Yousef brought us meals, for which we paid him so wel that he nearly wept. And I tried not to develop an attachment to him. I liked his loyalty. It was just that I knew he hoped I’d reward him with a hearty slap on the cheek fol owed by a kick to the shin. And I couldn’t wrap my mind around that.
Didn’t even want to try.
At dusk Vayl returned. He took one look at us and said,
“We are going to the roof.”
As soon as we stepped into the open we felt better. I wondered how entire families survived in rooms like the ones we’d left, how they shielded their souls from the crushing hopelessness wal s and ceilings like those brought down on them. And I thought, looking sideways at Yousef and Kamal, who’d come to join us after their visit to the hammam, that some of them didn’t.
“Kamal,” I said, “tel Yousef that we’re expecting violence tonight. And if it comes, the two of you have to stay on the roof.”
When Kamal translated and I saw the excitement brighten Yousef’s face I nearly shook him. But I knew he’d enjoy it too much, so I just said, “It won’t be the kind of pain Yousef enjoys. You have to make him understand that. You could both die.”
Kamal half turned, like he wanted to bolt but his feet had somehow stuck to the floor. He whispered, “Who are you?”
“It’s better that you don’t know, okay? We need Yousef to read the map after we get it, but only when it’s safe.” I handed them both more euros than they’d ever seen. “We’l give you twice that when this is over. Just hang out here.
That’s al you have to do. Okay?”
Kamal nodded until Yousef pinched him and demanded some translating, dammit! Then he seemed even happier to cooperate than his buddy. To the point that they found us al rickety folding chairs to sit in while we watched and waited some more. My work is way exciting. Except for the times when it bores me out of my mind.
I couldn’t have been asleep long. My dreams had only begun to take on the detail of real life when Vayl shook me awake. I checked my watch. Three a.m. He motioned for me to join the rest of the crew at the edge of the roof, al squatting in a neat row like marksmen waiting for the bank robbers to come riding into town. Yousef and Kamal huddled on one end, whispering to each other. Next to them Sterling crouched, watchful as a stalking lion. Cole knelt to his left, grasping the hilt of his sword like he meant to pul and charge within the next couple of seconds. Vayl went to sit at his shoulder, waiting patiently until Cole turned to meet his eyes.
“Remember why we do this,” Vayl said. I’d sunk to my heels on the other side of him. Now he tilted his head toward me. “Jasmine cannot be free without the Rocenz.”
“I know that,” Cole snapped.
“Did you know she has been experiencing nosebleeds and headaches?”
We both stared. “Little escapes my attention when I am ful y attuned,” Vayl said.
“It’s nothing—” I began.
“He is kil ing you!” Vayl let me see the flecks of orange starting to paint over the stormy blue of his eyes before he turned them back to Cole. “Saving Jasmine is your priority tonight. Al else pales.”
He turned back to the scene unfolding below us, and though I could feel Cole’s troubled gaze on me, I concentrated on the action in the tannery as wel . Because nothing could come of significant looks, no matter how mopey we made them.
The creatures who’d appeared below us kept to the tannery’s dark corners at first. But as their search went on and it became obvious that they couldn’t figure out their map, they lost the patience stealth requires and became a lot easier to count.
“She sucks at recruiting,” Cole said.
“How many do you see?” Vayl asked.
“Three so far.”
“Add the two who have remained by the plane portal door and, of course, the demon,” Vayl reminded him.
“She’s not with them?”
“No.” He turned and stood in one smooth motion, raising his cane in such a way that I knew instantly we were in trouble. Without ful y understanding why I needed to, I came to my feet and pul ed steel. Then I caught sight of Kyphas standing across the roof from us, her flyssa hanging at her side.
“You wil never win this fight,” Vayl said, pointing the cane at her like he was already seeing the sword it contained carving through her flesh.
“I’m not here to battle,” Kyphas said, glancing down at the figures slithering among the vats like she thought they might overhear us. She held out—what the hel ?
“That’s the map,” said Cole, unnecessarily, because we could al see the raggedy-edged scrol rol ed tightly in her fist.
“She can’t decode it,” I said. “She’s brought it to us so we can find the tool and then she’s taking it back with her.”
“No, of course not. Wel , I mean yes to part of that. We can’t decode it. But I’m here because—” Her eyes lit on Cole like a butterfly lands on a flower, so lightly he never felt their touch, before moving on to Sterling’s, mine, Vayl’s, even Kamal’s. She ignored Yousef so completely he might as wel have been a roof vent, standing completely stil , shocked to immobility in the face of her absolute beauty.
“We have a contract,” she finished.
“You said it was finished,” Vayl reminded her.
She took a step forward.
Vayl’s hand tightened on the jewel that would release the spring-loaded sheath. I raised my sword. Cole wrapped his hand around the hilt of his. Sterling—relaxed. Only Vayl and I knew he was now at his most dangerous, with his hands resting in his lap, one crossed over the other so that his bracelets were touching.
“Kyphas.” Vayl made her name a warning even she could understand.
She responded by tossing him the map, her eyes flashing yel ow as she said, “Did you think your little scheme would go unnoticed in hel ? That Torledge hasn’t been aware of every move you’ve made since you landed in Marrakech? He knows this is his best chance to retrieve the Rocenz and he wants me to be the dog that fetches it for him. I may be the laughingstock of Lucifer’s court after letting your Seer slip through my fingers, but I wil not bow down to that rabbit fucker.”
Vayl and I raised our eyebrows at each other. Either she was one badass actress or—
“I knew it!” said Cole.
I wanted to slap myself on the forehead. But that would just hurt me. And Kyphas was the one I wanted to mutilate.
Physical violence would only make Cole do the white knight act, however. So I appealed to him one last time. “Dude, you did hear what she just said, yeah? That the contract stil holds? Think back. What was her upside in that deal?” He actual y had to take a second. Then he said, “Oh.
Souls. She’s going to get Brude. And the Oversight Committee.”
I nodded. Good boy, maybe I should give you a sticker. Positive reinforcement so you’ll remember your damn lesson. “She’s stil in the biz. Always wil be. And that face, that incredible face that makes you long for her to reform and become Little Bo Peep, is what makes her so good at what she does.”
“What are you saying?” Cole asked.
My sigh came out more like a huff. “Quit thinking with your dick for, like, ten seconds. I think that’s al you need to save your life here.”