Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“We’re the bad guys in this?” Seth asks.
“I mean, you have kind of made this hard on yourselves,” Matteo adds. “You call yourself the Sinners.”
“That was what the original Sinners called themselves because the school was still more religious and this was blasphemy,” Seth explains. “They weren’t doing anything wrong. They just thought it was fun and cool.”
“It’s certainly not helpful advertising,” Matteo assures them.
“We’ll take the note.” Seth’s not attempting to disguise his sarcasm.
“Let’s say you’re not the bad guys here,” Matteo continues. “You saw what happened to me after one ritual. I can’t imagine what might happen if you practiced this stuff all the time.”
“I can appreciate your concern,” Brad says. “But given that Luke’s and Cody’s visions have come to pass, and the warning we’ve received about something worse coming, what are we supposed to do? Walk away? And then if that happens? How will we live with ourselves?”
He has a point.
“How are you supposed to stop this bad thing from happening?” Matteo asks.
“There’s something from the other side of the Rift,” Cody answers. “A guide named—”
“Kysar?” I ask, recalling the name from other times I’ve spied on them.
Cody nods.
“Yeah, well, the guys I talk to also have a guide. They also can use powers and make things happen, same as you.”
Cody’s lip twists up. “Maybe others have tapped into this same thing to prevent whatever’s coming.”
“Wait,” Seth says, “so there’s basically another group of Sinners walking around campus?”
“Or,” I say, “they could be actually talking to something that’s trying to stop it, and you could be working with something like Farras, who’s trying to make this terrible thing happen.”
“That thing with Matteo,” Luke says, “it happened because you used a spell from them, though. Not us.”
Another reasonable point.
Cody’s expression is strained, as though he’s trying to work out a problem, before he says, “I’m guessing this guide they’re talking to doesn’t trust us if it hasn’t encouraged them to reach out. And if they thought they needed to spy.”
The guys exchange glances. I can tell that’s roused their suspicion, and if what they’re saying is true, I can understand why. It’s obviously crossed my mind that the Saints’ “guide” could be evil.
“So how do you know you can trust this Kysar?” I ask.
Luke says, “It’s what led us to stopping that monster.”
“And it healed you,” Cody tells me.
“What?”
“What you saw and felt when I healed you is the extent of my powers. I have a limited healing ability. That night in the woods, Kysar took control of me to heal you.”
That explains why he could only make my pain go away last night.
“We’ve had good experiences with this guide,” Cody adds. “The visions we’ve received have helped us. We have no reason not to trust him.”
“So this guide…” I start.
“Saved your fucking life,” Seth says.
For the same reason I started having doubts about the Saints when Cody saved me, now I have a whole other reason to have doubts about what Preston shared with me.
“I don’t even know what to do with that,” I say, and the room falls silent.
“It’s okay,” Luke says eventually. “We don’t have to figure everything out in this one meeting. It’s a lot to process.”
I can tell he’s not just telling that to me, but to the rest of the Sinners as well, who look just as thrown by all this new information.
“Luke’s right,” Cody says. “The most we know is that Alexei was using a spell he had no experience with. It could have simply gone bad. Alexei, why don’t you talk to this other group, see if they’ll meet with us. Communication is what’s important. Maybe if we exchange notes, we can sort through this mess and figure out what’s what. Would you be willing to talk with them?”
I know he’s right. This is the only way we’ll be able to make sense of this, but I’ve never had a conversation with Preston or the guys like this. They keep things close to their chest, and I can’t imagine how they’ll react when I tell them I started revealing secrets to the enemy.
“He does that,” Matteo says, “and they’re gonna know he betrayed them.”
“I know,” Cody says, “but Alexei saw what that monster was capable of, and I’m hoping he understands this might be our only option.”
I hate that he’s fucking right.
17
MATTEO
“You’re off-theme tonight,” Preston tells us as Alexei and I approach him. He’s dressed as Cupid, a toga revealing a sculpted pec and his impressive biceps.
Needless to say, Alexei and I weren’t in the Valentine’s Day spirit when we planned to meet up with him, and though Alexei pushed for something a little more private, Preston insisted the party would be a good time to chat. Of course, he’s assuming Alexei is meeting him to discuss whatever Preston wanted to talk to him about the other day, not that Alexei has been speaking with the enemy.