Page 66
Now he stands and stretches, tossing the cigarette to the ground. “Sounds good, so what’s the plan?”
“I told Kai to keep Calli away. Me, you, and Genevieve are going to hack into their systems and hopefully with them being blind, I can infiltrate and take Rosa out.”
He laughs, putting his hands in his pocket. “That’s a really terrible fucking plan.”
“Repeat that?” I ask, raising a brow.
He steps over to me. “It’s a bad fucking idea. You’re gonna get yourself killed.”
“We have their location, we have their witch, and we have you. Rosa’s guards have paramilitary training at best since the Covenant sent its best team to come here. What chance do they stand?”
“I think you’re missing one key factor.”
I wonder what he could be talking about, when the memory of the other day, speaking to Gen, pops into my head.
“You were spying on us,” I say flatly.
“Not spying; I just didn’t immediately walk away from the door and overheard your conversation.”
“What the fuck is going on with you? You don’t act like this, Jack.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he says, smirking.
“I’ve known you since you were a kid, Jack. I get if you’re angry, but you’re the one who lied. You are the one who broke my trust. Being mad doesn’t mean you need to act like a dick.”
He cocks his head and raises a brow. “Maybe you just don’t know me as well as you think you do.”
“No. You aren’t acting like yourself.”
He chuckles for a moment and lights another cigarette. He is not himself. I feel sick, staring into his eyes, and realization hits me like a wave.
This feeling from before… You were trying to tell me. You were trying to warn me. There are beings that can take over people’s bodies…
“Yes, I am,” he says slowly.
I look in his eyes, and a fear washes over me. My nerves stand on end. The same feeling I got out in the forest talking to Kai when I called him out.
No. It’s not true. It can’t be…
“You’re not Jack.” My voice is quiet.
He doesn’t react, instead inhaling on the cigarette. Then, his eyes begin to glow a stark white. My stomach twists and I’m frozen in place when he begins to slow clap.
“Wow, Kai wasn’t kidding. You are sharp for a human.”
I grab his shirt and shake him. “What are you?” My words are like venom.
“Same thing as Kai.” He takes another puff, prying my hands away.
“We’re celestials. Primordial beings with great power.” He starts pacing. “Your kind used to worship us as Gods. Although that became illegal on Astrallum, which is why we have the problem we have now.”
“The fuck are you talking about?”
“A world much like this, though much larger and vastly more dangerous. It exists around you, past the veil. It’s where all of us come from.”
“Not what I meant.”
“Aw, c’mon. Don’t play dumb. I know you figured out who Kai is and his part in all of this. Not to mention the mysterious stranger who’s been visiting the creepy cult.” He’s mocking me, but this is pertinent information.
