Gates of Thread and Stone (23 page)

CHAPTER 34

ISTAR. IRRA HADN’T
mentioned her.

“How many of you are there?” I asked. Talking to her through the clear door felt odd, like talking through a closed window, even though I could hear her well enough through the slit. The way she talked, she sounded as if she could’ve been one of the girls from school. Was she doing that especially for my benefit?

“Too few, if you ask me.” She studied her nails, which had been painted pink with little white hearts on them. “But if you see Peace around, ask him if he’s bored enough yet to come and visit.”

I sincerely hoped not to come across any more of them, even if he was named Peace. “Is he in Ninurta, too?”

“Not for ages, as far as I know.” She sighed again wistfully. “But you never can be sure who might be lurking around.” She flashed straight, white teeth.

I looked at Reev, who had yet to move. “What are you going to do to Reev?”

There had to be a reason she’d brought him with her. Intimidation or leverage or something else to force my cooperation with whatever they wanted from me.

“R-22 is insignificant. He was a missing puzzle piece, now recovered.” She sounded annoyed. “His entire team was like a disobedient anim— Ah!”

Her face brightened. Her abrupt mood shifts were jarring, but after having spent time with Irra, I figured this was another quirk of the Infinite. She fingered the lace at the bottom of her dress, which was short and layered underneath with starched petticoats. The outfit looked like something the girls in the North District might wear: an odd mixture of allure and innocence.

“You don’t know?” She clapped her hands excitedly. Red curls bounced around her puffed sleeves. “I love a good story. You should hear the ones they used to tell about me.” She closed her eyes, smiling dreamily.

“What story?” I prompted.

She sat up straight. “Your brother’s, of course. The leader of his team was the only sentinel in Ninurta’s history to overcome his collar’s enchantments and disobey commands. As you can imagine, it was
very
troublesome.”

I hoped he had given them hell.

“The other two in his team began to disobey orders as well. But, of course, they couldn’t sever the collar’s connection to Ninu, so do you know what the leader did?” She thrust her lips into a pout. “He dared to break into Ninu’s private chambers and attempt to kill him.” Her pout stretched into a feral grin. “But he was caught. Do you know what Ninu did then
?
”

I could imagine. When I didn’t answer, she continued.

“He created a new collar. One that purifies the mind of all thought and knowledge, leaving a perfect shell for Ninu to refill. R-22 and the third member of their team were also meant to be purified as soon as they returned from a mission. But R-22 never came back, and his link to Ninu was broken by someone on the outside. Very few have the ability to tamper with Ninu’s collar and not kill its wearer.”

“The Infinite,” I said. In spite of everything, I wanted to know more. Reev had gone through so much so young. What happened to his real family when he was taken? And who helped Reev to escape?

Istar said spans of time had been erased from Reev’s memory. Whoever had broken his leash for him had wanted to remain anonymous.

I dug my knuckles into my stomach. Too many questions.

“So Irra told you that. And here I was hoping to give you another story.” She slumped dramatically and then jerked upright again, eyes widening. “Oops. Time’s up. Ninu wants to meet with you later.” She stood, smoothing down her dress over the petticoats. “And when you see him, you’ll give him all the information you have about Irra and your powers.”

She twirled away. Reev turned to follow her. Watching him leave, again, fractured something in my chest. I had to bite my lip to keep from calling out for him.

Because I knew she wanted me to ask, and because I had to know, I said, “Or what?”

She glanced back. She looked delighted. “You’ll be happy to know that R-22 is still intact. Ninu put up a very specific wall in his mind. It allows only certain knowledge and thoughts through while blocking everything else.” She thrust one slender finger up in the air. “But if you don’t cooperate, then R-22 will be sent for immediate purification.”

Istar hadn’t said when Ninu wanted to meet with me, so I went back to staring at the wall. The door had gone opaque again, but the slit remained open. Unfortunately, there was nothing to look at or listen to other than the sound of my own breathing. Enough time had passed that I’d grown hungry again, but I didn’t think a meal would be coming, so I ignored the ache. It wasn’t all that hard. I had a lot of practice.

Despite Istar’s threat, her words had put my mind and heart at ease. Reev was still in there. If I could only get him out of Ninurta, then Irra could help him.

If Irra even let us back in. My capture meant that the Kahl knew Irra had the means of sneaking people into the White Court. Kahl Ninu would probably do exactly what Irra had said: strengthen and restructure his security and weed out the spies. All the information Irra and his hollows had worked to gain would be meaningless.

I pushed aside the guilt. First, I had to figure out how to escape.

At some point, I fell asleep again. I hovered at the edge of a dream when a groan jarred me awake. I looked around, but I was still alone. My eyes fell on the slit in the door.

