I flinched. ‘Yeah.’
‘Don’t worry about it.’ Katie inched closer, just shy of where the darkness began. She took a breath, like she was making up her mind, and took one step towards the shadows.
‘Please,’ I said, ‘don’t come any closer.’
‘You growled at me once, at my party, remember? I thought you were just having some freaky mental breakdown or something. But I know what you are now,’ she said steadily. ‘Josie told me everything, so you don’t have to worry about hiding from me or anything. I know all about the Outcasts and the shadow world, and you. So, it’s okay. I know everything.’
I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better. Or worse.
‘Just stay right there, okay?’ I ground my claws deeper into the dirt until my fingertips ached. ‘It’s kind of hard to explain, but I’d just feel better if you did. For now.’
Her face took on the look she used to give me before doling out a lecture over something ridiculous I’d done. But, after a few seconds, she nodded in a sort of resigned agreement. ‘Okay.’
‘Katie, are you alright?’
She rubbed her arms more briskly. ‘Yeah, I think so. I mean, I’m not hurt or anything, just really, really glad you’re here.’ Her eyes seemed to widen even farther. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘You first,’ I replied.
‘Are those your eyes?’ she asked, taking another step.
I quickly averted my gaze, so I wouldn’t catch the reflection from the light. Even if Katie knew what I was, it felt too new, too raw for me to just swoop out of the dark like this, after all the months of secrecy and lies. Especially not now, when I felt like I was barely keeping my balance on the line between instinct and control. When I didn’t answer, she continued.
‘Okay, fine, me first,’ said Katie, pressing forward when I didn’t answer. ‘After Josie told me everything, I decided to come to Savannah with her. She tried to talk me out of it, but I didn’t give her a chance.’
‘I’m not surprised,’ I replied, trying to smile in the darkness. I needed her to keep talking, so I could focus on her words. It seemed to keep the instincts at bay. ‘You came with my brother, right?’
‘Yeah, we’re staying with some of Hugo’s clan. There’s been a lot of shadow creatures hovering around. Ezzie went out to take care of one of those chimera things—’
‘Wait, Ezzie’s here, too?’
‘Yeah, and I’m still trying to figure that whole thing out.’ Katie shook herself off with a dramatic flair. ‘I mean, she used to be our teacher. She was scary enough before all this. Anyway, Josie told me to stay in the house while she went after her, but I didn’t listen because, you know me, I don’t ever do that, and then this thing just came at me and grabbed me, and we were up in the air like freaking birds or something. And then it brought me here and just left me.’ Katie reached down and yanked off her only flip-flop, holding it in front of her for a moment before tossing it aside. ‘This was my favorite pair, too.’
I felt myself attempting a smile again, even through the prah haze. ‘Katie, does anyone know where you are?’
‘No, my phone died, right after dinner. I mean, I was gonna plug it in, but then all that stuff went down and Josephine was being all Josephine and saying she had to go help Ezzie, so I just went after her.’
Josephine.
A rush suddenly went up the back of my neck, like a crisp breeze, and a scent wafted over me – exotic flowers and spices. Her scent. I flung my hand out towards the passageway’s brick wall to steady myself. Was I imagining things?
‘Sebastian?’ said Katie, uncertain.
I rose to my feet and was moving forward against my will before I caught myself. I kept hold of the wall. ‘Once I get you out, can you find your way back to this place?’
‘Yeah, it’s the Dandelion Inn. But I guess we’ll have to, like, use a real map or something because I don’t know my way around the city at all.’ Her eyes pooled up with tears. ‘And I’m so ready to get out of here.’ She wiped her face with angry strokes. ‘Why didn’t you tell me all this stuff, Sebastian? Why didn’t you tell me about you? We’re supposed to be friends.’
‘I’m … sorry.’ My stomach churned with ice. My nose wrinkled. I clutched my shoulder, and tried to blink away the warning haze that kept shifting closer along the edges of my vision. ‘I didn’t know how.’
Without warning, she reached into the shadows. Instinctively, my hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. ‘Katie, no.’
