‘Where the fuck were you?’ Zoe asked. ‘The instant it started to go to shit, you were nowhere to be found.’
‘I saw her,’ Amanda explained. ‘In all that… psychic backwash or whatever you call it that was coming off him. I saw where she was. But Khurana felt it, that’s why she fought back. I figured I could hang around and help or I could get out here and end it.’
‘And?’
‘She was gone by the time I got there. I had to try.’
‘Why didn’t you wait for us?’
‘Those are the orders. If getting it done gets me a quieter life, then that’s what I’m going to do.’
‘You’re going to have to explain that to Mallory because he’s pissed. I had to carry him all the way back myself.’
‘He’s hurt?’
‘Oh, you’ll fucking see. Jesus, that woman looks like butter wouldn’t melt in person, but she’s more of a stone-cold bitch than we gave her credit for. Going to be weeks before I get the smell out of my nostrils.’
‘Drummond’s in hysterics,’ said Andre, coming over. ‘Talking about lockdown.’
‘Harry will handle it,’ Zoe replied.
‘He could fuck the whole thing up. I did not agree to all this for it to be spoiled by a panicky screw.’
‘Just let Harry deal with it,’ Zoe insisted.
Whatever Harry had said to Drummond seemed to have placated him, the deputy backing off and rubbing at his face. From his expression, the man still seemed far from happy.
‘Everything OK?’ Zoe asked.
‘He’ll be fine until Fitz gets back.’ Harry, like his rival, was looking more exhausted than ever. Despite the hard wind, his skin was sallow, and Amanda could still see the dirt under his fingernails.
There was more blood too. Now she was looking for it, she could see the rusted flakes around his nostrils, flecking the snow of his moustache. ‘We’re moving it all forward. That fucking stunt last night pushed Fitz over the edge. What did I say, eh?’ he scowled at Amanda. ‘What did I tell you would happen if you got in my way?’
‘She was trying to help, Harry,’ said Zoe. ‘She thought she’d figured out where Khurana was hiding and went to track her down.’
‘Then why didn’t she fetch any of us?’
‘Way you’ve been treating me, did you really expect me to?’ said Amanda.
‘You’ve done nothing but what I expected. You thought you’d catch her all by yourself and drop her like a dead fucking sparrow at your master’s feet. Looking for a fucking pat on the head. What’d he promise you? My seat at the table?’
‘I just want to be left alone. I keep saying it but no one seems to hear me. I don’t want anything from either of you.’
‘Bollocks. You were the one pushing for the divination. And don’t think I don’t know it was you went blabbing to Fitz.’
‘If you’d searched her cell earlier, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Doesn’t sound like your seat at the table’s going to be worth much. He’s talking about shutting this whole island down.’
And he’d be welcome to it. She would be gone, Karina would be gone. There’d be no reason for Michaela to be hurt. She’d have done what the blackmailer had asked. She just wanted to be sure.
But the words were only now starting to sink in. The whole island shut down. All the residents executed. If she’d been looking for an end, she’d found it. Why did she want to fight it? Because she wouldn’t be doing right by the girls, Michaela or Steph. And now, more than anything, that’s what she wanted.
Harry smiled.
‘Amanda—’ Zoe started, but Harry cut her off.
‘Get her back to the place,’ he said. ‘Make sure she stays there.’
‘But if Mallory—’
‘If Mallory thinks anything about seeing her, then you let him say his piece. Not like she doesn’t deserve to hear it.’
‘What, you want me to just babysit her?’ Zoe snapped at Harry’s back as he began to walk away, heading off the road and up towards the clifftop. ‘I can help. I can—’
Zoe’s protests stopped as Harry turned around and stormed towards her. He loomed over her, visibly controlling his temper. Amanda knew the look, Harry spending every inch of his patience when he wasn’t getting his way. ‘I need everyone to do as they’re told right now. I’ve got no fucking time for hurt feelings.’
