Page 24 of Once a Villain
“Itiswrong,” Joan agreed, and she felt Nick shudder in response. The thing was, this world was even worse than Nick knew—he was human, and didn’t have an inner monster sense of the timeline. Some part of Joan had sensed the corruption as soon as she’d arrived here. There was something off about the world; she could almost smell it, like a faint scent of rotting meat.
“You can still fix this,” Gran told them.
“How?” Nick said tensely.
“Youcannotgo to the version of me in that timeline,” Gran said. “She isn’t like me.Ihad a watershed moment—an event that changed me. I fell in love with a member of the Grave family, and through him, I learned of the erasure of the Graves. I wasn’t a good person when I was young, but even for me, that was toomuch to bear. It turned me against the Court. Made me care about something more than myself. But... my counterpart never experienced that.”
“Gran...” Joan had so many questions, and no time to ask them.
“Those searchers are getting closer,” Aaron whispered. “We have to go!”
Joan’s heart stuttered. She looked over her shoulder; the lights were on the lawn now. “Gran, we have maybe aminute,” she whispered. “They’re going to find us here!”
Gran leaned in closer. “You can’t trust my counterpart, but therearepeople who can help you there. You’ll know them by the mark of the wolf.”
Joan felt a horrible jolt. In her mind’s eye, she saw the stamp of the wolf at the bottom of Ronan’s message. Nick’s breath caught. He’d remembered the stamp too.
Gran had told Joan back at the Serpentine Inn to find people using the mark of the wolf. Joan had thought at the time that she was hallucinating, but it was clear now that she hadn’t been. She leaned forward now. “Gran,” she said shakily. “I found one of them. I mean, he foundme. But he’s dead! What do we do? How do we find more wolves?”
Gran didn’t answer. She was looking over her shoulder again, searching the skyline.
“Gran!” Joan whispered. “Please! I don’t know what to do!”
“I don’t think she can hear you,” Aaron whispered. “I don’t think she’s heard any of us this whole time.”
“What?” What was he talking about? “Of course she canhear us,” Joan whispered. “We’ve been having a conversation.” But beside her, Nick was looking at Aaron, eyes widening. He’d gone pale.
“No,” Aaron said. “She hasn’t responded to anything you’ve said. And she doesn’t seem to know that Nick and I are here.”
“Gran, youcanhear me, right?” Joan asked.
Gran’s eyes were on the frame of the tear. “This window is closing,” she said.
The tearwasgetting smaller; the view was visibly contracting, like a droplet of water evaporating on a hot day. A moment ago, it had shown a swath of garden in the background, but only Gran was visible now.
“Gran, please tell me you can hear me!” Joan said.
Gran didn’t respond. Her eyes were still on the frame, and it was suddenly clear that Aaron was right—Grancouldn’thear them. Hadn’t heard anything they’d said.
“You must be on your guard!” Gran said quickly now. “Eleanor has eyes everywhere. She’ll know—”
Gran didn’t finish her sentence—she was gone. The tear in the timeline had vanished, and the space in front of them was just ordinary evening air again.Come back, Joan thought. Panic was high in her throat.We need your help!
Aaron touched Joan’s arm, looking meaningfully at the approaching lights. They had to go.
Joan’s mind whirled as she and Nick hurried after Aaron on a pathless route in the dark. She kept hearing Gran’s words in her head, and her own fruitless pleas for Gran to hear her.
Behind them, the security team had finally reached theformal garden, their searchlights flickering along the hedged paths. A dog barked, and Joan braced herself for the sound of pattering paws. But the dogs must have been upwind; they didn’t seem to know they were here.
Joan gasped with relief as they reached the hedge separating the front and back of the house. Gaps in the leaves showed distant glimpses of the Thames. They were almost out.
“Quickly!” Aaron murmured. “There’s a gate just—” His words were cut off by a shout.
“Intruders on the grounds! Over here!”
Joan threw up a shielding hand against a sudden glare of light as the space ahead filled with figures in black uniforms.
Nick pushed past Joan and Aaron. “Run!” he ordered them.
