13 Secrets (39 page)

A knife whizzed past the library door and embedded itself in the garvern’s shoulder. A spray of blood hit the wall, and the creature’s howl filled the passage. Victor flew toward it, sending a second knife curving through the air.

Light footsteps hurried after him. Tanya saw Suki running down the hall, checking behind her.

“It’s all right,” Victor told her as she neared his side. “It’s dead.”

“What’s going on?” Fabian whispered from behind her.

“Nothing. It’s under control,” Tanya told him. She was about to close the door when an unexpected movement made her freeze and grip the doorframe.

Suki had lunged for Victor’s sword, drawing it from its sheath at his side. Victor barely had time to react before Suki expertly plunged the sword into the center of his chest.

“No—” Tanya grasped at Fabian as Victor sank to his knees, his hands floundering uselessly at his own blade, staring down at it, and then at Suki, in disbelief.

With a satisfied smile, Suki retracted the blade
and stood over him, her eyes darting toward the kitchen. Victor’s mouth opened and closed like that of a puppet, bubbling with blood. His limbs twitched uselessly at his sides, then stopped moving altogether.

Quietly, Suki lowered the bloody sword to the floor and let it rest beside him. Then her shoulders stiffened, and her head tilted to one side. Slowly, deliberately, she turned to face the library.

“Get back!” Tanya hissed, pushing a terrified Fabian away from the door. “She knows… she’s
coming
!” She jabbed the key, slick with sweat, into the lock and turned it, then raced toward the bookcase, fumbling with the indents that worked the mechanism for the secret door. For the first time, it would not open.

“It must be jammed!” she said, frantic.

The handle to the library door turned. The door rattled.

“Quickly,” Fabian moaned, his blue eyes glassy with shock. Tanya tried again, pressing her fingers into the indents, but still nothing happened.

The key flew out of the lock as something was inserted on the other side. Fabian pressed himself into the bookcase as Tanya grappled with the wooden panel yet again. The lock clicked, and the library door swung open.

Suki entered the room and closed the door quietly behind her, a hair pin in one hand and one of Victor’s knives in the other.

“DAD!” Fabian yelled. “DAD—”

Suki crossed the room, the blade flashing in her hand. “Shut up and don’t be stupid. I’m not afraid to use this, as you well know.”

Fabian hushed immediately, his eyes squeezed shut.

Tanya’s gaze fell upon a tattered red book on a nearby shelf. She seized it, scrabbling through the pages.

Suki’s eyes danced with amusement. “
One Hundred and One Perfect Puff Pastry Recipes
? Is that supposed to save you?”

“It’s not what it seems.” Tanya found what she was looking for within its pages: a small green leaf, a black feather, and a long brown whisker. “I’m calling upon my guardian, and my grandmother’s.”

“Go ahead,” said Suki, shrugging. “Even if they make it in time, they’ll have a tough job getting into the house.”

Tanya moved to the fireplace, fumbling the items with a wary eye on Suki. She pulled three strands of hair from her head and then threw everything into the flames with the words: “By the powers that be, I call thee to me.”

Suki watched in silence, then took a step toward them. Oberon went rigid, his hackles rising.

Suki’s green eyes rested on the dog. She raised the knife.

“I didn’t want you two involved in this,” she said, almost apologetically. “But now you are, and so you have to be dealt with.”

“Please don’t do this… don’t kill us,” Fabian stammered.

“Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary just yet,” Suki said.

“Why are you doing this?” Tanya asked, her hand on Oberon’s collar. He was panting and gasping, and it was taking all her strength to keep him under control. “Why are you attacking the Coven?”

“No questions.” Suki jerked her head to the bookcase. “Into the tunnel. Now.”

Tanya edged back to the bookcase, shaking her head in confusion. With trembling hands, she pressed her fingers into the indents in the carved wood, praying it would work this time.

“Hurry,” Fabian pleaded.

Suki waved the knife, agitated. “Work the mechanism and get in there. I know you know how to.”

“I don’t get it,” Tanya said, jabbing the panel again in frustration. “It’s stuck.”

“Stop messing around and open it. If you’re not out of here in the next ten seconds, you won’t like the alternative.”

“I can’t!” Tanya eyed the knife in Suki’s hand, panicking. She knocked a row of books from the shelf built into the panel and grabbed on to it, pulling. Slowly, the secret door opened.

She stumbled into the musty tunnel after Fabian. Oberon’s claws scraped on the stone as Tanya pulled him in with them. A low growl rumbled in his throat.

Suki glanced over her shoulder at the library
door, then stood blocking their exit from the tunnel. Her eyes skimmed Tanya’s pocket, where the diagram of the hex was folded.

“In case you’re wondering,” Suki said softly, “I knew what was in your pocket anyway. I would have come after you even if you hadn’t witnessed me killing Victor.”

“What’s she talking about?” said Fabian. “What’s in your pocket?”

“It’s a sketch of a spell for psychic protection, to prevent your gypsy friend from having any more little insights about me. Shame you won’t be showing it to anyone.”

“So it was
you
?” Tanya breathed. “
You
were the one who attacked Morag?”

Suki shrugged. “Guilty.”

The light in the tunnel faded as the partition began to close. Oberon was snapping and snarling now, and it took both of them to hold him back. Through the rapidly decreasing gap, Tanya saw Suki turn and head for the library door. Then they were in darkness as the tunnel closed completely. There was a click from the other side, in the library.

“She’s locked the library door,” Tanya whispered, finally releasing her hold on Oberon’s collar. “We can’t get back through. We’re trapped in here.”

