He seemed surprised by my halt, examining the new wave of uncertainty coating my face. “It was a gift. I can tell you while we drive. We need to get you safe.”
I chewed the inside of my lip, my eyes flicking between the approachable face of my friend and the machine that stuck out like a red flag amid an energy crisis. It occurred to me that the flag color didn’t matter; at least there wasn’t anactualdead body at its base, unlike Graysen’s. I had no other options, and the car was a familiar comfort from life on Earth.
“Right,” I agreed, following him to the passenger side door.
He pulled the handle and moved to the side so I could take a seat. The caramel leather was luxurious, but in a world where cars themselves are a luxury, that wasn’t particularly surprising. I buckled into the seat and waited nervously while he closed the door and made his way to the driver’s side.
The engine’s purr was startling after being so unaccustomed to motors at this point. I’d never thought about the subtle vibrating of the seat, or the way a vehicle rocked once the emergency brake was released before, but I washypersensitive to every sensation I’d since forgotten. The car doors locked automatically as he shifted into drive, and I closed my eyes to fight the impending anxiety. Somehow, the moderate acceleration felt more daunting than riding a dragon.
“You first,” Cassius prompted. “What happened?”
It felt wrong tarnishing Graysen’s name, but having my story out there might prove valuable should anything go wrong. “I think Graysen is dangerous. He’s been violent and has strange secrets, and I just don’t think I can trust him right now.”
“He hurt you?” Cassius asked. It was an emotionally loaded question, but his eyes were neutral.
“No, of course not,” I blurted instinctively. “Somebody else hurt me. But Graysen has hurt other people.” Well, at least one other person. My attacker. The other two were speculation based on the evidence I’d discovered this morning. Granted, it was significant evidence.
We turned onto a wide cement road and the car picked up speed. My stomach lurched. “Does he know you went to the school?”
“No.” Familiar teal crops tinted the heavy fog blue. It felt odd that we were leaving town. What direction had he told me he lived in again?
“Does he know about me? Would he be able to find you at my place?”
“No.” My eyes panned to his expression which grew calmer once I answered.
“What did you say to him when you left?”
“He wasn’t home,” I said quietly, an unconscious part of me screaming "stop talking".Something was wrong. My instincts swirled, trying to reassess the new feeling in the air.
“He was with Mykie this morning?” he asked. An innocent enough question. But…
“I-I never told you about Mykie.” The words escaped my lips without consent.
Before I could panic, before I could fight, before I could ask Cassius what the fuck was going on, a white cloth slapped over my mouth from behind the headrest. The smell was chemical—familiar. My vision began to blur as my muscles relaxed. I tried to stay alert, wanting nothing more than to feel the urgency appropriate for the situation, but the drugs soaking the fabric made me so… incredibly… calm. Staying awake wasn’t an option.
Graysen
“Mykie!” I pounded my fists on the frail metal of her door, half wondering why I didn’t just let myself in already. Valuable seconds were ticking away before I could get back to Faeryn. Had she been well enough for me to leave her? She was healthy enough toarguewith me, surely that was a good sign.
The handle clicked and squeaked, signaling the opening of the useless barrier. Anybody entering this house without consent was as good as dead.
“Come on in.” Mykie immediately turned on her heels and walked into her home. “I don’t have as much information as you’re going to want.” She sounded tired.
Her kitchen had only grown in madness since my last visit. Newspaper clippings from towns all over the Western continent were pinned to cabinets and walls, most marked with red notes and many connected by thread. She stood in the middle of the disaster and looked around, as if it made sense to her. How many long hours had she spent pacing this kitchen, trying to sort through a civilization’s worth of current events to form a risk assessment for my mate? Red “X”s marked the faces of those who had already been wiped from the face of the planet.
“Dr. Gable is in the area.” She frowned, gesturing to a newspaper with the “too young looking for his ancient age” face of a Thornian plastered on the front.
“Fuck, you don’t think he’s here for Faeryn?” I ran shaking fingers through my hair. The scientist-turned-politician was bad news.
“Hard to say.” Her eyes darted between clippings. “Searching for one personseemsbelow his pay grade, but when that one person is a successful escapee from the energy plantsandthe grunts already in the area aren’t getting the job done…”
“Are you going to take him out?” I grew frustrated. What was the point of a secret society of political hitmen if they couldn’t eliminate a threat entering their own backyard?
“Ragen and the guys are on it. There’s not enough evidence that Dr. Gable’s here for Faeryn specifically for me to spend time focusing on him. Could be one of his many publicity tours, I don’t know.”
“So whatdoyou know?” Impatience drove my tone. My eyes flicked to the industrial clock mounted over the doorway. I should have walked faster.
“In the decapitated Lychan’s satchel I found a card with information for one Cassius Ellery.” She confirmed my suspicion. I wished I had been wrong. “It has an address listed that’s located near the school.”
