His eyes study me from their deep-set sockets, seeing too much, as usual.
“There’s something else,” he says, suspicious. “You should be more…I don’t know…disappointed your little jaunt didn’t play out like you wanted.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I say, opening the door and heading down the corridor. Viz follows, his voice rising as he calls after me.
“Syrus. Where are you going? What aren’t you telling me?”
I sigh. “It actually does you good to be wrong at least some of the time, Viz. Perhaps itwasreckless, but it was certainly useful.”
“What do you mean?” he asks, his jaw tightening in that way it does when he’s worried.
“I wasn’t going to let one of those idiots bind me to him, but there was a woman there—the intended sacrifice. I took her instead.”
Viz coughs in surprise. “Tookas in…?”
Claimed. Filled. Inhabited.All of those things and more. I hadn’t anticipated how intense it would be, climbing into the consciousness of another being. It was so…intimate. I could feel everything: the quick rhythm of her frantic breaths, the brush of her hair against the nape of her neck, the way her bare skin dimpled in the cool of the chamber.
I knew I’d be able to control her. To bend her to my will. It was why I chose to be bound to her instead of the fools who summoned me. Well, that and…
When I saw her lying there on the altar, terrified and covered in bloody runes, I couldn’t miss the resemblance. But that’s not important.
“I possessed her and brought her here,” I answer Viz at last.
“You…” Viz shakes his head. “Why?”
“Think about it. She may be the answer to our problems.”
He looks skeptical but doesn’t argue.
“And where is this woman now?” he asks instead.
I offer him a loaded smile. “It’s not as if I have much experience opening rifts, Viz. We can’t all be as precise as you.”
I imagine that if it was possible for him to get any paler, he would. “Don’t tell me you lost her in the aether?”
“No, she made it to Infernum, but then I lost contact with her mind. She must’ve passed out when she got here. Which is whyI’mgoing to fetch her now.”
“Quill didn’t say anything to me about the wards being triggered.”
“No, but I suspect my possession of her fooled them.”
“Interesting. Well, if they were going to bend for anyone, it would be you.” His eyes brighten as they always do when he’s untangling a fresh bit of knowledge, pulling a scroll from the deep pockets of his coat and scribbling something on it with the pencil he perpetually keeps behind his ear.
I quicken my pace as I reach the front gates, forcing him to hurry after me. I’m not too worried about the human, but there’s always a chance a mischievous Malicite will find her before I do, and I’d hate to have to kill someone else today.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Viz asks.
“No, I’ll go alone. No use overwhelming her—especially if she’s the type to pass out from a little rift travel.” That could be a problem, but probably not something I need to worry about right now. I pass by the mirror in the entrance hall, catching a glimpse of my reflection in the process.
I pause, considering it. Nowthatcould be a problem to fix right now.
No matter. It won’t take long to stop off at the lake before I go to collect Infernum’s newest resident.
Chapter 7
Leah
There are no stars in Infernum. It’s the first thing I notice when I open my eyes. I’m definitely not in Strata anymore.
