CHAPTER 15: NOX
No One Like You
Nox stepped away from the bars.
Ridley stared back at him from the corner of her cell, where she sat hugging her knees and singing “Mockingbird” to herself.
“What did Silas do to you?” he whispered.
“They took her away last night,” a girl with a German accent said from somewhere behind him.
Nox spun around.
An emerald-eyed Light Caster with a braid of brown hair stood inside a cell across from Ridley’s. Chills pricked the back of Nox’s neck at the sight of yet another girl behind bars.
He stepped closer. “Who?”
He heard shuffling in the next cell over, and a golden-eyed blond with Dark Caster tattoos across her knuckles looked back at him. “Silas and his rejects. Who else?”
“Where did they take her?” he asked.
The Dark Caster shook her head almost sadly. “The labs. It’s the only explanation for how crazy she’s acting.”
The German girl nodded in Ridley’s direction. “She has been like that ever since they brought her back. One minute she’s talking to herself, and the next she’s screaming.”
“Or singing that stupid song,” the other girl said. “She’s got it bad. Even worse than Angelique did.”
“Shut up, Drew,” the German girl snapped. “She can’t help it.”
Nox looked at the German girl. “What’s your name?”
“Katarina.”
“Katarina,” Nox repeated. “Have they ever taken either of you to the labs?”
She shook her head, looking terrified. “No. Silas only takes me on jobs. Then they lock me right back up in here afterward.”
Nox examined the girl more closely. She was probably seventeen or eighteen tops. It was hard to tell, because she had the tired expression of someone much older. “What kind of jobs?”
“He rents us out for our powers.” She tugged on the end of her braid nervously. “It could be worse. He sells the girls who aren’t part of the Menagerie.”
Drew shook her head and leaned against the wall inside her cell. “Yeah, we’re the lucky ones. We get to be part of Silas’ little collection and hope he doesn’t drag us off to the labs and lobotomize us next.” She looked back at Ridley. “I wasn’t talking about you. Sorry about that.”
Nox turned back toward Ridley’s cell. The Siren stopped singing and looked up, and for a moment, he thought she was looking at him. But her gaze stopped at the edge of the cell, just short of where he stood.
Ridley’s eyes widened and she scrambled backward across the floor until she hit the wall. “Don’t let them out of the cage!” she screamed.
“Rid, look at me,” Nox called out. “You’re okay. You’re just seeing things.”
She stared up at him without a hint of recognition, her eyes full of terror. Then she winced and pressed her hands against her temples like she was in pain.
“Ridley!”
She blinked over and over as if she couldn’t get her eyes to focus—or maybe her thoughts.
“Shh. Be quiet, Rat Man. They’ll hear you,” she whispered.
Nox glanced around.
Nothing.
He gripped the bars and bent down so he was closer to her eye level. “Who will hear me, Rid?”
Her eyes were fixed on a random spot in front of him again, and she flattened herself against the wall. “The other rats.”
Nox’s heart sank.
She’s still hallucinating.
He remembered the Chemist and wondered if Silas had drugged her. But Nox had seen plenty of high Casters, and none of them had acted like this.
Whatever Silas had done to her was something else, and he had no idea how to undo it.
What if I can’t help her? And she stays like this?
Suddenly, Ridley screamed, pressing her hands against her temples again. Within seconds she was clawing at the wall like a cornered animal.
“Ridley, get on the bed!” Katarina shouted. “The rats can’t get you if you’re on the bed.”
Ridley’s eyes darted frantically toward the hallway, and she scrambled up onto the bed. She pushed herself into the corner and curled into a ball, her eyes still glued to the floor. “They’re coming!” she screamed, covering her head.
“It’s okay, Rid,” Nox said. “I won’t let them hurt you.”
“You need to be more concerned about yourself, kid,” a familiar voice said from behind him.
Silas.
Nox didn’t even have to look to know it was him.
He didn’t turn around. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Ridley. “You’re gonna be okay,” he repeated. It was a lie and Nox knew it, but he couldn’t think of another way to protect her from invisible rats and whatever other tricks her mind was playing on her.
He felt the Darkborn’s hands around his arms before he saw them. Nox remembered Silas’ friend from the vision. His grip felt like a vise, at least twice as strong as any Incubus. The Darkborn jerked him away from the bars and turned Nox until he was face to face with Silas Ravenwood.
Guess I’m lucky he let me stay on my feet, Nox thought. But once again, he didn’t feel particularly lucky. Unless I compare my situation to Rid’s.
“What did you do to her?” Nox asked.
Silas rolled up the sleeves of his custom Italian shirt and lit a Barbadian. Nox kept his eyes away from the flame. The stench of the cigar made his stomach turn. Silas smiled. “I made a few improvements. What do you think?”