Page 40 of The Death Wish

The kistune looked up, and in that sudden move there was hint of the fox beneath his skin, the sudden sharpening of features, the blackness of his eyes, the shimmering sway of a multitude of tails behind him.

‘None, none, my boy. I swear to you. I want nothing more than to find some way to make amends.’

‘With food?’ Silas demanded. ‘And a ridiculous tree? That was you, was it not?’

Ahari nodded. ‘I saw how you looked at that tree on your way to the cemetery last night. I thought, you’d be pleased to have –’

‘Last night?’ Silas demanded, wishing Pitch would keep greater distance from the old man. ‘You’ve been in Ambleside all this time, watching us?’

‘Oh no, no, good sir. I’ve been watching you for longer than that. When I learned you were…’ he hesitated.

‘Alive?’ Pitch said.

With a grimace, Ahari nodded. ‘I begged Satine to allow me to help in whatever way I could, to see you through to the end of the journey. She was very, very displeased with me.’

‘Rightly so.’ Sybilla leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, no visible sign of discomfort. Silas blinked, thinking he’d caught hint of a shimmer around her.

‘Yes. Rightly so.’ Ahari, normally a ball of cheeriness and vague distraction, was glum. ‘But she came to understand what obstacles I faced, and knew me no villain. She allowed me to follow you, keep watch over you.’

Silas glared. ‘Do you expect us to trust a word from your mouth?’

‘No. Not at all. But do you think Lalassu would not be aware of the fox lurking in the woods all that time, and not challenge it, if she saw fit? You trust your mare, Horseman.’

Silas folded his arms. ‘She missed your treachery in York.’

‘She expected it no more than I did. And it was not treachery, not at the heart of it.’ Ahari rubbed at his rosy cheeks, sighing deeply. ‘There was a choice to be made, and perhaps…I chose wrongly.’

Pitch grabbed a stool from beneath a set of high shelves, and set it beside Ahari. ‘Here, sit down you old fool, before you fall down.’

The kitsune’s shock was fit for the stage, his heavy-lidded eyes widening. ‘You’re too kind. Thank you, your highness.’

‘Call me that again, and we shall truly have issues.’ Pitch looked to Silas. ‘We have no issues here. The kitsune is, as he says, no villain. But a bloody good cook, I have to say.’

Mr Ahari brightened. ‘Well, thank you, your highness.’ He touched his fingers to his lips, shrinking beneath the daemon’s glare. ‘Sorry.’

‘Pitch, you were not there in York,’ Silas began, still able to feel the sheer terror of that moment of betrayal. ‘I cannot –’

‘Ensure no one is too hard upon Mr Ahari when next you meet,’ Pitch said, a steely look upon his face. ‘The kitsune had no choice but to follow my instruction. Those were among the last words Lucifer spoke to me, before he left us at Newchurch. What did he threaten you with, exactly Mr Ahari?’

‘The lives of all kitsune.’ The old man grew pale with memory. ‘That Weatherby’s betrayal may signal a greater treachery amongst my kind, and an inquisition would be the only way to root out the guilty who sided with Elyssium. Many more would die as Weatherby had done.’

‘There we are,’ Pitch said, with the aplomb of one declaring a puzzle completed. ‘Dear Pappa was his usual congenial and subtle self, to get his way. Mr Ahari has been used, and I am no stranger to how that feels. We should move on from this…before my potatoes are too icy to eat.’

‘Gods, thank you.’ The old man pulled the cloth from his shoulder and covered his face. He sobbed quietly.

Sybilla moved into the room, and with a nod towards Pitch she embraced Mr Ahari. ‘Come, join us at the table.’

Silas watched on, the strings of bitterness untying themselves from where they had lodge fast around his heart. The man who had hauled him from the grave, who felt in some strange way like Silas’s anchor between life and death, was no betrayer after all.

Sybilla helped Ahari to his feet, and the old man lowered the cloth from his face, his eyes sparkling with tears.

‘It tore me apart to see your distress. Silas, I truly hope you believe me.’ Mr Ahari looked positively pained. ‘And I could not have been prouder to see you defy all who tried to stifle you. Even the King of Daemonkind could not stop you, could he?’ His smile was tender but weak. ‘You are both so very marvellous. Standing tall, when all others have fallen. I hope you can forgive me, in time.’

Silas gave him a subtle nod, feeling Pitch’s gaze as well.

‘Let’s get you on a seat before you fall down,’ Sybilla said, guiding the old man towards the door. ‘You are hardly the only one who has made mistakes.’

Mr Ahari leaned into the angel. ‘You are a benevolent creature, Sybilla.’