Richard’s people will follow in minutes. Help him up.”
Ivan and Seth helped me from the ground, and my knees buckled. I shouted and gripped Seth’s shirt tight in my good hand. The room spun as my brain pounded against the inside of my skull.
“You can’t seriously think Richard knows when we evaporate,” Samantha said.
“I don’t think,” Trishna replied. “I know. We’ve already run into trouble. Get him to the van. The rest of you, grab your things. We leave now.”
With my good arm draped over Seth’s shoulders, he took a set of keys from Nolan and evaporated to the parking lot. I climbed into one of the seats in the middle of the vehicle with a loud growl. Seconds later, the rest of our team popped in. Kayla, Tabbi, and Seth climbed onto the bench seat in the back, and Samantha joined Nolan in the front. Trishna sat in the captain’s chair next to mine. Seconds later, we took off.
“How did this happen?” Trishna asked, laying a hand on the side of my head that had cracked against the dungeon’s wall.
I yelped when the fracture in my skull healed and my nose repaired. “There was a bounty.” I swallowed as sandpaper ripped my throat. “All of Richard’s followers were looking for me.”
“That makes zero sense,” Nolan said.
“He was testing a theory, and since I got hit with the arrow, I’m the one who got nabbed.”
I squirmed when Trishna touched my broken arm. This was going to hurt—bad. My breathing quickened, but I nodded for her to do what she had to and squeezed my jaw shut. I groaned as she pushed my bone back into place beneath my skin, dark spots flashing in my vision.
“Sorry,” she said.
I smacked the back of my head against the seat as my arm repaired, letting out deep breaths while trying to keep myself alert. Passing out was not an option right now. Finally, my skin closed over the wound, and Trishna removed her hand. I closed my eyes and breathed through my nose, slowing my rapid pulse.
Seconds later, Trishna asked, “What theory?”
My heart stopped as Richard’s words came back to me. “Damn. You shouldn’t have touched me.”
Trishna’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
I rehashed everything that had happened in the short time I’d been Richard’s prisoner—excluding the part about the Nightmares torturing my mind to the point of breaking. Trishna rung her hands and rubbed her forehead, her cheeks pale. The van was so silent; the rumble of the tires on the road sounded as loud as an airplane engine.
“All right. So, there’s a possibility I’ll get sick,” Trishna said. “At least it’ll prepare me for if I come across the disease again.”
I raised an eyebrow. Most people would be freaking out, knowing they might fall under the spell of a demonic poison. I would be. Hell, my stomach squirmed now. If Trishna died, her death would be on me. Her strength was envious.
“Wait,” Tabbi interrupted. “You said Margaret created the poison, yes?” When I nodded, she continued. “We thought the white rider was Conquest, but sometimes it’s also known by another name—Pestilence. Margaret’s the first Horseman.”
“It makes sense,” Nolan said from the driver’s seat. “That was always Richard’s first step. Make sure only the strongest survive.”
Trishna sat back in her seat with a frustrated sigh. “We are in deep shit.”
I stared out the window, fighting the urge to punch my fist through the glass. We needed to kill Richard. Now.
We were far into Delaware before Trishna felt we were safe to stop. After Tabbi’s theory, we’d consulted with Bartholomew—via a Protector-in-training still in Caelum; he
still
refused to be Unified—and he agreed. Richard was manipulating the parts of Revelation that met his needs, and whatever he’d done to convince Margaret to play her part, she’d finally conceded.
Richard now knew her poison worked, so any day, the country—maybe the world, even—was going to turn into
Ivan and Seth helped me from the ground, and my knees buckled. I shouted and gripped Seth’s shirt tight in my good hand. The room spun as my brain pounded against the inside of my skull.
“You can’t seriously think Richard knows when we evaporate,” Samantha said.
“I don’t think,” Trishna replied. “I know. We’ve already run into trouble. Get him to the van. The rest of you, grab your things. We leave now.”
With my good arm draped over Seth’s shoulders, he took a set of keys from Nolan and evaporated to the parking lot. I climbed into one of the seats in the middle of the vehicle with a loud growl. Seconds later, the rest of our team popped in. Kayla, Tabbi, and Seth climbed onto the bench seat in the back, and Samantha joined Nolan in the front. Trishna sat in the captain’s chair next to mine. Seconds later, we took off.
“How did this happen?” Trishna asked, laying a hand on the side of my head that had cracked against the dungeon’s wall.
I yelped when the fracture in my skull healed and my nose repaired. “There was a bounty.” I swallowed as sandpaper ripped my throat. “All of Richard’s followers were looking for me.”
“That makes zero sense,” Nolan said.
“He was testing a theory, and since I got hit with the arrow, I’m the one who got nabbed.”
I squirmed when Trishna touched my broken arm. This was going to hurt—bad. My breathing quickened, but I nodded for her to do what she had to and squeezed my jaw shut. I groaned as she pushed my bone back into place beneath my skin, dark spots flashing in my vision.
“Sorry,” she said.
I smacked the back of my head against the seat as my arm repaired, letting out deep breaths while trying to keep myself alert. Passing out was not an option right now. Finally, my skin closed over the wound, and Trishna removed her hand. I closed my eyes and breathed through my nose, slowing my rapid pulse.
Seconds later, Trishna asked, “What theory?”
My heart stopped as Richard’s words came back to me. “Damn. You shouldn’t have touched me.”
Trishna’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
I rehashed everything that had happened in the short time I’d been Richard’s prisoner—excluding the part about the Nightmares torturing my mind to the point of breaking. Trishna rung her hands and rubbed her forehead, her cheeks pale. The van was so silent; the rumble of the tires on the road sounded as loud as an airplane engine.
“All right. So, there’s a possibility I’ll get sick,” Trishna said. “At least it’ll prepare me for if I come across the disease again.”
I raised an eyebrow. Most people would be freaking out, knowing they might fall under the spell of a demonic poison. I would be. Hell, my stomach squirmed now. If Trishna died, her death would be on me. Her strength was envious.
“Wait,” Tabbi interrupted. “You said Margaret created the poison, yes?” When I nodded, she continued. “We thought the white rider was Conquest, but sometimes it’s also known by another name—Pestilence. Margaret’s the first Horseman.”
“It makes sense,” Nolan said from the driver’s seat. “That was always Richard’s first step. Make sure only the strongest survive.”
Trishna sat back in her seat with a frustrated sigh. “We are in deep shit.”
I stared out the window, fighting the urge to punch my fist through the glass. We needed to kill Richard. Now.
We were far into Delaware before Trishna felt we were safe to stop. After Tabbi’s theory, we’d consulted with Bartholomew—via a Protector-in-training still in Caelum; he
still
refused to be Unified—and he agreed. Richard was manipulating the parts of Revelation that met his needs, and whatever he’d done to convince Margaret to play her part, she’d finally conceded.
Richard now knew her poison worked, so any day, the country—maybe the world, even—was going to turn into
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