Into the Ether (10 page)

 

Pain radiated from the nape of my neck and I groaned.
Rotting meat and the stale smell of
fear and sweat teased my nose as
I rolled to my side.

“Finally.
You're heavier than I thought.”

Justin's face filtered through the darkness and I struggled to sit up, an awkward movement with my arms bound tightly behind my back.
We were
hidden
in the shadow of a brick building, but not one I could recognize.

“What
'
s going on?”

Justin's face seemed thinner,
harsher
than I remembered.
He'd always been sullen, but I'd expected it.
We put a heavy burden on him.
But this was different.
This wasn't frustration and weariness.
There was an ugly edge to the curl of his lips.

“If you had just done what you were supposed to, this wouldn't have gotten out of hand.”

I leaned against the damp wall, ignoring the feeling of slime soaking into the fabric of my dress.
“I was doing what I was supposed to.”

He cut his eyes
to
me, then rose and checked around the corner.
“No.
You were supposed to get caught, like the bumbling idiot you are.
You weren't supposed
to get so fond of the old man and his junk.”

I felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.
This person was not the one who had kept me safe over the last six years
. Instead
,
here
stood
a stranger with cruelty oozing from his lips and blood in his eye.

“You knew how I felt about the museum
when you sent me.
Don't pretend you didn't know
.”

He sneered and pushed a dark, blunt finger into my shoulder.
“
You have no idea what I thought of you.
Always in the way.
Never holding up your end of the bargain.”

It was like poison being poured into my ears.
The words
burned
until I could feel their fire in my nose and my eyes watered.
“But I
'
m a
touch
-
know
.
You said I was important.”

He snorted, rising again to look out onto the street at the mouth of the alley.
I realized he was waiting for someone.
“Your kind are a dime a dozen.
You were so young, you would have done whatever I asked for a little praise.
Not like Terry.
So much more stubborn, but that's been remedied as well.”

At the mention of his name, my heart stuttered.
“What have you done?”

He didn't
meet my gaze
.
I d
idn
't know if it was guilt or something else.
“What's done is done.
No use worrying over it.”

Anger replaced the shock and tears that had been swamping me a moment ago.
I tugged at the bonds twisted around my wrists, and my lips pulled back in a snarl.
“Answer me.
What have you done to Terry?”

His eyes lifted to mine, and there was something between shame and disgust in the set of his tight mouth.
I wasn't sure if it was directed at me or inward.
I didn't care.
I just wanted him to answer my question.

“I didn't do anything to him.
I just delivered him to Lord
Kreios
.
Same as I'm going to do you.
After
that
, it isn't my concern
.”

“You bloody bastard.
We trusted you.
All of us.
And you've done worse than just betraying us.
You sold us out.
For what?
Money?
A taste of the high life?
Tell me it was something worthwhile.”

The
words poured from my lips unchecked, even though the skin around his collar grew darker and anger deepened the lines around his nose and eyes.
My voice rose and I knew that anyone passing by the entrance to the alley could hear me.

Justin knew it too.
With a muttered curse, he jerked a dirty rag from his pocket and pushed me to the side.
I struggled, writhing on the ground, feeling intense satisfaction when one foot
connected with solid flesh.
He
curse
d
again and then he cuffed me.
P
ain
returned
in full force and the world shimmered for a moment as he forced the handkerchief between my teeth and tied a hard knot against the back of my skull.

“Chew on that for a
while.
I can't think straight with you mouthing off.”
Justin pushed me back toward the ground when I tried to rise again.

He peered over the edge of the coal bins and trash heap we were hidden behind, then sighed.
“Finally.”

Justin slid around the corner and out into the alley.
I could hear the soft hiss of steam grow closer and lowered voices.
H
e returned, one hand sliding under my arm and yanking me to my feet.
A knife flashed in the darkness and his eyes reflected the hardness of the blade.

“Behave, or I'll have to use this.”

His warning was unnecessary.
My head swam at the sudden movement and I staggered towards the open maw of the slightly worn steam carriage that waited for us.
The driver sat in the front, studiously avoiding looking in our direction.

The knife pressed into my back as I hesitated before the entrance.
I struggled to
breathe
past the panic rising to swamp me.
His fingers pinched my wounded hand and I nearly screamed.
My head whipped around to glare at him.
He nodded towards the carriage.
As much as I didn't want to get in
the
carriage, I could
n't
push Justin any further.
He meant what he
said; my throbbing hand was proof enough
.

My steps were awkward, and I ended up rolling into the carriage.
Tears stung my eyes as my elbow cracked the corner of the seat.
Slowly, I got one knee under me then pushed myself into a seat.
It was a strange position, but I was seated.

