I drove my knife into Anya’s ribs. The chimera’s body convulsed. She snarled and fixed her silver eyes on me. She knocked the phone from my hand, and it flipped and clattered away from me, landing face up. The light shone weakly at the ceiling, but it was enough to see my fate.
Anya descended on me. Her nasty, taloned hands clutched my arm, pulling me towards her. Her grip was like steel, and I couldn’t wrench free. She leaned forward, ooze dribbling from her mouth, dripping on my neck. Her wicked teeth were inches from my face.
‘Gypsy … flesh …’
Then, I was free.
Sebastian was somehow in my place, his body shielding me from Anya. She lunged, but he was faster. His claws sliced straight through her mid-section. Anya screeched. She stared at him with a face twisted by hate and pain. Her skin began to harden into stone. In one swift, powerful move, Sebastian hurled the chimera clean across the room and into the wall. Her body cracked and shattered – a hideous statue, broken forever.
Sebastian snarled at the dead chimeras. Then he threw his head back and roared. The triumphant sound pinged around the room. Then, suddenly, he clutched at his shoulder, and everything about him seemed to change. It was like he was bursting through the surface of a lake. His chest heaved, like he was struggling for air.
Sebastian!
I wasn’t sure if I said his name aloud or in my head, but he turned. For the briefest of moments, our eyes met. His wings slumped. I saw pain behind the soft, tortured look on his face. He opened his mouth to speak. Then, he fell hard to his knees and pitched forward into the bloody dirt. In the faint light, his body seemed almost like a dark shadow, barely there at all.
‘No!’ I yelled.
I scrambled frantically for my phone, and then knelt in front of him, holding the light closer. His face was mostly hidden in the dirt, and also by his matted hair, which seemed longer than I remembered it – though it had only been three days. I tried turning him on his side, but his enormous splayed wings made it impossible, and he was so heavy. My heart felt like it was going to stop beating. I touched the side of his face – the little that I could see of it – stroking the skin with my fingers, waiting for his eyes to open. But they didn’t.
He was completely still.
‘Sebastian, it’s Josephine,’ I said, choking back a sob. ‘I’m here.’
A moment passed. Then another. Suddenly, his back expanded in a breath. He wasn’t dead. I lifted my eyes to the ceiling, thanking God. I pressed my hand to the center of his back, in the space between where his wings grew out, just beneath his shoulder blades. I felt his breathing growing steadier, each inhale moving his back more regularly. My fingers drifted towards his left wing. I’d never had the opportunity to observe them from this angle, and so close.
I noticed the evidence of a recent wound in his wing. The hole had closed over with fresh leathery skin, like what made up the rest of his wing. I took the top section tentatively in my hand. The bone that made up the framework was thicker than my arm. I lifted it away from his back, and my stomach turned.
Several inches of a Marksman’s arrow protruded from the back of his shoulder. The feathered end had been snapped off, leaving a crumbling, hollow shaft. Blood still trickled, but it glittered weirdly in the white light, a mixture of purple-black, but with silver specks. Around the wound, black veins sprouted like branches of a tree, just underneath his gray skin.
Ezzie groaned from the corner. I took my phone, leaving Sebastian in darkness, and went to her. She pushed herself up into a seated position and hissed through her teeth.
‘Vile creature,’ she said, spitting into the dirt.
I looked her over. ‘You’re hurt.’
Ezzie pressed her hand against her abdomen. Her fingers came away smeared with red blood. She grimaced. ‘It looks worse than it is. Help me up.’
I didn’t argue. I got her to her feet and she leaned against the wall. Her eyes were on Sebastian – or rather, the shadowed lump in the middle of the floor, which was all I could see of him.
‘Is he …?’ she began.
‘No, he’s breathing. But he’s unconscious.’
Ezzie shook her head in disbelief. ‘How did he get here?’
‘Josie?’
Katie’s voice startled me so much I almost dropped the phone. I’d forgotten she was there. She stepped warily into the room. Tears streaked her face, which was ghostly white in the dimness. I hurried over to her and wrapped my arms around my best friend.
‘Katie, I’m so sorry.’
