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“I wish I wasn’t.”
The hallway was a long, narrow passage with barely any light, but she didn’t let the darkness bother her. The second she saw it, she knew that there was no legitimate reason Ruby should have been back there. Her instincts buzzed again, and they pushed onward.
When they rounded the corner and saw the bars blocking her path, Cela thought for a second she’d been wrong. Abel was already taking her by the hand, starting to turn back, when Jianyu shifted out of nothingness and appeared. Viola was there beside him suddenly as well.
“Cela,” he said, stepping toward the bars. But he came short of touching them. “Why are you here?”
“It seems like I’m rescuing the two of you,” she said, pointing out what should have been obvious.
“You should not be here,” he told her. She would have been angry at his greeting if his voice hadn’t been ragged with fear. He turned on Abel. “How could you let her come?”
“She had a feeling,” Abel told Jianyu with a resigned shrug.
“How did you find us?” Viola asked.
“I saw Ruby leaving this hall,” Cela told them.
“Was she alone?” Viola’s expression was a study of worry. “Where did she go?”
Cela nodded. “There wasn’t anyone with her, far as I could tell. But she was heading up to the roof.”
“Jack,” Jianyu said softly. “He is the only one who could be behind this.”
“You have to go after her,” Viola pleaded. “If Jack has her…”
Cela noticed Viola’s blade on the ground not far from the bars. “We’re not going alone.”
ANTICIPATION
The sky hung dark and heavy above as James walked through the city with Logan following like a dog a few steps behind. He hadn’t bothered to check on the saloon. Why should he? His destiny lay north, where the Order stirred corrupted magic and where the possibilities he’d seen flash across the diary’s pages waited.
His cheeks burned with the cold of the winter air, but he craved the bite of pain and the way the frosty air focused him. Block by block they marched, past brawling in the streets. Past homes closed off from the dangers of the night. He could have taken a cart or a streetcar, but this felt right somehow, his feet meeting the solid earth beneath him. Steady as he traversed the city that would soon be his.
A few miles north, the Order would be beginning their evening’s festivities. He could imagine them, the men who would one day bow to him. He could practically see them there, not knowing the future he was about to create.
Finally, they made it to the part of town where the Flatiron Building sliced through the night. The park was lit with hundreds of luminaries lining the walks with an ethereal glow that could only be the result of corrupted magic. Beyond the park, the Garden was awash with light. The sky above them glowed so brightly, it nearly blocked out the stars.
“Where are we going?” Logan asked, breaking what had been a more preferable silence.
“To the Conclave,” he said, as though that should have been clear enough.
They cut through the park, and as they walked, James felt the brush of cold energy on his cheeks. He thought he felt vibration beneath his feet, a steady pulsing like the city itself had a heartbeat. With each step, he fell in time with that ancient rhythm. With each step, the Aether stirred, joined the song, and pushed him onward. Something trilled suddenly within the Aether, and he paused, waiting.
“What is it?”
“Shhh—” He held up his hand to silence Logan.
The buzzing was back. Clearer now. Like a hive of bees growing closer.
He thought something moved in the shadows, but when he turned, nothing was there.
“Do you sense anything?” he asked. “I need to know if any of Esta’s friends are close by.”
Logan frowned but shook his head. “I don’t think so. Not here.”
“You’re sure?” The buzzing throbbed now, a warning that inched across his skin. “There’s nothing?” He took Logan by the lapels. “Be sure.”
“No—” Logan’s eyes had gone wide. “There’s nothing here but those lamps.”
