Page 75 of This Monster of Mine

She gripped the hand on her shoulder and wrenched it sideways. Before Helvus could yelp, she pressed his face into a torn cushion and gripped his head. One heartbeat and she stuck her thumb on the edge of a broken vase. Another and she wiped it overherar.

Then, she plunged into his head.

Opening her eyes to a meticulously organized library, she grinned.Why, thank you, Helvus.Sifting through tomes from five months past, she pulled out one simply titled “Jovian.” The world dissolved.

He could never get used to seeing these corpses shatter. Helvus picked his teeth in front of Sidran Tower, watching rain sweep away the blood leaking from Jovian’s body.

“Pack him up.”

The two goons who’d volunteered shuffled forward, looking frightened. At his impatient glare, they wrapped the corpse in sackcloth, then stood there, fidgeting.

“Are you waiting for me to carry it?” he demanded. “You wanted to be trusted. This is a crucial task. We’ll have others like it, and I’ll enlist better people if you’re incapable.”

After much gagging, the fools hefted the body between them. Thunder rumbled, and one of them cast an apprehensive look at the sky.

“We’re fine. They’ll ensure it.” He held the door open for the men to enter Sidran Tower, leading them toward the broom closet on the first floor. Squeezing inside, he prized open the trapdoor that supposedly led to the cellar.

“Seventeen steps to the bottom, so count carefully,” he warned.

Angling, the body downward, the men descended, counting in whispers. He shut the trapdoor behind him. An hour later they emerged in an alley outside the Academiae with no vigile or magus the wiser.

“Bury the body under a few bookcases. Be quiet about it, so the brother doesn’t wake.”

“Guildmaster,” one of the goons stammered. “How does this help the Guild?”

“Anything that threatens the scuta threatens us and threatens our clients.”

The men nodded, evidently not understanding. Pity, but he’d still have to kill them. He wiped his hands. One night and three bodies.

She withdrew from Helvus’s head with a gasp.I knew it.

Her fingers trembled violently, the memory of Jovian splattered across the cobblestones as vivid as Helvus’s assertion.Anything that threatens the scuta threatens us and threatens our clients.The scuta that made no sense, the Metals Guild that manufactured them, Helvus staging the suicides of Petitors, and his mysterious clients.They’re the killers.

“You fucking bitch!” Helvus roared.

She stepped back in time to dodge his wide swing, right as the study door burst open. Kadra stalked out, eyes going to her.

Helvus pointed at him, breathing hard. “I won’t let this go. She dared—youdaredto Probe me.” His finger stabbed the air by her face. “Make no mistake, I’m bringing a petition. You’re going to the mines, you northern, ill-bred—”

“Guildmaster Helvus, I don’t know what you mean.” Sarai’s face was a picture of distress. “I only caught you when you tripped, so your head wouldn’t hit the floor. Probing without consent is a serious accusation.” Sheturned to the Guildsmen, all of who’d been in the study. “Did any of you see me Probe him?” she asked earnestly.

They looked stupefied. She let the silence linger, watching Helvus turn more purple than his robes. She had to stop him from bringing a petition. She was doomed if she was Examined.

“See? You’ve no proof.” She feigned indignance. Dropping her voice for his ears alone, she added, “So how many Petitors’ corpses have you smuggled out via Sidran Tower?”

He froze. She fought a laugh. Reaching into her pockets, she emptied out the coin he’d offered. It clattered on the floor, where his men eyed it eagerly.

“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t need this. Perhaps your men do.” She smiled pleasantly. “Now, about this house, Guildmaster, is there any way we can change your mind?”

“You’re playing a dangerous game,” Helvus hissed.

“I’m actually hoping for a binding business agreement,” she quoted. “What do think of forgiving the debt? It would do wonders for your reputation. Helvus the Benevolent.” She spoke quietly. “Helvus the Petitor-Killer.”

He paled. “You don’t know what you’ve done. You think that knowledge gives you power? It’s killed better people than you. Now you’re next.”

He stormed out, yelling for his Guildsmen to follow. The men stared at the aurei on the floor and each other. In a few seconds, both were gone.

Her strength drained out, leaving only bone-deep awareness of what she’d done.Gods save me. This was why she’d locked up her rage. There was always a cost to unleashing it.

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