The Girl in the Steel Corset - By Kady Cross Page 0,96
the villain’s weak spot. He’d use that if he had to. Regardless, he would make certain he knew more about Garibaldi than the man even knew about himself. The next time they met he’d destroy that Aether oscillatory transference device he wore around his villainous head.
And he would make certain Garibaldi could never hurt his parents, or threaten his friends ever again. Even if it killed him.
When Finley met Griffin in his study early that evening before dinner, she took one look at him and gasped in dismay. “What happened to you?”
He smiled wearily at her. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin had a slight grayish cast to it. “Headache,” he explained. “Spent a little too much time in the Aether earlier and now I pay the price.”
She sat down on the sofa next to him. “Are you all right?”
He nodded. “I’ll be fine. I’ve done this before.”
She wanted to believe him, but he looked so ill. “You did something you shouldn’t have, didn’t you?”
Another tired smile. “Let’s just say I pushed the boundaries of Aetheric etiquette, and leave it at that. I didn’t send for you so we could discuss how much sense I may or may not possess.” He gestured to the table in front of them.
A small pot of ink sat on a stained but laundered square of linen. With it were a few other items that made it look as though Griffin was about to write a letter. But there was one thing that did not fit.
“What’s that?” she asked, pointing at a wicked-looking needle-on-a-pistol contraption.
“That’s a tattoo needle,” he replied, taking the stopper out of the ink. “Em made it for me. I’m going to tattoo you.”
She shook her head. “No, you’re not.”
He smiled. Oh, so her fear amused him, did it? “It won’t hurt much at all. Look, I’ve got some.” He pulled aside the collar of his shirt to show her part of a celtic knot on his chest with strange symbols around it. The ink on his flesh had a slight blue cast to it, no longer fresh and black. “I did those myself. I’ve some on my back, as well, that one of Pick-a-Dilly’s tattooed performers was kind enough to transfer for me.”
For a moment she thought to remind him that showing off his naked skin to a young woman was highly improper, but then another part of her told her to keep her mouth shut and enjoy the view, so that was what she did. This other part of her was also keenly interested in this tattooing business, so she moved closer for a better look.
“Why did you decorate yourself this way?”
“A couple are personal, but the rest come from my father’s research—and my own. The runes help me control and focus my abilities, plus keep my mind and soul sharp.”
“Why do you want to do it to me?”
“I want to give you a couple of runes,” he told her, swabbing the needle with a medicinal smelling liquid that she remembered from Emily’s laboratory. “Nothing frightening or terrible. Just something to help the two sides of you finally merge and awaken your awareness.”
She watched him warily. “That sounds like more than a couple.”
Another smile, this one warm and reassuring. He would make a fantastic confidence artist. “It won’t take long and I’ll make it as painless as possible. I’m good at this.”
Judging from the ones she’d seen of his, she knew that. “Fine. And I’m not afraid of it hurting. I’m not some silly girl.”
He just kept smiling. “No. I’d never call you a silly girl.” His smile faded. “Can I trust you?”
A tiny fissure of alarm tingled at the base of Finley’s spine. “You can.” She would never betray him, no matter what he told her.
He glanced away, fingers absently toying with the instruments on the tray. “I went into the Aether to talk to my parents.”
Her eyes widened. “You can do that?” How amazing! He could commune with the dead. She couldn’t help but wonder if he could somehow contact her father…
“Yes,” he replied. “I can do that, and I don’t know if I can contact your father.”
The blood rushed from her face. “How…?”
He waved a hand. “A lucky guess, nothing more. When I was in the Aether, Garibaldi showed up. He summoned my mother’s spirit and my father and I were taken along, as well. He tried to capture my mother’s ghost.”
Finley slumped onto the stool, disbelief practically leaking out her pores. “I