by Taylor Hobbs
Reading the doubt in her face, Fawkes reached out a gentle hand, resting it on her cheek. “You are the future I was meant to have, in this world.” The anger that Fawkes had been holding onto, the edge that made him into the infamous Cloaked Shadow, had dissolved when his fever broke.
Unable to settle on the right words, Charlotte leaned in for a chaste kiss. Charlotte wasn’t deluding herself. They had come so far together, but still had miles to go before they could rest. After everything they had been through, it took both of them facing death to bring them here. It was not a happily-ever-after moment, but it felt like the start of a new way of life. She allowed herself a small moment of bliss to chase the bad thoughts away.
Fawkes had been achieving his revelations through fevered dreams the past few days, but Charlotte had been turning over the events of the tower nonstop in her mind. The memory refused to be laid to rest, and Charlotte felt like there was something important staring her right in the face.
It all came back to Josephine. Cryptic as she was, Charlotte felt like Josephine had been trying to warn them that night. It had been overlooked, due to the fact that it preceded a violent suicide. What had the seer told them? Something about ‘They will do it again and murder hundreds’, and that it was their duty to stop it. Protect the innocent, that was what Josephine had urged.
All these theories would have to wait. “I love you,” Charlotte said.
A smile broke out across his face. “I was wondering if I had imagined that,” Fawkes said. “When you jumped from that tower…” He shuddered and pulled her in close again. “How did you know that would be the only thing to reach me?”
“Because you knew how scared I was to jump, and I did it anyway.”
Part of Charlotte waited for Fawkes to say ‘I love you’ back to her, but another part of her hoped he would wait. Her initial confession had been due to extreme circumstance, and in light of Josephine’s suicide and near-death escape, she knew the timing wasn’t appropriate. So she settled for another kiss, then leaped up to tend to the fire before Fawkes could pull her back down. They needed to eat and move as soon as Fawkes felt able.
He let her go with a sigh, laying back down and already exhausted again. “Rest,” she told him. “I’ll wake you when breakfast is ready.” She turned her attention to pulling on her clothes. She felt Fawkes’ attention on her but didn’t acknowledge it. Not now, she thought.
Whether or not avenging Josephine was still on the agenda, Charlotte had a nagging feeling that their outlaw duties were not over yet. After everything she had witnessed, Charlotte could not, in good conscience, walk away into the sunset with Fawkes. There was his redemption to consider, not to mention her own, for the parts she had played.
Chapter Eighteen
“I still reach for my cloak,” Fawkes confessed to Charlotte as they prepared for bed that night.
Despite all of Charlotte’s anxiousness, they had decided that Fawkes should rest for one more day. Though every instinct screamed at her to get moving, to move him prematurely might cause him to lose the precious ground he had gained toward full strength. He had slept much of the day, waking only for food and water when Charlotte stroked his forehead. The brave face he wore didn’t fool Charlotte; she knew how much pain he was still in.
“I’m sorry I had to cut it off,” Charlotte said. “I know how much the cloak meant to you. It was a part of you, especially because Josephine—”
Fawkes cut her off. “I would rather the cloak lay at the bottom of Numencaster’s castle moat than my body.”
“Am I right in assuming that Josephine wove whatever special magic she possessed into it?”
He sighed. “I have wondered that for a long time. I do not know exactly what she did to it, but when I put it on, I felt protected.”
“She wanted you to be safe,” Charlotte said. “Both in the physical and spiritual world. With the cloak, I think you were invisible not only to her, but to any other seer, in order to protect you. No one could use mystical means to harm you. That’s why you were able to work undetected for so long.”
“I think she kept much of her talent a secret from me,” Fawkes mused. “I had no idea she was capable of so much. But somebody did, and that is why they took her.”
“It wasn’t just her protection that made you successful. You developed your own skills, talents that any espionage agent would be envious of. She enchanted the cloak, but it was you who made the Cloaked Shadow a legend.”
