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“They might not wear the mark,” Jianyu told her. “But they are still loyal to what the Devil’s Own was supposed to stand for. Not to a man or a building, but to an ideal.”
“They’re going to wage war on the Strega?” Esta asked.
“No. They’re going to demand an end to Nibsy Lorcan’s rule,” Jianyu told them. “Even if Nibsy himself is not distracted, they will occupy the people he has left. They will do what they can to give us a chance.”
A chance. It almost seemed like too much to hope for, but Esta would take it.
Eliminating Thoth and taking the Book back from Jack wouldn’t solve the problem of the Order’s control over the city or the danger of the Brink, but it would give those who had the old magic a chance. At least Jack wouldn’t be a threat. At least the path of history could come closer to what should have been: There would be no DAM Act without Jack’s attack on the Conclave, no Reticulum without his possession of the Book. No President Grew. And maybe one day they could do more.
“If we can get the Book from Jack, a different future is still possible,” Esta said. “As long as we stop Jack tonight, we can start again. We know where the artifacts are waiting. We know how to use the Book. And we have Morgan’s papers, along with all the secrets the men in the Order might want to hide. The Conclave is just the beginning.”
She could feel Harte looking at her, and she knew what he was thinking—about the Book and the artifacts. About what it would cost her to use them to destroy the Brink.
Golde knocked on the doorframe to announce her arrival. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she told them. “I know you’re busy, but there’s something that’s happened. Something you should know. My Josef—he’s gone.”
AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR
Bella Strega
Josef Salzer was a coward. The boy was so terrified of the choice he’d made that he was shaking like he had a palsy. He’s been a coward to let his mother keep him from taking the mark months ago, and he was a coward now. But at least he had turned out to be a useful one.
“And Esta believes they can use the sigils to trap this demon?” he asked the boy.
Josef nodded. “That’s their plan. They’re going to go to the Conclave and try to find Jack Grew before he can attack anyone. Once they unmake the monster that’s inside him, they’ll take the Book.”
“You’ve seen this ritual?” James asked. “With your own eyes?”
“She took care of the curse on that Chinaman’s arm,” Josef told him. “I was one who helped. I held one of those magic discs they have while it was spinning like a ball of light. And then Esta stepped inside to work on that curse. She broke it too. Healed him up fine. Then we all stopped our discs so they could both get free.”
James’ interest peaked. “She was trapped?”
“I don’t know,” Josef said, looking suddenly even more frightened—if that were even possible. “I suppose she was.”
James considered this news and felt the Aether lurch around him in ways that made his blood race. That wretched hum still pulsed in the background, but it was barely noticeable now. Barely a nuisance.
With a small nod, he let Murphy know to dispose of the kid, and he made his way back to the privacy of his apartments, where he could study the diary.
It remained mostly unreadable, but more had been revealed—enough that he could tell the Salzer kid hadn’t been lying. The sigils were part of it.
He leaned back in his chair and considered the problem in front of him. He’d known since the beginning that he would need someone with an affinity like Esta’s to touch the power in the Book. If the sigils could trap a demon, perhaps they could trap her power as well.
No wonder the Aether had urged patience for so long.
He’d let Esta and the others take all the risks. Once Jack Grew had been taken care of and the demon had been destroyed, James would make his move.
One by one he’d let her watch as he destroyed her friends, plucking away her layers of protection. He’d enjoy seeing the end of those who should have been following him all along. He’d make them regret their choices. Jianyu, Viola, and the Sundren trash that trailed behind them.
His only regret was that there wouldn’t be time to savor Darrigan’s end. After all that damned magician had done to him, after all he’d put James through… But obtaining the Book was more important than enjoying Darrigan’s pain. His own future was more important.
And then, when Esta was at her weakest, when she had no one to step in and save her, he’d take everything.
He took the silver gorgon’s head from where he kept it beneath his shirt. It wasn’t exactly comfortable to walk around with the hard metal tucked under his arm, but it was necessary. He’d had the replica made not long after he’d taken it from Saunders. From the very beginning he’d known that possessing the cane would unlock control over the Devil’s Own, but he’d expected it to put a target on his back as well. Just as it had for his old boss. Unlike Dolph, however, James was smart enough to protect what was his.
If Dolph could take Leena’s affinity and place it into that bit of silver, why couldn’t he do the same with Esta’s? Once he had her magic, he could use it at will. And once he had the Book, he was one step closer to unlocking its power.
Parts of the future might still be undetermined, but the diary showed him what was certain: Esta would attempt to regain the Book. He’d allow her to, just as he’d allow her to take care of the unfortunate issue of whatever it was living within Jack Grew.
And then Esta Filosik would die.