Justin climbed in after me, slamming the door shut and rapping on the roof twice.
With a jerk, the carriage began to roll into the London gloom.
I recognized a few of the shapes as we got started and realized that we
weren't
very far from the museum
.

I studied him and my heart sank at what I saw.
Somewhere along the way he'd become the street criminal we'd all tried hard not to become.
He
searched the night fog for anyone who might be following.
His body was crowded into the darkest corner of the interior, as if the mere touch of gas light would give away some deadly secret.

I shifted, trying to get more comfortable.
The gag bit into the corners of my mouth and I
fought
to keep my tongue away from the dirty cloth.
Whenever I lost the battle, stale sweat and filth made my stomach heave.
My wrists
burned, chaffed
and sore in the ropes
twisted around
them.
When I got out of this, I
promised to
give Justin a few scars to remember me by.

“Stop fidgeting and it won't hurt so much, Gennie.”
Justin stayed on his side of the hired hack and watched me.
The sharp point of his knife flashed in the
gaslight
filtering through the dirty glass windows.
I contemplated trying to surprise him
in the confines of the carriage
.
That plan I discarded.
I would probably impale myself by accident instead of getting the upper hand.
With the
way my luck was going, it wouldn't be surprising.

The view outside the windows grew more and more foggy.
The carriage slowed, and I wished for a free hand to turn the handle of the door
so I could
roll into the street.
I moved in the seat, thinking to lean against the door
but
Justin's head whipped
, his gaze following me
.

“Don't be stupid.
We both know you can't get out of here unless I allow it.
Just sit back and relax.”

My fingers twitched as I imagined wrapping them around his bobbing adam's apple and squeezing.
I wiggled my hands again, wincing as I scraped the tender flesh of my burn.
The light bandage was not meant to protect
the healing wound
from this sort of treatment.

Despite the
lateness
of
the
hour and the fog, our driver seemed to know where he was
going
.
Before too much longer, he pulled up in front of a large townhouse and coaxed the horses to a stop.

Justin leapt down and reached in, snagging my elbow.
I sat, rooted to the seat.
The
mist
flowed around the home before us, creating an air of menace
it
didn't need help to achieve.
I supposed many thought it quite a fine place to live, but it seemed oppressive to me.
Might've been the situation, but I imagined the lit windows as huge eyes, and the black door a yawning mouth waiting to devour me.

“Don't make me come in there after you, Genevieve.
You won't like my methods.”

I stared into Justin's face, distorted by the shadows.
The cruelty in his
face
had never been there before.
Or had I just failed to notice?

While
Justin fidgeted on the sidewalk
, I slid from the carriage
.
He kept a firm grip on my elbow until both of my feet touched the ground.
Then he jerked me closer to his side and nodded to the driver, who set off.

Justin
threw
an arm around me as he led me up the walk and then
, just before we began to approach the door, he veered right.
I found it difficult to split my attention between where he led and the proximity of our bodies.
Every place his body pressed against mine, my skin crawled.
He betrayed us.
The people who looked up to him for guidance and protection.
The one I'd trusted
. The
boy who'd been a catalyst for Terry's death.

My throat ached with the scream that lurked, coiled at the base of my throat.
Frustration
skittered
up and down my spine, twitching and uncomfortable.
If only I'd been more careful, I could have avoided this.

Justin pulled us through the neat, trimmed yard and around a corner.
I
t wouldn't do for a couple of ragamuffins like us to be seen entering through the front door.
I stumbled through the grass and Justin's hold on me tightened to the point of pa
in.
His fingers bit into my biceps and I growled.
The gag wouldn't allow for anything else.
He just flexed the offending digits and hissed an order to
keep
quiet in my ear.

The servants' entrance was less impressive, and with a quick series of knocks, we were admitted by a
dour-
faced man.
He looked me over as if Justin had brought a side of beef to be inspected.
He wasn't pleased with the quality.

“You are exp
ected.
Follow me
,
” he
said
.

Justin yanked me forward, sliding his arm to clutch my elbow rather than keep me tight against his side.
I would have sighed with relief if I could have.

The hallways were bare and white, and the butler led us through the tight corridors as
if escorting
foul vermin.
I'm not sure he didn't wrinkle his nose as he opened a door leading into the main part of the house.
H
is stiff
posture and sour pucker of lips did
n'
t fade when he continued through the
lavish-
paneled hallway.
A few more moments and we stopped at the entrance to a study, with walls lined in leather volumes and heavy wooden furniture.
Three men conversed inside.
Spiros leaned against the mantle, while the other two men reclined in
overstuffed
burgundy arm chairs.