Page 49 of House of Marionne

Outside, I manage to slip through the tangled branches concealing the door with only a few scrapes, and once I set foot on the ground and glance back at the estate, my pulse ticks a little slower. The cobblestone path that runs through the forest is swept with leaves, and I follow them all the way into the park. The stone memorials signal me where to stop. How did she do it? I kick my boot on the rock. Nothing happens. I try again, peering harder at the stones for some indication of which rock is the trick one. I run my fingers across them until they ache with a chill, and then I graze a raised one.

“Is this it?” The cold in my bones rears up, and I can feel my toushana nestled inside me like an ache I can’t shake, a cramp in my side. I rub the rock again, and my destructive magic flutters. The urge to wriggle at the sudden feeling of my magic heavy and present in my body, like a lead ball stuck to my insides, bites at me. But instead, I give the rock a kick, angle my magic toward it, and the ground opens. It actually worked. I start my descent, Mom’s dagger clutched tight in my fist.

The Tavern is a dead zone with only dregs of a crowd shuffling to low music on the dance floor. The game tables are empty and the lights are dimmed.

“Last call was ten minutes ago,” the bartender says, without looking up. Octos isn’t anywhere in sight.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, last—” He looks up. “Fresh meat, you’re out mighty late.”

I tighten my grip on my scarf under my chin. He slides a wet rag across the bar as his barback starts busing tables.

“I’m looking for the guy I was talking to the other night. Worn coat, long hair, in need of a shave.”

“You come in here this time of night looking for Octos?” He folds his arms across his barrel chest. “What kind of trouble are you trying to get into, girl?” He glances at the door.

“Is he here?”

“He’s slept on that couch there for the last few nights. But I haven’t seen him tonight yet.” He tosses a towel over his shoulder. “I have to close up. You should get home. Being out here alone like this isn’t smart.” He turns and disappointment sinks in my stomach like a stone in a river.

By the time I exit the Tavern, the dance floor has cleared. The bartender flips the lights, and when I climb the stairs, I hear the lock click behind me. The ground closes up with a slight rumble. Night buzzes with the crackling vibrato of bugs, and I gaze in every direction, hugging my arms around myself. Maybe this wasn’t my brightest idea. The distinct feeling that someone or something is watching me urges my feet faster.

“You looking for me?” a voice says when I make it back beneath the forest canopy.

Octos’s face is shadowed between branches. He steps out and I grab Mom’s dagger. He backs away. “If you’ve come here for revenge, I swear I didn’t know.”

I stand a little taller, careful to keep the weapon between us. “I came with a request.”

He moves into a patch of moonlight and I can fully see him. He’s as haggard as before. The worn lines that trace his face are deeper tonight, with dark pockets under his eyes and a sullen droop in his shoulders.

I lower the dagger. “I have an offer.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I have a hunch you know things. Things . . . you probably shouldn’t.”

He stuffs his hands in his pockets. “And?”

“And I need to know if there’s any sort of magic to transfigure a diadem.”

“I’m not getting anywhere near you and emerging.” He throws up his hands in surrender. “I tried selling you that elixir, and that went to shit. I still owe a debt to the merchant trash who traded me that rotten vial,” he spits.

I knew it.

“You said if I ever needed a favor to find you.”

He tilts his head. “Go on.”

I step closer, out of the shadows, willing him to listen. “I’ve emerged.”

He gazes up at the scarf wrapped around my head very obviously hiding something. “What exactly do you need? And what are you offering?”

There’s the Octos I hoped to find. I lay my mother’s dagger across my hands, making sure its jewels catch the moonlight. “This belongs to the Marionne family and would probably make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.”

He reaches for it but pulls his hand back. “Why would you offer something so valuable?”

“For someone who deals in illicit affairs, you sure have a lot of questions.”