‘Agreed,’ said Hugo. He turned his sharp eyes towards Katie. ‘Since you’ve been following us for three hours, I’m sure it won’t be too much trouble to continue on into the city.’
Katie nodded weakly.
‘I’ll drive,’ Ezzie said to her. ‘If you don’t mind.’
Katie dropped her car keys into Esmeralda’s outstretched hand without the slightest hint of argument. I looked at our former teacher curiously, but she only smiled, an oddly tight expression.
‘Try and keep up,’ said Hugo wryly. ‘And no more pit stops.’
We pulled out onto the Interstate once more, Hugo in the lead. The rest of the guys maneuvered behind us on their motorcycles. Katie took the passenger seat, and I retreated to the back. I didn’t try and explain anything more to her. She’d seen enough by now to be convinced– at least of everything that mattered at this point. But there was nothing I could do to make it any less horrible.
I turned the diamond-coated knife over in my hands. The grotesque’s black blood had cleaned off easily, but nausea lingered in the back of my throat. I hadn’t wanted Quentin’s weapon – he’d only given it to me to protect myself against Sebastian – but now I was glad I’d brought it. His weapon had saved our lives.
A lump of conflicted emotion rotated in my stomach. My feelings for Sebastian, however new and undefined they might be, weren’t going to change. But neither, I hated to admit, were Quentin’s. In his eyes, he was a Marksman and Sebastian was a shadow creature. There was no middle ground.
‘Josie?’
I leaned towards Katie. ‘Yeah?’
‘Does Sebastian … look like that?’ She shuddered visibly. ‘Like them?’
‘No,’ I said firmly. I focused on the windshield, finding myself once more at a loss for the right words. ‘I mean, not exactly. It’s like I told you before, he’s still Sebastian. Mostly. Just different.’
‘Different,’ she repeated numbly. Katie rubbed her eyes. Her mental conflict and exhaustion were etched clearly on her face. She was still pale, even through her rosy-pink makeup. ‘So why did they attack you?’
It was Ezzie who answered. ‘Roma blood. Grotesques smell it. The scent draws them in, like a predator seeking its prey.’
‘Prey?’ said Katie. ‘You guys are their prey?’
Ezzie gripped the steering wheel. But she didn’t answer. Instead, she frowned through the rear-view mirror at me. ‘Josephine, did you bring the book I gave you?’
It was at that moment that I realized why Esmeralda had insisted on driving our car. She wanted to talk.
‘Yes, I packed it when I left the Circe.’
‘Good,’ she replied. ‘Markus’ book may be of use to us in Savannah.’
Pain flickered behind Ezzie’s eyes when she mentioned her charge by name. I felt my own pain welling up inside of me. Maybe it was only a fraction of hers, but the source was the same. What if I couldn’t save Sebastian? What if I failed?
Katie looked between us. ‘What book?’
‘One similar to those stolen from Karl Corsi,’ answered Ezzie. ‘Markus believed it to be important to the future of the shadow world when he entrusted it to my care. I must confess, I had not thought of it until Sebastian’s awakening last autumn. I have felt a strong upheaval in the shadow world the last few months. The increase in shadowen activity and the timing of Sebastian’s awakening cannot be treated as mere coincidence.’ She paused as she checked the side mirrors and changed lanes. ‘His difficult adjustment as a gargoyle has concerned me. I can’t explain it, but Sebastian is not the same to me as other shadowen. Even the way he smells—’
Katie made a sound in the back of her throat.
‘His scent,’ Ezzie continued, flashing a silvery glare at Katie that made her cringe. ‘Since his transformation I have been at a loss to figure it out. It is my hope that Zindelo and Nadya will be able to answer our questions.’
‘Hugo’s parents? But I thought no one knew their whereabouts.’
Esmeralda almost smiled. ‘That’s not entirely true.’
I swallowed past a sudden lump in my throat. ‘What does Hugo think about Sebastian?’
‘He denies anything openly,’ Ezzie replied. ‘But Hugo Corsi is an intelligent man. Unfortunately, I believe his attachment to Sebastian as his brother clouds his clarity.’
‘What about you?’
‘I am a guardian,’ she answered. ‘Or at least, I was. Guardians do not form attachments outside of our charges.’
‘That’s not true of you,’ I said. ‘Or Sebastian.’
Esmeralda paused. ‘No, it’s not.’
I stuffed the diamond-encrusted knife into my bag and closed my eyes. I wasn’t sure when I drifted off or how much time passed, but the sensation of slowing down woke me up. Katie had also fallen asleep; her head resting against the window and her mouth slacked open.
The skies were still dark, with dawn at least another hour away. I nudged Katie awake as we passed the Savannah city limits sign. We entered the coastal city, surrounded by palm trees and large oaks dripping with Spanish moss. Even in the darkness, it felt like we were passing into another world. Hugo led us down several roads, driving by numerous hotels and restaurants, before we ended up on a small cobblestone street lined on either side with eclectic, Victorian-style houses. He pulled into one and drove around the back.
‘Whoa,’ Katie breathed. ‘This is seriously gorgeous.’
The brick house was three stories tall, with a massive porch, lined with white columns. There were even balconies on the second and third levels with several brick chimneys sticking out from the roof. Thick trees, their limbs heavy with clumps of moss, populated the courtyard.
‘Josephine, Katie,’ said Esmeralda, turning off the car. ‘Welcome to The Dandelion Inn, headquarters of the Corsi clan in Savannah.’
[17 hours ago]
Rocking.
Like a boat – Katie’s boat, out on the lake. Out with her family. Waves lapping the sides. Dipping in and out. Up and down. Sideways. Lulling and sleepy; a lullaby without song. Constantly repeating.
Repeating …
Repeating …
My body awakened with a start. Every sense was flooded – with an overwhelming, pinpoint clarity that still shocked me. Noises and smells exploded inside me full force, and I registered exactly where I was before I even opened my eyes.
The cage.
I coughed out a mouthful of hay and pushed up onto my elbows. The paralyzing Vitamin D I’d been injected with was out of my system, freeing me to move again, but the rush of blood to my head made me dizzy. I blinked, using my gargoyle night vision in the darkness. My cage had been loaded into one of the Circe’s equipment trailers. Heavy locks clanged against the bars as we moved at a decent speed down the road.
‘Brilliant, Sebastian,’ I muttered. ‘You really thought this one through.’
It had seemed like the best solution – allowing myself to be taken by Augustine to keep Josephine safe – but now doubts crept along the edges of my vision. The separation from Josephine felt like a constant throbbing ache, a wound that wouldn’t heal.
The