“Death, inverted. Death is a normal card for voyants. Usually it appears in the past or present positions. But here, inverted—I’m not sure.” Her eyes flickered beneath their lids. “This far ahead, my sight gets hazy. Things are vague. I know the world will change around you, and you’ll do everything in your power to resist it. Death itself will work in different ways. By delaying the change, you’ll prolong your own suffering.

“The sixth card. Your hopes and fears.” She picked it up, ran her thumb over it. “Eight of Swords.”

The card showed a woman, bound in a circle of upturned swords. She wore a blindfold. Liss’s skin glowed with sweat. “I can see you. You’re afraid.” Her voice trembled. “I can see your face. You can’t move in any direction. You can stay in one place, trapped, or feel the pain of the swords.”

This had to be the most negative spread of cards she’d ever seen. I couldn’t stand to see the last card.

“And the final outcome.” Liss reached for the last card in the spread. “The conclusion of the others.”

I closed my eyes. The æther trembled.

I never saw the card. Three people burst into the shack, startling Liss. The bone-grubbers had found me.

“Well, well, well! Looks like we’ve sniffed out the fugitive. And her abetter.” One of them seized Liss by the wrist, yanking her to her feet. “Card-reading for your guest?”

“I was just—”

“You were just using the æther. Privately.” This voice was female, spiteful. “You only read for your keeper, 1.”

I stood. “I think I’m the one you want.”

All three of them turned to look at me. The girl looked a little older than me, with long, ragged hair and a prominent brow. The two young men looked so similar they could only be brothers.

“True. You are the one we want.” The taller of the boys pushed Liss away. “You going to come quietly, 40?”

“Depends where you want to take me,” I said.

“Magdalen, you bleached mort. It’s past dawn.”

“I’ll walk.”

“We’re escorting you. It’s orders.” The girl gave me a really foul look. “You’ve broken the rules.”

“Are you going to stop me?”

Liss shook her head, but I ignored her. I stared the girl out. Her teeth clenched together.

“Do the honors, 16.”

16 was the shorter of the two men, but he was burly. He reached out and grabbed my wrist. Quick as a flash, I twisted my arm to the right. His fingers and thumb slipped apart. I jabbed my fist into the hollow of his throat, pushing him into his brother.

“I said I’ll walk.”