“Yes, I can see how hard he is on you. I have my own teenage girl. There is an art to looking after them that is lacking in the Councillor. But trust me, he will not argue with his future employer. You need to stay here and recuperate. If the wound heals well, I might be able to convince one of my men to show you the basics of marksmanship. Pulling the trigger of a g-gun is not as easy as it looks. Would you like that?” There was a glint in her eye, filled with temptation.

“I …” Petronio felt that he was stepping off the edge of the woodway with a vast drop below.

“If my daughter, Randall, were here, she’d turn you into a sharpshooter within days. But my men are more than up to the task. After you have rested further, you can start. What do you say?”

The nighttime sick bay no longer felt strange. Here was a feast of words, machines, and power, and he, Petronio, had been asked to sit at the top table. At that moment, he would have happily put his prize crossbow on the fire for kindling. The message was clear. She’d saved him for a reason. Those who could learn would profit. How did the old carpenter’s saying go? If you can’t nail ’em, join ’em.

“Yes,” said Petronio. He was back in the game.

34• ESCAPE AND BETRAYAL

Mucum was annoyed with Flo. Admittedly, the pie was tasty, the folded map of the Grasp residence wrapped around it quite useful. The hidden knife was also sharp enough to do the business. But the note she’d left only told him to escape the dungeon and meet her on the woodway as the sun rose.

“Wot am I supposed to do?” Perhaps the Rootshooters were a few roasted chestnuts short of a bagful after all.

“You could vanish!” said Shiv. “Like magic!”

“Yeah, we could do wiv some magic.” Mucum’s eyes went wide. “Hang on a sec, young lady.” He scratched his head, hoping that the plan forming in his brain was worthy of his dead best mate. It was a matter of honor. As for vanishing, well, most cardsharps he met were masters not of magic but deception. “Any good at screaming, little Shiv?”

“Oh yes. I love making a big noisy!” She nodded, her curls tumbling over her shining brown cheeks.

“Good on yer. Think of it like a game. Do yer want to play?”

Shiv bounced up and down on the spot and clapped her hands. “Yes, please!”

“All right. Be ready to give us yer best scream, eh?” He then explained how it would work.

Shiv nodded again. Her beaming smile was thoroughly impish.