Page 70 of The Unweaver

“You’re late,” Cora said. “We started without you.”

On the nights she closed the club, they raided the liquor shelves. The Starlite’s owner marked the levels of every bottle every night, and they had to water down the already watered-down hooch before stumbling home.

That didn’t stop Teddy from grabbing a full bottle and upending it. “I am never late, Cora dear. I arrive precisely when I intend to.” He gulped half the booze before coming up for air. “Oh, how Ilongto be insensate.”

They played music and sang bawdy songs into the early morning, the twins’s voices blending into effortless harmony.

“You should sing more,” Ravi told her. “You’ve a lovely voice.”

Teddy’s grin was sly. “Sounds like sex.”

When they were too drunk to play, Teddy filled their ears with his lofty plans for the trio to open their own jazz club. Cora indulged his flights of fancy, but Ravi, ever the voice of reason, brought up the matter of start-up costs, property taxes, liquor licenses—

“Oh, don’t be a nuisance, Rav.” Teddy chucked a peanut at him. “I abhor honest work.”

Ravi dodged the projectile and laughed, light and airy. “Typical Teddy, cavorting around without concern for the consequences.”

“I am aware of the fucking consequences,” Teddy snapped. Humor chilled on his features. “I’m aware of the consequences because Iamone. Some bloke fills a girl’s belly with his bastards and now it’s my problem? One sperm in one instant and an entire bloody lifetime of regret is born, andI’mstuck with it. Just another unwanted brat added to the pile.”

* * *

Wrenched back to the present, Cora’s playing cut off abruptly. That was the last time their family of three had been whole.Overcome, she remembered Teddy’s body lying desecrated and frozen, waiting for a reunion that might never come. At her sudden stop, Ravi’s trumpet faded away.

Guy whistled. “You should definitely play here, Cora. You’ve got experience and we’ve got an opening. Edith’s so big with child she can’t reach the keys anymore.”

“Edith is John O’Leary’s wife,” Ravi said. “Mal’s solicitor.”

O’Leary was rumored to be the best Memnomancer in the UK. With the top memory mage as Bane’s legal counsel, perhaps none of Lt. Potts’s accusations would stick, after all.

“In a couple weeks, the O’Learys will havesixkids,” Guy said. “Edie won’t be playing the piano again anytime soon. You should fill in. I can talk to Mal for you. He can be a little…”

“Overbearing?” Cora supplied. “Insufferably arrogant?”

Guy’s brows shot up to near cloud-level. “Er, well, I wouldn’t quite—” His gaze latched on something over her shoulder. He licked his lips nervously.

“He’s behind me, isn’t he?” Sighing, Cora turned and saw Bane a few paces away on the stage.Of course. Her arctic gaze held his in challenge. “I meant it.”

Guy sucked in a breath. Ravi took a step back.

“I know.” Bane’s eyes roamed over her. “You’ll play at the club.”

“That’s kind of you to ask,” she said, although she felt a pulse of excitement. The piano was grander than anything she’d played before. If she survived to play it again.

“Do you sing?” Bane asked.

“Not well and never in public.”

“Oh, don’t listen to her, Mal,” Ravi said. “Cora has a lovely voice.” The compliment skewered her with memories.

“Another time. Meeting’s starting.”

Chapter 19. The Unweaver

Her head snapped up. A sea of curious faces greeted Cora. An audience had gathered as they played. Seated at tables with drinks in hand, they looked at Cora with a mixture of intrigue and wariness.

She caught whispered fragments of their conversations.Who is that? Looks just like Teddy Walcott, don’t she? Didn’t he have a twin? What’s she doing here?

She was surrounded by the Realmwalker’s gang. Her judge, jury, and executioners. Her fear was just short of apocalyptic as her worst nightmare unfolded around her.

---