I coughed, the air coming in huge gulps.
A hand emerged from the water, long nails dragging across the stone.
Priest raised his arm above his head. Something gleamed in his hand, thin and sharp at one end. He drove it down into the spirit’s neck.
Millicent let out a tortured wail before she exploded like the girl in my bedroom. A spray of filthy water rained over us.
Priest wrapped the rope around my waist and pulled it tight, tethering us together. “Are you okay?”
“I think so.” My throat burned, every word tearing at my vocal cords. “How did you stop her?”
“I still had one of the bolts I made for Lukas’ crossbow in my pocket. It took two hits to take her down.” His voice swelled with pride. “I can’t believe you came after me. That was Legion all the way.”
“You saved my life.” I could still feel the water in my lungs, the pressure, and her arm around my neck.
He smiled. “I am the high priest, remember?”
“I’m pulling you guys up.” Lukas’ voice sounded shaky, or was it Jared’s? I couldn’t tell over the echo of the sloshing water and our ragged breathing.
“Take Kennedy,” Priest said. “I need to look for the disk.”
My stomach roiled at the thought of staying in the filthy water for another second. But we had risked our lives to find it, and I wasn’t leaving Priest down here alone.
“I’m staying.”
“You’re both coming up,” one of them barked.
“Give us a minute.” Priest ran his hands along the slippery walls. “Check between the cracks.”
We worked our way around the inside of the well until my legs started to go numb from the cold. Priest even dove to the bottom a few times, but he came up empty-handed.
“Maybe it’s up there around the perimeter of the well somewhere,” I said.
“Your lips are turning blue. We’d better get out of here anyway.” He retied the rope so it was more secure, leaving us a few feet apart.
He signaled to Lukas. “Okay, pull us up.”
I watched Priest rise above me, moving closer to the gray sky. My body rose out of the water slowly, grime running down my arms. As my feet lifted out of the water, I felt a tiny hand close around my ankle.
It was impossible. I watched her explode. Then I remembered.
She wasn’t the only one who died in the well.
The boy’s spirit looked like he was standing on top of the water. But his feet were just below the surface. The dark water splashed against his shins as if it was only inches deep.
“Wait.” His voice was tiny. The boy’s fingers uncurled from my skin as he reached into his pocket with his other hand. He pulled out a muddy silver disk, exactly the same size as the one we found at Lilburn.
“Lower me back down,” I said.
“No way,” Lukas yelled. I could see his black jacket at the edge of the well. He tugged the rope harder.
“I’ll untie myself,” I threatened.
Lukas hesitated, then lowered me a few inches.
“A little more.” I extended my shaking hand.
The boy dropped the disk in my palm.
“We’re supposed to look after it, but I don’t wanna stay here without Mamma. I’m scared of the water,” he said. “Don’t tell her I gave it to you.”
“I won’t.”
The boy smiled before he faded away.
Lukas hauled me over the side and untied the frayed rope. He pulled the last end free and paused, his hand lingering on my waist. “You scared the crap out of me, you know that?”
“Sorry,” I whispered.
Jared stood a few feet behind his brother watching us. For a split second, I held his gaze, wishing I could be braver.
Not the kind of bravery it took to climb into the well, but the kind it would take to act on what I was feeling right this second—to run over and throw my arms around Jared until everything else disappeared. But I wasn’t that brave, and I didn’t want to feel anything when it came to Jared. Not when I knew how easily a guy like him could hurt me.
Lukas wiped the dirt off my face with the edge of his T-shirt. He made me feel safe in a world I didn’t understand, while Jared always left me feeling off balance. Like the way he was making me feel right now.
Heat spread across my cheeks.
I wondered if Lukas noticed—if he thought it was because of him.
“Did you see me take out that vengeance spirit?” Priest asked Jared. “Don’t tell me it wasn’t badass.”
Jared looked away, breaking the connection between us, and gave Priest a weak smile. “Yeah, it was badass all right. And dumbass.”
“Whatever.” Priest stripped off his shirt and yanked on his dry hoodie, flipping the hood over his head.
“Here.” I handed Priest the disk.
He grinned when he saw it. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
Alara put her hand on my arm gently. “Are you okay?”
For a second, I was speechless. It was something a friend would do, not the girl who couldn’t stand me.