The color drained from Finn’s face. “He what? In his room? Lila, you’re not … You can’t …”
I didn't really have time for his opinions on that matter. I turned to look behind me. The Clovian guards were still caught in the throng of people. But I could no longer see Sourial at all. The mortals seemed to be trying to flee, terrified. Someone screamed, and a sense of unease rippled up my spine. Absolute chaos. “Finn, it’s not important.” This conversation had gone very off track, and I felt like Finn was judging me somehow.
“It’s not right.” He looked around furtively, then leaned in to whisper. “I’ve been talking to the Free Men. They think Samael killed the servants.”
My mouth went dry. “And Alice? She was one of the servants. Did they say anything about her?”
“No one knows for sure. She could have escaped. We’re working on getting more information. But they think the angels are going to start killing more and more women. There’s a man they call the baron. I don’t know his real name, but he’s the leader of the Free Men. Only he can stand up to the angels. He’s the only one.”
“You will pass on the message, right?”
“Listen, Zhara, the angels want Armageddon. The count is going to cause this apocalypse. It’s starting soon, and we all have to be ready. The Free Men say nothing can stop the coming storm. They say they’re the only ones who can fight back to end this once and for all. We have to root out every last one of them. Don’t let them corrupt you, Lila. And you have to be ready to fight back against them.”
I wouldn’t mention to Finn what “fighting back” entailed. That I’d have to shag the count.
“Of course I won’t be corrupted.”
The sound of fighting was growing louder and more frantic. When I looked behind me, I caught a disturbing glimpse of Sourial swinging his sword at a man, blood dripping from the blade.
I turned back to Finn. “Finn, listen. You heard what I said, right?”
Except Finn was already putting a finger to his lips, his gaze over my shoulder. He’d wasted my time bloody interrupting me the whole time.
Another loud scream rent the air. And in the next heartbeat, I felt the iron grip of the soldier’s hand on my arm. “You’re taking too long, Miss. What are you chatting about, then?”
Finn looked like he wanted to leap over the table and fight the soldier.
When I turned, I saw a street of people fleeing, desperately trying to get away. A sense of unease trembled up my spine. What exactly had Sourial done? Screams rang out all around. A woman was vomiting by an overturned table of pies. Market stalls had been tipped over, eggs smashed in the street, jars shattered. I clung onto my silky underwear, a deep feeling of dread building in me.
Where had Sourial gone?
Another high-pitched scream peeled through the air and sent a shiver through my bones. It was a scream of pure terror. It was coming from Leather Apron Alley.
I started running for the alley, but the Clovian soldier grabbed my arm again. “Where do you think you're going?"
"You're supposed to be controlling the city, aren't you? Don't you want to know what's happening in it?”
He kept his grip tight on my arm, and started dragging me over to the mouth of the alleyway instead of letting me walk, for some reason. When we got to the opening, I broke free.
Leather Apron Alley was a crooked street that wound through East Dovren, so I couldn’t see the problem at first. Then I rounded a corner, and saw a sight that turned my stomach.
Three dead women lay on the ground, their bodies ripped open from pelvis to breastbone. Horrified, I staggered back, my mind a blank canvas of fear.
Words had been written in blood, but I couldn’t read them. One of them began with an S. Sourial? Samael?
Sourial stood above them, staring down.
Blood covered his cloak, and when he turned to look at me, his eyes were dark as night.
My legs felt weak, and I turned away. Were they three women from the crowd? I stifled the urge to vomit, covering my mouth, then turned back to Sourial. "Did you do this? Did you kill these women?”
He didn’t answer. He only went still, staring at me. Darkness whirled in his eyes, and wings cascaded behind him—the feathers a deep bronze, fading to copper. They seemed to radiate an unearthly light.
In the next heartbeat, the wings were gone again.
From the other side of the alley, three cops ran closer, dressed in black with their nightsticks out. “Oi! Stay where you are!”
I wanted to tell them to be quiet. If they annoyed the angel, he’d only kill them. He wouldn't even spend much effort doing it.
Sourial ignored them completely and walked past me, his arm brushing against me as he did. "Let's go,” he commanded.
Maybe Finn was right. Despite what I’d learned in the Tower of Bones, I’d started to feel just a little too comfortable with the angels. They had beguiled me.
And I wasn’t ready to leave with him just yet.
I looked at the cops and said, "I didn't see what happened, but when I got here, he was standing before them.” I pointed at where Sourial had just been.
Whatever was written on the wall, the red blood was fresh, still dripping down the stones.
One of the policemen swiped a finger through the blood, then shot me a furious look. “Your Clovian friends did this. We can’t arrest them, but it’s what they do. You know that, right?”
“They’re not my friends,” I said quickly.
He looked me up and down. “And what's an Albian woman like you doing hanging around their kind?”
I didn’t have an answer for him. He took a step closer, gripping his baton, his voice a sharp whisper. “Listen, girl. There’s a war coming, and you’d best be on the right side of it. Nothing can stop the coming storm.”
Ah … he was one of them. A Free Man.
I glanced down at his cufflinks, and there it was—the silver and the bolt of lightning. I touched his arm. In case Finn hadn’t been listening, I whispered, quietly as I could, “Tell the baron the Clovians plan to spy on the meeting at the music hall. They will be watching.”
If Finn was involved with the Free Men, I really didn’t want them snared in the angels’ net.
The cop’s eyes went wide, then he nodded. “You see any other women consorting with them, you make sure to report them.”
I turned to cross out of the alley again, and the soldiers and Sourial were waiting for me just around the corner.
I followed them back to the castle, screaming inside. Albia needed to get rid of them.
But spying like I was, I was playing a very dangerous game. One that I might not survive.
Still, someone had to stop the angels. Might as well be me.
28
Lila
As I sank into the warm bath, I wondered if my message had got through to the Free Men. Maybe they’d cancelled the whole thing now.
I’d taken a risk, but I’d done what I needed to do. In a few minutes, I needed to get ready for my mission with Samael. I was supposed to hide in the music hall and try to read lips, to report on what the Free Men were saying. But I hoped the whole thing would come to nothing.