Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Riley
It only takes us a few minutes to hop from Door to Door before we’re standing in the underground room where Lark and a group of others are talking. The second Lark sees us, she looks relieved and hurries over with her brother not far behind.
“Something’s going on with those who were hurt,” she says.
“Did they have seizures?” I ask, curious whether they had the same reaction Mickey did.
Lark looks surprised. “They did. I don’t know what’s going on.
Sterling is trying her hardest to identify the problem.
Everything is falling apart and our people are becoming restless and anxious.
We’re currently trying to get a meeting with Onyx to see if she can give us information on what caused it. ”
“Mickey had the same reaction. Can we see the others?” Torin asks.
“Of course. Bring Mickey with you. We’ll get him in a bed and have a doctor examine him.”
We follow her outside and I find that there aren’t many people out and about; they seem to be hiding in their homes where it’s likely safest.
“Did you deliver more food again this morning?” I ask.
Lark nods as Story jogs over to catch up to us. “We did… but not as many showed up. I think they’re afraid. Things… things don’t quite feel right,” she says.
I push Mickey’s hair off his forehead and look at him, but he’s still completely unresponsive. I anxiously wonder if I should take him back home and find a healer there, but they’d have no idea what Onyx’s men are using.
Lark leads us up to a building that has a peeling sign out front with the words “Medical Center” painted on it. Inside, people are busy rushing around, but a nurse notices the moment we enter and hurries over to help.
Torin sets Mickey down on the bed we’re ushered over to, and a nurse is immediately on him, reading vitals and checking him over while we explain what happened to him.
We’re informed that it’s the same thing that happened to the others who were hurt yesterday—at least the others who were on our side since we don’t know what’s happening inside the capital walls.
“You can come see the others,” Lark offers, but I don’t want to leave Mickey when I don’t know what’s going on with him, even though the nurse has assured us that his vitals are perfect and it has something to do with his magic versus something wrong with his health.
“I’ll stay,” Vero says as he flops into a seat that creaks beneath his bulk.
He folds muscular arms over his chest while he glowers in Mickey’s direction.
And though I know he’s not the fondest of Mickey, I have an odd feeling that he’d crush the skull of the first person who even dreamed of harming him.
“We’ll be quick,” I promise.
“Don’t have to be.”
“You have your walkie-talkie, right?”
“Wishing I didn’t,” he says.
We step out into the hallway and Lark takes us into the next room where a girl of about fifteen is lying. I don’t remember her among those who’d been shot, but there was so much going on that I might have missed it.
“She wasn’t one of the wounded,” Torin comments as he hurries over to the bed.
“No… she wasn’t,” Lark says, confirming my observation.
I tilt my head in thought. “I assumed it was because of the bullet. Was it not?”
“I don’t know,” Torin says, examining the young woman before he hesitates and looks at where her sleeve is pushed up on her arm. It’s showing her shoulder, so Torin pushes the edge of the fabric up, revealing the back of her shoulder. “She has two brands?”
Lark nods. “Most of us do. They… ‘switched’ to a different one about two years ago after a few people were still able to use their magic. They realized the brand they were using wasn’t offering complete control over all magic.”
“They do it to degrade us,” Story says as he looks down at the brand on his wrist.
“But you can still access enough magic to keep Story…” Is “alive” the right word? “Enough magic to use it on Story.”
“Yes. It seems like those of us who were very strong continue to have a sliver of our magic even today.” Lark rubs her finger over her brand. “Every day, I fear they’re going to learn how to create a stronger brand, so I do my best to never let them know. I can’t lose my brother.”
“I understand,” I say. I can’t imagine the pain of knowing that if they chose to do something else, she’d lose her brother permanently.
We step out into the hallway, but as Torin talks to Story and Lark, I get a strange feeling in my chest. I can’t quite pinpoint what it is, but it makes Kit look to the left, where she stares at a closed door.
Slowly, I walk over to it and press my ear against the door so I can listen.
“I understand,” a muffled voice says. It sounds like Sterling, which wouldn’t surprise me. As the acting leader of the group of branded outcasts, it would make sense for her to be involved with what’s going on and to be here at the hospital, but I haven’t seen her yet.
“Why do you hesitate when it comes to trusting me?” she asks.
