people to order. It’s in their best interests that we sort this out quickly. You’ve clearly shown an interest, demonstrated your abilities, and you’re eager for power, based on your rapid, some would say startling, accumulation of what you call ‘artifacts.’ You should use it to this end.”
“What does . . . ‘to order’ mean?” I asked again, desperate to get more information from him. “What does that look like, to you?”
“It depends.” He smiled a little at his use of my mitigation. “Our worlds are models of organization and structure, not the chaos you seem to have here. We’ll give you the power to make them orderly. How you do it is up to you, using your understanding of their ways.” He stood up abruptly. “Zoe, thank you for your time. Please stop by the desk on your way out. They’ll have what you need there. We’ll meet again soon and I’ll work out something so that you don’t need the dragons to bring us together. It is awkward.”
“Wait, I—”
I found myself in the antechamber, signing forms. Just like I was checking out a library book. “One use,” the assistant said. “No more, without prior approval.”
“Right. How do I—”
She pulled out a key and unlocked a safe behind the desk. From that, she removed a petty-cash box, and from that, a smaller velvet tray.
I had an idea and popped into the lab.
“Whatcha doing, Zoe?” Sean hadn’t moved from the computer since I’d seen him last. Geoffrey was nowhere to be seen.
“I’m thinking of robbing the Makers, Sean.” I was astonished by my idea but sick of feeling powerless in the face of the Administrator. The trick would be to act with such brass ovaries that it seemed I was doing exactly what I was meant to be doing. Or to be so quick and slick, no one would notice until it was too late. It made me nervous to contemplate.
“Why not just copy them?” Sean said, glancing over. “Same as you do with the artifacts? Much less likely to be detected, and I bet Dr. O can extrapolate or reverse engineer a lot just by having that information.”
I thought about it. It made sense and would be a lot of data for far less risk. “Okay, how? Take pictures somehow?”
Sean seemed to think a long moment. “No, touch them, I think—that’s how Porter’s ring and the sword and the chip got here, right? That will leave an impression, kinda like Silly Putty. Or making an impression of a key, so that you leave the key there but know exactly what to cut in a new one.”
I nodded. “Sounds about right. But if they start getting antsy, showing the least little frown, the least concern?”
“I’ll get you out of there.”
“Thanks.”
I was back at the desk, finishing my sentence. “—implement this . . . loan?”
“I’ll plug it in for you.” She put the velvet tray down; on it was a variety of jewels, like the ones on my body but far finer. Instead of flat-jeweled tiles joined with metallic solder, these were fully crafted individual pieces, like something out of the window of Tiffany or Van Cleef and Arpels. I’d never seen anything like them in person, unless you counted the jewels at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History.
She reached for a ring, a monstrous slab of a sapphire flanked by clusters of pavé diamonds. I darted under her hand and touched a brooch in the shape of a dragonfly set with garnet and emerald. “What does this one do?” I asked, hoping just a touch would be enough for me to record an imprint.
“That’s not for you.” She grabbed my wrist and pressed the ring into it. It vanished into my bracelet, leaving a smooth flat stone on my forearm. “There. It also enhances the Makers’ abilities to summon you. They like to keep a close eye on things.”
Like they didn’t already! I thought angrily. “So if I use this power—any of my powers?”
“Anything not related to your natural, given form will cue us that you’re working on our behalf. High emotional responses will, too. We must be thrifty and economical with how we expend our energy.” She smiled, pleased with the sensibility of this feature. It scared the devil out of me.
I swallowed hard, trying not to think of the Makers having this direct link to me and what I was doing. “Okay, thanks.”
I touched the doorknob. Alarms began to go off in my head.
Back in the lab, I