the deep folds of the night.
I lie back down. But the quiet is loaded. I wait a little while, then whisper to Graceâs back, âThanks. But you didnât have to do that. I can take care of myself.â
Grace turns slowly to face me. Thanks to the moon and the prisonlike windows at the top of the warehouse, I can make out her face just fine. Nice straight features, dark hair. Not young, but not oldâsomewhere around Mamaâs ageâmaybe late thirties, early forties. âThat was as much for Stock as it was for you,â Grace whispers. âFor a boy who has a chronic fear of snakes, heâs awful quick to conjure pests in the night. Living on top ofeach other, thereâs got to be rules, or weâre all going to kill each other.â
Her comment just brings my simmering panic to an all-out boil. I am in over my head. Drowning-water depths over my head. But I force myself to say, âAbsolutely.â
Grace studies me. âYouâre as young as Stock, arenât you? Now I understand his power play.â She gives me a little lopsided smile. âWhereâd Gunn bring you in from?â
âNorfolk County. Little town called Parsonage,â I say. âWhat about you?â
âOutskirts of Alexandria. Came in with Gunn and one of his associates a couple nights back, along with a few others,â Grace says. âFifteen of us total, though Iâm sure you know that only seven of us are expected to stay.â Graceâs smile thins out. âWith those kinds of odds, you donât want to pick the wrong enemies, or the wrong allies.â
I assume sheâs talking about me and the rat-boy. âIâm not afraid of Stock.â
Grace rolls onto her back, looks at the ceiling. âMaybe you should be,â she says. âLots of sorcerers here are from families that have never shared their gifts or special strengths with the world, before now. Lots of powerful magic previously kept behind closed doors.â
And of course Iâm afraidâthe fear is like a living thing, breathing and humming inside me. But I canât let it paralyze me. I need to focus on what Iâm here for, why I canât fail. Immediately the image of Ruby, standing at our door, calling âJoan! JOAN!â as Gunnâs car drove me awayâit flashes like a bright, clear burst of fireworks onto my mind. âI just donât have the luxury of being scared.â
âAnd whatâs her name?â
âWho?â
âThe little girl in your mind,â Grace says. Wait, can Grace hear my thoughts or something? So was her earlier warningabout Stock, or about her ? âYou were thinking about her so clearly, I almost couldnât ignore it.â
Finally I concede, âRuby.â I roll over, suddenly feeling exhausted and exposed. âThanks again for your help, Grace, but itâs been a long night.â
Itâs quiet for a while, and I assume sheâs dozed off, same as the rest of them. But then I hear, âSorry, IâI didnât mean to get you upset. I just . . . I know what itâs like, to be against the odds. Itâs been tough for me, too, past couple days. Some of the sorcerers are small-minded, expected an all-out boysâ club. Theyâve been giving me and the other girl, Rose, a lot of heatâbut Rose has her brother to stick up for her,â she says. âPlus, my familyâs got a bit of a . . . strange reputation around northern Virginia, which doesnât help.â Graceâs cot squeals and squeaks as she gets comfortable. She waits a moment, then adds, âWas just trying to say this place isnât an easy corner of the world, to try and navigate alone.â
Thereâs no sound but the soft chorus of snores and wheezes as her words settle around me. Maybe Iâm dreaming, but it almost sounds like Grace is offering some form of friendship, or a pact. Not completely
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