I wonder if I’ll feel free when Bolt’s been released. What will we do? With the curse broken, I don’t have to worry about spending time with him any more. Could we become friends? For real this time?
My hand trembles around the Crook Spear. It sits in my lap but my hand’s still clamped around it, like it’s become a part of me. I’m a weapon. Something to approach with caution, never get too close.
I’ve lived day to day for so long I can’t begin to understand what it might be like to have a future, so I shut down thoughts of Bolt and my mother and the curse and I squeeze the gun. It’s not over yet.
The final bullet. The one that creates immortals.
‘Rumer?’
‘She’s lost it.’
Rose’s voice is a slap, snapping me to. She sits opposite me so we’re facing each other, Mara by her side. Our knees almost meet and I shudder at the thought. Rose’s expression is as glacial as ever but she can’t hide the light in her eyes. I can’t tell if it’s fear or respect, two things I’d never accuse her of feeling towards me. I don’t like it. Not even the fear; she’s only afraid because she watched me shoot my mother in cold blood.
‘You made your choice,’ Mara says, beautiful even next to Rose. His dark hair spills over the shoulders of the purple kimono and the street lights flash periodically through the window, turning him into a flickering animation.
‘She was nothing to me.’ My voice is flat, emotionless. I hate that we’re sitting like this, confronting each other across the back of the SUV so I can’t escape their stares.
‘She was your mother.’
‘Was.’
Mara contemplates me. ‘Tell me, who did you kill her for?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Was it for the man I have locked up in a cell? For the way she abandoned you?’ His dark eyes flash. ‘For me? To prove your allegiance?’
I look down at the gun. ‘It was the only way I could prove she doesn’t control me.’
‘You despise her so much yet she’s responsible for who you are. So cold, so angry. You’ll make for an even better asset than she ever was.’
He’s complimenting me for being a murderer? And my mother for turning me into one?
‘You hired her to kill your dad, didn’t you?’ I say.
Mara’s smile slips. I’ve only just made the connection but I can tell by his reaction I’m right.
‘It was the only way you could move up,’ I say. ‘By killing your father, even if that meant losing Celene. Everybody had to think she did it out of jealousy or anger, but she did it for you.’
Mara says nothing but Rose stiffens in her seat. She must not have known.
‘You didn’t count on Celene betraying you,’ I continue, ‘selling the gun to Vinter and running off with the money. You figured she’d leave the gun next to your dad’s corpse, then disappear. She got you good.’
Mara’s lips twist into a grimace and his cheeks flood with colour.
‘Pretty careless of you, trusting her with this thing.’ I raise the Crook Spear. ‘She used the third bullet on your dad, were you planning on using the second on her? That would have left you with the last one, the magic bullet.’ I point the gun at him. ‘Well, you’ve got the last one now. Want to find out if the legend’s true?’
‘Don’t be so stupid, Rumer–’
Mara cuts Rose off, grabbing her wrist as I point the Crook Spear at her.
‘Maybe we should try it out on Rose instead?’ I sneer. ‘She’s put in her hours for you. If anybody deserves a reward, it’s her. Let’s see if we can make her a god.’
‘Rumer, that would be a mistake.’ Mara’s voice trembles and sweat beads his forehead.
I slide forward in my seat, slowly bringing the barrel of the Crook Spear to rest against Rose’s forehead. I grin, enjoying this more than I’ve enjoyed anything in a long time. The look of terror on Rose’s face. Mara’s white knuckles around her wrist.
‘What do you say, Rose? Ready to see stars?’
‘Get the fuck away from me,’ she hisses, though her eyes are saucering and she’s crushed herself right back in the seat, as if she’s trying to melt through it.
‘You’ll never see your man friend again,’ Mara snaps.
‘That card’s been overplayed, I think.’ I keep the gun resting against Rose’s forehead, savouring every second of her unease. Then I slide back in my seat, shrugging.
‘Guess we’ll just have to wait until we get to yours.’
The look of contempt Mara shoots me only fuels the giddiness setting fire to my insides. Rose looks like she wants to punch me, or throw herself at me, scratch and kick until she draws blood, but she doesn’t move. The effort makes her tremble.
