The Vampire of Tinkerfall (Elysium #3)

Chapter Sixteen

 Trinket rose early the next morning. She pulled on her dress and boots and hurried out the door, making her way to St. Spittel to search for Gin. All night long, she had been plagued by nightmarish images of the urchin being abducted and tortured by Scales. Every hour she woke up gasping for air, wondering if she should go look for her or wait until dawn. Surely Scales wouldn't make good on his threat so quickly? Wouldn't he save such a move for something more important?

"Madison, have you seen Gin?" Trinket asked as the young urchin ran past her.

He turned and shrugged. "I think she spent the night in one of the alleys by the old brothel."

"Which one is the brothel?"

"Keep going, take a right. It's the big one with the least busted windows."

"Thank you."

She continued down the street, her eyes darting to every alley, hoping she'd see that familiar bowler hat. Had Gin already gone to the market? Or had the Mice come for her in the middle of the night? Was she going to show up at the house in pieces?

Bits and pieces, pieces and bits.

All because of you.

"What're you doing in these parts?"

Coming to an immediate halt, Trinket turned towards the voice and nearly let out a sob when she found Gin standing at the entrance of a nearby alley. The urchin was looking her up and down, one eyebrow cocked, her hands resting on her hips.

"You lost or something?" she asked.

Trinket shook her head, trying to hold back tears of relief. "No, no. I just . . . I thought . . ."

Despite her efforts, her emotions burst loose. Racing over to Gin, she dropped to her knees and pulled the girl into a tight embrace.

"Lord, Trinket, what happened?" Gin asked.

"I was so worried," Trinket said. "I thought something terrible had happened to you, and it would've been all my fault."

"What are you talking about?"

Releasing the urchin, she sat back on her heels and let out a sigh. "I had a run-in with Scales last night."

Gin's eyes widened, and she sat down beside her. "What were you doing out last night? Were you and Booker looking for the vampire?"

"No, it was just me. Booker is in Broadfall right now, and I thought I'd do some investigating on my own."

"Wow, getting bold, aren't you?"

"Scales found me and made some threats. One of which involved you."

The urchin's eyebrows went up. "Me?"

"Yes. He made a comment about getting information out of you since I wouldn't talk. I reacted rather emotionally when he suggested it, and now . . ."

"You're afraid he's going to use me to get to you guys?"

Trinket nodded.

Gin gave a short laugh and rubbed her temple. "Well, I guess I'm flattered he thinks I'm that important."

"You are that important. To both me and Booker."

"Yeah, but important enough that Scales could use me as blackmail or something?"

"Trust me, the threat was very effective. And I can guarantee Booker would be just as frantic if he knew."

A pleased smile tugged at Gin's mouth, but she quickly smothered it as she cleared her throat and gave a casual shrug. "Well, Scales can threaten all he wants, but first he has to get his hands on me."