Page 55 of Siege of Shadows

Vasily’s eyelid twitched from the blood slipping onto his long lashes. “Is that so?” he asked, but unlike Rhys, he was not in the least bit surprised that they hadn’t died in the fire that took the facility. If they were Saul’s soldiers, then even without the powers, so was he.

My frown deepened. “Was it Saul who ordered Jessie to attack us last night? Or someone within the Sect?”

Vasily stretched his pale lips as wide as they would go the second he heard the name. “Jessie?” Vasily rolled his head to the other side, his arms squirming just a little beneath the leather straps, as if her name had given them life again. “So you had a little reunion without me. I’m sorry I missed it. And she used to have such a crush on you too. Did she give you that?”

He flicked his chin up, and by the time I turned, Rhys’s fingers had already instinctively gone to his cast.

“Classic Jessie.” Vasily began coughing, but the fit didn’t deter him from taunting his old friend. “You should have known how vicious she’d be, Aidan. You were the one who taught her how to survive down there. You taught us all.” The saliva smearing Vasily’s white teeth glinted underneath the overhead lights. “You should never feel ashamed of what you did, friend. You were wonderful.”

“Whoin the Sect is working with you? I need names!” As Brendan’s voice rocketed across the walls and up the ceiling, Rhys and I froze, helplessly staring at each other for different reasons. For Rhys, the horror of a tightly woven secret beginning to unravel rooted him to the spot.

For me, it was the horror of the secret itself.

Brendan considered him silently. Then, with an impatient sigh, he pulled out his cell phone and began clicking.

“Who are you calling?” I hissed, but he answered by flipping over the phone and showing Vasily the face on the screen.

It was the ID photo of a young woman with sunken eyes, her sallow skin almost matching the pallor of her wispy, pale blond hair, which was tied in a strict ponytail at the base of her neck.

And for the first time since I’d met him in that little town in Quebec, Vasily’s features softened. His grin unraveled; his lips sagged as deeply as the woman’s miserable expression.

“You recognize her, don’t you?” Stepping closer, Brendan held the phone to his face so he wouldn’t mistake her.

Vasily turned his head. The waver in his eyes was a foreign sight to me, all the malicious glee evaporating in that moment. The fading blue of his pupils mimicked the dead eyes of the woman he refused to look at.

“She was an agent of the Sect,” Brendan continued. “A top agent. And yet even her superiors knew there was something not quite right with her.Lookat her.”

He grabbed Vasily’s chin and forced him to see her, flinching only slightly when Vasily sputtered out blood in a series of angry hacks.

“Maybe it was the training regime back then that finally took its toll.”

“Shut up,” Vasily hissed, and his body gave a violent jerk. I couldn’t tell if it was a spasm or if he was fighting against his binds.

“In the end, Irina Volkov took her own life that day eleven years ago,” Brendan said, “leaving her seven-year-old son an orphan. It’s a shame.”

Vasily spat blood in his face. Brendan flinched from the impact, but he wouldn’t lose this war of wills. He wiped the dripping blood and saliva off his cheek.

“Is that why you fought so hard to get recruited into Fisk-Hoffman like your mother did?” He slipped his phone into his pocket. “Did it make you feel closer to her?”

“Brendan.”

Rhys had spoken up this time, a burst of concern that surprised even him. Vasily noticed. Silent words passed between them as they locked eyes.

It wasn’t long before defiance returned to Vasily’s voice. “Don’t worry, Aidan,” he said, the corners of his mouth twitching. “You think Brighton never mentioned my mommy in all these days he’s been fiddling with my flesh? Try a little harder, atleast.”

But I knew I hadn’t imagined the waver in his voice.

“Vasily,” Rhys started, his voice hollow. “Philip is dead. So is Alex. This isn’t the time to play games.”

At this, Vasily clenched his teeth. “I... didn’t know that,” he said after a period of silence. A few beats passed again. “That’s a shame.”

“But youdidknow about Jessie,” I said. “You’re working with Saul.”

“And you’re not the only Sect member,” Brendan added. “Why? What’s the end goal? What are you getting out of this?”

“What amIgetting out of it?” Vasily’s laughter had a bitter tinge, almost incredulous, as if the answer should have been obvious. “If you want to know that, you’ll have to ask me another question. What happened in the Devil’s Hole?” It was the question I didn’t dare speak aloud. Rhys flinched at the name. “Come on, Maia. I knowyouwant to know.”

I could see Rhys’s Adam’s apple bob up and down his throat as he finally pulled away and stared down at the floor.

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