The Fandom(72)

We trail through the city gates with the rest of the slaves and I brace myself for that rotting bird smell. But this time, rather than overwhelm me, it seems strangely reassuring. At least it knows it stinks. And being surrounded by the misshapen, badly proportioned physiques of the Imps, not a Gem in sight, I get this strange feeling like I’ve returned home from the zoo.

Regardless, the trudge through the city is soul destroying. I spend half of the journey recalling how at this point in canon, Willow was secretly following Rose across the city – dressed in a pair of grey overalls, hair mussed up and dirt rubbed into his face – and the other half preparing for my future conversation with Thorn. I knew you wouldn’t be able to replace Rose. It’s a good job I sent Alice too. Now you will all have to stay in this place for the rest of your lives.

At least I’ll see Katie again. I’ve missed her soft Scouse accent, her grounded approach to life, the way she always makes me laugh. I want to tell her about Ash, about the Dupes, about what a bitch Alice has been. Katie will call her a twatwomble, and I’ll momentarily forget how crap everything is.

Katie, I suddenly think. Thorn will kill Katie. I begin to unravel – my hands begin to shake, my joints seize up, my gut clenches. I’ve always known this was true, but only as we near headquarters does the reality sink in. Maybe, just maybe, Alice was right, and he fancies her too much to hurt her.

‘Violet? What is it?’ Matthew asks.

‘Katie,’ I say. ‘I failed the mission.’

‘We’ll try and talk to him,’ Saskia says.

Matthew nods. ‘He listens to Saskia.’

‘He doesn’t listen to anyone, arrogant jerk.’ Saskia glances at my tense face and tries to smile. ‘But he won’t kill your mate, promise. He likes her I reckon, as much as Thorn can like anyone.’

I hold on to these words, and just hope Katie managed to befriend him, at least enough to stop him from killing her, but not so much that he tried it on. I shudder when I think of what a difficult position Katie’s been in, the role she may have had to play. And I just can’t lose Katie. These past few days, I’ve realized just how much she means to me. Not just because of Alice’s betrayal, but because it’s always Katie I’ve longed to tell when something’s gone wrong. It’s her voice, punctuated with hilarious swear words, that I’ve imagined telling me it will all come good. Alice has been my best friend since I was four, a history which can’t be ignored, a history which practically elevates her to sister status. But if I were to walk into a room completely oblivious to the past thirteen years, my friendship slate wiped clean, it would be Katie I’d choose to slam tequila with, not Alice.

I let my eyes skim over the forgotten, ghostly street signs, the monotony of the grey and the thwack of my step eventually stilling my mind. The sun slowly moves across the sky, its rays barely penetrating my skin. That’s when I first notice it, a flash of grey fabric in my peripheral vision. The tiny hairs on my arms stiffen and I have this overwhelming sense that somebody’s watching me, following me. I get a soft flicker of hope in my chest. Maybe, just maybe . . . but I can’t bring myself to even think it, because if I’m wrong, I will experience that crushing disappointment all over again.

Nate fishes some undiscovered bread from inside his overalls and hands it out. Saskia grabs a piece and gives half to Matthew. ‘We can eat as we walk,’ she says.

A few crumbs fall from Nate’s mouth. He looks at me and grins. ‘Hansel and Gretel made it home, didn’t they?’

‘Yeah, but the birds ate the crumbs,’ I reply.

Saskia jabs me in the back. ‘Who said you could speak?’ It sounds aggressive even for her – she’s worried about seeing Thorn too.

‘So how did they get home?’ Nate whispers, after a tokenistic pause.

‘They killed the witch,’ I whisper back.

‘Shhh.’ Saskia jabs me in the back again.

‘Tempting,’ Nate says.

We both giggle.

By the time the church spire comes into view, hunger and tiredness have weakened my limbs, and I have to concentrate really hard not to cry. That flash of grey hasn’t reappeared and I left the flicker of hope behind with Nate’s breadcrumbs.

We approach the church, the scent of fish thick in my nostrils. Just the sight of those porthole windows, the gothic spire, and I get this pain in my stomach, this tightness in my throat. Saskia and Matthew push through the wooden doors and I follow, Nate’s hand wrapped in mine. Thorn leans against the altar, just like in canon. I’d forgotten how beautiful he looks, his dark skin gleaming in the evening light.

‘I hear you’ve arrived empty-handed, Violet,’ he says.

He must have received word from Alice. All the fear and tiredness seem to lift, and that anger hardens in my ribcage again. He’s the one who sent her. If it wasn’t for him, the canon would be on track and the rebels would be about to discover Willow peering through the rusted keyhole in the church door. It was a heart-wrenching scene – Willow all roughed up and hauled into the church to face Thorn. The hurt expression on Willow’s face when he saw Rose with the rebels and finally realized her true identity.

My brow sets in a determined line. Because of Thorn, Willow is currently feeling up my bestie. ‘I take it you mean those Gem secrets?’ I say. ‘He chose Alice, by the way.’