Tanya edged back to the bookcase, shaking her head in confusion. With trembling hands, she pressed her fingers into the indents in the carved wood, praying it would work this time.
“Hurry,” Fabian pleaded.
Suki waved the knife, agitated. “Work the mechanism and get in there. I know you know how to.”
“I don’t get it,” Tanya said, jabbing the panel again in frustration. “It’s stuck.”
“Stop messing around and open it. If you’re not out of here in the next ten seconds, you won’t like the alternative.”
“I can’t!” Tanya eyed the knife in Suki’s hand, panicking. She knocked a row of books from the shelf built into the panel and grabbed on to it, pulling. Slowly, the secret door opened.
She stumbled into the musty tunnel after Fabian. Oberon’s claws scraped on the stone as Tanya pulled him in with them. A low growl rumbled in his throat.
Suki glanced over her shoulder at the library door, then stood blocking their exit from the tunnel. Her eyes skimmed Tanya’s pocket, where the diagram of the hex was folded.
“In case you’re wondering,” Suki said softly, “I knew what was in your pocket anyway. I would have come after you even if you hadn’t witnessed me killing Victor.”
“What’s she talking about?” said Fabian. “What’s in your pocket?”
“It’s a sketch of a spell for psychic protection, to prevent your gypsy friend from having any more little insights about me. Shame you won’t be showing it to anyone.”
“So it was you?” Tanya breathed. “You were the one who attacked Morag?”
Suki shrugged. “Guilty.”
The light in the tunnel faded as the partition began to close. Oberon was snapping and snarling now, and it took both of them to hold him back. Through the rapidly decreasing gap, Tanya saw Suki turn and head for the library door. Then they were in darkness as the tunnel closed completely. There was a click from the other side, in the library.
“She’s locked the library door,” Tanya whispered, finally releasing her hold on Oberon’s collar. “We can’t get back through. We’re trapped in here.”
“No, we’re not.” Fabian’s elbow dug into her as he rummaged for something. A small flashlight clicked on. “Like I said, I was planning on coming this way anyway. That’s why I brought this.”
He started down the steps. Tanya stayed close to him, her hands clamped on the slimy walls on either side of her. Her breathing became shallow as she tried not to take in the dank stench of the tunnel. Fabian’s light wavered ahead, making her feel unsteady.
“What were you doing with the sketch?” Fabian asked.
“Rowan drew it after Suki lied to Morag about the hex. I was supposed to get it to Tino somehow to prove Suki’s guilt—but now we’ve just seen it with our own eyes.”
“So if Suki wasn’t hexed, she never lost her powers.”
“Exactly.”
“So where is Rowan now?”
“She escaped, with Sparrow, to try and find a way of attacking from outside. They came this way—we can’t be far behind them.”
They reached the bottom of the stairwell, shivering in the damp gloom.
“Want my jacket?” Fabian asked.
Tanya shook her head. “I’ll be all right. Let’s just move quickly to keep warm.” She stayed close to Fabian as he played the flashlight over the dripping green walls, then over the floor in search of the pebble knotted with string.
“There.” Tanya pointed as she saw it just outside the nearest of the four tunnels leading away from the house. She gripped Fabian’s sleeve and pulled him into the narrow tunnel. “Let’s get out of here—if we hurry we could catch up to Rowan and Sparrow. We’ve got to stop Suki before she kills again.”
Eldritch twisted Rowan’s wrist painfully, causing her to yell out again. No matter how she wrenched and pulled, his grip was like iron and she could not free herself.
“Strong, aren’t I?” he said with a grin that was now his own. “I suppose I have you to thank for that. When you only have one hand, you have to make sure it’s up to scratch.”
“Where’s Sparrow? What have you done with him?” she cried.
Eldritch laughed, yanking her onward. “I’m afraid little Sparrow has had his wings clipped. You won’t find him so chirpy anymore.” He wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Sparrow. ‘Pigeon’ would have been more appropriate.”
Dread rose up in her at these words. Rowan dug her heels into the soft grass, resisting, but Eldritch pulled her on relentlessly, even when she went down. She let herself go limp, a deadweight, but it made little difference. The woods loomed closer.
