Page 27 of Dare Not
Shoot, what were we going to do without the internet?
One problem at a time.
“Me` kheíron béltiston,”I said slowly, not confident in the least about my pronunciation.The least bad choice is best. None of the options are good, this is the lesser evil. It wasn’t exactly comforting, but Theras was practical, and this was the practical solution.
His lips twitched and he gave me a slightly exasperated nod. It was the most human gesture I’d ever seen from him.
“Listen to Vasileios, he will help you. I’ll see you soon,” I promised as he called out something to the other Spartoi, muscles flexing with the strain of staying in place. “We will meet again.”
Wild was already dragging me away, through the shadows at the edge of the villa, towards the barn where the Spartoi had been staying.
It was harder to say goodbye than I thought. These people were here because of me, and whatever suffering they experienced because of it was on my conscience too.
This part of the property was less elegant and manicured, more filled with rough bushes and rocky dry dirt rather than lush lawn. We didn’t light any of the candles we’d brought with us, clinging to each other’s hands in the darkness as we stumbled our way… west? East? I had no idea.
The panicked sounds of frightened people grew louder as we approached the street, even though this wasn’t a populous area. If the signs of panic were visible here, they’d be overwhelming in the cities.
“Want me to sing to you?” Bullet suggested as Wild helped us both over the fence. Cars sped past with headlights that seemed almost blinding in the oppressive darkness. Had they always been that bright? There was shouting, and Wild stiffened slightly behind me at the sounds of fighting and glass shattering.
It was already chaos, and it was only the beginning.
“Yes, please,” I whispered to Bullet.
“Keep walking,” Riot instructed us, draping a blanket over my shoulders and pulling it over my hair like a hood before slinking away into the darkness with Dare. Bullet linked our arms together, and we followed closely at Wild’s back. I didn’t know where we were going, but I trusted my soul bonds to get me there. I had to.
Bullet hummed for a while, before transitioning into a slower, low-pitched version ofMemoryfromCats. An ode to nighttime, the loss of memories past, and the hope of a new dawn on the horizon. I focused on the lyrics, keeping my head bowed, hidden beneath the blanket. Maybe it was cowardly to hide from the horror, but the soothing, almost lullaby-quality of Bullet’s singing made the world a little less frightening, if only for a moment. It wouldn’t last. I’d need to look up eventually, and I knew what I saw would terrify me.
He finished on a haunting note, and I clung on tighter, feeling Wild’s gentle appreciation for the both of us through the bond.
“What are we going to do?” I whispered, staring at the ground. “People will die. So many people…”
It wasn’t just the dark and cold. If it was Gaia that had somehow turned off the power, would she turn it back on again? Could those actions be undone? Nausea churned in my gut at the thought of hospital patients, reliant on machines to keep them alive. Even now, babies would be born into this new, bleak, terrifying world. People were givingbirthin this nightmare. And the temperature—it was cold here, and this was by no means a cold part of the planet. What about the people farther north? They’d freeze within the hour…
“What are we going todo?” I reiterated, my voice catching.
“We can’t save them all,” Bullet said quietly. “Youcan’t. I’ll visit Nyx in the dreamscape, I’ll beg her to lift the darkness. But even if I do, there are no guarantees. It’s not me Nyx wants repentance from.”
No, it wasn’t. Her pride had been hurt by the human assertion that the goddesses didn’t exist. Would they make that connection? Would they admit they were wrong? The last thing I wanted was for Bullet to go to Nyx in the dreamscape. He already looked so exhausted, and he’d collapsed the last time he’d used his cards—
“I have to try,” Bullet said, squeezing my arm. “At least to lift the darkness and the cold. No one else has a direct line to Nyx, I can’t ignore that responsibility. As for what Gaia’s done… Well, we don’t know the full extent, I guess. We don’t know if itcanbe undone.” He snorted. “If Gaia wanted to fuck with humanity, she should have tried this earlier. Sure, natural disasters are bad, but mortals will lose their shit without power and internet. Plus, you know, all the plants and animals will die, and we’ll starve to death. There’s that too.”
I made a strangled sound of agreement, not sure I was ready to come to terms with the ramifications of all that yet. To confront what the world would look like now.
For me, life had changed dramatically from the second I’d said a prayer to La Nuit and that candle had gone out. For those mortals who’d managed to avoid the worst of Gaia’s wrath—the natural disasters and plane crashes and giant scorpions—thiswas their defining moment. Their time before and time after. Nothing would ever be the same again.
Wild grabbed our shoulders, pulling us to a stop as a car stopped at the curb. There was a group of people on the street, approaching us, and Wild all but threw Bullet and I into the backseat before climbing in behind us, smacking the back of Riot’s seat to get him moving.
“Let’s hope it’s got a full tank because I imagine gas is about to become a very hot commodity,” Bullet pointed out, his hand trembling slightly in mine. He was doing such a good job of locking down his fear through the bond—they all were—that the slight shake was the only giveaway that he was as terrified as I was.
“How long is the drive?” I asked, blinking at the fuel gauge. Between the headlights and the lights on the dash, it was almost blinding after absolute darkness.
Riot glanced at me in the rearview. Was that… was that blood on his face? “According to Vasileios, it would normally be an hour but we need to avoid any crowds or stops, so I guess it takes as long as it takes. I know that’s not a very satisfying answer.”
I nodded. “You, um, you have a little something on your cheek.”
Riot glanced at himself in the rearview and muttered a curse under his breath, lifting the bottom of his shirt to rub at the splatter. “Pretend you didn’t see that, Gracie.”
“The other guy is fine,” Dare added hastily. “Sans car, but fine.”
