Thin Lines (The Child Thief #3)(68)

She also looked to be much older than the rest of us. In her forties, at least.

That was all I had time to observe of her. A second later she darted past us and grabbed something from a cupboard she’d thrown open under the stairs. She whirled back around holding the item up, and I was surprised to see that it was a scanner like the ones the enforcers used.

Something with which to verify our identities.

“Fingers,” she snapped. “One at a time.”

Jace went first, staring at the woman—who I assumed was Corona—like she was some sort of hallucination, and when the scanner beeped the woman glanced at the screen.

“Jace Huxley. Right, you’re on the approved list.” She gestured for him to move to the side and beckoned urgently for the next person.

I stepped forward, my heart in my mouth, and held out my finger. She slipped the scanner over it, pressed the button, and nodded at the beep.

“Robin Sylvone, you’re clear.”

This unexpected scene repeated itself again and again as she scanned the twins, then Nelson and Jackie, and finally Kory, and then she frowned at Jace.

“You’re supposed to have a lot more people with you than just this. Where’s everyone else? I was told to expect at least twenty of you.”

Her voice was tense and commanding, and for a moment I felt as if we were in trouble for not having brought as many people as she’d expected. Jace, however, responded to her as if he’d known her for years.

“We split up,” he said quickly. “And we don’t have time to get to the others right now. The Authority—”

“Don’t care,” she said, whirling and starting up the stairs. “If you don’t have the others with you, it means they’re not my problem. Not right now, at least. Follow me. There are things I need to tell you before I go.”

I stared at her for a moment, then looked at Jackie, and noticed the smoke coming out of the kitchen. That explained the burning smell, then.

One quick prod from Jace sent me flying up the stairs after the woman we’d come to find.

She had already disappeared down the hall on the first floor of the palatial house, and after a moment of looking at each other in confusion, we all darted after her.

I had always thought my parents’ house was large, but this one put their dwelling to shame. The stairs were of pure white concrete, bordered by an iron railing, and a red rug ran right down the middle of them, from top to bottom. When we reached the first floor we found a long hallway covered in artwork, and though I’d never been an artist myself, or even someone who really appreciated art much, I could tell that this stuff was expensive. Maybe even original.

The woman I assumed to be Corona hadn’t even paused to look at it, though, and by the time we got to the top of the stairs she was just darting into a room on the right, about halfway down the hall.

We ran in that direction without bothering to discuss it, each of us thinking, I assumed, that whatever had her worried and rushing around—leaving something to burn in her kitchen—was something we probably needed to worry about as well. If this woman was truly associated with Nathan, it meant she was on the same side as us, and her worries were therefore ours.

When we arrived in the room we found an enormous four-poster bed, and on the other side a wall full of windows. The view beyond was breathtaking, showing a landscape of stretching green fields dotted with picturesque groups of trees.

But the scene inside the room was anything but peaceful. It looked as if Corona had pulled out every piece of clothing she owned, as well as all the jewelry, and had stacks and stacks of books and papers on the bed as well. She was shoving it all into suitcases, not bothering with things like folding or saving space, and as we watched, she walked intently back to her closet, grabbed another armload of books, and then returned to the closest suitcase.

“Um… Corona?” Jace asked. “Are you Corona?”

“I am,” she said, huffing. “And you’re Jace. And I’m glad you finally showed up. I’ve been told to wait for you, but I couldn’t have waited much longer.”

He frowned. “Um… are you going somewhere?” he asked, looking around.

I looked around as well, utterly confused. Whoever this woman was, she was in a hurry to get out of here, and she didn’t look like she was going to be waiting much longer. What would have happened if we hadn’t shown up on time? Was Jace positive that this was the right version of his plan B?

“I’m getting out,” she said abruptly. “I’ve stayed too long, and though I would do anything for Nathan, this is asking too much. He’s asked me to stay too long.”

She paused and looked closely at Jace, then seemed to come to the conclusion that he deserved more than she was giving him.

She walked over, put her hands on his shoulders, and shook him slightly.

“If you work with Nathan, then you know. You’re only safe until you’re not, and you’ve got to constantly be watching for that moment when things change. Two nights ago, I got a phone call from one of my contacts. It seems the Authority has a file on me, and they’ve been asking around. Asking dangerous questions. My cover story is good, but it’s not going to hold up if they decide to get aggressive. I was told by an inside source…” She paused, as if she was going to say more than that, but then charged on ahead. “That they were going to be coming for me today. Asking for my papers.”