Her attention fell on my hand, and she gasped. I let go of her wrist, resisting the urge to recoil. She stared, gawking, taking in the gray skin stretched over the black veins. Her gaze rested longest on my claws. After a moment, I pulled my arm back and anchored myself in the passageway again. ‘I’ve been told the way I look takes some getting used to,’ I said, hearing bitterness creep into my gravelly voice. I swallowed it down. ‘Why don’t we just take it a little at a time?’
Her head bobbed like a cork. ‘Okay.’
‘Okay,’ I said. ‘So what can you tell me ab—’
A mass slammed into me from behind. My body launched into the room. Stars scattered across my vision as my head hit the floor.
26. Josephine
I called to Ezzie in a tense whisper, clutching my knife in a stranglehold. The tunnel below the crypt remained dark and noiseless. I ground my teeth, frustrated. I was getting sick of people disappearing around me.
I checked the gated door of the mausoleum, making sure it had locked behind us. Then I returned to the crypt and propelled myself over the side. I eased down the ladder, pressing the inside of my arms against the rails so that I could keep my phone and knife ready in my hands. The phone’s white light bathed the tunnel in a spectral flow.
The tunnel opened into a wider passageway, but there was light at the far end – not a flashlight, but a warm, golden glow that had to come from a torch or lantern. The air smelled decently fresh, almost as good a quality as the Court of Shadows. Wishing that I had some special abilities of my own, I made my way cautiously, doing my best to listen to my limited human senses.
‘Josephine.’
I jumped so high I was convinced I hit the ceiling. Ezzie solidified out of the darkness like a ghost.
‘Please don’t do that again,’ I said.
‘I think I’ve found a promising intersection,’ she replied, beckoning me with her hand. She’d also pulled out her phone for light. ‘The air moves freely, and—’
‘What about there?’ I questioned, pointing towards the warm glow.
Ezzie stared down the passage. Her back straightened into a rigid posture, and her upper lip twitched. ‘I didn’t see that one.’
I kept my mouth shut, allowing her to take the lead, which she quickly did with an indignant walk. Either Esmeralda Lucian wasn’t as intimidating as I used to think, or I was getting bolder. Either way, a mutual feeling of respect had developed between us over the last couple of days, and I felt we stood on equal footing.
We made slow progress, taking turns with our phones to try and conserve our batteries. The thick silence permeating the tunnel seemed to make the ceiling and walls close in around us. I had to take my mind off the shrinking feeling that I couldn’t shake.
‘Ezzie,’ I said quietly.
She glanced back at me. ‘Yes?’
‘Do you trust Hugo’s parents?’
I hadn’t intended to make her stop, but Ezzie immediately pulled up in the middle of the passage and turned over her shoulder to look fully at me. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘They’re Sobrasi. How do you know they aren’t bad, just like the rest of them? What if they did that to Sebastian on purpose? How do we know they don’t want him for the same reason as the people they were hiding the head from in the first place?’
‘I may not understand, or even agree, with all that Zindelo and Nadya have done,’ Ezzie replied, ‘but I trust that their motivations are pure. They want what is best for the Outcast clans, and
they know the only way to ensure your safety and protection is to restore order to the shadow world.’ Ezzie paused, and her eyes took on a faraway gleam. ‘Hugo’s parents awakened me. If it hadn’t been for Zindelo and Nadya, I would still be trapped in stone. All they ever asked in return was that I offer whatever help I could to their clan.’
I frowned. ‘But you aren’t bound to them.’
‘No.’
‘Yet you’ve stayed near them all this time.’
Her arched brows lifted. ‘Have you met the Corsi clan? They need all the help they can get.’
‘Fair enough,’ I said, smirking a little in return. I ran my hand along the jagged wall of the passage. ‘There’s something I still don’t understand, though. If Hugo’s parents are so powerful, and they were able to awaken you, why are you still human? I mean, couldn’t they make you a gargoyle again?’
Ezzie’s expression turned serious, and the shadows of the passage seemed to grow long across her face. ‘They didn’t know how. Too many decades have passed since my punishment was enacted.’ She sighed heavily. ‘Sebastian thinks I’m fortunate. I can understand his feelings. Being human was all he knew from the moment he awakened in the home of the Corsis. Even now, despite his best efforts, Sebastian clings to the idea that he’s still human.’
