Page 128 of The Souls Harvest
Instead, he studies me, tapping his finger to his nose. “If you would let me finish…We came up with thatmajesticplan together, MissyForgetty.” Mack slams a hand on the door, making us jump, then braces himself, reminding me of a pangolin. “Sorry, Kris, I couldn’t tell anyone else. I didn’t know if and when Roden might burst into our minds, and I didn’t have enough protection keys. But—yeah, we need to retrieve your soul as soon as possible.”
Something gurgles in my stomach. “Mack? What happens if we leave it there for too long?”
When Mack’s face goes dark, I regret asking.
“A soul, even if powerful like yours and Kris’, needs a vessel.And if it doesn’t have one, it will do whatever it takes to find one. The idea was to infuse Reds with a drop of Kris’ soul because he’s the only one who can purify them—”
“But?” I urge him.
“But you refused even to try because you didn’t want to lose him…So you locked part of his soul in the caves and then - well - you forgot where exactly. And because you didn’t show anyone, that’s a memory hard to unlock—even for me!” Mack lowers his eyes, tousling his hair in distress.
Kris brushes my back with his fingertips, but I instinctively shy away. “I’m selfish as much as the monster that created me,” I mumble, but the shape of the staircase carries my voice away.
“That monster made me shoot my best friend. Not you!” Merya booms from the top of the stairs, with Galen beside her, a bit pale and holding himself against the wall, but alive.
“I’m not sure you noticed, but there is a woman out there, in what looks like very expensive silk pyjamas, shouting for Tabitha. She also keeps yelling that she left all her nice clothes on fucking Libera!” Merya stomps down the stairs, followed by Galen, his expression changing rapidly from worried to shocked, like mine, when Merya mentioned the island.
“That’s not possible,” Galen and I say at once.
“Unless…If Roden is on his way to Horigos, Libera is just a pile of dust sinking to the bottom of the sea, but that doesn’t mean Roden is travelling alone. He’s probably sent scouts all over Horigos to find us. His brief visit in my head may have given him a hint of our location,” Galen adds, pausing midway to rest his wounded leg.
“Quick, Mack, open that door,” Merya jumps off the last two steps, waving at her brother, who doesn’t wait for her to ask again.
He quickly turns around, facing the door as a ray of red light shoots out from a minuscule hole in the metal surface, straight into Mack’s right eye.
While Mack steps away, the door starts sliding to the left. Cold blue light pours out of a dusty room, lined with giant monitors transmitting images from the building’s outside perimeter and, kneeling on the ground, only mere inches from the fences that nearly killed me—Lucretia.
“Can I speak to her? How do I—is this a speaker…” My eyes dart over the complex control panel in the middle of the room.
“I wouldn’t touch that, unless she is someone you really hate,” Mack gently nudges me away before I can push a black button.
“Do something, please. Tell her to stay there untilyoupick her up,” I implore him, and almost forget that it’s Lucretia’s life I’m begging for.
“I do what?” Mack shakes his head, confused.
“Right, you know that woman.” Merya saunters between Mack and me, studying me first, then Galen, who’s stalling by the entrance. “But we don’t. Why should we let her in?”
“Because I will vouch for her,” Galen mumbles. “Lucretia can be frustrating and a tad selfish, but she’s not a spy, if that’s what you’re afraid of. Mack, please open the comms channel before she attracts unwanted eyes.”
Mack’s finger brushes a red switch but lingers while he scans Galen from head to toes. “I’m only doing it for Rary,” he snaps, flipping a switch and lowering over a small, round black speaker. “Hey, you, do as I say if you want to live.”
Mack’s voice sounds normal to our ears, but the speakers’ volume must be louder because Lue stops shouting and springs back on her feet, holding something in her cupped hands.
“Yes—what? Tabitha? I’m looking for Tabitha Lorne.” She moves dangerously close to the fence.
“No, stay there,” I can’t control myself and shout into the speaker.
Lucretia snaps her head back, looking up at the building’s skeleton, her eyes darting left to right searching for the source of my voice.
“July?” she mumbles, pulling her hands to her heart. “Is that you?”
I glance at Mack, silently asking permission to use the control panel, and he nods, offering me some space.
“Lue, you need to listen to me. Stop yelling and don’t touch anything. Someone is coming for you. They will bring you inside, but you must swear you’re alone.”
Her tiny image on the monitor shrugs. She nods a few times,looks behind her and drops her head. “I am now. Miss Popplewish was with me, but…” By coincidence, she makes eye contact with one of the hidden cameras; her eyes are red, tired, and her face is covered in scratches. “I think she betrayed us.”
Everything becomes silent. Not a heartbeat, not a breath.
