Scythe couldn’t agree more. The boredom had been itching at her for days.
“I’m not stalling, I’m just being practical.” Axe argued. “We shouldn’t jump on this out of impulse. We don’t even know what this mystery woman looks like.”
“The box Pitch found might have a clue.”
Dagger dropped his hand from Axe’s shoulder. Scythe could see the friendly tone leaking out of Dagger.
Axe saw it too. He was about to protest again but closed his mouth.
“Is there a problem?” Dagger asked. “If there’s something on your mind, tell me. We may be leaders soon, but I’d rather listen to a proper advisor. I don’t want to be a dictator and have people plotting behind my back, because that is exactly what’s happening to Maniodes. I may be tired of waiting, but I will listen to your argument”
“I just think you are moving too fast,” Axe admitted, having a hard time meeting Dagger’s eye.
That wasn’t all of it. He had sounded angry the moment Scythe opened the letter. She crossed her arms, and let him continue unhindered. She wanted to hear what he’d claim.
“You’re jumping on the word of a young boy. I’m not disputing Pitch, but we should come up with a proper plan of action.”
“What would you suggest then?” Dagger asked.
“The box is a great lead, but we shouldn’t abandon the research and progress we’ve made in sealing him away,” Axe said.
“The best progress we had was discovering Lumeon and his story. That was weeks ago. There’s been nothing since,” Scythe argued. She wanted to get to that box too, and was glad Dagger felt the same.
It could be that Axe didn’t want to be outdone by Pitch, Scythe wondered.
“You can continue the research,” Dagger said. “It has been a great help, and we may still need it. For now though, that path has grown cold. We know that Maniodes has a secret woman, and the box might have a clue that would lead us to her.”
“As I said, I’m not disputing Pitch,” Axe said.
“We even know where that box is,” Dagger continued. “Whatever plan you want to come up with, it will end with us reaching that box.”
“So why stall?” Scythe finished for Dagger.
Axe balked at the question.
“I’m only advising caution,” he snapped.
“We’re not running headlong at him with a battle cry,” Dagger said, watching Axe’s reaction. “We’ll sneak our way in. He won’t even know we were there. We’ll have the sentries keep an eye on him for us. They will let us know when he’s coming, and then we’ll vanish. He won’t suspect a thing.”
“If you think that is best,” Axe conceded begrudgingly, “but if you get caught, do not mention I was involved in any way.”
“You have my word I will not,” Dagger promised.
Dagger didn’t sound angry but understanding. Scythe thought he’d make a good king.
Axe gave a curt nod and glanced at Scythe. He tried to hide the scowl but failed. He didn’t bother to wait for any reply or similar promise from her.
“I’ll see myself out then.”
He turned back to the dining room archway.
“Axe!”
He paused at the step and turned back at Dagger’s call.
Scythe was glad to see slight fear in his eyes.
“Do we have to worry about you going to Maniodes?” Dagger asked.
Axe balked again, but this time anger grew. “Of course not. That would condemn us all.”
Axe turned on his heel and left them by the table of spines.
Chapter 35
The cracks on the upper level of the castle weren’t as prominent as those below. Here, they were as thin as spider’s silk, stretching across the stone walls, starting in the corners. Scythe had never been able to figure out why the castle didn’t crumble. It had stayed constant and frozen during her century.
Pitch and Chip climbed the stairs ahead of them, with Pitch leading the way. Chip had been more than willing to leave his post in the empty garden to help them. He carried a roll of parchment and charcoal in a pouch and used that to tell them Maniodes was in the library again with Phaos.
Not only was there one god to keep away from, but there were two.
“I’ve never been in this tower before,” Scythe admitted to the others, “not this high anyway.”
“I thought you would have explored the entire thing?” Dagger asked.
“This section was forbidden,” she said.
“Never stopped you before,” he said with a half-grin.
“Well, since it leads to the god’s bedchamber, I left well enough alone.”
