37

	In spite of everything, Jess felt a deep sense of relief as they passed through the city gates.  Jaspertree was still her home and she didn't feel right without solid bricks under her feet.  As she guided the horse through the busy streets she couldn't help but smile at the way the people around her cursed her and shook their fists.  It was all done without thinking and most of them forgot about her before she was even out of sight.  As long as she didn't let herself think too much, she could almost pretend that the last three months hadn't happened.
	This happiness was only slightly spoiled by the large number of soldiers out on the streets.  There were always some wandering around, to keep the peace and to spy on people for Marcus and his cronies, but they were usually dressed like everyone else and only carried a dagger as a sign of their station.  The fighters who were out today were fully dressed in mail and they carried pikes or long swords.
	“It's all so much smaller than I expected,” Sebastian said.
	“Everyone says that at first.  Just wait until you've been here a month, you'll see.  You can walk all day, and never find your way back to where you started,” Jess said.
	“And it stinks,” he said.
	“That's the breweries.  Twelve thousand gallons of alcohol are shipped out of the city every week.  The Church doesn't like that any better than it likes the Houses.  But nobody has burned any factories down,” she said.
	“You sound like you're proud of this place,” he said.
	“It's all I've ever had,” she said.
	They wandered through the city for a time and ended up, not quite by accident, in front of Catherine's warehouse.  It was as safe as anywhere in the city and she still had a key.  Sebastian helped her down, which she didn't need, but she put up with it because it so obviously made him happy.
	“What do we do now?” he said.
	“I don't know.  The smart thing would be to find a place to hole up and get some rest.  Marcus isn't going anywhere, and you look exhausted,” she said.
	“But he knows you're coming, and he knows you're in the city.  I won't be able to sleep as long as I know you're going to sneak out as soon as I close my eyes,” he said.
	“We'll need the horse, and if we just leave him here he's going to get stolen.  What if I asked you to stay and watch him?” Jess said.
	“No deal.  I'm not letting you out of my sight.  Someone has to be there to pull you out of the river again,” Sebastian said.
	“But if you get hurt--”
	“You said no more talking,” he said.
	She looked at him, at a loss now for anything more to say.  His eyes were beautiful, the color of chocolate, and there were little white spots around his whiskers.  In the dying light he looked more like a rabbit than he ever had before, and she wanted him, more than she had ever wanted anyone.  But she couldn't destroy the only innocence left in her life.  Afraid, at every step, that she would lose her way, she turned and ran.  A heartbeat later she heard him run after her, and her heart leapt.  Whatever happened, she wanted him by her side.
	They ran westward, into the setting sun, and she marvelled at how strange the city had become.  In some ways, it was still the home she remembered.  There, on the left, was the store where she had bought her clothes, and there was the leatherworker who sold collars to all the Houses.  But their doors were hidden under deep shadows, and the street lights had not been lit.  Heavy curtains covered the windows of all the houses on the other side of the street, and she was certain that one or two of these drapes twitched as they passed.  It was unheard of for the shops to close or for the streets to be this empty, even in the middle of the night.  For the first time in her life she felt afraid of just walking down the street.  There were fewer soldiers here, but with the coming darkness, there was an ever more tangible feeling of fear, like the city was going to be attacked at any moment.
	“We've made it this far.  We'll be okay,” Sebastian said.
	“This isn't how I wanted you to see it.  Three months ago, it was a beautiful place,” she said.
	“Three months ago, you still lived here,” he said.
	“I just wanted to keep one little girl safe.  I'd done it a dozen times before.  I never expected any of this,” she said.
	“There's no question of that.  But without you, who knows how bad it could have been.  Megan might have been killed, or worse, she might not have been noticed at all,” he said.
	It was not difficult at all to go from Gold Street to the jail.  All you had to do was head west for four blocks, and then go north but, in her panic, she must have missed a turn.  The last alley had looked right and it should have put them just a little distance away from Church Street, with the spire of the Cathedral a little to their right.  Instead, it let out onto a street she had never seen before.  It was paved with old-fashioned cobbles and lined on either side by several large trees that did nothing to hide the iron fence behind them.
