Chapter 18 Ransom
Ransom woke to blackness. Shadows smothered his bedroom at House Armand, clinging to him as he lay in the tousled sheets of his lover’s bed. He could still scent the lemon blossom of her skin.
He had been dreaming of Seraphine and the Strix who had stolen her away. Of death’s hand around his ankle, keeping him from following her.
Which reminded him – he was supposed to be dead.
Why wasn’t he dead?
‘Can you get your shadows under control?’ Anouk’s voice was a chime in the dark. ‘They’re giving me the chills.’
It took him longer than it should have to corral his magic. Light slowly crept in, illuminating his sister in the chair at his bedside.
Her eyes narrowed, looking him over. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Like I want to rip Lark Delano apart, bone by fucking bone.’
Relief washed over her. ‘Praise Maud. You’re back to yourself.’
He sat up, wrenching the curtains apart. Outside, the sun was setting, casting an amber hue across the Hollows. He searched the skies. Not a Strix in sight.
Anouk spoke to his back. ‘You were half dead when we found you. Lark, Nadia and Lisette were dragging you out of the clock tower. Saintkiller was buried in your side.’
Yes, he remembered that too. The knife, now clean, sat on his bedside. His chest was bare. His fingers ghosted the bandage along his ribs. Three rungs down, he traced the scarring wound.
‘I healed you. By the grace of the saints.’
Anouk’s eyes were shining, which meant he truly had visited death’s door. ‘Thank you.’ He gripped her hand. ‘I’d be dead without you.’
‘Group effort, really,’ she admitted. ‘If Theo hadn’t found Val and me when he did, we wouldn’t have been able to get you out of there in time.’
The news prickled. ‘Versini carried me?’
‘Well. Most of you. Val and I helped.’
All hell. Now he’d have to thank him.
‘You’ll have to surrender your grudge.’ There was a teasing note in her voice. ‘Bigger fish and all that.’
There was no bigger fish than a Versini with a secret. But he could admit, at least, that he owed the Shadowsmith a debt. ‘We’ll see.’
He got out of bed and nearly careened into the wall. Bracing himself against the dresser, he waited for the stars in his vision to clear.
‘You need to rest, Bastian.’
‘I’ve rested enough. I need to find Seraphine.’
‘We will find her,’ said Anouk. ‘Mercure’s spies are at work as we speak. Those Strix will have to land somewhere. They won’t be able to hide from us for much longer.’ She got to her feet, tugging him back to bed. ‘You won’t do her any good if you show up like this.’
Like he gave a damn. ‘I’ll go as a corpse if I have to.’
‘Charming.’
Anouk didn’t get it. She couldn’t feel it, that sharp tug in his chest, the thread that bound him to Seraphine telling him that she needed him. That time was running out.
There came a sharp knock at the door.
Versini, still dressed in his suit trousers and crumpled shirt. ‘Hale. You’re awake.’
Stiffening his spine, Ransom tried to look like he wasn’t about to keel over. ‘Surprised? Anouk says you got me out of the Appoline.’
He shrugged. ‘You would have done the same for me.’
Don’t count on it.
Anouk nudged him. ‘This is the part where you say thank you.’
‘Thanks,’ said Ransom, stilted.
‘Impressive,’ drawled Versini. ‘You almost sound sincere.’
There was a tense silence. While Ransom was grateful to be alive, he was not in the mood for awkward chit-chat, and something about Versini’s nearness still made his magic prickle.
He shifted on his feet. ‘I need to see Mercure.’
‘At least drink some water first,’ pleaded Anouk.
At the same time, Versini said, ‘I know where she is.’
They whipped their heads around. ‘What?’
He remained on the other side of the threshold. ‘I didn’t come up here to tend you back to health, Hale. I came because I know where Darius Mondragon took Seraphine.’
Shadows seeped from Ransom’s fingertips. ‘And you’re just telling me now?’
‘I woke up ten minutes ago. And by the looks of things, so did you. Andreas went west. He’s at Bellevue Castle. That must be where he’s keeping Sera.’
‘How do you know that?’ said Anouk.
He raked a hand through his hair. ‘I… he told me.’
‘Who told you?’ said Ransom, sure he had misheard.
‘Andreas.’
More shadows plumed.
Anouk reeled. ‘When?’
Again, he hesitated. ‘I ran into Andreas… Just after we were separated.’
Ransom took a slow, measured step. ‘And you didn’t think to kill him?’
‘I didn’t have the chance,’ he said, too quickly.
‘You had the chance to talk.’ Shadows swirled, rising from the floorboards. ‘A conversation you somehow survived.’
He gave an insolent shrug.
Another step, the space between them narrowing. ‘Why did you survive, Versini?’
Even Anouk was bewildered. ‘You never said anything.’
‘There wasn’t exactly a good time.’
‘Well, now is perfect.’ Ransom’s voice dripped with disdain. ‘What other secrets did our sworn enemy confide in you?’
‘I’m trying to help,’ he said, exasperated.
‘How long were you alone with him?’
‘Not long.’
His shadows misted into beasts, a trio of bloodhounds gathering at his feet.
Versini raised his chin, ignoring them.
Ransom sealed the last sliver of space between them. ‘Why did he let you go?’
‘Because he wasn’t after me.’
Darkness shrouded them.
‘Bastian.’ Anouk called from beyond the dark. ‘Careful.’
He was way past careful, and judging by the violent gleam in his eye, so was Versini. ‘Tell the truth for once,’ snarled Ransom. ‘Seraphine’s fate depends on it.’
‘I’ve told you what I know,’ he snarled back. ‘You’re the one who lost her. So why don’t you stop coming at me, and do something about it?’
Ransom snapped. He grabbed Versini by the collar and slammed him up against the wall. ‘I swear to Saint Calvin, I’d bleed the truth from you, drop by drop, if I could.’
‘But you can’t,’ spat Versini. ‘So piss off back to hell.’
Ransom’s smile was a savage taunt. ‘I think I’ll stick around a little while longer. Since Oriel has anointed us a Saint of Truth to weed out lying traitors like you.’
Fear lit up his face – there and gone in a heartbeat.
More hounds misted, Ransom’s shadows surrounding them in a ring of beasts.
Versini sneered. ‘You’re no better than your monsters, Hale.’
‘At least I know what I am.’
Loyal, to the marrow.
‘A dog,’ snarled Versini.
‘Says the serpent.’
The Shadowsmith jerked, shoving him off. It was a split second of contact. Cold hard hands meeting the warm skin of Ransom’s chest. His finger brushed the handprint that glimmered there and his eyes spun gold.
Ransom’s beasts evaporated. Daylight returned in a flood and he crumpled to the floor. A chasm yawned in him. There was a kind of scraping and then a violent sucking sensation, like his soul was being ripped out through his chest.
Groaning, he fisted the rug.
Dimly, he was aware of Anouk shoving into the space between them, her voice rising.
Ransom’s magic returned, like a rubber band snapping into place. The force knocked him backwards. Sprawled on the floor, he dragged a breath through his teeth. His lungs filled, and that hole inside him got smaller, bit by bit.
There was a scuffle nearby and then the sound of a door slamming.
Footsteps stopped beside his head and Anouk peered down at him. ‘What the hell was that?’
‘A saint-killer.’ Ransom spat the words. ‘Why bother with steelfire when we had Versini all along?’
She shook her head. ‘That’s not… He’s not… You’re mistaken.’
There was only one way to be sure. ‘Get Val.’