Page 71 of The Dagger and the Flame
‘Unless that stick is engraved with a recipe for Lightfire then it’s irrelevant,’ Val yelled back.
‘I want to see,’ said Sera, coming to meet Bibi halfway down the stacks.
Bibi presented the cane to her like it was the lost treasure of Valterre. Sera turned it in her hands, tracing the initials along the bottom: HRV.Hugo Ralphe Versini. How had such a valuable item accidentally ended up here? Along the top, a silver skull hid the sharp point of a blade.
‘Keep it,’ said Bibi, sliding the skull back into place. ‘Might as well take something for our troubles.’
Sera took the cane back to her section, thinking it would make a nice gift for Theo.
Evening soon melted into night. Strands of moonlight slipped through the windows, illuminating the dust motes that spiralled around Sera’s face. Her stomach growled as her disappointment grew. Val gave up entirely, leaving her section to join Bibi. By the sounds of it, they had happened upon a stack of love letters written by Armand Versini, and were taking turns doing dramatic readings between peals of hiccupping laughter.
Sera lingered over a bundle of penny papers dated from around the time of Lucille’s death. One of the front pages was a black-and-white print of Lucille standing on the front steps of the Appoline. Sera lifted it to the moonlight, gazing up at the long-dead Versini girl like they were just now meeting for the first time.
‘Come on, Lucille,’ she whispered. ‘Help me out.’
‘I didn’t know you could speak to ghosts,’ said a voice in the dark. Low, and soft as honey. Lethal as a snake bite. ‘You really are full of surprises.’
Sera bristled. ‘Shit.’
Ransom clucked his tongue. ‘Language, Seraphine. This is a sacred place.’
He was standing right behind her. She could feel the heat of his body rolling against hers, the air rippling as he chuckled under his breath. She tipped her head back and caught a glimpse of his eyes peering down at her. They were bright silver.
He had decided to kill her after all. She had pushed him too far last night, taunted him with that lullaby.
She was suddenly conscious of Val and Bibi giggling at the other end of the stacks. Unprotected. Unaware. She clasped her necklace in one hand, silently reaching for Hugo’s cane with the other.
He crouched down, his mouth parting on a whisper that never came. She swung the cane, striking him on the side of the head. He groaned, slumping to one side.
She sprang to her feet and raced for the door.
Come on, asshole. Follow me.
She was down the spiral staircase in six seconds flat, her cloak and gloves forgotten. Ransom swung himself over the banister, landing right behind her. She bolted for the next staircase. He jumped that one just as easily, his silver eyes flashing. She shrank back from that menacing glare, until she was pressed against the railings of the third-floor balcony.
She brandished the cane like a sword. ‘Aren’t you tired of chasing me?’
He cocked his head. ‘Aren’t you tired of running?’
‘Nope.’ She wrenched the skull off the cane and flung it at him.
He caught it in his fist, returning it at such speed, it whistled past her left ear and struck the window behind her, cracking the pane.
‘Warning shot,’ he growled. ‘Play nice.’
She snorted. ‘Why? So you can kill me at your leisure?’
‘There is nothing leisurely about you, spitfire.’ He stuffed his hands into his pockets, and the shadows stopped advancing, instead forming a pool of darkness between them. A truce. Or a trap. ‘I’m not here to kill you. I want to talk. Face to face.’
Sera kept her eyes on his shadows. ‘Then why are your eyes bright silver?’
‘Maybe I’m a little afraid of you.’ He gestured to the exposed blade on the end of her cane. ‘I know what you can do with a letter opener. I shudder to think what you’ll do with that.’
‘It’s not the blade you should be worried about,’ she said, hardening her voice. ‘I have the power to destroy you. To destroy your entire Order.’ Silence yawned. Not a single shadow moved. Not for the first time, she wondered what he knew about Lightfire. She watched him closely as she said, ‘That power is why Dufort killed my mother. It’s why he burned our house to the ground.’
Not even a twitch. ‘So, you believe me, then.’
Sera frowned. ‘What?’