‘All right. Fine. I’ll take her back.’
‘Believe me. Watching that bitch is a full-time job. Fucked things too many times already. Come sundown it’ll all end in the same place anyway. All comes out in the wash. Andre, get Bohdan, tell him the timetable’s come forward and I need all hands on deck.’
* * *
‘Why does it seem like we’re the only two who give a shit?’ asked Amanda as they headed back. Her cuffs had been removed. ‘Harry’s acting like he doesn’t care if the island shuts down or not. But I saw it. You should have seen Fitz’s face. He wasn’t playing around.’
‘Harry seems to think so,’ said Zoe. ‘You’ve got to understand, this isn’t the first time the warden’s threatened to pull the plug on us. Harry just calls his bluff.’ She sniffed. ‘Don’t know about this time, though. It feels different.’
‘So that’s it? They’re not worried because Harry’s acting like he has a plan?’
‘You forget that about him? That’s how he always is, when really you know he’s winging it. I’m trying to believe though. Not like we have much choice. He’s the one in charge. Don’t have to like it. Hard to think why you turned down working for him.’
‘Oh, I didn’t just do that. A man like Harry, telling him no won’t cut it. You have to be clear as you can possibly be.’
‘By sending him to prison.’
‘By sending him to prison.’
‘Go on,’ said Zoe. ‘I need to hear it. What happened?’
‘It was years ago. I was making a name for myself, still young and cocky. Harry hears about me and the jobs I’ve been pulling. Decides he wants me on his team. He comes and asks me, but it’s not really a question. You know what he’s like. No one refuses him. He likes to think it’s his world and we all live in it. He just wanted to own me, show his mates I was under his thumb. You should have seen him back then, his cars, his suits. This was after he quit pretending to be a cop and had become an out-and-out gangster. He was making a thing about having money to rub it in everyone’s faces. And that’s what I was going to be, just another fast car in his garage.’
‘So you said no.’
‘Exactly. He used to work for my father and I don’t work for anyone who had anything to do with him. And I refused again the next time he asked, and the time after that. Until he goes and he asks my mother in her nursing home.’
‘Shit.’
‘Yeah. I realise he’s not going to stop until he gets what he wants and his ways of asking are just going to get worse and worse. Doesn’t matter how many times I say it, he’s not going to accept anything until he gets his way. I could have met with him, been firmer and firmer, but it wouldn’t have made a difference, so I thought I’d skip that bit and go straight for the end, where I got rid of him.’
‘So you just attacked him?’
‘He’d have pushed me to it eventually. So I just hit first and took him down in a single night.’
‘You shopped him to the police,’ Zoe couldn’t keep the note of distaste from her voice.
‘I just let everyone know what I’d done and it found its way to them. You know what he used to make? Fetishes. You collect someone’s blood, sweat and tears, in some way that’s voluntary, put them in a wicker doll or whatever, something person-shaped, and do the right rituals. Then, once it’s made, you can get that person to do whatever you want. Thanks to his old job and a few establishments he owned, he had a whole bunch of fetishes bound to powerful people. Had them all in his pocket. Literally. Well, not literally. He kept them in his house, in a vault. Meant he could get away with whatever he wanted. They spoke up, didn
’t do what he wanted, he could torture them from the comfort of his living room. It was only in the vault that the connection was muted. Me and a friend, we broke into that vault and we burned them, we took his books and we burned down every business of his we knew he had. Once the powers realised his hold on them was gone you can guess how quickly they all turned on him. Sometimes, you want to fuck with someone, you just need to know where to pull to bring it all down. One night was all it took.’
‘We?’
Amanda felt the squeeze on her heart when she thought about Caleb. The man had been on top form that night. ‘Me and a friend. Church was lucky. Heard his lawyers saved him and a few of his lieutenants from the gallows.’
‘Fuck me.’ Zoe blew out through her cheeks. ‘No wonder he hates you.’