They climbed to the top, to Maniodes’s private quarters. By the time they reached the landing, Pitch was practically dancing on his toes.
“Come on, let’s go!” The key ring jingled in his hand. He sounded like a giddy kid at the beach.
Scythe held back her annoyance. He was just a kid stuck with a boring job, and she couldn’t blame him for being excited. She just wished he would take it more seriously.
“Relax, we’re coming.” Dagger ruffled Pitch’s hair when he caught up.
Pitch jogged ahead again to the only doors on the landing. The double doors were tall to accommodate the god’s preferred height, with thick hinges running over the wood.
Scythe knew the room was empty, and they had the sentries watching Maniodes, but her dead heart was nervous. She kept her fists clenched to control her nerves.
Dagger took a breath beside her, probably to control his own anxiety. Pitch, however, could barely stop hopping.
Scythe turned to Chip. “You’ll let us know the moment he moves?”
Chip nodded and crossed his arms.
“Alright,” Dagger said to Pitch. “Open the door.”
Pitch plucked the correct key instantly. It was a bulky piece of iron almost as long as his hand. He inserted it into the lock at the center of the doors above his head and twisted.
Scythe had expected more resistance, a spell of some kind, but the door opened without a sound. The four of them entered Maniodes’s bedchamber unhindered.
Most of the furniture was framed with iron and padded with dark-blue fabrics. The windows circled the room, looking out onto the planes of Skiachora. Scythe approached one window. It looked like a shifting grey mist wove its way over the dead fields. The shades themselves were too small to be seen properly. The river Acheron in the center provided the only light with its sickly green glow. Scythe hadn’t seen the land of the dead from this height before and was taken by its beauty.
The closing door caught her attention again. Pitch locked the doors, and Chip stood in front of them with his arms crossed. Dagger was walking around the set of chairs by the fireplace. Annoyance was written all over his expression.
Scythe left the window and touched his arm.
“What’s wrong?”
The strong annoyance faded when he looked at her, but something still irked him.
“This furniture is huge,” he admitted. “It just makes you feel small.”
Scythe hadn’t noticed at first; she was used to the stature Maniodes preferred and expected the furniture to match. Dagger was right though; the scale of the chairs alone made her feel as if she were trapped in a doll’s house. Like they were toys meant for Maniodes’s pleasure.
“Just imagine it decorated in your bone-oriented style,” Scythe suggested.
He took the idea and looked around again with a small grin, no doubt visualizing what it might look like later.
Dagger turned toward the tall bed and leaned closer to Scythe.
“We should save the bed for last, though.”
Gooseflesh rose up her spine when he talked deeply like that. She stayed quiet, hoping he’d continue. He did.
“We could break it in a few times.”
“Dagger, hush. There are children present,” she jested.
His hand slipped around her waist.
“He probably doesn’t
know what we’re talking about.” He kissed below her ear.
“There are children present, and I know what you’re talking about.” Pitch popped into view.
Dagger straightened like a boy caught with his hands in the cookie jar, but didn’t remove his hand from Scythe’s waist.
“So, stop it,” Pitch said.
“Sorry, kid,” Dagger said. “So, where’s that box?”
Pitch led them to the bedside table.
The bed alone reached up to Scythe’s chest and was positioned on a dais, just like his throne below. Pitch probably needed a small ladder to climb it.
Pitch paid the bed no mind, no doubt used to it towering over him. “It’s here.”
He picked up a thin ebony box. It was probably an inch deep and a foot in length and width. He handed it to Dagger.
Dagger examined it, turning it over in his hands. Scythe couldn’t hear anything shifting or rattling inside. There were no markings on the outside to give any indication of its contents. He shook it harder but still nothing.
Scythe held out her hand for it, and Dagger handed it over.
“You are better at picking locks,” Dagger admitted.
Scythe took the box and set it back on the end table. She backed it against the wall to anchor it and took out some pins from her pocket.
