Afterlight - Elle Jasper [72]
My eyes widened, and I fought against the steely grip around my waist and mouth. I knew it was Eli without even looking. I watched, stunned, as Riggs and the others did something that literally blew my mind. With a series of shrill yells, extreme leaps, and acrobatic moves, running up the trunk of a tree and swinging off limbs, railings, window ledges, they dispersed to the building across the street like a freaking circus troupe. One of them picked something up from the ground and smashed it into the window of a parked car, and the night air filled with the shrill sound of an alarm, followed by adolescent laughter. Within seconds—no lie, under a minute—they were all on the rooftop. I held my breath because I knew one of them was my brother and they teetered dangerously close to the roof’s edge. Finally, the blackness of the night swallowed them up as they leapt out of sight. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have sworn they’d flown.
“Free running.” Eli’s voice spoke quietly against my ear. He released my mouth but not my waist. “They’re learning fast.”
“We’ve been watching them all night,” said Josie as she emerged from the darkness. Phin and Luc flanked her.
“Wicked urban freestyle,” Luc said, nodding. He crossed his arms over his chest. “They’re getting pretty damn good.”
“And their quickening grows fast,” Phin said, and glanced at Eli. “As does the brothers’ rejuvenation. Faster than we thought.”
I moved out of Eli’s grip and stared in the direction Seth had gone. “My brother can barely walk and chew gum at the same time,” I said, mostly to myself, and then looked at Eli. His beautiful features were cast in half shadows, seemingly haunted, as he met my gaze. “I don’t understand why we have to be here. Why can’t we just go after them? Take them away from the Arcoses, and let Preacher get Seth and the others to Da Island.”
“You know why,” Eli said quietly. “We’ve already been over this. I know it’s tempting to just grab them, but it’d do a hell of a lot more harm than good. There are three weeks left in the moon’s cycle.” He put his hand on my shoulder. “No way will the Arcoses rejuvenate faster than a cycle. We’ll be ready.”
“Yeah, and we can’t get too close, Riley,” Phin said, leaning against the wall. “Victorian and Valerian are smart little bastards. They may be weak, but they’re still deadly. We wait.”
I considered that. “Back in Kelter’s office, Riggs mentioned Val being angry that Riggs had been locked out of the office. Then he took a plastic bag and ran.” I looked at the Duprés. “The way it was packaged, it looked like pills. OxyContin probably.” I rubbed my arms. “You crush it, melt it, and smoke it—gives you a high like heroin.” They all looked at me like I’d lost my mind, but I knew what I spoke of. I’d gotten the same bag from Kelter before. “Val is Valerian, isn’t he?”
Eli nodded. “Yeah, he’s sort of the . . . leader, I guess you could say. He’s the eldest of the two. Apparently he’s already zeroed in on Phillips.”
“How has he already established a drug trade?” I asked. “The Arcoses have only been free for—”
“Mind control,” Eli said. “From the moment the tomb was broken both Arcos brothers had complete mind control. They can make Phillips do whatever they wish. They won’t stop until their army is complete.”
“Valerian is as mean as hell,” Luc added, his face grave. “No mercy. He gets off on torture—”
“Luc, enough,” said Eli.
Pacing seemed to help, so I did it, but soon the stench of the alley made my stomach roll. “What am I supposed to do with loverboy in there?” I said, inclining my head to the back door of the Panic Room.
“Go back in,” Eli said. “Let