His determination was commendable, but he had the worst timing.
“If Merrick sees you, you’re stuck here, Penny.”
He rose from his seat and dropped his nearly full plate into the sink with a clatter. “So be it.”
19
Kit
Penny was too earnest to be a liar, and I hated that I had to forge him into one. We spent the hour before our meeting with Levitt running through the questions he was likely to ask so Penny wasn’t completely unprepared. It wasn’t enough time, but it would have to work. No other options remained.
I led the way to the town center and the Ossuary, the building in which we’d been detained upon our arrival. I counted us lucky that we encountered neither Merrick nor Violette on our way. When we reached the imposing stone structure in the middle of the square, I held the door as Penny passed through it.
“Remember to breathe,” I told him. “Don’t let him get you flustered. You can do this.”
Penny nodded but kept his eyes down. I followed him into the dimly lit hallway and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. After a quick glance around confirmed we were alone, I hooked a finger under his chin and tilted his head up.
A faint flush colored his cheeks and darkened thefreckles that dappled his skin. He peered out through the fringe of his blond hair, clearly apprehensive.
“You have to look confident, even if you don’t feel it. They expect and respect arrogance.” I offered him a reassuring smile. “With any luck, Levitt will be as unintimidating as I remember.” Dropping my hand, I motioned for him to follow me.
Down the hall, the space opened into a wide atrium with a row of high windows on the eastern side that admitted blinding pools of morning sunlight. The circular space was outfitted with an altar that spanned the width of the room and a long table with a man and a woman seated on either end. Hallways branched off in every direction, leading to the chambers of the upper-ranking members of the cult as well as the interrogation and meeting rooms.
The man at the right end of the table glanced up from a pile of papers and looked us over. “Can I help you?”
“We’re here to see the Right Hand.” I tugged the summons from my pocket and held it out for his inspection.
He peered at it for a moment, then pushed his chair back. “Follow me.”
I fell into step behind him, and a quick check over my shoulder assured me Penny was right at my heels, looking a fair sight more confident than he had a minute ago. We took a hall to the right and ascended several flights of stairs up to the top floor. There were only two rooms on either side of the short hallway: the chambers of the Shroud Warden to the left and the Right Hand to the right.
The man knocked once on the heavy wooden door on our right, then beckoned us forward. Turning, he disappeared back down the stairs, leaving Penny and me in silence.
Before I could reach for the latch, the door swung openand silhouetted Levitt Yost in a wash of morning sun. He was as tall as his sister, with pin-straight red hair tied back at the nape of his neck. His warm brown eyes swept over me, and a grin split his face.
“And I thought Vi was pulling my leg,” he said, reaching out to yank me into a bone-creaking embrace.
It was less offensive than Violette’s had been since I didn’t hate this man, though I probably should have on principle. Over his shoulder, I caught sight of Merrick leaning on the desk in the center of the room. My stomach dropped. The last thing Penny needed was a confrontation while he was barely holding onto his brave face.
The elder Oliver looked ridiculous in his ceremonial robes with everyone else in casual dress. When I realized he was watching us with his mouth puckered like he’d tasted something bitter, I leaned into Levitt’s affection a little more.
“Welcome home, Kit.” Levitt pulled away while grasping my shoulder. “I wasn’t sure you’d ever find your way back.”
I shrugged. “Couldn’t come back while my father was still here.”
Levitt made a noise of assent and gave my arm a squeeze.
“But imagine my surprise when Vi said you’d taken over in his stead.” I leaned in, offering my old friend as warm a smile as he’d given me. “If you ask me, the better man is at the helm now.”
Levitt laughed, and Merrick scowled.
“Come in, come in. Let me meet this recruit of yours.” Levitt stepped back, motioning with his right arm. I tried not to notice the puckered scar at the end of the stump where his hand should have been.
Surrounding the desk inside, shelves spanned three of the four walls, crowded with leatherbound tomes that dwarfed my father’s collection of journals. I wondered if he had penned any of these, determined as he was to leave his mark on every inch of this place. A large gold chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling, spilling warm candlelight in addition to the sunshine coming in from the windows that made up the whole eastern wall of the room. Beneath the windows were a pair of armchairs with a small table between them, and underfoot, a worn tasseled rug blanketed the floor, softening our steps as I led Penny in.
The moment Penny came into view, Merrick’s face turned red. The familial resemblance was undeniable in such a direct comparison, and I wondered how Violette hadn’t made the connection when I’d introduced them.
I expected him to jump in, to question Penny as to why he was here, but Merrick held his tongue while he met my eyes. The fury in his face was equal parts worrying and vindicating.