Something I’ve learnt – sometimes it helps being the craziest person in the room.
‘I think we’re done talking,’ I say. ‘Driver, put the radio on.’
The driver’s eyes flash in the rear-view mirror, first at me, then at Mara. Pale and drained-looking, Mara nods and dance music pumps into the back of the SUV.
‘Alright!’ I raise my bandaged hand, thrusting it in the air to the beat.
‘I told you she’s a psycho,’ Rose mutters.
‘Takes one to know one.’ I wink at her. ‘So where exactly are we going?’
Mara doesn’t look well. I guess that’s how a man looks when something he’s fought for is about to get dashed against the rocks right when it was almost his.
‘The warehouse,’ he says.
‘Seems right,’ I say.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
The SUV rumbles down the dirt track and I try not to think about Skinny. The spot where the bullet popped in his skull, blood splattering the window, his limbs flailing as he crumpled into the mud. And me, pressing my foot so hard against the accelerator it’s a miracle my boot didn’t go through the floor. Tearing away. Leaving Skinny behind, just another name to add to the list.
And now I’m back.
I’m not in the back of a van this time, though, and there’s no bag over my head. I’m returning willingly and I want to laugh at the insanity of it all.
Bolt.
His name beats through me. My jaw ticks. I’m so close. At the end of the track is the warehouse where he’s being held captive. My free fist curls into a ball as I imagine what they’ve done to him. He won’t have gone easily. He’ll have torn chunks out of anybody who came near and they’ll have had no choice but to do the same to him. Is he shackled somewhere? Hanging in pieces? Coughing blood?
I swallow the nausea down. Grit my teeth. Order the spider to stop shivering.
I couldn’t risk coming here until there was a chance the curse was broken. Me appearing when Bolt was already beaten to shit wouldn’t exactly improve his chances of survival.
All I can hope is that it’s enough.
I put a bullet in her. She’s gone and the curse with her. I hope.
The SUV eases to a stop outside the warehouse. Shadowy figures surround it immediately, phantom-like through the tinted windows. The doors open and Mara slides out. Rose eyes me as she follows him.
My boots hit the tarmac and for a moment I expect Mara’s ninjas to seize me and wrench the Crook Spear out of my hands, but I’m just being paranoid. Mara really does want me working for him and he knows that’ll never happen if he humiliates me.
‘Come,’ Mara says, sweeping towards the entrance.
The stink inside the warehouse isn’t as bad as I remember. Maybe I’ve grown accustomed to the reek of death. Mara passes beneath dangling chains, heading for a door with a weathered sign. OFFICE. One of his ninjas goes in before him, then gives him the okay.
A red neon haze hangs inside Mara’s lounge. The last time I was here, my hands were bound to a chair. This time, I stroll over the threshold, batting a butterfly out the way.
‘I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink.’ Mara’s at a cabinet lined with glass decanters. He pours a measure of cherry red liquor and offers
it to me. I ignore it, anxiety burying hooks in my gut. Why is Mara delaying?
‘Bolt. Where is he?’
‘Your man friend? He’s safe,’ Mara says, still holding the glass out.
‘Take me to him.’
A hacking laugh comes from the other side of the room and a chill runs through me. I squint at a form on the sofa. The guy’s face is such a mess it takes me a moment to recognise him. Nicotine Man. Ellis. He survived the basement at George’s, but just barely by the look of him.
I see Ellis slicing open George’s throat and the red haze in the air boils, flooding my veins. I’m already halfway to the sofa before I’m even aware I’m moving.
‘No, Rumer.’
Mara’s voice rings through the din in my head. I stop just short of the sofa.
‘At least give his bruises the chance to heal before you use him as a punchbag again.’
Ellis isn’t laughing any more. His left eye has puffed up into a soft dumpling, but the other one, unblinking, shines with anger and fear.
‘I can wait,’ I say.
‘Stupid cow,’ Ellis spits, then he screams, clutching his face where I have clocked him with the Crook Spear.
