Page 47 of Silver in the Bone

“What do you want it for?” Emrys asked sharply.

“What does it matter?” Septimus growled back.

“It is of no concern to you,” the hag replied. Something oozed onto my cheek and shoulder. “Perhaps it is only because it is so very pretty ... like the sunlight lost to me.”

My heart thundered, threatening to burst from my chest. I don’t know how I got the word out. “Fine.”

There was the faintest movement as her claw curled, and she cut an untold number of hairs at the nape of my neck. Her skin felt like a dead fish against mine.

She leaned in close to my ear again. “For you, I offer this: a secret that is yours to share. They, too, delight in blood and burn in light.”

I tilted my head, trying to parse her words. I shut my eyes until the oppressiveness of her presence lifted.

“What an interesting child you are,” the hag murmured, her voice fading in my ears.

The flashlights and lanterns flickered on once more, and it was only then that I knew the Hag of the Mist was gone.

Breath burst out of me as I doubled over, still shaking.

“Tamsin?” Cabell called out. “Are you all right?”

I couldn’t speak. Not just yet.

Cold, damp air billowed past my face, and when I forced my eyes open, I found a swirling vortex of mist hovering before us, its center darkening to pure black.

“What is that? A Vein?” one of the Hollowers asked.

“There’s one way to find out,” Septimus said.

He gripped the collar of my jacket and yanked me forward. The mist circling the opening began to spin in a frenzied ring. Threads of black escaped the darkness at its center, winnowing through the air, darker than even the shadows around me.

It was the last thing I saw before Septimus pushed me into its icy grasp.

It was nothing like a Vein.

I hurtled forward through the infinite dark, riding a powerful wind. I opened my mouth to gasp for breath, but there was no air to take in. Then, almost as quickly as it had begun, it was over.

I exploded out of the passage, landing on my knees on the soggy ground. I had only a second to roll away before Neve and Cabell followed, stumbling out after me.

Septimus was next, then a paler-than-usual Emrys, holding our workbags. The other men spilled out behind them, fading into shadows as a velvety mist gathered around us.

“Make them carry their own things,” Septimus said to Emrys. He pointed his hand axe at us. “Try anything, get even a step ahead of where I want you, and you’ll find this in the back of your skull.”

Emrys uncharacteristically kept his eyes down as he gave me my workbag. When he moved back toward Septimus and the others, Cabell took the opportunity to come to my side.

“Are you all right?” he asked urgently.

“Let’s ...” I shook my head. “Let’s just focus on this Prague job.”

He took my meaning. Our only objective now was to find a way to escape.

Neve wrapped her furry coat tighter around her middle. “Wh-why is it so cold?”

Behind us, several of the Hollowers, including Emrys, had pulled on their head lamps and switched them on. Their beams tracked against the thick wall of mist ensconcing us, only to converge on two dark shadows in the near distance.

We stood at the edge of a body of water—if it could even be called water. It was a vile ooze, thick with clumps of black, tarry mud. My pulse throbbed at my temples.

“Is this Avalon?” Cabell asked hoarsely.

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