Augustine dipped his head. ‘Quentin, if you would offer the Queen my sincere apologies. Her offer is gracious, and I will accept it.’
The Queen moved down the corridor, glancing sideways at me. She carried herself much the same way as Josephine’s father did, all authority and confidence. Whatever she thought of me, I couldn’t tell, but she’d scored major points in my estimation for the way she’d treated Augustine.
She snapped her fingers. ‘Release the gargoyle.’
Donani dipped his head. ‘But Kralitsa …’
‘Now.’
The Marksman removed the padlock and slid open the heavy door. I watched him warily. His weapons remained sheathed, but I had no doubt he’d be fast to draw them. My wings felt like stone slabs attached to my back, and my head was so heavy I could hardly lift it. I willed my feet to move and stepped out of the cell. The Queen assessed me steadily.
‘He looks half-dead,’ she said to the Marksman at her right.
‘Only because he is being stubborn,’ said Augustine, his gaze moving past me to the untouched bag of hamburgers on the cell floor and then meeting my eyes once more. ‘It is, unfortunately, his loss. Now, Quentin, if you would kindly repeat all this to the Queen.’
‘The marimé traitor tests my good will,’ said the Queen.
The pompous expression I was used to seeing on Augustine’s face returned with a vengeance. His smile stretched the white scar at his cheek into a thin line. ‘Allow us to demonstrate what this creature is capable of.’
Warning vibes tingled down my spine.
‘Please, Your Majesty,’ I said softly. The phrase sounded weird, but I didn’t know how else to address her. The Queen’s forehead wrinkled in surprise, and I hurried to speak before she could respond. ‘I don’t understand what’s happening. Nicolas sent me here because the kris was deadlocked. I didn’t kill anyone. I only want the opportunity to defend myself and show you the truth.’
‘The truth is precisely what I desire,’ she replied. She stepped back. ‘Take the gargoyle to the Stone Chamber.’
Quentin and Donani took up positions on either side of me as I was escorted down the hall and out of the dungeon area. We moved through an intersection of corridors and descended several more steps before reaching another room. The cavernous space looked two stories high and void of anything – save an enormous cage.
It was octagonal in shape and made of chain-link fencing on all sides and along the top. The floor was spread with a thick mat. It looked like something out of a professional cage-fighting match.
‘You can’t be serious,’ I said.
Quentin undid the latch. ‘Get in.’
Donani stripped off my cloak. The straps around my wings were cut, and the chains linking my manacles together were removed. The Marksmen’s spears made sure I complied with Quentin’s order. Once I was inside, the door of the cage was shut and bolted. Adrenaline seeped into my blood, turning my breaths shallow. I grabbed hold of the chain-link wall, my eyes searching for the Queen.
‘What about the trial?’ The pleading in my voice mingled with a growl.
‘You shall have your trial,’ she said. ‘After I know what manner of creature I’m dealing with.’
A hissing sound reached my ears. I lifted my head and sniffed the air. Instantly, I wanted to gag. Grotesques. I recognized the smell, thanks to the one that had infiltrated the Romany camp the evening I’d arrived. My heart beat faster, pushing the adrenaline through my veins.
Screeching metal reverberated off the walls. Another door on the opposite side of the cage opened. I recoiled as several Marksmen rolled two large containers inside. The lids lifted and two shadowen leapt into the cage. One was a feral cat, large and mutated, with razor-sharp claws. The other was almost twice my size, a terrifying mixture of reptile and bird.
A snarl quivered against my lips. I backed away, unfurling my wings and taking to the air. The muscles along my shoulder blades and wing joints ached from being pinned so long. I hovered, using most of my energy to keep my wings pumping.
The reptile bird spread its gray-feathered wings and launched itself at me. I rolled in the air. The grotesque streaked by me and circled around the cage. I countered, keeping plenty of distance between us. My blood felt hot in my veins, burning me from the inside out. I clenched my fists.
Below me, the cat creature paced, its solid silver eyes narrowed into slits and black ooze dripping from its fangs. The bird beast screeched, readying itself for another charge. There was no way I could escape them, in the air or on the ground. The edges of my vision blurred crimson.
