CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
MARQUIS LOWERS KATHERINE TO THE floor, his eyes wide. I peer at her grey face. She’s dead.
‘Poisoned?’ Sophie whispers. Slowly, she turns to look at Gideon.
‘I didn’t do anything, I swear!’ Gideon shouts.
Marquis grabs him by the collar of his shirt.
‘Stop!’ Serena cries. ‘It wasn’t him.’
‘Then who was it?’ Atlas bellows.
I stare at Serena, my heart thumping against my ribcage.
‘It was Katherine’s poison,’ Serena says. ‘I saw her come out of the sanatorium with a bottle of something. She said it was to help her sleep, but later I heard her and Ralph talking about essence of hemlock …’
‘You think she took too much—’ I start to say.
‘No, Viv.’ Serena looks at me through her fingers. ‘Even a drop of hemlock is deadly. I think … I think the gingerbread she ate was meant for you.’
I let the rest of the biscuit in my hand drop to the floor.
‘Why didn’t you say something?’ Atlas says.
Serena shakes her head. ‘I didn’t think she would actually use it—’
She freezes and I follow her gaze. Gideon has one hand on the door handle and the other on a gun. And he’s pointing it at me.
‘Put it down, Gideon,’ Atlas says.
I stare at Gideon, at his twisted, angry face and his shaking hands. It’s a small revolver, the kind some Guardians carry in their belts. I don’t dare move, don’t dare make him more panicked than he already seems.
‘You can get out of here tonight, mate,’ Marquis says slowly. ‘No one else needs to die—’
‘Sophie’s right,’ Gideon says in a high voice. He nods towards me. ‘We can’t trust her. For all we know, she’s already cracked the code and given it to Wyvernmire.’
‘I haven’t,’ I say quickly. ‘Gideon, echolocation is made up of dialects, which is why—’
BANG.
Gideon’s bullet skitters off the side of the mantelpiece and shoots through the wall, missing me by a mile. Atlas charges at him, but Gideon raises the gun again.
‘Atlas, no!’ I scream.
Atlas stops as Owen bursts into the room, his own gun raised. Gideon turns round, fumbles with the gun, then fires. The second bullet hits Owen in the chest and he falls backwards, a stunned look on his face.
‘Owen!’ I gasp, falling down beside him as Gideon flees the room.
‘Get up,’ Marquis says, pulling me by the arm. ‘He’s dead.’
I stare at the blood spilling from Owen’s mouth.
‘We have to—’
‘I know,’ I say, cutting Marquis off. I look for Sophie, who seems to be hyperventilating. ‘Gideon will come back for us. We have to hide.’
Serena darts forward, grabs Owen’s gun and runs down the corridor without looking back. I feel a surge of horror.
‘Come on,’ Atlas says, pulling me out into the hallway. ‘Before more Guardians turn up.’
We run up the stairs to the top floor and I scan the hallway, searching for a room.
‘The library!’
The five of us flood through the door as Guardian shouts sound below, and I turn the key in the lock. Karim leans against a bookcase, gasping for breath, and Sophie swears. We all stand in the dark, listening to the sound of each other’s breathing. Sophie rummages around by one of the tables, then strikes a match and lifts it to a lamp. Light fills the room as I urge myself to tell them what I know. Atlas has his ear pressed up against the door, listening.
I take a deep breath. ‘The Bulgarian dragons will invade Britannia in less than three days’ time.’
His eyes lock on to mine and he steps away from the door.
‘Say that again?’ Marquis says.
I tell them about Wyvernmire’s alliance with Bulgaria. That she plans to betray Queen Ignacia. That the Bulgarian dragons will land at Bletchley if I don’t give her a way to understand echolocation. Atlas sinks into a chair and Sophie turns towards me.
‘Was Gideon right?’ she says. ‘Have you cracked the code?’
I look from her to Marquis, then close my eyes.
‘Oh my God,’ she whispers. ‘You have.’
‘It’s not as simple as that—’ I begin.
‘Did you give it to her?’ Atlas says sharply. ‘To Wyvernmire?’
