Page 83 of Death of the Glass Angel
“Copper skin. Black hair. Thin beard.”
“Shit,” Talon murmured. “You said he read your memories? I’m no evoker, but as I understand, that’s a difficult—and forbidden—spell.”
“It is.”
“We need to get out of here.” He shifted to retrieve his lockpick, but his eyes fluttered and he nearly lost balance. “You’ll need to cover me, I’m not exactly at my best.”
Des leaned toward him, wishing she could help. “What did they do to you?”
“Some light torture. Nothing I couldn’t handle.” He said cheerily. “I think I might have seen a way out, but I’ll need you to evoke a few tools.”
She bit her lip. “I can’t evoke.”
“. . . what?”
“Janus evokes. I can’t.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. You’re the same damn person.”
“Are we?” Des snapped. “I’ve never been able to evoke. Never.”
He stared at her and slowly nodded. “Alright. We’ll do it the old-fashioned way, then. The guards wear axes on their belts and a dagger on the other side. If we sneak up on one, we can disarm him. Once you have it, drive it into the gaps in the armor at the neck.”
“Gods, you are a songbird, aren’t you?”
“Des, darling, did I not tell you that already?”
“I thought you were joking.” Des shook her head. She suddenly felt out of her depth, but desperately didn’t want Talon to know that. “You’re lithe. How are you going to take down one of those steel nightmares?”
“A child could cut you with a dagger, Des,” Talon replied, unamused, “If you did not see it coming.”
“Comparing yourself to a child isn’t instilling confidence in me.”
He motioned for her to press her back against the bars and fit his lockpick into her shackles. “Do you want my dagger, then?” He murmured into her ear.
“With how well you threw them last time? Not a chance.”
“I’m glad you noticed.” He held his lockpick between his teeth as he unclasped her shackles. “It’s the least of my talents. Shame you haven’t gotten to see the others.”
“And here I thought you danced pretty well.”
Talon flashed her a smile as she turned around. He was irritatingly handsome, especially now that she knew he was a spy who’d been sent to watch her.
Something bright caught her eye, and she glanced down to see water pooling across the floor. Shooting to her feet, she backed away, trying to find its source. When it washed over her feet, it did not feel wet, though it certainly appeared as if water lapped over her boots. And though only faint light illuminated the room from a single torch, the water reflected everything above it as though lit by the sun.
Des froze, watching as phantom tendrils, not unlike grasping hands, raced across the surface of the reflective water and receded into the opposite wall, leaving behind dry stone floors.
Talon touched his boot, surprised to find it dry. “Saint’s winds. What was that?”
“Keep alert,” Des warned. “I think we have an uninvited guest.”
21
Felsin/Des
Whatever comes, do not grant Gemellus your trust. We followed him unto the end, and he betrayed us at the last.
-Letter from Sir Penna to Alfaris
