“Must I educate you on the definition of a ‘good, long, time?’” He set his frothy cappuccino on a saucer.
“Where are you?” I waved my hands around like I couldn’t see him.
Everything in here was white, other than the gleaming copper espresso maker. Even the pretentious barista concocting some hipster brew was an albino.
“Hilarious,” Moran said drolly.
Mrs. Hudson, who’d accompanied me on this jaunt, ran around in circles, thinking once again that my hand movements were the beginning of some new game. I tied the leash around the arm of the chair and sat down at the table, calming her down..
Moran bent over, examining the puppy like it was a small explosive device. “Is your life not hectic enough that you seek to incorporate dog ownership into it?”
“The pug is temporary. I bring gifts.”
“Of the Trojan Horse variety?” He dismissed his guards.
“Ye of little faith. 26L1.”
“Should that mean something to me?”
“If not now, hopefully soon. It’s a codename for a member of Chariot. We’re working to decode it from our end.”
“Ah. This is part of her deal with Mr. Montefiore. I’ll pass it on to the Queen. Is that all?” He picked up his coffee, holding the cup with such precision that one snap of his wrist and my nose would be toast.
I adjusted the angle of my chair to avoid that possibility. “That’s not all,” I said. “The Repha’im I took down? Gunter? He was the contact person for a necromancer who went by the handle of Shidduch. I’d like your help in finding him.”
He laughed. “Ashira, this is the black market. I’m not about to curtail the activities of any of our citizens.”
“The Shidduch wasn’t a citizen. He operated in Vancouver.”
“Then I fail to see how this concerns me.”
“Remember how I asked the Queen about Mayan? She said that Mayan must have come through before, but she hadn’t. She was able to get into Hedon for her first time through the fixed entrance—undetected—because she had a former resident inside her.”
Moran abruptly set his cup down on the saucer.
“I’m assuming that’s a security breach you’d rather not have,” I said. “Surprised?”
“Not enough to offer you an alliance.”
“Come on. The Queen needs someone to act on her behalf as this originates outside her territory. Just like she did with Omar. I took care of that for her. Let me deal with this. I’ll ensure the breach is shut down. All I ask is any information she has to locate Jonah.” I smiled and spread my hands wide. “Quid pro quo is a beautiful thing.”
“Why not ask Alfie where this Shidduch is?” Moran said. “He took over the bar. Perhaps he took over other aspects of Gunter’s business as well.”
“That was my first stop here today. He didn’t know anything about it, and considering how grateful he is that I saved his life, he wasn’t lying to me.”
Moran blotted his lips on a pristine white napkin. “The Queen does not wish to involve herself further with matters outside Hedon at this juncture.”
My hands twisted on my purse. Before I could second guess what my gut was saying, I’d unzipped it and laid the envelope down on the table between us. “What if I had something the Queen never expected in a million years? Would you guarantee the alliance and help me then?”
Moran regarded the envelope with suspicion. “Such as?”
“Serafina’s DNA.” I took a breath, expecting ten more seconds to explain myself, but my words had barely left my mouth when the café disappeared and I was engulfed in darkness.
My breath was harsh in this confined space, the tip of my nose brushing… stone? I tried to batter at my prison but my hands were frozen at my sides. I was entombed as a statue. I began hyperventilating, then screaming.
But no one heard my cries.
Chapter 23
How long before I’d go mad locked away, able to hear people talking and laughing outside my tomb as though all was normal, when I was alone for eternity?
I’d never feel the sun warm my face, the grass tickle my bare feet. Never hear braying laughter or smell that oaky amber scotch and chocolate scent. Adrenaline flooded my system, my muscles locked tight with no release and my heart threatening to explode out of my chest. I bit my lip, the blood beading on my tongue, salty and hot, in counterpoint to the cold sweat rolling over my skin.
I’d yelled myself hoarse when a strip of light pierced my eyes, revealing the Queen.
Mrs. Hudson was barking. The Queen couldn’t have hurt the puppy, could she?
“You showed your hand too soon, chica.” She made a tsking noise that was devoid of all mercy and held up the napkin with the lip print and the lipstick tube. The envelope would have been destroyed when she opened it.
“You jumped to conclusions.” Talking hurt. My voice was a growly rasp. The air inside the statue was dank and tasted of soil.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “You were rooting around in my past.”
“You root around in mine on a regular basis.” My voice was muffled inside the stone, but loud enough to be understood. “The letter was sealed with a blood ward. Not mine.”
“You can undo wards, chica.”
“Undo them. Not reseal them with that same person’s blood.”
Her eyes narrowed. Two slits of unimpressed violet. “And so?”
“Knowledge is power.” I coughed. My muscles were knotted up, my limbs trembling. “But not all knowledge is worth having. You wanted to be surprised. Hence the contents. I wanted to prove I could be trusted. Hence the unbroken seal. I want you as my ally, Highness.”
Something in her features shifted, like a predator moving through the tall grass and stilling, trying to assess prey or competitor. Her manicured hands tapped the tube. Two, three taps. A pause.
“You do surprise me,” she said. “Perhaps that is your greatest strength.”
The