I frown. ‘No. Soph, the dragon code isn’t a weapon. It’s a language called the Koinamens, sacred to dragons because they use it to heal and hatch their eggs.’
I glance at Atlas and see understanding dawn in his eyes.
‘And that’s not all,’ I say. ‘I discovered the Koinamens contains dialects and that each dragon family has their own. Muirgen and Rhydderch speak one, and Soresten and Addax speak another. That’s what I tried to tell Gideon earlier—’
‘How long have you known?’ Sophie says bitterly.
‘A while,’ I say. ‘But I wanted to be sure.’
‘So the other day, when you were in Wyvernmire’s office—’
‘I told her I needed more time,’ I say. ‘After she revealed her alliance with the Bulgarians, I couldn’t bring myself to give it to her. Not now I know what she’s capable of. But if I don’t give her a dialect she’ll confirm the alliance and put the whole of Britannia in danger of another massacre like the one that happened in Bulgaria.’
Guardians run past the library and we fall silent. I hear Gideon’s name mentioned.
‘They’ll be looking for us soon,’ Marquis says quietly. ‘Wyvernmire will want to talk to me about the plane, and I bet she’ll pull the rest of the aviators from the programme at the same time. Serena obviously thinks she has a better chance at hiding alone.’
I look at Karim. ‘You’re not safe here. We’ll have to get you out to—’
‘You and Sophie can’t go anywhere,’ Atlas tells me. ‘Not with Gideon on the loose.’ He looks at me intently. ‘Who is this person you say will help us?’
‘Marquis, do you have the plans for your plane?’ I say, ignoring the question.
A pulse flicks in Atlas’s jaw.
Marquis pulls his sketchbook out of his pocket.
‘If Wyvernmire finds you, use them to stall her. Lie – tell her you have more ideas. Anything that might buy Karim some time.’
‘If they find us in here, they’ll not let us out of their sights,’ Karim says. ‘Especially not you, Viv.’
‘He’s right,’ Atlas says. ‘Wyvernmire will want to guard you, to keep you safe from any other potential killers. And you should let her.’
‘But what about—’
‘Marquis and I will get Karim out.’
‘Not tonight you won’t,’ Sophie says. ‘Do it tomorrow, after your shift. He can stay hidden until then.’
‘You go with him,’ I tell her. I glance at Atlas. ‘And you. This is your chance to escape.’
‘You still don’t get it, do you, Viv?’ Sophie says. ‘Even if I escape here, I’ll never be able to go home. I’ll never get a class pass again – the system will flag me up as a wanted criminal.’
‘Or,’ I say, avoiding Atlas’s gaze, ‘we could give Wyvernmire the code together. We tell her we worked on it as a team, that we couldn’t have done it without each other. And we stop this insane alliance.’
Hope flickers in Sophie’s face. ‘You would do that?’ she says.
‘Of course I would. I’m not leaving here without you, without any of you—’
Atlas explodes. ‘None of this is going to matter!’
I whip round to face him.
‘If you give Wyvernmire the code, it won’t matter who does and doesn’t escape. If she wins the war, then everything will go back to the way it was before.’ He gives me an anguished look. ‘Of course, that will be all right for some of you, but what about the rest of us?’
‘Viv has just told you that eggs need echolocation to hatch,’ Sophie says. ‘If you tell Wyvernmire, you’ll win your category, too—’
Atlas lets out a low, almost manic laugh.
‘You people are unbelievable. Always looking out for your own arses.’
‘You have no idea what I’ve been through,’ Sophie spits.
‘Yes, I do!’ Atlas shouts. ‘That’s the whole bloody point. You were demoted, Sophie, which means you’ve seen how the Third Class live. And if Wyvernmire wins the war, those people will keep on suffering in silence. Wyvernmire and Queen Ignacia will continue writing self-serving clauses into the Peace Agreement, and we will be responsible for having given the government the perfect methods to exploit and control dragons.’ His voice is hoarse from shouting. ‘And yet all you lot can think about is who’s going to be the one to doom us all.’
‘What do you suggest, Atlas?’ I say angrily. ‘That we let her execute us instead? Because that’s what will happen to Karim, and possibly to me, if we don’t do what she says.’
