Snippet #2714915

Theo grimaced under his mask as he glanced up at the large stone building in front of him, tugging gently on its long black beak as though it would let in some of the stuffy afternoon air. If he would've realized just who the client that tracked him down that morning was, maybe he would've declined. But damn, the monetary offer had seemed too good to be true, and wasn't he right about it.

Now, he stood in front of the clockwork brothel hardly down the street from his own workshop, wishing he could've taken a carriage instead of walking. He inhaled and set his mask back in place, getting a whiff of the dried rose petals he kept stuffed in the beak before grabbing the cast iron knocker and letting it fall. He shuddered at the hunk of metal shaped much too like a human hand, wishing he would not have worn his better pair of gloves that day.

A rather unsavory man opened the door and gave Theo a once-over, deciding that this must have been the famously eclectic mechanic his boss had hired earlier that day. He held up a finger to Theo before walking back inside, returning with a limp girl in his arms. Before he knew it, the mechanic had a clockwork girl slung across his shoulder and was vowing to burn the clothes he had on the second he set foot in the workshop.