of identifying lust, gluttony, envy, greed, unkindness, selfishness, pride, dishonesty, sloth, faithlessness, and, of course, cowardice, which Thea was fairly certain she already knew enough about.
Over the next week, she met with various volunteers in their offices, taking their tips on how to find the vice cards in people’s decks, and practicing. There were fewer volunteers for this than there had been for virtues, and Thea had to see some of them more than once. Few people were as interested in exposing their sins.
In the meanwhile, her skin continued to take on a purpler and purpler hue, until by the end of her second week at Hexing House, it looked the same as Cora’s. It set off Thea’s blue eyes, and although she wasn’t sure how she felt about the blond hair with it, overall she liked it better than she’d expected to. “Zombie chic,” she told Cora one night. “Maybe we should go out into the real world and start a trend.”
But the other change associated with stage two—blood—was much less fun. Thea didn’t have any more dreams, but she woke up twice more feeling weak and faint. Her whole body ached most of the time, as if she had the flu. It was hard to tell what was just the change to her blood, and what might have a more sinister cause. But her bells never rang, and she never woke feeling a strange presence in her room.
Eventually she was declared ready to test for stage two of the transformation. It went much like her first test had. It was harder, it turned out, for her to see the bad in people than the good, but eventually she met the minimum requirements—barely—for passing.
When it was over, Megaira gave her another vial of what tasted like nothing but felt like poison. And then Alecto cut Thea with her claw, straight across one cheek.
Thea’s blood ran thick and purple. She was most of the way there.
Cora knocked on her door at dinnertime that night, with a picnic basket and a bottle of wine. “I got them to pack it to go,” she said. “I’ve got a little stage two graduation gift that you’ll want to talk about in private.”
“You found something?”
“I found nothing. Which is something.”
“Let’s pour that wine.”
When they were settled on the couch with their plates Cora said, “I got access to all the records from the last six months. There are none of any cases or orders involving your cousin, unless she’s in there under a false name, and that in itself would be a red flag.”
“Why’s that?”
“We’re really careful with our records. HRI makes sure everything is one hundred percent accurate, and they do a thorough investigation of every target and client. They have to make sure everything is on the up and up, see. It would be a nightmare for Human Relations if we went around hexing people who didn’t deserve it.”
“So it’s not possible that there was a case involving Flannery that just didn’t get recorded or filed?”
Cora shook her head. “Extremely unlikely. She still might have been hexed, but if she was, it was black market.”
“Meaning what?”
“Sometimes members of the colony take matters into their own hands, for extra money. Like if a case was turned down by HRI, they’ll take it under the table. That usually means the investigators determined that the target didn’t deserve the hex.”
“Well, Flannery didn’t deserve it. You think maybe that’s what happened, and now Graves is trying to cover it up?”
Cora shrugged. “Could be, but I don’t see why Graves would take that kind of risk. He doesn’t need the money. And it’s a really serious offense. You can lose your wings.”
“What do you mean, lose your wings?”
“I mean they literally cut your wings off. And then you’re sentenced to menial labor for nothing but room and board for the rest of your life.”
“I had a target in my exam, the virtues exam,” said Thea. “Sounded like she was doing menial labor as punishment, but she still had her wings.
Over the next week, she met with various volunteers in their offices, taking their tips on how to find the vice cards in people’s decks, and practicing. There were fewer volunteers for this than there had been for virtues, and Thea had to see some of them more than once. Few people were as interested in exposing their sins.
In the meanwhile, her skin continued to take on a purpler and purpler hue, until by the end of her second week at Hexing House, it looked the same as Cora’s. It set off Thea’s blue eyes, and although she wasn’t sure how she felt about the blond hair with it, overall she liked it better than she’d expected to. “Zombie chic,” she told Cora one night. “Maybe we should go out into the real world and start a trend.”
But the other change associated with stage two—blood—was much less fun. Thea didn’t have any more dreams, but she woke up twice more feeling weak and faint. Her whole body ached most of the time, as if she had the flu. It was hard to tell what was just the change to her blood, and what might have a more sinister cause. But her bells never rang, and she never woke feeling a strange presence in her room.
Eventually she was declared ready to test for stage two of the transformation. It went much like her first test had. It was harder, it turned out, for her to see the bad in people than the good, but eventually she met the minimum requirements—barely—for passing.
When it was over, Megaira gave her another vial of what tasted like nothing but felt like poison. And then Alecto cut Thea with her claw, straight across one cheek.
Thea’s blood ran thick and purple. She was most of the way there.
Cora knocked on her door at dinnertime that night, with a picnic basket and a bottle of wine. “I got them to pack it to go,” she said. “I’ve got a little stage two graduation gift that you’ll want to talk about in private.”
“You found something?”
“I found nothing. Which is something.”
“Let’s pour that wine.”
When they were settled on the couch with their plates Cora said, “I got access to all the records from the last six months. There are none of any cases or orders involving your cousin, unless she’s in there under a false name, and that in itself would be a red flag.”
“Why’s that?”
“We’re really careful with our records. HRI makes sure everything is one hundred percent accurate, and they do a thorough investigation of every target and client. They have to make sure everything is on the up and up, see. It would be a nightmare for Human Relations if we went around hexing people who didn’t deserve it.”
“So it’s not possible that there was a case involving Flannery that just didn’t get recorded or filed?”
Cora shook her head. “Extremely unlikely. She still might have been hexed, but if she was, it was black market.”
“Meaning what?”
“Sometimes members of the colony take matters into their own hands, for extra money. Like if a case was turned down by HRI, they’ll take it under the table. That usually means the investigators determined that the target didn’t deserve the hex.”
“Well, Flannery didn’t deserve it. You think maybe that’s what happened, and now Graves is trying to cover it up?”
Cora shrugged. “Could be, but I don’t see why Graves would take that kind of risk. He doesn’t need the money. And it’s a really serious offense. You can lose your wings.”
“What do you mean, lose your wings?”
“I mean they literally cut your wings off. And then you’re sentenced to menial labor for nothing but room and board for the rest of your life.”
“I had a target in my exam, the virtues exam,” said Thea. “Sounded like she was doing menial labor as punishment, but she still had her wings.
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