Chapter 16
Ezra spent the night on the lounge with his eyes glued to the ceiling, his fingers occasionally touching his throat and the line of dried blood there. He should have taken the knife from her and finished the fucking job.
She was right about everything.
When Lira and Jem arrived, he joined them at the table without a word.
Jem indicated a bag his sister was carrying. ‘Pastries.’
Analise appeared in the doorway. Her cheeks were pale, but she lifted her chin and shook her hair back, marching into the kitchen and sitting next to Lira.
Crimson threads of magic curled from her shoulders.
Ezra touched his throat again, then bit his lip as more things he’d managed to bury came crawling back.
Faces and hands bound with thick rope. Blood on the cobblestones.
Smears of magic against a wall, fingers of it decorating a lamppost. The pleas, the begging as hands were swiftly bound.
His past was pushing through his barriers, and whenever he looked at Analise, her magic blooming around her, he saw her face down on a dirty street, her arms pulled behind her back as she struggled and begged.
Sometimes he couldn’t see the face of the man who held her; sometimes it was him.
He wasn’t going to let that happen. He’d do everything he could to assure it didn’t, even though she hated him.
Jem sighed. ‘You look terrible, both of you.’
‘Thanks, as always, for your keen observation,’ Ezra mumbled while Analise told Jem to get fucked.
Lira rolled her eyes, dishing out pastries. ‘You’re as blunt as an axe, big brother. This is why no woman, or man, has ever been able to put up with you for more than six months. Although, I have to give Tobias points for his tenacity—or maybe he’s stubborn, or a glutton for punishment.’
‘Tobias?’ Ezra echoed as Jem glared at his sister.
Jem ignored him, nodding at the wound on Ezra’s throat. ‘I’m going to assume she’s not happy with you.’
‘She is sitting right here,’ Analise said, poking her finger into her croissant. ‘Why didn’t you tell me what he was?’
‘It wasn’t my place,’ Jem said.
Analise muttered something under her breath.
Ezra couldn’t stand much more, he’d had enough. ‘Is this charade over? Am I allowed to go back to the Canem Club yet?’
‘The mark—’
‘If I’m lucky, maybe a demon will rip my guts out before I get there,’ Ezra mumbled.
‘We can only hope,’ Analise said.
Ezra scowled, then got up, striding across the room and ripping open the drawer near the sink.
He pulled out a large knife, running his thumb over the sharp blade.
When he turned around, knife in hand, Lira’s eyes widened.
Ezra dropped the knife in front of Analise.
The sound of it clattering against the table echoed around the small room.
She glared at him.
‘Finish the job,’ he challenged. ‘Because I truly don’t know what else to tell you, Analise. I lied. I’m sorry. I’m an arsehole.’
Her fingers toyed with the handle of the knife, and then she shoved it away, standing so suddenly she almost knocked him over.
Their eyes met. ‘You want to end your miserable existence, do it yourself.’
She stalked from the room. Lira followed, taking the remains of her croissant with her.
Ezra stared at the empty doorway for a moment before sinking into his seat. He exhaled sharply, then raised his eyebrows in Jem’s direction. ‘Tobias?’
‘Don’t look at me like that.’
‘No judgement. I didn’t realise the man you were shagging is Tobias, who wants to take my head off.’ Ezra toyed with the edge of his sleeve. ‘You didn’t tell me?’
‘I know you don’t like him. And he doesn’t want to take your head, not really,’ Jem replied, lips twitching. ‘He thinks you’re an arrogant arse, though.’
‘Thanks for clarifying,’ Ezra said. ‘Does dear Toby know that you hunt demons?’
‘Tobias,’ Jem said firmly, ‘and yes, he knows. He’s in the Order.’
‘You said it was a family affair, unless you’ve got some kinks in the closet that I really do not need to know about.’
Jem chuckled. ‘It’s not just my family in the Order, Ez. There are at least ten others involved.’
‘You kept it from me. You’re the closest thing I’ve got to family, Jem, and you hid things from me.’
‘So, as your almost-family I’m going to point out that you’re deflecting.’ Jem’s expression was troubled.
‘Of course I’m deflecting.’ He wouldn’t deny it, not to Jem. ‘And I think if she really wanted it, I’d be dead.’
‘You wouldn’t have stopped her, you mean.’
‘Something like that.’
Analise came marching in, snatching her croissant from the table and giving Ezra a look that was fierce enough to melt the flesh from his body. His responding anger took him by surprise. ‘Leave me alone, Analise. I’m trying to wallow in my self-pity.’
