by Dana Gricken
The Dark Queen sighed. “I told you returning was a mistake, Stark. If we die here, it will be your fault.”
Patrick got out of one of the trucks. His head wound looked bandaged and he seemed woozy, though his Sentinel implants were helping to heal him. “Kid, I tried to warn you. Playing friendly with the Queen’s only going to get you killed.”
“Where’s Mom? Did you hurt her?”
Patrick scoffed. “I’m not happy with what she did, but no, I’m not going to hurt her. She was trying to protect her kid. I can’t fault her for that—but she can’t protect you anymore.”
I stepped forward, and I heard a series of guns lift higher at me. “Listen, Patrick—I know the Dark Queen has hurt you—”
“Really? With how you’re acting, it seems like you forgot. The Queen’s hurt people you care about too, kid!”
I scowled. “You didn’t let me finish. Sometimes, in war, you have to do desperate things if they’ll help you win the battle. You do know how powerful the Cardinal is, right?”
Patrick nodded.
“Then you know I’m the only one who can match his power. But to do that, I need training from someone who’s also powerful,” I replied. “The Dark Queen wants to help. Stop being stubborn and think about it for a second!”
Patrick looked uncertain. The others were still red-faced in anger.
“They have us cornered here, Riley—and they’re not listening,” Caleb whispered. “I’m sorry to do this, but we have no choice.”
Before I could react, Caleb had already sent a wave of fire catapulting toward their trucks. Like falling dominoes, the trucks exploded one by one. Patrick and the others lunged out of the way, avoiding the flames.
“Caleb, what were you thinking?” I demanded, grabbing him.
“Riley, the Cardinal is out there. He’s getting stronger every second. If Wanda goes to him, who knows what will happen? We can’t waste time here!”
“The talking’s over!” Patrick called out. “Kill them. Too dangerous to live—all of them!”
As a barrage of bullets came our way, the Dark Queen dove onto me, forcing me to the ground. She started to pull me to our truck, Spencer and Angel right behind us.
But when I looked up, Caleb had gotten separated from us. He had jumped to the right, away from us, and Patrick and the others swarmed him.
I shrugged the Dark Queen off, trying to rise to my feet. “They got Caleb! We have to go back for him!”
“No!” the Dark Queen shouted, shaking me. “The Cardinal is more important. Do you want him to destroy the world?”
“What if Caleb dies? What if we could’ve saved him, but we left like cowards instead?”
“Are you a fool? They won’t kill him—not now. He is the last link to us. They will use him to manipulate us. If we stay, it will certainly get us all killed. Who will stop the Cardinal then? These fools? No, you must live—and you must fight.”
I looked back at Caleb one last time. They were placing Restrictors on his wrists and pulling him to his feet, but they weren’t attacking him. His eyes looked over to me and lingered, watching us escape, and he nodded.
He was giving me the signal to go, that he wouldn’t be angry, but I was. I was angry at myself for having to do it. I was angry that Patrick couldn’t put his hatred for the Dark Queen aside to save the world.
Praying the Dark Queen was right, I snuck into the driver’s seat, revving the engine. Angel and Spencer got into the backseat as the Dark Queen sat beside me. We sped into the distance as the fire burned behind us, leaving behind the person I loved the most.
By the time Patrick and the others had realized we were leaving, it was too late. With most of their trucks destroyed, all they could do was watch us escape. Patrick growled as Caleb grinned, and I hoped I’d see him again.
A tear slipped out of my eye, and Spencer saw it in the mirror. I expected him to gloat—his jealousy of Caleb always turned him into a monster—but he didn’t. His eyes lowered.
“I’ve never liked Caleb. Never trusted him,” Spencer began, “but I’m sorry we had to leave him behind. I hope…I hope for your sake, you see him again. I know you love him, and you deserve to be happy.”
It was moments like these when I thought the old Spencer was back—that he had a chance of being what he’d once been. But it was only an illusion, and I knew his brain damage would take over again and he’d go back to being cruel, almost soulless-like himself.
