I didn’t say anything, and he shook his head, smiling. He wore dirty trousers and a blue working shirt with rolled up sleeves. He was unshaven, and his light-colored eyes were piercing. He looked as if he was expecting me to say something funny.
“Okay, back to work then,” he said, clapping his hand on the shovel handle.
The sound of the blade hitting the earth became louder than it should. I frowned, taking a step back.
“It’ll be done soon,” the gravedigger said, eyeing me again.
“Why should I care?” I willed the words out.
He stood next to the sixth pit and, looking at me, shrugged and continued his work. I eyed him suspiciously before I took more steps back. He continued digging the grave next to other five empty ones, as if he had forgotten that I was there. When he started to whistle, I felt the ground beneath me move. I stepped back, but it only got worse. It was actually shaking now, along with the view of the hill and the gravedigger, as if it was all a TV show with bad reception!
I felt like I was falling and falling, until I heard someone whisper my name.
“Nika.” It was a familiar voice next to my ear.
Feeling his breath on my cheek almost made my blood explode. Belun’s deep green eyes were so close, some of his hair was even touching my face. He looked the same as he did in those photos. I smiled and my hands flew toward him. He didn’t flinch, but returned the smile. Oh, why couldn’t all dreams be like this, and not with some weird gravediggers?
My nose gently touched his, and he smiled again. He was so close. And so mine. My lips hungrily searched his, and upon their touch, I felt a storm rage inside me. His lips parted, greeting mine, soft and wet as if he had passed his tongue over them a second ago. I propped myself up in the bed and pulled him tightly against me.
“Nika, we must go. Now,” he said, sounding strangely serious. It confused me.
“Are you awake?” he asked, suspiciously.
“Awake?” I looked around. I was in my room in David’s palace, my bag was there, Belun was on my bed, and the window was open. I stared at the window. Was it possible? I looked at him.
“I don’t know.”
“Okay. Come on, we gotta go.” His hands pulled me off the bed, leading me to the window. He grabbed my jacket, and when I reached for my cell, he told me to leave it.
The sky was about to crack into dawn. It was the most peaceful part of a day, and there was no one except us. Belun grabbed me from behind, wrapped some rope around me, and jumped out of the window. A scream was stuck in my throat, but landing was softer than I had anticipated.
“Be quick and silent,” he said, and taking my hand, he started to run.
At full speed, we silently ran for two blocks until we came to an old blue car with three people already inside. Belun yanked open the rear car door, and slid into the middle seat, pulling me in next to him. I was stuck between him and the door, and I realized this was definitely not a dream.
“Good to see you again.” Theo turned around in the shotgun seat up front, and smiled back at me. I didn’t react. I needed time to process all of this.
Belun moved, making more space. He put his arm on the back of the seat, behind me, and gazed at me.
“Don’t worry, we’re doing everything we can,” he said in a low voice.
I didn’t know what that meant, but I noticed something weird on one of his hands. The veins were all black.
“What for?” I asked.
“For your safety.”
Then I realized what was missing. “Doris! Where is she?”
“She’s being taken care of.”
Taken care of? His black and white hand drew my attention; it looked as if it had been tattooed. Was that in the photos? I couldn’t remember.
I touched one black line, feeling his wince under my finger. It was a vein, but why was it black? I followed the line and could see even more of them a little under his jacket sleeve. It was really weird, but he quickly put the hand into his pocket before I could see more. The guy next to him bent to look at me, smiling. He wasn’t familiar, and Belun was still staring at me.
“Where is Doris?”
“Aidan is returning her to Tromsø.”
But then Balthazar’s words came to my mind.
“No, no. Balthazar said to avoid Tromsø at any cost!” The thought of Doris in the middle of the battle freaked me out. Was there a battle, or were they all already dead? Blake and Tibor hadn’t answered me when I’d called them.
“Change of plan,” Belun said calmly, but something inside me rebelled. I didn’t know why, but my jaw clenched and my hands started to shake heavily.
“Nika?”
I couldn’t look at him. Something was wrong. Something inside me.
The pain came through my stomach, and a silent cry left my mouth.
“Nika?!” he called again, but I was having trouble breathing—as if I was inhaling stuff that was too dry, as if the air wasn’t what I needed right now!
“Where’re we going?” I barely managed to ask.
“To the safe place. To the Underground.”
The Underground? My stomach was burning with pain, I opened my mouth but only screams came out.
“Nika!” Belun cried, holding me against him.
Pain in my head. Sharp. Throughout my whole body.
Belun’s arms held me tight while the screams left my throat. A zillion tiny blades cut my insides filling me with more and more pain. I was shaking and kicking, losing the sound of things. Of my screams.
Belun whispered something in my ear, but I couldn’t hear him. I only saw his lips moving, and even that began to fade.
The Sixth Elder was being born.
Darkling Page 31