He laughed bitterly. “And look where those skills got me. I knew nothing of my wife’s suffering, and I am weaker now than I have ever been before.”
“Maybe,” Charlotte said. “But you aren’t alone now. Combined, we have greater strength than you possessed while working unaccompanied, thanks to the training you have invested in me. We can stop what’s coming.”
“Stop what’s coming? What do you mean?”
“Never mind,” Charlotte backtracked quickly. “I don’t know yet. I’ve been thinking about what Josephine said. Let me sleep on it. It might make more sense in the morning.”
“I expect I will be strong enough to travel tomorrow,” Fawkes said, as he welcomed her into their bedroll. When exactly this unspoken agreement had occurred, Charlotte didn’t know, but it felt right, so she didn’t question it further. She slid into his arms as though it had been their pattern for years instead of hours.
She tried to stay awake to guard Fawkes while he slept, but the exhaustion of caring for him and the constant vigilance over the past two days had taken a toll. Just a few hours of sleep. Ghost will warn us if he hears anyone approach. In a moment of weakness, Charlotte closed her eyes, and her landscape changed.
****
Charlotte hurled through a burning building, running as fast as her skirts allowed. Black hair tangled in her eyes. She didn’t recognize the hallway, but somehow she knew where she was going.
“Can’t let them catch you,” a voice said inside her mind. “Just grab the book and get out.”
It was then Charlotte realized that the body she occupied was not her own, and she was trapped inside, along for the ride. She attempted to stop her feet, but they were not under her control. With nothing left to do, she got comfortable in her vantage point to watch the events unfold.
She pushed a door open into what appeared to be a study. It was yet untouched by flames, but smoke poured into the small space. Charlotte felt the heart of the body she shared hammering with fear. “Just leave,” Charlotte wanted to tell this woman. “Get out. Nothing is worth this.” She felt a strong kinship with the woman who had such determination, and couldn’t help but fear for her life, even though she knew it wasn’t real.
A thin finger scanned the spines on a stack of books, searching for the right one through the haze. Through the stranger’s eyes, Charlotte’s gaze fell onto a familiar cover. To Charlotte’s great surprise, she was able to read the title—The Magick of Herbs. “Oh no,” she thought. “This is Josephine. I’m inside of Josephine.” Her host’s deft finger continued past the book that would one day end up in Desmund’s possessions.
Charlotte was experiencing the fire that destroyed Fawkes’ home and marriage, at the exact moment in time that his life changed. The crackling of burning wood grew louder as Josephine tarried in the study, acrid smoke burning her eyes as she searched for the book that she hoped would save her life, and her husband’s.
In triumph, the woman held up a small, black book she found hidden in the back of a shelf— To Punish and Curse. Charlotte felt Josephine’s pang of regret at what she was about to do, but it turned into resolve when she heard a taunting voice.
“Come out, come out,” a man’s voice sang, as he ambled comfortably through the fire. No other voice could set Charlotte on edge quite like that one, and she knew instantly it was Belaq. Josephine also knew the duke, though Charlotte could see in Josephine’s memories that she didn’t know his name yet. She knew him only as a traveler who had sought her out a few days prior, to
help heal a small injury he had received during a hunt.
Josephine had been wary of him, mostly due to the fact that her husband was away from the household. The moment she had touched Belaq’s blood, she had seen his true self. She had a shocking vision of his violent past and sent him away. However, Josephine’s abilities piqued the interest of the duke, which Charlotte knew from firsthand experience was a dangerous thing to do. Drawn by Josephine’s talent, an infatuated duke returned for her, and this time he had been prepared.
Though Fawkes had given hints about Josephine’s abilities—her second sight, her healing skills—from Charlotte’s point of view inside the seer’s mind, Josephine had only told Fawkes about a fraction of her talents. She kept much of herself hidden from her husband, helping people when she was able but careful not to go far enough to scare anyone. People were afraid when women had too much power.