Atlas frowns and shakes his head as if he doesn’t believe me.
‘My parents are rebels,’ I continue, my voice shaking. ‘I released a criminal dragon to try and get rid of the evidence, and somehow the Coalition took that as a sign to start a war. So if we don’t win … then we die.’
‘The Coalition can hide you,’ he says urgently. ‘If you choose to side with them, they’ll keep you safe. They’re coming. They’re going to attack Bletchley as soon as Wyvernmire returns from her trip.’
I gape at him. ‘How did you get that information?’
Except I already know. Deep down, I’ve always known.
‘Because I’m part of it,’ he says softly. ‘I’m a rebel.’
I blink. First Dr Seymour and now him.
‘So you’ve been spying on us?’ I say, my voice shaking. ‘All this time you’ve been pretending to be with us when actually you’re an informant?’
‘Who’s us exactly? You and Wyvernmire? You and the Bulgarians? You need to just bloody decide. Are you with them?’ Atlas spits. ‘Or are you with me?’
I shake my head in disbelief. How dare he? He’s been lying to me this whole time, pretending to be someone he’s not.
Not really , a quiet voice in my head says. You saw he was a rule-breaker from the start. Maybe he’s been honest all along.
I look round at the others, all of them staring at Atlas in silent shock. Then Marquis gives me a pleading look. I shake my head at him. We can’t , I try to tell him with my eyes. If we join the rebels, our family will die. I know I’m right. The government has our parents and Ursa. There’s no way the rebels could ever protect them, no matter how many dragons they have.
Sophie puts a shaky hand on my arm. ‘If you say the Bulgarians are coming, and Atlas is right that the rebels are going to attack, then there’s about to be a fight here.’
I nod.
‘So … how do we get out of Bletchley?’ Karim asks.
I put a hand on the ladder that leads up to the floor above, suddenly desperate to be away from them all.
‘Dragonback,’ I say as I climb.
*
I lie down to sleep between two bookcases, stuffing my jacket behind my head. I can hear the others sorting out sleeping arrangements as I stare up at the ceiling, and then the lamp goes out. Moments later, the ladder creaks.
‘Mind if I camp up here?’ Atlas says, standing at the opposite end of the row of bookcases.
‘As long as you don’t mind sleeping with the enemy,’ I reply.
Atlas throws his own jacket down on the floor and then I hear the rustling of pages.
‘What are you doing?’ I say in a low voice.
‘Reading.’
‘It’s pitch-black, Atlas.’
I hear him close the book and we lie quietly, listening to the sound of everyone breathing.
‘Featherswallow?’ Atlas whispers.
‘What?’
‘I’m sorry for not telling you I’m with the Coalition.’
I don’t say anything until I hear him sigh.
‘Forget about it,’ I say. ‘Now I think about it, it was pretty obvious.’
How didn’t I suspect him straight away?
‘So how did you get here?’ I say quietly. ‘Did you commit a crime on purpose to get yourself sent to the DDAD?’
‘No,’ Atlas replies. ‘Father David and I were smuggling wanted rebels to hideaways in the countryside. Some Guardians found one of them hidden in our church, and I was arrested.’
‘What about Father David?’
‘The Guardians killed him.’
Horror prickles at my scalp.
Atlas clears his throat. ‘I managed to send a message to the Coalition before I was arrested, and the next thing I knew Dr Seymour was in my prison cell, recruiting me for a government programme.’
‘Did you know who she was?’ I ask.
‘No. But she told me, discreetly, during the interview. To have two rebels inside Bletchley was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so the Coalition jumped at the chance.
So Dr Seymour and Atlas have been working together all this time.
‘What about you?’ Atlas whispers. ‘Did you really release … a criminal dragon?’
‘To save my parents, yes.’
‘Did you know that they were with the Coalition?’
I shake my head, then realise he can’t see me in the dark. ‘No. They were undercover, I suppose. Like you.’
‘And now … don’t you want to help them?’
‘I am helping them,’ I say. ‘If I give Wyvernmire the code, she’ll pardon them.’
‘And you believe that?’