I heard a hiss of pain, a low groan, and then a hoarse laugh and a familiar voice. “Heh. Is that all you’ve got? Keep tr—
nng.
”

“Avan,” I breathed. I leaped off the cot and slammed my fists against the door. “Avan!”

Through the slit, I could see that the door to the hallway had been left ajar.

Avan made a strangled sound. “Kai?
Drek.
Don’t listen. Don’t—” His voice ended on a groan.

Oh God.
“Stop!” My shout rang in my ears.

I kicked and pounded the door until every bone and muscle felt bruised. Avan had grown quieter, but I could still hear him. I felt his broken breaths snag in my own throat, his gasps like a knife in my ribs. I sank to my knees, forehead against the door, fingers digging into the unforgiving metal.

It went on for what felt like forever. He kept trying to tell me he was fine.

Please
.
Please stop.
Tears scalded my cheeks. I covered my mouth before any sounds could escape. Hearing me cry would hurt him more.

“Stop,” I whispered.

The sound of a door shutting made me flinch. Avan’s ragged breaths fell silent. I scrambled to my feet, squinting through the slit. Someone had closed the entrance to the hallway. I collapsed against my door, sliding to the ground. I held my breath, straining to hear, but there was nothing.

The silence was almost worse. My imagination supplied me with endless horrific scenarios. I covered my face. This was my fault. They were hurting him to get to me.

A voice said, “Did you enjoy that? I think you’re ready to see Ninu now.”

Istar. A
click
, and my cell door swung open. Still pressed against it, I fell forward, sprawling across the floor in front of a pair of dainty white shoes. I wanted to spit on them.

Large hands pulled me up. A sentinel, thankfully not Reev, hauled me along behind her. Most of the doors we passed were closed, and those that weren’t showed empty rooms. I didn’t know which room Avan had been in or where he was now, but letting me listen to his torture was supposed to rattle my nerves and crush my defiance. I wouldn’t give in. Once they had what they wanted, they’d probably kill us both.

I tested the sentinel’s grip, but she held fast. I could use the threads, but what then? How was I supposed to help anyone else escape when I didn’t know how to help myself?

We climbed a short set of stairs before passing through a stone arch. The next staircase spiraled up through a circular shaft, like the stairs that led to Irra’s gargoyles. A tall window allowed natural light into the narrow stairway. As we passed the window, I realized we were high enough to see beyond the walls of the White Court to the dirty roofs and blackened chimneys of the North District.

I knew where we were. The highest point in the White Court: Death’s tower.

The home of Ninu’s executioner was the last place anyone wanted to be.

Wooden doors opened at the top of the stairs. Behind them was a broad space with dusky mosaic tiles and brocade furniture. Sheer curtains draped the high walls, which were a warm, ruddy color and climbed up and up to a glass ceiling that displayed a gradually darkening sky.

Istar entered the room ahead of us, her shoes clicking against the tiles. Windows framed the room, providing a magnificent view. Just as you could see the tower from anywhere in the city, from here you could see all the way to the stacked freight containers of the Labyrinth.

An unexpected pang of yearning hit me. I was a long way from what had once been home.

A torch in a stone sconce cast a halo over a woman standing by the windows. She wore a slim silver gown. It shimmered when she turned to face us, every angle of the dress catching the fading daylight. Her white hair was asymmetrical—jaw-length on one side and down to her collarbone on the other. The longer side had a black streak through it.

She looked familiar, but I would’ve known who she was no matter what. Ninu’s right hand.

“Leave us, Sister,” she said.

Istar pouted, but she did as she was told, taking the sentinel with her. The doors shut behind them, leaving me alone with Death.

CHAPTER 35

“HELLO, KAI.”

I moved into the room. I didn’t think Istar had brought me here to die. Not yet. And I doubted Death performed her job in this room.

“I am called Kalla,” she said. Her gaze dropped to my feet. “You were supposed to be disarmed.”

The knife. It was still in my boot.

Before she could order the knife removed, I said, “
You
were supposed to be Ninu.”

A hiss of air indicated a door opening.

At the far end of the room, a man entered through an alcove hidden behind the fall of curtains. He stepped into the light. He was tall enough to be imposing, although not nearly Irra’s height, and he had neatly cut graying hair. He wore a high-collared, midnight-blue tunic, trimmed in silver thread and glossy buttons. The blue matched his eyes, which took me in with only mild curiosity.

Ninu looked exactly the way I’d imagined. I straightened my shoulders, unwilling to let him intimidate me.

“I’m delighted to meet you, Kai.” His voice was clear and melodic, almost ingratiatingly sweet.

