“No,” Edmonds said, watching me with head tilted, “But your brother did negotiate some time from your cells, which means it’s time to put you two to work to earn your keep.”
“Work?” Oscar stumbled over the word.
Edmonds stepped to the side, his perfect uniform without a speck of dirt. It was a remarkable feat in Newgate.
Two jailers in all black stepped into view while one of them unlocked our cage. I should have thought about pushing and running. I should have grabbed Edmonds and done something, but my legs shook and vision blurred instead.
Edmonds watched me while his mouth turned down, his assessing gaze finding me wanting. I was sure if I could see myself that I would have agreed with him.
“How disappointing,” he murmured. “Time to put you to work as promised.”
The guards stepped in and carefully shackled my wrists with iron. They were cool against my skin, and I was struck by the fact that it wasn’t so bad. My muscles spasmed as the guard urged me forward. Walking. I knew how to do that.
“Soon, Bash, hang on a little longer,” Oscar whispered beside me.
The walls were stone as thick as six feet of earth above. A grave most never crawled out of.
But I did, and you will too.
I wanted to argue with Billy that it seemed unlikely, but then I recalled he was a figment of my imagination. Though why I would conjure up hope in a place like this was the worst symptom of them all. My bare feet hit the uneven stone and filled with a bone-deep ache. Almost like they weren’t used to existing.
Bodies rushed toward the end of their cells and reached for us, black-coated skin that looked to be more dirt than person. Most of them had their heads shaved, rags hanging from their thin bodies.
“Please, please let us go. We will repent, we won’t do it again, please, please.”
Desperation gave way to panic, and the shrill shriek of a woman screaming edged into my mind, searing through the walls I’d erected to protect myself.
“Why am I still here?” I asked.
“An excellent question,” Edmonds said. “Believe it or not, it was not my intent to place a broken man on the stand. I believe you should and will account for your crimes, and that requires sanity. I see now I’ve been lapse in seeing that goal is protected, so let’s play a game, shall we?”
A nudge at my back said we weren’t slowing down. The pressure sat right against the ache in my lower back, and Igrunted to keep from giving away more. Edmonds walked in front with his hands clasped behind his back.
“Carter, please see your charge to carpentry duty after he receives a full meal.”
“Yes, Captain.” His accent was thick and nearly indiscernible.
The words all fell against me like hail to the deck of a ship. Harmless, irritating. Something in the back of my mind said I should care, but I didn’t. Even as Oscar and his guard veered down the opposite stone hall, I couldn’t remember why I should care.
Instead, I followed Edmonds at the urging of the guard behind me. I was pliable because anything else required something that was broken in me.
Edmonds came upon a splintered and peeling wooden door and opened it, gesturing for me to go in. I stopped outside and could see a wooden bench and chairs on either side. At the center was a steaming bowl of meat and gravy with what looked suspiciously like carrots. My mouth watered, and I breathed in the smell of broiled beef. Warm and savory.
“Kit, stand outside while your charge and I speak a moment,” Edmonds said.
“But, sir-”
“I’m sure I’m in no danger,” Edmonds said, gesturing for me to enter.
I rushed to the table and sat, ignoring my body’s protest. I lifted my hand, but the chain prevented any real movement where it was attached to what was left of my other arm. Desperation and hunger ate at my stomach, ripping through the shreds of my dignity. I could just lower my mouth to it like the animal I was, but I knew my name still.
Captain Sebastian Flynn.
I’d built that name with my own blood and sweat. I took in a shaky breath, forcing myself to look away from it.
The sound of the door shutting was a shot in the dark, and for a moment, Billy’s lifeless and mutilated body was there in my mind. It wasn’t then.
“I see we haven’t broken you altogether, Captain. I confess, I am relieved,” Edmonds said, holding out the key to my shackles.
