Page 24 of Unbroken (Rath & Rune #4)

All the blood in Sebastian’s veins seemed to turn to water. His mind raced and his scars tingled. He could break the bones of the man holding the knife—but no, the other one would shoot. The one with the gun—if he could slash his flesh…the man with the knife would slit Bonnie’s throat.

The Chancellor watched them, a small smile of triumph on her lips, as if she knew Sebastian’s frantic thoughts. “Come inside, Mr. Rune. I have something special prepared for you.”

For the first time, Sebastian noticed the cage sitting in the corner. “The bars are silver-plated,” the Chancellor said. “You’re going to take off all your clothes and get inside.”

“What have you done to Bonnie?” Sebastian demanded.

“What have I done?” The Chancellor raised a gray brow.

“Very little. This is all the work of my protégé, your niece Helen. Though she thought the poppets I taught her to make would bring back her wretched father. A shame she couldn’t be here to see her handiwork—she really does have a talent for sorcery. ”

Sebastian’s pulsed pounded in his head. The direct approach had failed the School of Night, so what better way to get close without being seen than to pose as a harmless old woman? None of them had suspected her. “What do you want?”

“At the moment, I want Mr. Rune to disrobe and get in his cage.” Her eyes went hard as flint. “Otherwise, things will get very messy for dear Bonnie.”

“All right.” Ves held up his hands and eased around Sebastian. “I’m going.”

“Not too close, if you please,” the Chancellor said. “Move slowly.”

Helplessly, Sebastian watched as Ves stripped to his underwear. “More,” the Chancellor said. “I don’t want to give you anything to shield yourself from the silver. Don’t worry, I was generous enough to leave the floor of the cage unplated.”

Ves finished stripping, then climbed into the cage, dark eyes hot with anger. The Chancellor tossed a padlock in his direction. “Lock yourself in.”

He did so, hissing when his fingers accidentally brushed the silver bars. Sebastian’s mind raced, trying to come up with something, anything, to get them out of the situation. “What do you want?” he asked again.

“Really, Mr. Rath, you aren’t that stupid, are you?

” She rose to her feet, and though she was short and stooped, her presence radiated confidence and power.

“You will take me to where the rest of the Books are hidden. Your presence will satisfy the protections on the library, allowing us to enter and retrieve them. Once I have them in hand and am safely away, your family and Mr. Rune will be released unharmed.”

Sebastian didn’t believe that for a moment. He needed to play for time—with luck, some opportunity would present itself. If only Noct had come with them, instead of going to the estate with Irene.

But Noct and Irene were speeding away oblivious, and no one else was coming. Squaring his shoulders, he said, “Very well. I accept your terms.”

* * *

The guard with the gun followed Sebastian and the Chancellor outside. “I wouldn’t try anything,” she informed him, as if speaking of the weather. “If my other man inside hears a scuffle out here, he’s to kill your sister without hesitation.”

Sebastian ground his teeth together. She’d outwitted him at every turn, but maybe he’d find a way to turn the tables on her before it was too late. “I’m not going to risk Bonnie.”

“That’s what I’m counting on.”

A coach waited on the street outside, drawn by black horses. A footman sprang down from his perch, opened the door, and helped the Chancellor in. “Bind Mr. Rath, if you please,” she ordered.

The footman took out a length of rope and tied Sebastian’s hands in front of him with the ease and swiftness of a man who had done such a thing many times before. “Not recruiting the cream of the crop, are you?” he asked, and the footman gave him a dirty look.

“I disagree,” the Chancellor replied smoothly as the footman boosted him—none too gently—into the coach. “An expertise in kidnapping can come in quite handy in a servant. Now sit across from me and don’t move.”

The gunman headed back toward the house as the door was shut. The coach creaked under the weight of the footman returning to his post, and they began to move forward accompanied by the clop of hooves.

Sebastian took in his surroundings, hoping for something he could use as a weapon…

but there was nothing. He might be able to hurt the Chancellor, perhaps even kill her if he could use the Book of Flesh’s power to slash open her throat.

But it wasn’t just his own life he was gambling with, and the footman and driver were surely armed.

He might kill her, then be gunned down trying to flee, which meant Bonnie and Ves would die.

Perhaps even Clara, if the guards were hard enough men.

God. This was a disaster. There had to be some way out…but he couldn’t think of it.

The School of Night had won.

* * *

Ves crouched in the cage, arms around his legs, back bent so his chin rested on his knees to keep any part of him from brushing the hateful silver.

The man with the knife had relaxed enough to remove it from Bonnie’s neck.

After a brief discussion, ignoring Ves all the while, the two guards decided to play cards to pass the time.

They sat to either side of the table that usually held the lamp, their weapons close at hand.

Every few moments, one or the other would glance in his direction, making sure he hadn’t moved.

Ves was fast…but he wasn’t fast enough to break out of the cage and prevent them from killing Bonnie at the same time. Possibly Clara as well, if they were truly heartless.

His thighs and back ached from remaining in one position for too long. As a child, his mother had forced him to stand or march for hours on end as punishment for various infractions, real or imagined. The pain now bore him back to the pain then, and a similar helpless feeling bubbled up inside.

He’d sat on the beach beside the Chancellor, held yarn for her, and never imagined for an instant that she was anything but a friendly old lady. How had he not seen?