“How long… how long have you been using him as a glamour?” She fought to keep her voice under control. Had it been Sparrow in her room yesterday? Or had it been Eldritch all along? Whose lips had brushed her cheek?
“Oh, not long,” Eldritch said cheerfully. “I was hoping for it to last a little longer—to the woods at least—but the running water proved a problem.” Color worked its way into his waxen cheeks as he walked. His long, oily black hair fell over his face. “It was your smelly little friend who you threw into the tunnels earlier today, and your smelly little friend who you plotted to escape with, and your smelly little friend who was going to help you overpower Suki. I heard it all. I was there. Listening.” His dark eyes were scornful. “Have I ever told you I hate rats?” he mimicked, then chuckled. “It’s not the first time I’ve been called a rat. I doubt it’ll be the last.”
“If you’ve hurt him,” she growled. “If you’ve so much as touched him, I’ll—”
“You’ll do nothing!” Eldritch crowed. He spun around and tutted. “It’s no good getting yourself into a state over little Sparrow when, really, you handed him to me on a plate.”
“Go to hell!” Rowan snarled, blinded by tears. “Tell me what you did to him!” She fumbled with her bag, trying to reach inside for her knife and cursing herself for not strapping it to her thigh. Eldritch twisted her wrist again, forcing her to the ground. His boot came down on her, pinning her hand in place. She heard him unzip the bag, then saw it flung away, out of her reach. He kicked her over to face him. He was holding the fox-skin coat.
“Put it on.” He threw it at her. “Now.”
Rowan started to scramble away, but his boot found its way into her side, winding her, and she collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.
He leaned over her, his black eyes full of hate. “I’ll only tell you once more.”
“Why…” She coughed. “Why do you want me to… put it on…?”
“You’ll find out. I’ve got a nice little surprise lined up for you.”
“You can’t harm me,” she bluffed. “Remember the Hedgewitch, and Snatcher? They tried to hurt me, and look what happened to them!”
“They tried to use magic against you,” Eldritch growled. “But I know better than that, don’t I, Rowan? Why do you suppose I’ve waited this long? Do you think I’d have let you get away before if I could have used magic on you? Give me some credit. I’m not planning anything magical. Just something far more straightforward.”
She struggled into a sitting position, clutching at her ribs. “Where’s Sparrow?” she pleaded. “Please… you haven’t hurt him?”
He ignored her, motioning to the coat. “Put. It. On.” He smirked. “Then maybe I’ll tell you.”
She forced her way into the coat, her eyes darting around. The fox-skin could aid her in an escape if she managed to get free in the woods, but the knowledge that Eldritch wanted her to put it on terrified her. She fastened the clasp and felt herself shrinking and her senses sharpen. Before she knew what was happening, Eldritch produced a length of cord from his pocket and looped it tightly around her neck.
“There,” he said, then threw back his head and laughed. “You’re almost like my pet now!” He started to walk again, tugging her toward Hangman’s Wood. Rowan was powerless to resist—a quick yank from Eldritch’s end bruised her windpipe and mad
e her eyes bulge.
“Move,” he commanded.
“I did what you asked,” she rasped, her throat dry and aching. “Now tell me what you did with him!”
“What do you think I did with him?” Eldritch sneered. “Fed him a few crumbs? I killed him, you stupid girl!”
“No!” she sobbed. “Please—you’re lying!”
He grinned and tugged the cord again spitefully, robbing her of air. “All right. I admit it—I elaborated slightly. He’s not dead… yet. But he soon will be. He waved his stumpy arm in the air theatrically. “I could have done it. Could have finished him off easily, but that wasn’t part of the plan. I had to save him for Suki, so she can pierce his little heart straight through… stop it beating for good. But let’s just say he won’t be coming to your rescue this time. You can count on that.”
