by Ciara Graves
“We need to go back to Gigi,” Rafael whispered. “Find something stronger for you.”
I nodded, not about to argue. These nightmares were too damned real. What if I started seeing things when I was awake? Hallucinations instead of nightmares? We sat on the bathroom floor until sunlight peeked through the curtains in the bedroom.
“You want to try and get some more sleep?”
I swallowed hard, not sure closing my eyes was a good idea.
Today we’d be meeting up with Damian and probably everyone else to figure out a plan for heading into Sector 2.
I needed to be rested enough to focus and help make that plan. I tried to stand and failed. Rafael picked me up and carried me back to bed, then tucked me in.
I caught his hand. “Can you stay, just until I fall back asleep?”
He smoothed my hair from my face and kissed my forehead, then climbed in beside me.
I curled into his chest, listening to the reassuring thud of his heart, letting it lull me back to sleep.
Envy was not going to kill Rafael.
Even if that meant I had to hunt him down and tear him to pieces, I would.
Chapter 10
Rafael
Mercy hadn’t said anything since we arrived at Rufus’s place in the Underground.
It hadn’t taken her long to fall back asleep after the nightmare. I’d slipped from the room as quietly as I could and called Gigi. She’d been pissed and swore up and down those charms should’ve worked. After she calmed down, she promised she’d have something for us as soon as she could.
Once I hung up with her, I’d called Damian and told him about the nightmare. He had asked if I thought she could handle going after Monroe. I wasn’t crazy enough to try and leave her behind.
Yesterday, I’d been worried about how I’d be going on this mission myself.
Now, as I watched Mercy’s expressionless face while she picked at her nails with her knife, I wondered if finding a way to make her stay behind was such a bad idea.
“Sector 2 is supposed to have been shut down.” Bowen stared at the only map we could find of the place on short notice. It was from ten years ago, but it’d have to do. “As far as anyone’s concerned, once the governor cleared it out, it was cut off from the transports and deemed a no trespassing zone.”
“And yet, that’s where Monroe was spotted.” I slid my fingers over the map, trying to keep ancient memories at bay. “As far as the Feds are concerned, this place has been vacated.”
“Yes, but we don’t have eyes on it,” Nor chimed in. “At least, not consistently.”
“Then there could be something going on in there that we don’t know about.” Damian rubbed his forehead, glanced worriedly at Mercy, then turned back to me.
I shrugged.
He went back to glaring at the map. “We can get there using the transport.”
“But they were cut off,” I said slowly.
Damian scowled. “And? I’ve been around a long time, Rafael, I know how to get around a blocked transport. Trust me. We’ll get in. Once we’re there, we’ll have to figure out a way to track down Monroe. It’s not a huge sector, but if all the buildings are still standing, it’s like a damned maze.”
That I could agree with. The slum had been a bunch of buildings haphazardly thrown together on streets that didn’t make any sense. They wound around in a circle with the main hub at the center. That was where Lucas and the other mages had holed up.
I gripped the table hard enough to make it creak. Several sets of eyes landed on me. I mumbled an apology and let go.
“Would a tracking spell work?” I asked.
“If we had something of his beside just a name,” Damian said. “But we don’t.”
“Do we know what Franklin Monroe is?”
Damian exchanged a glance with Nor. “Horace is the one who gave me the name. He thought he might simply be a mage, but he never got a good look at the guy.”
“Why are we after him then?”
“He’s the guy in charge of finding sacrifices,” Damian replied, and Mercy stiffened. “He tracks them down and brings them to Shuval. We’re not sure where he’s getting them from.”
“The reapers.”
“No, he’s giving them to the reapers and Shuval,” Damian said. “Franklin Monroe oversees tracking them all down. If we want to stop the rituals, or at least hit Shuval where it hurts, he’s the man we need to take. Then we beat the shit out of until he tells us everything.”
Mercy slammed her dagger into the wall behind. “Then why are we sitting around here wasting time? Let’s move.”
“We need a plan.”
“Horace said he’s a mage, right? I can track him. Use his magic, maybe.”
Damian was shaking his head, but Mercy had a determined look in her eyes that said she wasn’t about to be convinced otherwise.
“I was around people he must’ve had contact with at one point or another,” she explained. “It might be enough for me to pick up on. All I need is a hint of a trail and I’ll be able to find him. And before you say no, do you have any idea how long it’ll take to find him in that place?” She studied the map, nodding.
“She’s right,” I said. “We can’t waste any more time than we already have. If Monroe is there, we need to find him as quick as we can. Get in, get out, and maybe burn that place to the ground while we’re at it.”
“I can arrange that,” Mercy said coldly. The icy chill was back in her eyes. “Let’s throw Envy in there while we’re at it.”
The tension in Rufus’s place grew and no one said anything for a long while.
Bowen eventually cleared his throat. “When do we leave?”
“No. I want you and Rufus staying here, keep an eye on Wesley and try to track down those last three artifacts. And making sure my idiot of a brother doesn’t get himself killed,” Damian ordered. “The four of us will head out tomorrow at dawn. I’d say tonight, but I’m not comfortable walking into that place in the dark.”