‘Why is that such a bad thing? I asked.
She studied me with silvery eyes. ‘I never said it was.’
We continued down the passage, now walking side by side. The silence engulfed us again. I wanted to call out Katie’s name, but I knew better. I turned the knife in my hand, watching how the flashlight caught every diamond particle. They twinkled like deadly stars. I’d put Quentin’s weapon to use more than I ever imagined I would.
As we walked, I slowly became aware of a tiny flitter in my stomach. Emotions swirled like a slow-moving river through my head. Beside me, Ezzie decreased her pace and raised her chin curiously.
‘Can you sense anything?’ I whispered.
‘I believe shadowen are close,’ she answered. Then she looked at me strangely. ‘Do you sense something?’
My heart began skittering underneath my ribs, and a warm-cold feeling settled over me – a sensation that caused tears to prick at the edges of my eyes. I knew that feeling.
‘Maybe,’ I said. ‘I’m not sure yet.’
As we approached the light on the far end of the long passageway, noises filtered faintly towards us. I glanced at Ezzie. Her face had grown hard and cold, like the walls around us. My insides fluttered like a caged bird. Ezzie motioned me against the wall. She took the opposite side. We eased steadily along the tunnel, keeping our backs firmly against the stone.
‘We’re supposed to be friends,’ said a familiar voice.
Though I couldn’t see anything yet, I exchanged a relieved look with Ezzie. Katie was alive! But who was she talking to? I quickened my pace, holding my knife ready, unsure of what we’d find when we reached the end.
‘I’m sorry,’ said another voice. ‘I didn’t know how.’
I stopped dead. It was him! I hadn’t imagined the feeling. It was Sebastian! However, his usually mellow voice had changed into that strange growling tone. It sent a cold prickle down my spine. I clutched Ezzie’s arm from across the tunnel. Sebastian was fighting that other part of him.
‘Katie, no,’ he said harshly.
She gasped loudly. There was a painful pause.
‘I’ve been told the way I look takes some getting used to,’ said Sebastian finally. The hurt was plainly evident in his reply. I heard him take a long, steadying breath. ‘Why don’t we just take it a little at a time?’
A loud scream split the air.
27. Sebastian
Katie’s scream rocketed through the room. I snarled and kicked at the mass on top of me. I twisted my body around. My lip curled in disgust as the smell hit me. Anya. She was more revolting than the last time we met.
The gargoyle-turned-chimera stood on legs inverted from the shin down, bent like an animal’s, with talon-toed feet. Hair grew in matted gray patches through deep cracks in the skull. The mouth warped misshapen around rows of long fangs. Primal eyes, solid silver, gleamed with hatred so odious I tasted it. Black saliva leaked from between her bottom teeth. I felt a nauseous heave.
My … kill …
The thought bursting inside my head was a curdling shock. Each telepathic word seemed a colossal effort to produce, as though Anya’s language had deteriorated, existing only a fraction above the grotesques and their inhuman, screeching communication.
Her head whipped up, solid silver eyes rotating around, and fixated on Katie. She licked her black lips hungrily, then snapped her attention to me, each movement like the cracking of a whip. Her teeth glimmered in a wicked grin.
You … first …
She tackled me. Her body pressed against my chest with her full weight. Wings spread above me and filling the space to the ceiling. My own wings cramped under the strain, trapped inside my cloak and pinned under my body. The adrenaline coursing through me hit capacity. I bared my teeth. Every molecule of my being burned with scorching fire.
I sank my claws into the chimera’s sides and threw her off me. Anya landed like a cat, a guttural laugh splitting her black lips. I scrambled up. My wings burst free, destroying the cloak as they unfurled to the ceiling. I faced off with the chimera, back hunched and claws spread wide.
I was no longer shaking. My shoulder didn’t hurt. All I felt was heat and fury. I glanced over my shoulder, peering through the thickening red haze. Katie was pressed against the wall. Her eyes shifted from the chimera to me. She stared at us with the same level of horror.
