Chapter Twenty-Five
CHAPTER
Twenty-Five
Thea’s thoughts shuddered to a halt. She’d been spending time with Malek, forgone taking a price for his key, had a vision of their possible shared future. If he was up to something nefarious, she needed to know at once.
She stepped out from behind the fountain. ‘Malek.’
He turned, his dimple appearing on seeing her. But his eyes flicked to the side, as if unsure how much she’d seen. ‘What did you give Pan Novak?’ she asked quietly.
His frown was tight, his smile tighter. ‘What are you talking about?’ He adjusted his wig. It had slipped on his forehead. Beneath, he was sweating, turning the powder to paste where the two met .
‘I saw you pass Pan Novak a note. You must know him, therefore you must know of his actions in the Magic Quarter, in my home. He’s been threatening all of us for weeks now.’
Malek’s laugh, too, was tight. ‘I have no idea what goes on in that head of yours. Let’s get you back to the ball . . . Perhaps you need a drink.’
But Thea knew what she’d seen. ‘Oh, Malek,’ she sighed. ‘I’m sorry for this.’
He took a step back, alarmed, but Thea had already sunk her hands into the fabric of the world, sacrificing her memory of reading Eudora and the Ship’s Captain to tweak Malek’s viridian-green thread, compelling the truth from him.
A bad feeling was tickling her mind and she needed to know the truth.
When it came to protecting her friends there was nothing she would not do.
‘Tell me what you’re hiding,’ she ordered.
A pink spot on each cheek painted Malek with fury, but he was powerless to resist. ‘I know what secrets you hide in that Quarter of yours, fate-weaver,’ he hissed.
‘My father was a Hunter, and so was his father, and his father before that. I am no landowner, I am a councillor of this city and I know all too well the dangers of your kind. Witchcraft might not be a criminal offence any longer, but that does not mean I will allow your kind to cluster in such large numbers. The kind of power you hold is a threat to us all.’
‘We want nothing to do with power. We are no threat to you.’ Thea’s thoughts shuddered with the effort of replying calmly when everything within her wanted to rage and scream.
All this time, Malek had been a toad in disguise.
The other Magic Hunter the fate-weaver had mentioned in the forest. He’d been hiding in plain sight all along.
She pulled on the thread she held. ‘Now, tell me what was in that note.’
‘I was informing Pan Novak that the last of the Hunters in our network have reached Prague tonight. My lookout sent a messenger to the ball, informing me that my suspicions were correct earlier; your little wards have fallen, exposing your Quarter and its dark secrets to the world. If I had my way, I would burn it down to the cobblestones, but Pan Novak desires to shut it down, instead. He does not have the same Hunter ancestry that I do; his motives are purely political.’
Malek’s smile chilled Thea.
‘People won’t believe you, that magic exists; they’ll think you’ve lost your mind,’ she whispered.
His smile sharpened, tasting her hope.
‘You do not have the authority!’
‘Actually,’ Malek continued, ‘now that the wards have fallen, your precious Quarter is just another neighbourhood in Prague, and answerable to all its laws and customs. I think you’ll find that you don’t have the authority to conduct any of your businesses there.
’ He leant closer. ‘And happily, the rest of the councillors are in agreement.’
Thea raised her eyebrows at him, burying her fear in the pit of her stomach. ‘You were right earlier; an entire Quarter of magic-wielding folk? We are powerful. You ought to stop before you get hurt.’
Malek’s smile turned sympathetic. ‘We represent generations of Hunters, we know every one of your weaknesses: how to hurt you, where to attack to strike fear into every one of your hearts.’
‘Then why attend a ball before raiding the Quarter? Surely you do not need other Hunters’ support if you are that assured of your own success against us? Why bother bringing me here?’ Malek’s smile slipped. She held onto his thread more tightly. ‘Tell me the truth,’ she ordered.
‘You’re a fate-weaver,’ he said seriously. ‘You and Lord Stiltskin are the biggest obstacles in my plan, the thorns in my side. I needed you out the way. After this, I was going to take you back to my house and leave you locked in there.’
Somehow, listening to his betrayal stung anew.
She could have cursed herself if she had broken the Magic Quarter to give him that key without a price .
. . She jolted. If Malek had lied about everything, it was not a stretch to imagine his sister was fictional, too.
Then what had he requested the key for? ‘Why did you need that key? Was it to sneak past our wards before they ruptured – what?’
