“Trust me, Mom. I wasn’t about to snuggle up with a quasi boy any time this millennia. It’s too convenient that right after Verus puts out a call for the Scala Heir, she orders a gaggle of thrax boys to park their carcasses at our doorstep.”
Walker nods. “I’m sure Verus wanted you to connect with Lincoln. You’re too perfectly matched.”
True. But what does that mean? Anxiety tightens my skull. I rub my temples with my fingertips, trying to release the pressure as well as some new insights. Finally, some appear. “That leaves two big questions. Why Lincoln? And why now?”
“Why Lincoln?” Mom pulls a few frayed threads from the armrest. “Angels are always hatching secret plans to fix the universe, Verus especially. If you’re in one of her visions–and that vision says you must love Lincoln–you’ll never know the reason until it’s too late.”
I nod. That sounds true. Incredibly depressing that I may be Verus’s next vision-victim, but true.
Walker folds his long arms into his longer, loopy sleeves. “And why now? Perhaps the angels want to launch a war. It’s no secret they want ghouls out of Purgatory. Having a Scala with a backbone would help them in their fight.”
“To battle the ghouls, angels would attack an unarmed foe.” Mom frowns. “That they’d never do.” Her jaw drops slightly. “But they would prepare for a counter-attack if they thought demons were about to invade.”
I picture the angels giving advice to our headmaster, training my gym class and sending me one awesome dragon-scale fighting suit, free of charge. I point to Mom. “That’s it. The demons must be preparing to invade. Soon.” The moment the words leave my mouth, it’s like the temperature in the living room drops below zero. Another war? I’ve seen what Armageddon can do. Fear twists in my belly. This is a new level of suck.
Walker lets out a frustrated sigh. “They’ve been saying that since Armageddon’s War ended, and it’s never happened.”
“I don’t know Walker, there’s been strange stuff at school.” I wince. “Extra inspections. Teachers being attacked or even killed. It’s bad out there.” I picture the pile of ash that once was Miss Thing and shiver.
Mom taps her cheek. “We need an exit plan.”
I raise my hands to shoulder height, palms forward. “I won’t run and hide.” Despite my best intentions to sound badass, the words come out as more of a question.
“Think about it, Myla.” Mom rises to her feet. “Only angels have blue eyes like yours. If you stay here, the ghouls and demons will figure out who you are, fast. They’ll try to control you. Unlike Adair, you don’t have an army nearby for protection. It’s me and Walker, that’s it.”
I can’t help but smile. Something in that speech reminded me of the Senator Lewis I saw in so many dreamscapes. I slump into my high-back chair, thinking through this crazy morning: finding out Xavier is my father, that I have Scala powers, how Verus connected me with Lincoln, and that demons could invade Purgatory any minute. I suppose I now know what happened to me and why, as the igni instructed me to do. Grim determination seeps into my body. Unfortunately, my next step is all too obvious.
Mom moves closer, her fists on her hips. “What do you want to do?”
I look up and meet her gaze. “Get the hell out of here.”
Mom grins. “Yes, but where to go?” She paces the room. “Earth, Heaven, Antrum, somewhere else?”
I tilt my head from side to side, weighing the options. I’m about to run away and leave my entire life behind. The worn-out gears of my mind spin, circling back to the same name again and again. “Verus can be sneaky, but I’d go wherever she said it was safe.”
Walker laces his fingers together at his waist. “It will take a bit to get an audience with Verus. You’ll need a safe place to hide in the meantime.” He taps the pads of his thumbs in a fast rhythm. “There’s a bunker from the old quasi regime, a secret place where leaders went in times of trouble. It’s in the Gray Sea.” He turns to Mom. “We can take Myla there now, then I’ll portal to Verus for advice.”
Mom nods. “I know that bunker. It’s right under a–”
I finish her thought. “–wall of black stone.” Unholy Hell. That’s the very spot where all my dreamscapes have started. My body turns cold. That can’t be a coincidence.
Walker eyes me carefully. “You know this place?”
“I see it in my dreamscapes all the time.” I hug my hands against my body. Suddenly, I’ve never been so cold. “That’s a good sign from Verus, I guess. I’ll go there, no problem.”