Chapter 8 · Ash Ledger - Chapter 8: Under the Old Well

"She signaled them." Bram stood in the doorway, holding a scrap of cloth. "Found this on the north tower. Mirror code. Fresh."

I didn't move. Mara sat against the wall behind me, wrists still bound, watching us both.

"So?"

"So she's still working for them." Bram stepped in and shut the door. "And you're keeping her in your quarters like a damn pet."

"She's intelligence."

"She's bait." He tossed the cloth on the floor between us. "They sent a reply an hour ago. Same code. 'Bring the ledger-bearer to the old well, or her family dies.'"

Mara's breath caught. I heard it.

"Old well," I said. "Which one?"

"The deep one. Under the quartermaster's hall." Bram's jaw worked. "The one we sealed off when the foundation started shifting. Three years back."

"They know about the vault."

"They know more than that." He glanced at Mara. "They know you've got the ledger. They know you're keeping her. And they know exactly where to meet."

I turned. Mara's eyes were red-rimmed, but her voice came out steady. "My sister's alive."

"Or they're lying to get you down there," Bram said.

"They're not lying." She shifted forward, wrists still tied.