Chapter 49 Shadowed By Spirits
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The crush of performers shoved her back and forth until, using her slight frame to advantage, she slipped! inside an enormous red trunk stored with good luck offerings. A sharp smell of saltpeter filled the crampert space. Groping in the dark, she found countless neat, square bundles bound with fine twine. At last, she lifted the lid a finger’s width and peered out into the corridor.
For the moment, Madison was nowhere in sight, and she let out a long, shaky breath.
The procession beat drums as it moved west and finally climbed the pavilion that rose at Flora Park’s southwestern edge. Inside, officials of Aurelia Province feasted and prayed for gentle weather; Zephyr and Gregory sat among them, cups raised high.
The trunk that hid Sadie was carried to the top floor, set inside a side chamber, and left unattended.
She pushed open the lid and began to climb out–only to hear that haunting voice again. “Sadie, I want your face.” She whirled. Madison stood before a painted screen, smiling as though the chase were a charming
game.
“I have already told you no,” she said, forcing steadiness into her voice. The fear of the evening softened her tone, and her eyes glistened, a faint flush blooming at their corners like crushed wildflowers.
Madison leaned in, curiosity flickering across his features. Noticing tears glistening in Sadie’s wide eyes, he offered a sheepish grin. “Startled? Sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. You’re still braver than Alexander; last year’s Night Parade of a Hundred Spirits nearly made him wet himself.”
Sadie blinked, momentarily stunned. “When you said you wanted my face,” she asked, “was that just to frighten me?”
Madison gave a theatrical sigh. “Zephyr said you were off–limits, and I’m not foolish enough to ignore my brother. I’d love to add your face to my collection, but you belong to him, so my hands are tied.” He paused, then brightened. “By the way, you left your fish lantern in the temple hall. Here.”
He produced the lantern from behind his back and offered it to her. Sadie accepted it, studying him with emotions she could not name.
“It’s dreadfully dull living alone above the coffin home,” Madison said with a bright smile. “Why not visit my collection, Sadie? Nothing rivals your face, of course, but the pieces are striking–a severed hand, a head or two, even a bone–white lute…”
Sadie stared at him, speechless, then managed a polite, “Thank you,” though her voice lacked warmth; she had absolutely no interest in whatever horrors he kept upstairs.
“We’re twins, Madison–Daisy and I share the same face. Why covet mine and not hers?”
Madison chuckled, eyes gleaming like glass beads. “Not at all. The two of you look nothing alike. She’s nowhere near as lovely, so her face doesn’t interest me.”
Sadie tried, and failed, to comprehend. She and Daisy were identical, yet his madness told a different story.
Downstairs, the banquet was winding to a close. The actors who had performed the Night Parade of a Hundred Spirits filed out, and officials, flanked by their attendants, began descending the stairs.
When the building finally fell silent, Sadie said, “I should head back.”
Sadie pushed open the private room’s door and followed the long gallery toward the stairwell.
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Chapter 49 Shadowed By Spirits
+9 Pearls
As she stepped over the threshold, a thin cord slithered from the red chest, hugging the wall as it snaked downward.
A small frown creased her brow.
Where did that cord come from?
Flames suddenly raced along the fuse, a spray of orange sparks hurtling toward the private room–saltpeter, hemp cord, gunpowder.
Reality snapped into place; she seized Madison’s sleeve and bolted for the stairs.
They had barely reached the next landing when an explosion roared above.
In an instant, flames swallowed the pavilion.
The shockwave shredded her eardrums, leaving a single, blistering ring in her skull.
She clapped her hands over her ears and curled into herself, debris raining around her.
When the pain dulled, she lifted her stinging eyes.
The trunks the actors had carried upstairs held no ritual props at all–they were packed with gunpowder. No wonder the trunk had reeked of saltpeter. Someone had mingled with the actors, planning to bring the whole pavilion down in a single blast. Yet, one question would not loosen its grip. Why?
Sadie’s mind leaped to Zephyr. Tonight, he and the other county officials were dining in this very place. Is this whole inferno meant for him?
She could not stay here. Bracing herself against the charred wall, Sadie pushed to her feet. She had taken only one step when someone caught the edge of her sleeve. She turned and saw Madison crouched at the base of the wall, one arm clamped around his knee, the other clutching her fabric as though it were a lifeline.
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