“I have an idea,” I said. “We should drive the Bagmen down there. I could make a chute of briars, corralling them.”
Finn tapped a spot on the map. “I could make it look like the mountain starts here, creating a funnel into Evie’s briars.”
“My wolves could nip at their heels, driving them down.”
Jack said, “Selena and I could be firing on them at the same time, spooking them forward.”
A gauntlet of briars, snapping wolves, illusions, and arrows. “If this works, those cannibals would be dead, and the Bagmen would drink from them for days. We’d have plenty of time to escape.”
Jack nodded. “How long would it take us to get ready?”
How long for me to bloodlet enough to create a plant feature like that? “Two hours?”
In French, Jack said to me, “Good. Then we have some time to talk to the girl and find out if any of this is even approaching true.”
13
Crunch.
I grimaced each time Lark’s giant wolves bit through a bone.
After completing our preparations, we’d found a nearby cave, unable to do anything but kick back and wait for the battle to come. Lark’s falcon would keep us updated on any arrivals. Once we’d settled in, her wolves—Scarface, Cyclops, and Maneater—had disappeared for a while, coming back with old bones. Human ones.
As Lark had explained, “Wolves gotta eat. Corpses are A.F. Alpo.”
To distract myself, I kept gazing out at my briar chute like a proud parent.
It was a thing of beauty, if I did say so myself. I’d seeded enough plants to make two twelve-foot-high walls, thickly tangled. Impenetrable. So glossy and green against the ashy black earth. Thorns jutted out protectively, each a few inches long.
I wanted to live among the stalks, but I doubted Jack would want to live with me there.
I was sitting with my back against his chest. Blood loss had left me freezing, but I was gradually warming up from the heat of him and from the fire we’d built. Matthew was close by, drowsy, staring at the flames, while Selena tweaked more of her makeshift arrows.
Lark sat shoulder to shoulder with Finn, with the wolves spread out behind her. We’d learned that these war wolves had heightened intelligence, ferocity—and apparently appetites.
Crunch. Crunch.
Jack seemed to be handling all this insanity well. Earlier, when I’d rolled up my coat sleeve to make the first slice of my skin, he’d been uneasy.
“Are you sure you want to see this?” I’d asked, hesitating with my claws above one wrist.
Lips thinned, he’d said, “Ouais.”
I’d sliced. He’d winced.
“It’ll heal, Jack.”
“But it’s still got to hurt, no?”
Bloodletting always hurt like hell. I’d gritted my teeth, white-knuckling through the pain as I sliced my arms up and down. As my skin had healed, he’d watched, riveted. I was dizzy and chilled through by the time it was done.
He’d rubbed my shoulders for warmth. “So that is how you were making food for your mère.”
While we’d worked on the chute, Selena had been scouting the area for any holes to be plugged. Matthew had rested under a nearby overhang, almost obscured by a thick veil of water. Not far away, Finn had been practicing his illusions, with a wide-eyed Lark at his side.
I’d heard some of their conversation and had been delighted that he’d recovered his beautiful bullshit. “I’m not perfect, Lark,” he’d told her gravely. “Due to some self-esteem issues, I always put out on the first date. Working through that, though. Help me?”
She’d laughed, clearly liking him too. Maybe they did have some kind of infinity-symbol connection. It gave me a tendril of hope. If they fell in love, we’d have another pair of Arcana who would never hurt the other. One more stick of dynamite in the machine.
Normally I wouldn’t be thinking about hookups at a time like this. But these mini-alliances were critical.
Now Selena asked her, “What do you know about the game, Lark?”
“You want to talk about the specifics in front of a Muggle?” She hiked her thumb at Jack.
“He knows everything,” I assured her. “What can you tell us?”
“My family chronicled,” she said, buffing her claws. They weren’t like my thorn ones. Hers were narrower and curling, talonlike. Plus, hers never disappeared completely.
Selena gave a laugh. “Oh, really? See, I heard you got capped first in the previous game. Numero uno. When would you have had time to set up a centuries-old paper trail for your family’s descendants?”
Finn glowered. “Ease off, Selena.”
“No, it’s okay,” the girl said. “Granted, I know more about the current game, like what the big dogs are up to.”
“Big dogs?” I asked.
“The players with the most bite, like you and Selena. Like Death and Tess.”
“We met her. What do you know about her?”
Matthew muttered, “Bad cards.”
“She’s the World Card,” Lark said. “The fifth element. She was with Joules and Gabriel a week ago. They must’ve taken her on as an ally. Smart move on their part, since she can pretty much control space and time. One problem: the chronicler of her line dropped the ball, so she doesn’t understand why she levitates every time she sneezes. If she gets turned on, time races and stuff.”
Finn looked captivated with Lark, resting his chin on his hand as he gazed at her. “How’s that work?”
“Don’t ask me. I’m not a doctor or a quantum physicist.”
He and Lark laughed, but then her smile faded. “I shouldn’t poke fun. She looked like a sweet girl. Cried a lot though, and bit her nails till they bled. Not understanding your powers must be a bitch.”
It was. I remembered when I’d been in the same boat, wondering why plants responded to me. I felt for Tess, wanting to help her.
“But I’m sure Joules and Gabriel will get her up to speed about the game, if they haven’t already.” Lark pointed to Matthew. “The Fool’s got a big target on his back too. He knows everyone’s weaknesses and powers.”
Matthew blinked at her. “Arsenals.”
“And Evie?” Jack asked.
Lark turned to me. “The ones who understand the game want to keep you alive so you can take out Death. But there are some who don’t know better. And now that you’re worth a pair of icons . . .” She trailed off, eyeing my hand. “Well, it’s tempting.”
