“Chase out that cat too, while you’re at it. It’s not natural to have those things around. They’re alwayswatching.” A short pause. “You know I only want the best for you, Sylvester,” she said, her voice silken. “I am your sister, after all.”
“Sister in name only,” he said. “And one of a dozen.” But his protest was weak.
“Sister in more than name,” she retorted. “We were made by the same hand. Whatever we were before has been erased, and now we are creatures of magic, bonded by magic, closer than any blood siblings could be. No one else can understand what it is to beus. Certainly not your housekeeper.”
There was a long, unpleasant pause.
“Well, I suppose you’d better be on your way,” said Sylvester. “According to you, you’re very busy.”
There was a susurration of rich fabrics as Clarissa started to get to her feet, and then it subsided. I twisted a little, pressing my eye closer to the keyhole so that I could see her better. She was standing very still, looking closely at the jar.
“What?” said Sylvester.
I heard the sloshing of liquid as she turned the jar over in her hand again. I saw her lift it to her face, frown, narrow her eyes. Then she threw it. I heard the bright, almost joyful sound of shattering glass, and a discomfitingsquelchthat had to be the heart flopping onto the floor.
“Do you think I’m a half-wit?” she shouted. “Or areyoua half-wit? Has your housekeeper pickled your brains in her sauces?”
Sylvester sounded bored. “Get to the point, Clarissa.”
“You were going to let me carry this to the king like a fool,” she said. “You would have had me telling him you were fulfilling your duties—defending you—all while you were palming off some wizened little piece of offal you bought from a two-bit hustler in the marketplace!”
“Hardly wizened. I plumped it up,” said Sylvester. “I thought it looked pretty convincing, myself. In fact, I’m a little surprised you didn’t notice sooner. I thought you fancied yourself a connoisseur.”
My own heart, however, was jumping up and down in my ears, and muffling all sound. So he hadn’t harvested a heart at all?
“What iswrongwith you?” Clarissa was screeching.
“It’s still a heart,” I heard him say.
“A used-up, dried-up little husk of one,” she screamed.
“I could barely conjure up a toothpick with something like this. And do you think that, if these pathetic baubles did any good, Father would allow the black market to continue operating? It amuses him, is all, seeing the little people squabble over his leavings. He could gather all the black market hearts in a second, with one word, but he doesn’t. Because they are useless.”
She pointed a finger at him. “And you thought to fool him with one? By reddening it and swelling it out a little? I don’t understand what goes on in your head, Sylvester. And thenIlook like a numbskull for bringing it to Father like a good little go-between and pleading your case. He will befurious, Sylvester. And I can’t protect you any longer. You need to start pulling your weight, and fast.”
“I will,” he said.
“When?”
“Now. I will go today.”
She snorted. “And what, try to find another black market heart, but plump it up a little better this time? No. You are going to harvest, and I am going to watch you.”
“Fine,” he said, with a bite in his voice. “I will call for the carriage, and you canwatchme as I take some poor villager’s heart. Happy?”
“No,” she seethed. “You will call for your housekeeper,now, and I will watch as you take hers.”
“Clarissa ...”
“I gave you a chance.Morethan a chance. It’s too late, Sylvester. It has to be done. Either you do this, or Father will.”
From the way she said it, I got the impression I really didn’t want “Father” anywhere near me.
“Really, brother,” she continued. “If it means that much to you, you can keep her once she has been harvested. She’ll still be able to cook and clean for you, and she won’t be troublesome. She should last a while longer once she’s been harvested. Long enough for you to get tired of her.”
“It’s not the same,” he protested.
“I assure you, it is exactly the same,” she said. “You just haven’t been around enough intact humans to realize how deadly boring they really are.” She raised her voice. “Colin, come in here.”
