“Exactly. We made him go. And he got killed. End of story.”
Charlie gesticulated wildly. “So what? That’s it? How do I get what’s owed to me if he gets a clean slate?”
“You will get what’s owed to you—what’s really owed to you. And what’s owed to you depends on the choices Lucian makes, here and now. But killing your father wasn’t a choice, it was a necessity.”
“I … You can’t … You son of a bitch. You tricked me.”
“I never lied.”
Charlie was blinking, blank-faced. His face was dripping with silent tears. “What was all this for? Why the tricks, having me bring him here, having me babysit him down there?”
“I needed him to come to me. I needed to know he was still my brother deep down, even if he’s sitting on the wrong side of the fence.” James sighed and rubbed at his face under the balaclava, his eyes shining with pain.
Somebody cleared their throat at the tent’s entrance and one of the ragged women poked her head in, face pinched and scarred by eczema. Even her cruel face was fawning and watchful as she addressed them. “You were right. They sprung the trap.”
“How many alive?”
“All of them.”
“Where are you keeping them?”
“Here. Outside.”
James straightened. “Bring them in.” He turned to Charlie. “As I said, I have business with my guests. Go, now. Make sure they’re ready. It’s time.”
Charlie’s lip curled. “What makes you think I’m doing anything for you?”
Jason squared his shoulders but James held up a hand to quell him. “Don’t forget why we picked you and your father up in the first place. They starved you out, stole your home, and they’d do it again if it meant holding onto what we’ve all already lost.”
“So what? It won’t bring my father back.”
“No, it won’t. But it will stop them making more orphans while they chase the Old World’s shadow.”
Lucian felt Charlie’s eyes burning him again, but couldn’t look at him anymore. A few seconds later, he heard Charlie tramp outside with a curse.
A moment later, a great many more footfalls became audible. Lucian tried to peer through the crack in the entrance, but it was quickly thrown aside again, and a group of people were shunted inside. His guts, turned to slurry, slithered up under his tongue when Norman, Robert, Richard, DeGray and a whole troop of others from back home were marched in with their hands bound. They each in turn registered shock at the sight of him, but Lucian gained control of himself with colossal effort and hardened his brow, shaking his head minutely. They got the message; their faces had grown blank by the time they had been wrestled into kneeling positions beside Lucian.
If this was how bad things were, they needed to be solid, make it look like they’d planned this.
In moments the tent was busy with over a dozen captives. A good number, if they could get the upper hand.
“I hope this isn’t my bloody rescue mission,” he muttered.
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Robert said, kneeling beside him.
“We thought you were dead,” Richard whispered on his other side.
“Shut up,” Lucian said.
“Screw you. I came here for Scots, not your sorry arse.”
Lucian blinked at Richard’s stony expression and leaned across to look at DeGray. “What happened to your star pupil?”
John DeGray, rotund and sweaty as always, shrugged. “Turns out one of us has a spine.”
Lucian smiled when he saw Norman beyond Robert, but Norman was staring up at Jason with a snarl.
Jason sauntered up to him, this time not even looking to James for permission. “How’s the chest?”
Norman spat up into his face. Lucian could have laughed if he hadn’t felt so hollowed out. The kid had been saving up a good hock that basted Jason’s face and bandaged cheek with a stringy lather of spittle and snot.
“Nice,” Lucian said.
“Glad you’re alive,” Norman said without taking his eyes off Jason. Then he addressed the bespittled wolf standing over him. “Feeling better all the time.”
Jason wiped away the spittle with a disturbing lack of disgust. “You sure you want to waste your time?” he said to James. “I could finish this now.” He waggled his knife.
“Yes. Leave them.”
Jason shrugged. “Little cat-and-mouse never hurt anyone, I guess.”
“Go help Charlie. He’ll need it.”
Jason snorted. He was grinning right up until it became obvious to everyone that James was being serious. Then the smile slowly faded from Jason’s mouth, and he grunted. “Fine,” he said, licking his lower lip. Lucian sensed his