Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1)(72)

“She was only twenty when she died,” Lola said solemnly.

Enne turned away from Gabrielle’s picture, unable to look at the girl who’d been so ruthlessly executed. No matter what she’d done, it was still tragic to imagine.

“The story’s right here, between the lines,” Lola explained. “They discovered that Gabrielle was pregnant. Some blood gazer at the birth saw what you are.” She pointed to another paper. “They issued a public apology here, saying the execution was going to be private. Back during the Great Street War, that used to mean the Phoenix Club wanted in on it. They wanted to kill Gabrielle themselves.”

“You mean the Shadow Game, don’t you?” Enne asked. Beside her, Levi stiffened.

“That’s what I would guess. A Mizer baby would’ve caught their attention.”

“But she died of a gunshot wound,” Levi added. “Not in the Game.”

“I heard there was a big chase for her, before she died,” Lola said. “My brother told me stories about it. But the whiteboots got her, in the end.”

“Maybe she escaped before playing the Game,” Enne suggested.

“Or maybe,” Levi said quietly, as Jac shot him a warning look, “she won.”

Enne reached into her pocket and pulled out her token. It was warm and familiar in her hand, something she desperately needed when every new secret she uncovered was soaked in tragedy. Had the Phoenix Club known about some connection between Lourdes and Gabrielle, and that was why they’d invited Lourdes to play the Shadow Game? The card they’d found wasn’t the Fool, but that didn’t mean an invitation hadn’t found her eventually.

What if the Phoenix Club knew Enne existed? If she were a member of the Phoenix Club, and she were looking for the daughter of Gabrielle Dondelair, then a seventeen-year-old girl in an acrobatics show would certainly draw suspicion. Enne was climbing her way up to becoming a real star in the St. Morse troupe, but she could no longer afford to draw that much attention to herself. If she wanted to survive, then she needed to live as she and Lourdes had lived: in the darkness, as far from the spotlight as she could.

Acrobatics was the one thing she was enjoying about New Reynes. She’d been mediocre all of her life, and the moment she’d begun to excel, she’d have to throw her ambitions away. It was the only way to protect herself, but it felt unfair.

“No one wins the Shadow Game,” Lola said.

“It’s not like they’d want you to know, if someone did,” Levi retorted. His voice was hoarse, almost giddy. “No game is impossible to win.”

Enne fiddled with her token. “So what do we have? A connection between the Shadow Game, Gabrielle and Lourdes? That’s it?”

“We’re digging up history,” Lola said. “Did you expect better?”

“No. But I’d hoped.”

She swatted at Enne’s hands. “Put that key away.”

“Key?” Enne asked, confused.

“Yes. That coin in your hand. Isn’t that a Royal Bank key?”

Levi took the coin from Enne and turned it over, examining it. “That sounds familiar...”

“It should,” Lola said. “It’s in Olde Town. It’s the oldest bank in the city.”

Enne’s spirits lifted. “You mean it’s still there? We can find it?” Even if their research had been fruitful, learning the identity of her birth mother had brought her no closer to finding Lourdes. But this...

“Don’t involve me,” Lola said. “Olde Town is Iron Land, anyway.”

Levi shook his head. “I’ve never heard of this bank. Have you, Jac?”

“I think there’s some place like that near First Square,” Jac pondered, and Enne’s spirits lifted even higher. This was a real lead.

Levi rubbed his thumb on the edge of the token. “These numbers might reference a vault.”

“Then we’ll go tomorrow,” Enne declared. “Tomorrow afternoon.” She packed up their papers, eager to leave this place and the tragedy they’d uncovered behind.

“Lourdes won’t be hiding in some bank,” Lola said.

Enne shook her head. This was about more than just finding Lourdes now. If this was the bank that held the account Enne had accidentally discovered, the one Lourdes had kept secret all this time, then this meant answers. And it also meant volts. A lot of volts.

“You’ll be there with us,” Levi told Lola. “You’re in this now, too. We all are.”

“Involved enough to be hanged for it, you mean.”

“That’s a rather depressing notion, but sure. How did you put it earlier?” He grinned. “Oh, right. ‘You’re one of the villains, now.’”





      DAY SIX

   “Avarice, pride and lust—these are all modest desires. What the City of Sin truly craves is destruction.”

   —The City of Sin, a Guidebook: Where To Go and Where Not To





LEVI

Walking into Olde Town usually felt like walking home, but today, Levi had a sinking, anxious feeling in his chest. He shouldn’t be worried. With Vianca’s gift, his own salary, Enne’s payment and two days’ worth of gambling spoils, he had seven thousand of the ten thousand volts he needed to pay Sedric Torren. A few more casinos, a few more lucky streaks, and he was going to make it.