“I imagine he’s lost contact with the other members of the Saints who were out on missions,” Daniel said.
River’s eyes were worried, more worried than they should have been. I realized King had been out on a mission. He had left with Preacher right before we had left the ship to look for the bomb in New York. I also knew that River liked him more than just as a colleague.
“Yes,” River agreed.
Daniel nodded. “We’ll see what we can do about that.”
River nodded gratefully, and gestured us to follow her up the stairs. As we walked, the other Saints kept up their relentless staring. I thought it was because of Daniel and the others – gratefulness that Reaper’s left hand had come back to the group, but it went beyond that. Their eyes lingered on my face. Low whispers started to fill the jungle as much as the sounds of insects and unnamed creatures. I heard my name repeated over and over again. Some of the voices commented on the change. They could sense I was different. They had no idea.
Jackson leaned forward as we climbed up the vine-stairs, which wound around the large tree all the way to the top.
“Looks like you’re famous, stubborn,” Jackson said.
“Speaking of that,” River said. “Did you…you know?”
“Have an agonizingly painful experience that lasted a day?” I asked.
“Yeah,” River agreed.
“Yes,” I replied.
“There’s a rumor going around that the change was supposed to make you…strange,” River said.
“Strange?” I asked.
She looked as if she didn’t know the right way to put the truth. Her eyes scoured the vine-city for a way to articulate the discovery that had been made in my absence. She searched for a way not to offend me with her words.
“Word has gotten around from the people we saved from the nine’s castle,” River said. “They said you were part of some prophecy that would help us win the fight…After the fight with the Seekers on the boat, and our retreat here, our people have taken comfort in the fact that you are meant to lead us against him. They say you are the only one who can stop the coming storm.”
I looked at Daniel for help. I had never thought the truth would get out; I had assumed that Odette had not made her vision common knowledge. But the truth always had a way of getting found out, even when it was held by one of the most conniving Watchers in history. People, particularly Watchers, had a way of searching out what was hidden. Someone had found out why I had been summoned to the castle. The fact that I was different to begin with had only made them more certain of the validity of the ‘truth’ they had learned. Daniel shrugged at me as I searched his face for help – he couldn’t stop a rumor any more than I could. No amount of talking would stop the whispers...or the hope that had sprung up in their hearts.
“Oh,” I said to River, not knowing what else to say.
She looked at me strangely but did not press the issue. She could tell I was not ready to face the conversation she wanted to have about my abilities and my destiny to fight Marcus.
The vine-made stairs came out to a large platform near the top of the tree. There were rooms around the edge of the platform for Reaper and his people. As we stepped up the last stair, Spider stepped out of the room to our immediate right. His clothes were torn and his face was covered in dirt and sweat. He looked barely like the boy I remembered under the moisture and filth. The dirt made his eyes the brightest part of his face. His green eyes lit up with pleasure when he saw us, though his lips lifted in to a sarcastic smirk.
“You’re kind of late, doll,” Spider said. “Missed the fun.”
“I was busy,” I replied.
“That’s what all women say,” Spider said.
“What would you know about it?” I asked. “You’re eight.”
“Eleven,” he corrected automatically.
“He’s kind of right, though,” Jackson added.
Reaper stepped out of a vine-made hut directly in front of us. His face looked drained, and his eyes were lost in worry. Like River and Spider, he looked worse for the wear. His black hair was undone from his regular knot at the nape of his neck and his skin was covered in dirt. He carried his dirt with familiarity and indifference. It was just part of the situation he had found himself in; it was not as important as the people he was trying to lead. He searched our group with worried eyes. It was worry that contradicted his words.
“Thank goodness you’re safe,” Reaper said.
“I was about to say the same thing,” Daniel replied.
“Where are the others?” he asked.
He meant Alex. There was the source of his worry.
“The bomb was not a fake after all,” Daniel replied. “It blew up Grand Central.”
Reaper’s eyes widened as he immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion. Daniel did not seem to realize Reaper thought Alex had been in the explosion. I hurried to correct Reaper’s misunderstanding.
“Alex, Serenity and Eli stayed to help people,” I said. “We’re supposed to go get them after finding you.”
Reaper nodded and masked his lingering fear with another worry.
“He actually did it?” Reaper asked us all. “He blew something up?”
“With bells on,” Jackson said.
“But for what reason?” Reaper asked in a frustrated voice. “What possible purpose does that serve?”
“Fear?” Daniel asked back. “A distraction?”
Reaper looked past us to the canopy of vines. His eyes were lost in thought. He was trying to figure out something that was impossible to figure out with the facts we had in front of us. It was like looking at a puzzle with all the center pieces missing.
“But why?” Reaper asked. “Marcus doesn’t bother with scaring humans. To him, it is a waste of his time. There has to be another reason.”
“I’m afraid I know one,” a new voice said.
We turned and saw that Han and Beatrice had followed us up the steps. They alone looked well kept, as if they had been shielded from the worst of the violence and trauma. Beatrice eyed her son carefully, and they shared a moment of wordless communication. Her look asked if he was okay, and Daniel’s said he was fine – that we were all fine.
