But my tale is not being written by me, nor do I approve of this messed-up plot.
“You’re scared.” Hector places a cold palm over my heart. “Despite everything, I’m not your enemy.”
“You’ve got to be shitting me. I was kidnapped by your men. They killed a friend of mine and hurt another.”
“Would you like them dead?”
I watch his face closely, but he seems serious. I remember the look in Trey’s eyes before he died on his knees like a dog. If I had only stepped out of the palace by myself when I heard that voice in my head, he would not have died like that. “Yeah, I want them dead.”
“Noted. Now, are you feeling dizzy yet?”
I frown at his odd question, but he’s right; I do feel dizzy. I glance at the empty glass of wine, my anxiety rising. “Why did you drug me?”
Instead of answering, he stands up and pulls me to my feet. I’m losing control over my body fast, feeling disconnected from my own flesh. He maneuvers me until I’m lying with my stomach on the cold table, my head leaning down from the edge. The floor shifts like a river beneath me.
“Why?” I manage to ask again, barely able to utter the word.
He strokes my bare back. “Today, the city witnessed a Defender fighting like a demon. Next time, that Defender will be a Raider, and your tale will have another chapter written.”
Through the fogginess, I realize what he’s about to do. I try to move, but my body is no longer my own. I use all my remaining strength to croak out the word, “No.”
Hector walks away and returns a minute later, placing what sounds like a bag on the table next to me. He turns up the light above and makes the room much brighter, though I can still only see the shifting floor.
“This will hurt,” he says. “I can take away the pain, but I would like for you to feel every second of this important event.”
When he begins to tattoo my back, the pain is staggering, piercing through me like sharp nails. I shut my eyes, my moans mixing with the buzzing of the electronic needle.
As I slowly lose myself to the unrelenting pain, a dark realization hits me like a blow.
He’s tattooing scales all over my back.
Chapter 16
Finn
I sleep too deeply to recall if I had nightmares. When I wake up, Timothy is not in the room. Based on the sun’s rays shining through the window, it seems like mid-morning. I go pee and brush my teeth, my eyes puffy from sleep. Once I change into clothes fit for the road, I step outside and climb down the steps, hearing River say, “You need to leave enough cheese for Finn.”
“There’s enough left,” Buck answers.
“But he eats a lot. His stomach is a wonder.”
“Good morning,” I say and enter the dining room.
River smiles, his red hair slightly damp from a recent shower. “I was just telling Buck about your stomach.”
“I heard.” I sit down next to Josh, who seems more relaxed than he did yesterday. “Where’s Timothy?”
“He has a new friend named Frankie,” River says. “We’ll pick him up before we leave.”
I pile food onto my plate. “How long should it take us to reach Pueblo?”
“About an hour,” Buck says.
I stop before I take a bite. “But it’s far to the south. It should take us a couple of days at least.”
“Not by air.”
“By air?”
