I didn't care about the pain. It was nothing compared to the branding and year-subtraction process I'd gone through. There was something more important going on. “Why am I bleeding? Grims don't bleed.”
Dunstan sat back in his seat, not looking one bit apologetic for what he'd done to me. “Not full-blooded Grims. We bleed. It's the Human in us.”
The front door of the cottage opened and closed. Jax entered the room with a tall, slender man wearing a black button-down shirt and black pants. The man had a small metal case with him.
Without a word, he knelt before me and told Colden to help me remove my hoodie. After the bloody hoodie was off, Carey looked the wound over for a few seconds. “Deep. This is going to require stitches.”
At first I couldn't bring myself to look at my arm, then I did. My flesh was opened, and blood continued to flow.
I burst into tears. I didn’t intend to cry like a newborn child in front of these men, but I'd never had as much as a scrape until the day before.
Carey quickly wrapped my arm in a bandage. Then he rummaged through the metal case and pulled out a large needle filled with liquid.
I cringed at the sight of it. “What's that for?”
“Trust me. You're not going to want to be awake for this.”
Before I could protest, he had grabbed my uninjured arm and thrust the needle into my elbow crease. Immediately I felt woozy. Everything went blurry and began to spin. I couldn't hold my head up. I remembered Colden pressing my head against his shoulder. I screamed something about wanting my mother and then that was it.
* * *
I opened my eyes and then shut them immediately. I didn't know where I was, but wherever it was, it was much too bright. After a few seconds, I forced myself to open them again.
I was laying in someone's bedroom, on a bed underneath a window. My head felt heavy as I moved it from side to side, surveying my surroundings. The walls of the room were burnt orange and blended nicely with the dark brown furniture. The bedspread was ornate—a mixture of orange and golden swirls. My arm was wrapped in a bandage, still throbbing from pain.
I forced myselt to sit up. It hurt my head tremendously, but I couldn’t just lay there. On wobbly legs, I managed to make it to the door which was locked. I banged on it with closed fist. “Hey! Let me out!”
I waited for a minute, and there was no response. After yelling twice more, heavy footsteps were heading in my direction.
I stood back as the doorknob jiggled. Keys clanked against each other. The door opened, revealing Jax on the other side. He didn't say a word, but he motioned for me to follow him.
He led me to the kitchen where Dunstan, Carey, Colden, Nigel, Moore, and about six other men stood. All eyes were on me. Feeling self-conscious, I folded my arms over my wrinkled tank top. Where was my hoodie?
Dunstan pointed to the spot at the table directly across from him. I kept my eyes on the men as I stepped forward. I had no idea what to expect. Were they going to attack me? Were they all upset with me for botching the assignment?
Not one of them spoke. They watched me as if they were looking at one of Dorian's weird science experiments.
I sat, holding my arm. “Are you going to cut me again?”
“I'm sorry,” Dunstan replied, “but it was the only way I could make you believe.”
He didn't look sorry.
“What are all these men doing here?” I asked.
Jax brought me a glass of water which I gratefully gulped down.
“We're discussing what we should do with you.”
That didn't sound good at all. “What do you mean?”
Nigel cleared his throat. “We need to decide if we should keep you or use you for the cause.”
“What cause?”
Nigel started to answer, but Dunstan cut him off. “We can't discuss that at this time. Don't you want to go back and check on your family?”
“Of course, but I'll be killed if I go back.”
“You're as good as dead anyway,” Dunstan said. “You think my brother doesn't know you're here? They haven't captured you because they can't come here. I know my brother. He's keeping your family alive, banking that you'll come back looking for them.”
Moore scoffed. “She won't do that.”
I glowered at him. I hated him as much as I hated Colden. “You don't even know me. How do you know what I will or won't do?”
Moore sighed. “Well, let's take a look at your track record. You put your family in danger by messing up an assignment. Then instead of taking your punishment like a man, you ran like a mouse, leaving your family—who had done nothing wrong—holding the bag. I doubt you'll go back to check on them.”
