Our Lady of the Ice

A weight pressed into the small of her back. A shove.

And then she was outside the dome.

She whirled around, the cold clinging to her legs, to her face, to her hair, to everything. The opening to the dome slid shut, and through the iced-over glass she saw the haze of the car lights.

And then those pulled away, and she saw only darkness.

She stood, not moving. Her hands were still lashed behind her back. At the moment, this was more troubling to her than the cold. She edged forward, forcing her way through the freezing, slicing winds, until she bumped up against the dome glass. Marianella could withstand the cold, but if she wandered off into the desert, she would never find her way back, and she’d starve instead. I imagine death will be a short time coming, he’d said, in his dead devil’s voice.

For her, it would. Sometimes strength had its weaknesses.

She leaned up against the glass and took deep, gulping breaths. “Our Lady of the Ice,” she whispered, breath solidifying in the air in front of her. “Protect us from the cold. Draw us into the warmth of the Lord. Our Lady of the Ice, deliver us from evil’s winter darkness. Amen.”

The prayer gave her strength, but her body was shivering so hard that it was difficult for her to keep her thoughts in order. The maintenance drones. If she could find one, just one, with ties to Sofia and Luciano—

The drones came out in the morning. She knew that much. They came out in the morning, when the dome lit itself up from inside like a beacon.

She pressed against the glass and whispered another prayer to the Mother of the Ice, and closed her eyes, and waited.

CHAPTER TWELVE

ELIANA

Eliana poured the last of her office coffee. No sugar, no cream. She’d asked Diego if he could get some coffee from Cabrera’s shipments, and he’d looked at her and said, “I could. But do you really want to buy food from him?”

“Is there any way to avoid it?”

He’d shrugged, and that had been the end of the conversation. But as she stared at the crumpled-up bag sitting in the trashcan, she wished she’d pushed the matter further.

Eliana was in her office, prepping for one of the new cases she’d gotten from attending Marianella’s party. Three days, and two people had already called her, one hoping to find a son who’d run away and the other looking for information about a piece of property near the docks. Easy work, and neither with any co

Fu

The bell over the door rang.

Eliana looked up from her files. A man stood in the doorway. He was handsome, his eyes a striking golden-brown color, like caramel. He wore a gray fla

“Miss Gomez?” He slipped off his fedora and dropped it onto the coatrack beside the door, then draped his trench coat beside it.

“That’s me.” Eliana took a sip of coffee. “Can I help you?”

“Are you really a private investigator?”

“Yes. I can show you my license.”

He was looking around the office, studying the walls and her shabby furniture. “That won’t be necessary. I’d like to hire you.”

Three cases in three days. Well.

Eliana drained the last of her coffee. “Why don’t you have a seat and tell me about it?”

He nodded and sat down. Eliana slid behind her desk and pulled out her pad and pen. The man watched her, his face pleasant and unexceptional save for his eyes. Eliana really hoped this wouldn’t have anything to do with Cabrera. She wouldn’t hear the end of it from Diego.

“So what do you need?” Eliana smiled. “Think your wife’s stepping out?”

“I don’t have a wife.”

Over in the corner, the radiator rattled, banging up against the wall.

“My name’s Juan Gonzalez. I work for the city.” He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offered one to Eliana. She accepted and leaned over the desk so he could light it. Then he lit his own and blew out a haze of smoke before continuing. “But this is a private matter. I expect discretion.”

Everyone expects discretion these days, Eliana thought, but she said, “Discretion is my specialty.”

“So I heard.” Another curl of smoke. “It should be a simple matter. I need you to find out all you can about this—person.” He reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a photograph, and laid it on the table. It was at least thirty years old, yellowed and crumbling at the edges. A head shot, the woman staring at the camera with wide dewy eyes, her dark hair pi

“Her name is Sofia,” the man said, dragging on his cigarette. “She isn’t human.”

“A robot?” Eliana picked up the photograph. She thought of the andie at Lady Luna’s party. You probably couldn’t tell what he was in a picture either. It was only when he was moving that he gave himself away.

“Yes. She was a performer and comfort girl when the amusement park was open. She’s still around.”

“In the city?” Eliana dropped the photograph onto the desk. “I thought all the andies got shipped out—” She stopped. “Most of them, anyway.”

The man shook his head. “It was part of the entire collapse of Autômatos Teixeira. They stayed. In the park, for city use. Most have been dismantled by now, or have been deactivated and locked away.” He shrugged.

“The park.” Eliana thought of all the stories she’d heard about the ruins of the amusement park, mostly when she’d been younger. Snatches of reports on the evening news as her mother set the table for di

“Yes, the park. There’s a train that runs into the old underground station. You’ll want to go during the day, I imagine.”

“And do what, exactly?”

Mr. Gonzalez smoked his cigarette, giving away nothing. “Do what you do. Investigate her. I want to know anything you can find out.”

“Anything in particular?”

He shook his head. “No. Anything at all.”

Eliana sighed, frustrated. “It really helps if you give me a little more to go on.”

Mr. Gonzalez stared at her through the wreath of smoke. Then he jabbed the cigarette out in the ashtray. His hands were long and graceful. Office hands. Not with the power plants, then.

“Find her,” he said. “Watch her. And tell me what she does.”

“She’s go

“That’s not my concern.” Mr. Gonzalez reached into his coat and pulled out a thick white envelope. “Fifty up front.” He set the envelope down on the desk. “Another twenty a day when you report back to me. If you find anything interesting, I’ll double that.”

Eliana stared at him, her heart banging in her ears. With all the extra money from Lady Luna and her contacts, Eliana was closer to having enough money for a visa than she’d ever been. Than her own parents had ever been, and they’d scrimped and saved up until their deaths. At this rate, she might even be able to begin her application for the visa before the end of the winter, and be on her way to the mainland on the first ship setting out from the docks.