Half Lost (The Half Bad Trilogy #3) - Sally Green Page 0,44
control: to keep his position safe from the Hunters as well as the Alliance.”
“Well, I’ve no intention of letting either of them get what they want.”
And I tell Celia that I’m going to go to Ledger and try to get the amulet. We discuss it briefly and she agrees I should go with Gabriel and get Nesbitt to show us the way before he leaves for Australia.
I tell her, “While we’re gone you need to work out stage two of the plan: how we attack Soul once I have the amulet.”
“Of course. But you haven’t got it yet,” she reminds me.
Back to the Bunker
We’re back at Mercury’s bunker: me, Gabriel, and Nesbitt. We came through the cut in Germany, the one that we used to get to the meetings in Basle. They seem like the distant past, but now that I try to work it out, I think it was only six or seven months ago. Nesbitt has brought us here to show us the way to Ledger but he says he’s not coming with us. So this is where we’ll finally part.
I’ve questioned Nesbitt a few times about where Ledger is and all he says is “Patience, kid.” Now that we’re at the bunker I ask him, “So you went to Ledger from here? Through a cut?”
He says, “Van went. I didn’t go with her.”
“You didn’t tell me that before!”
“I didn’t think it was relevant.”
“What?”
He shrugs.
“But Van told you where she went?”
“Yeah. Kind of.”
“Kind of!”
“Look, Van wanted to go on her own. Said there was nothing to fear from Ledger and she could handle it. And I had my own stuff to do. Well, stuff for the Alliance: scouting out camps, checking up on Hunter movements. Van was quite capable of doing it herself. You know, working together is a balance of familiarity and distance. Just like you and me when we’re partnered together. I’m friendly and familiar but you’re not—”
I swear at him and call him useless.
Nesbitt frowns. “I’m hurt, kid. You know I love you.” And the way he says it is real and honest and not joking. “And I was going to say I’m friendly and familiar but you’re not the sort of person who would want me treading on his toes.” He grins at me and I’m not sure if he’s kidding about the whole thing or what.
“What exactly do you know, Nesbitt?”
“Enough to get you there, so stop your flapping.”
“Good.” I stomp off, saying, “We need to check the bunker first. Make sure it’s secure.”
It’s unlikely that Hunters have been here and laid a trap since Van and Nesbitt were last here, but we can take nothing for granted so we check it out, room by room, from the kitchen on the top level, down through the bedrooms and into the numerous storerooms on the lower levels. Everywhere seems the same as when we left it months ago. The great hallway is still a mess from the fight when Mercury died, when I killed her. In the blood room, where all the bottles of witch blood are stored, everything looks undisturbed.
There’ll be a bottle with my mother’s name on it here. A small amount of blood, stolen by Mercury from the larger samples kept by the Council. Soul would have used it to perform my Giving. I’m sure Celia’s right: Soul wants to control me; he has always wanted that.
Nesbitt says, “This stuff’s valuable.” He’s right. The Alliance could use it to help Half Bloods, or any young witches, Black or White, if their parents aren’t around to give them blood at their Giving.
“Does Celia know about it?” I ask.
“Van told her. I guess she’s got other things on her mind right now.”
“I’m sure she’ll have a plan for it. And it’s probably safest left here for the moment.”
* * *
When we’ve been through the whole place and are satisfied that there aren’t any Hunters hiding in cupboards, we go to the library.
Nesbitt says, “Before Van went to Ledger we came here and went through Mercury’s diaries and maps. I’ll show you the stuff Van read before she left. It might give you an idea about what to expect from Ledger.” He opens the hidden bookshelf at the back of the room and retrieves a sheaf of large parchments.
Me and Gabriel sit on the floor and Nesbitt drops them in front of us. The first parchment is one I’ve seen before: a plan of Mercury’s bunker and the location of eleven cuts that lead