Infinity Bell: A House Immortal Novel by Devon Monk Read Free Book Online Page B

appreciate your sincere apology.”
    “See?” I pointed at Quinten. “She understands the need for manners.”
    “Unbelievable,” Quinten said. “Go. I’ll be up in a bit.”
    “Don’t hurry yourself on my account,” I said as I walked out of the room. “All I’ll be doing is snoring.”
    The door swung shut. I paused for just a second. It would be easy to listen in and see what happened next between my brother and the good doctor, but I had a pretty clear idea. Besides, the food sat heavy in my stomach, and even the warm coffee couldn’t fight off my drowsiness.
    I yawned again and walked down the hall to the stairs, then trudged up them.
    The entire upper floor was open, the slant of the roof angling down on each side. A fair amount of storage was up here. Over half the loft space was filled with cots that had small tables with lamps next to them. Not a single window was to be found, and I recognized the bulky black-box scramblers up in the rafters. Their presence was particularly comforting considering our current situation.
    A door all the way to the left of the room was slightly ajar, just the hint of yellow light escaping to draw me toward it.
    Neds were already in bed, boots shucked at the foot of their cot, shirt tossed over the footboard, and blanket pulled up over their shoulders. From the rhythm of their breathing, they were asleep.
    I wandered to the lit room, hoping it was a bathroom, and almost groaned in delight. It was a full bathroom with a standing shower and bathtub.
    I shut the door, stripped off my duffel, clothes, and boots, and turned on the water. It took a little while for it to get warm. As soon as it was hot, I stepped in and scrubbed the sweat, fear, and anger of the last day and more off me.
    The impossible task in front of us just seemed more impossible the more I thought about it. I’d been desperate to get out of the city with Quinten and Abraham. I’d promised Oscar Gray I’d keep Abraham safe. It had been his dying wish. . . .
    I swallowed and brushed away the tears mingling with the shower.
    I was doing the best I could to fulfill that wish. I was trying to save the world from the Wings of Mercury experiment.
    Quinten had told me he was looking for our grandmother’s journal while he was at House Orange. He said it held valuable information we needed.
    My brother was also convinced that the Wings of Mercury experiment had broken time more than three hundred years ago. And that when time mended—by his calculation, in just a few days—all the galvanized would die.
    I’d die.
    I knew the Houses might have guessed we were heading to our farm. It was a foolish thing for us to do, but Grandma was there, under the care of Boston Sue, whom I’d found out was a spy and hired gun for Reeves Silver, head of House Silver.
    Grandma might be hurt or she might just be bait.
    She might have the information that was in her journal somewhere in that forgetful mind of hers.
    I couldn’t leave her alone and at the whims of House Silver. I had to make sure she would be safe and taken care of if I died.
    Any way I looked at it, my chance of surviving this was pretty low. Quinten hadn’t broken the law. Neither had Grandma. If I could, I’d make sure they came out of this alive and free.
    Neds too.
    I didn’t know if Gloria’s water consumption was being monitored, so I made it quick and washed my hair with soap that smelled like lemons and honey, then got out, dried, and debated getting back into my travel clothes.
    If something went wrong tonight, I didn’t want to be running in my pajamas, so I got into clean undergarments and put on my jeans and T-shirt, stuffing the long-sleeve shirt and vest into the bag.
    I searched the vanity drawers for a brush or comb, found one of each, and took the time to comb my wet hair and then braid it loosely so it wasn’t a frizzy menace in the morning.
    I slipped out of the room and into darkness. Neds hadn’t moved. Quinten was nowhere to be