‘All I wanted was to be left alone. If I’d known it was going to end up like this… I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to kill me again.’
Zoe nodded. ‘I didn’t even have the option of saying no to him. It was this or the gallows. It was different back then. It was Fitz who approached me. The evening before I was meant to hang, he just showed up in my cell. What was I going to say? Being here isn’t so bad.’
They were skirting the village now. Like the first day, it was thronged with guards. Fresh patrols were headed out to search for Karina, none of them knowing they were outsmarted and outgunned by a prodigy.
They passed by the large, wooden building, which Zoe explained was the town hall, a community place for the guards. Some of the prisoners were congregated there when they were given work details on the surface.
‘They might not be seeing it for a while,’ she shrugged.
By its entrance, Amanda could just make out Drummond co-ordinating the search, tablet screen in hand.
None of the guards paid the women any mind, marching by with singular purpose. But their indifference didn’t stop Amanda’s stomach from tying itself in knots. Any pretence that they were meant to be locked up with the other prisoners was forgotten while the warden was off the island. For now, this was Harry and Drummond’s island, and their sway over the guards held firm.
Looking back, she could see Harry staring out into the storm off the coast, a lone figure atop the cliff overlooking the dock.
‘That doesn’t mean you can’t want things to be better,’ said Amanda. ‘It’s a strange line, where gratitude ends. Not like they did it out of the goodness of their hearts, is it? I know Harry. Some things might have changed, but some things won’t have, and if I know that man, he’ll keep twisting the knife until you’re all bled out.’
They walked without speaking for a while. Nothing but the growl of distant thunder. Wind whipped at the grasses towards their private entrance.
As they approached, they could hear another alarm going off, a piercing bleat that was carried away in the growing gale.
‘Prisoners are getting restless,’ said Zoe. ‘Can’t say I blame them.’
‘You think they’ve heard?’
‘They’ll know something’s going on. You know how it is: routine gets broken, they know something’s up.’ Zoe shivered. ‘Come on. It’s best that we get you back to the rooms and you stay there. Because no one is going to be watching you.’
Their eyes met as she said this, an understanding passing between them.
Zoe didn’t know what Amanda was up to, but she knew she was up to something. And whatever it was, now was the time to do it.
‘They need me out there,’ Zoe went on. ‘Can I leave you here? You know the way? You’re not going to be any more trouble?’
Amanda nodded. ‘It’s been a long night. Think I’m going to be happy crashing. Just make sure I have somewhere to wake up to when I do.’
She watched Zoe stride off into the forest, cutting a straight line through the trees. For a moment, Amanda considered following her, but decided against it. She had more pressing matters at hand.
The kitchen was as she’d left it, the room quiet, save for the buzz of lighting and ventilation.
She wasted no time in finding Bohdan’s room. It was much like the one that they had given her. Though, as Zoe had promised, it was filled with shit from the mainland. Women in swimsuits stared out from the posters and calendars on the walls. Litter crunched underfoot, no matter how careful Amanda tried to be. The man was a complete slob.
‘Anyone out there?’
She froze.
Mallory’s voice sounded worse than ever, sandpapered with pain.
Counting her heartbeats, she made it to two hundred before she started moving again. It did little good; the room was everything a prison cell shouldn’t be. Perhaps that was the point. Everywhere she stepped, there was something that rattled or crackled.
She could hear Mallory in the next room, the snorts and swears of a restless man. Whatever Steph had done to him, she hoped it hurt.
There was a box half poking out beneath the foot of the bed.
It was unlocked and a quick examination of the contents confirmed that it was what she was looking for. It was a toolkit, sliding containers expanding out with the lid. There were baggies of herbs and powders, paintbrushes and small boxes, pots of waxes and pastes.
There was a thin twist of wood, its tip ingrained with dirt, cold to the touch. A small jar of plastic pellets rattled as her hand passed it, the balls crawling up the glass to reach for her, like filings to a magnet. A collection of rubber stamps hummed gently.
