A Hollow in the Hills Read Free Page B

As Jinx approached, she looked up, aware that the murmuring fell silent, that they were all staring at his dishevelled form, at the cuts and bruises, at the evidence of his fight. Then they saw the Magpies behind him, which just made it worse. He could almost sense them thinking out loud.
    He can’t be trusted. He’s still Holly’s. She’s marked and bound him. Just look at him.
    Silver’s eyes fell on him and narrowed. ‘Where have you been?’ she asked quietly.
    ‘Um …’ What could he tell her? She already knew anyway.
    ‘I hope it was worth it.’
    He thought of the money in the pocket of his jeans. ‘Yeah. Kind of. The Magpies request that I go with them on your behalf. They say Amadán wants to talk to me.’ He stepped closer, close enough to hear her breathe, and continued in a whisper. ‘Or he’ll go and talk to Izzy.’
    Silver winced, though only he would have seen it. ‘Are you okay with this?’
    ‘What choice do I have? You made me your emissary. I’ve got to do your running around, don’t I?’
    Just as she used to do it for Holly. The echoes of their former matriarch still surrounded them. They’d never shake them off.
    But Holly had been defeated. Silver had shattered her touchstone and driven her out. They really didn’t need to worry about her anymore, did they?
    She frowned, but then nodded. ‘Very well then. Come back right away. Don’t let him get you to agree to anything until you check with me first. Understand?’
    Jinx glared at her. Check with her? ‘Emissary’ must mean different things to them. She didn’t have to treat him like some kind of child. But Silver could do that without even thinking about it. She probably still saw the little feral boy she’d collected from Brí’s hollow a lifetime ago. And now, thoughshe didn’t have to check her every action with Holly, she just treated him like she always had. It grated against his senses, but he didn’t know what to say. What she told him wasn’t wrong, that was the problem. But he already knew it.
    Instead of arguing, he quelled rebellious thoughts and nodded to her. ‘Yes, Matriarch.’
    Silver narrowed her eyes. ‘ Don’t do that.’
    ‘You’re going to have to accept it sooner or later. You’re the matriarch here now.’
    And without a matriarch, the Market was spiralling into chaos. He knew it better than anyone. Thinking of the money he’d just won blatantly disregarding her instructions, Jinx’s stomach tightened unexpectedly. The Market out of control was becoming a dangerous place. And Silver did nothing to rein it in. Not yet. He wasn’t sure she would. And then what?
    ‘So,’ he turned to the Magpies. ‘Where are we going?’
    ‘Underground,’ said Pie with a smirk. ‘We’re going underground.’

Chapter Three
Music and Memory
    D ylan woke with a cry on his lips, though he hadn’t been aware that he’d been dreaming. He struggled out of the tangle of sheets and tried to force himself to breathe evenly. His pounding heart made his chest ache, but he couldn’t remember a nightmare. He couldn’t remember anything at all. Only falling into bed the night before, exhausted and longing for the oblivion of sleep. The moment his head hit the pillow, everything was blank.
    Except for the music. Oh yes, he could remember the music. So clear it drowned out everything else. Every single thing.
    But something had happened. He knew that. Paper littered the floor, notes scrawled on lines, pages and pages of sheet music. The recording equipment was all on, the computer showing .wav files from the middle of the night.
    Again.
    Dylan shook his head and gathered the papers up into a pile, putting them together as he did so, scanning the music with a practised eye.
    It was beautiful. It always was. So very beautiful, this music that came from somewhere else, somewhere far beyond him. But it came through him, igniting the magic that welled up inside him. He couldn’t help himself.
    It just scared the hell