Page 179 of The Bone Season

In unison, we both looked at Cyril.

‘No.’ Behind his ruined glasses, his eyes were feverish. ‘You two muttonheads do what you like, but I’m not getting involved in this. The Rephs are immortal. How are we supposed to fight them off, exactly?’

‘They’re not all the same,’ I said quietly. Julian frowned. ‘I can’t say anything yet, Jules. You talk to the performers; I’ll break into the House.’

‘What, right now?’

‘No. I’ll take a couple of days to plan my approach.’ I stiffened, sensing a dreamscape I knew well. ‘The Overseer is coming. I’d better go.’

‘Okay.’ He ushered me out. ‘Come back and see us soon, if you can.’

‘I’ll try.’

Liss was about to lose her clairvoyance. I had to stop it. Not only that, but Julian had galvanised me into acting. What Cyril had mentioned was a temptation. I needed to see what they had in the House.

The Bicentenary would take place on the first of September. If Scion could take Dublin in a day, I could make a plan for payback in two months.

Warden continued to give me space, allowing me to scheme. In the library, I found a floor plan of the House, tucked among other documents pertaining to Oxford.

On Midsummer Eve, I donned my backpack and pulled up the hood of my coat. The paramedics had been right – with the help of the best medicine in Scion, I had made a full recovery in twelve days. I still took a dose of scimorphine before I slipped out of the Founders Tower.

I only had a few tools with me – my set of crude lockpicks, a torch, and the vial of mysterious pollen from Warden. It would have to be enough.

After some deliberation, I had decided that it would be too risky to enter the House by day. I needed the cover of darkness. As night fell, I left the residence by vaulting over the wall again, unnoticed by Gail.

The House was among the largest of the Rephs’ buildings. Fronted by a daunting tower, it had several vast courtyards, including Tom Quad. To infiltrate and search it, I would have to bring to bear every skill I had ever learned from Eliza. She was the one who had taught me thieving and burglary, as part of my education in the art of being a criminal. Meanwhile, Nick had taught me to climb.

The House had no permanent residents. Thuban Sargas seemed to go there frequently; otherwise, few keepers visited. I still expected guards if there was treasure to be found, but my gift would allow me to sense them.

Magdalen Walk would lead me directly to the House, but I didn’t want to be seen tonight. Instead, I cut down Rose Lane and followed a narrow path that took me along the back wall of the Residence of Merton.

No humans were permitted in the House. That made it all the more tempting. As I scaled a wall into its grounds, I compiled a mental list of things I might need to escort people through Gallows Wood.

Crossing the minefield had to be a last resort. Weapons would be crucial, given what lurked in the trees, but medical supplies would be an extra asset. Adrenalin was valuable – not only could we use it to sharpen our performance and dull pain, but it could also revive me if I had to leave my body.

For tonight, the cards were my priority. I could always come back to the House.

I had pondered over the floor plan for a long time, trying to work out which of its many rooms might contain numa. Suspecting Gail might have chipped in with its maintenance, I had asked her a few questions, feigning curiosity. From her, I had learned that only one building was generally used for storage.

The Meadow Building had large windows and plenty of footholds. Thick ivy grew in swathes across its façade, which faced Cherwell Meadow and Gallows Wood. I used the ivy to climb to a balcony.

At once, I sensed two Rephs and stopped, concentrating. They were in the House, but not close.

The storage rooms would be locked. I needed to pick the right one. Moving between the balconies, I tried to see through the windows, risking my torch. When its beam caught on metal, I stared. In this room, there were racks of weapons: swords, hunting knives, a crossbow. This must be where they stored arms to distribute to the red-jackets.

Julian was right. I wanted to make Scion afraid. To start, I was getting some of these weapons.

Now I just needed to enter the building. On the floor above the balcony, a sash window had been left open, just a crack. I used a drainpipe to reach a ledge, then shimmied across to the window, pulling myself through it.

I descended back to the middle floor. Finding the right door, I started to work on the lock with my picks. Hopefully the Rephs were unfamiliar with the telltale signs that a lock had been meddled with.

This whole city was old enough that its locks were no real obstacle. I slipped into the room and shut the door behind me. When I looked up, I found myself facing a large, yellowed map.

THE PENAL COLONY OF SHEOL I

OFFICIAL TERRITORY OF THE SUZERAIN

All the familiar landmarks were there: Magdalen, Amaurotic House, the Residence of the Suzerain, the Townsend, Port Meadow. I shone my torch across it, looking for any details I had missed.

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