Scabs dotted her legs, as from fleabites. Marks made by feeding her shadow.
Charlie held up the Dunkin’ Donuts bag. “I brought coffee, if it’s any consolation.”
“Okay, thief, let’s hear what you want.” Raven poked around in the bag, then looked up. “Fuck yeah. You got bear claws.”
The first part of any con was winning someone’s trust, and every conversation was a little like a con. Coffee and pastries couldn’t hurt.
“How did you wind up with his papers?” Charlie asked. “From what I heard, his death was unexpected.”
“You could say that.” Raven raised her eyebrows and took a sip of coffee. “They found him in his home, on the rug near his desk. The walls were painted with gore. The Cabal didn’t want anyone to know details, but I found out.” Raven went on, not leaving space for comforting words or horrified astonishment. “Another gloamist said they heard a man’s voice screaming, someone other than Knight. To do what was done to him required a kind of strength that could only come from a shadow—a very powerful one, glutted on energy and blood.”
“That’s awful,” Charlie said.
Raven nodded. “Knight was the first gloamist I ever met, the one that taught me how to use my magic properly. Got pissed when I decided I wanted to focus on alteration. Said I was chasing money. Maybe he was right.
“The thing was, though, he gave me that book, a week before he was murdered. Told me to keep it safe. He had information that could bring down someone important. Holding it over that person’s head kept him safe, and not just him. I guess he was wrong about that.”
“Lionel Salt?” Charlie asked.
Raven gave her an odd look. “Maybe. That old man is a freak. Stole the shadow he’s wearing. Lots of people are supposed to have disappeared into his house.”
“If that’s common knowledge, how come the Cabal never did anything? How come Knight Singh never used what he had?” Charlie asked.
Raven went to a cabinet near a kitchenette and took down a metal dog dish. “I’ve got a couple of things to do. Do you mind if I work while I talk?”
“Go ahead,” said Charlie.
Raven opened a mini fridge jammed into a corner behind the counter and took out a plastic bag of blood. She ripped open the edge with her teeth.
“Hand me one of those coffee mugs?” she asked, nodding toward a sink where a few clean forks and cups rested on a scratched plastic drying rack.
Charlie stared at her incredulously. “You want me to do what now?”
Raven smiled. “Mugs. By the sink. Get one.”
Charlie chose one at random. It read: “KICK TODAY IN THE DICK.”
Raven poured the blood into the cup and then stuck it in the microwave, setting the timer for a minute and a half.
“To get the chill off it,” she said, as though that explained anything.
As the mug went around in circles, Raven turned to her. “Nobody has any real proof. And Salt’s rich. That’s why the Cabal won’t do anything. As for why Knight didn’t use what he had, I don’t know. Depends on what he had.”
“You can’t expect me to believe you didn’t read through Knight’s book while you had it,” Charlie said.
Raven smiled. “Oh, I did. Lots of information, most more relevant to shadow-wearers than alterationists, but absolutely nothing that seemed like it could take down anyone.”
Charlie frowned. “Other than whatever Knight had, would Salt have any reason to want him out of the way?”
“Knight was against his being a Cabal member, and now that Knight’s gone they’re bending the rules and letting Salt join, even though Malik’s already representing the puppeteers.”
“So they’re not going to have anyone from carapace?”
Raven’s gaze went to the mug, turning on the plate, her expression remote. “It’s not fair. Knight helped build the Cabal. He was one of the early gloamists to be open about shadow magic.”
Charlie opened her coffee and took a sip, thinking about Red, and what Salt had said about Vince. “What was Knight’s connection to the Liber Noctem?” He might not have one, but she hoped that by putting it like that, Raven would believe she knew more than she did.
“The Book of Blights?” The microwave beeped and Raven dumped the contents of the mug into the stainless dog dish. “He thought it was hilarious that Salt got scammed into paying so much for it, I guess.
“That’s the problem with rich gloamists. They buy up all the magical books, because they can, and then use that knowledge to tie other gloamists to them. Salt wouldn’t follow anyone’s rules, and now he’s going to be the one making the rules.”