	At the end of the street was a large house with a high-peaked roof.  What they could see of the front of the house was a single large window behind a screened-in wooden porch.  The window was lit by lamps burning along the porch railing and by a brighter fire inside, which cast weird shadows against the drapes.  The rest of the place was lit by small copper braziers by the front gate, and tall gas lamps at regular intervals between the trees.  The walk leading up to the porch was gravel which crunched pleasantly as they walked on it, and a few early flowers were dying in the freezing night air. It would have been quite pleasant, if she hadn't known who it belonged to.
	“He's home,” she said.
	“Who is?” Sebastian said.
	But she didn't have to answer.  There was enough light from a nearby lamp for her to see the way his ears turned back.
	“I froze every winter because even a simple wood stove costs more than a hundred dollars.  I knew girls who died from the cold.  But that was okay, because we still had each other.  Now he has Megan and I'm never going to see her again,” Jess said.
	There weren't any guards on the path to stop them.  Nobody had ever been brave enough to go this near to the Keppler house before.  The gate on the front porch was latched, but the screen was flimsy and she was able to tear one corner of it up to lift the bar.  Sebastian stuck close to her, and though he kept looking over his shoulder he looked calmer than she felt.
	“What are you going to do?” he said.
	“I'm going to ask him to let Megan go,” she said.
	“And when he says no?” Sebastian said.
	“I'll just have to ask him again,” she said, and she slipped her hand into the pocket that held her pistol.
	The front door was unlocked and it swung open without a sound when she pushed it.  Ordinarily, this would have worried her, but she'd decided that she wasn't going to let anything frighten her anymore.  She took a deep breath, and stepped into Marcus's kitchen.
	The floor was tile and so cold it made the bottoms of her feet ache.  There was a table in the middle of the room that was covered by a white cloth, but the only thing on the table, besides a silver candlestick, was a thin layer of dust.  Marcus was famous for dining out and spending more than a hundred dollars on a single meal.  She had lived on other people's cooking too, but only because she'd never had more than twelve dollars to see her through the month.
	“This isn't going to work,” Sebastian said.
	“Yes, it will.  You just keep quiet and stick to the shadows.  I don't want him to get a look at you,” she said.
	“I'll try.  But I think we're a little too late for that,” he said.
	His voice got softer with every word and he looked over her shoulder at the door behind her.  It gave them a good view of the living room, including part of the fireplace, and the leather lounge chair set to catch the heat.  It was black leather with tall arms spread out like wings and a base like a barber's chair, bolted to the floor.  All she could see of Marcus was the smoke curling up from his cigarette, but she remembered how it felt to be under him.  She remembered the pain he had left in her when he was finished, and felt her stomach cramp.
	“Some friend you are.  I don't suppose you have any idea how many nights I've sat up waiting for you to show back up?  How much sleep I've lost, because of you?”  Marcus said.
	He swiveled the chair around so she could get a look at him and how relaxed he was.  He had his cigarette, and he grinned at her, but the tip of his tail twitched back and forth across his lap.
	“What the hell are you talking about?” she said.
	“It's okay.  You're here now, and that's the important thing.  I'm sure Megan will glad to hear it, too.  I'm afraid I had to give your little girlfriend some pretty heavy drugs to get her to sleep at all.  And just lately, she's decided to stop eating.  Again,” Marcus said.
	“You don't have to worry about that anymore.  I want her back, and you're going to give her to me.  Right now,” she said.
	He laughed and blew a mouthful of smoke at the ceiling.
	“Oh, you poor little girl.  You really don't know anything, do you?  How can you have spent your whole life in a House and still be so innocent?” he said.
	“I made the effort,” she said.
	He laughed again, stood up, and flicked his cigarette into the fireplace.
	“Yes, I see.  You must be the only person in the world who would come to make demands at me at gunpoint, but forget to draw the gun,” he said.
	Feeling suddenly very foolish, she scrabbled at the pocket of her unfamiliar pants but only succeeded at tangling it further in the lining.  Marcus clucked his tongue at her, and held his hands out with his palms turned towards her.
	“You're safer without it.  I'm not as unprotected as it seems, and some of my guards aren't that bright.  Besides, I'm going to give you what you want,” he said.
	“Why?” Sebastian said.
	Jess felt the bottom of her stomach drop away.  Marcus turned to look at Sebastian for the first time since they'd been there and she knew Marcus was able to see his face.  Sebastian was so close to her that she could feel his breath on the back of her neck.
