Page 80 of Thief of Night
In the driver’s seat, still not sure how much of the drug remained in her system, Charlie contemplated the steps of her plan.
“I’m taking you to the masks,” Charlie called into the back.
“You really do hate me,” Red groaned, reassuring her that he was still alive.
Charlie smiled as she turned the key. In the dim light, she could see her own teeth reflected in the mirror.
Charlie’s first phone call was to Balthazar, asking him to get Bellamy away from his tower.
“You’ve got a lot of nerve, I’ll say that for you.” In the background, she could hear the bustling of the shadow parlor underneath Rapture. Balthazarsounded annoyed. “You only just paid up and you want to go into debt with me again?”
Panic made her patience next to nil. “Please,” she ground out. “Do this and you can call in any favor. I’ll do whatever job you want. I’ll trade in the Blight I got for you for any better one that comes across my path.”
“She can hear you, you know, and that’s not very nice. She and I are getting along swimmingly.”
“What about you and Bellamy?” Charlie asked.
“I’d never fuck over my new friend for a man, Charlie Hall. But that doesn’t mean that I would fuck over my man for someone I am not at all sure is a friend.” She’d known Balthazar for years, but their relationship had always been transactional. She’d never considered that he might want it to be otherwise.
“Do this and you’re mybestfriend,” she said. “Seriously. I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t life or death.”
“Is it going to come back on me?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “Bellamy will never have any reason to suspect you were part of this.”
“He better not,” Balthazar said and hung up.
Her second call, to someone she swore she would never ask for help, was even worse.
The old watchtower in Holyoke was the place where the masks had held Vince after the death of Salt. That was where he’d been chained, where she’d bargained for his life, and where he’d forgotten her. She absolutely hated that she was bringing him back here, hoping for his salvation.
The whole drive over, Red’s pain was evident. He made soft, agonized sounds. He shifted, like someone who couldn’t get comfortable. She wondered why he didn’t return to shadow and was afraid that he couldn’t afford the energy for even that. And as much as she hated hearing him in pain, so long as he could make sounds, there was still hope.
Charlie had planned to come back to the watchtower on her own, to slither in and tell enough lies that she could make it to the basement vault, to steal from it the part of Red that had been held hostage, the part she had hoped would contain his memories of her, and of being Vince. Now, sheneededto steal it if he was going to survive.
She thought of Red, sitting beside her, hand on the wheel of the Porsche, truth spilling from his lips. The pain in his voice when he told her that hecouldn’t have her, nothing hidden in his face. RedwasVince, but he was also Vince’s biggest secret. Crack Vince open and Red had always been inside. She even remembered moments, looking back, that she’d glimpsed Red. She just hadn’t known who she was looking at.
If Vince’s memories returned, would she lose Red? Would he hide himself—his truest self—away again? The thought made her stomach hurt.
And made Charlie wonder if there was a secret self inside of her too, waiting to be let out.
As soon as she parked the van, Charlie jumped out and opened the doors to the back. Red appeared unconscious, beyond pain, but still present. She reached under him, into her Blight-hunting go-bag, where she pulled out the onyx box she never used, then deposited the black silt from her pockets inside.
Once that was done, she reached over to wake Red, but at least twice, her hand passed right through his skin. The third time, she wound her onyx necklace around her palm. With that, her fingers closed on his elbow and she shook him hard.
He woke enough to help her sling one of his arms over her shoulder. He leaned less than his full weight against her as they limped toward the door.
The same girl with the shaved head and heavy makeup who’d opened it the last time Charlie had come to the watchtower looked at them with a skeptical expression. The piercing on her cheek had healed. It looked good.
“Sally,” Charlie said. Remembering names was an important skill for a grifter. “Let us in.”
Sally narrowed her eyes, unimpressed. “You’re no mask. This place isn’t for you.”
Charlie blew out a frustrated breath. “Tell Bellamy that the Hierophant is here to see him. It’s an emergency.”
Sally frowned at Charlie, then frowned even more at the man leaning heavily on her shoulder, light streaming through him. Finally, she stepped out of the way. “He’s not here, but I guess you can come in and wait in the parlor.
“Milo,” Sally shouted as Charlie half-dragged Red inside. “Call Bellamy. Now!”
