I can tell we’re inside when the winds stop, replaced by the sound of gates clanging. Throughout the halls it smells like sweat, burnt flesh, and rank vomit.
I stop keeping track of where we’re going after the third flight of stairs. Doing so only tricks me into thinking there’s a chance for escape. If I couldn’t break free from my childhood home, I have no chance inside this labyrinth. There’s power in resigning to your fate.
Inmates are cheering and roaring as I’m pushed through the halls. They see someone young, but they have no idea what power I have. I could probably use that to my advantage for a day or two.
A cell door is opened, and I’m unstrapped from the stretcher. By the time I remove my blindfold, the door is locked. I groan as I sit up. There’s a bed, a toilet, and a bloody handprint on the wall. I have a dozen neighbors down this hall and Bishop is watching me from outside the bars like I’m some caged animal.
“Did you ever think you’d be back here under these conditions?” Bishop asks.
“I don’t need small talk. This is punishment enough.”
“You’re on my turf, Eduardo, and I’m doing you a courtesy so you’re not surprised when your door suddenly opens within the next hour.” The stupidest thought that Bishop might try to help me passes through my mind. “These cells sometimes get overcrowded, and when that happens my guards unlock cells for survival of the fittest. I unfortunately can’t be on the premises when this happens, but I’m looking forward to hearing about the results of a new game to make it extra exciting—Hunt the Shifter.”
This is why I was blindfolded.
This is why my power wasn’t neutralized.
This is why they’re not bothering to put me in a custom cell.
I’m about to be in for the final fight of my life.
Sixty-Four
Rebel
EMIL
I’m standing on the dock, staring at the Bounds across the river.
Between breaking into Iron’s home and getting ready to storm into a prison, I feel like Bautista’s rebel spirit too. I can’t only look at the good though; I got to wonder if I’m growing corrupt like Keon too. I have no idea what pushed Keon to create specters beyond the usual theories of him wanting power
, but maybe his heart was steering him toward unlawful acts too.
Brighton and Prudencia finally arrived minutes ago, and they’re currently deciding which is the best rental boat to “borrow” to get them across and back as if we’re going for some new record on most crimes in a single night. If only Brighton could fly and Prudencia could trust her power to carry herself across the river. Meanwhile, Maribelle and Tala are strategizing on how to defeat the sky swimmer that’s known to guard the prison. Nox and Roxana are standing in the river, bobbing for fish.
Then there’s Wyatt, who comes up beside me. “This evening has become a touch too exciting, hasn’t it?”
“I’m sorry. I bet you’re wishing you didn’t stop Tala from having us all blown up.”
“You’re foolish to think I regret meeting you, love. If I may be so direct—”
“You always are.”
“—I’m hoping our time getting to know each other isn’t at an end. I understand things are a tad complicated and I’ll give you the space you need. But I really love when you hold me as we fly through the skies and when I get to hold you back at night. I’d hate to lose that so soon.”
It’s not fair that he’s hitting me with this right now, not when I’m a river away from Ness, but I can’t act like I’m not moved by it. He’s beautiful, confident about himself though bordering on conceited, devoted to phoenixkind, and keeps dreaming up a better world for me as a Halo Knight. I’m really into everything he’s talking about too—my arms wrapped around him as we fly around on Nox, how we don’t have to talk over the winds to feel connected, and how much easier it’s been to sleep because I’m with him.
I just can’t give him anything in return until I figure myself out.
“Hey!” Brighton calls, sitting inside a four-seater jet boat with Prudencia. “We’re ready!”
We all gather around and review our plan once we get inside the Bounds. Split up into pairs of two—Brighton and Prudencia, Maribelle and Tala, me and Wyatt—to cover more ground. There’s one phoenix specter on each team, and hopefully our fire will be enough to melt whatever cell Ness is in. We’re not expecting our phones to work underground, so if we hear chaos, we’re supposed to blow on whistles the Halo Knights have used when training phoenixes and run toward the danger to make sure none of us get captured during this mission.
“Special request to alert me if you see Stanton,” Tala says. “I’m going to cut that snake’s head off for killing my mother.”
“Very dark,” Wyatt says.
“And duly noted,” Brighton says.