But now, by pulling out her book of curses, Charlotte could see that Josephine meant business. Belaq appeared in the doorway, staring at her with bloodlust in his eyes. Knocking the book of curses out of her hand, he landed a blow across the seer’s face. Reeling back, Josephine tried to land a few feeble blows of her own.
Inside, Charlotte screamed at Josephine, trying desperately to take control of the body, to move weak arms and legs into the fighting patterns that Fawkes had drilled into her over difficult months. But Josephine knew none of those defenses, and without her magicks, she was powerless against Belaq’s bigger and stronger frame.
The duke laughed at her struggle, brushing her hands away as though she were a buzzing gnat. Grabbing onto Josephine’s long hair, he yanked her to him. Charlotte could feel Josephine’s disgust and horror and understood it all too well.
“You’ll make a fine present for the king.” He spat into her face. “I think you’re just what he’s been looking for. An actual seer.” Josephine bucked against his hold, but Belaq never loosened his grip. “And I get to be the one to deliver you.” Satisfaction showed on Belaq’s face, and Charlotte knew him well enough to know that he was trying to estimate how much favor he would earn with the crown for making such a crucial discovery that would aid the underground war against the rebels.
“But do you want to know the best part?” he whispered into her ear, breathless with thoughts of what was to come. “I can have all the fun I want with you on the way to the castle. No one is going to be searching for you.”
Fawkes’ name was on Josephine’s lips, to cry out that her husband would save her, but she couldn’t risk putting him in danger. Belaq had to believe that she was alone, otherwise he would kill Fawkes or make him suffer as a way to control her.
So she swallowed her scream, and allowed Belaq to drag her from the burning house. Everything started to fade to black when Josephine’s inner voice spoke directly to her. “Charlotte,” she said, scaring the observer half to death. “The next attack is coming. You have to stop it.”
Where? How? Charlotte tried to ask, but she was pulled from Josephine’s body and lifted up, watching from above as the nobleman pulled the brave woman into the forest. Charlotte was carried away with the smoke.
****
Charlotte jolted awake, looking frantically around their camp for any signs of an intruder. She found none but pulled herself out from under the blankets anyway. The frozen ground around her was undisturbed, and Ghost was quiet. However, she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched.
Maybe it was Josephine watching her, urging her to complete the mission assigned by a dead woman. Charlotte realized that she had only been asleep for a few minutes, although it seemed like hours. She was more awake and alert than she had been in days. Her mind was refreshed enough to try and untangle the mess of clues the seer had given her.
The dream had been a message, she was sure of it. Josephine had entrusted Charlotte with her most terrifying memory for a reason. Fawkes had been given a glimpse of an alternate future, while Charlotte had been given a vision of the past. How did it all come together to shape the future in this world? Was the fire the key? Did the clues point back to the ruins of Fawkes’ home? Was Josephine trying to show her something within the books? Questions spun in Charlotte’s mind as she tried to find the connection between her own experiences and Josephine’s life. The deceased woman had felt a kinship with Charlotte for a reason.
Nothing looked familiar in the dream, except for the book and the duke’s leering face. Josephine suffered through what Charlotte narrowly escaped. Belaq was the link between the two women. Whatever attack Josephine has been trying to warn us about, Belaq is somehow going to be involved.
A rush of certainty filled her as that thought fell into place. She needed to go back home. Going back was the only way forward for her and Fawkes. The moral gray in which Fawkes lived his life was no longer a viable option. He had been pulled from the shadows when the cloak had been cut from his body, and now he needed to step into the light. Charlotte would be by his side and help him navigate his path in the sun.
She never expected to return home. The thought of going back to the place where her mother died and her brother had been imprisoned forced a cold sweat to surface. She would, however, enter the village as a much stronger version of herself than the scared girl who ran away.
Charlotte was tempted to wake Fawkes to share the key points of her dream with him, in just enough detail to tell him she had figured out their next mission and not enough to traumatize him. Before she could wake him, Ghost let out a quiet nicker.
