“Elizabeth.” I hear the warning note in Stephen’s voice, but I turn to shush him. What choice do we have other than to continue to the hexatorium?
“Oof!” I’m still half facing Stephen when I stumble over something.
“What happened?” Stephen asks. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I look down to see what’s been left in the aisle.
It’s not a what. It’s a who.
Saul lies prone on the floor. In the dark I can’t see if he’s wounded. I don’t know if he’s dead or unconscious. I don’t wait to find out.
With a cry of alarm, I bolt for the door to the hexatorium.
“Elizabeth, wait!”
I ignore Stephen, barreling down the stairs.
“Millie!”
Millie is seated at the table with a teacup and saucer before her. Her face is chalk white with fear, but her mouth is a razor slash of fury. Beside her a tall, lanky man pours tea into her cup. I’ve seen him once before.
Without looking at me, Maxwell Arbus says to Millie, “Why, if it isn’t your protégé, Mildred. How lovely of her to join us.”
Maxwell tilts his head slightly, as if listening to something. “And you’ve brought my grandson. Stephen, I’m disappointed with your impatience. Our meeting isn’t scheduled until tomorrow. As you can see, I have other business to attend to. No sense wasting precious hours in this sleepless city.”
I didn’t hear Stephen come down the stairs, but now he is standing beside me. I reach for his hand. When I close my fingers over his, he remains still.
“Together.” I breathe the word so quietly I don’t know if he hears me.
“Go back to your home and wait for me,” Arbus tells Stephen without turning around. “I’ll come to you at the appointed hour as we agreed.”
“No.” Stephen’s reply is quiet but unwavering.
I’m clasping his fingers so tight my knuckles are bloodless. Nevertheless, Stephen takes a step forward and pulls free of my grasp. I grab for his hand, wanting to draw him back and hold him beside me. But he’s determined to move without me because when my fingers reach Stephen, they pass right through his skin.
Chapter 29
SAUL IS DEAD, and I have no doubt that Millie will be next if we leave this room.
I cannot see my grandfather, but I can trace Millie’s stare.
She knows.
I lunge forward. Arbus is not expecting this. But he senses me, dodges slightly so I end up barreling into his side. I knock him over, but he’s eluded my grasp.
“Damn you!” he shouts, kicking out at me.
I cannot see what he does next, but from the reactions in the room, it’s clear enough. He gets to his feet and pushes towards Millie. In a split second, Millie snaps out of her grief—as Arbus gets within range, she picks up her cup and throws the hot tea in his face. He cries out and stumbles back. I follow the voice, and tackle him down. Millie rushes around to help me, but Arbus releases himself in a surge of strength—it is hard for me to manifest my body into solidity and hold him at the same time.
Arbus reaches into his pocket and takes out a bloody knife—the same knife, I have no doubt, that stabbed Saul in the back.
Elizabeth and Millie step away from him. I try to quiet my breathing, make myself as invisible as possible.
“So it has come to this,” he says, trying to find me even though he can’t see me.
I know better than to say a word.
“Stubborn like your mother and stupid like your father. You were born to suffer like them both, and so you shall.”
Everything that has gone wrong in my life can be traced to this man. This one man.
He is starting to back his way to the door. Then there’s a sound from the stairs.
“Elizabeth!” Laurie calls out. “Stephen!”
“No, Laurie!” I yell. “Run!”
I think Arbus will come for me now, but instead he turns towards the stairway and starts to murmur a curse.
“Don’t you dare!” Elizabeth shouts. I can feel Arbus harnessing the energy of my curse, drawing me closer. At the same time, Elizabeth is making a motion with her hands, and as Arbus releases what he has—I can feel him do it—she draws it to her, takes enough of it in for it to fail.
Furious, Arbus tries to turn his curse on Elizabeth, but it won’t work.
The knife, however, will. When it’s clear that he cannot rely on magic, he brandishes the weapon. I watch it rise in the air, safe in his invisible hand. He doesn’t care how he draws blood, how he causes harm. Magic and violence are the same to him.
As he moves forward, Millie tips over the desk to stop him. I reach forward to block him.
All I can see is the knife, so I go for the knife.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can tell that Elizabeth is faltering—absorbing the curse has cost her. But I can’t focus on that. I focus on where Arbus’s arm must be. I throw my body into that space and hit bone. Arbus cries out, turns the knife towards me. But in that moment, I pass right through. He spins, off-kilter, then recovers.
I expect him to go straight for me. But he takes advantage of this and jumps for the door. I stop to block him, but I’m too late.
I can feel him leave the room. I can feel my curse bend after him, his body desperate to keep the curse’s energy.
“Laurie!” Elizabeth cries, her face all panic.
I want to rush after Arbus, but I need someone who can see him to take the lead. For all I know, he’s at the top of the stairway, waiting with his knife ready.
Millie charges ahead. I warn her to be careful, but she doesn’t care.
I follow, with a shaky Elizabeth behind me.
Arbus is not waiting for us at the top of the stairs. But there is Saul, right where I left him, turned over so his wound is visible. Millie falls to her knees beside him, cradles him in her arms. I know she will not leave him, so all I can say is, “I’m so sorry.” Because haven’t I brought this upon her? My curse is the beacon that brought him to this city.
As I find myself lost in this moment of guilt, Elizabeth takes charge. “Lock the door,” she says. “Just in case he comes back.” Millie doesn’t even seem to be listening. She starts to howl—a raw, guttural release of grief, the most painful sound that doesn’t exist in any language. I want to comfort her, but what comfort can I give her? The only comfort will come when Arbus is dead.