were now calling him), Morrigan prodded her feelings a little, trying to find the tender spot, searching for her own rage. Surprisingly, she found she was so tired and so worried by what Anah had told her about the Wunimals waking, there wasn’t any room left inside her to care very much about this new development. She made all the right noises, joining in the hypothetical revenge scenarios. But – not for the first time – she felt she was down at the bottom of a cool, dark lake, while they all splashed about on the surface.
By the time she got home to the Deucalion, heavy-footed and aching all over, Morrigan could only think of hot food and a hot bath, in exactly that order, and she hoped desperately that the Grand Sulk hadn’t spread to the kitchens yet. She’d just opened her bedroom door to go and find out when Jupiter strode through it – red-faced, arms and brolly swinging wildly – and flung his hat on the floor to stomp on it.
‘Holliday Wu is a FIEND!’
Morrigan stared at him, nonplussed. ‘You’ve changed your tune.’
‘It wasn’t. Baz. At. All,’ he said, emphasising each word with another stomp on his now irreversibly damaged hat, before kicking it so hard it slid all the way across the hardwood floor and crashed with a floomp against the far wall. ‘It was her. Or rather it was them.’
‘Them who?’
‘The Elders! They cooked up the whole thing with Holliday and the Public Distraction Department.’ He ran a hand through his waves of ginger hair and began a feverish pacing back and forth, tapping his brolly against the side of his leg. ‘Of course. Because that’s what they do, isn’t it? They distract people from whatever they want to hide, using whatever – whoever – is most convenient. Throwing anyone they have to under a bus. In this case, Mog, that happens to be YOU.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘That “anonymous source within the society” who went to the papers? It was Holliday, acting with the permission – no, under the instruction of the High Council of Elders.’
‘What? No. Elder Quinn wouldn’t—’
‘Oh, Elder Quinn did,’ said Jupiter, coming to a decisive halt. ‘She did exactly what the Elders always do: she put the Society first. It’s perfect, don’t you see? Things were going so well for them after you resurrected the fireblossoms, nobody was talking about the Hollowpox any more or questioning our way of dealing with it. It was Holliday’s idea to capitalise on it by leaking the truth about you to the Sunday Post, but believe me, the Elders enthusiastically signed off on the plan. Do you know,’ he said, suddenly thoughtful, ‘I don’t believe I’ve ever been quite so angry in all my life. I think I could bottle this rage and sell it to – I don’t know, competitive heavyweight boxers or something.’
Morrigan felt something dark and disquieting settle on her heart, heard Squall’s words echo in her head.
They’re going to flip the script.
Had he really been so prescient? Was this just the betrayal he’d meant?
‘But they’re the ones who wanted it kept a secret – I mean Elder Quinn herself said everyone had to uphold their oath and protect the secret and … sisters and brothers, and all that. Loyal for life. Those hypocrites!’
‘Hmph,’ Jupiter grunted. ‘The thing is, Mog, it wasn’t going to remain a secret forever. It had to come out some time – these things always do – but I assumed we’d have some warning, some way to prepare. I’m sorry it’s happened this way, I truly am.’
If Morrigan had been exhausted before, now she felt as though her skeleton might crumble to dust inside her body. It was the most unfortunate moment to notice that her bed had become a table.
She sighed, leaning against the wall and sliding all the way down to the floor. This’ll do, she thought wearily.
‘I don’t get it,’ she said. ‘Isn’t this worse for the Society? People are terrified of Wundersmiths, and now they know the Elders have been hiding one. That’s worse than the Hollowpox! It’s like covering up the fact that you have a box of spiders by telling everyone you also have a box of … acid-spouting land dolphins. Or something. And now that man from the Concerned Citizens is offering—’
‘Oh, you heard about that,’ said Jupiter darkly. He crossed the room to pick up his hat and tried (unsuccessfully) to punch it back into shape.
‘It just seems like