Before her hand can fully close, I jerk the cord, intending to break it, but the rope is deceptively strong, so Carly ends up half falling, half tripping as I drag her closer. Her arms reach out to steady herself, so I get a better look at the little trinket she was grabbing for. “What do we have here?”
“That’s mine.” She reaches to pull the cord from my grip, but I swat her hand away, tugging her closer to examine the pendant. It looks like a bunch of geometric shapes layered over each other.
“You know what this is?” I jerk her around by the string to show it to Gunnar, and she stumbles.
“Some kind of rune, but I don’t know what for,” he answers.
“She seems awfully concerned with it.” I wrench her around a bit more by the cord, testing to see if it will break.
“Jesus!” Carly hisses.
“Don’t you wish. Time to start talking, Carly.” I shove her away from me and warn, “Don’t fuck with that thing around your neck.”
“What do you want?” She swipes her hand under her nose. Messy.
“What every girl wants. To stand on the bones of my enemies, and to look fabulous while doing so.” I shrug. “I already have everything else.”
With his cloak still covering his head and face, Grim steps forward and demands, “Tell us about the witch. Where can we find him?”
Carly starts shaking her head before he can even finish asking. “I don’t know how to get a hold of him. He promised he would be back, but it’s been months.”
“I don’t know. You were acting like there was some urgency when you were torturing the hellion.”
Carly wets her lips, her eyes darting around a bit. “I knew he would be back soon because you’re here.”
“How would he know I was here if you didn’t tell him?”
“He just knows things. I don’t know.” She goes to lift her hand as if she may reach for the necklace, but one look from me has her lowering her fingers.
“I’m gonna need more than that, Carly.” I use her name because I want her to understand that I know who she is, and I could find out everything I need to know about her. “What does he want with me?”
“He said you took something from him and he wanted it back.” When I open my mouth to ask her what, she speaks first. “I don’t know what it is, he never told me. I swear.”
I look over at Gunnar. “Could he mean Aeson?” I’m at a complete loss for what else it could be.
My question goes unanswered, but Calix asks, “When did you see him last?”
“Two months ago. Maybe.” Carly shrugs while wringing her hands together.
“You’ve been doing magic.” I point down at her feet, even though I know she will be oblivious to the taint left behind. “Dark magic.”
“He showed me some stuff.” She looks down, but I can see the flush of red creep up from her neck to her jaw and cheeks.
Ewww, I think, but I keep it to myself. “What did he show you?”
“Some wards and stuff.” Her face is bright red now.
“What was the next step you mentioned?” Calix presses.
Carly bites her lip and looks down at the ground. “I don’t know where to find him,” she hedges, but she’s telling the truth.
“Tell us what he taught you,” Gunnar pipes up.
Carly whimpers and turns away from him a bit, as if to hide. “He showed me what he could do.” She wraps her arms over her chest, still mostly looking at the ground.
“Come on, Carly, like what?” I urge.
“He messed up Sarah’s face,” she blurts. “Gave her something, and she got these boils or something all over her face that left scars.”