The lock itself was tiny despite Maniodes’s love for stature. Scythe slid the pins inside and started feeling for the tumblers. She had to be careful not to break it.
Her heart was in her throat, which tried to make her hands tremble, but she wouldn’t let them. She kept her breath calm to control her hands, but her toes kept curling against her will. Given her hatred for shoes, everyone saw her tension.
Scythe felt the tumblers catch. Keeping steady, she started to turn them.
“Shit,” she hissed as the pins slipped. She began again.
“Scythe,” Dagger said quietly.
“Shut up.”
She heard Chip’s bones clicking as he moved.
“We need to go,” he insisted. “He’s coming.”
“What?”
She kept her hands in place but turned back to the others. Chip held a parchment with the words he’s coming written on it.
“What happened to the fucking meeting?” she hissed.
“Sometimes they don’t last that long,” Pitch shrugged, defensive.
Scythe turned the pins again.
“Scythe,” she heard Dagger closer now.
“I’ve got it!”
The lock clicked open. She shoved the pins back in her pocket, but not before scratching the surface in her haste.
Scythe threw the lid of the box back as Dagger stood at her side.
The portrait was immaculate and expensive. It showed a woman with wide, dark eyes and blond hair falling past her shoulders. Streaks of lavender accented the natural blond, giving her an almost mythic quality. Her back was straight and proper but instead of a fancy dress she wore brown riding clothes.
“Maniodes’s love,” Dagger said to himself.
Chip’s white hand snapped the box shut. He pointed to the door in urgency. The library wasn’t far from this tower. If they went back the way they came, they would be seen.
“Pitch, do you know another way out?” she asked. Castles always had secret exits.
Pitch was gripping Dagger’s arm with wide eyes.
“Behind the bookcase,” he said.
“Find it,” Dagger said to him.
Pitch left Dagger’s side, and they all followed the boy to a tall ebony bookshelf. Tapestries hung on either side. Pitch shoved one aside and ducked behind it. He pressed an unmarked stone and a tall passage opened for them. Scythe ducked in behind Pitch, followed by Dagger and Chip. Chip had to crouch in order to fit, his bones continuing to click as he moved.
Pitch touched another stone and the passage closed. Before it could seal shut, Scythe heard the chamber’s main doors open and close again. Maniodes was in his bedroom.
Scythe felt something tug her sleeve. Her weapon was at the ready, though she didn’t remember drawing it.
Pitched looked up to her and mouthed, “He may hear us.”
Dagger caught Pitch’s warning too. He touched Chip’s arm to get his attention. The tiny grind of Chip’s neck set Scythe’s teeth on edge.
Dagger held out his hands and mouthed, “Don’t move,” to Chip. If Chip moved too much, Maniodes might find them.
Scythe felt Pitch begin to shake beside her. She put an arm around him and held him closer.
She heard one of the chairs creak as Maniodes sat, but she didn’t know in which chair. There were a few by the fireplace, but there was a thick one beside the bookcase they hid behind.
As the moments crawled by she tried to think of a plan where they could all leave. She saw Chip raise a hand slowly, but it clicked anyway. He touched Dagger, then pointed to the three of them, then down the passage.
Appalled at leaving his friend, Dagger shook his head and hissed. “No.”
Chip pointed down the passage again, and his bones rattled a bit.
Scythe touched Dagger then. When he looked at her, she saw his torn concern and fear. She quickly looked to Pitch, then Dagger again. Dagger caught the hint and saw Pitch clutching at her skirts. He swallowed, then turned back to Chip.
Chip bowed his head, calm as ever, letting them go.
Dagger gripped Chip’s arm again and nodded in thanks. Given that Chip didn’t have any meat, Dagger’s hand completely enveloped Chip’s bone. Scythe said her thanks in the same silent way.
Dagger helped Pitch let go of Scythe’s skirt and took his hand. The three of them hurried as silently as they could down the passage to a tight spiral staircase leading down. Scythe cast a glance back to Chip.
