Chapter 33: 'Sticks and Stones' — Summary and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Chapter 33 opens with Reid sprinting north through the wilderness, his mind racing as fast as his feet. He recalls a past mission from shortly after taking his vows, when his then-captain, Blanchart, had ordered his contingent to investigate rumors of melusines in the area. The mission had been a failure—they never even found the beach—but now Reid realizes the rumors may have been true after all.
As he runs, Reid becomes aware of a painful absence: his Balisarda is gone. The empty sheath above his heart triggers a flood of fragmented memories—leering faces, bloodstained snow, searing pain, painted wagons, bitter honey. He remembers that a tree ate his Balisarda, and he recalls traveling briefly with the Troupe de Fortune, throwing knives in their company. He also remembers the scarred witch who came to them as a healer, and the disgraced Bastien St. Pierre. But he cannot remember the freckled witch who claimed to be his wife—the one who looked at him as if someone had died.
Reid's rage builds as he thinks about Lou and her absurd claim of marriage. He sneers her name aloud, then his thoughts turn to Célie, whom he left alone with the witches. He reassures himself that the crown prince was there too, but he cannot shake his fear for her safety.
He arrives at a small hamlet—a single street with a parish and an inn, built to serve sailors passing between port cities. He pounds on the parish door, demanding to speak with the priest and recruit able-bodied men to fight the witches nearby. A tall, spotted boy named Calot answers, but instead of helping, he tries to slam the door in Reid's face. Calot tells him Father Angelart is in Cesarine attending a conclave, and then he refuses Reid entry, calling him a murderer and a witch.
Confused and furious, Reid presses the boy for answers. Calot points to a wanted poster tacked to the message post. Reid sees his own face staring back at him: REID DIGGORY, WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE, under suspicion of murder, conspiracy, and witchcraft. The sickening realization hits him—he remembers killing the Archbishop, remembers the blood on his hands, remembers that the Archbishop had betrayed him and the Church by consorting with a witch.
A brawny sailor and his companions approach, and the situation quickly turns violent. The men recognize Reid from the posters and accuse him of traveling with witches, even calling him Mort Rouge and Sommeil Éternel. They claim he killed the Archbishop and set the capital aflame. Reid tries to defend himself, insisting he would never marry a witch, but the mob attacks him. He fights back desperately, but there are too many of them. He takes a brutal beating—broken ribs, a concussion, a shattered nose—and collapses to his knees, spitting blood.
Just as the mob closes in for the kill, a familiar voice cuts through the chaos. Jean Luc arrives, and in a clever performance, he pretends to subdue Reid, declaring that the creature belongs to the Church and will burn on a stake in Cesarine. He mimes injecting Reid with a syringe and whispers,