Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114925 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
“Do us proud.” Duchess Mimidae stepped aside and waved to the door. “The group that returns first wins the greatest prize of all: bragging rights. Pick your own teams. The countdown starts now. Go, go, go.”
We spilled from the bus at warp speed. Roman, Winslet, Merlot, and Miller invited me onto their team.
“Let’s go somewhere private so we can strategize.” Roman didn’t wait for our acquiescence but led the charge.
We marched down a busy sidewalk, my heart thudding all the while. The Rock called to me, urging me closer. Closer still, drawing me like a magnet. Longing choked me. What I wouldn’t give for five more minutes inside the library. Or even just a peek at one of the symbols on the surface. Just for a second.
The urge magnified when I spotted the statue of Astan. The horns seemed to have risen another two inches.
I rubbed the sudden burn in the center of my chest. What did that even mean? Domino had said we’d discuss it “later,” but we’d gotten busy with other things. And now, I might have to cut him from my life for reasons I didn’t fully understand.
Focus. Surely the most difficult task of my life. But I did it, visually x-raying everyone around me, ready to spring into action at the first sign of an impending break. Agitation. Wild eyes. Cold grins.
An unsettling wind kicked up in my head, swirling with debris. Something about this task wasn’t right.
Thoughts took shape. My first day at the base, Cyrus had voiced a profound yet often forgotten piece of wisdom. Everything was a test. So, what was the point of this one?
What had the duchess said? Without issuing a field test, identify and detain someone you suspect of being at the breaking point of Madness.
CURED could make anyone break, or seem positive, which meant absolutely everyone we encountered was a candidate. We could bring in anyone and pass.
Too easy!
Could we pinpoint outward signs of a coming break to support our choice? Yes. But many of those signs also pointed to anxiety. I should know. And who wouldn’t feel anxious with a bunch of armed lords- and ladies-in-training marching about, determined to arrest someone. The victim would lose a full day’s pay. And what if they had a dire medical appointment they were forced to reschedule, which could take months or a year? What if they missed a child’s birthday party?
After pressing the heel of his palm into an ID pad, Roman entered the lobby of an apartment complex. We followed. The concierge vaulted to his feet, noticed our vests, and paled. He eased back into his seat, trying to make himself invisible.
“Okay,” Roman said as we huddled together. “Here’s how this is going down.”
The inner wind quickened. “I don’t think we should arrest anyone,” I blurted out before he could begin. Wait. I didn’t?
Noises of refusal exploded from my peers.
“Just listen.” I clapped my hands, earning silence, and the wind stilled. My thoughts settled. “Usually CURED issues explicit instructions, no exceptions, no excuses. They don’t give us an out. Yet the duchess did. Come back with a victim or a reason. So let’s give her a reason. Without a proper test, we can’t identify an infected person.” Yes. That was it. That was the purpose of this activity.
More protests sounded from my teammates. Miller said, “Unless you got a hot tip from the high prince, I’m bagging me a feeder.”
“No hot tips. Just an inner knowing.”
Roman pursed his lips. “You’re outvoted, Ardie. If you want to risk it, that’s fine. But we’re going to stick close to the Rock. Anyone who even glances at it, we’ll question. We should have our suspects within the hour.”
Chapter Nine
A war is waged in the corridors of your mind, and only you can crown the victor.
—The Book of Soal 2.11.4.8
Minutes seemed to last days as I stood with Roman and the others near a section of the Rock. The yearning inside me swelled, reaching new heights, nearly overpowering me with a desire to enter the library. It was so close, mere feet away. Almost within reach. Right there.
“Got one,” Roman muttered, and stopped a big, burly man with a limp.
Poor guy.
As the two barked words at each other, my teammates geared up to step in and aid Roman. I shoved a hand in my pocket and gripped my Rock. The essence of Tsuri. Rather than appeasing my yearning, however, the action galvanized it. I caught myself peering at a symbol and taking a step closer. Thankfully, no one noticed me—or the robe-clad, transparent Domino who stepped from the structure. Another robe-clad, transparent man accompanied him. Someone I’d never met, probably the same age, with rough features.
Air stalled in my lungs, every particle a needle’s kiss as both men fastened their gazes on me, cold and merciless. They closed the distance, side by side, warriors on a mission. What . . . why . . .