Page 82 of Wraithwound

Lena started to approach, but Leonid held out a hand. When she looked back to Laney, her face had changed. The light was gone from her eyes. Instead they’d gotten cloudy, the color absent from her irises. On instinct, Lena took a step back and stumbled, but Cross gripped her elbow, steadying her.

“That’s why she requested to be brought down here. She didn’t want to be a danger once she realized the turn had truly taken hold,” Leonid said.

“But—” she started.

“We should go. They find the light disturbing and can become agitated,” Leonid said and began walking towards the door.

Lena stood rooted to the spot. That was Laney in that cell, turning into a wraith right before her eyes.

“Lena,” Cross said softly, but she didn’t want to look at him, knowing what she’d see written on his face: There’s nothing we can do for her right now.

Reluctantly she turned to follow Leonid, and as she did, she caught sight of others who’d wandered out from the back of their cells. They looked like creatures from the darkest corners of her imagination, but there was something different about them. The energy they gave off was similar to Laney’s but different. She didn’t have time to contemplate it further as Cross’s question cut through her thoughts.

“How long do they survive down here?” he asked.

“The serum has done wonders for slowing down the course of the transformation, but it varies. Those who develop the ability to resurface from within themselves fare better. But once they stop eating, they don’t live very long,” Leonid said.

Heart hollow, she followed Leonid through the gate. Cross’s face was unreadable, and she couldn’t help but wonder what he might be thinking. Leonid didn’t lead them the same way they’d come in. Taking a corridor on the left, they walked on, the crystals growing in number as their path sloped upward slightly. Then, the vibrant sound of a child’s giggles reached her. She knew Cross had heard it too because he stiffened.

“What is that?” he asked.

“Ah, that’s likely Lilith and her mother,” he said walking a little further.

Stopping in front of another solid metal door, albeit a much smaller one, he knocked on a small, sealed window at the center. It slid open, and inside was a small bed and children’s toys.

“Sorry, are we being too loud?” a soft female voice said, a note of mirth evident in her tone.

“Not at all, Brin, I just wanted you and Lily to meet a new friend, Lena. She’s come to help.” Waving at Lena to step toward the window, Leonid stepped aside. Lena stepped forward, forcing a smile to her face, and Brin moved away allowing her a view of Lily.

“Lily, come meet Lena,” Brin said.

A little girl, about the age of six, dressed in a simple cotton dress walked over and hid behind her mother’s leg. She had long, chestnut brown hair that curled naturally at the ends. On her face, black veins branched from her jaw, up her cheek, and toward her eye while others ran down her neck beyond the neckline of her dress. One of her eyes was a stunning amber color while the other was milky white. She brought up a small hand to wave, also covered in black veins.

“Hi, Lily,” Lena said, forcing the words out beyond the shock she felt. “Are you playing a game?”

Lily shook her head. Her mother caressed the little girl’s hair, waiting for her to answer.

“We’re reading her favorite book,” Brin said, “it’s a funny one, huh?”

The little girl nodded.

“Brin, we’ll let you get back to it. Oh, and Riley will be by later to bring Lily some biscuits,” Leonid said. After waving, the window in the door slid shut, and Leonid started walking again. “Brin and Lily are recent arrivals, but it won’t be long until Lily will have to be moved below. We try to make people as comfortable as we can when they arrive, especially the children, but . . .”

Leonid continued talking, but Lena was no longer listening. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the door to the study once more, having no idea how she got there. Once inside, she couldn’t think past the shame burning on her neck and the pit of guilt in her stomach. There were so many people locked in those cells. So many people who were withering away slowly.

“So, you see, Lena, anything you could tell us about the attack, or the course of the infection, but most importantly how you’ve managed to survive it could be the key to helping those people down there, or those more fortunate like Lily,” he said.

She couldn’t imagine telling them about how she’d ingested her brother’s soul, the people she’d put at risk in Enora, and those she had killed, and yet, she so desperately needed to see what was in her mother’s diary. She needed to know if there was information in there about how to control the infection because if there were, then she’d have time to find a way to free Henry’s soul.

“What would be required of me?” she asked instead.

“We’d ask that you work with Dauen to provide as much information as possible and some specimens for him to look at.”

“Am I to stay in a cell below then?” she asked, afraid she already knew the answer.

“No, not below. You’d be set up in your own room. Adjoining rooms,” he clarified, glancing at Cross. “Although yours would be locked.”

“Okay,” Lena said slowly, having made up her mind. “I’ll help, but I would request some help in return.”