“We? There is nowein this. I’m heading back home immediately so no one knows I’ve been gone.” She starts to head for the door as I hurry after her, but when someone knocks, we both froze.
“Arienna?” That’s Irin! Fabia must have run back to get someone with magic to help her find the door!
“Shit. I can’t be seen here,” Deirdre says as she shoves me forwards. “Get rid of them while I…” Her head twists around. “Hide in the cupboard.”
“No!” I yelp, then clasp my lips together as I grab her arm. “You can’t go in there. There’s a… uh, another body… in there.”
“In the cupboard?”
“Yes.”
She glances around the room, at all the very blatant, unhidden corpses, and I know exactly what’s on her mind. Why the heck would I have bothered to hide it?
“She died in there,” I squeak.
She stares at me until another knock sounds.
“Just a minute!” I yell. “They’re uh… they’re all in the bathroom.”
“All of them?” Fabia asks.
“Yep.” My nerves frayed, I wait for her to answer.
The handle rattles, making me jump. “Arienna, let me in.”
“I can’t!” I shout as I pray she doesn’t kick the door in. “They’re all passing explosive diarrhoea due to the drugs we gave them and uh, it’s bad. But it’s nothing serious.”
Deirdre looks at me like I’m mad.
“I’m sure they’ll uh… they’ll be ready soon.”
“No, they won’t,” Deirdre mutters, but I ignore her.
“Just stall for like five…” I hold a thumb’s up to Deirdre, then a thumb’s down, swivelling between them, asking her if that is enough.
“No.” Her expression becomes even more exaggerated.
“Ten…” When she just stares at me, I exhale in relief. “Yeah, ten minutes or so, I reckon. Then we’ll all be right out as agreed.”
“Ten minutes,” Fabia says sternly. “Then Irin’s breaking down the door.”
“Okay,” I squeak even though I know Fabia isn’t going to wait at all. Most likely, she’s trying to get Irin to break the spell now.
“Holy fuck, I need to get out of here.” Deirdre looks left and right, but I have no idea what she’s looking for. There are no windows in this room and only one door; it’s why Evangeline picked it to hold the hostages.
“You have to resurrect at least one of them,” I plea with her, hoping the Court will take that in good faith. “I need someone to release –”
At a soft groan, my head jerks around, searching for the survivor. Grabbing Deirdre’s arm, I pull her over to the poor woman trying to move. Her chest has been ripped apart so badly, I can see some of her ribs are broken clean through.
“Just do this one. Her body’s okay, right? She’s still alive, so it has to be.”
Deirdre exhales for a long time as she stares down at her. Finally, she nods. “Yeah, I can work with this one. Her heart looks fine.” She glances up at me, her one green eye now glowing softly. “But are you sure you want me to do it?”
“Of course!”
“Okay… I just wanted to confirm that.” Kneeling down, she picks up the woman’s head and places it on her lap. Then she grabs one of the woman’s wrists.
My heart pulsates as I wait for her magic to work. The woman’s breathing is getting weaker. My nerves are dying alongside her. “Hurry.”
