The Dark Calling (The Arcana Chronicles #5)(44)

His fists clenched as he said, “I’m goan to kill the Hanged Man for what he’s done to you. And Finn too.”

“The problem is how. I didn’t tell the others this”—I glanced at the cave entrance and lowered my voice—“but I clawed him and nothing happened.”

“He regenerates like you?”

“It’s hard to explain. His skin was simply unaffected. Aric told me he’s invulnerable to harm.”

Jack muttered a curse. “You think there’s any way to lure the Reaper out of that dome? Gabe didn’t seem keen to leave it.”

“Nor Aric. He believes it protects him from my spellbinding, bringing him much-needed clarity. Since my escape, I’ve tried to goad him into leaving, but he refuses.”

“How’d you talk to him?”

“Kentarch has a satellite phone that still works. I called Aric a couple of times. He’s cruel. Jack, you can’t believe how cruel.” He’d been about to make me beg, had enjoyed my tears. Before I went down that rabbit hole, I said, “Let’s talk about something else, okay?” I still needed to tell Jack about the baby, but he looked so whipped with exhaustion. “How did you escape from those slavers?”

“The Fool showed up and rescued me.”

I raised my brows. “Matthew saved you?”

“In the nick of time too. I’d injured my leg really bad and wasn’t long for the world—about to be served up as breakfast for the other slaves. Fucking hate slavers, me.” Jack explained the carnage Matthew had caused, and how he’d felt like he hadn’t known the Fool at all.

I shuddered. “Where do you think he went?”

“Doan know. And I didn’t look for him after he left. Even though he saved my life, we got sideways on some things.”

“Like why he allowed all those people to be killed by Richter?”

“Coo-y?n said he had a reason. Said he ‘sees far.’”

Sounded familiar. Would that be his excuse for letting Finn die?

“I tell myself something worse must’ve been in store for them.” Again, Jack stared into the flames. “Cannibals attacking or the plague. I tell myself his reasoning was pure. Some days I even believe it.” Could Finn’s fate have been worse?

Yes. Definitely yes.

Jack cleared his throat and faced me. “So, what’re the details on Circe?” He didn’t want to talk about the massacre any more than I wanted to discuss Aric. “She’s the one you fought outside of Fort Arcana?”

“Yes, but she and I have come to an understanding since then. If free of Paul’s influence, she’ll try to help us. We just need to find her.”

“Okay. We got a plan, at least.” After a hesitation, he said, “There’s something I need to tell you—”

A commotion at the mouth of the cave announced the return of Kentarch and Joules, with the butchered lion in hand.

“It can wait,” Jack murmured to me.

“We wanted to give you more time to talk”—Kentarch set up a spit over the fire—“but hunger calls.” Once the lion started to cook, he handed us each a skewer with a slice of raw meat the color of pork.

As we roasted them over the flames, my attention shifted back and forth from Jack—Is he truly here with me?—to the broiling meat. My mouth watered.

Joules inhaled deeply. “Smell that, would you? Hope we don’t draw company. This is Richter territory, after all.”

Jack rotated his skewer. “When’s the last time anyone saw him?”

I said, “A few weeks ago, we encountered him and Zara. She’s the Fortune Card, a chopper pilot. I’ve tangled with her before.”

“What’s her power?”

“Freakish luck. She can steal it through touch. She was just about to steal mine when Lark and Aric rescued me.”

“Richter’s targeting food depots,” Joules said. “Anything they canna carry back to their lair, he incinerates. No one knows why.”

Jack said, “I’d wondered why supplies had dried up even more lately.”

“Empress, tell him about Richter’s other ally! Ol’ Jackie boy will get a kick out of this. And by kick, I mean stroke.”

As I reluctantly relayed the highlights of my partnership with Sol, the muscle in Jack’s jaw ticked overtime. “Lemme get this straight: he made Baggers dine on you?”

“He also saved our lives from Zara and Richter.”

Joules said, “We were in Death’s truck, running from quakes. Didn’t know we were headed right for a blown-out bridge and would’ve eaten it for certain. But Sol had his Baggers show us a safer route. You haven’t lived till you’ve seen a Bagger hitchhiking with his thumb out.”

True. “Sol’s sense of humor is one of the reasons I liked him.”

Jack’s expression darkened. “And I bet he liked you too.”

“Not in that way. He’s a big flirt, but his heart is taken.” By two. The tragedy of his love life rivaled mine. “Besides, I was so frantic to save you, I was on my worst Empress behavior with him. I’m surprised he could forgive me.”

Jack asked, “How do you know which Baggers are . . . helpful? Which ones are under Sol’s control?”