Page 70 of The Song Rising

“Or they’re trying to arm all their soldiers with the scanners,” I pointed out.

“I highly doubt you needseventeenfactories to do that. Either way, we should stay here and take them out.”

“The factories?” Tom said. “All seventeen?”

“Yes, the factories. All seventeen. Get rid of them.”

“Right,” I said, deadpan. “And how do we do that?”

Maria flicked on her lighter. “I’m a pyromancer, Paige.” She beckoned a spirit, and it carried the flame to the end of her cigarette. “I promise you, I can manage a little arson.”

Eliza yanked down her hand. “Maria, there arerottiesin here,” she hissed. “What are you doing?”

“Nobody cares, sweet. Look.”

She motioned to a nearby table, where a seer was sitting with a crystal ball beneath her hand.GENUINE UNNATURAL, a sign proclaimed.OUTCOMES OF ALL ICECROSSE GAMES REVEALED. The unnatural in question was surrounded by eager amaurotics, none of whom appeared to be reporting her.

The conversation paused while a waitron laid out our food and glasses of hot chocolate. “What I’m saying,” Maria continued, when he left, “is that if we can’t get into the factories—”

“We’re not burning anything down,” I said. “If we destroy the factories, we destroy the trail that could lead us to the core.”

“You have any better ideas, kid?”

I surveyed the room again. “We have to track down this Cassidy. Dani wouldn’t have given me his name if she didn’t think he could help.”

“We could also contact Catrin Attard,” Maria said.

Eliza tilted her head, and I explained: “Roberta’s sister, condemned to hang. If she helped the Vigiles revolt, she’s clearly willing to resist Scion.”

“The Scuttling Queen warned us against communicating with her sister.” Tom looked over his shoulder. “We shouldn’t disrespect her wishes on that front. This is her turf.”

“We can’t quibble overturfanymore, Tom,” I said tersely, and he grunted.

“She could drive us out if she finds out we’re poking around. Besides, by all accounts, Catrin is under Scion’s lock and key.”

I massaged my temple. If we were going to enter SciPLO without dying in the attempt, it would have to be carefully planned.

“I have an idea about where we can find Cassidy,” I said. “It’s a long shot, though.”

“This whole revolution is a long shot,” Maria reminded me.

“Hari mentioned a district called Ancoats. He said a lot of Irish workers live there.”

Eliza frowned. “So?”

“Cassidyis the anglicized form of an Irish surname.”

Her expression cleared. “Like yours.”

“Exactly.”Mahoneywas the one part of our heritage my father had clung on to. “If he’s hiding in Ancoats, the people there might reveal his location to one of their own.”

“Good thinking,” Maria said.

I finished my drink. “While I’m gone, we need to pursue other angles. Tom: I want you to try speaking to some of the factory workhands. Ask what they do in there, see if anyone’s likely to talk. Maria, Eliza: find out if Catrin Attard is still alive and where she’s being held. And make sure you don’t attract attention from Roberta or the Scuttlers.”

Between all these lines of investigation, we had to find something that could nudge us a little closer to unlocking the secret of Senshield. If we didn’t, and I returned to London empty-handed, I doubted I would be Underqueen for long.

12

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