Broken Veil (Harbinger #5)(74)

“Then we’d best hurry,” Juliana said with determination. “I never liked Welles much anyway.”



The eastern sky was a pretty shade of violet, announcing the imminent sunrise. The Serpentine had been intercepted twice during the night, both times by zephyrs, but Cettie had forced the smaller ships to land. Her power in the Mysteries had grown as the night waxed on. Her strength and vigor were returning. The little rest had done her good, but something else was giving her strength. Filling up her reservoir of confidence and determination. She glanced at Adam, who stood near her, watching the roofs of the buildings pass below them.

They had arrived in the Fells, dark and loathsome, and full of memories, but it felt more bearable with him beside her.

He’s not yours, she reminded herself. Not anymore.

“There’s Killingworth,” Adam said, his voice betraying a hint of pride.

“Where?” Cettie asked eagerly.

He pointed to the building, one of the few already lit. It had been a manor once, and still had a weathered look to it. The lights were a welcome sight after flying in the dark for so long.

“It has a hundred beds,” he said. “Four other doctors, and a dozen nurses. We could be twice as big and still not have enough resources to help the people.” He glanced at her. “But we try.”

Proud of the man he had become, she put her hand on top of his and squeezed it. When their skin touched, she felt another jolt of awareness go up her arm and quickly pulled her hand away.

He looked down at the Fells, his expression inscrutable.

“That way, Julie,” Caulton said, standing near her by the helm. Prince Trevon, no longer dressed in his prison scraps, thanks to Caulton, stood beside them. This was no royal outfit, like the ones Cettie had seen him in on his previous visits to her world. He looked like an ordinary man in need of a shave and a barber. His eyes were fixed on the Cruciger orb. After their run-in with Lord Welles, they had agreed there would be no secrets between them. They were already at a disadvantage—no need to worsen their odds by hiding important information from one another. Trevon was utterly intrigued by the device.

“She’s still there,” Caulton said, shaking his head. “I’ve been watching the orb constantly. I don’t think Lady Corinne knows we’re coming.”

Cettie wouldn’t count on that. She lowered a hand to her poisoner bag, comforted by the feel of it. Cettie had prepared different toxins for the confrontation with her mother. Nothing fatal—though she didn’t doubt Corinne would kill her without a second thought, she didn’t want to kill her mother. With any luck, there would be no need. She had a poisoned ring that could stun someone for hours and a packet of nightshade dust.

More lights began to appear throughout the city. Many workers arose before dawn to report to the factories. The ships under Welles’s control would have an easier time of following them now. But she heard a soft, distant song in the air, and she knew they were being protected by the Mysteries.

“There!” Caulton said, pointing at a ragged tenement building. The windows were all broken. It was a dark, gaping maw, a place of disease and death. No light emanated from it, but even from this height, they could smell the stench of the place.

“What is this place?” Juliana said in disgust.

“I’ve been in this neighborhood,” Adam said, wary. “Marshall Street. The cholera morbus has claimed several victims from this area, so many of the buildings are abandoned now. People are afraid to live here.”

“That makes it a good place to hide a royal,” Juliana said. The tempest slowed and came to rest above the filthy street. The smell emanating from the gutters was horrible. Even in her life in the Fells, Cettie had not been to such a vile place. The tempest came to rest just above it.

Cettie looked at Adam. “Please stay,” she pleaded.

He shook his head no. “I’m not leaving you to face her alone.”

“None of us are leaving you, Cettie,” Juliana said, brandishing a pistol. “You must get it out of your mind. We go together or not at all.”

Caulton nodded in agreement, one hand on his hip, the other holding the dimly glowing Cruciger orb. Prince Trevon stepped up beside him.

Her heart shrank. She didn’t want to lose any of them.

“I’ll tell those down below that we’re going,” Juliana said. “They’ll be safe on Serpentine if we keep it high enough.”

When she returned, Adam hefted the broken lamp he’d carried out of the poisoner school and nodded for Cettie to lead the way. They unfurled the rope ladder, and she climbed down first. The air was chill, and fog began to gather in the streets. Why was that? Had the temperature dropped so much that mist had gathered in the air?

Or was something causing the fog?

Her keen memory flashed back to the day Joses had died. Yes, she felt a presence. The same presence that had haunted her life since that long-ago day in the grotto at Dolcoath. She looked up at Adam, still standing at the edge of the sky ship.

His eyes narrowed. “It’s here,” he said, acknowledging her reaction.

The Fear Liath had found her. Adam swung over the railing and climbed down the ladder quickly. The Light Leering in the lamp glowed—a beacon. A promise.

The fog swirled around her ankles, obscuring the mottled, grimy cobblestones. The rank smell in the air made her want to gag. Courage, she told herself. The Fear Liath had not come there by chance. The beast had defeated her once before, and no doubt her mother hoped it would best her again.