Chapter 34 A Caged Bird
A CAGED BIRD
Afew more days have passed, and Lent, Fem, and I are again sitting in the flower room doing research. Lent and I just pulled ourselves back from a giggle attack after sharing a particularly funny passage about the wind.
Through the partially open door, as I get the giggles under control, I hear a house employee calling for Reem to come deal with something. It’s likely some package full of band equipment, so I focus back on the book I’m looking through.
I’m just about to get into an interesting passage when the door to our room opens fully, and I see Reem standing in the doorway. I begin to glance away, but register suddenly how pale and miserable he looks.
As I scan his expression, trying to understand what might be happening, Fem asks, “What’s wrong, Reem?”
“There are city officials out front asking for Chaosta,” Reem says. His voice is wooden, but I can hear a note of fear.
My stomach flips, and as I watch the two of them, I realize that my chest has begun to ache.
I rub at it as Fem says, “They need paperwork for us to produce her.”
“They have it,” Reem says, and the room falls completely silent.
It’s so quiet I can hear the pounding of my heart as I try to rub away the ache.
Lent walks over and crouches in front of me, laying his hand gently on my leg. “It’s probably nothing,” he says quietly as he meets my eyes. Even his face is unusually pale. “Let’s just go talk to them and we’ll sort this out.” He stands and holds his hand out to me.
I take it and let him help me up. Staying close to him as he moves through the doorway, I follow as he leads to the front door.
There is a harried-looking house employee standing there with the door open, wringing his hands as he looks at me.
My stomach flips again, and the ache in my chest increases.
Then the entry hall spins because, as I look out through the door, I see Bonum in front of two other angels. All three wear official-looking white uniforms, and Bonum has a stack of papers in their hand.
“Come here, Chaosta,” Bonum says as they see me in the doorway. Their voice is the pleasant mask they used around the boys last time, rather than the raspy sound I know belongs to them. Still, shivers travel up my spine.
I hesitate, and they watch me silently, rolling their shoulders in the unsettling way I remember.
I finally manage to force myself to move forward, the fingers on my left hand cramping as I fight not to reach for a sword that isn’t there. I continue to rub my strongly aching chest.
As I get closer, the two angels behind Bonum step forward around them, take my arms, and press my front against the stone railing of the stairs.
As they do this, Bonum, in their pleasant voice, says, “Chaosta, you are under arrest for the murder of a city official…”
They continue to speak, but my ears are ringing too loudly for me to hear anything else.
The angels bind my hands. Somehow, I manage to control my instincts and not struggle or fight back.
The cartographer in my head gives unhelpful directions about sweeping their legs out from under them.
I think we both know it’s futile. His voice is a quiet mumble in my head.
I barely register Bonum handing Reem the pile of papers and Dio’s face at the door, asking the others something. I feel him staring at me, but not the sting of his usual glare.
Then the angels direct me to a waiting carriage, load me roughly onto a seat, and sit pressing against either side of me. Bonum sits across from me, and their face is a blank mask.
My chest aches badly, and my heart pounds too fast as I’m carried toward whatever fate has hold of me now.