Shadow stood up slowly. If it was meant to be intimidating, it worked. “It doesn’t matter what you want,” he said. “We have a deal. Solitude is in this. I’m in it. If you want to come out in one piece, you’ll follow my lead. I know how to deal with Gray Princes-do you?”
“No, but I’m learning,” said Kells.
“I’m sure you think you are,” said Shadow. “Now…”
“I’m not finished,” snapped Kells. Shadow froze, and for a moment I wished Kells hadn’t decided to stand so close to me. “We cut a deal,” said Kells, “but it didn’t have anything to do with the empire or White Sashes or imperial glimmer. We agreed on three things: keeping my organization in one piece, rolling Nicco out of Ten Ways, and making sure Solitude doesn’t establish a foothold here. You stick to that, you make sure those things happen, and I’ll make sure you get the book when we’re done.”
“Don’t be stupid,” said Shadow. “If I get my hands on that journal, your problems with Solitude and Nicco are over.”
“Maybe,” said Kells. “But you promised to support me before the journal ever came up. Hell, you’re the one who came to me offering help, not the other way around. You wouldn’t have done that unless you needed me more than I need you.”
“Believe whatever fantasy you like,” said Shadow, “but you need me, Kells. Your men can tell you-Drothe can tell you-that if I leave now, you’re doomed. Solitude has had more time to build ties, more time to lay groundwork, more time to import Mouths and get her plans in order. You’re flailing by comparison.”
Kells stepped past me and folded his arms over his broad chest. He planted his feet, straightened his back, and spit on the floor between himself and Shadow.
“I don’t renegotiate in the middle of a fight,” said Kells, “and have little use for cowards that do. The simple fact is, you get the book when my ass is out of the fire-not before.”
I’m not sure what I expected-lightning to come down through the roof, Kells to be thrown about the room like a rag doll, or for the Gray Prince to simply walk over and casually eviscerate my boss-but none of those things happened. Instead, Shadow stood stone silent for a long moment, and then stalked past us.
“We’ll finish this discussion,” he said, “after you’ve had some time to see just how bad things can become.” The door slammed shut behind him.
Kells let out a long breath. “Well, that didn’t go as well as I would have liked.” He walked over and settled into his desk chair with a small grunt.
“Now,” he said, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, “why don’t you tell me everything you’ve been holding back since you walked through that door? And it had better be good, because if it’s not, you and that journal will become my peace offering to Shadow.”
Chapter Twenty-three
I stumbled and caught myself on the banister beside the stairs. My left leg was numb, and my right felt like a pincushion. I ran a heavy hand over my face yet again-it still did no good.
How many hours had I been in with Kells? Judging by the light coming in through the windows a floor below me, it was a fair number. No wonder I felt like I’d been up for days-I had been.
I laid both of my hands on the banister and carefully guided myself down the last two steps to the landing. Then I sat on the bottom step, resting my head on my arms. It felt good, better even than the chair in Kells’s office. Of course, that seat had been uncomfortable for other reasons.
I had told Kells what I knew about Ioclaudia’s journaclass="underline" the imperial glimmer, the talk about tinkering with souls to control the magic, the hunt by the White Sashes-all of it. The only pieces I danced around were the talk with Solitude in my dream and the fact that Jelem had been the one who had looked at the journal. The first piece I didn’t want to share just yet, and the other I kept close for Jelem’s sake. Bringing him to Kells’s attention at this point would be far from a favor.
I felt guilty. Kells had stood beside me and told Shadow to go to hell when it came to using me. Shouldn’t I return the favor by being completely up-front with him? I knew the answer, but I just hadn’t been able to bring myself to do it-not until I learned more about the deal he had cut with Shadow. Aside from our both being on the Gray Prince’s shit list, I didn’t know where my boss stood with Shadow in the grander scheme. That bothered me, especially since I was starting to figure into it.
During my entire telling, Kells had sat unmoving, his eyes closed and his head back. He barely interrupted to ask questions.
“Well, you certainly know how to ruin a man’s day, don’t you?” he had said when I was done.
“You’ll pardon me if I’m not too sympathetic,” I said, “considering I walked in here to find you in Shadow’s pocket. Never mind that he seems to have been using me for Angels know how long.”
“He’s using both of us,” said Kells. “Just as I’m trying to use him. There’s no surprise in that. And I’m not in his pocket.”
“Oh, so where exactly does Shadow keep you, then?”
Kells cracked an eyelid. “You think you’re the only one not happy with how this is turning out? Not only do I have Nicco and Solitude to contend with, but now I get to look forward to the empire knocking about Ten Ways, searching for a book on magical blasphemy. Recall what I said earlier: If the empire gets involved, we all go down.”
“I remember,” I said, “But you didn’t answer my question.”
“No, I didn’t. Probably because I’m not sure anymore. Before you walked in here, I could have told you precisely where Shadow and I stood, but now…?” He shook his head. “He’s after more than just Solitude now.”
“I suspect he always has been,” I said.
“Very possible.” Kells’s hand crept up and began absently running along the edges of his mustache. “You think he’s after the same thing as Solitude? Becoming the next Dark King?”
“Who the hell knows? I’m not even sure that’s what she’s after at this point. But Shadow? Yeah, I could see that.”
“Is the journal safe?” said Kells.
“For the time being.”
“Good.” He rubbed his mustache some more. “We’ll need to get rid of it, you know.”
“Oh?”
Kells stared. “What do you mean, ‘oh’? That thing is a lodestone if I’ve ever seen one.”
“It’s also the only thing that has been keeping me alive,” I said. “As long as I have Ioclaudia’s journal hidden away, Shadow, Solitude, and who knows who else won’t lay a hand on me.”
“You think so?” Kells crossed his arms. “What would you do if someone were keeping something from you? What did you do to Athel? These are Gray Princes, Drothe. This is the empire. They won’t fuck around.”
“I know that,” I said. “But there’s no good way out of this at the moment. The empire will lock me away for knowing about it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Shadow or Solitude dusted me on principle, once they have it in their hands. Keeping it hidden keeps me valuable. I like that.”
“I don’t,” said Kells. “Too many people want it for too many reasons, and all of them will come sniffing around for you sooner or later. And since you’re mine, that means they’ll come to see me. That puts not just me, but the entire organization-all of us-at risk. I won’t have it.”
I swallowed and sat up straighter. “It’s not your call,” I said.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m the one with the journal,” I said. “I’m the loose end they’re all going to want to tie up. I’m not saying you won’t take some heat, but most of it is going to fall on me. That makes it my decision, not yours.”
Kells lowered his hand from his mustache. “Who the fuck are you?” He stood up. “Who the fuck are you to decide what’s best for my organization? I’m losing a damn Kin war right now, and you tell me I don’t get to make the call? You work for me, damn it-I’ll tell you what to do and you’ll do it!”
“Do what?” I said. “Give it to Shadow so he can kick Solitude’s ass? Where does that put us once he’s done? Under his thumb? Because we sure as hell won’t be able to stop him after that. Or are you wanting to buy off Solitude instead? Give her both the book and Shadow on a platter? We know even less about her than we do about him!”