“You’ll return here once per week,” Crane instructed me as we walked to the entrance of her cell block. “If I deem your performance has fallen, you will stay until it has improved. Set aside three hours of the day for your usual training regimen. And do not bring shame on my name.”

  “Yes Master,” I said flatly. “Thank you again for your training.” It had been hell, but I’d come out of it intact...physically.

  “Don’t think that you may talk as you will,” she warned me. “Restrict yourself as much as you can. Silence is as much your weapon as your body.”

  “Yes Master,” I replied.

  “Go,” she said, and I did.

  The walk back to Cell Block E felt lonelier than the walk to H had. I’d spent every single day in Crane’s company, or the company of her acolytes, for my entire training. Not a second went by I wasn’t under someone’s attention. It was smothering, but away from it things felt strangely lonely. There was no small part of me that wanted to turn around and make Block H my home but…

  No, I wanted to be back in my own place, doing my own thing. I wanted to see Paroxysm, watch mind-numbing TV. I didn’t want to go back to having hallucinations, which had been blessedly silent during my training, but I was hopeful I could keep myself busy enough to ignore them if they came back.

  It annoyed me that Crane wanted me to limit how much I talked. Not that it was much of an issue, I didn’t feel like it often, but still. Maybe I could work around it somehow, find a way to communicate silently. Mute people had a way, talking with their hands. Maybe I could learn that? How the hell was I supposed to do that down here?

  I slowed as I passed by the elevator, where I’d entered the Birdcage...a month, two months ago? Time was difficult to tell down here at the best of times, and I’d already lost my place in it. It was empty right now, no deliveries of supplies scheduled, no new arrivals coming. I stepped inside and looked around, spotting a glisten where a camera glared down at me.

  Dragon was watching, she was always watching. She’d probably had her eye on me, watching me train, worrying that I’d be a threat in the future. I would be, but not to her. She was vital to fighting against the Slaughterhouse Nine, to say nothing of Scion. An odd idea came to mind, and I cleared my throat, cheeks colouring self-consciously.

  “Dragon,” I spoke aloud, to nobody. “I know I don’t really deserve anything, but maybe you could send down a book on hand speaking? I’ll let you know if I remember anything else about Jack and everything.” Anything useful, at least.

  I stared at the camera for a minute, but no response came. I wasn’t really expecting one, the warden wouldn’t deign to speak to inmates, but there was the faint glimmer of hope she would because I’d been on her side before. Ancient history, I guess. I shook my head and turned around, heading back into the hallway and straight to Cell Block E.

  This time, my entrance drew more attention. People were just emerging from their cells and hadn’t started to spread out yet, and many eyes turned towards me. More than a few were glaring, and I could practically feel the hostile intent radiating. Well, fine, I had just learned how to deal with issues like that…

  “Terrier,” Lustrum called, and I looked up to see her on the balcony, wearing a stormy look. “We need to talk.”

  I just nodded and headed towards the stairs, fists tight, ready for anyone that wanted to pick a fight with me. Even though I got a few nasty looks, nobody stopped me as I went to meet with Lustrum. I caught Paroxysm’s eye and offered a smile, but she just looked away. That hurt a lot more than the glares. I went up the staircase and joined Lustrum in her cell, chest tight. This wouldn’t be like going to Crane’s cell…

  “So, you took Crane up,” Lustrum said, voice cold.

  “I did,” I said with a nod. No point hiding it, and I wasn’t exactly ashamed.

  “Why?”

  The question confused me, and I considered it for a moment.

  “I need to be stronger,” I said with a sigh. “That’s all.” I wasn’t sure it was a good idea, telling her about the apocalypse.

  “There are half a dozen women here who could train you,” Lustrum said sharply. “Why her? You know what she’s like now.”

  “Yeah, I do,” I said flatly. “But it’s far from the worst thing I’ve gone through. Probably in the top four, but not the worst. But she...her style is perfect for me, I can’t deny it. It takes advantage of my abilities and body in a way nothing else I’ve tried has. I need that.” She studied me quietly for a minute.

  “Are you working for her now?” Lustrum asked. “Or planning to up and move?”

  “No and no,” I replied. “I’ll be visiting for training once a week, but there were no other strings attached. No split loyalties, no favours you need to worry about.” Well, maybe one, but Lustrum probably wasn’t on Cauldron’s hit list.

  “Well, fine,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re a damned fool, but there are plenty of them down here. Don’t cause any trouble just because you want to throw your new weight around, I won’t tolerate that.”

  “Alright,” I agreed easily. “Anything else?”

  “No, scram.”

  I turned and left immediately, used to being dismissed like that. I headed back to my cell, looking forward to laying down and sleeping the day away. Was it lazy and undisciplined? Absolutely. Was Crane around to get me up and run me ragged for doing so? Absolutely not. I checked under my mattress and frowned, finding nothing. Someone must had taken my book, dammit.