‘Katie,’ I growled. ‘Take the steps and get out of here!’
She didn’t move. She mouthed my name, but no sound came out. The color drained from her face as her knees wobbled and she sank to the floor.
Anya reacted like she’d spotted a wounded animal. She turned with the force of a tiger about to pounce. I countered, just in time. I knocked the chimera sideways, throwing her off course, but the impact sent me reeling. We both rolled over the dirt-packed floor and came up again, like boxers in a ring, ready for the second round.
Katie wedged herself in the corner, her eyes only on me. I felt disbelief and terror radiating off her in a waves. The part of me I was still desperately clinging to withered under her stare. Whatever she’d been told about me hadn’t been enough. She gaped at me like I was a monster.
I turned away, concentrating on the chimera.
Another rotting stench permeated the room. Matthias streaked through the opening where I’d entered, trailing oily black smoke. He thrashed his wings, smashing the oil lanterns on the table. Katie screamed again as the room plunged instantly into darkness.
Both chimeras were on me at once, a savage ruthless attack. My night vision was useless against the assault. Talons lashed my chest. Skin split with excruciating pain. Katie’s cries pierced my ears. I was slipping too fast to hold on. The dark thing leapt to the surface. My blood boiled with prah and primal instinct. A grisly sound erupted from my throat, and the gates of my control crashed down.
I let the dark thing take me.
It came easier this time, the giving up of myself to the primal force. It surged through my blood and moved within me, enveloping me in a field of red fury. I fought the chimeras as they fought me – like vicious animals.
I heard my name in the air. Someone pleading.
But I couldn’t come back. Not anymore.
Blood ran from claws. Teeth. Mine or theirs.
Wings beat. Ripped.
Falling.
Darkness. Alone.
28. Josephine
Another scream from Katie reached us.
I broke into a run, Ezzie beside me. I heard chimera shrieks and the sound of flapping wings. They grew louder as the tunnel turned wider. There was an inhuman roar, which I recognized as Sebastian’s. My chest throbbed at the sound.
The passage sudden
ly gave way to an enormous room. In the middle of it, Sebastian and Anya grappled with each other like wild animals in a vicious fight. Katie crouched a few feet away, her face glued solid in fright. I gripped my knife and hurried forward. Then, another chimera was in the room.
The lights went out.
Glass shattered on the floor, followed by the smell of oil. My feeble phone light did nothing to help. The room was full of shadowen battle. I fumbled through the room, keeping to the outer edge, trying to find Katie. Ezzie called out, and I whirled on my heel.
She had Katie under the arms, dragging her back towards the passage. I scrambled on my hands and knees after them, avoiding the slash of giant wings overhead. My heart wrenched so tight I could hardly breathe. Here and there, in the pale light, gray forms blurred by. Table and chairs were smashed and pieces strewn across the floor. Blood splatted the dirt.
I made it to the passage and grabbed Katie by the shoulders. ‘Katie!’
Her eyes were like a blind person’s, unfocused and wild. She whimpered softly, curling her arms over her head protectively. Ezzie moved, like she was going back into the room.
‘No,’ I cried. ‘You’ll get killed.’
‘I can see well enough,’ she snapped.
‘Stay here,’ I ordered Katie, pointlessly. She hadn’t moved.
Ezzie and I went in together, and holding our phones high, striving to get as much light in the room as possible. What I saw made my stomach turn. The stone body of Matthias lay crumpled on the floor, his wings bent back in awful directions, and his neck broken. Anya hovered over Sebastian; her talons plunged deep into his left shoulder. He swayed unsteadily, looking dead on his feet.
Anger tore through me. ‘Get away from him!’
I ran with no thought for anything but him. Ezzie matched me, stride for stride. She swung her mace in a giant arc with one hand. The contact was solid. Anya’s wing snapped like a twig. The chimera wailed and lashed out, crushing Ezzie’s phone. The loss of light made it difficult to see. Ezzie yelled and took aim, but the chimera was faster this time. Her talons struck Ezzie in the stomach.
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