“NO!” she screamed. “You haven’t hurt him, please!” She twisted and jerked at the end of the rope, rage lending her strength. She darted for Eldritch’s ankles and sank her teeth into them, but they missed the flesh and found only the leather of his boots beneath his trousers, and by the time she lunged in a second attempt he had raised the rope and lifted her into the air, choking the last of the breath from her. She dangled, helpless and in agony, unable to scream, speak, or breathe. Her vision flickered from lack of oxygen. Eldritch grinned back at her as she struggled to remain conscious.
“Don’t worry, little fox,” he whispered. “I didn’t bring you out here all this way just to strangle you. I could have done that in the tunnel. No, I’ve got something better in mind.”
Rowan’s claws scrabbled helplessly at the rope. Black and white shapes danced at the edge of her vision. Any moment now she knew she would pass out.
“I thought about it for a long time,” Eldritch continued. “Dreamed of it, even.” They were on the border of the woods now, the trees swaying and creaking overhead. In the air above them, a black shape swooped. A bird of some kind.
“That’s it, nearly there.” Eldritch ran his stump over her head, between her fox ears. His voice was a soft croon, as though he were stroking a beloved pet. “Just go to sleep.”
Rowan could hold on to consciousness no longer. It slipped away, leaving everything empty and black.
Tanya and Fabian emerged from the tunnel into the gray gloom of the churchyard. Overhead, the sky was a brooding swirl of dark clouds, and as they searched the land for any sign of Rowan, fat droplets of water began to shower on them.
“They must have come this way,” said Tanya, squinting against the rain. “The entrance to the tunnel was still open.”
“I don’t see them anywhere,” Fabian said. His thick glasses were spattered with raindrops, and he wiped them away, only for more to take their place. “What do we do? We’ve lost them. We’ll have to go back to the house—but what if we’re seen by the garvern, and attacked?”
“If we get close enough maybe the others will see us and help,” said Tanya, desperately. “But we’ve got to get back and warn them. Suki is completely insane.” The rain came down heavier now, in thick sheets. Though it was still only the afternoon, the sky was almost dark as dusk.
Keeping low, they made their way over to the little stone wall skirting the churchyard and scanned the land between the house and the forest. Oberon pressed closer to Tanya, water running off his brown fur and dripping onto her.
“Something’s moving.” Fabian pointed. “There—at the edge of the woods!”
Tanya peered over the wall and caught a glimpse of a dark figure on the border of the forest. Something small and rust-colored was suspended from its hand. It took her a moment to process what she was seeing.
“Someone’s carrying a fox,” she said. “It’s got to be her—it’s Rowan! But that’s not Sparrow with her….” She felt a stab of fear.
“Then who is it?” Fabian whispered.
The figure vanished into the woods, but Tanya kept her eyes glued to the spot. “Come on,” she whispered. “We’ve got to follow and see where’s she’s being taken.”
“She wasn’t moving,” Fabian said, his eyes glazed in shock. “Didn’t you see? It’s already too late.”
“We don’t know that!” she said fiercely. “She could be drugged or knocked out or something! We can’t just give up now—we’ve got to try!” She pulled him toward the stream. “Quickly—let’s get across the brook before we lose them.”
They raced to the water’s edge, skidding on the wet grass, until finally, they reached the stepping stones.
“Don’t bother with them.” Fabian gritted his teeth as the rain lashed down harder. “It’s too dangerous—we’ll slip.” He plunged into the stream, ankle-deep, and started to wade across.
Tanya jumped in after him, gasping at the icy water. It soaked into her jeans, sucking at her legs, and she felt pebbles on the riverbed shift under her feet. Oberon was across in three bounds, and with a good shake seemed none the worse for it. They ran for the woods, heading to the spot where Rowan had disappeared from sight. The rain eased off a little as they stepped beneath the trees, but by now they were both saturated and shivering.
“Do you see anything?” Tanya whispered.
Fabian shook his head. “We’ve lost them. I don’t know how we can expect to find them again—it’s just too huge an area to cover.”
“Let’s try going a little way in.” Tanya led the way. “I’m not giving up, and neither are you. We might hear something.”
The ground underfoot was moist, taking the crackle out of their footsteps as they moved. A sudden, desperate idea occurred to her. Tanya looked up, searching for tree fays among the branches, and saw something scuttling within a nest.