	“I see you've finally made it to my city, Mr. Lewis.  I do hope you'll make up your own mind about it, and not listen to what anyone tells you.  Especially your sister.  She's a dear, sweet girl, but easily misled, I'm afraid,” Marcus said.
	“You kidnapped a girl, did God only knows what to her, and now you're just going to give her to us?  I want to know why,” Sebastian said.
	“Because she's expensive, and she doesn't have any manners.  To be honest, I'm disappointed with you, Jessamine,” Marcus said.
	“I hope so,” she said.
	“Oh, I didn't expect you to do anything but try to get her out of the city.  Elizabeth told me everything about you before we started.  But I expected her to have some self-discipline, at least,” Marcus said.
	“Like you?” Jess said.
	The gun was still tangled in the lining of her pocket, but she was able to get enough of a grip on it to point it at him.  It was very hard for her not to pull the trigger.  It was only because Sebastian was beside that she was able to resist.
	Still grinning, Marcus brushed past them.  He wore the air of someone going out for a stroll, and he didn't look back.  Jess expected him to bolt when he reached the door, but he stopped on the porch and waited for them.  She reached for Sebastian's hand, eager to go on before her nerve failed her, but he drew away from her.
	“You aren't going to go out there with him, are you?” he said.
	“It's better than staying in here.  But you're right, I shouldn't expect you to come, too.  You go look after the horse and I'll see you when I have Megan,” she said.
	To her shame, and private delight, this had the effect of making him latch on to her arm in an effort to both shield her.  She only just resisted the urge to kiss him before she dragged him out the door.
	It wasn't far at all from the Keppler house to the jail, but the trip seemed to take hours.  Marcus insisted on walking at a painfully slow pace and he stopped twice to light a fresh cigarette.   There was a muted glow to the south-east where the furthest tip of the nearby forest reached almost to the city walls, and every time they paused Marcus turned to study it.  Jess was certain he knew what it was and she kept herself steeled for him to call for his fighters, but he simply got his cigarette comfortable in the corner of his mouth, shook his head, and kept walking.
	The front of the jail was brightly lit and there were armored soldiers lined up all along the top of the steps.  They all drew to attention in a jarring clash of metal when Marcus stepped into the light, and Sebastian whimpered in fear.  Jess squeezed his hand and swallowed the nausea that was rising in her throat.  The pain that had been burning inside her ever since she set foot in Marcus's living room flared up into her chest and she felt Alice stir.  She was sure that Marcus knew what kind of effect he had on both of them, too.  He stood at the bottom of the steps, ignoring everyone, and finished his third cigarette of the evening.  It wasn't until a good five minutes after he'd ground the butt out under his heel that he looked back at them.
	“I hope you'll forgive the wait.  I left standing instructions that your friend was to be fetched as soon as I brought you here, but you know how slow help can be,” he said.
	“You don't think we really believe your story, do you?” Sebastian said.
	“Please.  Just let it go.  It doesn't matter,” Jess said.
	But Sebastian shook his head and tightened his grip on her arm.  He was just as stubborn as his sister.
	“Everything he has said to you is a lie.  You know that as well as I do,” he said
	“I know.  But we've come this far, and all I need is for Megan to come walking out those doors,” she said.
	“If she does.  For all you know, she could be miles away by now,” he said.
	“Do you really think I'd waste that kind of money on a nothing like her?  I'm sure you'd like to think you're that important, but you're not.  She was only a toy, just like you,” Marcus said.
	Jess snarled at him and dropped into a crouch, ready to leap.  Then the door opened and Megan stumbled out.  She was naked, except for a House collar and a short leash that dangled between her breasts.  Even in the poor light of the street lamps Jess could see that the fur between her legs was matted and stained, and there were cuts on her muzzle and arms.  She kept her head down and didn't make any effort to cover herself against the cold or the attention of the guards.  Jess's relief at seeing Megan alive was overwhelmed by her anger at seeing the girl so badly injured, and it was Alice who bolted for the steps.
	Sebastian shouted after her, and she thought he would follow her but she was alone when she reached the top of the stairs.  When she looked back, she saw the the guards had drawn their swords and closed their ranks on every step.  Sebastian was stuck at the bottom with two foxes pushing him to the other side of the street.  She answered this by drawing her gun, and Marcus burst out laughing.
	“You really are such a child,” he said.