“No, we’re not.” Fabian’s elbow dug into her as he rummaged for something. A small flashlight clicked on. “Like I said, I was planning on coming this way anyway. That’s why I brought this.”

He started down the steps. Tanya stayed close to him, her hands clamped on the slimy walls on either side of her. Her breathing became shallow as she tried not to take in the dank stench of the tunnel. Fabian’s light wavered ahead, making her feel unsteady.

“What were you doing with the sketch?” Fabian asked.

“Rowan drew it after Suki lied to Morag about the hex. I was supposed to get it to Tino somehow to prove Suki’s guilt—but now we’ve just seen it with our own eyes.”

“So if Suki wasn’t hexed, she never lost her powers.”

“Exactly.”

“So where is Rowan now?”

“She escaped, with Sparrow, to try and find a way of attacking from outside. They came this way—we can’t be far behind them.”

They reached the bottom of the stairwell, shivering in the damp gloom.

“Want my jacket?” Fabian asked.

Tanya shook her head. “I’ll be all right. Let’s just move quickly to keep warm.” She stayed close to Fabian as he played the flashlight over the dripping green walls, then over the floor in search of the pebble knotted with string.

“There.” Tanya pointed as she saw it just outside the nearest of the four tunnels leading away from the house. She gripped Fabian’s sleeve and pulled him into the narrow tunnel. “Let’s get out of here—if we
hurry we could catch up to Rowan and Sparrow. We’ve got to stop Suki before she kills again.”

Eldritch twisted Rowan’s wrist painfully, causing her to yell out again. No matter how she wrenched and pulled, his grip was like iron and she could not free herself.

“Strong, aren’t I?” he said with a grin that was now his own. “I suppose I have you to thank for that. When you only have one hand, you have to make sure it’s up to scratch.”

“Where’s Sparrow? What have you done with him?” she cried.

Eldritch laughed, yanking her onward. “I’m afraid little Sparrow has had his wings clipped. You won’t find him so chirpy anymore.” He wrinkled his nose in disgust. “
Sparrow
. ‘Pigeon’ would have been more appropriate.”

Dread rose up in her at these words. Rowan dug her heels into the soft grass, resisting, but Eldritch pulled her on relentlessly, even when she went down. She let herself go limp, a deadweight, but it made little difference. The woods loomed closer.

“How long… how long have you been using him as a glamour?” She fought to keep her voice under control. Had it been Sparrow in her room yesterday? Or had it been Eldritch all along? Whose lips had brushed her cheek?

“Oh, not long,” Eldritch said cheerfully. “I was hoping for it to last a little longer—to the woods at least—but the running water proved a problem.” Color worked its way into his waxen cheeks as he walked. His long, oily black hair fell over his face. “It was your smelly little friend who you threw into the tunnels earlier today, and your smelly little friend who you plotted to escape with, and your smelly little friend who was going to help you overpower Suki. I heard it all. I was there.
Listening
.” His dark eyes were scornful. “
Have I ever told you I hate rats?
” he mimicked, then chuckled. “It’s not the first time I’ve been called a rat. I doubt it’ll be the last.”

“If you’ve hurt him,” she growled. “If you’ve so much as touched him, I’ll—”

“You’ll do nothing!” Eldritch crowed. He spun around and tutted. “It’s no good getting yourself into a state over little Sparrow when, really, you handed him to me on a plate.”

“Go to hell!” Rowan snarled, blinded by tears. “Tell me what you did to him!” She fumbled with her bag, trying to reach inside for her knife and cursing herself for not strapping it to her thigh. Eldritch twisted her wrist again, forcing her to the ground. His boot came down on her, pinning her hand in place. She heard him unzip the bag, then saw it flung away, out of her reach. He kicked her over to face him. He was holding the fox-skin coat.

“Put it on.” He threw it at her. “Now.”

Rowan started to scramble away, but his boot
found its way into her side, winding her, and she collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.

He leaned over her, his black eyes full of hate. “I’ll only tell you once more.”

“Why…” She coughed. “Why do you want me to… put it on…?”

“You’ll find out. I’ve got a nice little surprise lined up for you.”

“You can’t harm me,” she bluffed. “Remember the Hedgewitch, and Snatcher? They tried to hurt me, and look what happened to them!”

“They tried to use magic against you,” Eldritch growled. “But I know better than that, don’t I,
Rowan
? Why do you suppose I’ve waited this long? Do you think I’d have let you get away before if I could have used magic on you? Give me some credit. I’m not planning anything magical. Just something far more straightforward.”

She struggled into a sitting position, clutching at her ribs. “Where’s Sparrow?” she pleaded. “Please… you haven’t hurt him?”

He ignored her, motioning to the coat. “Put. It. On.” He smirked. “Then maybe I’ll tell you.”

She forced her way into the coat, her eyes darting around. The fox-skin could aid her in an escape if she managed to get free in the woods, but the knowledge that Eldritch wanted her to put it on terrified her. She fastened the clasp and felt herself shrinking and her senses sharpen. Before she knew what was
happening, Eldritch produced a length of cord from his pocket and looped it tightly around her neck.

“There,” he said, then threw back his head and laughed. “You’re almost like my pet now!” He started to walk again, tugging her toward Hangman’s Wood. Rowan was powerless to resist—a quick yank from Eldritch’s end bruised her windpipe and made her eyes bulge.

“Move,” he commanded.

“I did what you asked,” she rasped, her throat dry and aching. “Now tell me what you did with him!”

“What do you
think
I did with him?” Eldritch sneered. “Fed him a few crumbs? I killed him, you stupid girl!”