It flashes, briefly blinding me as I flinch from an explosion which never comes. And then it's gone. Potentially leaving me with a very angry angel.
Or not. Arden sits staring at where it'd been. What mind it had is gone, vanished with the engine as though it never existed. I still feel the engine could have gotten us out of here, and that conviction will probably linger. But it's over.
Apart from me being trapped here, again. And owing Torje a fair amount. Okay, down to business. Get the gems off the dead succubus; take them to her sister; get paid; pay Torje. I might as well tell Elureth that Arden's here. They're conscientious about that kind of thing, and there's no reason to irritate them. Not sure whether to mention the faith engine. Probably not.
That's a secret I know'll start to irritate me. Couldn't see anything in Arden's secrets about where it came from. So maybe I've got something of interest to keep me here.
No. That's a lie. I don't need something like that to stay here, even if I could leave. Truth is I've missed it. Dragging secrets out of books may have been a nice break, but I already feel the call of the living secrets out there. The city's full of them, all beckoning me, welcoming me home. And it is home, no matter how much I may sometimes wish otherwise. The thief-city has me again.
###
The rest of this series can be found individually or in the collected edition:
Tales of the Thief-City
Connect with Gareth:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/@gdlewis23
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Other titles by Gareth Lewis:
Allegiances
Blade Sworn
Glyphmaster
Glyphpunk
Glyphwar
Grey Engines
Grey Enigmas
Monstrum Ex Machina
Shadows of the Heavens
Soul Food
Stoneweaver
The Monster in the Mirror
The Sin of Hope
To Hunt Monsters