Really, given how quick Dis Pater was to end me at the first opportunity, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn he placed me at St. Mary’s because the Perchten were known to kill children. Which made me curious if Ithas had discovered the institution’s reputation and demanded Dis Pater send someone to dispatch the predators before they targeted me.
Pity Kierce had come too late. Probably by Dis Pater’s design. I had been even more likely to die on the streets than under the sisters’ care. Statistically speaking. But they underestimated the lengths I would go to provide for my family and keep them safe.
“There is no knowing the mind of someone,” Anunit said, ears flicking forward, “who would hurt children for their own gain.”
With a grunt, Anunit swatted me aside before the gaudy chandelier smashed near where Ankou had been standing, and I landed hard on my shoulder.“Oof.”
Anunit sniffed every inch of me, inspecting me for damage, and a jagged shard pierced my heart at the subtle shift in her behavior. She and I had grown close, but she wasn’t treating me like before. She was acting as if I had grown more precious for possessing a fragment of her daughter.
“Fuck a duck.” Ankou shot out of the darkness. “Did you do that?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I got bored and decided it would be fun to swing from the chandelier,” I said bitterly, wishing he would go back where he came from. “Guess I had one too many beignets.”
“I need to check in.” He grew fidgety. “Be back in a bit.”
After he disappeared, I counted to ten and then shoved to my feet. The best I could do if Kierce—or the others—were trying to save me was do my part. “We need to search the area.”
For a tense moment, I wasn’t sure Anunit would stand, but she rose and padded to my side. “All right.”
“There can’t be much down here, or they would have restrained us.”
Neither Ithas nor Ankou had acted concerned we had been left to our own devices, and that was telling.
“They do not believe we will escape this place.”
“Can we teleport out?” I read the answer on her face. “Are there wards we can break or…?”
“I cannot tell.” She shook her head. “The scent of chemicals burns my nose when I breathe too deeply.”
“Odd that I can zip in and out of Dis Pater’s home but the same isn’t true of this place.”
“Blood and bone should form a more powerful bond,” she agreed, “but perhaps it is the nature of your consort, and his connection to Dis Pater, that allows you entrance?”
“I’m not sure.”
I massaged my temples, the circular motions knocking a new thought loose, one I wouldn’t share with Anunit because it relegated her daughter to a mere object. One that Dis Pater likely wrapped in protections to ensure his priceless treasure wouldn’t be ruined before he used it. If a spell had lived in the sword, in the bone, then the wards on his house might recognize it in me. As one of his possessions, carrying his magic, the wards could have let me pass without taking issue.
The same exemption wouldn’t apply to Ithas.
“Look.” She butted her head against my hip. “Light.”
A narrow slice cut across the floor, illuminating the clear outline of a door. “Shall we?”
Expecting it to be locked, you could have knocked me over with a feather when it swung open under my hand to reveal a small room with a simple window overlooking the bleak wasteland of Abaddon. Which, knowing what I did about Dis Pater’s allotment, how it mirrored his beachside home, meant Ithas enjoyed this view.
And people thought I was weird.
Without a weapon to break it, I couldn’t do much besides pound a fist on the heavy glasslike material. It didn’t budge. It didn’t even vibrate aside from a faint hum under my palm when I pressed my hand to it.
“It’s a ward,” I realized, marveling at the application despite my best efforts to snub all things Ithas.
“Then it can be broken,” she growled, sounding more like herself. “We must find where it anchors.”
Try as I might, I couldn’t locate any points along the frame. The technique was too advanced for me. The fact Ithas had it in his home meant he likely invented it. It might be the only instance like it in any world.
“No wonder they weren’t worried about sticking us down here.”
“We will find a way.”