“Can you help us?” she begged. “We’re looking for someone who just came this way.”
“What are you doing?” Fabian hissed.
“Rowan’s half-fey,” she reminded him. “There’s a chance that they might—” She dodged out of the way as a shower of droppings rained down on them from the nest above.
“Clearly not.” Fabian pulled her away, his mouth twisted in disgust.
Tanya gulped back tears, her eyes smarting. With a glare at the tree fay, she allowed Fabian to tug her away.
Within the depths of the woods a scream pierced the silence, chilling Tanya to the core. Oberon stood stock-still, scenting the air. Then he was off, bounding through the forest.
“That was her,” Fabian gasped, as they sprinted after Oberon. “It was Rowan—she’s alive!”
The scream escaped Rowan’s mouth before she even registered what had happened to her. All she knew was that, as she gained consciousness once more, she was in excruciating pain. It was the pain that had awoken her.
The first thing she saw when her eyes opened were the bars. She was in some kind of prison. As she shifted position to better understand her surroundings, the pain seared once more, and she cried out again, twisting around.
Her back right leg was trapped within the jaws of a cruel steel trap. A hunter’s trap. Its metal teeth had snapped shut, crushing her paw. Every movement, every muscle spasm, sent a shudder of agony through her and made blood ooze from the wound. Underneath this main source of pain she felt more—tiny pinpricks all the way down the front of her body. She wriggled, noticing glinting strands of thread in neat rows down her coat. With mounting horror she knew that she had been sewn into it, preventing her from taking the coat off.
As her mind sharpened, she saw the sky through the trees above. She wasn’t in a prison after all. The bars were, in fact, silver railings, and they were horribly familiar. Only this time, she was viewing them from the inside, rather than the outside. Turning her head, she saw Eldritch staring down at her. Beyond him a gaping chasm yawned in the ground, a tree growing at its side almost toppling in, most of its roots exposed. He had brought her to the edge of one of the catacombs.
Eldritch knelt to pick up the chain attached to the end of the trap. The other end was looped around the tree securely, preventing her
from running—even if she had been able to withstand the pain. He grimaced, glancing down at his gloved hand, and even through the haze of agony Rowan saw that his nearness to the iron was causing him discomfort.
“It still burns,” he told her. “Always will. But after the time in the cellar, I can endure it better. Especially when the outcome is worth it. And this will be.” He dragged her closer to him by the chain, forcing more screams from her throat. Waves of pain rolled over her, and she wished she would pass out again. Kneeling, he grabbed her head and wrapped something tightly around it.
“Eldritch, no!” she screamed, but he forced her jaws closed with a muzzle that reduced her cries to muffled whimpers. Once it was fastened he stood up and hauled her closer to the denehole.
“So now you have it,” he told her triumphantly, his hair hanging over his face as he stared down at her. “I told you I’d find you, Rowan Fox.” He circled the hole in the ground slowly, peering into the depths. “I know this is the point where the villain usually gives a long and convoluted speech of how he’s been wronged, but I don’t think there’s any need for that, do you? We both know that had you not left me to die, then you wouldn’t be here at all. But here you are.” He paused, gloating. “Trapped in iron, in a place where no one can hear you and no one will find you. It all fits beautifully—and not only in a poetic justice kind of way. No, it fits with Suki’s plans too. Which is fine by me—I owe her a lot, you see. I owe her my life, in fact. If she hadn’t come by for her coat—the coat you stole—and heard me in the cellar, I’d still be there. Rotted away to nothing.
“By now I expect you’ve figured out that each of the thirteen secrets is meeting their end in a significant way, and you’re no exception. Because you’re going to vanish, Rowan Fox, and no one will ever know what’s become of you, except me.” He finished circling the catacomb and loomed over her. “And as you know better than most, it’s the not knowing that’s the worst thing, isn’t it?”
Rowan looked up at him, her eyes clouded with fear and pain. This is it, she thought. This is how I’m going to die. And a moment later, when Eldritch kicked her over the edge of the hole, leaving her dangling upside down from the trap, the tendons in her leg screaming, the agony made her wish she were dead.