Come Tumbling Down (Wayward Children #5)(24)

“The Moors are more complicated than they seem at first glance. We’re in the Master’s protectorate, where my status as Dr. Bleak’s apprentice grants me a certain measure of protection. It’s easy to dismiss the rest as the part of the map that reads ‘here be monsters,’ but that’s not quite accurate. The werewolves hold the high mountains and the forested places; apart from the gargoyles and a few very ancient, very powerful vampires, no one challenges their dominion. They have too many teeth to be safely argued with. The heath is divided among a variety of lesser monsters, such as the Master and Dr. Bleak—and one day, if I keep to my studies, me.” Jack smiled, quick and bright as a knife in the darkness. “Every monster has its natural counterbalance. Vampires and mad scientists are well-matched enough to keep the peace, even if it’s sometimes kept in pieces.”

Only Sumi laughed. Christopher and Alexis looked at her, and she shrugged. “What? For Jack, that was a very funny joke. We should give her a gold star for trying.”

“As I was saying,” said Jack. “Dr. Bleak is dead and I am his heir: technically, a challenge has begun. The other monsters of the flatland will be watching to see who comes out on top, and they won’t interfere. If the Master kills me and turns Jill, an imbalance will be established, and those same monsters will come to correct it. I’m sure that will lend some small measure of comfort to my loved ones.”

Alexis glared at her.

“So where are we going?” asked Christopher.

“To the seashore,” said Jack. “The Drowned Gods have taken Cora. They’ve given us nothing in return. I want her back or, if they refuse, I want their help in setting things right.”

“Now hold on,” said Christopher. “Cora’s not a bargaining chip. She’s not going to stay with these ‘Drowned Gods’ of yours, no matter what they say.”

“You misunderstand,” said Jack. “The Drowned Gods are horrors beyond comprehension. We won’t approach them directly. We’ll be speaking with their High Priest, who can hopefully give aid to our cause—and return Cora to us unharmed.”

“Unharmed, but not unscathed,” said Sumi. Jack and Christopher turned to look at her. She shrugged. “I listen to what you’re not saying. Water changes things.”

“Yes,” said Jack. “It does.”

“Just so you know,” said Sumi. “This sounds like a good way to not get anyone killed. Let’s do it.”

“Anyone else,” said Jack.

“What?”

“We might be able to do this without getting anyone else killed,” said Jack. “Dr. Bleak is dead. Even if we’re able to undo it—and I can’t guarantee we will be; he died at least once before I came to the Moors—he will still have been killed. He will still have died for the sake of giving me, and Alexis, the chance to get away. We don’t get to ignore that.”

“Alexis has died twice,” said Christopher. “She’s fine.”

“I’m not, though,” said Alexis. She twisted her apron in her hands. “I have lightning where my heart should be. If it goes away, my body stops functioning. I love Jack more than I ever thought it was possible to love another person, but it wouldn’t matter if I stopped loving her, because I can never leave her. There’s not another windmill within three days’ ride. I wouldn’t make it to another table, another lightning array, before I collapsed, helpless, food for whatever monster might come along. I can never safely bear my own children. I can never have my own home. I’ll be in this windmill as long as I’m alive, and sometimes living hurts. So no, second resurrections aren’t the easy things people want to pretend they are. Actions have consequences.”

Jack looked at her gloved fingers. “As my lovely lady so clearly states, we can’t count on bringing anyone back. It would be better if we could do this with a minimum of bloodshed.”

“I’m sorry,” whispered Christopher. “I didn’t know.”

“Of course you didn’t. This isn’t your world. These aren’t the rules you learned to live by. We have certain advantages here that the world of my birth lacks—we have the lightning—but we must find a way to use them that serves us, and not the Master’s terrible goals.” She looked up again. “We’ll approach the acolytes of the Drowned Gods and ask their aid. If they’ll grant it to us, we may be able to end this.”

“When?” asked Sumi. “Do we wait until morning?”

Jack shook her head. “We leave at once. Dr. Bleak’s head lacks the scientific support I’ve given to his body. If he’s to have any chance to rise again, we must act quickly.”

“Wait,” said Christopher. “You said no one with any sense would want to be caught outside when the sun went down.”

“Yes, and now the sun is down, and the night creatures have stirred themselves to begin hunting. The danger of sunset is proximity to their dens and hidey-holes. They tend to be hungry when they wake, and no one ever sneered at a self-delivering meal.” Jack took Alexis’s hand. “Alexis will stay here to monitor Dr. Bleak’s condition and keep the doors barred against intrusion. Jill isn’t a vampire yet; the balance of power has yet to fully tip in the Master’s favor. He won’t come here again.”