Page 96 of Last Rites

All I wanted was for him not to be in pain anymore.

Merrick finished speaking, then bent over the altar. He reached for our clasped hands, and I clung on even tighter, unwilling to relinquish that last bit of connection.

But he didn’t try to pry us apart. Instead, he slid the tip of the knife under the cord around Penny’s wrist and jerked, splicing the braided leather.

“Don’t!” I yelped, or would have, but the word was mangled by the gag into a pitiful cry.

“This was supposed to represent an unbroken bond,” he said to me as, knife still in hand, he unwound the cord from Penny’s wrist and held it aloft. “It gives me immense pleasure to sever every reminder of what you could have had until there’s nothing left but bones.”

He flicked the cord away, then, with all his might, drove the blade between Penny’s ribs.

Penny’s hand went limp in mine, and a scream ripped up my throat, deafening even through the gag. A maelstrom of regret and agony would have taken me to my knees if I wasn’t there already.

My light was gone, and the world was dark and cold.

Matina’s hands fell away from my shoulders, and I slumped against the edge of the altar, cupping Penny’s cold hand to my face.

35

Kit

Behind me, the ground trembled, and the sound of bone grinding against bone filled the air loud enough to drown out my whimpering.

Penny’s last-ditch effort had failed. He was dead, yet still the Vessel was waking.

A ragged sob shook me. It was over. All for nothing. This endeavor had been doomed from the start.

I didn’t want to look, didn’t want to see the monstrous Vessel come to life, but Penny faced his death head-on, so it felt cowardly not to do the same.

The Vessel’s eye sockets filled with a flickering golden glow. Its head turned this way and that like an owl trying to size up its prey, or a dog trying to understand a new noise. Its massive hands flexed, and a low sound rumbled from its chest. It was like a groan of pain, and it made every hair on my body stand on end.

Merrick was turned away from me, but I could see enough of his profile to make out the manic glee lighting up his face. He stretched his arms wide, and his voice boomed over the grating noise of the Vessel’s jerky movements.

“Welcome, Eeus. We have been waiting for you for a very long time.” His grin turned sinister. “You will recognize my authority. You have been bound into a Vessel of my making, of which I am a part, and you will do as I command. Now, kneel.”

It was hard to see through the haze of my tears, but the Vessel hesitated, its hands unfurling. It stood defiantly still for several long seconds before it creaked and dropped to one knee, shaking the ground beneath us.

In the same moment, Penny’s hand tightened around mine and then pulled away.

I whipped around and stared in disbelief as Penny snapped the ropes binding him to the altar like they were mere threads. When he sat up with the knife still lodged between his ribs, someone in the crowd screamed.

I shouted his name, but the gag muffled most of the noise. Then Penny turned toward me, and I recoiled. His eyes were a vibrant green, glowing with an unnatural light that looked far too similar to what illuminated the eyes of the Vessel behind me.

He reached for me, and I flinched back. But he didn’t take my hand, instead grabbing the ropes that bound my wrists to the altar. With a single tug, they fell away and freed me to jerk loose the knot in my kerchief gag.

Matina lingered a few steps behind me, and when she reached to restrain me, Penny waved a hand through the air and sent her tumbling backward onto the ground.

Merrick turned toward the commotion just as Penny pulled the knife from his chest and dropped it with a clatter on the altar.

I snatched the blade the moment it settled and turned it toward Merrick.

That weapon would never be used against us again if I had any say in the matter.

The crowd erupted into chaos when Penny stood. Half of those gathered scrambled to disperse, and Reimond’s family led a small group of resistance members in fighting against the melee to reach us while Rosie’s father worked to untie Isla. A row of guards closed ranks around the front of the cavern to bar anyone from getting too close.

Standing before the Vessel, which was still kneeling in reluctant submission, Merrick’s face turned purple with fury as he glowered at his half-brother.

“How are you alive?!” he barked, then swept his hand through the air in a pointed dismissal. “No, it doesn’t matter. I won’t let you take this from me, too, Penwell.”