On a glass table sat two crystal goblets and a decanter partially filled with a luminous purple liquid that looked like the alcoholic drinks the hollows had served. He poured himself a portion and held the goblet up to me in salute.

I glared. I wasn’t going to engage in mock formalities.

He sipped his drink. When he turned to face me again, there was an edge to his smile. “Wonderful,” he said.

He studied my face. It made me want to back away. Instead, I held his gaze.

“You’re a coward,” I said, surprised by how steady my voice was.

“I am Kahl. What would you have me do, Kai? Barter with you?” His shoulders moved with silent laughter. “Perhaps you think your information or your abilities provide enough weight for negotiation. But you’d be wrong. I have your brother, and I have your friend. Surely you see where you stand.”

“Stop toying with me,” I said. “What do you want to know about Irra?”

I knew playing dumb at this point would be a bad idea. If I didn’t have the answers he wanted, he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt Reev and Avan. Unfortunately, he might do the same even after I told him. I didn’t know much beyond what he already did, and I didn’t think lying would be very smart. There were no choices here.

He swished the purple liquid in his goblet. He didn’t seem to be in any hurry.

“Your friend—Avan, is it? Interesting young man. No matter how many ways we cut him open, he just doesn’t die.”

The shaking started in my hands and spread to my arms.

He set his goblet on the table and clasped his hands behind his back. “And no, to answer your burning question, your friend is not of the Infinite. Isn’t that right, Kalla?”

“A most curious human,” she noted.

If Avan wasn’t a descendant—and no one knew what he was—then that only made what had happened in the arena more baffling. He was a mystery, like me. I had to find him. I had to save him.

The exit was behind me, but it was likely guarded by sentinels. There was the door Ninu had come through, but that was a good thirty feet across the room. I’d never make it in time.

But I could
make
time. Irra had said that even the Infinite couldn’t escape the River’s flow. If I held the threads, I could probably at least get to Ninu before time caught up. And the knife in my boot would have found his heart.

“You seem impatient,” he said. “I’m willing to indulge you. I should very much like it if you could now tell me how to find Irra’s base.”

“I’d love to,” I said. “I hope Irra welcomes you by rotting out your eyes.”

“I look forward to the hospitality.” He looked at me expectantly. His forehead was unlined. Still, he clearly seemed old, unlike Istar.

I sent a silent apology to Irra, but I wasn’t too worried. I had the feeling Etu Gahl wouldn’t be found unless Irra wanted it to be.

“It’s lost,” I said. “Beyond the Void.”

Ninu tilted his head as he glanced at Kalla. “Irra’s errand boy said something similar. But it was difficult to make out with all the screaming.”

Whoever had been sent to meet us behind Zora Hall at noon must’ve been met by Ninu’s sentinels instead. Did that mean DJ or another hollow was dead?

I prayed it hadn’t been Mason. It couldn’t have been. Mason would have been rebranded, not killed.
Please. Please.

“His death was quick,” Ninu confirmed. “But Avan will not be shown the same mercy. In fact, it seems not to be an option at all. So he will continue to suffer until you agree to lead me to Irra.”

I swallowed. “Lead you?”

Ninu approached me. Good. The closer he was, the better my aim. I tried not to look at Kalla, afraid to give anything away. Why hadn’t she demanded I hand over the knife?

“Of course,” he said. “I’ve sent my sentinels on enough pointless ventures into the Void. This time, you will return under the pretense of a successful extraction.”

I didn’t cringe when he touched my face, despite the primal urge to snap at his fingers.

His next words were spoken inches from my ear. “Irra will open his gates to you, and you will lead us into his fortress.”

He turned away. Only someone as confident in his power as Ninu would present his back to his enemy. Lucky me.

I leaned over, fingers dipping into my boot. The knife handle felt warm against my palm, as if anticipating my intent.

Before Kalla could warn him, I threw my mind against the threads. Time slowed and grew slack around me. I could move freely against its current. Ninu was half turned, his expression frozen in astonishment.

Beneath the ribs—that was where Mason had said to strike with a weapon. The knife slid in with scarcely any resistance.

Time snapped forward. I pulled the knife free. Blood darkened Ninu’s tunic as he crumpled. My stomach roiled, but I hardened myself with the memory of Avan’s body in the arena and his moans filling the blank space of my cell.

I spun around and pointed the bloody knife at Kalla. “Where are my brother and Avan?”

Kalla adjusted the strap of her silver dress and pursed glossy, red lips. She didn’t seem concerned by the fact that I’d just killed the Kahl. She wasn’t even looking at me.

A second later, I understood why.

A voice came from the shadowy alcove across the room, sinking into my skin.

“I haven’t seen that specific power for a long time.”