“We reward our friends,” Vicereine said. “And punish our enemies. You’ve proved to be our friend, Charlie Hall.”
Pirate justice. Carrot and stick.
“We want to help you,” Malik said. “Ask us for something.”
“You know what I want,” Charlie said. “Let him go. Or at least let him be unbound. Haven’t you learned from the last Hierophant?”
“What we learned was not to trust Blights,” Malik said. “Imagine how much worse it would have been if the Hierophant had been unbound.”
“Not worse for Stephen,” Charlie said.
“Stephen stole shadows,” said Bellamy. “Quickened shadows, shadows of vulnerable people. Sold them to dealers. Don’t have too much sympathy for him.”
Malik nodded. “And the problem wasn’t Stephen. We believe that Lionel dosed him with something that allowed the Hierophant to take possession of his body. Over time, it either learned how to do that on its own—or they continued to drug him.
“Ask us for something that doesn’t have to do with the Blight. You’d be surprised what we can make happen.”
Charlie supposed the Cabal could give her a lot of stuff. Her sister re-registered for school in the spring. A scholarship. Pay off Charlie’s medical debt while they were at it. Get her a spanking new car. Hell, they might give her Salt’s Phantom if she asked.
But Posey had never wanted to go to college, and Charlie didn’t want to be bribed. “I want you to let Vince go.”
Malik made a frustrated sound.
She couldn’t help it. It was her nature. Charlie Hall, refusing to learn from her mistakes. Eager to throw herself against the same wall again and again, no matter how much it hurt. “What did Adeline Salt give you to let her become his guardian?”
Bellamy looked surprised. “I think you misunderstand the situation.”
“You’re letting her take him home, aren’t you?” Charlie said.
Vicereine gave a cruel little smile. “In a manner of speaking. But this isn’t something she chose. Do you know what she will be expected to do?”
“Hunt Blights,” Charlie said.
“And do you know why it’s considered a punishment, a way to make up for past crimes?”
“Because it’s dangerous?” she guessed.
“Very,” said Malik in slightly horrified tones.
What was it that Balthazar had told Charlie—that she could steal the breath from a body, the hate from a heart, the moon from the sky? Well, in this case, maybe she didn’t need to steal anything. Maybe they’d give her everything she wanted.
All it would cost was her secrets.
Charlie pasted a smile on her face. Glanced at the old “fear less” tattoo looping across the skin of her inner arm. “Fine,” she said, through gritted teeth. “In that case, I’d like to confess.”
“Confess?” Vicereine echoed, puzzled.
“Do you remember when Brayan Araya had his secrets written with a laser on grains of rice and kept them in a glass jar under his pillow? I snatched that like I was the tooth fairy. Or remember when Eshe Godwin got that book with all the detailed illustrations and no one could make head or tail of it? The secrets were written in the artwork, so I cut those pages straight out. I’m not sure she’s opened it up to know they’re missing. I took Owain Cadwallader’s eighteenth-century memoir and discovered a whole pile of notes stitched into the interior binding of another book—I forget the title, but it had these cool metal catches on the side—and took those without anyone being the wiser. Oh, and I grabbed Jaden Coffey’s whole collection of seventies shadow magic zines. Want me to go on? I’ve been doing this for years.” She felt giddy, like she was sliding down a hill, no way to stop now. All the exultation of finally admitting to something.
“You cut out pages from Eshe’s book?” Vicereine sounded pissed.
“I’m a bad person.” Charlie reached into the pocket of her jeans, took something out, and threw it to Malik. Startled, he caught it. When he looked at what was in his hands, his brows drew together. “I also grabbed your wallet when I brushed by you. Sorry.”
“You are making some very dangerous enemies,” Vicereine told her.
“What’s all this about?” Malik was tight-jawed. “What are you doing?”
“Punish me,” Charlie said. “I’m loads worse than Adeline.”
“You want it tied to you?” Bellamy asked.