Chapter 21 · Untitled Chapter

"Don't." Edith's voice catches me before I clear the doorway. "Qin, don't come any closer."

I stop with one hand on the frame. She's chained inside a six-foot cage, her wrists locked to iron bolts in the floor. The skin beneath the cuffs is black and wet, crawling up her arms like rot.

Amy bumps into my back. Luke raises his rifle. Across the room, a black leather ledger waits on a desk, its burned edges twitching as if something beneath the cover is breathing.

"You came," Edith says.

"Yeah."

"That was stupid."

"You always say that when you're relieved."

Her mouth tightens. For one second, she looks like the Edith I knew in the saloon—sharp-eyed, dressed in control. Then she coughs and spits something dark between the bars.

"Who did this?" I ask.

"The man you killed yesterday. Or his friends. Pick whichever answer helps you sleep."

"Nobody's sleeping until we know who's coming back."

"Nobody's coming back." She jerks her chin toward the desk. "Not until someone opens that."

Luke keeps the rifle trained on her. "What is it?"

"A ledger."

"That's not what I asked."

Edith looks at him. "Names. Debts. Promises.