I stood, sending the chair crashing to the floor. “First of all, I didn't just leave. My father pushed me out the back door and slammed it in my face. Second, I risked my life to save Humans I'd known for two weeks. Do you honestly think I wouldn't go back to make sure my family—my own flesh and bone—were okay?”
Dunstan raised his eyebrows at Moore. “She makes a good point.” He turned back to me. “Although I am a little perturbed with you interfering with our lifestone collection, I think this is actually perfect timing. You'll go back tonight, and you'll do exactly what we tell you to.”
I observed the faces of the men standing in the kitchen. Their expressions were solemn and serious. What was going on that had to be so secretive?
Dunstan stood. “Okay, Naomi, you may retire back to the bedroom. Colden, please wait with her. Jax will bring you something to eat.”
“Wait! What do you mean I'm going to do exactly what you tell me to? I don't even know what you guys are talking about!”
Colden grabbed my arm, but I pulled away from him. The men were going to discuss something and I wanted to hear it. They weren't about to send me to my room like a child when they were going to discuss me.
Unfortunately, Colden was much stronger than I was. He wrapped his arms around my waist and carried me down the hallway, kicking and screaming.
When we made it to the bedroom, he tossed me carelessly onto the bed, causing me to land on my damaged arm. “What's the matter with you? I get that you hate me, but you didn't have to throw me down!”
Colden slammed the door behind him. “Shut up! I'm missing out on an important meeting because I have to babysit you, so shut up!”
“My brother is gonna kick your ass.”
“Oh, right. What brother, exactly? The one who's going to be executed because of you?”
That stung—hard. I folded my legs underneath me and turned my back to him. “Just go back to your stupid meeting. I'm not going anywhere.”
“Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.” I felt the bed move as Colden sat down. “Why'd you have to do that? Why'd you have to screw up the assignment? None of this would be happening to you if you hadn't done that.”
“Yes, Colden, I'm aware of that, thanks.” My stomach growled. I hoped Jax wouldn't be much longer with the food. “You're a For—hybrid. You should understand. You're part Human.”
“Yes, but I'm mostly Grim, and we don't belong in that world. We belong here, so here's what I worry about. Gwendolyn was our predecessor, and we respect her, but our allegiance is not to that world.”
I ran my fingers along the beige bandage on my arm. “I'm not a hybrid.”
“Sure. Whatever.”
“They're going to kill me if I go back.”
“Well, you knew that when you did what you did.”
I didn't want to speak to Colden anymore. I didn't even want him in the room with me. I lay across the bed, thinking of home. I hoped everyone was okay. I imagined them being imprisoned or dead, but I pushed the thought away.
I closed my eyes and envisioned Dorian working away in his “laboratory”, Mother and Father sipping coffee while engaged in deep conversation, and Bram up in his room doing whatever he did in there.
The door opened, and I sat up. Jax came in with a tray of cheese and cra
ckers. He handed me the tray.
I met his hazel gaze. “Thank you.”
He nodded and then skittered from the room. His eyes reminded me of Hunter's.
I munched on the cheese and crackers, cleaning the tray, but I was still hungry. I sat on one side of the bed while Colden sat quietly on the other. I would have offered him some, but I still hated him.
I had just set the empty tray on the bed when Dunstan entered the room. “Leave us,” he said to Colden.
Colden bolted as if he couldn't wait to get out of there.
Dunstan moved the tray out of the way and sat next to me. I moved over in the opposite direction. “You'll go back tonight—”
“The minute I set foot over that wall, they're going to kill me.”
“They won't touch you because they won't be able to see you.”
I stared at him wide-eyed as he twisted a silver skull ring around one of his knuckles. “What?”
“You'll be invisible.”
I paced the bedroom. “That doesn't work in Nowhere.”