Malek shot her an anguished look. ‘I shared intimate details of my sister’s life with you, Thea. I cannot believe you would question that.’
‘What—’
His grin was genuine this time. Just as Thea registered that her hold on his threads had slackened, he bolted across the courtyard, darting out of sight before she could quiet her anger enough to grab onto them again.
Thea shook her head angrily. She needed to get back to the Quarter, now.
But perhaps there was something she could do here first, if she could get her hands on Malek again.
An explosion rocked the courtyard.
Thea hurried for cover behind a nearby topiary tree, her heart-spell-pulse skittering like a frantic squirrel as a second volley of gunpowder exploded in the courtyard.
No, not in the courtyard, above. She looked up as the first masked guests rushed outside, murmuring in delight, not fear, faces tilted up to the lights that crackled across the sky in a blaze of greens and purples and blues.
They were chased by a sulphurous bite and the acrid tang of smoke: fireworks.
This was her chance to find and compel Malek, while Pan Novak and any other potential Hunters were distracted.
Thea’s dress let out a shrill peal of alarm. She whipped round.
A woman was standing behind her, watching Thea with keen interest. Sleek and pantherine in a vivid blue jacket and breeches, her blonde hair slicked back: could this be Heloise?
Anxiety screamed through Thea’s head. ‘Do excuse me.’ She smiled politely, making to step around the woman.
‘Do you take me for a fool?’
Thea recognised her voice as the fate-weaver she’d overheard telling someone of her plans in the forest. The same fate-weaver who’d sent the ravenous bludi?ka chasing after her. Who’d boasted of being the puppet master who’d orchestrated the entire attack against the Magic Quarter.
Thea’s smile fell, but she continued to feign ignorance. It was the only way she might get out of this trap, find Malek and compel him not to send his Hunters marching on the Quarter. ‘For me to do that, surely I would have to know who you are.’
Another volley of fireworks fizzed and spat above, shooting indigo and violet rays across the courtyard. Each explosion eroded Thea’s nerves a little more.
The fate-weaver’s green eyes sharpened with intrigue. She prowled closer, surveying Thea as if she was an exhibit in a cabinet of curiosities. ‘You truly don’t know who I am, do you?’ she murmured. ‘How . . . delicious.’
Thea shrank back from her, discomfited. She had the feeling Heloise – if Thea’s presumption was correct – was referring to something other than her name.
Something Thea had missed. Her golden gown jangled a discordant note.
‘If you’ll excuse me, I had better take my leave now.
’ Her heart-spell rattling against her ribs, panic sliding sweat down her stays, she turned and walked briskly away.
When she glanced back, the fate-weaver was still watching Thea, that almost-smile toying with her lips.
Thea pushed through the crowds in the courtyard.
Above, crimson birds flew on sparkling wings and cobalt flower buds spread their petals.
Each grand, glittering firework making the night sky their plaything.
Searching the crowd for Malek, Thea halted when she came across Jasper at the far edge, watching the dazzling performance.
She sidled up to him as emerald-green trees sparkled over the snow, making everything gleam in shades of green, as if they all stood beneath the forest’s canopy.
‘Malek’s a Magic Hunter,’ she told him quietly.
‘I just caught him passing word onto Pan Novak and compelled the truth from him. They already know the wards have fallen, and Hunters have gathered from across the continent to back them up. They’re planning on shutting down the Quarter tonight. ’
As Jasper listened, the hint of a smile that had appeared when he saw her was consumed by a growing shadow. That same darkness swallowed her heart-spell, leaving despair in its path.
‘I need to return to the Magic Quarter at once,’ she said.
‘But I was going to find Malek first and see if I could compel him to call the whole thing off, or lead the Hunters astray. . .’ She shook her head, frustration eating her voice.
‘He slipped out of my hold and fled, but before I could take chase, a strange woman appeared. I think it was Heloise. I recognised her voice from the forest. She matched your description – green eyes, light hair and skin. She’s wearing a rich blue suit – have you seen her? ’
The trees, flowers and birds dissolved from the sky.
And Jasper became a haunted man. ‘Not tonight.’ Scouring the courtyard, he lowered his voice as if she might appear at any moment. ‘Did she speak to you?’ he asked urgently.
Thea nodded. ‘It was most peculiar.’ Snow drifted onto her curled hair, her gown, chilling her for the first time that evening. Secrets were piling up everywhere she looked, but she was just half a person, missing her heart, unable to piece everything together.