Page 49 of Thief of Night
A person going missing would be in the news—unless the Blights were very clever or lucky. “It might have looked like an animal attack,” she said,thinking she might do some searches when she got home. Had there been any bear-related deaths in Western Massachusetts? It seemed like that would have been something she’d heard about, though.
And none of that would explain what had happened to Rooster. Why wouldn’t his body be with the rest of the victims?
At the edge of the cemetery, Charlie noticed something catching the light. An empty glass bottle, half-full of cigarette butts, sat against the base of a tree.
Charlie stared down at the bottle. The filters inside were white with curved lines of gold and the Marlboro logo printed on them. They could have belonged to anyone who smoked Marlboro Touch cigarettes—a mourner, the reverend, kids who wanted to hang out by graves. There were enough, though, that the person had spent some time near here. Her gaze snagged on an empty matchbook in a clump of weeds—a pale pink, with gold lettering. Fancy. She took a step closer to see better.Solaluna,it read. That sounded familiar, though she couldn’t place it.
“I just don’t understand,” Charlie said, tucking the matchbook in her pocket. “If Blights were working together, why killthesepeople? Why come tothischurch?”
“Maybe it really was the Nine-Shadow Man,” Red said.
“Or maybe it was Rooster Argent,” she countered. “If he’s not dead, then maybe he’s the killer.”
18Raven
Halfway to Rapture for her shift, Raven called Charlie.
She swiped her finger over the screen, glad that Red was driving. “Hey.”
“I need your help, as the Hierophant.” Raven’s voice was a whisper, as though she didn’t want to be overheard.
The hair rose along Charlie’s arms. “Okay.”
“Can you come to my studio?” Raven asked. “Right now.”
“I’m on my way to work. How serious is this?” Charlie pointed toward the shoulder of the highway. Red pulled the Porsche to the side, idling, then flicked on the hazard lights. He raised his eyebrows.
“I don’t know,” Raven said. “It’s eating—it’s eating all the little shadows. Um, now it’s licking the blood out of the bowl.”
Yeah, that sounded serious. “I’m on my way.”
“It’s looking at me, I think,” Raven whispered.
Charlie got out of the car, walking around to the driver’s side. Red let her switch places with him without any hesitation. A few moments later, she pulled away from the curb, one hand on the wheel, making a totally illegal U-turn into traffic. “Do you have any onyx?” An SUV sounded its horn in annoyance at being cut off.
“I’ve got some dust,” Raven said. “I’m getting it now.”
“Maybe you shouldleave.” The gears of the Porsche ground as Charlie shifted badly. Red winced.
“I don’t want to run,” Raven said. “It’s getting dark. If I’m not in the light, I won’t know where it is.”
It was terrifying to be chased by a Blight you couldn’t see, but it wasn’t great to wait for one to find you either. “Can you—” Charlie started.
“I’ve got to go,” Raven whispered, cutting her off. “Get here soon.”
Pittsfield wasn’t close. Normally, it took her about forty minutes to get toRaven’s. On the highway, Charlie accelerated well past seventy, knowing it wasn’t going to be enough. With her right hand, she grabbed for her phone.
Red got to it first. “Who do you want to call?”
“Work,” she said, pressing the button to dial.
He plugged it into a port on the center console of the Porsche and pressed a few buttons. Ringing echoed from the speakers around her.
“Hands-free,” Red said. “Every luxury blood money can buy.”
If Charlie hadn’t been concentrating on the road, she would have liked to observe his face when he said that.
Don picked up. “Rapture Bar and Lounge.”