“No, not unless you're wearing the invisibility cloak, which I have.”
I'd read about that in my studies. No one had ever actually seen it, so we assumed it to be a myth. “You have the cloak?”
Dunstan nodded. “My brother and I weren't meant to be twins. When we were born, our parents decided we'd share the powers and gifts that came with being a Death Lord. Technically, it should have been me, since I was the eldest by four minutes, but my parents didn't see it that way. They made us split the sacred gifts. Dunningham got the Scepter of Immortality and I got the Cloak of Invisibility.”
“Dunningham never told us that.”
Dunstan shrugged. “Why would he? Why would he want his people to know that such a prized possession was in the hands of his lowly rat brother? Before he banished me, he looked everywhere for that cloak. He wanted it back because I wasn't worthy of it anymore, but I'd hidden it. It's the only thing I have that's worth anything besides our father's ring.”
I assumed he meant the ring he was toying with.
“Don't even get me started on how immortality is a far more exceptional gift than invisibility, but he didn't care. He didn't want me to have anything.”
“Why do you want me to go back there? What do you care?”
“First, I want you to make sure your family is okay. I know that means a lot to you. Then we have other business to attend to, but we'll discuss that later on.”
I rubbed my forehead, trying to understand. “So, you want me to put on this cloak. It'll make me invisible so I can go check on my family. Then you want me to come back here?”
“Yes.”
“Why would I do that? Why wouldn't I just keep the cloak and stay with my family?”
“Because you're one of us. You'll do what's best for the cause.”
“I'm not one of you! Stop saying that!” I shouted although I still couldn't explain why I'd bled like a Human.
Dunstan laughed. The sound annoyed me and I wanted to push him. “Sweetheart, you're more of a hybrid than anyone in this colony.”
“What?”
“All these people, they're descendants of me and a Human woman. They only have a percentage of Human blood in them. The younger the generation, the less they have. But you, my dear, are half and half.”
I stormed over to him. He looked up sharply, as if he were afraid of what I might do.
“Both my parents are full-blooded Grims,” I insisted.
Dunstan stood, and I backed away.
“If you say so,” he said. “Why don’t you ask your mother all about it when you go home tonight?”
Chapter 29
I had to make another arduous trip to the wall, with Colden and Nigel escorting me. Even though it was nighttime, it was still humid. There was no breeze or relief from the sticky air. The thick, heavy invisibility cloak didn’t help either.
“Okay, so the plan for tonight is for you to go in, see your family and come back,” Nigel explained.
“Why do you guys need me to do this? What does my family have to do with you?” I wasn't satisfied with Dunstan's answer. I wanted to know the truth.
“We need to see how smoothly you can get in and out without being detected, that's all.”
I stopped walking. “What, you're using me as some kind of guinea pig?”
“You could say that,” Colden said. The words flew from his mouth way too easily, as if it were perfectly okay for them to use me.
“Then I'm not going.”
Colden held his arms out, feeling for me. His hand landed on my forearm. He grabbed me and pushed me forward roughly.
I yanked away from him. “Keep your hands off of me!”
“Cut it out, Colden,” Nigel said firmly.
Things just weren't making sense to me. “Why does it have to be me? Any one of you could put on this cloak and be invisible.”
Nigel looked at his brother. “We can't, okay? It won't work for us.”
“Why not?”
“Because we're not branded. We're not really considered Grims. Let's keep walking.”
I decided to stop asking questions. My main goal was to see my family and make sure they were okay. I had to know, at least, that they were still alive. If anything had happened to them . . .
We reached the wall. The ropes we had climbed the day before hung there. I wasn't looking forward to this climb. Thankfully Colden went first. I didn't want him underneath me. I especially didn't want him to be the one responsible for catching me if I were to slip.
