After the Walls

Chapter 19

The silence crackles between us like fire in a hearth for several heartbeats. I take another drag of the ale, thankful when its warmth hits my veins and forms a haze over my mind. Shadows creep around us as the candles jump and twirl. Theseus' icy eyes flick between me and Edward as if we are pieces to his sick and twisted puzzle.

"Blending in?" Edward growls, tightening his grip on the pitcher before him. His brows narrow, contorting the scar on his face. "I must assume you are not here alone with that arrogance."

Theseus lets out a velvety chuckle. "Correct. I have friends here. We have a knack for blending into the Convex Sector. What with the river that diverts into streams into the southern forest? We have easy access inside the walls."

"So, do you have a fishtail?" Aston butts in, biting his lip as if he's about to burst out laughing. "And an angelic voice?"

Theseus licks his thin, cracked lips. I press my knife deeper into his clothes. "Fishtail, yes. When I want to have it. Unfortunately, the Gods did not bless me with a singing voice. But that's okay. I can reincarnate, and that's all that matters to me."

"So, why are you ugly?" Ajax blurts out, grimacing at the sight of the man. "Covered in scabs and burnt flesh."

Theseus scowls, eyes flashing with hurt. "I said I am half siren. My reincarnating and healing abilities are not always as fast as full-blooded sirens. My wounds from the fire are still healing. Give it time."

"Where are the rest of you?" Edward asks, waving his hand in dismissal of the vain discussion. "I assume you know."

His lip curls into a sneer as he grabs his pitcher, taking a healthy gulp. "Hidden in the shadows. In plain sight. Right in this bar or in the markets, buying from an unsuspecting fruit vendor." He shoots Aston a dancing smirk. "The point is, we are everywhere, all at once. And there will be more of us soon."

"More?" I glide the blade up to his chest, pressing it into his skin. "When?"

"Oh, Elle," he hisses, chortling. "Wouldn't you just love to know?"

I snap the blade against his throat this time, unbothered by anyone in the bar seeing. "When, Theseus?" The glinting blade draws a droplet of crimson from his welting flesh. "Don't speak in cryptic. Do so once more, and I'll sever your throat."

"I'll only reincarnate, Elle." He blows out a sinister laugh that creeps along my bones like a hundred tiny spiders. His eyes flash. "When the moon disappears from the sky."

"The new moon," I breathe.

Ruben curses, shoving himself out of the booth. He stares out of a dusty, grimy window, craning his neck at the inky night above. "It's a waning gibbous."

"Waning gibbous, last quarter, waning crescent, new moon," Aston says, listing them off with his fingers.

I glare back at Theseus. But he's slipped away. The bar door swings shut and the boys' protests echo after me as I march out onto the street.

"Theseus!" I bark, hastening after his scrawny figure hobbling into the shadows.

"See you soon, Elle," he says, laughing again, low and soft.

I slump back into the booth with the boys, but not before grabbing another pint of ale. The fire in the hearth spits and sighs, sending sooty smoke into the bar.

"So, you guys knew him?" Edward asks, sweeping a suspicious glare around the table.

I roll my eyes. "Yes. He and his sirens kidnapped me. Although, he fed me a lot of lies. Said he wants the shadowteeth blood for the sickness."