‘I’m not going to fight for your sport,’ I called down.
‘It’s not sport,’ said Augustine. ‘It’s evidence.’
I was a guardian. I was supposed to defend Gypsies from the nasty creatures circling the cage below me, but I had a feeling that wasn’t the kind of evidence Augustine was looking for.
I dropped to the mat, crouched low, wings expanded to their full length. The cat dove at me, teeth catching my shoulder. They pierced my skin like knives, and I cried out. I clamped onto its body with my claws and stripped it off me, flinging it against the chain-link wall.
I retreated quickly, retracting my wings.
Stop.
The word came unbidden into my mind, and I wasn’t even aware that I’d spoken telepathically at first. But the cat creature hesitated, the gleam in its silver glare fading. The bird-snake landed opposite me, tilting its head. Its beak opened and closed. A fragment of hope kindled inside me.
Groties were dumb beasts, according to Karl. They relied purely on instinct, driven by their need to kill. Only chimeras and gargoyles could communicate. But maybe these creatures could understand basic commands. I closed my eyes and fired off another telepathic order.
Get back.
For a fleeting second, I thought the creatures might actually obey as they regarded me with unblinking, silver-orbed eyes. The enormous cat suddenly shook itself off, hissed, and dropped into an attack crouch. The bird-snake snapped its gray feathers. Both came at me, full speed.
I took flight. The winged shadowen pursued. I saw the Gypsies out of the corner of my eye, watching intently. Anger clawed its way up my spine. I didn’t want to fight. I just wanted to go home; to see Josephine again and go back to the way things were at the Circe.
But the thing inside me: the guardian or monster or whatever it was, wouldn’t let up. It welcomed the threat and longed for action. It pressed on the back of my skull. Controlling. Demanding. Unrelenting.
‘Please, let me out,’ I yelled.
My voice had turned to gravel and growls.
Donani flashed a wicked grin. ‘There’s only one way out, gargoyle.’
I changed direction and streaked downward, knocking the feline shadowen off its feet. It hissed as I came back around. Then, I was knocked off course. I slammed into the chain-link wall, the bird-snake creature on my back. Talons ripped my flesh.
Instinct and rage forged into one.
Everything went red.
*
When I came back to myself, I was lying on my side in the middle of the cage. My wings were splayed wide. Black blood spattered the floor. My shirt was gone, the remnants shredded into pieces a few feet away from me. My own purple-black blood dripped from claw wounds on my shoulders.
Both shadowen lay on the ground on the opposite end of the space. The bird-snake’s wings were bent underneath its body. The cat was huddled in a crumpled mass. I gasped in horror and struggled to sit up. Disgust and loathing churned in my stomach.
‘Oh no …’
Then, I realized, neither creature had turned to stone. Relief surged through me. If they weren’t stone, it meant the shadowen were still alive! I collapsed, breathing a thankful prayer. I didn’t want to kill them, no matter how much my instincts told me to.
A sudden wave of ferocious hunger lit into me. I gasped again and pushed myself into a crouch. My arms shook. I peered through the cage to f
ind the Gypsies staring at me. Augustine’s black eyes met mine, and the corners of his mouth twitched upward.
‘I have seen enough,’ said the Queen.
Quentin didn’t miss a beat. He notched his bow, aimed at the shadow creatures, and let one arrow fly, then another. Each passed effortlessly through the narrow chinks in the fence. The diamond tips struck home. The grotesques howled in hatred and fury. A second later, their bodies shimmered dully and turned to granite in front of me.
One moment, they’d been alive.
The next, nothing more than hideous statues.
I felt hollow.
Marksmen entered the cage, spears at the ready as they approached me. But I stood quietly, folded my wings against my back, and held out my hands for the manacles. I was too hungry to think, too exhausted to care anymore.
‘Well,’ said Augustine to Quentin. ‘Would you be so kind as to inquire about my audience with the Queen once more?’