I hear footsteps and barely step back from the door before it’s pulled open and Sterling smiles at me. “Riley, I didn’t know you were back.”
“Just got here,” I say as I look into the room where no one else stands, and there’s no other way out. The whole time I’ve been here, I’ve never seen anyone using technology that would allow them to communicate so easily outside the capital.
“Who were you talking to?” I ask, pushing up the bow over my shoulder that’s beginning to slip.
“My sister, Jan.” She taps her head. “Please keep it to yourself. Lark knows I have some magic that allows me to communicate with her, but it would destroy me to lose that.”
“Of course,” I say.
“Jan’s… a bit more rash than me. She lives inside the capital. I don’t think she understands what it’s like out here. She just… wants us back together like we were before our parents realized what I was and tossed me out here.” Sterling takes a deep breath and smiles. “Do you have any siblings?”
I start to say “No” before remembering that I technically have three very hotheaded and irritating siblings who are hellbent on destroying multiple worlds. “Three.”
“Oh? Are you the youngest?”
I don’t quite know how to answer that but decide that since I’d died last, I’ll take the position. “I am.”
“Me too,” Sterling says. “I really look up to my sister even though I haven’t seen her in years… ten, to be exact. But my magic has allowed me to keep communicating with her all this time.”
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“Maybe soon.” She looks rather hopeful at the thought, and I question whether the two sides would ever willingly come together before they ended up destroying each other.
Torin peeks into the room with Lark and Story behind him. “I thought something snatched you up and I’d have to battle them for you.”
Chuckling, I respond, “Not quite.”
“I just heard that Onyx and her people have agreed to a meeting,” Lark says.
“She agreed to meet at the capital gate. Who knows what they have in store for us, but it might be our only chance to talk some sense into her. I think she can be reasonable, but if her father is there whispering in her ear, it might cause problems.”
“I wish the asshole would just keel over already,” Story complains, which Lark doesn’t seem to find appropriate to say out loud even if everyone is thinking it.
“I’m good and ready for it,” Sterling says before turning to us. “Will you all be staying here?”
“No, I’m going with you,” Torin replies, sounding determined, before looking over at me. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah. I’ll check to make sure Vero can stay with Mickey.”
“I can stay with Mickey,” Story offers. “I’m not much help out there and Vero is terrifying, so he could at least bully a few people.”
“That’s true,” I say as I head into Mickey’s room, only to find that his eyes are open. I see that his mouth is moving and Vero is leaning in close, looking perplexed and maybe even a little annoyed.
“What is it?” I ask, rushing forward just in time to hear, “True love’s kiss will surely revive me.”
Vero snorts at Mickey’s words. “Well tough shit, you’re quiet like this and much preferable.”
“Hey, you’re okay. What a relief.” I grab Mickey’s face in my hands before kissing his forehead. That puts a smile on his half-dead face. “My kiss must have worked.”
“Aw. I love you, Riley. And I missed you so much while you ran off and had your pity party for the past few years,” he says. “You’re the best of friends and I didn’t realize how lost I was without you until you came back. Vero, your turn.” Mickey puckers his lips.
Vero ignores him.
I pat Mickey’s hand. “I love you too, you dork. You’re going to stay here with Story while we go talk to the people from the capital. Okay? We’ll be right back.”
“I feel so strange, as though my body is being ripped in two directions. It’s like my magic is going one way and I’m being forced the other way.”
“We’re going to fix it and find out why,” I say.
Story promises, “I’ll keep a close eye on him.”
“Don’t let him talk you into anything foolish,” I beg Story. “He needs to stay in that bed.”
“You act like I’m dying to walk somewhere,” Mickey says. “I’ve never wanted to walk anywhere that badly.”
“That’s true,” I agree.
Mickey turns to his newest victim. “So, Story, do you have any crushes? Oh, you want to know about me? I’m surrounded by hot men and am so single I’ve gotten my spinster award. I really should revive a sheep to get some wool to spin.”
“Aren’t you like… in your thirties? You act like your life is over,” Story says.
I leave them to it, glad at least one of them has common sense since the other is a genius who just… really struggles to show it.
We hurry out on foot and spend about fifteen minutes walking to the capital gate. I’m a bit uncertain what we’ll face when we get there, but I feel relief that Mickey is awake, even if he’s not quite back to normal.