The Book Eaters(104)
Reluctantly, she talked about that night in a voice so quiet that the outgoing tide almost drowned out her story. Basic facts, simply stated, nothing more. Around them, the ocean clattered rocks together in slow, angry surges; the air was so thick with salt and damp that Devon thought she might pickle. Victoria listened, too, edging closer to Devon—though she still kept Jarrow in front, like some kind of body shield.
When the story finished, Jarrow said, “Matley’s death was announced a couple days after you left. The knights have gone AWOL, far as we know, and the Easterbrooks blame you for everything.”
“Are you okay with what happened?” The brothers hadn’t got on, she knew. Still, Family was Family.
“It’s two years ago. I’ve made my peace since then. We weren’t exactly close, in any case.” Jarrow rubbed his nose with the heel of his hand. “Speaking of relatives. Where’s your son? I saw you walking with him earlier. He’s really grown.”
“Back in the hotel,” she said, adding, “It’s not his fault, the stuff with Matley. Don’t be angry with him.”
“I’m not angry. Told you, I made my peace.” Jarrow began to pace back and forth with noiseless steps. “But a sting operation? Going after the Ravenscars?” He shook his head. “It’s like a low-budget action film.”
“The Ravenscars are very real,” she said, “and so is their cure, if they still have it. Or use it.”
“Why would they even deal with you? Why would … Oh, forget all that.” Jarrow caught her arm gently. “None of this matters, Dev. Let’s just leave it all behind, and their rubbish politics.”
She blinked, brushing windswept hair out of her vision. “Leave it behind? You mean run away?”
Confusion creased his features. “Isn’t that what you called me down here for? To talk about how to run away?” He gestured at his sister. “Vic and I are ready to go tonight, if need be.”
“Today? Right now?” She laughed, even though nothing was funny. “Oh, Jarrow. Where would we go?”
Victoria had gone very still, her face pensive.
“Ireland, like I suggested before,” he said immediately. “Doesn’t have many people, and the Family has no reach there yet—”
“That doesn’t work,” she said. “My son has been fitted with a surgically implanted explosive. If I don’t check in regularly, Ramsey will kill him from a distance.”
“Ah,” he said, “shit.”
“Ah shit indeed.”
“We can get around that,” Jarrow said, rallying with a speed that impressed her. “If you know what kind of device, we should be able to interfere with the signal. Faraday cage, or a transmission blocker.”
Devon wanted to hug him for that. Instead, she said quietly, “I have no doubt you’re correct. But in many ways, that device is the least of my problems. My son also needs feeding every month, soon every fortnight. Eventually, he’ll need someone every week. Even if we block that signal permanently and go live somewhere remote, where will we find food for him? A person a week for the rest of his life is no small matter.”
“All good points,” Victoria said softly. Her brother gave her a surprised glance.
“Running away will get him killed,” Devon said. “Remote areas don’t feed my son. However, if I do what the knights ask, Ramsey will still not let me live. There’s no way out of this trap. There’s no happy ending for me or my children.” She kicked at the beach, sending sand and pebbles flying. “Do you see the bind I’m in?”
“Then that leaves one alternative,” Jarrow said. “You know what I’m going to suggest, don’t you?”
A raw wind scoured the shore, scattering water droplets, and Devon said, “No. I won’t abandon Cai.”
“Why not?” He flung his arms wide, making his question as big as the world. “At least consider it! Living remote would be easy for you and me. No special considerations. No drugs. No human victims. We could be in Ireland by tomorrow if we left tonight!”
“I said no. I’m not going to Ireland without my son, or anywhere else for that matter. I’m not leaving this city without him. I’m not abandoning him to starvation, or taking him away just to watch him become a monster. Even if it kills me.”
Jarrow stared. “How can one child be worth the loss of everything else? How can you justify this cost?”
Victoria drew her shawl tight around herself. Her gaze was focused, thoughtful; weighing the pair of them.
Devon sought her compass, fingers curling tight around it. “Love doesn’t have a cost. It’s just a choice you make, the way you choose to keep breathing or keep living. It’s not about worth and it’s not about price. Those concepts don’t apply.”
A space of two breaths passed—her tense, him coiled. Elsewhere in the city, the clock struck 10 P.M. On the Palace Pier above, lights were dimming, some going out completely; fun had ended for the evening.
“Then I can’t help you.” His temple throbbed, veins strained against skin by high blood pressure. “I kept my promise. I came to see you, never minding the risk to me and Vic. But you won’t save yourself, and you can’t save your children. There is nothing I can actually do, I don’t know why you bloody got in touch!”