The Dark Queen glanced over at me curiously. “This love you speak of…what is it like?”
I smiled. “It’s the best feeling in the world. I would do anything to protect Caleb, and I know he’d do the same for me. There are some advantages to being soulful, you know.”
The Dark Queen didn’t say anything, but her eyebrows rose in deep thought. Maybe she was coming around to the idea that two people could love each other—that it could be a strength, not a weakness.
When we pulled into the parking lot of Evergreen Cemetery, I shuddered. Even as a kid, cemeteries had always creeped me out—especially at night. Now that I had the power of controlling life and death, they scared me even more.
“Do you think Patrick will know we’re here?” I asked.
“If they search the submarine, perhaps,” the Dark Queen replied. “My map remains there, with Evergreen Cemetery circled.”
I sighed. So much for secrecy, but at least we might get Caleb back if they showed up.
“I need a moment to myself. In a few minutes, follow me,” the Dark Queen said, and I noticed a crystal in her hands. “This will be a difficult lesson. I must train you in minutes on what takes most soulless years to learn.”
After she left, I looked at Spencer in the backseat. “Are you coming with us?”
“I think I’ll stay here,” Spencer said. “I’ll be your lookout. Angel can stay too.”
“I expected you to resist—to refuse to help us. Why did you come, Spence?”
Spencer shrugged. “What do I have to lose? The Darkhunters are dead, the Cardinal’s a threat…and despite everything, I still care about you. If you have a chance at saving the world, then I have to help you.”
I nodded. Maybe Spencer wasn’t as lost as I’d thought.
When I got out of the truck, the Dark Queen was waiting for me near a set of tombstones. My hand was tingling already, threatening to glow at any second. The feeling of darkness and death spread through me, almost like a fog, and I could tell the Veil was thin here.
“Can you feel the death here, Stark?” the Dark Queen asked. “How badly these people wish they could return to the land of the living?”
I nodded. “It’s strong. Should I try to open the portal now?”
“Yes, open the portal. The lesson I must teach you is…very important.”
I didn’t have to do much. My hand was already rising into the air, triggered by the dead bodies beneath my feet. My hands were trembling, terrified of what I might set loose.
“Do not fear this power, Stark,” the Dark Queen said. “Embrace it. This is your right as a soulless. This is your strength!”
I listened to her, allowing the portal to open instead of fighting it. A giant swirl of energy—one stronger than anything I’d ever created before—opened a few feet away from me. I could hear the screams of spirits inside—desperate to break free as some had done when I’d killed General Grissom.
“How do I close it on my own?” I shouted over the swirl of wind. “If the Cardinal opens his own portal, what’s the key to stopping him?”
The Dark Queen chuckled. I looked up at her, and when she continued to laugh, I knew I was in trouble.
“There will be no stopping him,” she replied. “Instead, you will realize your destiny and serve the Cardinal, just as you are meant to! It’s what my mother has foreseen!”
“But…you told me the Cardinal was dangerous—that even someone like you could see how awful his power was!”
She shook her head. “And you believed me so
easily? What a fool you are, Stark. I’ve come to realize the Cardinal is right. With the afterlife open, the world will worship us. I will finally rule as queen again!”
Spencer got out of the truck, and Angel followed. He raised his Deathblade, aiming it at the Dark Queen. “What’s going on, Riley? Why haven’t you closed the portal yet?”
“Stay back, Spencer!” I yelled. “The Dark Queen’s evil. She was tricking us! I can’t close the portal!”
Spencer froze, uncertain of what to do. I wanted to tell him to run, to return to the submarine and get out of town like he had planned, but I couldn’t move. My power was draining my energy, forcing me to use it all to keep the portal open.
“You never intended to train me, right? To teach me how to close a portal?” I asked the Dark Queen.
“I wouldn’t say that, Stark,” the Dark Queen said, circling me. “Have you ever wondered where the Cardinal might be? Where the best spot for someone with his power is?”
