Page 62 of The Dagger and the Flame
Sera shook her head, hating that quiver in his voice. No,no, it couldn’t be true. ‘Why would Mama have any interest in making monsters?’
‘You know why,’ he said, softly.
Sera hated how her mind jumped back to last year when she had watched Mama experimenting on a stray cat in this very garden. Even now she could hear the echo of Fig’s growl, then Mama’s scream cutting through the night. By the way Lorenzo was looking at her, she knew he was thinking of it, too. She regretted ever confiding in him about it.
‘Because sometimes it takes a monster to destroy a monster,’ he said quietly.
Sera stared at him, and knew they were thinking of the same man. The only man her mother ever spoke about with spit and rage and fire.
‘Your mother always longed to destroy the Daggers,’ he went on, with a rueful smile. ‘She talked about it more than the weather. But to do it,reallydo it, she had to find the kind of creature that even Dufort could not hope to kill. And when she couldn’t find one, she decided to make one. We both know she was clever enough to do it.’
Sera swallowed back her revulsion, trying and failing to see her mother’s grand vision. ‘But the monsters aren’t killing Daggers, Lorenzo,’ she whispered. ‘They’re killingeveryone.’
He rubbed the spot between his brows. ‘I told you. Shenever finished her plan.’
Because Dufort got to her first.
The bead pulsed at Sera’s throat, sharing her anger and confusion.
Silence hung like a storm cloud between them. In that moment, Sera hated Lorenzo. Not because of what he was saying, but because in her heart, she knew it was true. Her mother was capable of anything. And the teardrop around her neck was proof of that. If Sylvie Marchant had crafted a new kind of magic, then what was to say she hadn’t made these monsters too? What was to say they weren’t connected somehow?
‘Mama hated the Daggers but she would never have endangered Fantome. Innocent people have died, Lorenzo. They’re still dying. Mama would never have let that happen.’ Of that, Seraphine was sure. Shehadto be sure. Because the alternative – that Mama was somehow a greater danger than even Dufort – was too sickening to consider. ‘Whatever her plan was, she would have avoided that.’
Mercifully, Lorenzo nodded in agreement. ‘Mama says Sylvie was working on an antidote too. Magic that would help the monsters.’
Sera’s eyes widened at that word –antidote. The Dagger had used it too, had wanted to talk to her about it. But she had taunted him and sent him away.
Lorenzo was shaking his head. ‘Then Dufort came for her and everything went wrong.’
She closed her eyes, trying to take it all in. But the enormity of his confession was so daunting, she was afraid it mightoverwhelm her.
‘When he came over that hill, we grabbed the shotgun and ran,’ he went on, his voice stricken. ‘We didn’t know how much he knew, what he was coming here for. We thought it was about the poison. About the wine. Mama was part of that too. For all we knew, he had marked us just the same.’
Sera’s eyes flew open. ‘You saw Dufort?’
Lorenzo stilled, realizing his mistake.
Out in the garden, Pippin started barking.
Sera ignored him. ‘You just said it was Dufort that came over the hill. That Dufort killed Mama.’ But that was not who she had seen in the house, standing over her mother’s body. The man had been much taller and broader than Dufort. Had the smoke played tricks on her mind? Had Ransom told her the truth after all?
It didn’t matter just then, because Lorenzo had let slip a graver truth. ‘You knew she was going to die,’ she said, reading the guilt on his face. ‘You saw him come to kill her and you fled.’
His silence was answer enough, his expression so crestfallen she thought for a moment he was about to cry. But then he rolled his shoulders back and squared his jaw. ‘She was marked. That’s what happens when you mess with Dufort. Sylvie knew the risks and didn’t care. In the end she…’ he trailed off.
Pippin was pacing by the bushes, a growl rumbling in his throat.
‘She what?’ Sera prodded. ‘Don’t hold your tongue now; you’ve already said everything else.’
‘She had it coming, Sera.’
Without thinking, she slapped him. His hand flew to hisface, his eyes going wide. She shouldn’t have done it, but she didn’t regret it either. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks as she stormed away from the shed. He followed her across the garden where Pippin rushed to meet her. ‘It’s all right, Pip,’ she said, scratching behind his ears to calm him down. ‘We’re going now. For good.’
Lorenzo lunged, grabbing her hand. ‘Don’t just walk away.’
She shook him off. ‘This is what you want, isn’t it? Nothing to do with Mama. Nothing to do with me. Well, your wish is my command.’
‘There’s no need to be so… so…finalabout this.’
