“Let’s forget about all of this,” I said. “I trust you.”
“Good to hear.” Her smile immediately returned in full, shining force. “We need to go back to Crave again tonight. Just because I’m seeing Paul doesn’t mean I have to be exclusive. I swear, not to sound full of myself, but guys are flocking to me now. Flocking. I’ve never felt this good about myself in my life.”
I wanted to cry. The old Carly would see there was a problem here. A big problem. This Carly, the one missing her soul—she’d changed. I’m so sorry. I’ll do everything I can to fix this. Fix you. I promise.
“Crave, tonight,” I said, nodding enthusiastically. “That sounds great.”
“Oh! I almost forgot. I have a note for you from Natalie.” She dug into her purse and pulled out a sealed envelope.
My shoulders stiffened. “That’s from Natalie?”
“Yup.” She handed it to me. “We’ll talk more at lunch, okay?”
“Yeah, sure. Okay.”
She took off down the hall and I stared at the envelope for a long moment before I finally opened it up and read the handwritten note inside.
Samantha,
There’s not much time left. I need the dagger and I need it tonight. Bring it to me at Crave as soon as you can. I trust you to do the right thing.
—Natalie
Sure. No pressure there.
Not much time left? What did that mean? The angel who’d sabotaged Bishop’s entry into Trinity had wanted to destroy the entire city to squash the threat of the grays. He saw grays like a virus and the barrier was acting like a quarantine tent so no one infected could get out. Did more angels feel the same way? Demons, too?
Or did she mean that Bishop had nearly found her? I knew he’d seen her but hadn’t approached yet. She feared for her life—that must be it.
My loyalties were still torn. She was my aunt—I believed it. I didn’t want her to die. She was the only way I could find my real father.
Bishop claimed that he could help her, if she wanted his help.
This could still be okay in the end. Nobody had to die. Not if I had any say in the matter.
So what was my immediate plan?
English class. Yes, that seemed like a good idea. Listening to Mr. Saunders drone on about Shakespeare sounded better than anything else I needed to face right now. In English, I could zone out, recharge, and figure out my next move in peace.
“If I may have your attention,” Mr. Saunders said. He adjusted his round glasses as I sat down behind my desk.
He wrote something on the blackboard. It took me a second to clue in to what it said and what it meant.
SURPRISE QUIZ.
Oh, crap. There went my chance to zone out.
Mr. Saunders looked evil with delight at the groans that rippled through the class. Nobody did surprise tests anymore. It was so unfair, especially considering how little I’d paid attention this week. Even though my life had fallen apart and I didn’t know how to put it all back together again. I didn’t want to jeopardize my good grades. I’d worked damn hard for them and they represented a potential scholarship to get me into my college of choice. And the chance to get out of this city for the first time in my life. To my…future.
Out of this city, even though there was a barrier around it keeping in all supernatural beings—including yours truly.
Mr. Saunders placed the multiple choice quiz in front of me as a million questions sped through my mind, none of which were about Macbeth and could fit neatly into an (a) through (d) choice.
I scanned the questions, but didn’t really read them. Time ticked by, but my mind was elsewhere.
If Natalie managed to leave the city—with or without my help—she could eventually infect the whole world. No more souls. Which was why Heaven and Hell had stepped in as soon as they realized Natalie was in town.
If Bishop and the others failed, then there were those who wanted to destroy this city just like I’d seen in my vision. To them, a million people were expendable, but six billion weren’t. After all, they’d still get the souls of the dead either way.
To me, even one person lost was too many.
I longed to talk to Bishop. He could say something that might help me figure out what to do next. And it wasn’t just advice I wanted. I ached to see him again. I needed him. I missed him. Without him, I felt like I didn’t know what to—
Snap!
A vision slammed into me, making me gasp and clutch at the sides of my desk. My eyes went wide as the blackboard and the rest of the classroom before me flicked to a totally different image.
It was…the church. The abandoned church.
Kraven and Zach were both staring at me. Roth sat off to the left in a wooden pew inspecting his fingernails. Connor paced back and forth behind the pulpit. Light streamed in through the stained-glass window behind him. In the daylight I realized it was a depiction of Noah’s Ark.
“You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself,” Kraven snapped.
“Who me?” I asked, confused.
“I’m not feeling sorry for myself,” Bishop growled back at him. It was his voice, but I couldn’t see him anywhere.
Kraven rolled his eyes. “You are. Just like old times, bro. It’s really pathetic.”
“Go to hell.”
“Been there, done that.”
A pair of hands moved over my eyes—Bishop’s hands, as if he was trying to block out the world, and then—
Snap!—I was back in my classroom.