Page 50 of Court of Shadows
At last, the Resident moved back down the corridor, stopping briefly outside Mary’s room before continuing on to the landing, where it turned right and traveled up the stairs and out of view. I gently opened the door and slipped out, tiptoeing asquickly as I dared. It was hard to escape the sensation of being watched in Coldthistle House, but that feeling had only felt more drastic lately. The Residents were particularly watchful now that Mrs. Haylam had tasked them with finding the monster in the woods. I, too, paused outside Mary’s room, pressing my ear to the door frame but hearing nothing, not even a snore. Ah well, hopefully that meant she was sleeping deeply.
I rounded the landing and hurried down toward the foyer, taking pains to be as silent as possible as I passed in front of the green door. Clouds had rolled in at dusk, threatening rain, and without the moonlight I could see almost nothing as I made my way carefully through the mansion. A whispered conversation seeped out from under the kitchen door. I had almost chosen to go that way, as it was the easiest route to the barn and pavilion, but stopped short when I noticed the voices. How the devil was I supposed to get out now? The front doors were agonizingly loud to open, creaky and huge.
So I waited once more, shimmying up close to the kitchen door and listening, recognizing Mrs. Haylam’s and Mr. Morningside’s voices at once. I had caught them mid-argument, and Mr. Morningside did not sound at all pleased.
“... for you to question me on this is really amazing, Ilusha. I saw what I saw, and I know what it means for us. What it means for her.”
Ilusha? Was that Mrs. Haylam’s true name? It seemed so... sobeautifulfor her, but then, everyone was young once. Shepaused before answering, and her voice came out in such a fierce whisper that I almost could not make it out.
“This has the marks of your mischief all over it,maskim xul, and I do not like to be left in the dark where your schemes are concerned. What would you have me do? Spirit her away? We are far beyond such contingencies.”
Mr. Morningside scoffed, and I heard him begin to pace. I pressed closer to the door, wishing I could see inside and read their body language. Instead, I could rely only on my ears. Time was passing. I needed to get out of the house and to the pavilion, but my instincts told me to listen longer and be patient. There would be no leaving until I found out who this “her” was, though the sinking feeling in my gut told me that I already knew her identity.
“Did she find something in that journal? She has been asking unexpected questions.”
Mr. Morningside responded with a laugh. “TheAbediew. She knows of it. The Runner encountered one and described it.”
“Henry.”
“I know! Iknow.” He was half shouting now. “And I still have no idea how it got here. They were extinct well before the Schism.”
“I told you I had my suspicions about her, but you refused to listen. I’m beginning to think maybe this Court is necessary after all. This is growing beyond your control, and I will not endanger this house and all those we chose to look after justso you can assuage a guilty conscience and entertain a fancy!” I had heard Mrs. Haylam cross many, many times, but this was something else. She sounded almost desperate. Afraid. “If she is what you say she is,” Mrs. Haylam went on. “If. Then what do we do?”
“Then we take the necessary precautions.Tabalu mudutu. We can’t risk it,” he said.
Oh God, he was leaving, and he was heading my way. I flattened myself against the wall next to the door, hoping against hope that when it opened I would be concealed.
“Iwillprotect this house,” Mrs. Haylam was saying as Mr. Morningside approached the door. “We have survived this way for a long time. Why endanger that now?”
There was movement on the staircase across the foyer. Lee. He had appeared, wraithlike and silent, on the bottom step, nothing but the wet glitter of his eyes visible in the darkness. I saw him open his mouth to say something and quickly I hushed him with a finger to my lips. A shake of the head.No. No, don’t give me away!
My heart had almost stopped. The hinge creaked as the door swung open, smashing hard into my foot. I caught the knob before it could bounce back and hit Mr. Morningside, alerting him to my position. Still, he seemed puzzled by the door and turned to inspect it....
“Sir!” It was Lee. Bless him. His shoes rushed across the carpets, and when next he spoke it was just beside the door. “I,um, I had a question for you, sir, about the Residents.”
“This should really be directed to Mrs. Haylam,” Mr. Morningside muttered. He sounded exhausted. “What is it?”
“Mr. Brimble? What’s going on out here at this hour?”
They were all three in the foyer now, and Lee cleared his throat, stumbling his way through an explanation. “Well, it’s only that... It’s that I saw something on the third floor, I thought you might want to see it.”
“Now?” Mrs. Haylam demanded after a delay.
“Yes. Yes, now, obviously. It’s... urgent and all that.”
Had I become the actual wall? I had stopped moving, stopped breathing. Lee’s performance wasn’t exactly worthy of a standing ovation, but Mrs. Haylam sighed and told him to get on with it. Their voices grew softer as he led her away toward the stairs, and a moment later I heard the green door shut. Alone.
Thank you, Lee.
I dodged around the door and dashed through the kitchens, hoping I wouldn’t trip over Bartholomew and send him yelping. Mrs. Haylam had not yet locked up the house, thankfully, and I was spared the time it would take to turn my mangled spoon into a key. Moving with both speed and grace proved challenging, as I was sure it was well beyond midnight now. But I wanted to make good use of Lee’s diversion, and I managed to squeak out the back door without anyone being alerted. The grass was cool and wet as I skulked across the lawn, keeping a sharp eye out for any Residents sent to wander the grounds.
The pavilion was visible only because of its bright white exterior. Without a shred of moonlight, it was impossible to tease apart house from ground from woods. A single light remained on in Coldthistle House—it was on the third floor, perhaps the result of Lee’s haphazard lie. I owed him—more than one—and I bit down hard on my lip as I flitted across the lawn toward the tent; I knew now, and knew it for certain, that if it came time to lie and save Mr. Morningside’s reputation, if only to send the Adjudicators packing, then I would. I had no idea if Lee and I remained friends, but he deserved some kind of repayment for his help. Help I almost certainly did not deserve.
It wasn’t until I was a few paces from the tent that I noticed the soft, whispering sounds rising from the ground. I slowed my steps, picking up my skirts and squinting down at the grass. OhGod. I slapped both hands over my mouth, preventing the scream that welled up from deep inside. Snakes. Garden snakes. Hundreds of garden snakes had emerged from their hiding places, slithering quietly across the wet grass, all of them streaming toward the pavilion. I took one more step, trying to avoid the snakes, and flinched. My boot had crunched something. Several somethings. Slowly, slowly, terrified of what I would find, I knelt, looking more closely at the ground and what had snapped under my shoe.
They were worse than the snakes. Spiders. My stomach flipped over.
Run, child. Be gone from this place.
