More silence. A swishing sort of noise filled my ear, and it took me a moment to figure out what it was-fabric rubbing together, like Mab was walking across whatever room she was in.
"What kind of magic do you have?" the Fire elemental hissed.
No answer.
My heart twisted in my chest, and I wondered if Mab was just playing a game with me. Why wasn't Bria answering her? Was she in such bad shape already? Was she-was she dead already? That paralyzing, icy numbness began to fill my body again, one cold inch at a time-
"Ice," Bria finally mumbled, her voice sounding faint and far away, so very far away. "I only have Ice magic. Gene-Gin's the one with both Ice and Stone magic."
Relief punched me in the gut, doubling me over. The others stared at me in alarm, and Finn started toward my side, but I waved him off. I couldn't stop the cold tears of relief from streaming down my face, though. Alive-Bria was still alive. Which meant that I still had a chance, however small, however remote, to save her. As long as Bria was still breathing, Jo-Jo could fix whatever damage had been done to her.
More noises sounded, more voices, and then something crackled. Whatever happened, whatever Bria said or did, Mab didn't like it. The Fire elemental hissed out a scream of rage and frustration that was so loud that even the others in the cabin heard it through the phone.
Despite the situation, I smiled. It always felt good to rattle your nemesis.
"Say that I believe you," Mab said, coming back on the line. "How do I know that this isn't some trick? Over these past few months, I've learned a lot of things about you, Spider, one of which is your rather uncanny ability to trick your opponents, to sense their weaknesses and exploit them to your own advantage."
"It's not a trick, Mab," I replied. "Once again, you were just too stupid to make sure that you were targeting the right sister. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy, letting me keep on breathing all these years."
"I could kill Bria right now for your insolence," she snapped.
"You could, and that would be the end of you-of everything. Because there would be nothing left for me-nothing left for me to do but get my revenge on you."
This time, Mab laughed. "Something that you haven't had any success with so far. You've missed me twice already this week."
"True. But if you kill Bria, then I promise you this-I will destroy you. No matter how long it takes, no matter what it costs me. I won't sleep, I won't eat. I won't do anything but plot your downfall. I will mow down your men like they're weeds. I'll kill so many of them so viciously, so brutally, so horribly that no one will dare to work for you. And sooner or later, I'll get you too. We both know that you can't hide in that big, fancy house of yours forever. I almost got you there this week. You really think that you can keep me out forever?"
Mab didn't respond.
"Face it," I said. "Bria's not the one who's a threat to you-I am. Me. Gin Blanco, Genevieve Snow, the little girl that you tortured all those years ago. And if you kill my sister, I will stop at nothing to end your existence. Nothing. And by now, you should know exactly how good I am. I'm the Spider, bitch-I'm the best there is."
More silence.
In the cabin, the others stared at me, shock filling their faces at my harsh words-and the fact that I meant every single one of them. My hand tightened around the phone. I turned away from my friends and stared out the window into the dark. I needed to be hard right now, as cold, hard, and unfeeling as winter itself. That was the only way that I was going to buy Bria some more time.
"What are you proposing?" Mab finally asked.
"A simple trade. My life for Bria's."
My friends gasped, but I kept my eyes fixed on the blackness. This was the way it had to be-the way it was always going to be.
Trading myself for Bria was a price that I was willing to pay-a price I'd been paying ever since Mab had duct-taped my own spider rune in between my hands and then superheated it with her Fire magic. Everything that had followed afterward-my thinking that Bria was dead, living on the streets, being taken in by Fletcher, training to be an assassin-all of that had just been leading up to this one, inevitable moment. Maybe it was fate, or maybe it was just my own bad luck, but there was nothing I could do to change the past. All I could do now was try to survive long enough to give Bria a new future.
"And how do I know that this isn't some kind of trick?" Mab repeated.
"You don't," I snapped. "But we both know you want to kill me too badly to turn down a free shot at me. And one more thing-I want Bria there in one piece. That means no rape, no torture, no burning her alive with your Fire magic like you did to the rest of our family."
Mab let out a little chuckle. "I'm afraid it's too late for that last one, Genevieve. Your sister's already screamed quite nicely for me."
For a moment I thought I might lose it. That I might start screaming and never, ever stop. Mab had tortured Bria, had burned my baby sister with her elemental Fire magic. The thing that I'd feared the most had already come to pass, but there was nothing I could about it now, no real way I could help Bria, except by trying to spare her more of the same and keep her alive long enough for me to try to rescue her.
"Then you stop the torture right now."
"Or what?" Mab sneered.
"Or I won't show tomorrow, and you'll spend the rest of your miserable life looking over your shoulder-until I kill you. That's what. You really want to take that chance just so you can get a few hours' amusement out of torturing Bria? Besides, we both know you'd have more fun with me anyway. I didn't break and tell you what you wanted to know when I was a kid. Just think of all the long hours you could work on me this go around, the happiness that would bring you. Bria's a small fish, Mab. I'm the catch of the day-the catch of a lifetime. You can either stop torturing Bria and have me, or you can start counting down the days until I kill you. Your choice."
More silence.
Finally, Mab huffed out a sigh of displeasure. "Fine. I won't torture your sister... much more."
It was the best I could do, given the circumstances-no matter how much it hurt. No matter how much my heart was breaking for Bria and what she was suffering right now. "Good. So why don't you tell me when and where, and we can get on with things?"
"Tomorrow. Dusk. As for the place, why don't we go back to the beginning?"
My stomach twisted at her nasty tone. "What do you mean?"
"Let's go back to the very beginning, since you seem to be such a fond student of history," Mab said. "Meet me at your old house, Genevieve Snow. The place where I tried to kill you all those years ago. I'm sure you remember where it is. And don't worry. Because this time I plan on succeeding."