14

VIOLET

A riot breaks out around us – some Imps are trying to reach Baba and Saskia and Matthew, who are screaming on their pyres, but others are fighting back. I grab Katie’s hand and together we scramble up the bank, away from the fighting. I don’t know where we’re going, only that we need to escape the smoke, the screams, the crack of moist wood.

Footsteps beat the ground behind us as we reach the top.

‘Katie, stop,’ I manage to say. ‘We need to stay here. We need to help Nate – however much we want to run.’

We stumble to a halt as Thorn thunders up beside us, several Imps in tow. They surround Katie and me, yanking at our arms with gruff movements. Pain shoots into my shoulder, panic explodes in my chest.

Thorn looks at me and smiles. ‘You must be Violet.’

I blink in astonishment. A thousand questions drown out the terror. How does he know my name? Does he remember me from last time I was here? Is he aware of the loop? Is he one of the Gems with enhanced memories?

He studies my face. ‘Baba told me you were visiting.’

I try and make sense of his words. What has Baba told him? I’m scared of saying the wrong thing, so I offer a stilted nod.

He turns his attention to Katie. His features momentarily freeze up, and then his expression transforms into one of yearning and loss. He’s remembering his murdered lover and his unborn child – Katie’s potential resemblance to the latter brought him up short last time we were here too. It’s impossible not to feel a stab of sympathy, even as his face re-hardens into something cruel and cold.

He spins to face me, any sign of his vulnerability gone. ‘Tell me, Violet, why were you running? Only the guilty run.’

My heart beats wildly beneath my shirt, and he must be able to sense my anxiety, because he smiles like he’s enjoying it.

‘Scared people run too,’ I reply, cursing my words for trembling so. ‘And watching your hostess roast is beyond scary.’

‘She said you were coming to save the Imps?’ A thin note of danger taints his voice.

When I don’t reply, he begins to laugh. The Imps join in, even Katie offers a nervous chuckle. But my face doesn’t even crack a smile.

‘Relax,’ he says. ‘You’d be dead by now if I truly suspected you. I took the opportunity to question Baba when she told me of your imminent arrival. She said you were harmless, that you weren’t in on the betrayal. She said you were here to learn about the London Imp–Gem alliance. And at that point, I think she was beyond lying. Removing body parts has a way of cutting through the bullshit, wouldn’t you say?’

I swallow, clearing my mouth of the rage, the distress, the terror, desperate to keep me and Katie off his kill list. ‘She was telling the truth,’ I say. ‘There’s so much we could learn from your alliance. It’s the flagship of Imp–Gem treaties, after all.’ Silently, I thank Baba for telling him this. It gives us an excuse to be here, to spend time with Nate.

Thorn nods. ‘Well, Ash and Willow can show you around when they return from the Pastures. You’re welcome to look around, but you must stay out of my business.’ He extends his hand towards me.

Every fibre of my being screams at me to stop, and yet I take that hand in my own. It sits in my palm like something hot and unsafe. His fingers curl around mine and almost crush them. I force my face to remain still; I won’t give him the pleasure of seeing me wince.

‘You will stay with me, obviously,’ he says. I open my mouth to object, but he cuts across me. ‘I won’t take no for an answer.’

So I do the only the thing I can. Nod.

I hate this place.

ALICE

Danny lounges on my bedroom floor, his face reflecting the light from his laptop. He kicked off his trainers before he came up and his socks are mismatched and riddled with holes. He’s scrolling through Fanboy’s site with interest. ‘The graphics are dope.’

I sigh. ‘I know, right.’

‘Nothing we can’t handle. If you want, I can help you set up a new site, give it a new look?’

I flush with gratitude. ‘Thank you.’ I’m more than capable of setting up a site, but it’s so nice having someone on my side.

‘No problem.’ He begins tapping away on his laptop. ‘So, what do you want to call it?’

I shrug. ‘Something classy. No puns allowed. It needs to show that we’re fighting back, the Fandom, I mean. We won’t let Fanboy ruin our utopia. We’re rising up, we’re revolting.’

‘Maybe leave out the revolting bit.’

I laugh, an idea forming. ‘The Fandom Rising,’ I say, loving the way it sounds when I say it out loud. ‘The Fandom Rising, like we’re a flock of birds taking off. It’s perfect.’

Danny nods. ‘Yep, that sounds great . . . and the graphic?’

‘Birds, let’s stick with the bird thing. It fits for lots of reasons. It’s not just about the Fandom rising up, it’s the freedom of the Imps, and it ties in with The Gallows Song, which was meant to be the final book, the swansong if you like.’

‘You want swans in the graphics?’

I shake my head, excitement zinging through my body. ‘No, not swans, swallows. They’ve got an amazing silhouette, they’ll look really striking.’

‘Are you a secret birder or something?’

‘Maybe.’ I wiggle my eyebrows then laugh. ‘Nah. Winter 2015, the swallow print was everywhere.’

Danny sits next to me on my bed. He pulls up some images of swallows on his screen and we spend a few minutes picking out our favourites. ‘There’s something I need to ask,’ he says, turning to look me in the eye. ‘Why the sudden interest in Fanboy? Violet and Katie are unconscious, and suddenly you want to track down a mysterious fanfic writer.’

What can I say? I want to tell him the truth. But he’ll never believe me. God, this is how poor Violet must have felt when she was trying to tell me about The Gallows Dance. I open my mouth, ready to just tell him the whole mixed-up story, when I see those gorgeous dark eyes staring back at me. I stop. I don’t want Danny to think I’m mad. I wave my hand in front of my face. ‘He’s messing with the Fandom, that’s all. Violet would hate it, and so would Nate. I mean, he’s actually making Nate bad, can you imagine that? Nate is the best person I know.’ My voice snags on the lump in my throat.

‘I remember Violet’s little brother. He was a cool kid, really good with computers, better than me.’

I can’t hold them back any more. The tears begin to fall down my face and I don’t try to stop them or dab at them. I just let them fall. ‘He’s the best. They’re turning off his life support in a few days.’ I snort back a sob. ‘He’s going to die.’ I bury my face in my hands and weep like a child.

Danny lays a hand on my back and I’m surprised by how light his touch is. ‘Alice, that’s just . . . well, it’s just awful. I’m so sorry.’

I cry for a while, and Danny just leaves his hand on my back, not speaking, not moving. The warmth from his palm gives me comfort. Eventually, when I’m all cried out, I look up at him. He looks really beautiful, nothing like Willow, or any other Gem for that matter, but beautiful all the same. ‘Everyone I love is unconscious in that bastard hospital, and I’m still here. How has that happened? How am I still awake?’

He breathes in long and slow. I’m expecting words of comfort, words which match the lightness of his touch. But I’m learning that Danny has this bluntness which he isn’t afraid to wield, even in the presence of a weeping damsel. ‘A better question would be – why is everyone you love unconscious?’ He studies my face. ‘What are you hiding, scary Alice?’

I choke back another sob. ‘It’s complicated. I’m not even sure I understand, but Fanboy has something to do with my friends being in comas, I know it sounds insane . . . I need to find him and make him stop.’

His brow creases beneath his mess of black curls. ‘OK. Well, if that’s the case, we better find out who he is.’