I remembered what Nigel had told me the last time. Hand over hand, foot over foot. After Colden started up the wall, I grabbed the rope, pulled it, and hoisted myself up. It was difficult, especially with an injured arm, but I was doing a better job than the last time. Twice, I had to stop to catch my breath and give my arms a rest. Colden shouted at me to keep going. My anger at him motivated me to keep moving.
At last I made it to the top. Now came the hard part. I froze momentarily. Nigel pushed me gently over. His hand on my backside felt wrong. I was happy to be wearing the cloak. The climb down was much quicker, seeing as I slid half the way down and landed on my side.
Colden laughed hysterically before offering me his hand. I pushed it away. Even though it hurt, I pretended that it didn't as I climbed to my feet.
“I'm sorry,” Colden said. “I think the fact that I couldn't see you but just heard this loud thud made it even funnier.”
“Colden, you're an ass,” Nigel said, dropping to the ground. “Where are you, Naomi?”
“Here.”
Nigel turned to my voice. “Okay. Go home. Do not take that cloak off for any reason except for in your house. Check on your family and come back. We'll be at Odessa's, waiting for you.”
I nodded even though they couldn't see me. “All right. I'll be back soon,” I said, not at all knowing if that were true.
I ran through Litropolis unseen. A few Grims turned their heads as a whirl of wind whipped by, brushing against tin cans, but I couldn't walk or slow down. I couldn't wait to get home to my family.
I made it to the wall that separated Litropolis from Farrington. It was quite a task for me to push the loose stones from the wall. I was weak from having eaten little, but the thought of seeing my family gave me the extra strength I needed.
I crawled through and replaced the stones. I raced across the stream, my invisible feet making loud splashes. The cloak caught on the twigs and thistles of the bushes as I traveled. I heard the cloak rip once, but I couldn't stop.
A burst of energy shot through me as I darted through the quiet streets of my city. The streets were empty and the windows were blackened. All Grims had turned in for the night.
Finally I made it to my street. My eyes welled with tears. It had been less than two days, but I had no idea what had become of my family.
It would be safer to go through the back entrance. I stood on the porch, remembering that was the place where my f
ather had thrown me out. I rapped on the door with my fist. There was nothing. The black curtain that covered the tiny window on the door didn't move.
I knocked again, louder this time. After a moment, I heard movement coming from inside. I breathed a sigh of relief. Someone was there. My family hadn't been carted away. The curtains parted, and Dorian's sleepy-looking face peered out. He looked confused. Of course he couldn't see me.
“Dorian, it's me!”
He frowned. “Naomi?”
“Dorian, just open the door. It's okay.”
He paused for a moment, probably thinking this was some kind of trick. Then he opened the door slightly.
I pushed myself inside and closed it behind me.
“What the—” Dorian began.
I removed the cloak. “It's me, Dorian.”
He exhaled and wrapped me into a hug. “Nay! You're okay!”
“Yeah, I'm okay. Are you guys?”
“Yeah, we've been fine.”
Bright light flooded the kitchen and I had to close my eyes. Bram leaned against the doorway. “Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in.”
I hadn't expected a warm welcome from him. “Bram.”
“What are you doing here?” Bram demanded.
“I had to see if you guys were okay,” I answered. “Where's Mother and Father?” I couldn't fully relax until I knew they were all okay.
“Father's on assignment, and Mother's sleeping. I'll wake her,” Dorian offered, leaving the kitchen. The fact that Dunningham was still sending Father on assignments was a good sign. I wished to see him, but I didn't think I could bear the look of disappointment on his face again.
Bram looked at me as if I were some foreign creature. “So you had to see if we were okay, huh?”
“Yes.”
“You weren't worried about us when you did what you did. Why are you worried about us now?”
I'd already come to the conclusion that Bram would never forgive me, so I didn't bother giving him my explanation. “I'm sorry.”
Feet pounded down the stairs.
“Darkness!” Mother said.
I hurried to her, and she wrapped me in her arms. We both wept.
Naomi Grim: The Final Breath Chronicles Book One Page 18