She clung to me, little sniffles escaping every few breaths. Everything about this was a total mess. A dangerous and terrible mess. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing it all away. It was Katie who pulled back first.
‘I’m okay,’ she said. ‘They didn’t hurt me. He …’ she almost looked at Sebastian’s body, but her eyes never quite made it there. ‘He didn’t hurt me.’
‘Katie, I don’t—’
‘What happened to him, Josie? God, this is so not what I was picturing at all. I mean, I don’t know what I was thinking. You said he wasn’t like them, but I thought he’d still be …’ She shuddered. ‘Josie, the way he went after them, what he did, and he’s got these giant bat wings, he has freaking wings, and I just don’t … how could he keep this from me?’
I let her ramble until she finally went quiet. I held her hand. ‘You’ve seen him now, Katie. You know he couldn’t tell you.’ I let her go and walked back towards Sebastian. ‘He couldn’t tell anyone.’
I shone the light around the room. A black piece of fabric was scrunched up among a pile of broken chairs. I picked it up and shook it out. A Marksman cloak. I got on my knees and carefully eased one wing in towards Sebastian’s body. The bony framework bent stiffly at the joints, but without too much resistance. Then I repeated the action with the other wing. I draped the cloak across Sebastian’s body and stood.
‘We need light,’ I said. ‘My battery’s almost dead.’
I explored the room quickly. The two lanterns were smashed beyond use, and there was nothing else in the large, empty space. I studied the three passageways leading out. One, we already knew, led back to the ladder and the crypt. I shone the light inside the far right tunnel. The passage was bricked over – which left only the center one.
‘Stay here.’ I glanced at Katie. ‘And don’t move. It’s going to get dark.’
‘Then you better be fast,’ she replied with an edge to her voice.
I took our only light and entered the passageway, which was short and emptied into another room. The space was smaller, but furnished, with books scattered in every corner. I located a small lantern and a box of matches, sitting on the desk. I returned to the other room.
‘Hold this,’ I said to Katie, handing her my phone.
I struck a match, lifted the glass, and lit the lantern. A warm glow instantly bathed the room in a soft, golden light. Katie switched off my phone light and handed it back to me. We stood quietly, waiting while our eyes adjusted.
Ezzie clutched her side and she moved away from the wall. ‘We need help, Josephine. Sebastian’s obviously in no condition to shadow anywhere, and we won’t be able to carry him to the ladder, much less up it.’
I looked at Sebastian, and I made up my mind. ‘Ezzie, you’re wounded. But Katie can help you out. You guys get back to the inn and get Hugo’s parents. Nadya has medicine. I’m going to stay here with him until you return.’
Katie bristled. ‘No way. We aren’t leaving you.’
‘You have to,’ I said firmly.
Ezzie took a few steps forward, inhaling sharply. Blood trickled between her fingertips, and I saw the deep talon slashes beneath a ripped section of her t-shirt. Katie watched her, too, and I saw her resolve falter.
‘The quicker you go, the sooner you get back,’ I said.
Katie pursed her lips together. She glanced sideways at Sebastian’s form, but only for the briefest of seconds. Like she didn’t trust me being left with him. And
I couldn’t really blame her, after what she’d just witnessed. But she only knew the Sebastian from before. I knew him now.
‘Okay, fine,’ Katie huffed, brushing off her face. She hugged me so tight it cut off my air supply. ‘Just, I don’t know, be careful.’ She released me and looked at Ezzie. ‘And that weapon thing of yours stays here, with her.’
‘Very well,’ said Ezzie, her eyes half-closed.
I walked to the stone corpse of Matthias and picked up the discarded mace Ezzie had lost in the battle. I sat cross-legged beside Sebastian and laid the weapon across my legs. ‘I’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. Just hurry.’
Esmeralda wrapped her arm around Katie’s shoulder. ‘We’ll return as soon as we can.’
I nodded and watched as they disappeared into the dark.
29. Josephine
As soon as they were gone, I turned my full attention on Sebastian, still unconscious on the floor, with the cloak hiding his upper body and a large portion of his wings.