	“Take the swords down.  She's free now, and you're not going to stop me taking her away from here,” Jess said.
	“Oh, by all means, take her.  I won't have it said that I break my promises.  She belongs to you now.  But you still belong to me,” Marcus said.
	He barked twice and guards that were keeping her from Megan lowered their weapons.  But it made the rest of the soldiers turned towards her and cross their swords, blocking her way down the stairs.  She grabbed Megan's leash to pull the girl over to her, and was alarmed at her friend's lack of reaction.  Megan walked forward when she pulled on the leash, but the girl's face remained blank.
	Jess put her free arm around Megan's waist, and the light that had been haunting the edge of the city bloomed like a misplaced dawn.  It was followed by a loud explosion and the crackle of gunfire from only a street away.  The fighters around them shifted uneasily, but Marcus didn't even so much as flick an ear at the noise.  In fact, he looked quite pleased with himself.
	“You're wrong.  We're both free, and so is every House girl in the city.  We'll take them with us when we go,” Jess said.
	“Oh yes, if you can.  But I've been ready for this evening for a long time.  Your little friends out in the woods haven't done a single thing I didn't know about,” he said.
	“I'm sure you'd like to think so.  But Thomas can't be as foolish as he seems,” Jess said.
	“Of course not, that's what has kept him alive.  It's so boring fighting stupid opponents, after all.  But I have more friends than you think,” Marcus said.
	He opened the door again and Elizabeth came out onto the landing, and pulled her coat closed against the cold.  She looked very different in the strange light around them, and Jess suddenly felt very lost and alone.  Elizabeth brushed the guards away, and kissed her on the cheek.  Caught off balance, Jess let the gun sag and Elizabeth pushed her arm the rest of the way down, with a tight grip on her wrist.
	More gunshots echoed through the city, closer now, and Marcus' guards turned as the first of the rebels spilled out into the square behind them.  Soldiers screamed over the clash of metal, and Jess could smell the blood pooling on the ground.
	“What have you done?” Jess said.
	“Only what any other House girl would have done.  I'm getting myself free.  After all these years, it's my turn now,”  Elizabeth said.
	“And for that, the rest of us have to suffer?  What about Thomas and Catherine?  They're trying to help us,” Jess said.
	“But they're not.  I thought you understood this.  I thought that was why you abandoned them,” Elizabeth said.
	“I didn't—”
	“No?  You ran off after the one thing you wanted and to hell with anything else, right?  Do you know what Catherine wants?  Or why all those fools followed Thomas into the wilderness, to freeze for months on end?” Elizabeth said.
	Elizabeth's hand slipped down to cover the barrel of the gun and she twisted it, slipping Jess's fingers off the grip one at a time.
	“Do you know?” Jess said.
	“It doesn't matter.  She isn't any better than the rest of us,” Elizabeth said.
	“She is.  And so am I.  I'm going to set everyone free,” Jess said.
	She raised the gun, against Elizabeth's resistance, and pulled the trigger.  There were three shots left.  Two of them flew uselessly off into the dark. The third struck Marcus squarely and spun him to the ground.  He fell without a sound, and, for a few seconds, the city stopped.
	She dropped the gun, glad to be rid of it at last, and turned to look down the stairs.  Marcus's fighters had split apart and there was Sebastian, waiting for them.  There were tears in his eyes, and when she pushed Megan over to him he held out his hands to catch the girl.  She moved stiffly, with her head held down and her eyes shut, but when Sebastian wrapped his coat around her, Megan turned in his arms and looked up at Jess for the first time.
	“Nobody's going to remember your name after you're dead,” Elizabeth said.
	“But they'll forget him, too,” Jess said.
	She bit the first guard who grabbed her arm and aimed a kick at the fighter beside him.  He dodged neatly out of the way, and a third soldier knocked her legs out from under her.  She grabbed at him as she fell, and managed to drag him to his knees with her weight.  She realized, too late, that this was what he wanted, and he pinned her down while one of his friends tied her wrists together.
	The war was all around them now, and when the soldiers lifted her up, she could see that the glow on the horizon had taken on the eerie, flickering quality of firelight.  She twisted in her captor's grasp to get one last look at the street, afraid that they hadn't had the sense to run.  But all she saw was Marcus lying on the ground and Richard kneeling beside him.