‘A portion of the payment,’ said the daemon behind them as Theodora dragged Dot away, ‘begets a portion of the revelation. The ambergris found by Dorothy’s grandfather belongs to a South Sea spirit.’
‘A spirit?’ hissed Dot, her left arm burning. How had the daemon known about her grandfather or the ambergris? Had he poked around inallof her memories? She looked down to see that the afflictionwas almost at her elbow, and growing. Theodora yanked open the door while Salamander watched them lazily. The witch flew with Dot down the many hallways and into the elevator. She yanked the lever and it shot them upward, and all the while Dot was halfway to collapsing, consumed by the pain of her newly growing scales.
‘I shouldn’t have brought you here,’ said Theodora, her voice wobbling. ‘Dorothy, I’m sorry.’
‘What did he mean, “changed your mind”?’
Theodora shook her head but would not look at her.
Darkness shrouded Dot’s vision as her ears popped and then the witch was dragging her out of the elevator and down the hallway and through the hidden door and out of the bistro. Distantly, Dot heard a spiritshout, ‘MadameKaeïs! You cannot cast a portal here!’
But then they were back in the tea shop courtyard, and though Dot’s face was now against the rough pavers, she felt, still, the ebb of the ocean beneath her.
Somewhere far away, Theodora was yelling at Lio but then Lio’s voice bellowed back angrier and the witch fell silent, and in Dot’s fading state she caught the last of his panicked words.
‘We found him in the hallway.’
‘Theodora,’ croaked Rupert, ‘Belchamber won’t wake up.’
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
Theodora shut herself away in her attic room nursing the tormented spirit who, according to Lio, had been almost unrecognisable when Rupert had found him discarded upon the landing.
‘He had these strange, jagged cuts on his chest,’ said Lio. Dot was sat on the kitchen floor beside the icebox, smearing salve onto her new scales. Lio had offered to apply it for her, but Dot had shaken her head fiercely. ‘He was so transparent when Rupe was holding him. He kept slipping through his arms.’
Rupert entered the kitchen. He sat promptly beside Dot on the floor.
‘Theodora won’t open the door,’ said the boy. ‘Won’t even tell me if he’s alive.’
‘Spirits are very hard to kill,’ said Dot quietly.
‘I know,’ said Rupert, ‘but how did Acanthi do it? How did they capture him and sneak his body up to the third-storey landing?’
Dot shook her head, too exhausted and heartbroken to offer anything more.
‘We know Theodora was worried about the customers,’ said Lio. ‘Perhaps Acanthi took someone’s blood and they couldn’t quite take down the wards, but they were able to slip in and attack Belchamber?I don’t know.’ He shook his head and reached over Dot and Rupert to open the icebox.
‘Peckish, are you?’ asked Rupert, craning his neck upward.
‘If Dot eats something, it might help her,’ said Lio, nodding to her new scales. He pulled out some ham, crossed to the pantry and foraged for eggs, cheese, mushroom and bread. Dot watched him as he lit the stove and placed an iron pan atop it.
‘Could it have been Salamander?’ asked Dot darkly.
‘Doubt it,’ said Lio. ‘The Catherine Weyer I knew would never have thrown her lot in with spirits, much less a daemon.’
‘About that,’ said Rupert, nodding at Dot’s afflicted arm. ‘You going to tell us what happened?’
‘Theodora made a deal with Salamander,’ admitted Dot. ‘It was something to do with my magic, I think. Also, I think she owes him money.’
‘She couldn’t,’ said Rupert. ‘Absolutely not.’
Lio glanced sideways at them. For a moment he chewed his lip.
‘What aren’t you saying?’ asked Rupert.
‘I’ll not get myself thrown out of this house,’ said Lio. ‘However, what I can say is this: why else wouldn’t Salamander have shut her down already? He sells packet spells too. Why else would he let a young witch walk right into his city and undercut him?’
‘You’re not saying she’s in league with him?’ asked Rupert.
