She spun me around so I faced the door. I concentrated on staying steady, balancing in the high heels. In the corridor, the bass drum from the music hall pounded through the walls, and the sound of horns carried through the air.
How and why did Zahra walk in these heels? Ridiculous. Humans hadn’t evolved to walk on little spikes. I steadied myself with one hand against the wall. When I reached the last door on the left, I knocked.
A guard opened the door—kindly-looking, with a beard and dark eyes. He smiled and motioned me into a cramped vestibule of dark wood with a door on the other side. There was nothing else in it but a bench, and a candle guttering in a sconce.
The man scratched his beard. “Zahra. I was wondering when you’d show up. Name’s Jack. First night. Bit nervous. Not that I have to do, uh … what you do. As it were.”
“You’ll be fine,” I said wistfully. “Lady Zahra has full faith in you.”
Oh, good. I was already failing at the “don’t be weird” instructions.
He loosened his collar, his face looking red and strained. He nodded at the next door. “I’m supposed to warn you before you go through there. We’ve got someone important coming tonight. Apparently he’s never been here before. He’ll be coming up the secret staircase. And it’s very important that he have a good night. I believe our lives may depend on it.”
A chill skimmed over my skin. Bollocks. “What are you talking about?”
Jack pushed open the next door, revealing a room with a silky bed and a velvet sofa. And along with that, furniture I did not recognize: the kind with straps and chains and appendages that looked distinctly uncomfortable.
Zahra’s job really was complicated. And this was, perhaps, not a good time for me to take over. “Do you think I could come back in a few minutes?”
“No, he’ll be here any moment. And they didn’t want you to panic,” he added. “I was supposed to assure you that everything would be fine, it’s just that, uh … We could all die if you mess it up.”
My throat went dry. Bloody hell, was it Diamond Danny? The East Side Ripper? “Who are you talking about?” I asked.
The guard cleared his throat. “He asked for the best we had. And Ernald said it was you, Zahra.”
My nerves crackled. “Who is coming, exactly, Jack? What’s his name?”
“It’s the count from Castle Hades. Count Saklas.”
5
Lila
I felt like the floor was tilting beneath me.
Rumor was that the count was an angel. Some people said that was bollocks, but I believed it too, after I saw his otherworldly eyes. He was a supernatural conqueror, and this was so much worse than the East Side Ripper.
“Holy fuck,” I blurted, nearly forgetting that I was supposed to be the cool, seductive Lady Zahra. “You really think it’s him? The actual count? I didn’t know he left his castle.”
“Was a bit of a surprise. A Clovian count like him. Didn’t think he’d consort with the likes of us. I have no idea what sort of strange things he, uh… but you know just call if …” He cleared his throat, then trailed off again. “Well don’t call unless something really terrible happens, because I’m probably not supposed to interfere in his case. What with him being able to shut this whole operation down and have us executed. He could hang us all outside his castle gates. One word from him and we’ll all be dangling at the end of ropes, feet dancing in the air.”
My stomach was twisting in knots. “That sort of imagery isn’t really helpful right now, Jack.”
“But that’s why Ernald said it had to be you. Cos you’re the best, like. That’s what he said. I didn’t ask what you do that’s so special, cos that’s none of my business. Though admittedly I was a bit curious. What you do with your uh…” He cleared his throat. “With your muff.”
“Well, that’s my secret, Jack, and it’s what makes me the best courtesan in Dovren. For the love of God is there any alcohol in here?”
He nodded at a small table. “Champagne. I don’t think you’re supposed to drink it yourself.”
“Jack, it’s all part of the courtesan trade. You wouldn’t understand.” I crossed to the small table near the bed, and popped the cork. A little of it fizzed from the bottle. I poured a glass—one for me, and one for