Steadfast(27)

Elizabeth shook her head. “Nothing happened this time. I didn’t use much; I didn’t think I’d have to. Upstanding men are so rare. Your father resisted very bravely. But it’s in his head now—the idea of having me. Your mother left him months and months ago; he must be very lonely. If I go back to him, why, I might not even need the spell that time.”

At first Nadia couldn’t find her voice, but then she managed to say, “Leave my father out of this.”

“It’s too late for that. At this rate, I’m very close to going to Ms. Walsh for a counseling session, when I’d confess that I’d been pressured into an affair by one of my friends’ fathers. I wonder what your life would be like if he went to prison for statutory rape? Would you be old enough to take custody of Cole full-time? Though of course you’d have to drop out of school and work to support you both. Even if you did find a job, you couldn’t keep that lovely house, I’d imagine. There are some cheaper apartments further inland that might do. Then again, maybe you’re not old enough after all. Would Cole go into foster care?” Elizabeth frowned, momentarily confused. “Or do they still have workhouses? I can’t recall.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“What is it you think I wouldn’t dare to do?” With a shrug, Elizabeth said, “You know, I could simply falsely accuse your father. Everyone would believe me.”

They would. Part of Elizabeth’s power was the deep enchantment she somehow held over most of the people in Captive’s Sound. Nobody ever saw the horrible things she did, or questioned the fact that she’d been present for nearly four hundred years. Instead she was excused, accepted, and adored.

“But I wouldn’t do that, Nadia. I would make sure he was really, truly guilty. Then the whole time he rotted away in prison, the knowledge of what he’d done would be there within your father. As I said, he’s a good man. He’d never understand why he committed such a terrible sin. It would destroy him, slowly, from the inside. Even when he did get out of jail, he’d never be the same.”

“Why are you doing this?” Nadia wished she could think of a spell horrible enough for Elizabeth, anything as gruesome as she deserved. “Why do you care if I work with you or not? The One Beneath has you already. Why would He need me?”

Elizabeth’s eyes narrowed, the first sign of anger Nadia had glimpsed in her. “I’m only explaining what will happen if you don’t join me. But you will. Then, instead of punishments, there will be rewards.”

“There is nothing you have that I want. Listen to me. I’m going to figure out what you’re up to, and I’m going to stop you. I don’t care how hard it is or how long it takes. I will stop you. And if you don’t leave my father alone, I swear to God, I’ll find a way to make you sorry.”

“We’ll see, won’t we?” With that, Elizabeth rose and walked away, never even glancing back. But Nadia felt as though she was still being watched, maybe because of that crow with the strange eyes, the one that never stopped staring at her.

Let her go. Don’t argue any longer. Soon you’re going to steal her memories. Steal her magic. And she won’t be able to do anything to your father or to anyone else you love. To anyone, ever again. Let Elizabeth walk away tonight. Next time—the tables will be turned.

Nadia took one last look at the burns on Elizabeth’s shoulder before she was swallowed up by the darkness. Imagined the pattern burning itself into her retinas to leave a shadow, like staring at the sun too long.

Elizabeth came home to find Asa waiting for her, as her servant should; instead of kneeling and awaiting her bidding, however, he was reading a book by candlelight.

“You let yourself be diverted by human cares,” she said, kicking shards of the broken glass in his direction.

He didn’t flinch. “If you didn’t want any distractions, maybe you shouldn’t have sheathed me in someone who has homework.”


“Don’t let your human body deceive you into thinking that this world is anything more than a shell.” Elizabeth went to one of the few pieces of furniture she still used, a chest of drawers so dilapidated that it leaned to one side and creaked as she pulled it open. “A shell we have already cracked.”

“I can’t help noticing that Nadia Caldani isn’t with you.” Asa smirked at her. Insolent beast.

“She will be.” Elizabeth’s fingers touched the thing she sought—a piece of human bone so old that it felt powdery in her hand. “Have you watched them as I bid you? Or are you too preoccupied?”

“I have watched. Their vulnerabilities are obvious, their schedules predictable. I know the vehicles they travel in, the comings and goings of their families, what they order at Burger King, so on, so forth. Which of them will you turn me toward first?”

“All three.”

“Ambitious. You’re not giving Nadia another chance?”

“I don’t want you to destroy them. I want you to sow discontent.” Elizabeth closed her fist tightly around the bone; motes of dust escaped between the cracks of her fingers. “She resists because she believes herself supported. Beloved. Take that away, and she’ll be able to see reason.”

“Tear her friends apart. Understood.” Asa grinned. This was the kind of task demons were best at.