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"You're a terrible liar," she said. She paused, then frowned. "Shit."
I followed her gaze and exhaled through my nose in frustration. The lift was rising. So slowly the movement was barely discernible, but it was continuing its journey to the top.
"We'll have at least an hour or two to wait for it to come back down." Kerina didn't bother to keep the frustration out of her tone.
I grunted my agreement. If there was another way up, I would take it, but since there wasn't, we would have to suck it up for a while longer.
"Let's find a tavern and have a meal while we wait. We might find some jellied eels for you." I suppressed a smile and stepped aside before she could sock me again.
"I could do with a beer and some fresh bread," she said, eyeing me as if I might say more.
I nodded. "There are a few places at the base of the lift." I led the way through the crowd of people who either just arrived on other ships, or were about to depart. Some pushed small trolleys covered with items for sale. Their trolleys were narrow enough to navigate in a tight space, but wide enough to display knives, belts, hats and the occasional colourful bird or small monkey.
"A gold coin, sir," one said when I glanced at a bright red parrot with yellow tail feathers.
"We're not idiots," Kerina snapped. "The moment we hand over a coin, you'll open the cage and the bird will fly back to wherever you've trained it to go."
The man pretended to be offended, but bustled on through the crowds, muttering to himself.
"The oldest scam there is," Kerina said darkly. "He's probably sold the poor thing a dozen times before. The city watch should stop him."
"I'll be sure to let them know, if I see any," I said. I wouldn't though. I knew some of the watch; I had trained several. For now, I wanted to stay out of their sight. They would either insist on knowing why we were in Cape Massin, or they'd want to help. I didn't want the hassle of either right now.
We passed the first tavern with only a glance. The taproom was empty except for a man who swept the floor which looked clean already.
I stopped at the second tavern, which held only a handful of patrons, but a clear view of the lift as it neared the top.
"I'm always suspicious of an empty tavern," Kerina remarked, as though the choice had been all hers. "The beer must be terrible."
"And the customers haven't heard any good gossip," I added.
"That as well," she agreed. "If there's no good gossip, is it even really a tavern?"
I snorted softly in amusement. "Not a good one."
The Lioness' Favour was a two story building, with rooms above the taproom. Presumably travellers who arrived after the last lift for the day spent the night in places like this. I wondered if the taverns ever paid the lift crew to finish early, so they could take advantage of people like that.
If they did, I was determined I wouldn't be one. If I had to, I would pay more than the taverns combined to get out of Cape Massin before nightfall.
"Beer and lunch, please." Kerina flipped a coin to a server and chose a seat near the wide windows.
Like the others in the Cape, they sported heavy shutters which could be closed quickly if the weather turned particularly bad. Right now, they were wide open onto the street, letting in sunlight and sound.
I sat opposite Kerina and nodded to the woman who sat a bowl of stew and a mug of beer in front of me. I would have loved a burger, but apparently the old ways included avoiding modern food. Or at least fast food, since the woman at the table beside ours had spaghetti bolognese.
"Any peculiar music?" I asked when the woman had moved away.
Kerina looked surprised, then glanced around. "You think what I heard yesterday was a…" She mouthed the word "sprite."
"I don't know," I admitted. "But if only you could hear it and only I saw the kid, if there was one, it stands to reason the two things are related. Odd shit tends to be."
"None of this occurred before Viva arrived at the Vault," Kerina mused.
"I'm surprised you would be the one to point that out," I said. "I thought you liked her."
"I find her power incredible and I hate the idea of allowing anyone to be taken like that." Kerina's voice was even, but her eyes flashed with the anger she'd put aside for the past day.
"I'm sure her arrival and this—whatever this is, is a coincidence. I arrived back on the same train as she did." So did Izzy.
