The Hidden - Jessica Verday [91]
“Why are children taken before their parents? Why does disease and poverty fill the world?” she said. “It’s just the way it is. Some things we must accept.”
“Yes, but diseases can be cured. Poverty ended. Those things can be changed with enough man power and enough money.”
“But you cannot cure death,” she said quietly.
“You’re right,” I agreed. “That’s the one thing there’s no getting out of.”
As I finished my tea, I didn’t want the conversation with Katy to end on such a heavy note, so we switched to talking about knitting and patterns and string. When I realized how long I’d been sitting there, I told her I needed to go. I needed to get back to Caspian.
Saying my good-byes was bittersweet. I didn’t know when I’d have a chance to see her again, so I just hugged her and promised that we’d get together soon.
I said good-bye to Nikolas when I got outside, but he offered to walk me to the edge of the woods.
“Have you had any more run-ins with Vincent?” he asked as we walked.
I was partially turned away from him, and I turned to face him fully. “No. I don’t know what happened to him. I don’t know if he’s gone, or what. I like to think he is, but I’m not really sure. Why?”
“Have you talked with the other Revenants?” He asked the question casually, but it felt like there was more behind it.
“Yeah. But why? About what? Uri told me more about their background, and what they really are, but I get the sense that they aren’t telling me everything.”
“You know that the Revenants are needed to help a Shade and his other half be completed,” he said slowly. “Have you ever thought about which ones will help you cross over?”
“Is Vincent …” Horror filled me, and I felt sick. “Is Vincent one of my Revenants?” I asked. “Is he supposed to be the one who helps take me?”
“I cannot be sure, but I have my suspicions,” Nikolas said.
I turned blindly from him, waving my hand in some semblance of a good-bye. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t think. Could barely breathe. Vincent was one of my Revenants? I had to get back to Caspian. I had to tell to him about this.
All this time? All this time, he was supposed to be one of the ones to cross me over? To see me in my final moment and help me get to Caspian? And the other Revenants knew? Was this what they didn’t want to tell me? That I wasn’t going to be able to complete Caspian because my Revenant didn’t want to do his job?
The trees rushed past me, their dark colors blurring into one another. I couldn’t move my legs fast enough. My mind was screaming, NO, NO, NO. It couldn’t be him. He couldn’t be the one …
My head was down, trying to watch my feet so I didn’t stumble on another rock, when a shadow filled my vision.
I looked up.
“Hello, dear,” Vincent said. “Long time, no see.”
And then he punched me in the face.
When I woke up, immediately I became aware that my jaw was hurting like hell, and I was lying on the seat of a strange car. The backseat. My legs were stretched out, and I could feel leather beneath my hands.
An engine roared as we picked up speed, and the sick feeling in my gut matched the feeling of pain in my jaw. I couldn’t see the driver, but I knew who it was.
I was in Vincent’s car. And I had no idea where he was taking me.
Panic started shooting off in my brain, and I lay there for a good ten minutes just letting the fear take over. Finally I told myself that all I had to do was stay calm. If I could get out of the car, I could run. Wherever we were, I had to be able to run to a phone or a house or something.
That calmed me down a bit, and I focused on visualizing myself running down the road, away from him. My fingers slowly groped for my pocket. My phone.
But it was gone. Of course.
The car drove on for what felt like hours, and I had absolutely no clue in which direction we were headed. All I could do was lie still and preserve my strength. And try not to think about the fact that the back molar on the left side of my jaw wiggled a little bit now.