Danny stood and grabbed his bag. The Lead called him back, but Danny pretended not to hear. He was already in trouble. What else could they do to him?
He slammed the door on his way out. The secretary jumped, but he ignored her, too. He ignored everything except the gripping impulse that told him what he had to do.
It was harder than he thought to find the mechanic who had replaced him. Danny wandered the office asking this secretary and that, but they all shook their heads or shrugged.
He stopped short when he spotted Matthias down the hall. He wasn’t alone. Tom and George crowded him, speaking in low voices.
Danny didn’t want to make himself known, not after what Tom had said to him last time, but the sight unnerved him. Matthias said something that made Tom clench his fist. George caught his friend’s arm even as Matthias stepped back with hands raised in supplication. Tom spat a few words, turned, and clomped awkwardly down the stairs, George trailing after him.
Matthias heard Danny’s careful approach and lifted his head. His face was flushed from the encounter, or maybe because Danny had witnessed it.
“What did they say to you?” Danny demanded.
Matthias rubbed the back of his thick neck. “Nothing of consequence.” At Danny’s frown, his lips twitched. “They knew I was snooping in their offices.”
“Snooping?”
“Well.” Matthias crossed his arms and leaned in, though there was no one else around. “To be honest, Danny, I don’t trust them. Never have. And what with Tom being at Shere before you, it’s too much of a coincidence. So I went into his office, thinking I could find some sort of hint. But there was nothing.”
“I found something,” Danny blurted. Matthias’s eyebrows shot upward, and Danny figured he might as well admit to the rest. “Or, at least, what I found was strange. Tom had a bag full of pipes in his office.”
“Pipes?”
“Does that mean anything to you?”
Matthias shook his head. “No. Not a thing.”
Danny swallowed his disappointment.
“You look pale, Danny Boy. What’s the matter? Want to come down to the café with me?”
“I’ve already had tea, thanks.”
“Is it about your mum?”
“My—? Oh, no.” She was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment, though he couldn’t help remembering her look at the kitchen table the other night.
“I saw the mouse you copped on Lucas. What’re you up to? I thought you were better than that.”
Danny pressed his lips together. “Says the man who does it for fun.”
“Used to, Danny, used to. I’m different now.” He seemed disappointed about it, too. Danny thought back to Tom’s fist and how Matthias had forced himself to raise his open hands, to step back.
“You taught me how to fight.”
“Yes, and now I’m regretting it.” The corners of Matthias’s eyes softened. “Come with me. Let’s talk.”
Danny would have. He wanted to leave this place and talk to Matthias, maybe even tell him about Colton. But just then Danny spotted a familiar gray vest down the hall.
“Brandon!”
The apprentice looked over his shoulder. Danny waved frantically, signaling him to wait. The boy rolled his eyes.
“Sorry, Matthias,” Danny said. “Some other time.”
Danny ran down the length of the hall toward the gray-clad apprentice, who didn’t seem particularly thrilled to see him.
“I’m glad I caught you. There’s been a problem.”
“Enfield again, is it?”
“Well, sort of. Here, let’s step out of the way.” He looked down the hall, but Matthias was gone.
As Danny explained what had happened, the apprentice’s eyebrows furrowed. Danny probably sounded like a first-rate crank, especially if word had gotten out about him hitting Lucas.
“Why’s it so important to keep this tower?” he asked when Danny wrapped up his fumbling plea.
“It’s hard to say. I just feel rather attached to it.” When Brandon didn’t react, Danny realized he’d have to dig deeper. “They think I’m weak. That I can’t handle it. Ever since my accident in Shere, the Lead’s been treating me like I’m this fragile creature who’ll break at the first sign of strain. I want to show him different. But I’ll need help.”
Brandon thought it over. His eyes trailed from right to left, looking between two answers. “I don’t think there’s much you can do once it’s assigned. Sorry mate, but I’ve got an assessment coming up, and I don’t want to get in trouble.”
As he spoke, Brandon took out his tiger’s eye and rolled it between his fingers like a priest handling rosary beads. Danny didn’t even think before he snatched the marble from Brandon’s hand.
“Oy—!”
“I’ll give it back if you agree to help me.”
“What are you, a child?” Brandon made a grab, but Danny hopped back a few paces.