‘No! The gun!’ Mara’s voice is tight. ‘Stop!’
It feels too good to hit him, even if a flash of George’s dying face accompanies every blow. Eventually, I’m dragged away.
‘Get off me,’ I grunt, yanking my arms free of Mara’s men, pressing the Crook Spear to my thigh, rigid with anger. Even if I caved Ellis’ skull in it wouldn’t be enough. I’d keep hitting him until he’s nothing but mulch.
I was wrong to go back to George and I was wrong to leave him in the first place. Nobody can know what Ellis robbed me of. George could have loved me. He could have been my family. When all this was over I could have gone back to him.
‘I’ll take you to your friend,’ Mara says, sounding breathless. ‘I’ll take you to him. Just be careful with the Crook Spear.’
I nod and Mara whisks the kimono about him as he leaves the lounge. I recognise where we’re going as we cross the derelict main building, Rose behind me. We pass through a crumbling doorway and I spot the black square in the floor. The one they tipped me into.
Mara gestures towards it and, tentatively, I approach, making sure Mara’s men aren’t about to repeat any of their dirty tricks. A few of them stand against the walls, clutching firearms and batons. They stare straight ahead and I’m pretty sure they won’t jump me.
I edge over to the grate and peer through the gaps.
‘Bolt?’ My voice catches and Mara must notice it. He knows my weakness. Rose sneers beside him but she’s nothing to me.
There’s no answer.
Through the grate, I can just make out the dull flowers on the dead girl’s dress. She’s still there. Still grinning.
I speak louder. ‘Bolt? It’s Rumer.’
Something rustles in the dark of the pit. I think I hear a whisper, followed by a cough.
‘Rumer?’ a voice croaks. It’s so faint but my insides somersault. It’s definitely him.
‘Bolt, are you okay?’
More rustling and a shape shuffles into view. I can barely see him in the dark of the pit, but what I do see fills me with rage. He’s filthy, blood plastered over his face, his clothes torn.
But he’s alive.
I turn to Mara. ‘Let him go.’
‘Once I have the gun, he’ll be released.’ He says it calmly but I can tell the anticipation is killing him. His gaze wavers like he’s trying not to look at the Crook Spear and each second is agony.
I point the gun at the ceiling and make sure he can see my finger on the trigger.
‘Only one bullet left,’ I say. ‘You really want me to waste it making that bit of ceiling immortal?’
‘You waste that bullet and you’ll throw everything away. If you really want to join me, you’ll do as I ask.’
‘We had a deal,’ I say, not backing down. ‘Get him out of that pit and I’ll hand the gun over.’
‘I–’
‘Clock’s ticking, Mara. Did my mother never tell you about me? About what happens to people around me? You need this bullet more than ever.’
From his expression, I can tell he’s heard the rumours.
‘Get him out of that pit, and you’ll have everything you need to rule London.’
Sweat trickles down one side of his face and I know I’ve won. He can’t take any more waiting. He just wants the gun and he doesn’t care enough about me or Bolt to drag this out any longer.
‘Bring him up,’ he says finally.
Two of the ninjas against the wall hurry away.
I lower the gun.
‘Curses,’ Mara murmurs. The way he’s looking at me now is unnerving, like he’s realised he has something on me. He draws himself up to his full height.
‘Difficult to predict,’ he says softly. ‘Curses. How much do you know about yours?’
My lips press together.
‘That little? How interesting. You know the basics, I’m sure. What your mother did to you. It must have been torture growing up with that knowledge. That she chose herself over you.’
‘Shut up.’ I hate that I’m trembling, that anything he says has any impact on me.
‘Nasty what she did to you, but then you know what she was capable of. A curse like that, it’d take something big to break it.’
‘It’s already broken,’ I say.
Mara’s eyes become slits. ‘You shot her and you think you’ve broken the curse.’ His expression makes my temples throb. ‘If only it were that easy.’
‘Poor baby,’ Rose says.
‘Quite.’ Mara nods. ‘You get cursed, that curse becomes as much a part of you as the blood in your veins. Fused with you forever.’
