Page 120 of The Dagger and the Flame
‘Tomorrow, when this is all over, we’ll leave this city, Seraphine.’
‘Together,’ she said, kissing him.
‘Together.’ He answered her kiss with his own, his hands smeared with blood and ash as they cradled her face. His tongue swept in to meet hers as they held tightly to each other, blood-soaked and smiling at the mouth of hell.
And this kiss – the taste of it – was freedom.
Chapter 45Seraphine
They broke apart as fresh cries filled the passage. This time, when Sera turned towards the sound, Ransom didn’t tug her back. He fell into step beside her as, cloak glowing, she fished the final three pearls from her pocket.
When she breached the doorway to the Cavern, a gasp stuck in her throat. The room had been reduced to rubble and ruin, the floor strewn with ancient skulls, broken furniture and dead bodies. And still the monsters stalked and howled, lunging at anything that moved. Most of the remaining Daggers were either running or cowering in the alcoves.
Sera flung a pearl, setting off a bright flash. The monsters closest to her bellowed as they reared up, then convulsed as the poison inside them dissolved in the glow. A heartbeat later, they were dead, felled by the brief spectacle. It had the desiredeffect. The rest of the creatures snapped their chins up, turning their hungry eyes on Sera.
Now she had their attention.
‘Follow me and I will free you!’ she shouted.
One by one, the monsters left their mindless war and lumbered towards her, their black tongues lolling from their mouths.
‘Don’t stop until I command you,’ she told them. ‘Do not touch another soul.’
Daggers scrabbled out of the way, flattening themselves against the walls as the monsters stomped trance-like from the cavern, willingly surrendering their bloodlust for the promise of Lightfire.
Sera edged backwards into the passage, keeping her eyes on the mass of shadows.
Ransom’s hand brushed along her spine. ‘You are… very good at this.’
She gave a grim smile. ‘Mama always said I had a knack for bossing people around.’
‘Oh, I know.’
She folded the last two pearls into his hand. ‘Use these on any stragglers you find.’ She glanced sidelong at him. ‘Please be careful.’
‘You took my line,’ he said, leaning in to kiss her temple. ‘I’ll come for you when it’s done.’
‘Sacred Saints’ Cathedral.’ She grabbed his free hand and squeezed it, as though she could press the bargain into his skin. ‘Meet me there at dawn.’
‘I’ll be there, Seraphine.’
He stepped away as monsters shoved through the doorway. Sera didn’t give herself time to be afraid. She turned and led them down the long passage, grateful for the strength her cloak gave her and mindful not to trample the bodies in her way. The monsters made no such effort.
At the sound of the sudden exodus, more monsters crept out from the smaller tunnels, joining the others on their hunt for freedom. Sera didn’t dare detour to find them all, hoping those pearls in Ransom’s fist would be enough to deal with any that got left behind. She focused single-mindedly on the door at the end of the tunnel, following the rustle of wind that told her she was almost there.
Once outside, Sera took the steps to Hugo’s Passage two at a time, conscious of every hulking shadow crowding at her back. At the top, she was greeted by an ominous clap of thunder and a sky so bruised, she felt the weight of it on her shoulders. In the distance, the top half of the Aurore had been swallowed by a thundercloud. There was no sign that her friends were still there waiting for her. She prayed they hadn’t given up.
Raindrops kissed Sera’s cheeks as she fled Old Haven. She was almost at the Verne when the bell of the clock tower rang out twelve times. Midnight.Saints, she was hopelessly late.
They’ll be there, she told herself.They made you a promise.
Sera hugged her cloak tighter, letting the magic soak deep into her bones as she broke into a run. Footsteps rang out behind her as the monsters hurried to keep up. In the distance, lightning forked the skies around the Aurore, as if the saints themselves were urging her on.
Another crash of thunder welcomed Sera to PrimroseSquare, the crack of lightning that followed so violent it split the sky. The rain was bucketing down with a vengeance now, blurring the outline of the Aurore and the troughs of ordinary flames fighting against the deluge. Some of them had gone out entirely. Others had been reduced to embers.
Sera ploughed towards the fading light, her heart throbbing with every step. The city was a symphony around her, the drumbeat of thunder joining with the low, keening wind, the rattle of rain against the tower giving way to the hiss of dying flames.
The night was getting darker, but Seraphine’s cloak was a flame of its own and no amount of rain could snuff it out. The glow of her Lightfire reached towards three shadows peering out from under the Aurore.
