Black Night
Page 25I stood in the gangway between my house and my neighbor’s and leaned against the outer wall of the building, rough brick against my check, my eyes closed. My stomach churned with anxiety. What had happened to Beezle? Who had taken him, and why? Were they hurting him? Would they ransom him?
I felt the brush of soft linen against my cheeks, and looked up to see Nathaniel standing before me. He tucked his handkerchief back in his pocket as I straightened.
“I wasn’t crying,” I said.
“Of course not,” he replied.
“I’m just worried about Beezle,” I said.
“Naturally,” he said.
There was an awkward silence, and it only highlighted the nearly impossible distance between us. Gabriel would have comforted me, and I would have welcomed his comfort. Nathaniel didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t know if I wanted him to do anything anyway. And thinking these kinds of thoughts only made me feel more alone.
“I have arranged for repairmen to come and fix your back door and your broken window,” Nathaniel said.
The door. I’d mostly forgotten about it. Gabriel and I had pushed it back into the frame as best we could and nailed it shut yesterday morning—was it only yesterday? Why did it seem like ever since I’d discovered I was Azazel’s daughter I had more and more days like this, days that seemed like lifetimes?
“How did you get out the back door when the bomb was in your hand? The door was nailed shut.”
“Ah. But it’s going to be fixed now.”
“Yes. I would not wish to take any chances with your safety.”
He said this in a way that made me look up at him, and I thought maybe there was something like tenderness in his eyes. Maybe he meant it. Maybe he really did want to keep me safe. That didn’t mean he cared about the person I really was as opposed to the person he wanted me to be. And no amount of tenderness would help me find Beezle or Gabriel. But I needed him to cooperate with me, in at least one way.
“Listen, Nathaniel,” I said. “I really do need you to keep this business about Gabriel from Azazel.”
He frowned. “Are you asking me to lie to my lord? Because the penalty for such a thing would be fierce.”
As much I didn’t like Nathaniel, I didn’t want him to be punished. And I was sure that he wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice his beautiful face for my sake. I’d have to play this carefully.
“I think that you would agree that something strange is going on here,” I said.
He said nothing, only nodded so that I would continue.
“But I would not want to alarm my father unnecessarily.”
“Well, in point of fact, I already have incurred bodily injury. And I’m okay, thanks to you.”
“And what of the regular reports that Gabriel makes to Lord Azazel?”
I had thought this one through already, and I was pretty sure that I’d come up with a good solution. “What if you made the reports for a few days?”
Nathaniel’s frown deepened. “You want me to deceive my lord by pretending to be the thrall?”
I decided to overlook his reference to Gabriel’s status just this once. This part was going to be tricky.
“No, I just want you to call in to Azazel every day like Gabriel would. But I want you to edit your reports. Edit,” I repeated, when he looked like he was going to argue. “Not lie. Just fail to mention certain information. And if Azazel is hearing from you, then surely he won’t mind if he doesn’t hear from Gabriel.”
“But in order for me to report to Lord Azazel I would have to have daily knowledge of your activities and whereabouts,” he said.
I nodded. This was the part that I really did not like. “Right, well, you would stay here for a few days.”
He looked speculatively at me. “With you?”
Nathaniel appeared to be thinking it over. I found myself unconsciously holding my breath as I waited for his decision. There was no reason for him to help me, and really no reason for him to potentially put himself on the line for Gabriel. But this was the best solution I could come up with. My hope was that Azazel would be so happy that I wanted Nathaniel to stay nearby that he wouldn’t wonder about Gabriel’s radio silence.
What are the chances of that? I thought to myself, and the voice in my head sounded a lot like Beezle’s. Azazel didn’t strike me as stupid, but I was hoping that I could pull a little sleight of hand. Maybe he wouldn’t notice what I was doing with my left hand because he was watching my right.
“Your plan is not without risk,” Nathaniel said.
I nodded.
“There is a strong possibility that my lord is already aware that the thrall is missing.”
Beezle had mentioned this, too, but as I’d thought about it, I realized that it couldn’t be true. “Wouldn’t he have contacted me, then, to make other arrangements for my safety?”
Nathaniel thought about it for a moment. “Possibly. Or possibly he is waiting to see if you will call him. It is impossible to divine my lord’s intentions.”
Great. “Well, everyone keeps telling me that I am more important than anything else to Azazel, so I am going to assume that he would have gotten me another bodyguard by now. Surely my welfare would rank above any mind games.”