Penny watched while I piled the contents of one box then the next on the floor of the cart, then began sorting supplies from the old bones. He looked ready to speak when the double doors of the Ossuary flew open, and Levitt stepped out.
Sunlight set his fiery hair ablaze, and his eyes swept over Penny and me. I watched as he came alongside the wagon and slapped his palm against it, searching for any sign of more than platonic affection in his demeanor. There wasn’t much of anything to be gleaned, though his expression remained guarded, and the smile he fixed on me was strained.
“Thirteen years and you haven’t lost a step,” he said. “I shouldn’t be surprised.”
I gave him a tight grin. “The benefits of experience.” I drew a femur from the open box before me and added it to the pile.
“You two are the first ones back,” Levitt said. He moved toward Penny and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You couldn’t have hoped for a better mentor, Mister Oliver. I expect great things from you, too, you know.”
Penny seemed to wither under Levitt's praise. He sidled up to me as I heaped the bones into the largest crate with a clatter.
“Can I help?” Penny gestured to the crate. It was clear from his tone that he wanted out of this conversation.
I hefted the box over the edge of the wagon and placedit in his outstretched arms. “Take these inside. I’ll get the rest.”
When Penny disappeared into the Ossuary, Levitt’s barely cheerful expression melted away. His brows drew together, and his mouth pressed into a thin line as he leaned over the edge of the cart toward me.
“We have a problem,” he said, voice low enough that it wouldn’t carry past the two of us.
Unease prickled up my spine. I started sorting bones and supplies out of the next crate. “What sort of problem?”
Levitt drew a slow breath.
“There have been more allegations,” he said. “Against you. We need to search your house. Merrick went ahead as soon as he heard you’d arrived. He’s there now, waiting for us.”
I scoffed and dropped the last of the bones into an empty crate. “What could I have possibly done? We’ve been gone a week.” I flicked a glance at Levitt as I hefted up the other half of mine and Penny’s offering.
Levitt refused to meet my eyes and shifted on his feet. “The accusations are credible enough to require my attention, but they didn’t originate with Merrick.” He hesitated. “They came from Harlan.”
I nearly dropped the crate of bones as dread pooled in my gut. I shifted the roughhewn box to hide my trembling hands.
“My only interaction with Harlan has been getting burn salve,” I said in a rush, hoping Levitt wouldn’t notice the hitch in my voice. “I stopped at the apothecary to get tea for Penny before we left, too, but I dealt with Isla that time. Is it against the rules to treat a cold?”
“That’s not what this is about, Kit,” Levitt said softly. “But we shouldn’t talk about it here.”
He offered a hand down from the cart and kept hold of my elbow even when I was steady on my feet.
“I’ll just grab our bags,” I said, but Levitt shook his head.
“Someone will bring them to the house. They’ll need to be searched as well.” He turned us toward the Ossuary, and his face was grim as he glanced over at me. "Let's go get your recruit.”
I found myself thankful for Levitt’s grip on my arm as the world spun around me. Everything Penny and I planned, everything I wanted to do, was slipping away. They’d find the hemlock in my bag, and that would be it. The only hope I had left was that I could take full blame and keep Penny from punishment.
We’d be lucky if they didn’t put us both to death.
14
Penny
Inside the Ossuary, the air was dark and stale. Dust motes hung in the scattered rays of sun illuminating the long stone table that spanned the middle of the atrium. It was a massive altar and had more than enough space to lay out one body’s worth of bones. As I approached, I imagined it piled high with human remains and shuddered.
I’d been given no instructions to process or procedure, and I was certain I’d done something blasphemous as I dumped the crate’s contents across the bare stone surface. The mental image of a mound of anonymous corpses gave way to the thought of my father’s body being placed there. I wondered if Merrick had arrived to onlookers and accolades. Had he been proud of his treachery? Of his betrayal? Had he thought about us at all?
Unlike outside, no one in the building paid me any mind as I stood, looking down at the bones. They were so jumbled I could have convinced myself they weren’t human if not for the skull which was missing its bottom jaw so it seemed to be open mouth gawking at me.
A sigh swelled, then emptied my chest, and I let the crate drop onto the floor.
The door swung open again, letting in the distant buzz of commotion. I glanced over my shoulder at Kit and Levitt walking in stride down the hall. Kit was heavy laden with the remains of our tribute, and Levitt’s hand rested on his upper arm. The sight of the cult leader stirred an unsettled feeling in me that persisted while I scrutinized Levitt’s touch and waited for him to lean in and whisper something that would make Kit smile. But, when I checked Kit’s expression, I found it drawn with his familiar mask of stoicism.
