Page 77 of Blood and Moonlight

This time the words spiral out and drift through my mind, strong in the beginning but dissolved by the end, fading like the blood in the water.

Like the blood is speaking to me.

Or maybe nottome. It feels like I’m overhearing a conversation or someone talking to themselves.

Hands shaking, I hold the braid under the surface of the water as I squeeze it, forcing threads of scarlet out, each one a whisper delicate as smoke in a voice that has the raspy quality of askoniauser. Madame Emeline’s voice.

Hurriedly, I rinse as much blood away as I can. When the shade of the hair becomes apparent, at least enough for Simon’spurpose, I pull it out and wring pink water from it, then pat it mostly dry with the cleaner parts of the cloth. I carry it back upstairs as the words continue to leak through the linen with the dampness, and I can’t put it down soon enough.

Simon barely glances at it. “Blond,” is all he says.

Juliane, who looks to have finished her recording, watches me rub my hands on my skirt. “What now?”

Simon stands and takes the quill from where she lay it on the table. “First things first.” He goes to the list nailed to the wall and addsBeatrezto the top of it.

“Are you that certain?” I ask.

“I am.” Simon turns around and tosses the quill onto the table. “The only real question is whether there are any between her and Perrete. Unfortunately, I don’t think we can afford to investigate that. He’s killing now at a frightening rate.”

As if that was the most frightening thing about all this.

“That’s not even the worst part,” Simon continues, rotating back to the wall. “He got away with the first and Sun knows how many more, which makes him feel powerful, superior. Now he’s reveling in this inquiry because it’s a game, and he finally has an opponent to play against.”

“But there he’s wrong,” Juliane says, gesturing to herself and then me and Lambert. “He has four opponents.”

Simon glances at me. “After last night, I think he knows about Cat.”

I face the wall in an attempt to hide my blush. Juliane and Lambert know that we found Nichole last night, but neither is aware of how Simon had hugged me when he realized I was safe, or that he’d held my hand as we’d waited for Emeline.

Simon shifts to address Juliane. “And he no doubt knows about you, too. That means both of you are in danger. You mustpromise me never to go anywhere without Lambert or myself.” He turns his eyes on me. “Nor you, especially at night.”

I cross my arms, conscious of how Oudin did the same. “I have work to do.”

And I doubt anyone could sneak up on me as long as the moon is out.

“Then do it during the day, even if it means helping me less.”

I pivot to face him. “You do realize I’m not a prostitute, right? Every one of his victims has been.”

“Of course.” Simon flushes scarlet. “But he’s going to change the women he targets.”

“How can you know that?” I ask.

“Because that’s what I would do.”