“Is halfway to whatever country now borders this one if he has the sense God gave a common house flea.”
“N-no,” I stammered. “He wouldn’t leave me.” I knew this was true, even though deep down, I wished what she said was true.
“Perhaps not,” Satina conceded. “But that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t. There is no ‘win’ in this game, Charisse. Not for him, not for you, and certainly not for the both of you together. I know you think he loves you, and perhaps he does. But have you ever considered the idea that love, at least this love, isn’t what either of you need?”
“He’s here!” I said, much too loudly. “And he’s hurt, and I need you to help me get out of this hospital! If you want to leave after that, then so be it. But I won’t give up on him. He doesn’t deserve that.”
“When has what someone deserves ever mattered for people like us?” she shot back. “Listen to me, Supplicant. You need to leave, and not with a beast in tow. You need to run somewhere where you can fit in. Become a waitress, dye your hair. Blend in. Just don’t stick out, certainly not the way being in league with someone like Abram would force you to.”
“Don’t you get it?” I asked. “They know now. They all know. They have it on camera. It’s all out in the open. It’s never going to be like it was again. There is no disappearing, not for any of us.”
“To be so young.” She chuckled. “They always do this, Supplicant, and it never lasts. They don’t want to believe. They can’t handle believing. So yes, they see and they know. And then, after a while, they convince themselves that it was all conjecture or imagination or special effects. It’s in their nature. But it isn’t in yours. You need to run.”
“No …” I said through gritted teeth.
“Your funeral.” She shrugged. “I hope he’s worth it.”
She turned and began toward the door.
“Wait!” I said. “I still need your help to get out of here.”
“You already have it.” She smiled, looking over her shoulder and holding up a vial of blood—my blood, no doubt. “I said they were all asleep, and they will be for the next ten minutes.”
“All?” I asked, my eyes narrowed. “Everyone in the hospital?”
“Everyone in the town,” she answered flatly. “Now run. Ten minutes isn’t much of a head start.”
Chapter 26
I pulled the electrical wire stickums off of myself, wincing as the machine they attached me to made a long flat-lining beep. As soon as my bare feet hit the cold tiled floor, I scurried to find my clothes. Ten minutes, that was all Satina had given me. Perhaps it was all she could give me. I had no idea how magic worked, but sending an entire town’s worth of people off to sleepy town didn’t seem like an easy job. And she only had a singular vial of my blood.
Or did she?
For all I knew, she had pumped me like a farmhouse well before I woke up. That would account for the dizziness. But why? Abram had said Supplicant blood had a shelf life. Was she planning on using it all soon?
Whatever the case was, I was still alive, and that put her one up on what that horrid mystery monster wanted to do to me and what the town wanted to do to Abram.
My shoes were in the corner, scuffed and practically screaming with wear. As I moved closer, I saw the sole was coming off of one of them, an absolute abomination of a thing that, on any other day, would have sent me screaming back to bed. But at the moment, I was in a tender situation. Shoe integrity would have to take a backseat, even if the sight of it made me want to heave.
“Sorry, Lu,” I said, leaning down and untying her laces.
I really did not want to steal her shoes, and it wasn’t because she had bad taste. On the contrary. She was stylish, and there were more than a few times when I’d shipped her an extra pair or two of whatever I was gifted on a particular photoshoot. She had just had a baby, though, and her low top sneakers spoke to that.
It was a good thing, too. My feet (along with the rest of my body) were killing me. I wasn’t worried about style today. I was worried about function.
I slid Lulu’s shoes off her feet and placed them on mine. They felt like heaven, all cushioned and relaxed. For all of our similarities, Lulu had a slightly larger foot than me. I slid around a little as I stood, but they would do. I tied them extra tight before I scanned the room, lips pursed.
I still didn’t see my clothes. Shit. Where did they put them? I didn’t have time to think, so I started throwing open cabinets and doors, much like I had that time I lost Jack. Never in a million years would I have guessed that day would lead to here.
When all the cabinets came up empty, I raked my hands through my hair. I didn’t have time for this! I spun in a slow circle, begging for a solution. Clothes, Satina! Why didn’t you leave me clothes? My throat was closing off, making it harder to breath.