The Nightmare Garden

And threatening Dean was the last damn straw. I reached out and smacked the hot tea into his lap. Draven yelped, leaping out of his seat. “Don’t think that because I’m standing here quietly you can threaten me or the people I love,” I said in return, moving back to stand next to Dean.

Draven bared his teeth as he grabbed a monogrammed tea towel and swiped the hot liquid off his pants. “You’re just like your mother, you know that? A stubborn bitch.”

Hearing Draven actually swear made me realize I was probably about five seconds from being tossed into a deep, dark hole, no matter how reluctant he’d initially seemed to harm me. Draven was normally immaculate in both speech and appearance, but something more than me had cracked his demeanor. Now that I was looking, I saw that the buttons on his black jacket were crooked, and his dark hair had been yanked back with a comb rather than carefully smoothed into place. Lines of sleeplessness had appeared under his eyes, and he hadn’t shaved.

“Then I guess this is pointless,” I said. “You better just clap the shackles on me and drag me right to Banishment Square to burn the wickedness out of me.”

“Don’t think you’re getting off that easy,” Draven gritted out. He went to his desk and pulled out a small brass box, flipping it open and stroking his thumb over whatever lay inside.

My curiosity allowed the words to sneak out. “What’s that?”

“Nothing much,” Draven said. He came over and held it out to me. I strained to look and was surprised by the simplicity of what I saw: it was a compass, just the usual kind they gave out to the Expedition Club at the Academy, only in the center the compass rose had been removed and instead of needles I saw a tiny globe of aether churning inside the device. It emitted a strange sound, a high-pitched tone I could feel in my teeth, while the arrows of direction constantly shifted.

“From the Dire Raven and her instruments, I can find anyone holding this compass, anywhere in the world,” Draven said. “Take it.”

“I don’t think I want you knowing where I am,” I said, shrinking from his gift. “In fact, I know I don’t.”

“Take the damn thing. Or do I have to remind you of what happens to Dean if you sass me?” Draven snapped.

I took the box, which prickled my Weird fiercely. I set it as far away from me as possible, on the arm of my chair. “Why give this to me if you already have me?” I whispered.

“I have you, but I want what you want,” Draven said. “You’re going to the Bone Sepulchre, to the Brotherhood of Iron. You’re going to continue your journey north, Aoife.” He tapped the box with one slender forefinger. There was some kind of black dirt or engine grease under his nail. “And this little box is going with you.”

As if a map had unfurled behind my eyes, I saw all at once where this was going. “No,” I said. “No, I won’t.”

“You will convince the Brotherhood of your intent to betray your father and become one of them, toe the party line, and you will guard this box as if your life depends on it. If not your life, than certainly the unlucky Mr. Harrison’s.” Draven gave me a wide, sharp grin. “He’ll be staying here.”

“The hell I will!” Dean spat. Draven turned one cold eye on him.

“Don’t even pretend you have any say in the matter, boy. I could gut you like a fish and have somebody clean up the mess, and no one would ever know. So stay. Quiet.”

I shook my head at Dean. He felt things strongly, and that could make him reckless. A rash move was the one thing we didn’t need right now.

Draven turned away from us and went to the portholes in the side of the Dire Raven. He breathed on a spot and polished it with his sleeve. “I’ve tried for a long time to find the exact location of the Brotherhood,” Draven said. “Not to exterminate them, mind. I want them to answer to a single law, as it was in the old times. The law of humanity. Not the law of magic or any other creature. Especially not those Fae they’re so enamored of.”

“And get a private army of magicians in the bargain,” I added.

Draven came back to me and squeezed my upper arms with an intensity that would leave bruises. “You’re so smart, Aoife. And because of that, I know you’ll make the smart call, to save your friend and your own hide. I thought it would be your father who’d redeem this world for me, whether he knew it or not. But no. It’s going to be you. Scared little Aoife.” He exhaled against my ear, and I could feel the scrape of his stubble as he smiled. “Fail and I kill your friend. Then I come for your mother, your brother and everyone you’ve ever spoken to, friend or enemy, in your life. You think even I can’t be that ruthless? I can. Make no mistake, Aoife. I can, and will, if you fail.” He drew back, brow furrowed. “You believe me?”

My throat was so dry and my heart thudding so fast in that moment that I didn’t think I could make a sound. But a squeak emanated from me. “Yes.”

“Yes what?” Draven snapped.

“Yes, Mr. Draven,” I whispered. “I believe you.”

And I did. One hundred percent.

Draven tucked the compass into my bag with a pat and then guided me to a lower level of the Dire Raven, where three cells were set into the hull, bolted directly to the ultralight steel. He instructed the Proctors to put Dean in the farthest one.

Dean turned back and looked at me when he was inside, and I pressed my fingers against his through the bars. “Aoife,” he said, his voice rough with panic. “Aoife, don’t do this.”

I grabbed his hands and held them around the iron, inches away but separated by miles. The Proctors and Draven watched us, unblinking. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered, pressing my forehead against the bars. “It’s the only way either of us will get out of this alive.” That was true, I knew—I’d at least partially failed in my mission to reach the Brotherhood on my own. If I refused Draven, he’d lock me up next to Dean and hold me there until my father was forced to comply in my place, to go back to the men who regarded him as a traitor and would certainly simply lock him up as well. Draven had me over a barrel, and for now, I had to take his compass and play his game. “I’ll be back for you,” I told Dean. “Please don’t ever doubt it.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he muttered. “Just get out of here. Get as far away as you can. I’ll be fine.” He moved as close as he could, like he was trying to kiss me, and muttered, “The captain’s name is Rasputina Ivanova. The Nor’easter Inn, on the docks, is where she usually picks up passengers. Tell her I sent you, and ask about the Hallows’ Eve in New Amsterdam to prove you really know me.”

Draven grabbed me by the back of my collar before I could reply. “Time is up, young lovers. Aoife has work to do.”

Dean held on to me for as long as he could, and when our grasp was broken his fingers left faint marks, like the memory of a burn.

The same pair of Proctors escorted me to the hatch of the Dire Raven.

“One last thing,” Draven said. “I know that you might be tempted to ditch my compass the moment you’re out of my sight, but if it stops moving—if I get any hint that you’ve tried to rid yourself of it—then I’ll kill Dean without a second thought.” He patted my cheek, and I couldn’t draw back this time, hemmed in by Proctors as I was. My stomach heaved.

“I know you’ll complete your mission,” Draven continued. “And just think—if you do, if you help me seal the Gates and fix this world, you may even be able to sleep at night.”

I glared at him as the Proctors prodded me back down the gangway and into the farmer’s field. “You’re a vile person,” I told Draven when I was at a safe distance. “You’re no better than a ghoul crawling up from the sewer.”

Draven tapped his chest. “Words will never hurt me, Aoife. Now get moving. Safe travels, don’t get devoured, all that usual sentimental nonsense.”

I could feel his eyes on me until I reached the road and turned the corner.

Walking back to Innsmouth, I was numb. I’d had to leave Cal and Bethina behind for their own safety, but I’d never planned on being separated from Dean. I’d never felt so alone. Dean had been the one constant in my life since I’d met him—he’d saved my life.

I steeled myself. Grey Draven was not going to beat me again. I was going to keep Dean alive, no matter what it took. Alone or not, I was smarter than Draven. And he was going to learn, by the time this was over, just how big a mistake it had been to cross me.