‘Fucking hell,’ growled Mallory. ‘Zoe! You there? I need a drink. A fucking beer. I…’ his words trailed off into a growl. She could hear him pacing his room, something snatched up and dropped again.
Closing the box as quietly as she could, she stepped carefully back out into the corridor.
‘You’d better not be finished already.’ Mallory’s voice was close this time and as she made it back to the kitchen, she heard a creak of a door behind her.
She didn’t look back. In moments, she was back up the stairs and in the open air.
She ducked around the corner, her heart hammering, forcing her breathing into a steady rhythm. Scanning the trees, she counted again, going all the way up to five hundred this time, to make sure that Mallory didn’t follow her up the stairs.
Once she was sure that he hadn’t, she headed off into the forest, mentally mapping her way back to Karina.
It took longer than she’d have liked.
Guards were everywhere, patrolling in groups of four. Even if they weren’t actively looking for Steph’s warded hiding spot, it was only a matter of time before they stumbled across it now, even with Steph’s attempts to pull them in the wrong direction.
Amanda didn’t think that they would give her any trouble, they knew who she was after all, but she still didn’t want word of her wandering the woods to get back to Drummond.
She had to move slowly, darting from cover to cover, keeping the patrols in sight. All of their in-helmet communications meant that she couldn’t hear them talking, and so she had to strain her ears, listening out for the crunch of foliage beneath their boots. Luckily for her, none of them was interested in moving quietly. Stealth wasn’t high on their list of priorities.
She breathed a hard sigh of relief when she slipped between the warded trees, feeling the tingle in her scars at the touch of magic. She’d never thought that she’d feel relieved at that sensation.
She was unclear on how the ward worked, only that one moment the small hollow looked empty, but as soon as she stepped through there was Karina standing in its centre as though she’d popped right out of the earth.
‘I can’t believe you did it,’ she took the case from Amanda, turning her back to set it on the ground.
‘Don’t thank me until you know you’ve got what you need. The patrols out there are fierce. I wouldn’t hang around.’ She considered telling her what had happened with Fitzackley but decided against it. It would only give her more to worry about when she needed to be concentrating on the task at hand.
Openin
g the case, Karina began to sift through the materials. She looked paler than before, darker around the eyes.
‘You don’t look so good,’ said Amanda. ‘You slept?’
‘Not for months. They come for me sometimes. In my dreams. Try to interrogate me.’
Amanda scanned the treeline. She could just see one of the patrols moving in the distance. It looked like they were moving closer. It wouldn’t be long before they stumbled into the circle.
‘You can’t fight them off?’
‘Only by staying awake. It’s all here,’ Karina snapped the case closed and reclipped the locks.
‘Did you look at the scryball?’ asked Amanda. ‘Where is it?’
‘Steph has it. We looked. And once this is done, I’ll tell you. But not before then.’
‘Then let’s get it done. I don’t like the look of that patrol coming our way.’
‘You’re right,’ Karina looked herself. ‘No time like the present.’
Keeping low, they slipped out from the hollow’s protective field, down the slope towards the beach.
The stone was waiting for them. There was the hum of magic again, the stone working to hold back the storm, keeping the island safe.
‘How long is this going to take?’ Amanda asked, keeping her distance.
‘As long as it takes,’ Karina replied. She was circling the stone, running her hands across it, giving special attention to a rune here and there.
‘Well, just be ready to pack up and run if I say.’
‘Of course.’ She was on her knees now, squinting at the more intricate runes around the bottom where the stone met the sand. ‘Shit.’
‘What?’
‘Some of the runes I need to get to. They’re buried beneath the sand.’
‘Tell me you’re joking.’
‘No.’ Karina was already digging, cupping her hands and scooping the sand away behind her.
‘That patrol could turn up at any minute.’
‘I’ll dig fast. Are you helping?’
‘I can dig or I can look out, I can’t do both. Where’s Steph?’
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