“The amaurotics could end up helping us. Scion have always taught their denizens to hate clairvoyance,” I said. “Imagine how the average denizen would react if they found out Scion was
controlled
by voyants. The Rephs are more clairvoyant than we are, and they’ve had us wrapped around their finger for two centuries. But we need to focus on voyants first, not rotties or Rephaim.” I went to stand by the window, watching the narrowboats pass with their wares. “What would your mime-lords say if you asked them for help?”
“Let’s see. Mine would beat me,” Nell mused, “then . . . hm, probably throw me out to beg with cuts on my arms, seeing as he’d think I was such a good liar.”
“Who’s your mime-lord?”
“Bully-Rook. III-1.”
“Right.” The Bully-Rook was as much of a brute as his name suggested. “Felix?”
“I wasn’t a syndie,” he admitted.
“I wasn’t, either,” Ivy said. “Just a gutterling.”
I sighed. “Jos?”
“ I was a gutterling, too, in II-3. My kidsman wouldn’t help us.” He hugged his knees. “Will we have to stay here, Paige?”
“For now,” I said. “Will Agatha ask you to work?”
“Of course she will. She’s already got twenty gutterlings to feed,” Ivy said. “We can’t just sponge off her.”
“I understand, but you’ve all been through a lot. Nell, you’ve been away for ten years. You need time to adjust.”
“I’m just grateful she’s putting us up.” Nell leaned back against the wall. “Getting back to work will do me good. I’d almost forgotten what it was like to be
paid
for doing a job,” she added. “What about your mime-lord, anyway? You’re with the White Binder, aren’t you?”
“I’m going to talk to him about it.” I looked at Ivy, who was pushing at a callus on her knuckle. “Does Agatha know about the colony?” She shook her head. “What did you tell her, then?”
“That we broke out of the Tower.” Ivy kept shaking her head. “I just . . . couldn’t face explaining it. I want to forget it all.”
“Keep it that way. The truth is our best weapon. I want it to be heard for the first time at the Unnatural Assembly, or they’ll think it’s just a rumor that’s gone out of control.”
“Paige,
don’t
tell the Assembly.” Her eyes widened. “You didn’t say anything about fighting back or going public. You said you’d get us
home
. That’s it. We have to stay hidden. You could put the rest of us in—”
“I don’t want to stay hidden.” Jos’s voice was small, but firm. “I want to make it right.”
Agatha chose that moment to return, carrying a tray of food. “Time to leave, love,” she said to me. “Ivy needs her rest.”
“If you say so.” I glanced back at her four charges. “Stay safe.”
“Wait a second.” Felix scrawled a phone number on a scrap of paper. “Just in case you need us. It’s for one of the hawkers, but she’ll take a message if you call her.”
I tucked the paper into my pocket. On my way up the rotting stairs, I cursed Agatha. What kind of idiot was she that she’d let two voyants die on her watch? She seemed kind enough,
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