He risked raising a hand, causing his bones to click.
Chapter 36
“Pitch, look at me,” Dagger said gently.
They were back home in the parlor. Dagger knelt in front of Pitch, who sat on the couch. Scythe sat next to Pitch with her arm over the boy’s shoulders. She could feel his trembling.
Pitch looked up from his clenched hands to Dagger.
“Are you going to be alright?” Dagger asked. “That was closer than it should have been.”
“He’s not going to catch us, is he?” Pitch asked.
“He won’t. We left nothing behind. He won’t know we were there,” Dagger reassured him.
The tremble slowed but didn’t stop.
“You won’t hurt him, will you?” Pitch asked. “Or the girl in the picture?”
Dagger broke eye contact for a moment, then replied, “Not if we don’t have to, especially with the girl. She’s innocent in all this.”
Pitch nodded and looked down again.
“Hey.” Dagger took his hands. “Will you be okay facing him tomorrow? Or at the Nukternios ball? I need to know you can act normal around him.”
“I can,” Pitch said. “I’ve hid little things from him before.”
“This isn’t little.”
“I know. I’ve just never hid anything him before. I never realized I’m actually betraying him.”
“I shouldn’t have asked this of you, Pitch,” Dagger said.
“I wanted to help, though,” he insisted. “I want to be your steward, not Maniodes’s.”
Scythe couldn’t help but admire the boy’s loyalty to Dagger. For Pitch, this wasn’t about taking down a god but helping his older brother. She knew Dagger saw the same thing.
“But Nyx will be mad at me,” Pitch said, his voice wavering.
“She’ll be mad at all of us, little man,” Dagger tried to reassure him.
“But she asked me to convince Maniodes to give you guys certain jobs. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want me to betray him altogether!”
“Do you want out of the mutiny? We’ll take all of the heat if he ever finds out we were in there,” Dagger insisted. “I won’t let him hurt you, Pitch.”
“I know, and
no I don’t want out. Nyx said she’d protect me too, if he ever got mad. Let’s not tell Nyx I was in on this though, okay?”
“I promise. Nyx will never know you were involved.”
Pitch nodded slowly, growing more content.
“Do you want to spend the night here?” Scythe asked Pitch, rubbing his arm. He was a brave kid, but a scared kid nonetheless.
“Yes, if it’s okay,” Pitch said.
“It’s okay,” Dagger said. “You can use one of the rooms upstairs.”
“It’s almost dawn anyway,” Scythe said. “Sleep will do you some good.”
She hugged Pitch and he smiled. The trembling stopped.
“I can’t let him get caught.” Dagger paced around his room as Scythe closed the door.
“He won’t be,” Scythe tried to reassure him.
“How do you know that?” Seeing Pitch scared set him on the edge of his own dagger. Pitch trusted him, and he had taken advantage of it for his own goals. He didn’t want to snap at Scythe, but the anxiety was vibrating in his veins.
“We didn’t leave any evidence.” Scythe stopped his pacing and held his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. “Maniodes won’t know we were there. We left the box in the same position, and I didn’t break the lock.”
Dagger hadn’t thought of that. If she’d broken it, that would have been significant evidence. His heart leapt to his throat again at the thought.
“There’s no way he could know, so Pitch is safe,” she said.
“What about Chip?” Dagger snapped. “We left him there.”
“He’ll think of something. He’ll probably stay still until Maniodes falls asleep. Then he won’t be heard going down the tunnel.”
“How do you know?”
“I don’t, obviously,” she threw up her hands with a shrug, “but we have to work with what we have, and you’re kind of overreacting.”
The frustration boiled over to anger.
“We were almost caught, Scythe! If we’d left when I said, it wouldn’t have been that close, but you had to keep fiddling with the lock.”
“Well, I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough.” Her voice dripped with mockery, “but I got the lock open, and now we have a proper lead.”
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