‘Tomorrow,’ she said, her expression smoother than stone. ‘I will send word concerning the time and place, when I am ready.’ The Queen brushed widely past him, holding her skirt to the side as though he was contagious. ‘Donani, escort this man out of the Court of Shadows immediately. He knows how foolish it would be to try and enter here again.’
Donani and another Marksman flanked Augustine. I watched through the bars as he dipped his head in respect, but his face went so taut that the scar along his cheek turned pink. He disappeared out the chamber without another word.
*
‘Why is Augustine so desperate so talk to the Queen?’
Quentin’s answer to my question was to shove me along the narrow corridor. He’d been given the job of getting the gargoyle back to his cell, and I’d never seen the Marksman look so pleased.
Just as we reached the door, I tripped over an uneven gap in the floor and pitched forward, landing on one knee. Fighting the grotesques had used up whatever remained of my reserves, and left me running on empty. Quentin waited while I regained my feet. He tapped the edge of his knife impatiently against his thigh.
His expression was enough to kindle the fire inside me, but I pushed it down and made my face smile back. ‘Oh, come on, surely you know the reason? Unless he doesn’t share important things like that with you.’
Quentin secured the lock on the cell door and looked down his nose at me, as though I were a piece of dirt he was preparing to flick off his shirt. ‘Your trial is scheduled first thing Monday morning, which means you’ll be spending the next two days in this cell. You may as well get comfortable.’
Chatting with Quentin Marks was the last thing I wanted to do, but he was also the only source of information I had right now. I pressed against the bars. ‘This is totally illegal, you know.’
Quentin seemed surprised, and then he laughed. ‘What, do you think your family would actually file a missing persons report on you, a shadow creature, and get the gadje authorities involved? Even a dumb beast like you knows better than that.’
‘Why not kill me now? It sounds like it’d be a whole lot easier.’
‘Oh believe me, it’s tempting, but Augustine was right. Once you’re convicted, we’ll be able to rid the Roma world of all shadowen, beginning with you.’ Quentin sheathed his knife. ‘I can wait a few days more.’
I leaned against the wall. My joints were beginning to feel stiff, and it hurt to move my fingers. ‘I’m flattered you’re going to so much trouble.’
‘There are other perks,’ he replied with a shrug.
The cold in my chest spread to my skin. ‘What perks?’
‘You mean, besides the satisfaction of seeing you get what you deserve?’ Quentin’s smile widened. ‘Well, that should be obvious, demon. Once you’re gone and Josephine and I are married, it’s only a matter of time before the Romany clan becomes mine.’ He took the lantern from its hook on the wall and called back over his shoulder as he walked out. ‘Have a good night, Sebastian.’
Tears threatened again, but I closed my eyes and forced them away.
7. Josephine
Hugo ushered us into the Dandelion Inn, which was richly decorated with antique furniture, lace curtains in the windows, and doilies covering every surface. Two women met us in the cozy parlor of the Corsis’ bed and breakfast. Both were middle-aged, short in stature, and beaming brightly despite the earliness of the hour.
‘Hugo,’ said the first one, who appeared to be the older of the two. I watched, amused, as she hugged him fondly and planted a kiss on his cheek. ‘It’s been far too long.’
The second woman took his hand, patting it affectionately. ‘Your ride down was pleasant, I take it?’
‘Not unless you call a grotie attack pleasant,’ he replied, ‘but we took care of it.’ His features relaxed a bit as he turned to us. ‘These are my cousins, Paizi and her sister Ferka. They own this bed and breakfast.’
‘And keep things running smoothly around here,’ added Paizi.
‘That too,’ Hugo agreed. He gestured to me. ‘This is Josephine Romany, of the Romany clan, and her friend Katie, a diddikoi.’
‘Please accept our thanks for allowing us to stay with you,’ I said, shifting into a more formal interaction, one I was used to using as daughter of a bandoleer. ‘God’s blessings on this place.’
‘Hugo told us about your guardian and the trial when he called,’ said Paizi solemnly.
Ferka nodded. ‘You know how Gypsy news usually travels, but this was the first we’ve heard of it. I had no idea there were any guardians left in our kumpania. Present company excepted, of course.’ She smiled at Ezzie, who nodded in return. ‘Surely, he is innocent.’
