“I have the man who killed your father.”
Simon froze in his steps but didn’t look back. Kate’s hand tightened around his and he could sense her gaze boring into him, waiting for him to react. He exchanged a wondering glance with Malcolm. The Scotsman was tense, also eager for Simon’s response.
“No.” The pain of Simon’s wounds flared again. He started to limp toward the door.
“Would you like me to tell you?” Ash asked with a pleasant lilt. “You can have your revenge. That will make everything right, won’t it?”
Kate whispered into Simon’s ear, “Don’t listen to her. Walk away now.”
Simon ushered everyone out into the corridor and started to push the heavy door closed. “You’ll never get out, Ash. You’ll grow old and eventually you will die. As you should.”
“Nick Barker,” came the voice of the necromancer.
A jolt surged through Simon and he felt dizzy for a second. He peered through the narrow space and met Ash’s eyes to find she was staring intently at him. He took a breath and went to shove the door shut.
“Nick Barker murdered your father.”
Simon stopped, leaving a few inches of open space into the cells.
Ash called out, “I know Barker is with your little group. I know you saved him that night at St. Giles. He was King William today, wasn’t he? He used that damned glamour spell of his.”
That was true. Nick had pretended to be the king to lure Ash to the prison, and he had slipped out, they hoped, before she could see through the disguise.
“I don’t believe you,” Simon said, but the claim wasn’t convincing.
“Ask him.” Ash stared into the narrow gap between the door and the jamb. “I ordered another man to do the job, but he failed. A miserable drunk.”
Malcolm turned away. He leaned on the wall with his head bowed.
“When I told Barker to kill Cavendish, he didn’t ask why. He didn’t care. He just did it. Barker smiled in his face and murdered your father.”
Kate tried to pull Simon away from the door and shut it, but he kept it open against her.
“It’s true,” Ash said. “Ask Barker. If you can find him. He knows now that you have me, that I might find out who your father is, and that I might tell you the name of the killer to bargain my way out of prison. Or just because I know.”
Simon stood silently, shaking his head.
Ash attempted to catch Simon’s gaze again. “Archer? Where’s that miraculous key you carry?”
Simon’s hand went to his waistcoat pocket in reflex. He felt the gold chain and ran his fingers down to the end to find it empty. He pulled the chain out and the fob hung alone. Simon knew he’d had it earlier. He knew it. He spun to Kate on the desperate chance that she had the key, as it sometimes changed hands. She shook her head.
Ash’s laughter was melodious. “I don’t know how your key works exactly, but if Barker does, you’ll never see him again.”
Simon closed the door. He felt numb. “I have to go to Gaunt Lane, Kate. That’s the closest portal.”
Kate touched his arm. “Nick is your friend. If he … why would he come back? Why would he stay with you all these years?”
Simon turned to find Malcolm standing in front of him. “You can’t believe Ash, Simon. She’s trying to have her revenge. Don’t go down a path from which you can never return.”
“I must go to Gaunt Lane.” He stepped past them, increasing his stride down the corridor, whispering a rune to life. He vaulted up the steps, ignoring the searing pain in his chest, and sprinted across the crowded courtyard toward their waiting carriage. He didn’t see the bloodstain that was spreading across his white shirt. His pounding steps couldn’t outpace the beating of his heart or drown the sounds of Ash’s laughter.
The house at Gaunt Lane was silent. Simon quietly closed the front door behind him. Nick had never been an unobtrusive man, and in their years together, he could always be heard bustling about. There was nothing.
He stepped past the sitting room on the right and something caught his attention. In the center of the room was a swirling portal. Simon had established a new link here a week ago and now it had been activated. In the quivering oval, he saw the shuttered window in the room in the Palais-Royal.