“You have flouted the sacred laws of the three courts, and now you carry their justice within you,” Callista intones as Gideon and I haul Baylor to his feet. “You have been judged and found wanting. What is about to happen to you is your fault.”
Lilac’s pretty lips curl back into a snarl as she draws back her arm and drives the blade straight through Baylor’s chest.
The blade slides through easily, a perfect thrust through the gaps of his ribcage. The tip emerges out of Baylor’s back, sending a spray of crimson in an arc across the marble. He falls to his knees, trying to speak, but blood bubbles up between his lips.
“The rest of the ceremony will be performed in the dungeon,” Callista declares as Gideon and I start to drag Baylor away. “Those who wish to observe it, follow us. Those who do not may continue the festivities.”
Lilac practically skips behind us, singing a traditional Dusk song that’s laden with unspoken magic. I lose sight of Winnie in the chaos as a line of vampires follows us as though we’re the pied pipers of carnage out the double doors of the ballroom, along the hall, and down the narrow staircase into the castle dungeons, where Reginald has already prepared a room for the final piece of the ceremony.
“Are you staying for this?” Gideon asks as we haul Baylor onto a wooden rack and secure him. The sword still protrudes from his chest. The wound will not close because of the blood of the three courts on the blade.
“I must find Winnie.”
“Right answer, friend.” Gideon’s hand rests on my shoulder. He opens his mouth to say something, then seems to think better of it, which is just as well because everything Gideonhas ever said about Winnie makes me want to poke a straw through his back and sip out his spinal fluid.
He pats my shoulder again and turns back to his grisly task. I hurry up the stairs. The band has started up again, and sounds of merriment echo through the castle. I scan the ballroom, but she’s nowhere to be seen. None of the other book club members are there, either. Poor Reginald is trying to hold down the fort while angry, thirsty vampires surround him, demanding another round of cocktails without the truth serum.
Where is she?
I hurry through the castle, fearing it may be too late when I hear Beth’s distinctive laughter from the entrance hall. I arrive as the remaining members of the Nevermore Murder Club and Smutty Book Coven are pulling on their coats. Winnie doesn’t have a coat on the rack, so she pulls my winter cloak from the cupboard and drapes it over her shoulders, fiddling with the silver clasp. Her golden hair has fallen loose from its stays, cascading over her shoulders in dishevelled waves.
“Winnie.” I reach out to her, but she holds up a hand to stop me, her features drawn.
“That was quite a show,” Komal says. “I don’t suppose you’d consider administering the Mora on my good friend Counsellor Durant, for the crime of being a complete bellend?”
“What will happen to Baylor?” Beth asks.
“Do you truly wish to know?”
All the ladies – even Winnie – nod furiously.
“He has been taken to a room in the dungeons, where Lilac will use the sword to dismember him. He’ll be cut into nine pieces. Each of the three who administered the Mora will take three pieces of him back to their Court to be placed in a special Hall of Justice they reserve for such things. The blood he drank and the blood smeared on the sword will mean that he cannot heal from the wounds but also, that he will never truly die. He will continue existing, severed from his body, with no chance of being put together again, as the ages of theworld pass him by.”
“Good,” Mina growls. “He deserves it for what he did to Danny and Patrick, and what he tried on Isis.”
“It’sbrutal,” Beth breathes.
“That is vampire justice.”
“Remind me never to piss you off,” Komal murmurs.
“You humans do that simply by existing, but as long as you are friends of Winnie, you are safe.”
My joke falls flat, with only Komal managing a faint smile.
“On that cheery note, we’ll be on our way.” Mina checks Oscar’s harness before tipping her beret to me. “Alaric, thank you for your hospitality, and for helping us to catch the murderer. And thank you for saving Isis.”
I shake my head. “The credit for saving your friend goes to Winnie and Gideon.”
“That’s not true. We never would have found Isis in that secret room if you hadn’t sniffed her out,” Winnie says stiffly.
The other book club members exchange a look.
“Ladies, I think we’ll just … admire the painting on that stone wall over there.” Komal shoves everyone out the door, and throws a hard glare at me over her shoulder. “Come outside when you’re ready, Winnie.”
A moment later, Winnie and I are alone in the entrance hall. She tugs on the corner of my cloak as she kicks off her heels and shoves her feet into a pair of Reginald’s Wellington boots, refusing to look at me.
“You should get to bed,” Winnie says, her voice full of faux cheer as she braces herself against the chill of the night air. “It’s nearly sunrise.”