She laughed darkly, as if his anger amused her, and he wasn’t entitled to it.
But she was right. He wasn’t. ‘I’m well aware how much of a cunt I am.’
Analise’s jaw was set so tightly it would shatter if she flinched.
Jem cleared his throat. ‘We’ve come to take you both somewhere else. You’re not going to argue about it, either of you. We’ll leave in half an hour.’
Analise stormed from the room.
‘Where are you taking me this time?’ Ezra asked flatly. He wasn’t sure he cared.
‘Home.’
Maybe offering the woman who hated him a knife wasn’t Ezra’s finest moment, but he honestly didn’t know what to do, not when his heart was shattered and his insides were on fire. He could still taste her, still feel the glorious heat of her skin, and it made him want to cut out his own tongue.
He should never have touched her.
After gathering her things, Analise stalked from the safe house in a cloud of crimson magic and fury, following Lira into a carriage with the insignia of the Gendarme on the side. Ezra smiled inwardly at the irony. When Jem and Ezra were seated, the driver flicked the reins and they were off.
No one spoke. Analise spent the trip silently tearing Ezra to pieces.
They stopped on a bustling street, and Ezra peered out the window. They were outside the Canem Club. He was suddenly overwhelmed by the sight of the place. It was grimy and dark and smelled of spilt drinks and sweat, but it was home.
He turned to Jem. ‘Are you letting me get my things?’
‘If he’s getting his things, I want to go back to my lodgings,’ Analise snapped.
Jem sighed. ‘If you want your belongings, Analise, I’ll organise for you to have them.’
Lira climbed out of the carriage. Analise gave Ezra and Jem one last scathing look and followed her.
Jem got out and when Ezra didn’t follow, he turned back, frowning. ‘If you’re worried—’
Ezra shook his head. ‘She doesn’t know what she’s doing with it.’
Jem nodded.
‘Her magic is more than one colour,’ Ezra told him quietly.
His frown deepened. ‘What does that mean?’
‘I have no idea.’
Analise and Lira were waiting by the doors. ‘What are we doing here?’ Analise demanded. She snarled at a man who looked at her for a second too long, her expression deadly.
Jem’s face was tight. ‘I’ll explain once we’re inside.’
The Club was locked and Ezra’s eyebrows rose when Jem produced a key from his pocket. ‘Didn’t realise you and Maddog were on such friendly terms,’ he commented.
‘What you don’t realise would fill the river,’ Analise mumbled. Jem shot her a look, caught somewhere between pity and exasperation. She sneered and sauntered inside.
The front bar was dim, dusty light sneaking in through the windows.
A harassed Jem led them past the bar and towards the basement.
Ezra thought longingly of his bed upstairs as he wondered where Maddog was, if he still had a job, and how the fuck a member of the Gendarme had a key to the front door of a gangster’s club.
Analise was instructed to leave her bag behind before they followed Jem single file down the narrow steps to the basement.
They passed the boxing platform. Without the crowds, the basement was an empty, soundless place of shadows and old sweat.
For a moment, Ezra saw a woman without a face staring at him.
Jem headed towards the far corner of the room, where he unlocked another door.
‘How long has that been there?’ Ezra demanded.
‘Defeats the purpose of the secret if everyone knows about it,’ Jem said.
Lira laughed. ‘You weren’t meant to know, Ezra. Nobody but the Order of the Dawn knows.’
The Order of the Dawn … in the Canem Club?
What the fuck was going on?
Beyond the door, another set of stairs dropped into the darkness.
This time, Jem took down a lamp from the wall.
They descended at least twenty steps; Ezra didn’t want to think about how much earth and building was on top of them.
He’d never done well in small spaces, and there was a claustrophobic atmosphere about the passageway, with its close walls and ceiling not far from his head.
He pulled a breath smelling of musty air and damp earth in through his nose.
‘Sorry, Ez,’ Jem mumbled.
‘It’s fine,’ Ezra said. His voice was tight, higher than usual.
‘You’re claustrophobic?’ Analise asked. She was behind him somewhere. He could sense her smiling about it.
The passageway lightened as they rounded a corner; Ezra took another deep breath, almost choking on it as a door opened to reveal Maddog Pierce.
The gangster said nothing, stepping to the side so they could enter the room.
The walls were whitewashed stone, and there was a long, wooden table, some chairs, a lounge and armchairs nestled against one wall.
Analise eyed Maddog dubiously, then tossed her head and followed Lira, pushing past Ezra.
He lingered in the hallway, trying to piece it all together.