A small plastic mask covered my nose and mouth, and by the familiar dusty taste I knew I was being fed a haze of salbutamol to keep my lungs working. A sharp cramping in my stomach and across my thighs served as a hard reminder of Coyle’s invasion. The pain in my head overwhelmed everything else for a moment, and I had to swallow hard to stop myself from throwing up.
‘She seems a little better,’ said a meek, dry voice. As a pair of shaking hands removed the nebuliser mask, I recognised Doctor Parnell’s parchment-white face. ‘The head wound will need stitching, but steri-strips will hold it for now. I’ll come back later, once you’re done with your... meeting, shall I?’
‘I’d prefer it if you stayed,’ said Blaine from somewhere beyond my vision. ‘I’ll need you shortly. If you’d care to join Mr O’Halloran at the table there, I’m sure Henry will be only too happy to make you coffee.’
So I now knew that we had three guests for whatever spectacle was about to unfold. Henry, Coyle and Doctor Parnell took their positions on the margins of the room as Blaine moved to centre stage. There was the sound of a heavy wooden chair being scraped across the slate floor and then she was sitting next to me, groomed and serene. She contemplated me with a chilling combination of pity and regret and tapped an index finger against her lips as she considered her opening line. ‘I’m so disappointed in you, Lilith.’
Even if I had been capable of saying anything, I reckoned the best thing right now was to keep my mouth tightly shut. Blaine had already written the script, and I wasn’t about to do anything that added to the ordeal.
‘The very first thing you need to know is that sometimes, no reply at all is just as telling as the longest, most intimate phonecall. When Mr O’Halloran hadn’t contacted me by one o’clock this morning I assumed that something must have gone a little awry.’
‘I told you, it was food poisonin’. I was shitting through the eye of a needle...’
‘Enough,’ Blaine snapped, and raised a hand. ‘I must admit I couldn’t have guessed the true extent of the damage done, but the unease was sufficient for me to catch an early flight home. Fortunately, Henry was sensible enough to realise the unpleasantness might be minimised if he provided me with some of the details. You really didn’t need too much persuasion at all, did you, Henry?’
I heard Henry give a low moan of utter misery. I tried to cling on to the knowledge that whatever Henry had divulged, Jake must be safe by now, maybe even sound asleep in some cosy, secure room at the refuge. The leaden weight on my chest diminished, but did not completely disappear: Finn and I were completely screwed.
‘Lilith, you need to understand that you cannot, under any circumstances, take something that is mine.’ She finally glanced over at Finn. ‘And certainly not twice in one day.’ She strolled over to him, and placed a hand benevolently on his head. ‘You could have borrowed him at any time, did you know that? All you had to do was ask.’ Her voice was filled with disappointment at my lack of etiquette.
Suddenly she clawed her fingers, grabbing a handful of Finn’s hair so that he gave a smothered grunt through the duct tape. She pulled his head back and bent to address him. ‘And you, my beautiful, misguided boy. What am I to do with you?’ Her fingers tightened further, and I saw the sinew in his neck begin to distort as she twisted her hand. ‘I’ve clearly been a little too indulgent with you of late.’ She released her grip and Finn’s head fell forward. ‘I think it’s time we ended that lenience. I’ve already asked Mr O’Halloran to ensure that you return to a rather more basic regime.’
‘All too happy to oblige,’ Coyle called, and I knew beyond doubt that my actions had landed Finn in hell. For a moment I didn’t care what might happen to me: the thought of him being given to Coyle as a plaything was more than I could bear.
Blaine returned to my side. ‘With some people, I’ve discovered that the only way they will ever learn is through physical reprimand. I can truly say I would never have considered you as one of those people, Lilith.’
The calmness of her voice, combined with the knowledge that she had both the wherewithal and the temperament to do just about anything, threatened to stop my breath again.
‘I want you to know that I gave a great deal of thought to this. I need you to understand that I’m a woman of my word, but I really don’t wish to inflict any lasting damage.’ She stroked her fingers tenderly along my right arm as she spoke, and finally held my fingers in a light, steady grip. ‘It wouldn’t matter about the quality of the canvas, or the paint, if the hand that actually needed to create the image was defective, would it?’ She gave me a comforting smile. ‘I promise, this will be as efficient as I can make it, and it truly gives me no pleasure. Mr O’Halloran? When you’re ready?’