His jeans were frayed at the bottoms, his Converse muddy and ripped in several places. I set the diamond-studded mace aside and slid my hand along a section of his wing not covered with the cloak. The texture of the leathery membrane was thicker than I remembered. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but they looked duller, too.
He took a sudden harsh breath, and I tore my hand away. The exhaling sounded more like a low growl, but he definitely wasn’t awake. The neck muscles underneath his pewter hair were so tight that they bulged like iron cords under his skin. Even unconscious, there was nothing about Sebastian that seemed relaxed.
I wanted to turn his head, to get a better look at his face. But it was like an unseen hand held me back. There was something was different about Sebastian – I sensed it, more than anything. The weird kind of undercurrent that always seemed to flow between us when we were together seemed altered, if that was even possible, leaving a mysterious force I didn’t recognize.
‘Sebastian,’ I whispered.
Why was he here, of all places? He couldn’t have known about Katie. He was supposed to be in the Court of Shadows, awaiting his trial. Hugo had just seen him yesterday.
So why?
I thought about the arrow wound on his shoulder. He’d escaped. That was the only possible explanation. Had he given up on any chance of being acquitted? Tiny hope rippled inside me, like the effect of a pebble tossed into water. Was he trying to get back to me?
I rubbed my eyes as exhaustion set in, making me feel heavy from head to toe. The way he’d fought Anya and Matthias, it was like watching him that night at the Circe, when Augustine let him out of the cage. He’d lost himself. I glanced warily at his motionless form. Was he still lost?
‘You asked me to forgive you,’ I said softly. ‘But there’s nothing to forgive, Sebastian. Nothing, unless you give up. Please don’t give up. I need you. Not as my guardian. I need you as my friend.’ My throat constricted. ‘And … as more. Sebastian, you’re so much more.’
I felt something shift behind me.
‘Well, that’s quite touching.’
Augustine stepped into the room from the center passage. I stumbled over Sebastian’s body in my haste to retrieve the mace from the floor. I spun around, holding it straight.
‘Get out,’ I demanded.
His brow lifted, and the white scar on his cheek reacted to the motion, like a snake on skin. ‘That’s a bit rude, don’t you think? After all, this is my home, not yours.’
‘Marimé,’ I said, spitting out the word like the curse it was.
‘Yes, yes,’ he said, sauntering further in. ‘I’ve heard the term before.’ His eyes quickly took in the room, noting the stone remains of Anya and Matthias. His expression was casual enough, but I sensed the irritation behind it. ‘So what brings you to my humble abode? You’ll have to forgive my lack of reception, but I was under the impression you were still at the Corsi inn.’
‘Your chimera took Katie. I came after her.’
‘I see the girl is no longer with us,’ he replied. ‘Freed her, did you?’ When I didn’t respond, he continued. ‘Kidnapping your friend wasn’t my intention. I sent the shadowen after you.’ Augustine paused in front of the stone corpse of Matthias. He knelt, shaking his head, as though he were looking at a glass of milk spilt by a misbehaving child, and not the dead body of one of his shadow creatures. ‘Unfortunately, Anya and Matthias have proven to be unreliable since I transformed them into chimeras.’ He rose and kicked a chunk of stone, sending it into the wall. It disintegrated to dust.
‘Why were those shadowen following me?’ I demanded.
Augustine chuckled lightly. ‘Because you left Sixes, my dear. Of course, I should’ve expected as much. In fact, I’d have been quite disappointed if my niece hadn’t shown some of that stubborn Romany spirit.’
He stepped closer, and I moved as he moved, planting myself firmly between Sebastian’s unconscious body and the man who used to be my uncle. ‘What do you want from me?’
Augustine crossed his arms and changed directions, circling around again. ‘Honestly, nothing, had you remained at the Circe. But since you insisted on coming to Savannah, it became imperative that I kept you away from the Court until the Gathering Celebration. Telling Hugo Corsi that the Queen was out of town, sending chimeras to keep you all occupied. Those tactics worked well enough.’
The mace grew heavier in my hand, but I refused to let it drop. ‘Why go to so much trouble?’
Augustine rubbed his chin. His gaze shifted to Sebastian. ‘It appears our young gargoyle here is having a difficult time transitioning. He clings to your bond. He keeps calling out your name, fighting my efforts to free him from his miserable state. It’s not been enough simply to remove him from your presence.’