“What?” Reaper asked.
Beatrice refocused as Han continued his story.
“You must remember that I told you we were forced to work on a biological weapon – a virus – while we were imprisoned,” Han said. “This virus was designed to withstand extreme temperatures and to outlast a week’s worth of environmental factors before working in the way it was intended.”
“You think this explosion was nothing more than a means of spreading his virus?” Daniel asked.
“I think that it is something you should consider,” Han clarified. “I do not know what Marcus intended for this explosion, beyond fear and chaos.”
“Speaking of that…” Reaper said. “We should go get Alex.”
“And Serenity and Eli?” I questioned lightly.
Reaper shrugged. “I suppose.”
“Do you think you could get some samples for us?” Beatrice asked Daniel. “We would like to know if our suspicions are correct.”
“Yeah…” Daniel agreed.
Beatrice pulled two small glass cylinders out of her pocket. Inside of each, there was a cotton swab. Daniel didn’t need her to explain what to do. He took the cylinders and tucked them in to his pocket. I held out my hands to the others. Reaper had a warning.
“I don’t think we should land smack dab in the middle of the station,” Reaper said.
“What did you have in mind?” I asked.
He touched my hand and showed me a location. It was a back alley a block away from Grand Central. I pulled the image in to my head and focused on the place. River and Moira kept their places as Margaret, Jackson, Spider, Reaper and Daniel grabbed whatever part of my hand they could find. Han and Beatrice looked on, their worry clouding their expressions. It was worry that the evil they had c
reated had finally been let loose on the world. I understood some of their guilt.
Without wasting anymore time, I pulled the others to the location Reaper had shared with me. It was a relief to know that he and the others had survived, but I could not stop the logic of my brain. None of this would have happened if it were not for me. Marcus was doing this because of me. He had attacked the ship, had attacked us in New York and ultimately blown up a train station because I had refused to be captured by him. Though I knew I could not help his choices anymore than I could help anyone else’s, it was tied to me. Everything was tied to me. I had to be the one to stop it – no one else had the power. The guilt, while not entirely healthy, brought a purpose. I knew what I had to do. I finally felt as if I had the tools to face Marcus.
The trick would be getting to Marcus before he hurt anyone else.
Chapter 16
Despite appearing a block from the explosion, it was not difficult to pinpoint the chaos. I didn’t even need super-hearing to hear the shouts, sirens and people questioning what had happened. The panic filled the streets, causing uneasy mutterings among the byways of the city that never slept. The dark of the night was lit up with a dozen spotlights and lights from emergency vehicles.
We moved out of the alley and down the streets, toward the chaos. The police had barricaded the roads near the station, to keep bystanders from being caught up in the madness of the confusion. People called out to the cops, wanting to know what had happened. News crews were out in full force, as they reported on the bombing. As we approached the barricade, I heard one reporter begin his broadcast.
“Reports coming out of the station are sketchy, but witnesses report fire coming from one of the subway systems. We have reports of eleven dead and twenty-three injured so far. This is only one in a number of explosions in the world today. China, India, Saudi Arabia, Great Britain, Brazil and France have reported similar explosions in various public transportation hubs. Reports are unclear if this is work of a terrorist organization. No one has stepped forward and claimed responsibility yet. Police are still trying to sort the injured and the dead here at Grand Central…”
He went on, his words trying to explain the chaos to people who could never understand, unless they had lived through something similar. The news that other countries had been attacked was startling. It was proof that Marcus was not just after his hometown. He had a bigger picture in mind.
Daniel caught my eye. I could tell he was similarly worried about what the attacks meant. He shelved his worry and gestured us to follow him. We moved around the perimeter of the barricade, searching for a good place to get inside without anyone noticing us. The majority of the cops were dealing with the press and the people screaming questions, trying to find out if their loved ones had been inside. We moved to the side of the building that was less guarded and found a parking garage. We slipped inside before the two cops guarding it even knew we were there. We hurried to the stairs. I could not help but wonder if the virus was a reality we had to face, if Alex had been exposed to it. She was not strictly a Watcher. Her immune system wasn’t like ours. I didn’t know what kind of effect it would have on her. Would it be deadly?
We hurried down the stairs and came back out on the main level, where all the shops were. The room had been turned in to a makeshift E.R. Paramedics treated wounds and prioritized the victims. I could tell there were a lot more than twenty-three injured. It was more like a hundred. I scanned the crowd but didn’t see Alex, Eli or Serenity among the faces.
Daniel pointed to the stairs, his eyes distant. He had seen their location. We made our way around the injured. As we walked, Daniel pulled the tubes he had taken from Beatrice and collected quick samples. It was barely noticeable around his swift walk. Spider couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the carnage; his greens eyes were huge as he took in the sight of so many people hurt all at once. I avoided looking at the people – it only made me feel guiltier for not stopping the explosion. My brain had decided that guilt wasted time, but my heart could not let it go. Seeing people in so much pain was a reminder of the evil that had been done.
