Page 181 of The Bone Season

‘No,’ Thuban said. ‘She was part of the syndicate. I will make her speak.’

‘You are not tormenting her simply for information.’

‘That is true. The creature has no pride, no hope. I confess, I enjoy seeing humans that way; I enjoy being the architect of their despair. Do you never wish to punish them?’

‘I was a warrior. I take no pleasure in the suffering of beings weaker than myself.’

‘So you admit they are weaker.’

‘In body. Only a fool would not see it – but they created these weapons,’ Terebell said. ‘They may be frail, but their minds are sharp, inured and primed to violence. One day, they may turn that violence against us. You have seen their methods of torturing each other.’

‘Indeed. I have used them on the palmist.’

‘Yet you underestimate them, as you always have, Thuban.’

‘I disagree,’ Thuban said. ‘Their minds did not save them on that fateful Novembertide.’

I listened, absorbing it all.

Ivy was part of the syndicate. Thuban must be trying to wring her for information about Jaxon. My limbs were beginning to ache, and a rifle was pressing into my back. I froze when something fell off it.

‘Did you hear that?’

‘I hear nothing,’ Terebell said. ‘The stocks are all in order, Thuban.’

Thuban left. Terebell rose next, walking towards the door. When Thuban was at the end of the corridor, I peeked out of the cabinet.

‘You,’ Terebell said, her voice low. ‘Did Arcturus send you?’

‘No. I need a deck of tarot cards,’ I whispered. ‘Where are the numa?’

‘Tom Tower.’

She shut the cabinet on me and left.

That had been the closest shave of my life. Not waiting to question my good fortune, I waited for their dreamscapes to retreat, then slipped out. Terebell had left the door ajar.

I made my escape from the Meadow Building, blood thumping through my veins. Every shadow looked like Thuban. As I ran through a cloister, heading for Tom Quad, I tried to pluck some rational thoughts from my mind.

Terebell had concealed me. She was a scarred one. I needed to find out more about their history, to wrap my head around what was happening – but first I had to break into Tom Tower, grab the goods, and get back to Liss.

Tom Tower, where the scarred ones had been tortured, where Thuban had been hurting Ivy. Going there seemed like a bad idea, but I would do it for Liss.

The House was linked together by a series of closed and open-air passages. They were mostly unlit, which worked in my favour. Feeling like a rat in a maze, I rushed through, securing the straps of the backpack more tightly. I stopped at the edge of Tom Quad, took a deep breath, and broke into a dead run across the grass. As far as I could tell, no one was coming.

Tom Tower loomed above the main entrance to the House. I spotted the narrow archway at once. The door was locked. Taking out my picks, I tried to steady my hands and my breathing. As soon as I was inside, I shot up the steps, hoping no Rephs would appear.

At the top, I found a large chamber. A stained table stood in the middle, with a chair on either side. On this table lay a set of thumbscrews.

Sweat broke out on my forehead. Pushed against one wall, there was another kind of chair, its back and seat and arms lined with spikes, crusted with dried blood. Other instruments hung from the walls.

Warden had been scarred here. Thuban clearly still used it to torment humans, away from prying eyes. Ivy had been with him for months.

The numa filled a chest in the corner. Since they were in a torture chamber, they must be used for cruelty. I thought of the poor cartomancer whose cards had been passed around to be damaged. I caught sight of a shew stone, various sortes – and a single pack of cards, clearly old.

Hardly breathing, I flipped through it, assessing the illustrations. A different design to the one Liss had before, but they could still be used for cartomancy. I fastened the deck into the front pocket of my backpack.

There was another door, probably to the belfry, but I didn’t go through it. This was enough for one night. Looping the straps back over my shoulders, I turned back towards the steps, only to lock gazes with a Reph.

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