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I dropped a glass behind the bar and it shattered. Cursing quietly, I knelt and picked up a shard. It slipped between my thumb and forefinger, slicing into the skin. Jude stood over me, dropping a cloth to the floor. I pressed it to the cut as I rose to my feet.
“That was the most exciting thing to happen all night,” he grumbled, peeling back the stained cloth and inspecting my wound.
“Seriously,” I snorted, glancing around the near empty bar.
The few tables occupied by Berchten soldiers and a couple Regenian Police were quiet, muttering to themselves and occasionally eyeing the few locals with reserve. The tension was palpable in the smoky air. Apparently news of the Resistance activity in town had already made it around the troops.
Jude grasped my wrist and pushed me ahead of him, “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up. I don’t need you bleeding all over what patrons I have tonight.”
Once in the dimly lit kitchen, Jude motioned me towards the sink. His heavy eyebrows lifted in interest as he glanced through the window into the back alley. He turned the faucet on high and stuck my hand under the freezing water.
“You did good last night, Georgiana. But you can’t get careless. Promise me you’ll keep your wits about you. Especially around these Berchten dogs,” Jude spat in a hushed tone, dabbing the cut till the bleeding stopped.
I winced, “I promise.”
Glancing up into his weary gaze, I glimpsed a flicker of regret. Jude picked up a nearby rag and tied it around my hand, “You need to take care of yourself.”
“Jude, what’s wrong?”
He sighed, bracing a large hand on the porcelain sink, “Last night during interrogation, one of the Berchten scientists admitted there was a third with them who escaped.”
“So? What does that have to do with me-“
“I know dying for your country is a romantic notion but you are a smart girl. You’ve also seen what such sacrifice did to your family,” he met my gaze pointedly. Of course, he was talking about Sid. My pulse picked up, “Our cause is all I have left. That and this hole in the wall. But Georgie, you’ve got a lot going for you. Don’t waste it.”
Swallowing hard, I furrowed my brow, “You are scaring me talking like this.”
Jude smirked and squeezed my shoulder. He jerked his scruffy chin towards a garbage can in the corner, “Bring that around to the alley before you come back to the bar.”
Alone with my thoughts in the cold kitchen, I peeked over at the stove. A phantom memory simmered in the air, Viktor grasping me by the hips and kissing me like his life depended on it. It felt like it had happened months ago and not just the previous evening in that very kitchen.
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to think about the raw screams coming from the interrogation room of the mill. That’s all thanks to you, m’dear. My father’s words hummed in my brain. A fearful revelation dawned on me. Viktor and I were not as different as I had once thought.
With sharp movements, I stomped towards the garbage and hitched it between my elbows. Striding out into the misty night, the frozen ground munched under my boots. I halted hard in the middle of the alley as a large animal trotted up to me.
“Easy, boy,” a voice drifted out of the chilled fog.
The wolf dog stopped at my feet as Hannie Guillory materialized. The edges of her open trench coat fluttered as she strode with her hands in her pockets. She gave a sharp whistle and the animal laid down obediently.
“Georgiana, how are you?” She asked cordially, taking the can from me. Sauntering towards the dumpster, she threw the contents inside, “Your father sends his regards.”
I snorted as I retrieved the empty pail from her outstretched hands, “I’m sure he does.”
Hannie smirked, taking out a flask and throwing back a shot, “I had a rough relationship with my father as well.”
I shook my head when she offered the flask to me, “What is it now?”
Hannie chuckled, “That’s the girl I know. Straight and to the point. I really do like you, Georgiana. You haven’t wasted my time so I won’t waste yours. I have a new assignment, seeing as we are still riding the wave of your success.”
Clapping my arms around my thin grey sweater, I wiped my nose with my sleeve, “Got any more officers you want to pimp me out to for information?”
She paused, “You really did sleep with one of them for that information-“
“No, of course not,” I cut her off savagely.
She grinned, “Good girl. You’re better at this than I thought. It’s about the remaining scientist we weren’t able to catch last night. One of her collegues has admitted that she is the one with the information. She has the papers, the research that the Emperor needs for his bomb. I need you to find out where that woman is being kept.”
“For what?”
“So we can finished what we started last night and get her-“
“No, why do you need her research?”
The Cat arched an eyebrow, “Because Antica and their allies need it. We have to get there first before the Emperor."
My heart thudded into my stomach, “Our side is building a bomb too?”
“Of course."
I wet my lower lip, eyes scanning over her shoulder into the hazy square, “But wouldn’t it be best if the bomb wasn’t created at all? By any of us?”
Hannie stared at me until I met her gaze. She gave a sharp whistle and the wolf jumped to its bearish feet. I stumbled back a step. Hannie advanced, “I don’t know, Georgiana. Would it? Thousands of boys on both sides being slaughtered. If we destroyed just one of their cities, say Tyr, we would end this whole damn thing.”
“What about the innocent people in Tyr?” I breathed, my mind racing back to Viktor’s clockmaker father who had never spilled blood in his life.
“Collateral damage,” Hannie spit through her teeth into the snow, “Besides this is beyond even me. I have no say in it and you certainly do not. You have your hand in the pot now, my girl. It’s too late to turn around.”
I opened my mouth without knowing what I was going to say. Instead, I jolted at the crash of the front door to the bar being thrown open. Hobnailed boots thundered into the Black Gytrash behind me and loud voices ensued. I blinked back at Hannie.
The dark haired beauty shrugged, “That would be the Regenian Police arresting Jude.”
I gaped at her, “You knew?”
“He did as well. He said he would be honored to become a living sacrifice to our cause. Someone has to take the fall for what happened last night.”
“And who will take the fall when I get the rest of the information you need?”
“We’ll just have to see if you are successful first. Don’t let me down, I’m counting on you. And button up that sweater, it’s cold out." She clicked her tongue.
The Cat and her wolf disappeared into the winter mist.
Swearing under my breath, I raced into the tavern. Jude was being wrestled out from behind the bar. A group of ten men in uniform stood with their weapons at the ready.
He didn’t look at me, but a self-important grin played at his lips. Adrenaline pumping, I pushed forward, not even thinking about what I was going to do. Jude was a good man, he didn’t need to die.
“Stay back, Georgiana-“ an arm cut off my path.
I peered over into Viktor’s stony face. The other men in the room had paused. A superior Regenian officer with an impressive mustache glanced back at us in leering interest, even Judge shot me a quizzical look.
I lowered my face and eased back a step as Jude was pulled out the doorway into the fog. The soldiers followed. Viktor slowly made his way across the room.
“What are his charges?” I demanded to his back.
Viktor shuddered to a stop and whipped around.
“Do you think I would tell you?” He growled, glaring past my shoulder at the bar.
The blood drained from my face, “Viktor, you don’t-“
“Go home, Miss Roux, and stay there. You’ve done enough already,” he left the door swinging open as he followed his men.
Silently, I agreed with him. I had done enough. But according to the Cat, it wasn’t over for me yet.
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