Daniel led us up a staircase and down a long hallway. We all stopped in front of the woman’s bathroom. It was not difficult to see that there had been a fight. The silver blood still stained the floor. My heart beat faster with the bloodshed. It was silver – so it was not Alex’s blood – but that didn’t mean she was safe.
I turned to look at the others, to see if they were prepared for a possible fight. They nodded. Spider pulled out his knife. I reached out and knocked on the door. There was a sound of feet moving across the floor and a low whisper to someone inside. I recognized the voice.
“Alex?” I asked.
The whisper cut off, and I heard the feet cross the floor again. This time, there was less fear and more aggravation in the step.
“What the frak!?” Alex demanded.
Her blue eyes were wide with fright. She held a bloody, curved knife in her hand. It was one of Serenity’s knives. I could not tell if the blood that was on it was from Alex’s use or Serenity’s.
“You don’t just knock on the door like that all casual-like! You scared me!” Alex continued.
“Should I have just stormed in?” I asked.
Alex frowned at me. “Well, no…but you could have called out first.”
“What happened?” Daniel asked.
“That woman with the scales showed up,” Alex said. “Serenity and Eli led them away from the people and up here. Serenity got hurt, but Eli’s healing her now.”
“Did she have zombie-Watchers with her?” I asked.
“No,” Alex said. “It was just her, a guy in a cloak and five others.”
“Why was she here?” I asked.
Alex sighed at the admission she was about to make.
“I think they were after me,” Alex said.
“Not me?” I asked.
“Not from the way they were trying to kidnap me,” she replied. “They seemed very focused on taking me.”
“And you scared them off?” I asked, pointing at the knife.
“I don’t know. Serenity killed one, I injured another…then they just left,” Alex said.
“They just left?” Daniel asked. “Like that?”
“Yeah…” Alex agreed. “I don’t get it either.”
“Why would they want you?” I asked.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she replied sarcastically. “Maybe because I’m your best friend and that puts a lot of leverage over you. Marcus could manipulate you, if you thought he had me.”
“That’s true,” I replied.
Marcus had already kidnapped Daniel’s parents. What if he realized that he could kidnap someone else I was close to, and I would come for them in the same way we had come after Han and Beatrice? He could lay a trap I would be helpless to escape.
“That’s very true…” I said more thoughtfully than before.
“What?” Daniel asked me.
“If that woman can track people, what would keep them from tracking down Ellen?” I asked. “Ellen has a way of hiding, but she’s not omniscient.”
“We can go get her and the others,” Daniel said. “We won’t let anything happen to them.”
I nodded and refocused on the situation in front of me. Reaper was eyeing Alex for injuries. His concern was written across his face. Alex was eyeing him in the same way. She was worried about his radio-silence from the past day and what it meant for the Saints. Behind her, I saw the feet of a person on the ground. It was the Watcher Serenity had killed.
“Where are Serenity and Eli?” I asked.
“In here,” Alex said.
She moved out of the way, and I stepped in to the bathroom. Serenity was on the ground. She had a deep cut that ran from the top of her scalp to her chin. There was another wound in her shoulder. Her eyes were closed as Eli worked his magic. I knew she would heal on her own, but Eli’s touch sped the process along. Reaper eyed Eli and Serenity. His e
xpression was back to the leader of a group, instead of a friend.
“We should take them back to the camp,” Reaper said. “Then, we can get your mom.”
“Alright,” I agreed.
I crouched down next to Serenity and Eli and put my hand over where Eli was touching the wound on her face. The others crowded around me. I imagined the city of trees, the platform on top of the tree, and felt the pull of the place lead me on.
As soon as we landed, Eli picked Serenity off the ground and looked at Reaper in a question. None of their past showed in Reaper’s face, though he couldn’t hide the animosity from his eyes. He was professional – as always. Eli’s expression questioned where he could finish the healing.
“You can take her in there,” Reaper said, pointing at one of the rooms.
Eli nodded and walked away with Serenity. Reaper turned to me.
“I have a favor to ask of you,” Reaper said before I could disappear to collect Ellen and the others.
“What?” I asked.
“I have people still out there. For all I know, Marcus is hunting them down as we speak. There is also the matter of King and Preacher. They are still in Israel. Sara and Shawn might be out for a while…and you are the only person I have that can…”
“I’ll do it,” I said. “After I make sure my family is safe.”
Reaper nodded in appreciation.
“Fair enough,” Reaper said. “I’ll get the locations of the others, and we’ll go hunting when you get back.”
“Okay,” I said.
I held my hands out to Alex, Daniel and Spider. Spider looked at my hand without taking it. Alex knew the reason behind his hesitation before I could figure it out.
“They kids will want to see you,” Alex said. “They’ve been asking about you.”
Spider flicked his eyes to the leafy room Eli had disappeared in to with Serenity.
“And they would rather hear that truth from you,” Alex added.
Spider finally reached forward and touched my hand. I focused on another familiar place. I landed us in Naomi’s front room. It was the safest place I could think of to land – a place that would keep us from being followed. Naomi was on the sofa. She jumped when we appeared and spit out her cereal. She was in her pajamas, which had crossbones on them. On the TV was the second Evil Dead movie. She looked as if she was just settling in for the night.
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