When the ground rumbled beneath my feet, I gasped. The Cardinal was here, hidden somewhere within the gravestones. I could feel it.
And he was going to use me for evil, unspeakable things.
29
The Joining
The large crypt to my left opened, and a figure in a dark cloak stepped out of it. As they walked into the pale moonlight, I caught a glimpse of their face.
It was the Cardinal. There was no doubt about it. I could feel his power, one that was equal to mine. The dark spirits I’d set free during General Grissom’s death lingered above him, worshiping him like he was a God.
I guess he was, in a way. His power was the strongest I’d ever seen—capable of destroying the world.
I had never seen the Cardinal before. I had always pictured him as some ugly, deformed monster—one so hideous, he kept himself hidden away from society. But as I looked up at him, I realized he was beautiful, even as an older man—with his dark hair, black irises, and porcelain skin. An older version of Caleb, almost.
He was Caleb’s grandfather, after all—and the resemblance was striking.
“Well done, Anya. Thank you for bringing Riley Stark to me at last,” the Cardinal said, walking over to the Dark Queen’s side. “After you entrapped me all those years ago, I never thought you’d ally with me.”
The Dark Queen nodded. “I needed time to adjust—to see life through your eyes. I see now that opening the Quintessence is the best thing for this world.”
“Are you crazy?” I asked, trying to fight against my portal. It was growing larger now. “Letting all the spirits out will destroy the world!”
“Destroy the world? On the contrary, Riley,” the Cardinal replied. “These unborn souls deserve to see this world, to do with it as they see fit—and they will honor us for what we’ve done for them.”
Wanda came out of the crypt next, sauntering over to the Cardinal. I noticed she had taken off her Purity Crystal already. She clung to his side, almost as if she were afraid to lose him. It made me sick to look at her and think of all the times I had seen her as an ally.
“How could you do this, Wanda? I thought you were my friend. You didn’t just betray me, but all of the Hidden too!”
“I didn’t betray anyone, my child. I always supported the Cardinal. You just refused to see it,” Wanda replied. “All this time I spent helping you hone your power was so you could strengthen his power as well. The only reason I supported your exile was so it would lead you to the Dark Queen’s side—and eventually the Cardinal’s, as I had foreseen.”
“But you helped me stop Doctor Zero. You said I was the Prophet—someone who was going to bring the soulless and soulful together! Was that just a lie to make me trust you?”
“No, not at all. Doctor Zero needed to be destroyed. He never would’ve supported the Cardinal. As for your legacy, you will bring the soulless and soulful together—I just never specified if they were living or not.”
So that was what they were planning to do—bring everyone who had ever died back into our world, alongside the ancient spirits. I still didn’t understand any of it.
“Why? What do you gain by doing this?”
The Cardinal shrugged. “Everything, Riley. Power, respect, honor…The spirits will remove anyone who isn’t powerful enough to survive, and they will see us as Gods.”
Spencer walked closer to us, keeping Angel by his side. He lifted his Deathblade, jutting it out in front of him. “Let Riley go. I mean it!”
The Dark Queen laughed. “Foolish soulful. You have no power here—not anymore. Oh, how the tables have turned.”
“Please, don’t hurt him,” I said. “Let him go.”
The Dark Queen cocked an eyebrow. “He murdered your father, allied with Darkhunters, and yet you still want him to live?”
“Yes. It took me a long time to realize revenge only gets you hurt in the end.”
“I’m not leaving you, Riley. As both a Darkhunter and a Sentinel, it’s my duty to stop them,” Spencer said.
The Dark Queen shrugged. “I tried to reason with him, Stark.”
She lifted her wrist, bringing the Mindfield over Spencer again. He dropped his Deathblade, stumbling to the ground. What fear was he consumed by this time? What torture had she condemned him to?
Angel growled, taking a step forward.
“Stay where you are, mutt. You were once my pet, and you know my true power,” the Dark Queen hissed.
