third for Nic and me: the one scaling a ladder set into the wall. A heavy satchel swung in his grip. In his haste, he missed a rung and slid halfway down the wall, cursing all the way.
The Beetles commenced their twitching dance. I froze, but my prey accessed a glowing device strapped to his wrist. When he depressed a button, the bird cry we heard earlier bounced off every stone, every pane of glass. As one, the mechanical bugs seized and fell. The burglar immediately resumed climbing, and I vaulted over a stack of ledgers, charging the Pixii as I ran. Arriving at the ladder, I had to put the device between my teeth before starting up the rungs, nimble as a monkey.
“I’m right behind you—” Nic stopped suddenly, and I twisted about to see a fourth thief catch my brother about the neck and pull him back to the floor.
Nic plowed three quick blows into the thief’s midsection. “Go!” he panted between punches. “Catch the one with the cards!”
I hesitated, as surprised by the swiftness and violence of my brother’s attack as I was by the dark expression on his face. By the time I resumed climbing, the burglar had reached the top of the ladder and disappeared through a narrow opening. Doubling my speed, it took me less than a minute to gain the crawl space with a heave and grunt; it was another matter entirely to scramble forward with yards of dove-colored foulard trailing behind me. On hands and knees, I moved through complete darkness, choking on dust, eyes struggling to make out anything at all.
Ahead of me was a dragging noise, the scrape of heavy fabric and metal on stone, then my right hand encountered the rough burlap sack containing the Eidolachometer cards. I tightened my grip upon it just in time for the burglar to pull both the sack and me into an alleyway. I lost my grip on the Pixii, and it skittered across the stones, disappearing into the thick fog that swirled about us.
“Leave off!” the thief growled, trying to shake me free of the bag. I refused to let go, though I was at a distinct disadvantage in both size and weaponry. He stood a head taller than I and wieldeda short, wicked blade. He didn’t hesitate to swing it in my direction, either. “Troublesome little snip—”
My boot connected with his wrist. His knife went spinning down the alleyway. I lowered my head and charged, my skull connecting with his midsection, and the two of us went down in a tangle of limbs and a torrent of swearing.
All the colorful language coming out of my opponent nearly muffled the sound of approaching sirens and the hissing pops of a hundred activated
Lampyridae mechanika
. Falling like shooting stars, the Fireflies careened overhead in a blur of mica wings, exposed clockwork mechanisms, and blue phosphorescent abdomens. By their light, I could just make out the bandit’s face.
“Air support’s on its way,” I said. Not even a bluff, because the distinctive whirring noise of rappelling wires signaled incoming Araneae.
“The only one who’s going to get caught blazing is you.” The thief shoved the burlap sack at me.
Thrown back by the weight of it, I hit the side of the brick building hard enough to jar everything from my Ticker to my toes. The impact forced my eyes closed—only for half a second, but that was long enough for my attacker to disappear into the shadows. The next moment, a dozen Araneae landed in the alley with the silent precision of spiders on silk lines. Six of the specially trained Ferrum Viriae unclipped from their harnesses and pursued the burglar. The rest swiftly surrounded me.
“Well timed,” I said, scorn my only defense.
The tallest of them stepped forward like a jungle cat, with eyes that could obviously see far better in the dark than mine. Boots that should have made a heavy footfall on the cobblestones moved with uncanny silence.
“Of course it would be
you
,” Marcus said, removing his face shield.
“Did you miss me?” Even breathless, I infused the words
The Beetles commenced their twitching dance. I froze, but my prey accessed a glowing device strapped to his wrist. When he depressed a button, the bird cry we heard earlier bounced off every stone, every pane of glass. As one, the mechanical bugs seized and fell. The burglar immediately resumed climbing, and I vaulted over a stack of ledgers, charging the Pixii as I ran. Arriving at the ladder, I had to put the device between my teeth before starting up the rungs, nimble as a monkey.
“I’m right behind you—” Nic stopped suddenly, and I twisted about to see a fourth thief catch my brother about the neck and pull him back to the floor.
Nic plowed three quick blows into the thief’s midsection. “Go!” he panted between punches. “Catch the one with the cards!”
I hesitated, as surprised by the swiftness and violence of my brother’s attack as I was by the dark expression on his face. By the time I resumed climbing, the burglar had reached the top of the ladder and disappeared through a narrow opening. Doubling my speed, it took me less than a minute to gain the crawl space with a heave and grunt; it was another matter entirely to scramble forward with yards of dove-colored foulard trailing behind me. On hands and knees, I moved through complete darkness, choking on dust, eyes struggling to make out anything at all.
Ahead of me was a dragging noise, the scrape of heavy fabric and metal on stone, then my right hand encountered the rough burlap sack containing the Eidolachometer cards. I tightened my grip upon it just in time for the burglar to pull both the sack and me into an alleyway. I lost my grip on the Pixii, and it skittered across the stones, disappearing into the thick fog that swirled about us.
“Leave off!” the thief growled, trying to shake me free of the bag. I refused to let go, though I was at a distinct disadvantage in both size and weaponry. He stood a head taller than I and wieldeda short, wicked blade. He didn’t hesitate to swing it in my direction, either. “Troublesome little snip—”
My boot connected with his wrist. His knife went spinning down the alleyway. I lowered my head and charged, my skull connecting with his midsection, and the two of us went down in a tangle of limbs and a torrent of swearing.
All the colorful language coming out of my opponent nearly muffled the sound of approaching sirens and the hissing pops of a hundred activated
Lampyridae mechanika
. Falling like shooting stars, the Fireflies careened overhead in a blur of mica wings, exposed clockwork mechanisms, and blue phosphorescent abdomens. By their light, I could just make out the bandit’s face.
“Air support’s on its way,” I said. Not even a bluff, because the distinctive whirring noise of rappelling wires signaled incoming Araneae.
“The only one who’s going to get caught blazing is you.” The thief shoved the burlap sack at me.
Thrown back by the weight of it, I hit the side of the brick building hard enough to jar everything from my Ticker to my toes. The impact forced my eyes closed—only for half a second, but that was long enough for my attacker to disappear into the shadows. The next moment, a dozen Araneae landed in the alley with the silent precision of spiders on silk lines. Six of the specially trained Ferrum Viriae unclipped from their harnesses and pursued the burglar. The rest swiftly surrounded me.
“Well timed,” I said, scorn my only defense.
The tallest of them stepped forward like a jungle cat, with eyes that could obviously see far better in the dark than mine. Boots that should have made a heavy footfall on the cobblestones moved with uncanny silence.
“Of course it would be
you
,” Marcus said, removing his face shield.
“Did you miss me?” Even breathless, I infused the words
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