I don’t reply. A few days ago, I would have said yes. But since our meeting in her office I’m not so sure.
‘I’m tired of making decisions, Atlas,’ I whisper. ‘Tired of making the wrong ones.’
Tears fill my eyes and I blink them away. I know what Atlas wants me to say. That I’ll follow in my parents’ footsteps and become a rebel, that I’ll never give Wyvernmire the code. My throat aches with the sudden tears.
‘I’ve hurt people I love before,’ I say slowly. ‘I never want to do that again.’
‘What do you mean?’ Atlas says, his voice softening. ‘What did you do?’
My face burns and I’m glad he can’t see it. The floor creaks as he moves closer to me, shuffling into the space between me and the bookcases.
‘I’m a seminarian, Featherswallow,’ he says. ‘One day it will be my job to hear people’s confessions.’
I hear the smirk in his voice and turn to face him.
‘There’s nothing you can say that will shock me,’ he says in my ear.
So I tell him. I whisper the truth, so nobody but him can hear. I can’t believe the words are coming out of my mouth, the words I’ve never spoken to another soul. But they are. He listens silently as the shame floods through me.
‘Do you see why I can’t abandon everything to join your Coalition?’ I say. ‘My selfishness already cost Sophie everything. But if I give Wyvernmire the code, and tell her Sophie helped me crack it, I can save my family and give Sophie her life back.’
I wait for him to say something, but he doesn’t speak. He’s too disgusted to react. I bury my face in my jacket.
‘Do you think, maybe, I was born bad?’ I say, my voice muffled.
‘No,’ Atlas says quietly. ‘I don’t think anyone is born bad. I think we’ve all got good and bad inside us, don’t you?’
I turn my face to look at him. I can see the outline of his jaw and the curl of his hair.
‘This is the way I see it,’ he says. ‘If you were all bad, if you didn’t have any goodness in you, then how would you even know what badness is? Without goodness, there’d be nothing to measure badness against. Badness wouldn’t be bad – it would just be a normal state of being. I think you have to have both good and bad inside you to know the difference, Featherswallow. To know which side you want to act on. So, if you feel guilty for what you did, that’s a sure sign there’s goodness in you.’
I turn away, but he pulls me back. ‘We live in a world that permits everything but forgives nothing. I think Sophie could forgive you, one day. You should tell her the truth.’
‘Sometimes I wake up in the night and it’s there, beside me in bed, the guilt. Like a dark void waiting to suck me in.’
Atlas takes my hand. ‘Then tell it to go away,’ he whispers fiercely. He presses his lips to my ear. ‘Banish it, like a dragon banishes the dark.’
I go still. My hand is on his wrist, and I feel the soft hair of his arm. I turn my face up to his. Then he moves towards me, slipping an arm beneath my waist, and pulls my body against his. His mouth finds mine. Something inside me explodes. My lips burn as they move, tingling with tiny flames. His mouth is the softest I’ve ever kissed, and suddenly it’s on my neck, my face, my eyes wet with tears. We move almost instinctively, our bodies melting together, and suddenly I’m on top of him, one hand intertwined in his, the other in his hair as I kiss him again and will him not to stop.
Why did this take us so long? I think as his fingers slip beneath my shirt to dance along my spine.
He pulls away, breathing hard. ‘Featherswallow, I—’
I silence him with another kiss, feeling his laugh before I hear it. He turns his head away.
‘Viv,’ he whispers into my hair. My name in his mouth is like velvet.
‘What, Atlas?’ I say almost impatiently.
‘I don’t think I want to be a priest any more.’
I go still. ‘But you’ve been religious your whole life. You believe in God, and you said He was calling you to the priesthood, so why wouldn’t you—’
‘But what if He’s calling me to something else?’ Atlas says.
My heart races, but it’s not so much from the kissing as it is the hope that he’s about to say the very words I realise I’ve been longing to hear. A car rolls up the gravel outside and a tiny sliver of headlight slips through the crack between the blackouts, just enough to give me a glimpse of Atlas’s face. His eyes are wide and shining.
‘Viv,’ he says again. ‘What if God’s calling me to you?’