Angel kept a safe distance, but continued to growl. I looked over my shoulder, motioning toward him. “Go, Angel. Find the others!”
In the blink of an eye, the Darkhound had disappeared down the street. If Patrick and the Samaritans didn’t know where we were, I prayed Angel would lead them to us—if they didn’t shoot him on sight.
The Dark Queen raised her wrist, clearly intending to use the Mindfield on Angel, when the Cardinal stopped her. “Let the beast go, Anya. Even if it manages to find the others, it will be too late. They can’t stop us.”
The Dark Queen nodded. “Nothing can stop us.”
“I’m disappointed you didn’t come to me yourself,” the Cardinal said, and we were face-to-face now. “I was convinced you were close to joining me.”
I sneered. “Maybe I had a few moments of weakness, but you took advantage of me. You tried to twist my mind, but I knew better. I’m only here because the Dark Queen lied to me.”
The Cardinal shook his head, inspecting me. “You are untrained…but powerful. If you let go of your stubbornness, you could rule beside me, Riley. This world—the new world, I should say—could be ours.”
“You would be wise to take the offer, Riley,” Wanda said. “The Cardinal would not share power with anyone else, not even his wife or daughter. He must truly respect you.”
I looked him dead in the eye. “Go to hell.”
“A shame,” he muttered. “Even so, your reluctance will not stop the inevitable from happening. We will combine our power—like Synergy, as Wanda once taught you. This world will transform.”
I shuddered. I had to do something, but what? My power was out of my control, and the Cardinal had me exactly where he wanted me. I was helpless here—a slave to my own power and the Cardinal himself.
“We should begin before her allies arrive, husband,” Wanda said. “It would be far easier to do the Joining now than be forced to deal with her kind.”
The Joining? What the hell was that? Whatever it was, I had to stop it. It seemed to be the key to combining our power.
The Cardinal chuckled. “What is the rush, Wanda? We can wait forever.”
“I know that look in your eyes. What are you planning, husband?”
He smiled. “Oh, you’ll see. I want this world to realize I am its ruler—especially the one person Riley cares for the most.”
Caleb. What was the Cardinal planning to do to him, his own grandson? And was Caleb even still alive after we’d left him behind with Patrick and the others?
I sighed. I didn’t know which fate was w
orse.
The Cardinal began walking through the tombstones, especially the ones closest to my portal. “Do you see all the souls here, Riley? Ones taken too soon, and too violently? They will be free again. They will thank us for giving them a second chance.”
“You’re a monster,” I spat. “Caleb told me our world can’t handle the afterlife merging into it. You’ll kill us all!”
“Perhaps, perhaps not. Shouldn’t the souls taken too soon have a chance to experience life again? Surely you want your loved ones back, don’t you?”
I thought back to all the people I had lost—Elaina, Dad, Grandpa William… The list went on. Of course, I wanted to see them again more than anything—but not like this. Life was cruel and unfair, especially death, but that was the way it had to be.
Anything else would be unnatural. It felt wrong to go against the order of things.
“No. The Dark Queen told me the dead should stay dead—and I agree completely.”
“That’s what I believed too, Riley,” he replied, running his fingers along the tombstones. “But there can be a better way. I have felt it, stronger than anything else I’ve ever experienced. The two worlds don’t need to be separated any longer.”
With the portal growing larger, and Spencer still consumed by the Mindfield, murmuring under his breath, I tried to stop my power myself. Closing my eyes, I attempted to force the portal to close.
“You can’t close the portal, Riley. Do not waste your energy,” the Cardinal said. “You will need it later.”
“I’m just trying to get this over with,” I began, “because listening to the three of you talk is pure torture.”
The Cardinal chuckled. “Oh, I like her sass.”
“Perhaps we should explain the truth to Riley—why she is the one,” Wanda said.
The Cardinal nodded. “I think you’re right. We have time to kill, anyhow. I suppose Riley is curious about her power? How we became linked?”
I was curious, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of an answer.