‘He is,’ I replied, without hesitation.
‘We’ll hear more later,’ said Paizi gently, picking up my bag. ‘First, you must rest. We’ll show you to your rooms. Breakfast is served at seven. That should give you time to settle in.’
‘Thank you,’ I replied, grateful not to have to relive the kris yet again.
The sisters ushered us up the stairs and down a long hallway. The hardwood floors creaked underneath the rugs as we walked. We were quickly assigned rooms; Katie and I were given the one near the communal bathroom. Just as I was closing the door, I heard Hugo’s voice from the top of the stairs.
‘This is my business, Ezzie.’
‘No more than it is mine,’ she answered. ‘I will return before dawn.’
Hugo’s heavy sigh echoed down the hall. ‘Alright. It’s not like I can stop you, anyway. But you need to watch yourself. I’ve had a really bad feeling since we got here, and you’re not exactly inconspicuous. Not here.’
‘I appreciate your concern,’ Ezzie answered.
‘Just be careful, okay?’
‘It is not I who must be careful, Gypsy.’
I shut the door to our room before Hugo reached the top of the stairs. I turned and nearly tripped over Katie’s suitcase. She’d unpacked – or rather, she’d dumped most of her things onto the floor.
I reached the bed and fell back into the mound of pillows as Katie explored the room. She touched every piece of furniture and peered out of the windows multiple times.
Katie bounced on the bed next to me. ‘Oh my gosh! We totally need to come here for a real girls’ trip. After we spring Sebastian from Gypsy jail, or whatever, I mean. This place is amazing. I mean, do you see that dresser in the corner? It’s got to be a hundred years old.’
‘Probably,’ I replied, kicking off my shoes.
‘And this chandelier is to die for. I need one for my room, like right now.’ Katie pulled her phone out and snapped a few pictures as she continued to prattle away about the room décor.
She was still a little unnerved, and I couldn’t blame her, but at least Katie was talking more like herself again. It was nice to have something else to focus on besides my own worry. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and unzipped my bag, only half-listening to Katie’s chatter as I unpacked. I took off my jewelry, hesitating as I held the dandelion
pendant in my hand.
I became suddenly aware that it had gotten quiet. I turned around. Katie had taken my place on the bed, propped up against the pillows. She looked from me to my necklace, and her brows rose expectantly.
‘Sorry. What were you saying?’
She motioned me over. ‘I asked how you felt about Sebastian.’
‘What?’
Katie took the pendant out of my hands. She turned it over in her palm and held it up to the soft light of the chandelier. ‘You’ve told me a bunch of crazy stuff that doesn’t make sense, but one thing’s pretty obvious, and it’s the one thing you’ve totally left out.’
‘He’s my guardian.’ I watched the way the light refracted off the glass, illuminating the yellow dandelion petals inside the pendant. ‘He’s my friend.’
‘And?’
I kept my eyes on the necklace. ‘And … I don’t know.’
‘Come on, Josie. After everything you’ve done to get down here – sneaking around your dad, missing your performances, not to mention dealing with those freaking nightmares from hell at the gas station. I mean, you’re taking a pretty big risk here, aren’t you?’
I nodded. ‘Yeah.’
‘So, why is it so hard to tell me how you feel about Sebastian?’
I took the pendant and set it on the nightstand. The flower darkened and seemed to lose its life. I touched it with my finger. Even the glass had grown cold. A deep, aching loss curled through me.
‘I grew up hearing tales of guardians and their charges from our legends,’ I said. ‘But they were just stories before I met him. I didn’t know it was going to be like this.’
Katie leaned forward. ‘What do you mean?’
I pulled my legs up to my chest and rested my chin on my knee. ‘In a way, it feels like I’ve known Sebastian forever. I guess that scared me at first. It was like he could see past the image I’d created of myself, in a way no one had before. Maybe that’s why I avoided him in the beginning. And then, afterwards, I didn’t know what to do with everything that had happened.’
‘You mean the … gargoyle thing?’
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