What’s he saying? That killing Celene was for nothing?
‘Rumer…’
Bolt stumbles through the door, barely supported by two of Mara’s men. He begins to cross the floor towards me.
‘Stay back,’ I say.
Bolt freezes.
‘The gun,’ Mara says but my mind’s whirring, attempting to make sense of what he’s just told me. The curse may not be broken, and if it isn’t I’m still dangerous. My gaze flicks over the room, seeing hazards everywhere. Any second, the floor could give or the ceiling could cave in or one of Mara’s men could trip and put a bullet in Bolt’s head.
Bolt. He’s the one who matters. He’s the one who deserves to live. I raise the Crook Spear and aim it at him.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
The bullet grants immortality. It’ll make Bolt Rumer-proof. I won’t have to worry about him ever being affected by the curse. All I have to do is pull the trigger, let the bullet do its thing.
Mara’s gone so grey he looks like he’s about to drop dead.
‘Rumer?’ Bolt’s voice shakes. ‘What are you doing?’
‘It’s the only way,’ I say. The gun trembles in my hand and I grip it harder, trying to steady it. I can’t miss.
‘Rumer, stop.’ Mara’s fists are clenched at his side.
‘It’ll make everything okay,’ I say.
Bolt’s eyes are wide. ‘Get that fucking gun away from me!’
‘Don’t worry, it’s going to be okay.’
‘NO IT FUCKING ISN’T!’
‘Rumer, we had a deal!’ Mara shouts.
‘Deal’s off.’ I clutch the gun in both hands. Bolt’s looking at me like I’ve lost it but he doesn’t understand.
‘STOP!’ Mara yells. His ninjas all aim their guns at me, but he waves his hands at them. ‘Don’t shoot her!’
‘This is the only way.’ I need to make Bolt understand.
‘Don’t shoot me!’ Bolt shouts.
‘Rumer,’ Mara says, ‘think about this. You owe me. We have a deal. The Crook Spear belongs to me. We’ll find another way to fix you. I’ll help you.’
‘You can’t fix me.’ The curse has taken so many people, I can’t let i
t take anybody else. Not Bolt, who’s only ever tried to understand me, tried to help me. Because of me, his place was burnt down and he was thrown in Mara’s pit. He’s suffered enough.
‘Bolt, just stand still,’ I say.
‘ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?’
‘RUMER–’ Mara’s screaming now. ‘RUMER, STOP.’
I look at Bolt, scared, and Mara, terrified, and Rose, her face flushed.
‘Rumer, there’s nothing wrong with you,’ Bolt says. ‘Which is sort of funny seeing as you’re currently pointing a fucking gun at me. But you’re not cursed–’
‘You don’t know–’
‘There’s no such thing.’ Bolt’s voice is weirdly steady. ‘You make your own luck. You’ve had a bad run, but things can get better.’
Troll, lying broken in the scrapyard.
Frances, motionless on the kitchen floor.
My mother, a rag doll on the ballroom floor.
I can’t watch Bolt die. And if I can’t be with Bolt, if I can’t have one friend, one person who believes in me, I don’t want to be here any more. It’s too much.
He’ll forgive me when it’s over. When he’s strong and nothing can hurt him.
You have to surround yourself with the people who see the good in you.
Everybody’s screaming so much I don’t hear somebody coming up behind me. Pain flares in the back of my leg and I go down. I throw my hands out to catch myself and the Crook Spear spins across the floor, skidding to a halt halfway between me and Mara.
I grunt as a boot digs into my back. Gritting my teeth, I roll over and drag Ellis off his feet. His baton clatters to the floor and he scrabbles for it, but I get there first, burying it in his face. Blood sprays my face and he goes limp.
From the floor I watch Rose lurch for the Crook Spear, Mara right behind her. Before they can get to it, though, Bolt’s bending down, reaching out.
A masked mercenary punches him and Bolt topples over. The mercenary goes for the Crook Spear. I cock the baton, then hurl it at him. It whizzes through the air and makes contact with a bone-splitting crack. The black-clad figure sags to the ground.
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