Eve was dying. I shot to my feet.
“Dox, go help Liam—we’ve got to go. Now.”
The ogres around us rustled, Sla stood slowly. “What is it?”
“One of my wards is dying. I have to get to her.”
I reached out and put a hand on Calliope’s neck.
Warm and dry, her coat was silken under my fingertips. “Calli, do you have any way at all that we can reach your tribe, let them know that you’re okay?”
She shook her head. No. I would have done so on my own if there was some way.
I put my hands on my head and clung to Eve’s threads. So far away, I was so god damned far away. Calli’s father had said they would wait for us. It had only been three days; surely they wouldn’t have hurt Eve? Fuck!
If only there was a way I could jump the veil … my eyes snapped open and I stared into the flames. Faris had said I could learn. Maybe. I paced in front of the fire, my mind racing as I struggled to remember exactly what Faris had done. The triplets spoke with their heads bowed together, and Sla made a motion with his right hand that sent the rest of the ogres melting into the darkness.
“Where is it you must go?” Sla asked. “Perhaps one of our magic wielders could help you.”
“You got a place to cross the veil close by?” Hope flared. If there was a place we could cross the veil that would take us at least closer to North Dakota, we might have a chance.
Sla nodded slowly. “Yes, we have such a place. Though I do not know if it will lead to where you need to go. Our entrance leads to a castle.”
Hell yeah, that was what I wanted to hear. “How close is it?” I gathered up my jacket, slid it on over my damp clothes.
The grey ogre stood slowly. “An hour from here, a little more if we go slowly.”
I did a quick check of my weapons. “And if we hurry?”
Dev bent and scooped Calliope into his arms. “Come on, enough dicking about. Let’s go.”
“Wait, Dox can carry her; you aren’t all coming, are you?” Please tell me I hadn’t acquired a Gang of ogres.
Dox and Liam stepped out of the bush as I was trying to figure out how many ogres were coming with us. Apparently, Sla and the triplets had appointed themselves my newest bodyguards. Liam took charge, slipping once more into Agent mode. “Rylee, stay tight with me; Dev, you and Tin trade off if you need a break from carrying Calliope.” The two ogres gave him a salute. “Lop, you bring up the rear, Sla and Dox take the lead.”#p#分页标题#e#
Surprising the shit out of me, everyone did what they were told. Sla and Dox set a fast pace, crashing a path out in front of us. Jaw tight, I held Eve’s threads and struggled not to let her pain affect me. Her life leached from her, and I knew she had hours at best. Whatever damage had been done to her, it was bad enough that her natural healing abilities wouldn’t be fast enough. She needed someone to heal her.
No one ambushed us and we made it to the entranceway through the veil in less than half an hour. A massive cedar tree that had to be at least twenty feet around was our destination. Split in the middle, cored out by fire, the black opening beckoned. With my second sight, the entrance was clear as day and more welcome than anything I’d ever seen.
“Rylee, you ready?” Liam touched my shoulder. I nodded.
Sweat drenched even in the cold night air, exhausted from the day’s events, I struggled to hold onto Alex’s and Pamela’s threads alongside Eve’s.
And then Pamela’s threads shimmered like a candle being blown on. Not dead, but across the veil, the gods only knew where.
“FUCK!”
Their voices clamored over me while I fought the nausea that rose in my gut. “Just go, get through the veil.”
They did as I said and we all stepped through the veil, the tingle of it sliding over my skin. The cedar tree opened into an inner courtyard that I hadn’t seen.
And Pamela’s threads were suddenly clear as a bell.
“PAMELA!”
There was a scuttle of feet, and then, “Rylee, I’m here!” And then her threads disappeared again. This time though, they were gone, like as in across a body of water gone.
Motherfucking vampire, I was going to kill Faris. He was the only one that would have the balls to snatch Pamela. But why did he want her? Or was it just another way to control me?
Eve’s life dimmed again and my feet stilled. There really was no choice; Eve had to come first.
“Hang on, Pamela. I’ll come for you,” I whispered, turning away from where I’d heard her call out. We bolted through the castle to the exit we needed. I knew where we had to go, which doorway would take us to the mineshaft in the badlands just outside of Bismarck.