Tessa couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. Her mind had gone numb, jumbling her thoughts and emotions. But one feeling stood out, overwhelming all the others:
Fear.
Of all the things to worry about, it hadn't crossed Tessa's mind to trouble herself with the possibility of coming face to face with a Dark Sister. Hadn't Will taken care of them? Perhaps he'd only hoped so.
Shadows danced around Tessa, mocking her, laughing at her, the Dark Sister's silhouette outlined by the light pouring out beyond the wooden door. For a moment it seemed hostile, as if threatening to close its hinges and keep Tessa locked up with her.
A shiver rippled down her spine and thundered through her heart.
Behind the Sister was another broad outline, but something about it was . . . off. Tessa speculated it was an automaton.
"Troublesome aren't you, Deary?" the Dark Sister murmured derisively, her voice tight with obvious pleasure.
Tessa said nothing.
"I ought to cut your throat this instant. You took things from me! Important things" she hissed, stepping closer to Tessa. "But I will find revenge. And, Deary, this is your first payment for all you've done." The Dark Sister sparked a lantern, walking over to the other side of the small prison, rattling through the grimy robe Tessa saw she wore. Tessa heard a clicking noise and the Dark Sister seemed to lift something up, light abruptly flooding in.
Tessa blinked, trying to readjust her vision.
A barred opening was what the Dark Sister had opened, allowing Tessa to get a a good, clear look of the Dark Sister.
She swallowed. The Dark Sister was even more gruesome than Tessa had remembered. Her hands were gnarled, her black hair knotted, her dark, coal-lighten eyes filled with more hate and anger than Tessa thought someone should be capable of harboring.
She held perfectly still, dreading what was to come.
"Stand up!" the Sister commanded, her awful cracked lips curving into a smile of desire.
The desire to see me suffer, Tessa thought.
She remained on the floor.
Annoyance radiated off the shrouded creature. "Don't think for a moment, Deary that I haven't got leniency at my disposal. I was told not to kill you or cause you any permanent damage. mentally."
Tessa swallowed again. Hurry up, Will, she thought. But did she really want to put the two boys she loved in danger? Could she live with herself if one of them got hurt trying to get her back? No. She could accept her own pain and her own death, but she could not when it came to Will and Jem.
"This is where it gets exciting for me. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your parabotia boys, would you?" she said, another smile lighting up her gruesome face. "Of course not. See, I helped find you. This is my re-compensation for my labor and my loss."
The Sister then shoved her hand in a flap of her robe, retrieving a small dagger that glinted evilly in the light.
"Now, Deary, the rules of this game are simple. I'm going to ask you a question. If I don't like your answer, you'll feel this," she dangled the blade in front of Tessa's eyes, gently swinging it back and forth.
"Alright? Good. Let's begin. My first inquiry. Where is the head of your Institute's husband?"
The question caught Tessa off-guard. Henry? What did she want with Henry? She'd expected many things to come from that ghoulish mouth, but that hadn't been one of them.
"What do you want with him?" she hissed.
The Sister gave her a delighted smile. "Wrong answer."
Tessa heard a swishing noise, and suddenly, blood oozed from a gash along her arm. And it burned.
Tessa cried out.
The Dark Sister laughed. "Poison. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just regular poison. Mortmain didn't want to take any chances." She laughed again. "But that is quite alright. It is a win-win for me either way. Shall we continue?"
Tessa gripped her arm, her vision slanting. "Institute," she gasped. She knew she wasn't giving out any information that the Dark Sister didn't already know. Tessa knew that that question was just a sample of what was to come.
She clapped her hands. "I speculated you'd catch on quick. My, my haven't you certainly changed?" then she cackled again at her own evil pun. "Alright, alright. Does the man you fancy have family? The dark one. William."
Tessa remained neutral. No way would she give up Cecily. Cecily was all Will had left and that was nonnegotiable.
Tessa shook her head. "No."
Silver suddenly flashed-and another searing pain appeared on her shoulder, crimson staining her torn garments. She gasped again.
"Deary, I thought you and I had reached an understanding. This game is not in your favor, I foresee."
Tessa could, too. It was only a matter of time.
"Very well, I will try a different one. We have time. The Angel, your necklace. Where had it come from?"
Tessa shook her head. "My mother."
"Pity. And her name?"
Who knew what kind of information could be rooted to a single name? Tessa pursed her lips and a searing agony shot down her back, blackening the edges of her vision.
"Come now, Deary, she's dead. What honor would you be keeping by falling to my feet all because of a name that is now buried with its master?"
Anger suddenly pounded inside Tessa's chest, but she remained silent.
"Hmm. Stubborn thing aren't you? But I was already aware of that fault."
The blade bit her hard against her cheek and Tessa screamed out, doubting how much longer she could hold on.
The Dark Sister's laughter echoed around the room, bouncing off the stones. "See that automaton, Deary?" She asked, pointing her gnarled finger at the shadow that stood just out of Tessa's view. "Part of my reward includes causing not just you to suffer, but your loved ones as well." Her voice lowered to a vile whisper, making a clump appear in Tessa's throat. "And Mortmain has wired this one to record sound. So I will be sending this to your dear little friend William who will just have a fit. Clever isn't it? So before you lose consciousness, let's make this last one count, shall we?"
Tessa's heart flipped. She couldn't bear to have Will and Jem feel her pain. It would only increase their panic and make them try even harder-if possible-to find her. What if Mortmain captured them? What if he-
"No, please, Will!-"
But then the blade came again, right across Tessa's back and it was deeper than the others had been. Hot agony shot up she screamed until the dark world was lost in even blacker shadows.