Chapter 6 · Mercury in the Bone

"Hold him down, or he's going to chew through the block," Silas barked, his voice tight with a manic edge. He didn't look up from the surgical tray, where a series of brass screws and a jagged spinal brace gleamed under the flickering gaslight.

Vesper slammed her palms onto Lucian's shoulders, pinning him to the cold metal table. The force of it pushed her chest flush against his arm, and she felt the sudden, sharp heat radiating from his skin. It wasn't a fever. It was something deeper, something that felt like a low-voltage current humming beneath his flesh.

"Look at me, Lucian," she snapped, her face inches from his. "If you scream, the whole district hears us. You want the Inquisition knocking on the door while your spine is half-unzipped?"

Lucian didn't answer. He couldn't. He clamped his teeth down on the wooden block Silas had shoved into his mouth, the rough grain tasting of old pine and copper. His eyes were wide, blown out, the pupils swallowing the iris. He wasn't looking at Vesper; he was looking through her, into some void only he could see.

"The holy poison is eating the nerves," Silas muttered, stepping closer.