She was on the opposite side of the glass from the rest of them. With no Marble Ladies standing near the glass anymore, there was no way they could reach the vent to pass the invitation through.
Anouk bit her lip, thinking, but none of Luc’s fairy tales offered a solution this time.
Cricket cursed again. “Okay. The vent is too small for me to climb through, but it gives me an idea. Maybe I could make another vent. A hole. A bigger one closer to the ground.”
“How?” Hunter Black asked skeptically.
Cricket cracked her knuckles. “I didn’t learn that cutting whisper for nothing. I’ve only cast it on wood, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work on glass.”
“Even if you can, coming in any way other than the turnstile is against the rules,” Viggo pointed out. “They’ll stop you.”
“Ha, but they’ll have to catch me first. You all get in the elevator and hold it open.”
Anouk hesitated. “No. It’s too risky.” But an idea was starting to form in her mind. If Cricket could use magic, maybe she could use magic too. “I’m not powerful enough to prevent the Marble Ladies from chasing you, but there is one simple trick I can do. A diversion spell. The same one I used in the closet to keep Hunter Black from noticing us.”
Cricket eyed the glass wall, mapping out the cuts she would need to make. “Worth a shot. Ready?”
Anouk nodded. She, Hunter Black, and Viggo piled into the tight elevator, which was made of mirror that reflected back their faces. There was a glittering chandelier overhead, and a panel of brass buttons, 1 through 8, and a single button above that labeled PENTHOUSE. ESCORTS REQUIRED.
The doors started to close, but Hunter Black held them open.
Cricket closed her eyes, swallowed a eucalyptus leaf, and began whispering in the Selentium Vox. An almost imperceptible line etched itself in the glass wall, turning at a 90-degree angle and then turning again until it was a rough square.
“Get ready,” Cricket told them. She gave the glass a gentle tap with her finger.
It hit the floor and shattered, sending broken glass everywhere.
The spectacle didn’t go unnoticed by the Marble Ladies. As one, they stepped toward the glass wall.
“Now, Anouk!” Cricket cried.
Anouk hissed in a breath. She’d seen how fast the Marble Ladies had grabbed Hunter Black. If they seized Cricket with those stone hands . . . She thought of the bird she’d once seen caught under a car on Rue des Amants. Crushed.
“Non avis ila, non a
vis ila, spero . . .”
The Marble Ladies slowed but didn’t stop entirely, as though they had simultaneously realized they’d forgotten something important. Cricket moved fast—?first an elbow through the glass hole, then her head, left shoulder, then the right, then torso. Then she was through to her waist and had to suck in a breath to squeeze her hips through.
As soon as she touched the floor, all four Marble Ladies’ heads whipped around as though they had felt the vibration. They all focused intently on her. No longer forgetful. Anouk’s spell was fading.
“Hurry!” Anouk yelled.
The Marble Ladies moved in a flash. The two by the elevator lunged toward Cricket with startling speed. The one by the desk shoved through the turnstile, coming after her. Cricket dodged the closest one, then jumped up onto the back of the other, using the momentum to spring high enough to reach the chandelier. The receptionist she’d used as a springboard reached for her but she twisted her feet out of the way just in time.
Anouk whispered again. “Non avis nos, non avis nos, spero . . .”
But they barely paused this time; the spell didn’t work the same on stone creatures as it had on Hunter Black.
Cricket swung back and forth, building momentum, and then let go of the chandelier and went hurtling toward the elevator. The Marble Ladies lunged for her again, but she crashed into the elevator; Viggo and Anouk caught her as they all fell back against the mirrors.
“Hunter Black, let the door close!”
He released it. For a few seconds the steam-powered gears clanked, and Anouk felt her heartbeat pounding harder than it ever had before. The doors were closing too slowly. The Marble Ladies were coming for them too quickly. They were three steps away. Now two. Anouk brandished her broom, her only weapon. The door was still open two inches, then one, then . . .
Closed.
Cricket let out a cry of relief, sagging back against them.