Free The Inventor's Secret by Andrea Cremer

this.”
“Oh, dear.” Birch sighed, but he followed Charlotte up
the winding staircase. When they reached the tunnels, he
asked, “Do you even know where Ash went?”
“No,” Charlotte said. “But I can guess.”
Jack had said he’d meet them back at the Catacombs.
There was only one other entrance by which he could return.
When they arrived at the platform and found it empty,
Charlotte kicked the railing in frustration. Jack wasn’t
here yet. The more time that passed before he returned,
the less likely he’d ever come back.
“Why is he in the wheelhouse?” Birch asked, frowning.
“There aren’t scheduled arrivals today.”
Charlotte peered at the wheelhouse, and sure enough,
Ash was inside, looking harried. At least her brother was
as anxious awaiting Jack’s appearance as she was.
“This is an unscheduled arrival,” she muttered to Birch.
She stepped behind the tinker and pushed him toward the
box. “Go on, then.”
“You’re not coming?”
“I’m just going to stay back a bit.” She tried to muster
a reassuring smile, but Birch snorted at her before he went
to the operator’s box and stepped inside.
Ash, who’d been bent over the controls, started at the
unexpected company. Watching as their mouths moved
in a conversation silent to her, Charlotte inched toward
the wheelhouse. She stopped when Birch began to gesture
wildly. Ash watched him solemnly, nodding every so often.
Birch abruptly burst from the wheelhouse, storming
away.
“What happened?” Charlotte asked as he brushed by
her, heading for the tunnels.
“Can’t talk,” he blurted out. “Too much to do. Preparations.”
He bumped into Scoff, who was coming out of the pas
sageway, but didn’t stop then either.
Scoff had Pip with him, and to Charlotte’s surprise,
Grave had accompanied them too.
“What did you do to Birch?” Scoff asked Charlotte.
“I didn’t do anything to him.” She pointed at the wheelhouse and found that Ash was glaring at her through the
glass barrier. “He went to talk to Ash and then he just ran
off.”
“That’s odd,” Pip said. “Birch never gets mad at anybody.” She glanced at Scoff. “Unless they steal his tools.”
“I was borrowing them,” Scoff said. “And it was only
once.”
“What’s this all about anyway?” Pip asked her. “Scoff
said there was going to be a spectacular surprise.”
Scoff’s brow crinkled. “I said we didn’t know what was
going on.”
“Which means we’ll be surprised,” Pip told him. “And
I’m hoping for spectacular.”
Charlotte was hoping to find out what had happened to
Jack, but was bothered even more that she continued to be
excluded from whatever scheme her brother had hatched.
Now Birch knew something secret as well, and that irked
Charlotte more than an itch she couldn’t quite scratch.
“You’re safe, then?” Grave’s quiet question caught her
off guard.
“I’m sorry?” She looked at him, noting that he was as
pale as he’d been the previous day. He did look more at
ease, though.
Grave glanced at Pip. “She told me that you were out
scavenging. And that scavenging is horribly dangerous.”
“Pip.” Charlotte put her hands on her hips. “That is not
exactly the type of introduction to our home that Grave
needs.”
Pip twirled her pigtails in her hands. “Of course he
does. And it is dangerous.”
Charlotte smiled gently at Grave. “There are always
risks when we cross into New York. But we have to do it,
and we’re fine.”
“Are there really man-eating rats?” Grave asked in a
hushed voice.
Charlotte glared at Pip again.
“It’s not my fault the Empire feeds prisoners to the rats
so they’ll want to hunt trespassers.” Pip shrugged.
“Why are you spending time with Pip anyway?” an exasperated Charlotte asked Grave. “Where’s Meg?”
Pip stuck her tongue out at Charlotte. “I’m more fun!”
“Where’s Meg?” Charlotte asked again.
“She’s teaching the small children.” Pip sounded bored.
“You