Chapter 7 · The Second Ghost in Pip's Shop

Rowan kicked the door to Pip's shop hard enough to rattle the hinges.

The mechanic looked up from his workbench, wrench halfway to a gear assembly, and his face went flat. "No."

"Pip—"

"Whatever you're bringing in here, the answer's no." Pip set the wrench down slow, like he was putting away a weapon. "I got enough trouble without—"

Mara stepped through the doorway behind Rowan, and Pip's mouth snapped shut.

Rowan watched his oldest friend go pale. Watched him clock the law captain's coat, the sword at her hip, the way her hand stayed loose near the pommel. Pip's gaze cut to Rowan, then back to Mara, and the accusation in his eyes was sharp enough to draw blood.

"You brought a captain here," Pip said. "To my shop."

"She's not arresting you."

"She arrested you yesterday."

"That was a different yesterday." Rowan stepped deeper into the cluttered space, pushing past half-assembled clockwork frames and scrap metal bins. The shop smelled like oil and rust and burnt solder. Home, almost. Except home didn't usually have a law officer standing in the doorway looking like she was deciding whether to gut him or listen. "We need your tools.