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Viola’s eyes widened. “Why would you not tell us this?” Viola asked. “We could have retrieved those papers weeks ago.”
“What was there to tell?” Jianyu shrugged. “It was a theory only, not enough to put anyone at risk.”
“Your life was worth that risk,” Viola told him.
Her fierce belief warmed him, even if she was wrong. “We have the documents now. Perhaps the answers we need are there.”
Viola shook her head. “Even if Newton’s Sigils work, even if we can figure out how to use them, that doesn’t stop this,” she told him. “Only Lee can do that. You must go to him. You must take the cane and be done with this.”
“That’s not quite true,” Esta told them, her expression thoughtful. “I could do it.”
“How?” Jianyu asked.
“My affinity,” she told him. “It’s more than just slowing down time. I can touch the Aether that holds everything together, which means I can also pull it apart. I could unmake the ritual magic for you.”
Jianyu did not understand how that helped. “But if Lee realizes you are trying to tamper with the cord, the magic in it grows more powerful. Every time we have tried to remove it, it has only made things worse.”
“If Newton’s Sigils do what you believe, they’ll cut Lee off from his connection to that thread, right?” she asked. “Without that connection, he can’t hurt you. If the sigils work, if you’re right, I can unmake that cord while you’re within the sigil’s protection. At least, I think I can.”
She was looking at Harte now, and there was some silent conversation happening between them. He nodded, and Jianyu understood that something more was happening. Something more had been decided.
“It might work,” Harte said before Jianyu could ask what else they planned to do. “You just need to hold on until we can get back.”
The cart lurched suddenly to the left, and they all scrambled to find something to hold on to. Pain lanced through Jianyu’s arm, and Viola cursed as she tumbled over. They’d barely had time to right themselves when the wagon lurched again.
“Che diavolo?” Viola said, trying to steady herself and Ruby.
The sliding window at the front of the wagon opened, and Cela’s face appeared in the small opening.
“We’re being followed,” Cela told them.
“Who is it?” Jianyu asked.
Viola was already moving toward the back gate, where she could take care of their pursuers.
“I’m not sure,” Cela said. “Hold on, though. I’m going to try to lose them.”
CASTOFFS
Esta barely had time to comprehend what Jianyu had just revealed—that Newton’s Sigils could be the answer to stopping Thoth—before the delivery wagon rounded another corner, throwing her into Harte. He caught her solidly in his arms, but she didn’t have time to appreciate the strength of his arms around her or the relief of knowing that she hadn’t lost him, not when they were being followed.
“Can you tell who’s chasing us?” she asked Viola, who had opened the back gate just enough to look out at the traffic behind them.
“I don’t know,” Viola said, cursing when the carriage lurched as it took a turn to the right. “I can’t tell for sure.”
Jianyu was holding his arm, trying to keep himself steady, but she could tell the effort was costing him.
The wagon swerved again, and Harte looked at Esta. “Newton’s Sigils aren’t going to help anyone if we don’t get out of this mess.”
“My affinity—” She stopped, felt it stirring there. Maybe. She kissed him soundly and felt her world click into place at the feel of his mouth on hers. “I’ll be right back.”
Esta crawled through the small doorway that opened into the driver’s cab. There, Cela was urging the exhausted-looking horse onward, dodging through the traffic as they climbed northward through the city. She had no idea if her affinity was strong enough yet or if what she planned to do would even work.
“We’re going to try something,” she said, offering her hand to Cela, who didn’t hesitate to grasp it. Focusing everything she had on her connection to the old magic, Esta forced the seconds to a stop. Everything went still—the world, the horse, and the wagon as well.
It wasn’t the same as a car, she realized with a sinking sense of dread. The horse was a living thing, caught in the spell of her affinity along with everything else.
As Esta released time, Cela stared at her, completely unaware that anything had happened. “Well?” she demanded.
