Starling (94 page)

her to get the book if Belladonna and Piero caught her. They would
drain her of her blood and kill her immediately.
Frantic, she rattled each of the cabinets’ handles. Locked. Locked.
Locked. Success. She yanked the last cabinet open, flipping through
the instruments in search of something sharp.
Behind her, the sound of cracking glass. She turned eagerly to see.
Just a couple more hits and Falco would break the window. Unfortunately, the door to the corridor was also beginning to give way. Wood
splintered, and Cass could see Piero’s curtain of dark hair beyond
the threshold, a heavy club clutched in his grip.
Cass picked up another of the ceramic jars. It was labeled with a
chemical symbol she didn’t recognize. With a running start, she flung
it toward Piero’s face. Perhaps whatever chemical it contained would
burn his skin or blind him. She didn’t care, as long as it kept him
away from her until Falco could break through to the outside. The
jar slammed against the fractured wood, droplets of its contents flying out into the corridor, the rest making a puddle on the wooden
table.
The battering of the door stopped for a moment. “Hurry,” Cass
shouted at Falco.
“I’m trying.” He had shattered the glass and was up on the windowsill trying to bust through the wooden boards that were nailed
over the windows. The ceramic jar lay broken below him. He was
pounding wildly with both hands, using his bare fists.
A heavy fragment of wood came off the door, flying inward and
nearly striking Cass in the chest. She grabbed the next ceramic jar
without even looking at the label and flung it at Piero. He swore, but
slammed the door again with his club. The air smelled like a mixture
of soot and silver polish. Another jar. More caustic liquid flying
through the air.
And then, a bright orange fire sprang up on the wooden table.
Cass staggered backward in shock. It must have been the mix of
chemicals. She didn’t even know it was possible to make fire without
tinder.
“Falco!” she screamed.
“Almost there.” His fist slammed against the wood again. He
hadn’t even noticed the fire yet.
“Hurry.” Smoke twisted upward from the flames. Falco sniffed
and then glanced over his shoulder. His eyes widened. He reared
back and punched the board with all his strength, and it cracked
slightly.
By now, flames devoured one side of the wooden table and the
remainder of the door had started to smolder. Beyond the crackling
fire, Cass heard angry voices in the corridor. But Piero was relentless. His club connected again with the burning door. With a vicious
crack, the door split in two and Piero crawled into the room. He beat
violently at the fire with his hat, but succeeded only in fanning the
flames.
Cass ran to Falco’s side. The smoke was beginning to spread. Her
eyes watered. The room blurred. She could barely see Falco’s hands,
both covered in blood, his knuckles broken from slamming his fists
into the wood.
Piero came toward them, his face blackened with soot, his eyes
wild.
“Leave her,” Belladonna yelled from the hallway. “We can find
another girl. Save the book.”