It was going to be hard going back to Sector 2 and not seeing the ghosts of all my dead friends and family.
Damian and Nor spoke quietly between themselves, then made for the door.
“We’ll meet you two at your place,” Nor told me. “Be ready.”
Nor and Damian left. Rufus and Bowen were talking with Todd about the locations of the last three artifacts.
Then Bowen joined me.
Mercy leaned on the table, eyes taking in every inch of the map.
“How’s she doing?” Bowen whispered.
“Nightmares are getting worse. Gigi’s going to have something for her soon. I hope.”
“She looks like she did before.”
My brow furrowed. “Before what?”
“Before she met you.” He hissed under his breath. “Envy’s getting under her skin. She can’t let him, or he’s going to tear her apart without having to lift a damned finger.”
“If I could go after Envy and relieve him of his head I would.”
“We all would,” he agreed. “You sure she’s up for this?”
“No, but do you want to tell her she has to stay behind?”
Bowen hung his head and shoved his hands in his pockets.
“That’s what I thought. She’ll be fine. We don’t have any other choice.”
“I’m sure I don’t have to say it.”
“I won’t let anything happen to her,” I promised. “We’ll come back with Monroe. Then we can finally get some answers.”
I went to Mercy and stood beside her.
You going to be fine going back there?” she asked.
“I’ll manage. Why don’t we head back home, and you can get some rest? Gigi should be swinging by this evening.”
Mercy’s eye twitched. She pushed off the table, yanked her dagger from the wall, and left without saying bye to the others.
Bowen was right. Mercy was quickly shifting back to the cold-hearted bounty hunter I met at the reapers’ mans
ion. There were no more smiles or laughter. Just that icy stare that promised pain and death to anyone who crossed her.
I wasn’t sure how to get through to her without pushing her and making it worse. I’d give her space and hope she would talk to me when she was ready.
As we left the Underground, Mercy slipped her hand into mine and held on tight. She said nothing, but it was enough, for now. At least I wasn’t losing her. Not yet.
Envy was not going to succeed in taking her from me. He’d have to kill me first.
My alarm went off when it was still dark outside.
Damian and Nor would be here at dawn.
I reached over expecting to feel Mercy beside me, but the bed was empty. Her side was cold.
“Mercy?” I squinted in the darkness, but she wasn’t in our room.
Quickly, I climbed out of bed and hurried to the bathroom, but it was empty. Panic started to set in, until I turned and spotted her silhouette by the windows behind the couch in the living room.
She was fully dressed in black pants and a black long-sleeve shirt. She had her sword tucked at her lower back and wore her double holster with two guns situated in it, judging from the way her arms rested at her sides. Her hair was pulled back in a braid. Her jacket was draped over the chair behind her. She was just staring out the window.
“Mercy?” I moved slowly, not sure if she heard me or not.
“Sun should be up soon,” she replied.
“I know. When did you get up?” I had to stop myself from scolding her when I saw the bags under her eyes. “Did you even sleep?” I was sure she’d been asleep before I drifted off.
“Can’t sleep. All I see is his face as he plunges his sword through your chest.”
“The potion Gigi gave you didn’t do anything?”
“Don’t know. Didn’t take it yet.”
“You were supposed to so you could sleep. You need to be sharp for today.”
“I’m fine. I’ll sleep once we get back with Monroe.”
Arguing with her wouldn’t have done any good. I backed off and hurried to get ready.
As I geared up with my gun and daggers, I told myself there was nothing to worry about. Mercy and I had gone plenty of nights without sleep. We’d fought in worse conditions.
True, but those times we’d had an idea of what we were walking into.
Sector 2 could be crawling with hybrids, for all we knew. Or other outcasts and cutthroats. All ready to kill anyone who came through the transport.
My cell vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out. Nor and Damian were waiting for us downstairs.
I glanced out the window; the sun’s rays barely peeking over the horizon. Mercy slipped on her jacket.
In the early light of morning, I caught a hint of the scar on her face, bright red and angry-looking.
“Ready?” she asked.
“Yeah, let’s go get this bastard.” I followed her out the front door and locked it behind me.
Less than a half hour later, Mercy, Damian, Nor, and I stepped out of the transport and stood in Sector 2.
I didn’t have to read the transport’s sign to know where we were. The air smelled the same as it had the last time I was here. When I’d been fighting for my life. When I watched my brother die.
The small town lay a mile down a dirt road. The same massive mansion resided in the very center.
We didn’t stay by the transport long enough to take in too many details. Nor motioned us off the dirt road and into the trees.
We’d used magic to cloak us as we took cover in the trees.
Two men came running down the road.
Mercy tensed, her hand reaching to her lower back.
Damian shook his head.
She glared but didn’t draw her weapon.
So much for the place being abandoned.
The two men examined the transport then glanced around. After a few seconds, they set off back toward town.
“Hybrids?” I whispered to Mercy.
“No, didn’t get that from them,” she replied, closing her eyes. “But there are hybrids around here.”
“Amulets on everyone,” Damian instructed.
