Petra furrowed her brow, confused.
Then, suddenly, she seemed to hear a horrible scream. It came from far away, but pierced through her.
The Gray Men were howling with pleasure. They had easily captured one of their prey, and they were sure the other one was close at hand.
Petra gasped.
“What’s wrong?” Tomik asked. Petra’s face was pale.
“Don’t you hear it?” she cried.
“Hear what?” Tomik said.
“I do not hear anything.” Astrophil frowned.
Atalanta whined, bewildered.
Petra stumbled to her feet. The howling stopped. In that first moment of silence, Petra stared at the tin sheet and realized something: her father had lied to her.
She sprang for the door.
As she raced out of the Sign of Fire, a silvery line trailed from her back. Astrophil clung to the end of the web, pulling himself up as quickly as he could, hoping that they would be too late.
EVEN BEFORE Petra reached the edge of town, she saw smoke. She shoved past people on the street. When she burst through the last ring of houses, she saw the Sign of the Compass. It was burning.
She was only a few feet from her home and calling for her father when the first of the Gristleki slipped onto its two feet. Three more Gray Men oozed out of their crouched positions. Petra had seen nothing but the flames and didn’t notice the Gristleki until they moved.
She skidded to a stop, and the four creatures slithered toward her, their claws squealing against the cobblestones. They could have seized the girl immediately but moved slowly because they liked it. They savored the fear that would freeze her face as they grew closer.
The Gristleki were the color of ash, and covered in scales. Their skin was dry and cracked, as if something had sucked the fluids out of their bodies. But the most horrifying feature of the Gristleki was their shape. It was human. Even though they looked like skeletons with snake skin stretched over the bones, and even though claws sprang from their hands and feet, the creatures looked like they had once been men. Four scaly skulls slipped closer to Petra. Their faces had no lips. They had no eyebrows or eyelashes, as if they had been burned away. But their eyes were human.
One of them opened its toothless mouth, and Petra stared into the black hole. She tried to move, but her legs were rooted to the earth.
“Petra!” Astrophil was shouting in her ear. “Listen to me: you have to run. Do you hear me? Petra!” He gripped her earlobe so hard that blood trickled down her neck.
She took a step backward. The second step was easier.
A Gristleki smiled, showing its gums.
The other Gray Men had already borne away their first prey. That had been far too easy. These four hoped that the girl would put up more of a fight. They all smiled now encouragingly.
Petra had only two options: the forest or the town. Even in her fear, she couldn’t lead these monsters to the homes of people she had known all her life.
She sprinted for the trees.
The Gray Men watched until she disappeared. Then they dropped to the ground and began to race on all fours. They poured after her like liquid poison.
Petra’s heart pounded hopelessly in her ears, and every breath she took ripped at the back of her throat. She tried to run faster, but her legs were hot and weak. She stumbled.
A hand seized her. It spun Petra around, rasping up her arm. She stared at the scaly claw as it scraped along her skin, tearing ribbons of blood. The creature opened its mouth and its tongue slipped out. The Gray Man could smell the stink of fear. It looked at the girl’s throat, where sweat mingled with a thin line of blood. Then it leaned forward and licked Petra’s neck.
Something inside her snapped, and she began to scream. Petra felt like she was splitting apart, and with all of her heart and mind she cried, “HELP! HELP ME!”
For the first time in her life, Petra fainted.
WHEN SHE regained consciousness, she was lying on her stomach and her face was pressed against something soft. Her left arm and the side of her neck burned. She felt something twitch on her shoulder blade, shifting under her cloak: Astrophil.
She opened her eyes, lifted herself onto her elbows, and saw that she was on a large velvet bed. She murmured, “Where am I?”
Before Astrophil could reply, a voice said, “You’re in my home.”
Petra knew that voice. She spun around in shock.
“You’re in London,” said John Dee. “You’re safe.”
4
Blood of the Shadowdrake
LONDON?” Petra cried. “What do you mean, I’m in London? I’m dreaming, right? If you’re here, then I must be dreaming.”
“I am afraid you are not,” Dee said, standing several feet from the bed, tall and inscrutable.
“Explain to me what’s going on!” Petra exploded. “What am I doing here? Where is my father? What were those . . . things?” She was ashamed when her voice broke.
“Impatient as ever, I see. The answers to your questions can wait. Your wounds cannot. They should be seen to first, my dear.”
“I am not your dear!”
She jumped to her feet and ran to the door. She yanked at the handle, but the door wouldn’t open. She glared over her shoulder.
Dee had not moved. He regarded her coolly.
“Let me out.”
“Not in your condition.”
“My condition?” she asked warily.
“You have been poisoned by the touch of the creatures that attacked you. You will probably die. You certainly won’t do yourself any good with your theatrical hysterics. This will only cause your heart to beat more quickly, which will pump the poison through your bloodstream. Who knows,” he said idly, “how long you will last?”
Petra, please sit down, Astrophil said.
He can’t be telling the truth. It is not possible for me to be in London. It would take months for me to travel to England! So I’m supposed to believe him when he says I’ve been poisoned?
I believe him. And you are in London.
She was stunned into silence.
Petra, the spider continued, I saw everything that happened while you were unconscious. John Dee did indeed save your life. Having done that, it would not be rational for him to harm you now, and he is clearly interested in doing you some good. You cannot risk the possibility that he is correct about the danger your wounds pose. His voice shook.
She looked at her torn forearm. The gashes throbbed, just like her neck. Her entire left arm felt tight, swollen.