Charlotte’s body immediately stilled, ears straining for any clues in the muffled, white wilderness. If Fawkes had been in top form, he would have been up and at Charlotte’s side without hesitation. But pain and recovery still dulled his senses, entrusting Charlotte to take care of their security, so she was on her own to deal with a possible intruder.
We should have left today, she thought, wishing she had listened to the instinctive need to hide them farther from the castle instead of using Fawkes as an excuse to stay put one more day. The clean up after the attack was probably under control by now in Numencaster. No doubt King Otan had ordered his soldiers to comb the area once it was clear that a second attack was no longer imminent.
Ghost had detected either a soldier or a rebel near their camp. A few weeks ago, Charlotte would have hoped it was a rebel, but now she was equally apprehensive about facing either. Watching the rebels blow up women and children did not instill her with faith that they were sane and stable.
Maybe it’s Henry out there, she thought wildly, before she could squash the unwelcome reminder of her brother back down. Even if it was Henry, she had no idea what she would say to him. Not after the attack that he helped to carry out. Had he known what was going to happen? The boy she knew would have been viscerally against that method of warfare. But the man he was becoming, the same Henry who willfully participated in torture, might have rationalized it as an act for the greater good.
After a few breathless moments, Charlotte was almost relieved when the man who stepped into the firelight was not her brother. Charlotte would have to save the sibling’s confrontation for another time, and instead deal with the wide-eyed soldier in front of her.
He appeared to be alone, and very frightened, if the shaking sword he held in front of him was any indication. “H-halt. In the name of King Otan!”
Fawkes might have been at less than full strength, but there was no way he would sleep through a surprise visitor. Sure enough, out of the corner of Charlotte’s eye, she watched him sit up and assess the situation in seconds. He stayed in his bedroll and watched her.
A quick scan with her senses determined that this boy was currently alone, sent out to scout and report back his findings. The soldier seemed determined, though, to prove his pluck and directly confront the suspicious travelers. He wasn’t much of a threat, as Fawkes had obviously deduced, but Charlotte needed to ensure that the boy didn’t bring the rest of the army down onto their heads.
Charlott
e cautiously circled the fire, until she stood protectively in front of Fawkes. The soldier crept closer, sword ready to attack. “You-You’re just a woman,” he said, shocked.
She could almost hear Fawkes smirk behind her. “I’m sorry to do this to you,” she told the boy, and nimbly leaped onto him, knocking the sword to the ground before he could reel his arm back to swing it. Aiming her fist at his nose, she popped him quickly, blinding him with tears and blood. Automatically, the boy’s hand flew to his nose, and Charlotte swept his feet out from underneath him. He landed flat on his back, and Charlotte heard his breath exhale with a whoosh. She was on top of him in a flash, yanking her knife from its hiding place in her boot.
Lining up the blade to his throat, she hesitated at the smoothness of his skin. Not a hint of stubble graced his ruddy cheeks, and she realized just how young he really was. Images of Henry as a boy, the bumbling little brother following her around, flashed in front of her.
She sighed, then using her fist wrapped around the hilt, clocked him across the top of his head instead.
“Well done,” Fawkes said.
Breathing hard, mostly due to adrenaline rather than actual exertion, Charlotte crawled off the boy. She looked at her mentor with more than a little bit of pride. He had taught her to disarm a man and render him unconscious in mere seconds.
“Instinct took over,” she said, making her way to Fawkes. “How are you feeling?”
“Well enough to travel, I would wager,” he said. “We are lucky it was just the boy who found our camp. We need to move—more people are nearby.”
Charlotte nodded her head in agreement. “I know where we have to go.”
Fawkes arched an eyebrow. “Where is that?”
“Home. To Duke Belaq’s lands. I’ll explain on the way.”
“What are you going to do about that one?” Fawkes gestured to the boy. “He will tell his superiors that he saw us. You know what we have to do.”