Only a Monster(Monsters #1)(82)

‘You won’t use the Hunt power,’ Tom said.

‘Why do you keep saying that?’

Aaron appeared at the top of the stairs. ‘Oh good, you’re both here,’ he called down. He started to descend.

‘Because you don’t have the Hunt power,’ Tom said. He bent close and put his mouth to Joan’s ear. ‘I saw what you did to that lock,’ he whispered.

A chill rippled through Joan’s body. Someday soon you’ll come into an ability, Gran had said. A power. You can trust no one with the knowledge of it.

Tom straightened just as Ruth came into view too. Then, as though Joan weren’t any kind of threat at all, he turned his back on her, deliberately. ‘You took your time,’ he called up to the others.

Joan stared at his broad back. Aaron had already begun descending the slippery stairs. ‘. . . guards are everywhere,’ he was saying.

‘Hey, just stay up there,’ Joan called up to Aaron. She felt cold all over. Aaron would have more leverage if he stayed above them. Tom’s not who we thought, she wanted to say. Ruth was right—I got something wrong about this.

But something about the way Tom had said the message was meant for me gave her pause. ‘Just stay there,’ she called up again, because Aaron was still walking down. She kicked up water to show him that the river had reached the bottom step. ‘Tide’s coming in.’

‘No, we have to go right now,’ Ruth said, and now she was picking her way down too. ‘While there’s still some darkness to hide us.’

‘Guards are everywhere,’ Aaron said.

‘We can’t go to the Hathaways,’ Joan said. No way were they getting into a boat with Tom. No way were they going to the Hathaways, where they’d be entirely in Tom’s power. But neither did Joan want to escalate this—not until she knew what was going on.

And now, finally, Aaron slowed his descent. ‘Your family didn’t come through?’ he said to Tom.

Tom shrugged. He turned back to Joan, looking at her as intently as she was watching him. Maybe wondering why she hadn’t ratted him out yet. Joan was kind of wondering that too. The message was meant for me.

‘Our shoes are getting wet,’ she said to Tom quietly. That wasn’t quite true. The tide had only risen to Joan’s step. Tom’s feet were still dry.

Tom shifted his weight. He was a big man, but looming above her, he looked like a giant. If there was a scuffle, Joan knew who’d come out best. The stairs were lethally slippery with lichen. And Hathaway territory was the Thames and canals. Tom had grown up on the water.

Joan raised her voice to address Aaron. ‘Where can we go?’

‘If not the Hathaways?’ Aaron said. It was more than one question.

Tom didn’t take his eyes off Joan. But to her surprise and relief, he backed up a step. ‘Not the Hathaways,’ he agreed, answering one of them.

Joan didn’t dare blink as she climbed above the tide. She half thought Tom would try something while she was off-balance, but he didn’t move. He hadn’t touched her when they’d been alone together either, she realised slowly. He’d threatened her, but he hadn’t hurt her. He could have easily taken what she’d found by force, but he hadn’t. She couldn’t understand it.

‘We need to go somewhere now,’ Ruth said.

‘Not an inn or a human hotel,’ Tom said. ‘The Court will have guards all over them.’

‘We can’t go to my family. They’d turn us all in,’ Aaron said.

Ruth usually took any opportunity to bait Aaron about the Olivers, but she only said tensely: ‘Then where?’

‘There’s nowhere else to go,’ Aaron said. ‘Nowhere off the Court’s radar. They have access to every human record. They have spies everywhere. They know every—’ His mouth snapped shut suddenly. From his expression, he’d realised something.

‘Aaron?’ Joan said.

Aaron’s gaze lifted to her face. There was an intensity in his expression that wasn’t usually there. Without knowing why, Joan found it hard to breathe under the weight of his attention.

The river washed in and out. A bird chirped and was answered by another. Morning was coming upon them fast. And still Aaron just looked at Joan. ‘Aaron?’ she said uncertainly.

His gaze left her finally, turning to the water. ‘There’s a safe house in Southwark,’ he said. ‘The Court doesn’t know about it.’ ‘How do you know?’ Ruth said.

‘My mother told me,’ Aaron said. His tone was final. It was clear that no more questions were allowed. He turned and walked up the stairs.





NINETEEN




The sky was still mostly grey as they walked from Wapping, being even more careful than usual not to get caught by security cameras.

Beside Joan, Ruth was quiet. Joan was worried about her. Ruth had already been exhausted back at the palace, and now she was out of breath just from walking.

Joan put an arm around her, trying to take some of her weight. But she knew that if anything happened, Ruth wouldn’t be able to run.

‘How far is the safe house?’ she asked Aaron.

‘Not far.’ Aaron glanced at Ruth. If Joan didn’t know better, she’d have said he was worried too. ‘But we’ll have to cross the river.’ To Tom, he said: ‘Are you sure your family can’t spare a boat?’