Mercy and I exchanged a wary glance, then draped the amulets over our heads.
I didn’t ask Damian how he procured four amulets like the ones Mercy and I used to get into the witch convention.
All we knew was they wouldn’t last nearly as long as those had and were extremely fragile to other magic. Any disturbance could make them stop working, but they were better than trying to sneak around in cloaks.
“Guess the place wasn’t vacated,” I said as we set off through the trees. “You think they’re here to guard Monroe?”
Mercy held up her hand. A shudder rushed over her and she staggered back. “Not just Monroe.”
“What do you mean? Who’s here?”
“Is it Shuval?” Damian demanded.
She shook her head. “Hybrids. A lot of damned hybrids.”
“Envy?”
She shook her head again. “No, but almost as strong. There’s a current in the air.”
“You think you can still find Monroe with them around?”
Damian’s lips thinned. He scowled at my question.
Mercy’s eyes fluttered closed, like she was having trouble keeping them open. If there was too much magic around, she might not be able to do anything.
“It’s why we came here, right?” she uttered. “I can do it. Just give me a minute.”
We remained silent, hidden in the trees. We were close enough to town now, that voices reached us. They didn’t sound unhappy in pain.
Mercy pointed. “Stay with me and stay close. I’m not sure how long I can keep this up.”
Mage fire burned in her eyes and her face shimmered. If she continued to use her magic, it’d disrupt the charm hiding her identity.
“You have his trail?”
“I do. It’s faint, but I’d recognize that stench anywhere. Let’s move.”
With Damian in front and Nor bringing up the rear, Mercy whispered instructions and the four of us stepped out of the trees and onto the dirt road.
I braced for an attack from any direction.
We hit the main road and followed a familiar trail.
I had to stop myself from halting and staring in disbelief.
People flooded the streets. Happy people. They talked and chatted, going about their day as if they weren’t currently living in a place where so much blood had been spilled.
It was beyond surreal. The buildings had been updated. The entire atmosphere was nothing like I remembered. The slum was gone, as if it’d never existed. In its place was a charming little town.
“Rafael,” Nor said beside me. “You okay?”
“You see this too, right?” I muttered. “It’s not just me?”
“No, it’s not.” Nor growled quietly, shaking his head as he took it all in. “Guards,” he whispered and nodded toward our right.
There were two more guards wearing the same red and black uniforms as the ones who had inspected the transport.
Mercy didn’t even flinch at the sight of them, and I figured they weren’t hybrids. Warlocks or mages, perhaps.
We walked by them and all the townsfolk without any fuss, following Mercy, moving closer and closer to the mansion.
It no longer looked like the fortress where my people went to die. My uneasiness grew.
Keeping her hands discretely low, fingers flickering with fire, Mercy froze.
A woman walked by us, a shifter.
I touched the woman’s arm.
Nor hissed my name, but I ignored him. Not like anyone could tell who I was anyway.
She smiled up at me. “Hi, you look a bit lost, friend.”
“I am a bit.”
“Ah, first day here? No worries. I was thrown for a loop my first day, too. But we only stay for so long. Then it’s off to fulfill our purpose. I’m so excited.”
“Right. Purpose. Becau
se we’re all donors,” I said slowly, and she nodded enthusiastically. “Everyone here is a donor?”
“We are. It’s great we all get to live together like this until we find our perfect match.”
“Right, yeah. It’s great,” I agreed. “And the guards don’t bother you?”
“Of course not. They keep us safe. And they keep the riffraff out. Those who don’t understand, you know? It’s why so many of us answered the call to come. Gives us a chance to be away from hate and violence.” She headed away.
“Did you hear that?” I asked.
“I did.” Nor spun around, keeping a calm smile on his face as if we were simply having a friendly conversation. “This is insane. Did they brainwash them?”
“Have you ever met donors in person? This is what they’re like. Happy to give away their blood.” Damian sneered. “None of them realize why they’re really here. They’re like sheep, waiting to be slaughtered.”
“Keep your voice down,” Nor warned as two guards walked by. “We have to get Monroe.”
Mercy suddenly twisted around. Her face shimmered again, and her scar came into view then vanished. We were running out of time. “He’s this way, but I think we might have a problem.”
“What is it?”
“Nefari. They’re here. Not just one or two. Way more.”
Great. Because this trip couldn’t get any worse.
We fell in line behind Mercy. She stopped, veering left.
The gates to the mansion were only forty yards ahead of us. At the top of the wall around the mansion were nefaries. There was still no sign of the hybrids. I assumed they were all safely inside those walls.
She led us away from the mansion and back into the trees surrounding the town
“Mercy, where are we going?” Damian asked quietly when we were far away from the main road.
“He’s here. Trust me.” The magic from her amulet had almost completely vanished now, but she pushed on ahead. Abruptly she stopped and placed her finger to her lips. Then she pointed straight ahead.
Slowly and quietly, the four of us crept through the trees until a clearing appeared.
There was a transport there, one I’d forgotten about. It had been broken and out of use for as long as I could remember, but clearly it worked now.