Page 152 of Remnants: Disruption
So much for that fucking promise.
I can take Gareth and Varun, but I don’t want to hurt the others.
And I don't think I can take Cass.
“Go fuck yourselves,” I grit before turning on my heel and stumbling through the open passageway to the surface.
Or surface-ish.
My blood feels electrified. It’s like my body was supercharged by concentrated Affliction, though I’m pretty sure that would kill me.
Even the underground Citadel looks different now. It hums differently. Like I can see everything and yet nothing at all. There aren’t any spirits, though. They’re not even lurking in the shadows.
It’s like they’re afraid.
Like they saw what I saw and have no idea how to comprehend it either.
I make it to Marla’s bar and fling open the door a little too wildly. It ricochets off the outer wall and startles the nearest patron.
“Sorry,” I rasp before making my way to the countertop.
It’s a quaint place. Only a few chairs and tables line the space just inside the entry with a square area devoted to standing room. The bar top itself has four chairs and I slide onto the nearest unoccupied one.
“Hon?” Marla’s voice is sharp with worry when she turns towards me. “Oh, God, what happened now?”
“I don’t know,” I cough out, dropping my head to my arms.
There’s only a few others in the bar, so I feel less badly about embarrassing myself. Again.
The images of the women’s faces flash along my vision, intermingled with whatever else was in the—
Fuck, I don’t know.
The beyond? The end?
I wasn’t meant to see it. That much I know. Or, at least, not yet. Something about it had felt familiar, but like déjà vu. Like I should already know the ending to this story.
“Arya?” Marla’s voice cuts through my hazy thoughts, and I raise my head to look at her. She slides a mule across the tablebetween us and leans forward. Her brown eyes crinkle with acute worry.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” I whisper, taking a large sip of the spicy liquid. “Was in a meeting with the Council, and suddenly I’m having a damned fit.”
“What did Bloody Mary say?” she asks, and I flinch.
“Nothing. She watched it happen. I nearly killed Gareth without meaning to, but he wanted her to put me down. He said a lot of other things, but the gist is whatever happened scared all of them.”
I watch Marla’s furred throat bob. “Are you in danger?”
I huff out a laugh and take another long pull, draining the cup and tapping it to the table.
“I think the issue is that Iamthe danger. No one jumped to my defense when Gareth wanted my head. Not even—”
That seems to get Marla’s attention. She pauses mid-refill of my drink, her soft eyes taking me in.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I say, fighting back hurt in my voice. “I’m in control, I promise—”
Marla takes my hands in hers, forcing me to look into her eyes.
“There isn’t a molecule in my body that believes for even a second that you would hurt us. That would you intentionally endanger anyone down here.”