  I flopped down on my bed and pulled off my socks, tossing them to the floor before wrapping myself in my blankets. It was fine, I didn’t exactly have energy to read anyway. Instead I shut my eyes and tried to get comfortable. The mattress wasn’t as soft as Crane’s, and it wasn’t nearly as warm either. Still, it wasn’t long before I found myself slipping off to sleep.

  “You’re back.” Parxoysm’s voice, right in my ear, made me start violently. I whirled, twisting myself up in the blanket as I heard her giggle. I spotted her standing over me, a teasing smile on her face.

  “I was sleeping,” I muttered hoarsely, extricating myself from my blanket cocoon. “What’s up?”

  “I wanted to talk,” she said quietly. I slowly realized the lights had dimmed to night-time, I’d been asleep most the day. She sat on my bed as I sat up, back against the wall, eyes studying her. “You’re looking at me different from before. Scary.”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, quickly looking away.

  “Used to be like a lost puppy, now you’re like a wounded wolf,” Paroxysm explained. “Like a lot of the killers around here. Crane messed you up.”

  “It was just training,” I retorted. “Besides, you’re dangerous aren’t you? Why wouldn’t I be on my guard?” She frowned, looking genuinely hurt.

  “Well, if that’s how you feel, I suppose the rest of this conversation doesn’t matter,” she said, tone dropping a few degrees.

  “Wait,” I said, darting forward and grabbing her wrist as she stood. “I...sorry, okay? I missed you.” She paused, then sat back down.

  “I missed you too,” she said a moment later. “You were gone a long time.”

  “Just a month, right?” I said, cocking my head.

  “Three,” she replied, shaking hers.

  “Ah...shit.” Had I really been in that deep? “I didn’t realize I...I didn’t know.” No wonder I’d been given the third-degree by Lustrum.

  “Are you really okay?” Paroxysm asked, squeezing my hand tightly. “I know it’s hard to keep track of time down here, but losing two months?”

  “I am,” I reassured her, running a thumb over the back of her hand. “Really. It was bad, but I came out of it fine. And I’m a whole lot stronger now.”

  “Well, I hope it was worth it,” she sighed. “I’ve...heard things about Crane.”

  “They’re probably true,” I said, shrugging.

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it, I walked in knowing full well what was coming.” Well, not entirely, but mostly. I hadn’t expected how nice the massages would be though… “But look, I’ve got all the fingers and toes I went in with, and I’m probably a little smarter even. So really, forget it. I’m back, and I’m not going anywhere.” Not for another year at least.

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  “Well, fine,” Paroxysm said with a note of finality. “Good even.”

  “So...you wanted to talk?” I prompted her after a moment of silence.

  “Yeah I…” She chewed her lip for a moment, then sighed. “Screw it, you want to be a thing?” I blinked, taken aback.

  “You mean like…” I swallowed. “Like you want to date?” She scoffed.

  “Sure, if you wanna call it that in here,” Paroxysm said sarcastically. “I liked hanging out with you, when you were around; and there aren’t a lot of girls my age down here to fuck.” My cheeks coloured and she giggled, running her fingers through my hair. It had grown, covering the tops of my ears now. How had I missed that? “So, how about it Lia?”

  “Let me sleep on it,” I said quietly, then glanced up with a small smile. “Maybe...together?” She grinned.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “You sure hon?” Razor said with a frown, a hand on her hip. “Right down to the scalp?”

  “Yup,” I said. “Too long.”

  “Alright,” she sighed. “And here I thought you got in here for killing skinheads.”

  “Funny,” I said dryly. “Power doesn’t protect it, so it’s a problem, has to go. Just functional.”

  “I know Terrier, just ribbing you,” she said, getting to work.

  Razor was an interesting woman, a cape who was able to transform her fingers into bladed weapons. It was a hell of an ability, one that practically explained for itself why she was down here. Normally she lived in Black Kaze’s cell block, the Japanese woman who’d apparently killed twenty-thousand or more, but she hired her services out to the other inmates. After all, a sharpened toothbrush may be good enough to stab someone’s kidney, but it wasn’t exactly made for a shave.

  Paroxysm sat across from me, smiling as her foot bounced against the ground. I smiled back, giving her a little wave. It was...really nice, having her. She wasn’t mine per se, she made her living sleeping around with anyone that paid, but everyone had to find a way to survive down here. She wasn’t cut out for fighting like me, so it only made sense.

