Page 108 of The Bone Season

‘Gail tells me the leak in the attic was a sign of a more serious problem. The roof needs extensive repairs,’ he said. ‘While she carries out this work, you may return to sleeping on the daybed.’

Once I might have chafed at the idea of sharing his quarters again, but the attic was still uncomfortably cold. This way, I could sleep by the fire.

‘All right,’ I said.

‘There is another matter.’ Warden held out a familiar green pill. ‘I know you have not been taking these, Paige.’

‘Do you, now?’

‘Yes. Have you been disposing of them, or selling them to Duckett?’

‘If you want me to take that pill, you’ll tell me what it’s for. No one else gets it.’

‘You are not them.’

‘What are you going to do, personally force it down my throat?’

He tucked it into a silver pillbox, eyes flaring. ‘I will give you time to reconsider,’ he said, returning it to his doublet. ‘For now, follow me.’

Michael waited for us in the cloisters. He handed an iron lantern to Warden.

‘Hello, Michael,’ I said. ‘How are you?’

He gave me a brief smile and a nod. I had yet to hear him utter a word.

Warden led me to the gate east of the lawn. ‘We are not going to Port Meadow,’ he said, taking a key from his belt. ‘This is Water Walk, my private retreat. From here, we will go some way beyond the lamplight.’

‘Why?’

‘You have proven yourself capable of leaving your body, but you will not improve if we repeat the same exercises. I wish to try a new approach.’

Water Walk was lit by nothing but the moon and stars. The darkness thickened as we lost the faint torchlight from Magdalen.

In spite of myself, I stayed close to Warden. The Rephs might send humans to do their dirty work for them, but he was the one with the track record of surviving the Buzzers. He led me off the path, over a rotten bridge, then strode into a tangle of wet undergrowth, leaving me to trudge in his wake, up to my knees in weeds.

‘Warden,’ I said, ‘how far are we going?’

He ignored me.

My boots and socks were already sodden. He was taking me into the untamed meadows behind the residence, which were cradled by the River Cherwell. They were called the Fields of Mercy, since they stood between the lamplight and Gallows Wood.

Warden clearly wasn’t feeling merciful today.

‘You’re pissed off about the pill,’ I guessed, fighting to catch up with him. His legs came all the way up to my waist. ‘Just tell me what it is.’

‘It is necessary,’ Warden said.

‘Oh, catch yourself on. I managed without it before I had the misfortune of meeting you,’ I bit out. ‘Would you kindly slow down?’

He deigned to stop. I caught up after a few moments, breathless.

‘You win.’ I held out a hand. ‘Give me the pill.’

Warden regarded me. ‘What changed your mind?’

‘You’re clearly in a foul mood. I don’t want you taking it out on me.’

In the silence that followed, he seemed to weigh my sincerity, then removed a tablet from his pillbox. I washed it down with a swig from the hip flask he offered, taking another sip for the bitterness.

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