But none of the others had seen, either. If Bonnie and Sebastian trusted her, why shouldn’t he? They were better at interacting with people, more used to doing so. If she’d fooled them, what hope had he had?

And now Bonnie and Clara lay in an enchanted sleep, the source of which had been created and brought into the house by nine-year-old Helen. The poor child; he could only hope she never knew what she’d done. Especially if things went badly.

Which they would. The Chancellor had no intention of letting any of them survive. She’d take the Books, kill Sebastian, then order the rest of them killed as well.

Gods of the wood, Sebastian. What was he going through even now? If the Chancellor’s plan worked, they’d both die alone and in pain. And Ves didn’t know how to keep it from happening.

A faint thump sounded from somewhere above.

The two guards heard it as well. “What was that?” one asked.

“A squirrel?” guessed the other.

“At night?”

“A raccoon, then.”

There came a series of creaks, as though someone was walking across the floor over their heads.

The guard with the gun came to his feet. “Someone’s up there.”

“But we checked the place,” the other argued. “It’s just the house settling.”

Ves’s ears strained for any sound. Could Noct have returned for some reason? Maybe he’d forgotten something, and Irene had brought the car back and realized they were in trouble?

A loud crash made everyone jump. “Fuck it,” said the guard with the knife. “Stay here and keep an eye on the prisoner. Shoot him if he so much as twitches.”

Ves tensed as the guard left with his knife out and ready. That left only the gunman in here; much better odds. If he could tear his way free, the guard might concentrate on stopping him and leave Bonnie alone. So long as the bullets didn’t hit anything immediately fatal, he’d probably survive.

The stairs creaked under the first guard’s weight.

Ves tracked him by the sound of his steps, going down the hall, checking first one bedroom, then the next.

It sounded as though he halted a few moments in the bathroom.

Then footsteps retraced his path, but the tread was less heavy, the gait subtly different.

“Was it anything?” the gunman yelled.

No answer. Frowning slightly, the guard started to step out into the hall.

“Hey!” Ves yelled.

Startled, the gunman turned toward Ves—and the gun exploded in his hand.

Ves shielded himself from the flying shrapnel, prayed none of it hit Bonnie or Clara. The man collapsed to the floor, moaning in agony, his hand gone and blood covering his upper body. A moment later, the swift flick of a knife ended his cries.

Lenore Rune straightened, bloodied blade in her hand. She turned to Ves, and the smile on her lips turned his blood to ice.

“Hello, son,” she said. “Glad to see me?”

* * *

The coach rattled through the streets of Widdershins, moving at a brisk pace but not quickly enough to attract attention.

Not that many people were out this late on a Thursday night, at least in this part of the city.

Lightning flickered across the distant horizon, and clouds raced to cover the stars.

Sebastian’s thoughts chased themselves in circles. The museum—once they arrived, there had to be something he could do. The library was a maze; if he could get away from the Chancellor and her men, he could hide among the stacks where they couldn’t find him.

But then what? She had to be in contact with the guards at the house, either magically or otherwise. Would she simply send word to start killing hostages until Sebastian surrendered?

There had to be some way out of this. Had to be.

His scars came to life, burning and tugging. Victoria was nearby.

Sebastian held still, barely daring to breathe. What did this mean? Did she just happen to be close, or—

A heavy weight struck the top of the coach.

The footman only had time to scream—and keep screaming, even as his body tumbled past the window and into the street. Spooked, the horses broke into a run, while the driver shouted imprecations.

Then he began to scream, too.

“If your friends have come to rescue you, I’ll flay your sister alive before I kill her,” the Chancellor snarled.

Gripping her blackthorn staff, she clung to the seat, while the coach swayed wildly.

Seemingly undisturbed by the fact the horses were out of control, she began to chant in a low, guttural tone.

Pale light sprang up around her, and she lifted her free hand.

The coach’s window shattered as an arm like a tree branch punched through. Eyes going wide with shock at the failure of her spell, the Chancellor barely had time to turn before she was torn out of the coach.

Sebastian’s heart pounded in his ears, nearly drowning out the thunder of hooves, the frantic neighing of the horses. He needed to do something, to jump free or—

One of the coach’s wheels struck a curb. The entire conveyance tipped to one side, seemed to hang perfectly balanced for an eternal moment—then went over.

Sebastian could only fling his bound hands in front of him as he was hurled into the side. Glass shattered, wood splintered, and his head bounced off the roof so hard he saw stars. The whole world seemed to slide, taking him along helplessly for the ride.

Eventually, it ground to a stop. The sound of hooves receded—the coach’s tongue must have snapped, letting the horses continue their panicked dash while the conveyance was left behind.

Sebastian blinked something—blood?—out of his eyes. His head ached, and he felt queasy, but he didn’t think anything was broken. He just needed to rest for a few moments…

The coach door was ripped away above him. He managed to lift his pounding skull a few inches, saw Victoria’s half-human, half-tree face above him.

“Victoria?” he mumbled, confused. What had happened? He was tied up…

“You know my name,” she said, sounding impossibly far away to his ringing ears. “Then you know what I must do.”

She grabbed him with both hands, human and wood, and then he was flying up at a great speed, until darkness closed in around him and he knew nothing more.