Page 22 of Serpent and Shadow

From where it lay, snoring softly, its fur shone more gold than its usual light brown. Its outline and even its fur sparkled and shimmered.

My deep black monocerus, which liked the bear as much as the bear liked it, bent its knees and sank down on the carpet next to it, and swished its snake-like tail contentedly.

As for me, the best I could do before Forsooth got there was wind my hair up into a messy bun, if only to keep it from smearing everything sticking to it on one of Bones’s leather and wood backrests.

“You were able to tell that?” Forsooth asked. “Even with him forcing you out?”

I glanced over, and saw that intense scrutiny of his aimed at me.

It unnerved me, how closely he watched me.

“Yes.” I felt my face warm, but kept my voice neutral. “I never saw where he was, not in the sense of seeing it, but I knew, once the ritual ended, he was in the Black Tower. I don’t think I can explain that specifically,” I added.

I saw something in his eyes relax as he leaned back.

“There is no need,” he said. “I imagine between the connection you share and the tracking mechanism, that information reached you in spite of his wishes.”

I felt my face flinch at his words, but I didn’t comment.

“Or,” I said flatly. “I could be wrong. Or he could have fed me disinformation.”

“Possibly,” Forsooth said diplomatically. “But I find it improbable. Particularly given the state you described him as being in.”

My face spasmed at that, too.

Truthfully, I knew he was right.

Like feeling Bones himself, I’d felt the Black Tower, as a physical presence in that darkness. I’d felt Bones’s connection to the place maybe, or Malefic’s, or maybe I remembered something in the presence of the house itself. Either way, it didn’t feel like it came from Bones, not intentionally, at least.

Despite my partial victory, the entire experience left me sick and shaken.

My hands trembled where I held them on my lap. My teeth wanted to chatter when I wasn’t clenching them. The coldness I felt was impervious to the heat coming off the roaring fire. My stomach cramped and clenched. I’d managed to not cry, at least not in front of Forsooth, but I could feel part of myself had shut down to compensate.

I wanted a shower.

Then I needed to eat, and probably sleep.

I knew I needed food and sleep, that I wouldn’t be able to function soon without both, but even the thought of it made me feel sick. The thought of doing anything that wasn’t going after Bones made my chest and gut hurt like I’d been stabbed.

“Like I said, I can’t tell you much more than that,” I said, clearing my throat. I clenched my hands more tightly together in my lap. I sat on the edge of the leather seat, not wanting to touch the furniture any more than necessary, given how filthy I was.

“…I know he’s there.” I swallowed back a tremble in my voice. “It was dark. I couldn’t see anything, but it felt big, not like a box or a closet. I could feel air moving, and it smelled damp, like mold, even fermentation. They definitely have him underground. If it’s not the dungeon, it’s got to be a crypt or basement, something without windows. A wine cellar maybe, since I did smell some faint trace that could be that.”

I stopped, mostly to control my voice.

When I spoke next, I sounded a little steadier.

“I suspect they’re all there, truthfully,” I added. “I have even less to support that, and I didn’t feel anyone but him, but there’s… something. Maybe I got that off Bones, too.”

I hesitated, cleared my throat.

After a pause where my mind ground over every tiny nuance I’d felt, I turned towards Forsooth, who hadn’t changed expression.

“Malefic wouldn’t leave him alone,” I added, my voice more certain. “No matter what he’s done to him. He’d want him somewhere he could keep an eye on him.”

Forsooth nodded thoughtfully, his face solemn.

“Agreed. I know what Corvid said,” he added, referring to the conversation we three had earlier. “About Malefic being unlikely to return to his family home, but I have a somewhat different read on Malefic Bones than Professor Blackstone.” Forsooth met my gaze. “I think he would see it as a show of power, to return to the seat of his family’s wealth and influence, particularly knowing he is wanted by the authorities. Particularly if he knew no one could get to him there… or that they would choose not to for whatever reason. It would be a way of showing the world his righteousness. And his, in his view, divine right to rule.”