Page 77 of The Dagger and the Flame
‘It’s not a mark,’ said Ransom. ‘Clear the table.’
When nobody moved, Dufort barked, ‘Clear the fucking table!’
The Daggers rushed into action, swiping away playing cards and sovereigns, dirty ashtrays and half-smoked cigars. Ransom laid Kipp’s body down. In the flickering lamplight, they all stared at it, trying to make sense of the sunken cheeks and haunted eyes, the shrivelled skin and paper-thin lips. The silence stretched on and on. Ransom’s fingers twitched as he watched Dufort. His body was flagging, fresh plumes of nausea rising inside him. He wanted to turn and rush back to his room, to sit alone in the dark and finally process everything he had seen tonight. Everything he had felt. But if he fled now, he would only arouse suspicion.
Dufort broke the silence with a grunt. ‘There goes Kipp. Poor bastard.’
‘Sad,’ said Lisette, returning to her perch.
‘Kipp was one of the monsters stalking the city,’ said Lark. ‘He attacked us a few days ago.’
‘Well, now he’s dead,’ said Dufort.
‘And damp,’ said Lisette, wrinkling her nose.
‘It wasn’t the Shade that killed him,’ said Nadia uneasily. ‘There are no markers. Look at his eyes. His skin. And he doesn’t have a single shadow-mark.’
Dufort looked at Ransom, his eyes cold. ‘Where did you find him?’
‘Saint Celiana’s fountain.’
‘And you were there why?’ said Lisette.
‘I was out for a walk.’
‘And a swim?’ she said, looking him up and down. ‘New hobby of yours?’
He smiled tightly. ‘I had no idea you were so fascinated by me, Lisette.’
She fingered her sleeve. ‘Only since my sistersworeshe saw you leave the city the other day. She said you were headed to the plains.’ She smirked. ‘Isn’t that where your mark used to live?’
Dufort snapped his chin up. ‘The girl went back?’
‘Not that I’m aware of,’ said Ransom evenly. Then to Lisette. ‘Your sister is mistaken.’
‘Oryouare lying.’
‘Shut the fuck up, Lisette,’ said Lark.
Dufort’s eyes were still on Ransom. ‘This isn’t the body I asked you for.’
‘You wanted a monster, Gaspard.’
‘That’s not a monster,’ said Lisette.
‘Not any more,’ said Ransom. ‘But maybe you can study it. Try to—’
‘What the fuck do I look like?’ snapped Dufort. ‘A scholar?’
Ransom’s face burned. ‘Should I have left him in the fountain for a nightguard to find?’
‘It depends on how he got in there in the first place,’ mused Lisette. Still prodding. Insufferable bootlicker. ‘And whether there was something else, someoneelse, you could have taken instead…’
Ransom inhaled.
She licked her teeth. Triumphant.
‘What would you have preferred, Lisette? A fistful ofcoppers?’ said Nadia, glaring at her. ‘In case you haven’t noticed, the entire city’s been under attack for weeks now. This is the closest we’ve come to finding out why.’
