Page 16 of Written in Red

Mercury had suspected he wasn’t the only one who wondered a little about the morality of imprisoning people in the dungeon.

“Not forever,” he assured them all. “They and others who are likely to come here in search of me have information about the one they’re working for. If we can learn enough to eliminate the threat of their puppet master, then we won’t have to keep them here.”

“And if they won’t spill what they know?” Testy Tolver asked.

Mercury didn’t have a ready answer to that. “We will cross that bridge if we come to it.”

They all exchanged looks of both determination and uncertainty.

Mercury looked over at Wallaby. “Will you act as warden? Keep an ear out and maybe go peek in on them once in a while. They can’t escape, but I think we’d best know if they’re trying and if anything unexpected happens.”

Wallaby nodded. He never left the dungeon as it was, and the tunnels were an extension of it.

The Vanns could reveal why people were hunting Mercury. If his ghosts were going to be told, he would prefer that he be the one who told them.

“As I’ve told you, there’s a bounty on my head. I have been accused of being a criminal and a fugitive from the law.” He didn’t see any real concern on any of their faces. “The accusations are true.”

Some surprise popped up around the room, but still no condemnation or worry.

“Most of you haven’t been with me long enough to know this about my past. Those who do know have honored my wish that it not be spoken of.” He took a quick breath. “I was raised in an orphanage. I wasn’t ever adopted, which means, according to the law, all of my ghosts are the property of the orphanage governor. Everything that happens to them is supposed to be decided by him. Any amount of money I make as a result of brokering, he has a legal claim on. I, however, have hidden my identity, kept all those profits for myself, and am hiding from the legal consequences of that deception.”

No matter that he had explained this a few times of late, his stomach still clenched at speaking the words out loud. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of his past or felt badly about what he’d done. The law was unfair and unkind. And the way he had been treated at the orphanage warranted doing everything he could to create a life as far from it as he was able. But those consequences were being borne by others now. That was what he felt badly about.

“So is it the head of the orphanage who’s put the bounty on your head?” Captain Capitate asked.

“Could be. Or someone who has figured out who I am and hopes to collect a reward for turning me over to face justice.”

“And what does that justice look like?” Mawky asked, looking on the verge of fainting, which was a very common thing for her.

“Seizing all my assets, including this house. Likely being thrown in debtors’ prison.”

“Is debtors’ prison better than regular prison?” Gary the Green asked.

“I don’t know,” Mercury admitted. “The enormity of the sum I owe to Moor Cross Home for Orphans might warrant ‘regular prison,’ as you call it.”

“Enormous enough to warrant hanging?” Weeping William burst into tears at the question.

“Also possible,” Mercury said. “I suspect not, though. Or at least that it would be argued against. If I’m dead, all of my ghosts get redistributed.”

They all nodded at that. When the person to whom a ghost was attached died, that ghost immediately became attached to a newborn infant. And the orphanage only had claim on ghosts attached to him. Allowing Mercury to be hanged would cost them a fortune.

“But a lifetime spent in prison is a decided possibility.” The Quiet Queen sniffed in disapproval. “Barbaric.”

“I agree,” Mercury said. “Especially because all of you would have to stay within five hundred feet of whatever prison I’m placed in. And if the prison is large enough and I’m housed in the middle of it, you’ll be stuck inside until you’re traded.”

“Could you be forced to trade your ghosts?” Testy Tolver shook his head. “No. That can’t be right. Both people and both ghosts have to be in agreement.”

“But should any of you wish to no longer be in the prison with me, I would trade you if I am able.”

Captain Capitate waved that off. “It won’t come to that. There are a lot of rooms in the tunnels. We can herd a great many people down there. Soon, no bounty hunter will even attempt to snatch you away.”

“I wouldn’t have burdened you with this secret if it wasn’t crucial that you know the reason we’re in our current predicament and what that means for your futures,” Mercury said.

“We are perfectly capable of keeping secrets and carrying burdens,” the Quiet Queen said with an arched eyebrow.

Mercury breathed more easily. “I will do everything I can to keep all of us free and safe.”

“Safe?” Gary the Green gave him a dry look. “Little can be done to ghosts. Yes, we would be forced to stay within five hundred feet of your prison cell, but we can’t be hurt or killed. We can’t really be punished. You are the one we are protecting. You and Miss Wilde. And we will do so in any way we are able.”