Two icons, mine and the Alchemist’s.
Jack covered my hand with his own. “It might be tempting—but it ain’t happening.”
She gave him a duh look. “Hello, we’re allies now.” Reaching into her coat pocket, she pulled out a laminated scroll, handing it to me.
I unfurled it, finding archaic writing on yellowed parchment, with grease-pencil notes.
“It’s a list of players with their formal titles,” she said. “I’ve written in the current names that I know and updated the losers.”
— The Players —
The Fool, Gamekeeper of Old (Matthew)
The Magician, Master of Illusions (Finneas)
The High Priestess, Ruler of the Deep
The Empress, Our Lady of Thorns (Evie)
The Emperor, Stone Overloard
The Hierophant, He of the Dark Rites (Guthrie)
The Lovers, Duke & Dutchess Most Perverse
The Chariot, Wicked Champion
Strength, Mistress of Fauna (LARK!)
The Hermit, Master of Alchemy
Wheel of Fortune, Lady of Fate
Justice, She who Harrows (Spite)
The Hanged Man, Our Lord Uncanny
Death, The Endless Knight
Temperance, Collectress of Sins (Calanthe)
The Devil, Foul Desecrator (Ogen)
The Tower, Lord of Lightning (Joules)
The Star, Arcane Navigator
The Moon, Bringer of Doubt (Selen)
The Sun, Hail the Glorious Illuminator
Judgment, The Archangel (Gabriel)
The World, This Unearthly One
“Where did you get this?” I asked.
“Off my fridge door. Kidding. Like I said, my family chronicled. I wager more players have died, but I only scratch off those I can confirm through the calls. I heard others clamoring when Spite got offed. It was early on. Don’t know who did it though.”
“The Alchemist”—I cleared my throat—“was named Arthur.”
She tilted her head at me. “Okay. I’ll update it.” Her eyes began to glow red. “Hold on, we pause for this public service announcement. . . . We’ve got about two more hours till showtime.”
Showtime. It sank in that we might all die tonight. Hell, Death had given me a week, and I was about at the end of it. If I only had a few more hours, I wanted to spend some time alone with Jack—and I wanted it badly enough to leave our cozy fire and head back out into the storm.
I mentally asked Matthew, Will you be okay with Finn for a bit?
—Empress is my friend. Finn is my friend.—
Yes, we are. I’ll be back soon. I’m going to talk to Jackson.
—He won’t like that.—
I begged to differ. I rose, offering Jack my hand as I murmured, “You and I should recheck the perimeters. Just to be sure there aren’t any early birds.”
He shot to his feet in an instant, grabbing my hand and his gear, announcing, “Perimeters are important.”
I tried not to notice when Selena glanced away, her expression stricken.
“Finn, you’ll stay with Matthew?”
“Matto and I are inseparable. Haven’t you heard?”
Matthew said, “Peas. Pod.”
At that, Jack hastily squired me outside, as if he thought I’d change my mind.
I could hear Finn chuckling. “Checking perimeters? Is that what the Louisiana kids are calling it these days? Hey, Lark, can I check your perimeter?”
Jack was already dragging me out into the night. I’d been dizzy, cold, and weak just moments ago, but as I gazed at him, excitement filled me.
I felt alive. . . .
14
He led me past one of the briar walls to the overhang where Matthew had sheltered earlier, and we leapt through that veil of water. Inside, it was like being cocooned from the world.
He shook his hair out in that way I loved.
“Aren’t you glad you stayed with us?” I asked him in a wry tone.
“It’s never dull.” He pulled me close, nuzzling my ear. “Miss you, peekôn. Been with you the entire day, so how does that work?”
God, I’d missed him more.
“I doan know about the new girl though. All I been hearing is how these players are supposed to kill you. But I bet you’re still thinking new friend, new ally, non?”
“Me? I’m not thinking new friend.” Okay, I might have been thinking new friend. She was funny. I liked her attitude.
“Hell, Selena was ready to off you without blinking an eye. You kept telling me you didn’t trust her. Now I know why.”
I frowned. “But she’s changed. She’s made up her mind to keep me alive.”
“Look, all we know for certain about Lark is that she’s got monster wolves to do her bidding. I doan trust her. Just keep it close to the vest, Evie. No need to tell her anything about us. You’re the best secret keeper I know.”
“Okay, I’ll try to learn more from her than I reveal.”
He nodded. “If this thing goes sideways tonight, I want you to run.”
I stroked the backs of my fingers along his jaw. “I’d never leave you in danger.”
“You mean that, doan you?”
“Yes. But if anything happens to me, I need you to take care of Matthew.”
“Doan you dare talk like that, bébé.” He gripped my nape, a move that was at once protective and possessive. “I’m not goan to let anything happen to you, no.”
“Well, don’t go leaping in front of bullets or anything. Remember, I regenerate.”
“What if you got shot in the head, like Bagmen?”
“I’ve wondered the same. But I think the Touch of Death is what I need to be looking out for.”
“He’s not goan to hurt you either. Not while I’ve got a breath in my body.”
When I shivered, Jack said, “I’ll start a fire.” He gathered some dry branches and kindling, arranging them near a shelf of raised ground in the back. With efficient moves, he struck his hunting knife against a flint, coaxing a fire to life. As it grew, he collected his sleeping bag from his pack, laying it atop that shelf.
Shadows danced, the air soon heating. We sat side by side, warming our hands.
The setting, the fire, the rushing water outside, the looming danger . . . everything was intense, primal. And at that moment, I felt as if I had been destined to end up in this place with this boy.