I’m gonna need a spell for some new lungs after this.
Emer
Gah. Waiting here is unbearable. I should be in the Hub working on Levi, not waiting on Rez and her ragtag group to make it here. What’s the point of having admirers if they can’t follow simple orders? Now I understand what my father has to deal with. Why be royalty if your subjects are incompetent? Angel is devoted but not the brightest, yet she’s my cousin, so she counts for something.
The gates blink, catching my attention, and Travis and Gertrude stroll out of the portal. “They’re right on the other side, coming up the path. Should be here in a few minutes,” she says with a vicious smile.
Gertrude is a new addition, but I’ll give it to her, I haven’t had to tell her what to do so far. It was actually her idea to block the doors to the Administration building and set up the trap when I gave them the task to come up with a way to get Rez alone or at least away from the princes. If anyone got hurt around her, that was fine, but we couldn’t harm the princes or be seen hurting them.
“Good job, Gertie,” I say and she hisses at the nickname. “I’ll see you guys later. Go to the safe house if there’s any problems. Just remember, back her up to the woods and everything else will be taken care of from there.” I remind them of the plan and pull out the flask my father sent me. Throwing it to the ground, I’m transported to the Hub’s front steps, leaving my little minions to take care of the deed. I need an alibi, and Ihaveto be seen in the Hub when theSentinatakes her last breath. Looking in the direction of the portal back to the school, I let a slight smile pull at my lips as I think how easy that was.
First obstacle, get rid of Nerezza Taylor. Done. Second on the list, claim my man and believe me, I’m about to. Turning, I finish walking into the Hub to go find him.
ChapterForty-Three
BYE-BYE HARPY BITCH
Rez
Staring up at the gate, I’m a little apprehensive about walking through this particular portal a second time, the first time was enough for me. I don’t have time to see the horseman again or faint, though I haven’t had any of those side effects using the Administration building portal. Maybe it’s paranoia or instinct, I don’t know, but something tells me this time it will be different and nothing like the first time.
Stepping in, nothing seems off, but my head starts to tingle as time seems to slow. Everything looks sharp, but at the same time I feel like I have cotton around all my senses, dulling the colors and sounds, along with my touch. Stepping out dully, I watch as a group of harpies and their goons jump out from behind the portal and the trees surrounding the glen. A few grab Chester and one grabs Moni, throwing her in a jar like a bug. Four guys grab JP and wrestle him down to the ground, completely overwhelming him. I see myself step away from the portal as if I’m another entity that’s watching from a distance and the harpies zero in on me. They don’t surround me and attack, but instead herd me toward the woods.
My back hits the edge of the trees and everything pauses, and somehow I know my fate isn’t sealed quite yet. Oddly, I know that this is the tipping point and I shouldn’t step back further than this. The question is, how am I seeing this? The answer comes to me in a whisper. “The veil of deceit of thy enemies shall be revealed.”
Well shit on a corncob. I’m in trouble.
I take in a deep breath as I watch the scene slowly rewind and my eyes track all the movements until I’m left staring at the empty glen. I wish I could warn the guys before they walk out, but I don’t even see them as I look around. Instinctively I know as soon as I take a step things are going to play out the way I saw them.
Fuck!
Wiping my sweaty palms on my leggings, I take in a deep breath and slowly let it out before taking the last step out of the portal. Chaos erupts as people scream and yelling comes from behind the portal, but I refuse to look behind me since I know what’s about to happen. There’s nothing I can do to help Moni, Chester, or JP right now. Either way, we are outnumbered and I have to stay away from the forest I’m being backed into. Gertrude comes out swinging and I dodge, only to be hit in the shoulder by one of the Twilight Twins. Cursing and grunts come from JP’s direction, and Moni’s frantic screeching comes to a halt, signaling she’s in the jar.
The only thing that’s gonna save her is if she gets mad and does her Sonic Boom, I just hope I’m not close by when she does, or else I’m fucked. “What’s your deal, Fish Face?” I yell at Gertrude. I slowly back up, keeping an eye on where I’m at.
“Um, maybe my deal is you’re a dick snatcher? You bring death to Purgatory just being here. Take your fucking pick, bitch!” She hisses and stops her advancement long enough to look at her friends blocking my escape.
I start to take another step back and feel something brush the back of my leg as I catch the tree line in my peripheral view. Realizing this is my turning point, I crouch down, and Gertrude smiles with her pointy teeth right before she jumps at me, her arms stretched out to push me.
As she advances, Chester and JP scream, “NO!”
Diving forward, I dodge her hands and grab her upper arm, pulling her past me as I swoop for her spot, but she effectively pulls me with her when her tentacles whip out to grab me. I flip onto my back as I look back in time to see the Withering Sulks in the tree line, and Gertrude tumbling right into it, pulling me with her.
I’m just about to shout out a warning when a cloaked figure rises out of the Sulks, choking off the words in my throat. I catch a small glimpse of the winged snake tattoo along his jaw, marking him as a Rebel, right before he turns his head. Gertrude trips into his open arms, screaming that he has the wrong girl and pointing down at me at her feet, right before her skin starts to turn black. The cloaked figure looks over, and I meet his red eyes as I scramble back out of his reach before he slips back into the Sulks.
Screams ring out as the harpies turn and run, leaving us in the wake of their chaos. I’m frozen to the spot as JP comes over, pulling me up and checking for any injuries. My eyes don’t move from where I last saw the Sulks, and all I can think about is how I was touching it and how I should be floating away as ashes on the breeze.
“I should be dead,” my words come out as a whisper as JP guides my stiff body over to where Chester is freeing Moni from her prison.
“Did you see that? A guy came out of the Sulks and took her,” Moni says in shock.
“Yeah. I didn’t think anyone could survive the Sulks let alone appear out of it like that,” Chester agrees.
“I was on the Sulks too,” I say a little louder, and JP’s chocolate eyes are the only thing I see.
“You were on the Sulks and survived?” JP asks, his eyes going wide as he glances over me again. It’s as if this time he might see something that will explain how I surpassed death.
“Are you sure, Rez?” Moni asks, touching my shoulder and giving me comfort.
