“He knows my word is good. He knows I’m no weakling.”
Thalia leaned closer. “Can you get me to the embassy?”
“And safely back again,” said Ryker firmly.
“Let’s see if I have this straight.” Aristides produced a detailed map of Manhattan and its boroughs. He spread it out and tapped the Upper West Side in the approximate location of Riverside House. “You want to go from here—” He ran his index finger south and tapped the street running up the west edge of Central Park at Seventy-Second Street. “—to here. The Dakota. To see your Sylvestri friend, who is a guest there.”
“And safely back again,” Nell prompted.
“And safely back again,” Thalia echoed. “How far is it? Two miles? Two and a half? Think you can manage it?”
“I can get you there. They probably won’t let you in.” Aristides smiled grimly. “Provided the Sylvestri haven’t sheltered a manticore without telling anyone, which even they wouldn’t do, and provided you keep yourself from Trading if we do flush out a manticore, I believe I can get you back here alive and in your current form.”
“Right.” Thalia sat back in her chair and pushed her plate away. Food was out of the question if she was going to risk luring a manticore. Her stomach was already twisting at the mere thought. “We are in agreement.”
“Slow down.” Aristides held up a hand. “I am the Skinner of New York, remember. My time is valuable.”
“I’ll pay you ten dollars for the round trip,” Thalia assured him. “You offered to split the reward money if I would work with you to lure out a manticore. Consider this a rehearsal of the idea, only you won’t have to share the reward.”
“Twenty dollars,” said Aristides. “I’m not in this for my health.”
“Done.” Thalia shook hands with Aristides.
Ryker said, “I know I can’t stop this, but take a moment to think. You’re not stupid, Thalia. I know you aren’t. Think it through. Explain to me why it seems reasonable to you to risk your life because the ambassador won’t deliver your note to Mr. Nutall.”
“I have no intention of risking my life,” Thalia assured him. “If I lure a manticore out, Aristides will kill it. If I don’t, it may mean that I’ve mastered the ability to Trade, so I don’t attract them anymore.”
“It won’t mean that at all. You have to pass your ordeal to be certain you’re safe,” Ryker retorted. “I know you are a stranger to our ways, but this should be a simple enough concept to master.”
“I have to do this,” said Thalia.
“I thought she was brighter than this,” Ryker told Nell.
“Well, I’m not.” Thalia opened her reticule, the largest she owned, showed Ryker the pearl-handled pistol nestled within, and closed it again. “I inherited it from my mother.”
“Do you know how to handle that?” Ryker was dubious.
“I had more than just piano lessons,” Thalia said. “If a manticore gets past Aristides, I know what to do.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Aristides told Ryker. “Miss Cutler won’t need her weapon, but it won’t hurt to let her carry it.”
“Thanks.” Thalia turned from Aristides to the Rykers. “Given that the ambassador told me Nutall didn’t want to hear from me ever again, I think I should make my visit a surprise.”
Chapter Thirteen
Tycho Aristides used his map of the city to show Thalia and the Rykers the route he intended them to take and what he expected to happen on the way to the Sylvestri embassy. There were places a manticore was more likely to hide than others. There were places that would probably be safe, given the number of people likely to be there in the middle of a weekday afternoon. There were places that weren’t safe under any circumstances.
“We need to take your motorcar,” Aristides said to Ryker. “Speed is safety.”
Ryker’s jaw tightened. “Fine. I’ll drive.”
“Oh, by all means,” said Nell. “I have to stay home all alone while you will be off having fun without me.”
“Yes, poor you.” Ryker turned his attention from his sister to Aristides. “When will you be ready to start?”
“Now. I don’t go out until I’m equipped to do my job.” Tycho Aristides spread his arms. His black coat, unbuttoned, fell open. Thalia could see the butt of a gun protruding from a shoulder holster on either side. Throwing knives were ready in two leather bandoliers that made an X on Aristides’ chest. At either hip, another set of pistols rode in low-slung holsters. A sling over one shoulder held a sawed-off shotgun.