  But our relationship was different. Paroxysm didn’t spend much time with her clients, but when neither of us were working we’d been inseparable; and of course I was never charged for my time. The last week had been the best in recent memory, a strange thing considering I’d lived it out in the worst prison on the planet. Still, I wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

  “Right, you’re all done,” Razor said, patting my newly shaved head. There was hardly a hint of hair, just stubble. “That wasn’t too fun, so it’ll be three cigarettes for you.” I shrugged and pulled the payment from my pocket and handed it over, getting a bored frown. “You know, if you ever want a real haircut, I’d give it to you free; it’s a beautiful colour.”

  “Mhmm,” I said, rising and rolling my shoulders, shaking my projection to dislodge the hair that had fallen on me. “Paroxysm?”

  “I’m good,” she said, running her fingers through her curly hair. “I look better like this.”

  “Next time maybe,” Razor said, smiling. “Half-price if you let me be creative.”

  “Not sure I’d like your idea of ‘creative’,” Paroxysm said dryly.

  “Oh please, it’s nothing your clients wouldn’t like,” she said, making a crude gesture. “Nothing they couldn’t use as handles neither.”

  “Razor, mind your manners,” I said coldly.

  “Right, right, she’s yours,” Razor said, raising her hands. “Whatever, scat, I’ve got a business to run.”

  I took Paroxysm’s hand and headed out of the cell Razor was occupying for her work. There was nothing else to do today, no jobs, no threats, I’d even already done my workout. Admittedly I was pretty sore, with one of my days back with Crane being just yesterday, so maybe that was just what I needed; a day where I had nothing to do and no one to answer to.

  “Supply drop today,” Paroxysm said, dashing my hopes of that. “It’s coming down in H, so I guess you’ll be seeing your old master.”

  “Guess so,” I sighed. “Not sure I should even show up, what would I get out of it?”

  “First dibs on books for being the teacher’s pet,” she replied with a grin.

  “Please, she didn’t like me that much,” I said dryly. “It’ll probably just be boring stuff anyway.” Although, I had made a specific request. Whether Dragon heard it or not was an unanswered question, but if there was a chance… “But who knows, maybe I’ll check it out.”

  “Want me to come with?” Paroxysm asked. “I’m not working today either, so I’ve got some time.”

  “If you want to,” I said with a shrug. “But maybe not, since Crane might uh...she might take exception to that.”

  “Oh?”

  “Well, just, I don’t know.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “It’s just a gut feeling, but I think she’d go harder on me when I go back for training. And when Crane goes hard...it sucks.”

  “Ah, well, I don’t want to be a problem,” Paroxysm said flatly.

  “You’re not the problem,” I said quickly, squeezing her hand. “It’s just...how things are.”

  “Mm.” She let go of my hand. “Well, fine, but you’d better find a way to make it up to me.”

  “High maintenance huh?” I said sarcastically, stretching up and giving her a peck on the cheek. “Sure, I’ll figure something out okay?”

  “Sounds good,” she said, kissing the top of my head. “Mm, spiky.”

  “Well I am a little hedgehog of a girl.”

  She giggled and pushed my shoulder, then turned and headed towards her cell. I watched her go, then sighed and headed upstairs to see Lustrum. Obviously I wouldn’t just be allowed to go to the supply drop, I wasn’t some lieutenant after all. But hopefully I could persuade her to let me go. My connection with Crane might even come in handy, a bargaining chip if I was seen by Lustrum’s side. I paused outside her cell and rapped my knuckles on the bars.

  “Yeah?” Lustrum’s head turned and she narrowed her eyes when she saw me. She rose from her seat at her small desk and strode over to the door. “What do you want, Terrier?”

  “I want to come to the supply drop meeting,” I replied, wasting no time.

  “Oh do you?” she said, crossing her arms.

  “I’m...hoping to find a book,” I said, lowering my gaze. “I won’t cause any trouble, I won’t even say a word.” I could feel her gaze weighing on me as she considered it.

  “You’ll pay for it yourself,” Lustrum said at last. “And I expect you to ignore any orders Crane gives you. You’re not hers to command.”

  “Deal,” I said with a nod. That was easy enough. “So...when do we head out?”

  “So what are you coming along for?” Titania asked as we headed down the hall towards Cell Block H.

  “A book,” I replied.

  “That’s it?” She looked at the back of Lustrum’s head, then back to me. “What’s it, like a good porno or something?” I snorted and shook my head.

  “I won’t deny being a little curious myself,” Lustrum said. “What are you after?” I chewed my lip for a moment, then sighed.

  “A book on how to speak with my hands,” I admitted.

  “Wait, you want to learn sign language?” Lustrum asked, turning her head to glance at me. I blushed and nodded slowly. “What for? You can hear just fine.”

  “Just to speak without making noise,” I said.

  “You’re a weird kid,” Titania said, elbowing me with no effect.

  “Canary might know some, if you don’t find your book,” Lustrum said, ignoring her lieutenant. “She’s an interesting girl.”

