“Legend says the Bargainer can take anything from you. A name, a face, a memory. I wonder what they do with all of them. They only approach the desperate, they say, but everyone is desperate. They must want something, don’tcha think? They must have a goal.”
—A legend of the North Side
LEVI
Levi tried to chase after Enne the moment they were pushed apart, but the crowds quickly consumed her, and he could barely make out anything in the darkness.
Panic seized at him. His plan was already collapsing, but he didn’t know how to save her and save the night, too.
He knew the omerta had twisted a lot of what she’d told him, but he had to believe that those last words had been her own. That she loved him. That she trusted him. If she could have faith in him, thenhehad to believe she wouldn’t immediately surrender herself. Whatever Vianca had planned, they could escape it.
His sights fell on another figure in the crowds, the same one he’d spotted earlier, with a feathered mask like a hooked beak. He was the one who’d fired the gunshot. He was the one who’d derailed Levi’s plans.
But Levi didn’t run after him for what he’d done.
Levi ran after him for who he was.
Feathers had always been Scavenger’s calling card, but Jonas wasn’t supposed to be here. Not yet. Not right when the power went out. The other lords had agreed to wait outside with the gangsters, so if Jonas was here, something was wrong. If Jonas had betrayed them, then everything he’d planned might truly fall apart.
Jonas fled through the door to the theater, and Levi followed, apologizing as he pushed his way through the crowds. With all the chaos, Jonas didn’t notice Levi was following him. That he was probably thinking he’d gotten away with it.
Levi slipped through the theater door and immediately collided with Jonas. He grabbed a fistful of Jonas’s shirt and slammed him against the wall of the ticket booth. Cursing, Jonas fought against him, until Levi snapped his fingers and lit a flame, illuminating both their faces.
“Pup?” Jonas spat. The stench of him made Levi’s nose wrinkle.
“Why are you here?” Levi demanded. Then he looked down and noticed the gun gleaming in Jonas’s pocket. It was an antique—far flashier and more expensive than anything the Scar Lord would typically carry. As the weapons provider to the North Side, Jonas usually only carried guns he could sell—easy marketing.
Levi recognized that gun.
“Harrison Augustine made you an offer,” he said flatly. “Is that why you betrayed us?”
“Betrayed you?” His eyebrows furrowed. “This has nothing to do with you.”
“You’re supposed to be outside!”
“My second is there. Mygangis there,” he growled. “I haven’t betrayed anyone.”
“They’re going to lock the doors to find the culprit, which means no one will be able to get in or out.” He slammed Jonas against the wall again for good measure. “You’ve ruined the plan, and you might’ve killed every gangster already inside.”
“Then leave with me.”
“Séance is still here.”
“Then it will be your own fault if you die tonight,” Jonas spat. “How did you even know about Harrison, anyway?” When Levi didn’t answer, Jonas smiled. “I knew you couldn’t be that clever. He’s been helping you all this time. That’s why no one likes the Irons—you want to believe they’re really winning, but all of it’s a cheat.”
“Cheating or not, we wereallgoing to win tonight. Was his offer really worth it?” Levi was so angry that his skin began to heat. It could’ve been a repeat of his fight with Chez Phillips all over again, the only difference being that he had never been Jonas’s friend.
“Wow, you really must have some sort of complex,” Jonas sneered. “It takes something special to work for motherandson. You’re not even worth being called a cheat. You’re just an Augustine bitch.”
Levi punched Jonas in the face, knocking his head against the ticket window.
Jonas took a swing at him, but Levi dodged it. As soon as he did, the lights in the theater flickered on, and with a heart-stopping jolt, Levi realized they weren’t alone.
Someone watched from the stage, standing beneath a single spotlight. Her hair was white.
“Ivory?” Jonas called hesitantly.
Ivory raised a rifle. It was an automatic, similar to the ones the troopers and Families carried. Levi and Jonas instantly raised their hands in the air, and both, at the exact same moment, let out a muffled“Muck”under their breaths.
