Siege of Shadows (Effigies #2)(76)

Whipping around to glare at the security agents, I burst inside the room. Mrs. Prince was inside Blackwell’s darkly lit office, standing behind the large wooden desk that shimmered in the moonlight streaming from the grand, arched window behind it.

And next to her was the tiny red-haired server girl I’d bumped into earlier, holding a gun to Mrs. Prince’s temple. With her other hand, she held a finger to her lips.

“We’re going to do this quietly, sweetie,” she said in an accent she hadn’t had before. Australian. This voice I recognized. “Or you’ll see Mrs. Naomi’s brains splattered across all this fine furniture.”





18



NAOMI. NATALYA’S NAOMI? I LOOKED at the woman, who was deathly still, though her eyes screamed for help.

A rough push from one of the security guards sent me stumbling farther inside the room. The other shut and locked the door behind him with a soft click. Quickly, I lifted my arms, feeling the heat rush through them.

“Nuh-uh-uh! Hands down.” The server waved her finger at me. “No powers. Neither of us wants things to get messy here.”

“Jessie, right?” I said. She looked completely different from the picture I’d seen on the screen, but I couldn’t forget that mocking, singsong tone.

“Ooh? Did Aidan tell you about me? I’m touched that he remembers me.”

“Aidan,” Naomi hissed quickly. “Tell Aidan—”

Jessie’s hand covered the woman’s mouth. “Qui-et, please.”

Discreetly, I lowered my gaze, checking my bag to make sure it was still open, picking up the sound.

“Jessie Stone, right?” I repeated as loudly as I could without arousing suspicion. “Yeah, I saw your picture once. Kind of a different girl when you were thirteen.”

“I got a little work done in my off time. Wanted to look pretty for my big comeback, you know. I haven’t seen Aidan in so long.” She leaned in, pressing her gun closer to her victim’s temple. “What else did he tell you about me?”

“That you’re a psychopath.”

“Really?”

“No, but I can gather. Otherwise, why would you have a gun to his mother’s head?”

I shifted slightly, feeling my open bag swivel against my hips as Jessie giggled. “You talk tough. Ain’t too bright, though.” Her wild eyes traced a path down my face to my neck before rubbing the back of her own.

The security guards stood almost perfectly still, like soldiers waiting for orders. “Jessie, it’s getting late, and they still haven’t called,” one said. “He should be out by now.”

“Yeah, I know that, Anderson. Damn it,” she cursed, glaring at her pants pocket. “What the hell is the holdup?”

“What exactly do you want from me?” I gripped the bag’s chain around my shoulder. My feet itched to launch me forward, but Jessie’s finger was too firmly on the trigger of her gun. “Just let Mrs. Prince go!”

“Can’t do that. She’s my insurance. See, you’re supposed to come with us—me and Vasily, I mean. We’re takin’ you to Saul.”

Back when they’d ambushed us the first time in the tunnels, Jessie had tried to get that giant monstrosity to capture me too—no, it wasn’t a monstrosity. It was a person. Or it used to be. Alex. I felt a slight chill shudder through my bones.

“Even with the ring, he’s very busy, you know. Prepping for something hella big. Can’t do everything himself. There’s a plan in place. It’s all about the timing, see? Now it’s time for you to come with us.”

“The problem with that plan,” I said, my voice shaking, “is that Vasily’s still in jail, currently being tortured by a crazy guy dressed like a doctor.”

Jessie sighed. “Seems like. I thought I’d get confirmation by now. Once I did, it’d be easier to take you out of here.”

“Confirmation of what?”

Jessie only shrugged. “But since I haven’t heard anything, I’m taking matters into my own hands.” She cocked the gun. “Now come with me. Very quiet. Or we’ll both have fun watching Mommy’s gray matter fly.”

Rhys’s mother gasped against Jessie’s hand as the girl pushed the gun hard against her skull. Jessie’s eyes were alight with joy and malice.

My trembling fingers curled around my dress. “You wouldn’t.”

The shot was muted thanks to the silencer on the barrel. I was frozen, my mind still working out what had happened, when one of the security guards behind me crumpled to the ground. The other guard looked horrified enough to retch as Jessie rather innocently shrugged and placed the gun back on Naomi’s temple.

“Let’s try this again,” she said. “Come with me. Quietly. I won’t say it again.”

Naomi squeezed her eyes shut, breathing in slowly to keep herself calm. I couldn’t stall anymore. But before I could get my foot off the floor, I heard something rolling into the room behind me.

“What the . . .” The guard stepped to the side to avoid them. They were three metal balls, tiny enough to slip underneath the door, like children’s marbles.

Jessie tilted her head. “What’s that?”

Click. The light that battered the room blinded me for a moment. I covered my eyes, doubling over as the doors busted open. The crack of a fist against bone, the shudder of a body slamming against the wall.