Page 96 of Once a Villain
Aaron shrugged slightly. “Joan solved it a few hours ago.”
“You did?” Ruth said, surprised.
“The cipher had nothing to do with Eleanor or the mission,” Aaron said. “It was a private message from Nick’s counterpart tomine. It seems—” He hesitated. “It seems they were together.”
“Together?” Ruth said, puzzled. “What do you mean, together?” And then her face cleared. “Oh.Oh.”
“Huh,” Jamie said.
“I really wouldn’t have guessed that,” Tom said to Aaron. “You and the gladiator....”
“To be honest, he seemed out of your league,” Ruth said.
Aaron glared. “I was a head of family!”
“He was agladiator. Do you know how hot they are?” Ruth looked thoughtful. “I wonder how they even got together. They must have met at the colosseum. Your counterpart must have watchedhim in the colosseum....”
Aaron cleared his throat. “Let’s not get sidetracked.” That didn’t stop the curious looks from the others, but Aaron ignored them. To Joan, he said: “You think my counterpart was going to use that ring for something?”
Joan spread her hands. “We never did figure out their plan. But maybe we need to, if there’s still a chance to reset the timeline.”
“You know... ,” Tom said slowly, “that message implied that Aaron’s counterpart would stop EleanorwithoutNick’s help.” He turned to Jamie. “What exactly did he say?”
“I wish I could help you, but you’re alone in this now,” Jamie recited slowly. “If you’re right, then maybe we can stop Eleanor without Nick....”
“We need to have another look at that ring,” Joan said.
“But... Nick was wearing it when he died,” Jamie said gently. “He’ll be on the turrets by now. That’s where they put traitors.”
Joan heard her breath hitch. For a terrible moment, all she could see was Nick as one of those rotting horrors on the turrets, a spike protruding from his skull. She pushed the image away, feeling sick. Hewasn’ton the turrets. “We spoke to someone at the colosseum,” she managed. “Nick died on Argent land, and they claimed him as their property.”
“The Argents are displaying him in their trophy room?” Tom asked.
“Do you know it?”
“I know it.” Tom’s mouth was downturned with disgust, and Joan shuddered.
“We can’t leave him in there,” Joan said. “Wecan’t—like a stag on a wall. It’s sick.”
“I’ve never liked the Argents.” Tom scrubbed a hand over his chin; he hadn’t shaved, and the bristles made a scratching sound. “The ring is one thing. You can steal that. But they won’t release his body—they wouldn’t even sell a high-value trophy like that.”
“I always wanted to break into the Argent house,” Ruth mused.
“I don’t thinkthat’sa good idea,” Jamie said. “The Argents are dangerous.”
“I know they can control human minds,” Joan said.
“Not just humans,” Tom said. “The strongest of the Argents can control monsters too.”
The words lingered in the room. An Argent had once controlled Nick’s mind. It had been sickening—even from the outside: Nick’s face had slackened, and he’d obediently echoed the Argent’s orders.
“How sure are you about the ring?” Tom asked Joan.
“Not sure at all,” Joan said. “It’s just a feeling.” It was such a strong feeling, though. And...You have what you need... .What else could Nick’s counterpart have been referencing—now that they knew it wasn’t the cipher?
“The trophy room is open to the public on weekdays,” Tom said, thinking. “That’s tomorrow. A couple of us can go out to Argent territory. Early, to avoid the rush.” To Joan’s unspoken question, he said, “It’s a popular attraction. And it will be more popular with the gladiator in it.”
“What?” Joan breathed. She couldn’t take that in. People had watched Nick’s counterpart fight for his life in the arena as a gladiator. Now they were going to keep exploiting him in death.