It was a terrible time for my heart to soar in my chest, but the sensation lightened my body and added to my resolve. Sebastian and I hadn’t come this far, only to have Augustine destroy it all.
He frowned in mock chastisement. ‘Of course, Sebastian Grey nearly cost me everything I’ve been working towards with his futile stunt. He had to know he’d be found eventually.’ Augustine took a visual circuit of the room. ‘I was baffled as to why he would come here.’ He narrowed his eyes pointedly at me. ‘Now I understand.’
I blinked, careful to hide my emotions. ‘So he did escape.’
‘I prefer to call it a brief detour,’ he replied.
‘Sounds like you’re in over your head,’ I said curtly. ‘Sebastian’s stronger than the others. And when the High Council discovers what you’ve tried to do to him, you’re going to be the one on trial.’
Augustine laughed then, full and deep. The sound of it made little spiders of fear crawl up my back. ‘Dearest niece, I apologize for how much you’ve been kept in the dark. Sebastian was never going to have a trial. The Queen has seen him for herself, and she was satisfied.’
I went cold all over. ‘Satisfied with what?’
‘That such a volatile gargoyle should be given over to those with more skills in dealing with his kind.’
‘You’re not getting him,’ I snapped.
Augustine chuckled, amused. ‘I’m afraid that’s not up for debate. This gargoyle has already been awarded to me. He is my initiation payment into the ranks of the Sobrasi.’ He studied me a moment. ‘Ah, I see from your expression that you know precisely who I’m referring to. It seems you’ve been speaking to someone with intimate knowledge of our clandestine little group.’
I clutched the mace until my fingers burned and narrowed my eyes. I refused to give anything away to him with a rash reply. I worked his words through my head again before speaking.
‘The Sobrasi let you join? They obviously don’t have any standards.’
I smiled grimly. It was a retort Sebastian would’ve given, were he awake – wry and sarcastic. The thought gave me strength. Augustine’s own casual smile stayed fixed across his face, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
‘I possess something they c
annot refuse.’
Dread pressed in on me from all sides. Did Augustine know the truth about Sebastian and about the head of La Gargouille? Zindelo had been convinced that no one knew except them. They’d been the only ones there, when the statue of Saint Sebastian and the head of the monster were brought to life, combined into the form of the boy – of the gargoyle – who’d turned my life upside down. I breathed out slowly, my face a mask. No emotions, only facts. I needed to know what Augustine knew.
‘I don’t get it,’ I said, ‘Why do you keep trying? Sebastian’s not a chimera, and he never will be. If you want more shadowen to replace your others, why don’t you ask your Sobrasi friends? Can’t they just create them? Why do you need Sebastian?’
Augustine tilted his head slightly. ‘He has qualities the Sobrasi believe will be useful to eradicate the shadowen scourge that has plagued our people since the Middle Ages. And isn’t that enough to bring us all into some agreement? Isn’t that what we all want as Outcasts? To live our lives, free of the constant skirmishes? To allow our children to play without fear outside the walls and tunnels of our Havens?’
I kept pressing. ‘What qualities?’
‘As much as I would love to spend more time with my lovely niece, I must return Sebastian to his holding cell and then clean up the mess he left.’ Augustine smiled brightly at me. ‘But don’t worry, I am leaving you in the best of company.’
I frowned. ‘Company?’
Footsteps crunched in the dirt floor behind me. I turned.
Quentin walked into the room, dressed in full Marksman gear. His jaw was purpled over in a deep bruise, and there was a small cut above his eye. His left arm was in a sling. As he met my eyes, his lips curled into a smile.
‘Hi, Josie,’ he said. ‘I’m still waiting on that phone call, by the way.’
My tongue sealed itself to the roof of my mouth. All the pieces of my world collided in front of me, and I suddenly knew the awful truth: Quentin hadn’t stayed in Savannah to represent my father. He was here with Augustine. He’d been going along with him the whole time. The room tilted around me. I started forward, but he held out his other arm, preventing me. I found my voice. ‘Quentin, wh—’
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