Free Path of Smoke by Bailey Cunningham Page B

builder in the city. She’s got a bit of a temper.”
    â€œPerfect. So do I.” Fel opened the door.
    The bottegha was lined with shelves. Devices and debris were everywhere, sometimes indistinguishable from each other. Babieca saw rings and charms, broken sundials, music boxes, dolls with articulated limbs, and divining rods. A bin was overflowing with mechanical frogs. Julia stood behind the counter, frowning at a tablet. Behind her, a tattered curtain separated the shop from what must have been the sleeping quarters beyond. He smelled smoke from a brazier, and the aroma of grilled mushrooms.
    Julia looked up. The polite smile vanished from her face when she recognized him.
    â€œWhat are you doing here?”
    â€œWe wanted to see your new workshop.” He nodded in appreciation. “It’s very compact. Lots of frogs.”
    â€œYou have to leave. The master will be back any moment.”
    â€œI thought you had no use for masters.”
    Her eyes darkened. “In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t have a lot of options.”
    â€œI thought you were studying at the tower.”
    She kept her eyes on the door. “After the incident at the Arx of Violets, none of them were willing to teach me. They look down on me, just as they looked down on my mother. Do you know what they used to call her? Queen of the Cloaca. Fucking halfwits. They had no idea how much work it took to keep the sewer running, or what a marvel the design was.”
    Morgan approached the counter. “Julia, I know you aren’t exactly on friendly terms with us, but we’re somewhat entangled.”
    The young artifex laughed bitterly. “What an excellent description. I suppose we are. You need to leave, though.” Her face betrayed a flash of desperation. “I have a trade here, a real mystery. It’s actually working out. I can’t jeopardize that.”
    â€œWe need your help,” Fel said.
    She glanced at the miles. “I thought you’d managed to escape this bizarre company.”
    â€œIt’s not a company.
We’re
not. Yet. But you could change that.”
    Julia backed away but only managed to get tangled in the curtain. “The wheel would have to crack before I agreed to join you.”
    Babieca leaned over the counter. “We understand your hesitation. But something happened a few nights ago.”
    Julia frowned. “At Domina Pendelia’s? I was there. Aside from an orgy and some character assassination, I saw nothing out of the ordinary.”
    â€œThe real action was in the alleys.”
    â€œI don’t want any part of this, whatever it is.”
    â€œThat’s the problem. You’re already a part of it.” Babieca smiled sadly. “I know that you want to live your life in peace. But is that really what Naucrate would have wanted?”
    Julia’s face went white. Before he could react, she grabbed a handful of his tunica. With surprising ease, she hauled him over the counter, like a sack of root vegetables. He landed facedown on the floor, and she knelt beside him.
    â€œSay her name again,” Julia murmured, “and I’ll break every bone in your body, starting with the one you love most.”
    He coughed. “I’m not sure why this keeps happening to me today.”
    â€œJulia.” Morgan carefully walked around the counter. “This involves the silenoi. That’s why we need your help.”
    â€œYou couldn’t pay me enough to go near them again.”
    â€œWe think that—” Morgan also kept her eyes on the door. She lowered her voice. “Latona is going to make some sort of deal with them. She has something that they want. An ‘heirloom,’ she called it.”
    â€œWhat does this have to do with me?”
    â€œWe know where she’s meeting them,” Fel said. “If something goes wrong, that mechanical bee of yours is the only thing that can stop them in their