  “Huh, I’ll keep that in mind.”

  The conversation died away as we approached Crane’s cell block. I was glad they weren’t being weird about the item I was after, or why I expected it to be there. Dragon probably didn’t send down a lot of educational material, this wasn’t a place for self-improvement. Still, there was a glimmer of hope in my heart, even if it was fleeting; and if things didn’t work out, I could try Canary, though I had my doubts she’d want anything to do with me.

  Dammit, Crane should have taught me something like that. Then again, she may have meant for me to not communicate at all. Well I certainly wasn’t going to tell her my plan and get slapped down for it. There were conditions attached to my training, and I was determined to work around them if I could.

  “Ah, hello Amelia,” Crane greeted me as we entered her cell block. Titania gave me a look but I ignored it. “I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

  “She’s with me, Crane,” Lustrum said coldly, putting herself between my master and I. “Leave it.”

  “Oh settle down Lustrum,” Crane said, rolling her eyes. “I was merely greeting my student.”

  “Let’s stick to business,” she said, jerking her chin to the gathering of villains not far away.

  “Very well,” Crane replied, turning around. “Come along.”

  We headed over to the other villains, gathered around piles of organize items. Books, clothes, cigarettes, food, everything we could really ask for. Marquis offered me a smile and a nod as we joined the group. He was with Lung, a guy I only recognized from news footage of him rampaging around the city. Man, Brockton Bay had its share of problems long before I’d got involved.

  There were other villains too, most I didn’t recognize. I knew Black Kaze by reputation, though she was shorter than I expected; but that didn’t stop her from radiating a palpable, violent energy. Next to her though was someone far more terrifying. Glaistig Uaine, the Fairy Queen. I had no clue how to pronounce her name, and wouldn’t dare try for fear of her tearing out my soul.

  I realized, with a start, she was staring right at me. I averted my eyes, but could feel hers boring into me. Why? I was a nobody down here. Even after my training with Crane, I was just another killer in a place chock full of them. Titania seemed to notice my discomfort, putting her massive hand on my shoulder and squeezing hard enough to break most peoples bones. I took a deep breath and patted her hand, happy for the reassurance.

  “A new face,” Marquis commented. “At least at these meetings. How are you doing, Amelia?”

  “She’s here looking for a book, that’s all,” Lustrum said, not letting me respond. I was a little grateful for that. “Let’s not waste anymore time. Crane, you’ve split this already?”

  “The basics, yes,” Crane said with a nod. “The rest is up for auction, of course. We have a number of new books, none of them particularly enticing to me, but they remain mine for now. Take a moment, you may browse.”

  A couple of the lieutenants stepped forward to take a look. Lustrum gave me a nod, and I joined in, quickly looking over the spines of the books for a title that would give me a hint of what I was looking for. The Fairy Queen stepped in as well, and I shied away from her. I was picking through the last pile of books when suddenly she was upon me, silent and swift. She snatched a book from the pile I’d been looking through and studied it quietly.

  “This is what you were after?” Her voice was soft and multitudinous, like a choir whispering right in my ear. I rose and took a step back, hair on the back of my neck rising.

  “Don’t know,” I said curtly. “Title?”

  “‘Speaking Without A Voice: A Guide to American Sign Language.’” Her eyes bored into me as my cheeks coloured. “Crane the Magnificent, I believe I would like this tome. It interests me.”

  “Hey—”

  “Don’t toy with the girl, Fairy Queen,” Lustrum said. “What use do you have for that?”

  “As I said, it interests me,” Glaistig Uaine replied flatly, not taking her eyes off me. “But I would be willing to allow you to have it on a condition.” I swallowed, feeling sweat prick my back.

  “And what would that be?” I ventured, hackles raised.

  “Join me for tea,” she said simply, holding out the book tantalizingly close. “If you agree to that, you may have the item you desire.” I narrowed my eyes. That was too easy, it had to be a trap. “Of course you would be guaranteed sanctuary, so long as you cause no trouble in my domain.”

  “Well...okay,” I said after a moment of thought. It would be dangerous yes, but I had a feeling she was a woman of her word. “I agree then, so can I have it?” She extended the book towards me, and I grabbed it. She didn’t let go.

  “Why do you cast such a long shadow, little pawn?” she asked, voice almost too low for me to hear. I snatched the book away and took several steps back, heart hammering in my chest. She stared after me, eyes sparkling with curiosity. “I look forward to our tea, Amaranth.”

  “Yeah,” I said with a sharp nod, returning to Lustrum’s side. She held out her hand and I gave her the smokes I’d promised, then tried to make myself as invisible as I could until we headed home.

  It didn’t help, because I felt the Fairy Queen’s eyes on me the whole way back to my cell.