“Don’t worry, Ellis,” Giselle says as she pops up beside him, breathless and beautiful as usual. “We’ll talk him into doing an entire renovation. And once you convince him he’ll have the best pool in all the land, he’ll be thrilled our friends have decimated it.”
Skyla nods my way. “Sounds about right.” She latches her hand to mine.And do you know what else sounds about right? We might be able to use Giselle to appeal to Gage’s good senses.
I shake my head at her.Gage doesn’t have any good sense left. Besides, we won’t be able to trust G with anything we tell her. If we let her know about the delusions Demetri is pulling, it’s as good as whispering it in the devil’s ear himself.
Gage casts a quick glance my way, and his lips flicker with a smile as if he heard.
But Skyla doesn’t seem to notice him for once. Instead, she’s intently studying the newly charred floor at the bottom of the pool.
A sharp gasp comes from her, quick and urgent, as if she just touched a flame.
“I see it.” She blindly pulls me close by my shirt as she points to the water. “Logan, it’s a globe.”
“It is.” Laken moans. “And oddly, the continents—they look as if they’re moving.”
Coop nods. “They’re rearranging.”
Wes steps up until his toes are over the lip of the pool.
“It’s him.” No sooner does Wes announce it, than the picture comes in clear.
“Well, shit.” I buck with a silent laugh. “There you are, Gage. King of the world.” His face lies firmly embedded in what looks to be an etching of the planet Earth. “You’ve got the dimples. You’ve even got the blue eyes staring back at us. Are you happy now? You’re going to set the world on fire—and not in any good way.”
Skyla looks to those around us. “Please, excuse us.” She hitches her head back toward the willows, and Gage follows us over.
We settle into the thick darkness, where the air is damp and scented with the raw earth below.
“Gage,” Skyla whispers, but her rage comes through loud and clear. “I know you are well aware of the death toll.”
I take a breath as I look to the boy I grew up with while he stands stiff as a statue.
I lean in. “In the event you need a refresher, it’s predicted millions will perish. They’ve shut down entire hemispheres. People are leaving their dead in the street.” I thump my hand hard into his chest. “Wake the hell up, Gage.”
Skyla steps in front of him. “In the least, carry out your due diligence. We may be human hybrids, but we—most of us—are not immortal. Think of the boys.” Her hand slips over her stomach. “Think of the families you are personally about to destroy. Don’t do this, Gage. Don’t kill millions of people over a lie born in the pit of Hell. Logan and I will help you fight Demetri. In fact, we’re doing it without you, until you’re ready to join us. We’ll find a cure if you don’t stop it. I’m just afraid it might be too late.”
Gage searches Skyla’s features as if he was scouring her face for answers.
“It is too late.” He looks from her to me. “And I’m afraid you won’t find the cure. You won’t have to.” He closes his eyes a moment too long. “When the time is right. I’ll stop it dead in its tracks.”
He takes off for the side yard as he makes his escape and Skyla bounces on the balls of her feet, her face darkening with rage.
“The time is now, Gage! Screw you!” she roars. “We’re stopping you right inyourtracks.” She turns my way and pushes her hands to my chest so hard I stumble. “Find a way to make him see the damn light!” Her voice thunders into the sky.
But I can’t think of a single way.
And neither can she.
“He’s doing this for us, you, the kids.” I pull her in as her heart slams over my chest. “He thinks he’s being courageous.”
“Sometimes courage is bullshit.”
I hold her there under that weeping willow as the Paragon fog creeps in and wraps itself around us like a shield, and I ponder her words.
And, of course, she’s right.
20
Wesley
