Within These Wicked Walls(78)

“She couldn’t take it anymore, she said,” I said, distracting myself with the washing bowl so I wouldn’t have to look at him. “She left last night. Didn’t say where she was going.”

“Well, when is she coming back?”

“Never,” Kelela said, rather harshly. She looked ready to kill the ghost of the woman herself. “I guess she didn’t want to have to be the next volunteer. What a coward.”

“Don’t say that,” I said quickly. “She reacted how anyone would. You’re just braver than most.”

“Of course I am.” She gaped at me slightly, but I noticed a pleased blush on her cheeks. “Thank you.”

“So, she’s not coming back?” Magnus butted in.

“No, Magnus.” I touched his hand, and he weaved his fingers through mine, making my heart pound. “She’s not coming back.”

He was quiet for a moment, his body sinking into his chair. And then he stood and left the room, his bells jingling joylessly down the hall.

“I suppose I’ll have to tell my brother what happened seeing as this arm won’t allow me to travel right now,” Kelela grumbled, digging into the food with her one good hand without bothering to wash it, either. She shouldn’t have been eating with her left, but it’s all she had available—and, anyway, etiquette was never the strong suit of this household. “God, he’s going to kill me.”

I tore some bite-sized pieces of injera for her so she wouldn’t have to struggle. “Do you want a ride to town?”

“No, I’m too achy for that bumpy ride. He’ll be here tomorrow morning. I’ll wait.”

“Won’t he be mad that you put yourself in danger like this? And that you waited so long to tell him about it?”

“He’ll forgive me. He always does.”

Somehow I didn’t believe it would work out how she wanted. Looking at her arm, splinted and in a sling, I was developing an understanding of Jember’s reluctance to let me do this. It didn’t matter how brave or determined I was if I wasn’t qualified.

But, with Jember’s help, I would be.

I had to be.

Speaking of … “I forgot something,” I said, stuffing one more fingerful of spicy food in my mouth before rushing out to get Jember. There was no way he could put that leg on himself in the condition he was in.

I tripped to a stop before the doorway on hearing a whispered voice, and peeked inside to see Saba standing a short distance from Jember’s chair. He had his arms crossed and Saba was gripping a small wooden box … but they were clearly talking, which was progress. Saba approached and sat on the coffee table, opening the box beside her. A first-aid kit. I prayed Jember would let her touch him, if only to help.

And then I backed up slowly out of the doorway to go finish my lunch.





CHAPTER 30


“This is all we have,” Magnus said, laying out two swords, three rifles, a case of pistols, and a handful of kitchen knives. He blinked at my significantly larger pile of household items. “What is all that junk?”

It was easy to find weapons in such a huge house. Curtain rods, fireplace tools, plenty of solid-wood broomsticks that could be sharpened into spears or used as clubs.

But I guess if you weren’t used to fighting for your life, they could more easily be overlooked.

“You need a little more imagination,” I said. “And these”—I moved the knives away from everything else—“won’t do any good. We want long-range weapons, only.”

“Ever heard of ‘knife throwing’?”

“That’s a thing?”

“They do it all the time in the carnivals in Prague.”

“What’s a carnival?”

“It’s the greatest show on earth.” Magnus grinned and took my hand, lighting it on fire, a feeling so glorious I never wanted to let go. “When this is all over, I’ll take you.”

I blushed, turning away to sort the weapons. “I’ve never been out of the country before.”

“We’ll be able to go anywhere. Everywhere. You’ll love it.”

“Well, I mean, I have to see if there’s time between clients.”

“Oh.” His smile slipped away slowly. “Right. Of course. Your job.”

“Why work for a patronage if you’re not going to use it afterward?” My words sounded shallow to my own ears, but I couldn’t stop them. I was doing to Magnus exactly what I hated Jember for doing to Saba.

He helped me sort, though he was sorting differently than I was and messing up everything I’d done. “I was thinking about hiring someone to run the chocolate business. I mean, when I’m twenty-one and it’s mine to command. They’ll do all the boring business things, and I’ll get to sit back and focus on my art.”

“Really?” I’d been counting the weapons but lost the number somewhere between twenty-one and twenty-six. “That’s great. You should definitely do what you’re passionate about.”

“I figure you can do art any time of the day and still be able to sell portraits overseas. At night, for instance. Plenty of countries are awake while we’re asleep.”

I lost count again and stopped trying. “Magnus, we really need to get these things organized.”