Page 238 of The Bone Season

This time, his silence was even more frightening. When I turned my back on him again, he said nothing. None of the others followed me.

Warden gave me a boost on to the bridge, making a step with his clasped hands, then joined me. I drew my gun as we pressed on to Port Meadow.

‘Paige,’ Warden said.

‘Don’t.’ I loaded another dart, my breath shaking. ‘I just threw my life away. Now I have no power to help the others in London. I’ve sold them a lie.’

‘Wait, Paige!’

I turned. Nick and Zeke had just hoisted themselves on to the bridge. A few moments later, Nadine clambered after them. No sign of Jaxon.

‘He can’t fire all four of us,’ Nick said firmly, once they caught up. ‘Come on. We’ll cover you.’

I looked between them, afraid to believe it. ‘You’re sure?’

‘Apparently,’ Nadine said, ‘but we have less than twenty minutes to get there. And the stretched weasel might still come after us with his cane.’

‘No,’ Nick said. ‘Jax will save his own skin. The shaft is the safest way.’

‘And we’ve picked the dangerous one. I love this job.’ Nadine snapped a new magazine into her pistol. ‘Where are we going, Dreamer?’

Port Meadow was dark, except for the sally port, flanked by lanterns. Oliver and Emil – the brothers who had attacked me in June – were out cold beside it.

Michael waited beside them, along with a large group of amaurotics, some performers, and one thin palmist in a white tunic. She was gaunt and shivering, her dark hair freshly shaved against her skull.

‘Ivy.’ I approached her first. ‘Are you okay?’

She nodded. ‘One of the amaurotics let me out of Corpus.’

‘I’m glad you made it.’ I looked at the drawn faces around me. ‘Has anyone seen Julian?’

No one answered. Nick regarded Ivy with concern.

‘If Julian has been killed or captured, his allies may not know where to go,’ Warden said. ‘I believe there was a flare gun hidden on Bear Lane.’

‘Paige,’ one of the performers said, ‘why is he here?’

‘He’s on our side.’ I looked back at Warden. ‘A flare will attract the Vigiles.’

‘They will be coming here either way, to take the train to London,’ Warden said. ‘The emissaries will not want to be stranded in a burning city.’

He had a point.

Julian Amesbury had been my unwavering ally from the first night to the last. The thought of leaving without him was more than I could stomach. He knew where to go, but if he was dead or detained, he would want me to help the people who had been relying on him to lead them.

I took the flare gun from my backpack and loaded it, then found a point above the meadow, cocked the hammer, and fired. The military flare shot into the clear sky, where it erupted into red brilliance.

‘Okay,’ I said. ‘Let’s move.’

Warden went first, opening the sally port. I stepped right over Oliver.

Nick and Zeke lit our path. As we followed Warden, I tried to ignore the roil in my gut. I had just thrown away my job, my security. Not only that, but I had insulted Jaxon.

If I stuck to my guns, he would ensure that no other mime-queen or mime-lord would hire me. And if I did survive the night, Scion would hunt me for the rest of my life. I needed protection. I needed my gang.

Who else but me would dare succour an Irish fugitive?

I couldn’t think about it now. Instead, I sent up another flare, replacing the one that had just sputtered out. The red glow illuminated the whole meadow. Behind us, a few more humans had reached the sally port. With the help of the amaranth, I forced my perception a little farther.

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