Starling (88 page)

“Fire rages neither for good nor evil.
A neutral force, it destroys
everything in its path.”

ass slept fitfully. She dreamed she was on a great ship
with billowing sails that reached all the way up into the
heavens. She stood on the top deck between her mother
and Belladonna. Belladonna reached out for Cass with
her deformed hand. Four fingers tightened around Cass’s wrist.

“The world needs you,” she said softly. “You are the key.”
“No.” Her mother pushed Belladonna away. “She won’t give her
self to you. She’s stronger than that.”
“It is a strength she owes to the world,” Belladonna said. “It is her
duty to share.”
Cass turned from her mother to Belladonna, stunned, unable to
speak. The way they stood, the way they spoke, it was as if they had
once been friends.
The sky rumbled. Rain began to fall, making the sea wild and the
deck slippery. With each pitch of the boat, Cass slid back and forth
between the two women.
“You don’t care about the world,” her mother told Belladonna.
“You only care about those close to you, the rich and powerful.”