“This one will never tell,” Cyrus said. “But you’re a crafty woman. I have faith you’ll find it now that you have the right motivation. If you succeed, I’ll remove the cuff from his ankle. He still remains my servant, but he’ll live.”
“And if I fail?”
“Have you ever seen a man flayed? I can also rupture his eardrums and pour liquid fire in there so he’ll never hear again.”
“Don’t do it, Gem,” Niko insisted. “Don’t listen to him. He doesn’t keep promises.”
“Oh?” Cyrus walked in front of Niko. “I promise that Kallisto is ready to end a life. I won’t say whose life, but would you like to find out if I keep my promises?” He snapped his fingers. “Lykos, lock him up for now. Arcadius, please escort the Mage partway home. She’ll have to walk the rest of the way barefoot.”
Lykos gripped Niko by the hair and yanked him up, a sharp knife poking against his back. Niko tried to resist, but the blade threatened to pierce his spine.
“I don’t even know what I’m looking for,” Gem whimpered.
“A book,” Cyrus said matter-of-factly. “An old book with red leather binding. The pages are old, but they shouldn’t be damaged. And the first page has a symbol of the ouroboros. Do you know what that is?”
“I don’t care. Niko, please tell me where it is,” she pleaded.
Niko paused near the hall, and Lykos let him. They wanted him to answer.
But he couldn’t. Even at the risk of Keystone, that book could never fall into Cyrus’s hands. Especially now that Cyrus knew about Gem’s ability to decipher language. She didn’t realize it, but she was about to become his instrument. Gem would probably jump at the opportunity to learn something new, but she had no idea of the repercussions.
Knowledge is power, and the knowledge inside that book had the power to destroy.
* * *
Gem flashedhome after Arcadius dropped her off a mile from the mansion. They had blindfolded her and put her in the trunk so she couldn’t identify their location. She had a number to call when she was ready, and they would provide her with a destination point to meet. Cyrus knew their home was protected, so he took no chances.
Gem couldn’t get out of that car fast enough. She had spent the entire drive wondering if she should wield an energy ball and destroy Arcadius as soon as he opened the trunk, but he had the power to shield himself. Aside from that, Niko was still in danger, and no telling who else Cyrus planned to target.
Once Gem found the book, she’d figure out the rest. After punching in the code to the gate, she slipped between the iron bars as it opened and flashed up the road.
A wolf exploded into view, gathering speed and bounding toward her. Gem shrieked. When she reached the locked door, she spun on her heel and sharpened her light to blast the animal before it tore her apart.
The wolf slowed his pace, his coat as black as midnight. Before he reached her, his sharp canines disappeared and his tail started wagging. Gem held off her attack, uncertain if he was friend or foe. When the black wolf sniffed her, he lifted his head and howled. Other wolves in the vicinity howled back, and a chill ran up her spine.
Gem pounded her fist on the door. A few seconds later, the door swung open and Wyatt gaped down at her.
“Son of a ghost! Where did you come from?”
She briefly took notice of his Déjà Boo shirt of a ghost. He looked so normal considering their world was crumbling around them. “Why are there wolves?”
Switch appeared behind him, his long hair framing his stern face. “Are you alone?”
She pushed her way inside.
Wyatt gripped her arm. “Where have you been? Why are you still in a nightgown? If this was some kind of prank—”
She wrested her arm free. “I don’t have time to talk to you.” Without answering his questions, Gem hurried up the stairs.
“Hold your ponies,” Wyatt called from behind her. “You can’t just ditch us in the middle of the night and come strolling in like nothing happened. I’ve fallen out of contact with Keystone, Niko vanished looking for you, and all hell’s broken loose.”
She flashed to get ahead of them and made it to the second floor. Niko had a room on the same floor as her but nowhere near her room. Gem had a nice view of the courtyard, but when she opened the door to Niko’s room, he had no view at all. She had been in his room twice but never took notice of anything other than the wardrobe. His space was so dark that she had to retrieve a lantern from the hall to see in front of her nose.
Once inside, she closed the door behind her and slid the lock into place. The first thing she noticed was the wood floor against her bare feet. Why hadn’t she thought to put wood in her room? It was so warm and inviting. She remembered him once saying how he liked the feel of wood, how it had a life to it. It was once trees, and now those living things were artifacts of a former life. A mink blanket covered his bed on the left side of the room. At least, she thought it was mink. Today’s artificial furs made it impossible to tell. It felt luxurious beneath her fingertips as she made her way to the bedside table on the left. Usually people put lamps on them, but his had no personal or decorative items.
She set the lantern down and searched the drawers. The top drawer had a burlap pouch with something crushed up inside. It smelled like flowers, but she wasn’t good at identifying scents. The bottom cabinet held a neat stack of knitted hats on the right and gloves on the left. Everything was so organized and simplistic.
Gem got up and went to the wardrobe on the opposite side of the room. He had replaced the pulls with ones that were knobby glass, and it occurred to her that everything in his room was about space and texture. When she opened the doors and looked at his black shirts, a terrible pang clenched her heart. The pink shirt she’d slipped in there was staring her right in the face. Gem ripped it off the hanger and flung it onto the floor, furious that she’d been so insensitive. It was only a reaction to his all-black attire, but what right did she have mocking someone’s disability?
