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ONE

THE LAST TRAVELERS’ INN on the road from Inverness was no place to die

Freezing rain lashed the panes as I huddled over a warround-floor tavern Across the table, Montgomery rubbed a scar on his arns that ere being pursued In the upstairs room just over our heads, locked away fro

I rested omery’s anxious ones “We’re safe here No one would come after us this far north”

Beneath the worn canvas shirt and the pistol strapped to his side was the young er, scuffed and dented after our escape from London For the past three days, Lucy, Edward, and I had huddled in the back of the carriage while Montgoh snow and rain without complaint, north to Elizabeth von Stein’s estate, Ballentyne Manor, where we hoped to hide

I threaded omery’s My hands were cold, as always His areon, not a servant, but I suppose it didn’t itive

He turned back to the“I keep thinking the police will find us”

“We didn’t leave any evidence for them to trace Besides, Elizabeth stayed behind to make certain they don’t suspect us They’ve no reason to tie us to thethe deaths”

Deaths Murders is what I should have said Just days ago, in the King’s College’s baseht to life five of Father’s water-tank creatures that, in turn, had slaughtered the ’s Club I could still picture the blood seeping fros’s eyes

Montgoe, though I knew the violence of it bothered him deeply It had been terrible, but necessary—a fact we didn’t quite seeree on

“We were very thorough,” I added in a dry voice

A dark look crossed his face He started to answer, but the sound of laughter drowned out his voice

Annoyed, I turned to the inn’s fireplace, where a dozen red-faced audy satin clothes swapped stories and pints of beer They were part of a traveling carnival troupe following the winter fair circuit, and were the only patrons sharing the inn with us A scraggly-haired wohost story with a loud belch, and the others roared with laughter

I didn’t realize how tense I was holding nore them,” he said

“It’s nonsense,” I h in this world that’s frightening Only the ignorant would scare themselves on purpose”

Overhead, a floorboard creaked and I sat straighter, watching the ceiling, wondering hoas doing Days had passed, and yet I hadn’t come to terms with the fact that he’d poisoned hiuided attempts to kill theIt hadn’t been until the very end, when Edward and the Beast had nearly melded into one, that he’d been able to force arsenic down his own throat He’d have been dead in hours if Montgos from a chemist shop outside of Liverpool to counterbalance the worst of the poison’s effects It wasn’t a cure, but it was a chance Now, overcoht so the Beast Lucy was up there now, tending to hiuard outside the door