Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices 1)

"But why?" Dru whispered. "Why did Malcolm take Tavvy? And why are all of you so upset?"

"Dru, Malcolm's the one we've been looking for." It was Emma who spoke, her voice choked. "He's the Guardian. He's the murderer. And he took Tavvy--"

"For Blackthorn blood," said Julian. "The last sacrifice. Blackthorn blood to bring back a Blackthorn."

Dru fell against her sister's shoulder, sobbing. Mark was shaking--Cristina suddenly broke away from Diego and came over to him. She took his hand and held it. Emma gripped the edge of the table. She could no longer feel the pain in her back. She could no longer feel anything.

All she could see was Tavvy, little Tavvy, the smallest Blackthorn. Tavvy having nightmares, Tavvy in her arms as she carried him through the war-torn Institute five years ago. Tavvy covered in paint in Jules's studio. Tavvy, who alone among them had skin that could not hold a single protection rune. Tavvy, who would not understand what was happening to him or why.

"Wait," Dru said. "Malcolm gave me a note. He said to give it to you, Jules." She drew away from Livvy and fumbled in her pocket, retrieving some folded paper. "He said not to read it, that it was private."

Livvy, who had gone to stand near Ty, made a disgusted noise. Julian's face was stark white, his eyes blazing. "Private? He wants his privacy respected?" He snatched the paper from Dru's hand and almost ripped it open. Emma caught a glimpse of large block letters printed on the paper. Julian's expression turned to one of confusion.

"What does it say, Jules?" asked Mark.

Julian read the words aloud. "I WILL RAISE YOU, ANNABEL LEE."

The room exploded.

A bolt of black light burst from the letter in Julian's hand. It shot toward the roof, smashing through the skylight with the force of a wrecking ball.

Emma covered her head as plaster and bits of glass rained down. Ty, who was directly beneath the hole in the roof, threw himself toward his sister, knocking her to the ground and covering her with his own body. The room seemed to rock back and forth; a shelf wobbled and fell, tipping toward Diego. Pulling away from Mark, Cristina shoved the shelf out of the way; it crashed to the side, missing Diego by inches. Dru shrieked, and Julian pulled her toward him, tucking her under his arm.

The black light was still shining upward. With his free hand, Julian flung the note onto the ground and slammed his foot down on it.

It crumbled into dust instantly. The black light vanished as if it had been switched off.

There was a silence. Livvy wriggled out from under her twin and stood up, reaching out to help him up after her. Livvy looked half-surprised, half-worried. "Ty, you didn't have to do that."

"You wanted to have someone to shield you from danger. That's what you said."

"I know," Livvy said. "But--"

Ty rose to his feet--and cried out. A jagged piece of glass was sticking out of the back of his calf. Blood had already started to soak the fabric around the cut.

Ty bent down and, before anyone else could move, yanked the glass out of his leg. He dropped it to the ground, where it shattered into clear, red-smeared pieces.

"Ty!" Julian started forward, but Ty shook his head. He was pulling himself into a chair, his face twisted with pain. Blood had started to pool around his sneakered foot.

"Let Livvy do it," he said. "It would be better--"

Livvy was already swooping down on her twin with an iratze. A bit of falling glass had cut her left cheek, and blood was visible against her pale skin. She wiped it away with her sleeve as she finished the healing rune.

"Let me see the cut," Julian said, kneeling down. Slowly, Livvy rolled up Ty's pant leg. The cut went across the side of his calf, raw and red but no longer open--it looked like a tear that had been sewn up. Still, his leg from the cut down was smeared with blood.

"Another iratze should fix it," said Diego. "And a blood-replacement rune."

Julian gritted his teeth. He had never seemed bothered by Diego the way Mark was, but Emma could tell that at the moment he was barely holding himself back. "Yes," he said. "We know. Thanks, Diego."

Ty looked up at his brother. "I don't know what happened." He looked dazed. "I wasn't expecting it--I should have been expecting it."

"Ty, no one could have expected that," Emma said. "I mean, Julian said some words, and boom, Hell's tractor beam."

"Is anyone else hurt?" Julian had efficiently slit Ty's pant leg open, and Livvy, her face the color of old newspaper, was applying healing and blood-replacement runes to her twin. Julian looked around the room, and Emma could see him doing his mental inventory of his family: Mark all right, Livvy all right, Dru all right. . . . She saw the moment he reached where Tavvy should be and blanched. His jaw tightened. "Malcolm must have enchanted the paper to set off that signal as soon as it was read."

"It is a signal," Mark said. The expression on his face was troubled. "I have felt this before, in the Unseelie Court, when black enchantments were brewing. That was dark magic."

"We should go straight to the Clave." Julian's face was bloodless. "Secrecy doesn't matter, punishments don't matter, not when Tavvy's life is at risk. I'll take the entire blame on myself."

"You will not take any blame," said Mark, "that I do not also take."

Julian didn't answer that, just held out his hand. "Emma, my phone."

She'd forgotten she still had it. She drew it out of her pocket slowly--and blinked.

The screen was blank. "Your phone. It's dead."

"That's strange," said Julian. "I just charged it this morning."

"You can use mine," Cristina said, and reached into her jacket. "Here it--" She blinked. "It's dead too."

Ty slid from his chair. He took a step forward and winced, but only slightly. "We'll check the computer and the landline phone."

He and Livvy hurried from the library. The room was quiet now, except for the sound of settling debris. The floor was covered in broken glass and bits of shattered wood. It seemed that the black light had blown out the glass oculus at the top of the room.

Drusilla gasped. "Look--there's someone at the skylight."

Emma glanced up. The oculus had become a ring of jagged glass, open to the night sky. She saw the flash of a pale face within the circle.

Mark darted past her and raced up the curving ramp. He threw himself at the oculus--there was a thrashing blur of movement--and he tumbled back onto the ramp, his hand gripping the collar of a lean figure with dark hair. Mark was shouting; there was broken glass around them as they struggled. They rolled together down the ramp, hitting out at each other, until they fetched up on the library floor.

The dark-haired figure was a slender boy in ragged, bloody clothes; he had gone limp. Mark knelt on top of him, and as he reached for a dagger and it flashed out gold, Emma realized that the intruder was Kieran.

Mark jammed his knife up against Kieran's throat. Kieran stiffened against the knife.

"I should kill you right here," Mark said through his teeth. "I should cut your throat."

Dru made a small sound. To Emma's surprise, it was Diego who reached out and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. A small flicker of liking for him went through her.

Kieran bared his teeth--and then his throat, tipping his head back. "Go ahead," he said. "Kill me."

"Why are you here?" Mark's breath hitched. Julian took a step toward them, his hand at his hip, on the hilt of a throwing knife. Emma knew he could take Kieran out at this distance. And he would, if Mark seemed in danger.

Mark was gripping his knife; his hand was steady, but his face was anguished. "Why are you here?" he said again. "Why would you come to this place where you know that you're hated? Why do you want to make me kill you?"

"Mark," Kieran said. He reached up, clenched his hand in Mark's sleeve. His face was full of yearning; the hair that fell over his forehead was streaked with dark blue. "Mark, please."

Mark shook his arm out of Kieran's grip. "I could forgive you if it was me you whipped," he said. "But

you touched the ones I love; that I cannot forgive. You should bleed as Emma bled."

"Don't--Mark--" Emma was alarmed, not for Kieran--some part of her would have liked to see him bleed--but for Mark. For what hurting, even killing, Kieran would do to him.

"I came to help you," Kieran said.

Mark gave a hollow laugh. "Your help is not wanted here."