Bone Crier's Moon (Bone Grace, #1)(88)

My stomach clenches. “But what if the Chained man comes back there?”

“I’ll be fine. Until tonight, the dead have left me alone. It’s you they’re drawn to, Ailesse,” he says, and then looks down at Jules. “Will you be all right while I’m gone?”

She rolls her eyes at him and smiles. But as soon as Bastien turns away, a small convulsion runs through her.

“Marcel and I will take care of her.” I cross to where she’s now propped up against the wall.

She stares at the coin purse around my neck, and her eyes grow narrow and cold.

Bastien gives a curt nod and grabs his lantern, then he bites his lip and veers over to me. “We’ll talk soon, all right?” His fingers feather across mine, and I flush with heat. His eyes are apologetic, maybe even regretful. I know the conversation he means to have when he returns. He’s going to explain his feelings about Jules.

I muster a smile. I don’t want him to think I’m upset. He and I were star-crossed to begin with.

“All right,” I whisper.

He searches my eyes, and I lower them so they don’t reveal anything. “I’ll hurry as fast as I can,” he says.

His hand slips away from mine, and my fingers curl. He ducks under the low doorway.

And then he’s gone.

A fierce ache rises at the back of my throat.

Jules shoots me a look of contempt. “You’re cruel to tempt him when all you want to do is to kill him.” Her body convulses with another tremor. “I saw you two in the quarry. You were about to kiss.”

I stare at her, surprised by her sudden mood swing and rock-hard expression. I try to see past it to the Jules that Bastien has always known. I try to see even deeper to the girl she might have been if her father had lived. “No matter how much you hate me, Jules, you need to believe I’ll never kill Bastien. I give you my promise.” I wish I could save him from his fate, but he and I have been deluding ourselves. There’s no way to break our soul-bond. I knew that from the start.

She scoffs. “Your promises mean nothing.”

I draw a calming breath. I know what I need to do now, and it’s for the best. “What if I promise to leave your lives forever? Would you believe me then?”

Some of the malice leaves Jules’s face. “You’d leave Bastien? Why?”

Because you’re the one meant for him. “Wouldn’t you leave the person who’d held you captive?”

She shivers with another tremor. Her body is in shock, and I’m only upsetting her more.

I look at Marcel. “Can I talk to you for a moment outside?”

His brows rise. “All right.”

He follows me out of the chamber, and I shift back from the looming wall of skulls. “You’ve always been kind to me,” I say, keeping my voice low. “That’s why I hope you’ll help. I have my grace bones now, but I still need the bone flute.”

A shaky laugh escapes him. “You’re going to have to ask Jules. If I give it to you without her knowing, she’ll murder me in my sleep.”

“But aren’t you angry she was almost murdered? This is how you can get your revenge on the Chained man who hurt her.”

“By giving you the flute?”

“The dead can’t be killed; they can only be ferried.” I lean closer. “You must know where Jules is hiding it.”

His grin quivers as he rubs his earlobe. “Can we talk about this when Bastien comes back? I don’t think he’s forgiven me for letting you steal my knife.”

“Bastien will be glad I have the flute.” Tears form as soon as I say his name. I blink them back.

“I might be able to break our soul-bond if I play a different song on it.”

Marcel stiffens. “Could it really be that simple?”

“I hope.” I don’t waste another breath explaining my theory or the fact that I don’t know any soul-bond-breaking songs. “Please, Marcel. Tonight is a full moon, and midnight is just over three hours away. That’s when I need to start ferrying. I don’t have any more time to lose.”

“Full moon?” he repeats with a frown. “You said the Leurress ferry on the new moon.”

“Yes, but the bone flute has both symbols—the new moon and the full moon. At first I thought the full moon was only on there to show when a Leurress could perform her rite of passage, but all day long I’ve been thinking . . . what if the full moon on the flute means more than that? What if the dead can be ferried on a full moon, too?”

Marcel drums his fingers on his lips. “The lowest tides do occur during full moons as well as new moons,” he concedes.

“I have to try,” I say. “The bone flute is finally within my reach again.” I set my jaw and steel my nerves, grateful I have a monumental task to distract me tonight. I only pray my mother will be willing to attempt ferrying with me. If nothing else, she’ll be relieved to have the bone flute back in her possession.

“Will you have enough time to find the other Ferriers and make it to the land bridge by midnight?” Marcel asks.

“Maybe—if I run fast enough.” It will mean traveling out of these catacombs and to Chateau Creux first. My grace bones should help. “That’s why I need you to hurry.” I touch his arm. “Please, Marcel. Do you know what’s really happening to the sick people in Dovré?”