“Now what shall I do with you? If I take you back to the Sanctuary to stand trial, I fear our traitor will either kill you or help you escape. While I would not regret the former, the latter is intolerable.” Gina’s hair was starting to rise, like Kerry’s did when he was worked up. “But I cannot kill you outright, either, as Council law forbids wardens from attacking other wardens.”
“I ain’t got no problem killing her!” Kerry hollered.
“No one is going to kill her,” Hank said, “so both of you calm down. She knows too much that she hasn’t told us yet. We need to finish questioning her, but not here.”
“What about the Box?” Rome, still blocking Kerry, looked at us over his shoulder. “There are holding cells there, right?”
“Yes.” Gina’s smile was not a pleasant one. “I’ll be right back.”
Without another word, she clamped one hand around Peridot Grisa’s wrist and the two disappeared in a puff of purple.
39. This Present Darkness
Mira
The knock at the door made me frown.
Gina had returned, taken Hank to the Box to finish interrogating Spider Legs, and come back to check on Lilas, who was still sleeping. Knowing Lilas would be upset when she learned what happened, Gina decided to go out and buy “a little something to cheer her up.”
The knock came again, and I wondered if she’d forgotten the key. Since the boys were locked up in Rome’s room for some reason and Gigi was checking on Lilas, I went ahead and opened it.
At first, I thought no one was there until I looked down and saw a little skeleton holding a battered blue suitcase.
“That’s a mighty good Halloween costume, kid, but it’s February.”
“It’s not a costume.” I got the impression it was scowling at me. “Kerry Harker here?”
Squinting, I examined the little creature closer and, yeah, I was pretty sure it was telling the truth. That was no costume. Those were real bones, complete with pits and scuffs, that were held together by some white gel. From the darkrecesses of the eye sockets shone purple pinpoints of light that I assumed it used to see. There was a gold bracelet rattling around one wrist, and the left arm was engraved with long lines of elegant symbols.
“You can stare at me all you want later.” It sounded cranky. “But I need to see Kerry Harker.”
I didn’t know whether to let him in or not. I mean, I’d already gotten in trouble over the weeping reaper, so I made a play for time while I decided.
“What’s that inscription?” I tilted my head to his left arm.
“None of your beeswax.” He bent his arm behind his spine.
When did I start thinking of it as a him?
“Icanread.” Folding my arms, I gave him a quelling look, even though I was bluffing. I didn’t know Angelic from Infernal.
“It’s a Bible verse, okay? ‘Against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.’ There! Satisfied?” The skeleton would have been sneering at me if he’d had skin. “Now tell Kerry that Hinge needs to talk to him!”
I didn’t get the sense that he was fibbing, and that was quite a long verse to make up or pull out of the blue. He’d recited it too easy, as if it were his mantra.
Well, I guess he’s no demon if he has Scripture carved into his bones.
I pushed the door open and stepped aside.
“Tell him yourself.”
#
Kerry
“Hinge?” My jaw dropped. “How did you find me?”
“You still got my knife, remember?” He drilled his big toe bone into the carpet and kept his head bent. “I made it, so I can track it.”
