From The Ashes (The Ministry of Curiosities #6)(3)

I suppressed the rising well of sorrow by biting on my tongue.

"Is this it?" I asked, looking around. The wall glistened with damp and something scratched in the dark corner. I could just make out a large stone slab positioned near one of the columns, and a set of rusty chains hanging from rings attached to the wall. Leg irons puddled on the floor nearby. "No oubliette? How disappointing."

"I am not an unreasonable woman, Miss Holloway," she said. "But I do not tolerate willfulness in students."

There were a dozen responses to that, but I suddenly couldn't be bothered with any of them. I wasn't going to change her mind, or soften her stance. She believed that discipline and routine would fix our so-called waywardness. While that may be true for many girls, it wasn't true for those of us sent there because of our supernatural abilities.

It had taken me a week before I'd seen evidence of inhuman characteristics in the girls, but once I noticed them, I saw more. I counted six out of the eighteen students, and another two I wasn't yet sure about. It had begun with the medium whose gaze followed the ghost as he walked past, but there was also a fire starter, two who could move objects with their minds, and another two whose hands became suddenly and inexplicably hairy when they were upset.

Then there was Alice, a seer, or something of that nature. Or so I suspected. She had strange dreams that were so vivid it took her a few minutes to fully waken. In that dreamlike state, she rambled about all manner of strange things, mostly about a queen trying to kill her.

"You will remain here until you learn to co-operate," Mrs. Denk said, spinning on her heel.

"Will I be fed?" I asked.

"Once per day."

"Per day? You intend to keep me here overnight?"

"If that's what it takes to instill some obedience into you."

"And if it doesn't?"

"We shall see."

"What if I'm still disobedient in a week? A month? Will you keep me in here without exercise or company, or even light?"

"It never takes long, in my experience."

"I'd wager you've never met anyone like me before."

I thought I heard her snort, but I couldn't be certain. Such an unladylike sound from the very dour Mrs. Denk was highly unlikely. It was far too emotional for the wooden matron.

"What if I die down here?" I asked, rather enjoying myself now. It was petty and juvenile to make a nuisance of myself, but it felt bloody good. It wasn't just her I was annoying, it was Lincoln too, in a convoluted way. God how I wished I could be a thorn in his side once again, just to get some measure of satisfaction, even if it was petty and small-minded. "What if the welt on my hand festers?" I showed her my palm, still burning from the strike of her cane. "What will you do then, Mrs. Denk?"

"Do be quiet, Miss Holloway," she said on a sigh.

"And if I'm not? Will you send me back to my guardian?"

She stopped and rounded on me. Her hands linked in front of her, a picture of demure, albeit expressionless, piety. "I don't think you understand, Miss Holloway. Girls are sent here with the understanding that they will never return to the homes they knew beforehand, no matter what transpires. You are unwanted. Cast off. Forgotten. I do not send anyone back to the place from which they came. Ever."

Each word struck me with the force of a hammer blow. I'd not realized I'd held out any hope of Lincoln collecting me until now. My hope had been small, but it had existed. Now it lay shattered at my feet. He'd sent me here to cut me out of his life as thoroughly as a surgeon removes a tumor. There would be no return, even after I escaped from the school. I didn't want to be somewhere I wasn't welcome. I would have to make another life for myself, away from Lichfield, perhaps even away from London. It was a decision to make another day, when my head was clearer. It was too wooly to think straight now.

"So if you wish to remain under this roof, or any roof for that matter, you will learn obedience and anything else your small mind can learn from your lessons," Mrs. Denk went on. "If not, the world is a very large, very frightening place for a young woman with no home, no friends, and no means to support herself except for her…" Her gaze lowered to my rather insignificant chest. "…natural attributes."

I stumbled back until I smacked against the stone slab. My legs felt weak and I gratefully sat. Mrs. Denk didn't smile in triumph at the effect her words had on me. Her expression didn't change.

"The oubliette is back there." She nodded toward the black depths behind me. "So mind your step." She turned and climbed the stairs.

The door slammed closed, cutting off what little light reached the dungeon. The lock tumbled. I was a prisoner.





Chapter 2





The scurrying of tiny claws over stone didn't help my taut nerves. Living in burned-out basements and abandoned warehouses for years had instilled in me a hatred for rats, beetles and lice that I doubt would ever lessen. While I didn't particularly like being alone in absolute darkness either, I could have borne it better if it wasn't for the directions my thoughts took me. They inevitably returned to Lincoln.

He was not a flexible man, and his mind was unlikely to change. Waiting and hoping for rescue was futile. I knew that. I'd known it since I was thirteen, but I admit to having forgotten the lesson in recent months. Comfort had bred complacency, and that had made me forget that the only person I could truly rely on was myself. If I wanted to escape from the School for Wayward Girls, I would have to do so under my own steam.