All eyes darted between Josephine and me. I’d just challenged her in a way that was only going to make her look bad and hate me even more but I was damned if I was going to subject myself and Lincoln to any more of her bullshit.
Josephine put a hand to her chin. ‘Will you submit to full Grigori testing in three weeks’ time?’
My eyes widened. If I didn’t know better I could’ve sworn her voice held a note of respect.
Surely not.
I looked over my shoulder to Griffin. We’d discussed this and knew that this was one thing I was going to have to do – all Grigori do.
Turning back to Josephine, I gazed over the entire Assembly, showing – despite Griffin’s advice to the contrary – that I was not afraid.
‘In three weeks,’ I agreed.
Then, without waiting for permission, I marched out of the room, Griffin following with Lincoln in his arms.
Welcome to New York, indeed.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
‘Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken.’
C .S. Lewis
Morgan and Max were waiting outside the doors.
‘Hey.’ Then, ‘Oh my God,’ Morgan said, hand over her mouth, when she saw the state of Lincoln. ‘Is he …?’
‘He’s fine,’ I snapped. ‘Where can we take him?’
‘Follow us,’ Max said, already moving.
We stormed through the halls, Max and I clearing the way – people were smart enough to move fast.
‘Seth?’ Max asked.
‘Yes.’
He whistled. ‘Oh man, he never stood a chance. No one has landed a hit on Seth and lived to tell the tale.’
‘Well, they have now,’ I said, not slowing even as my rage towards the Assembly and Josephine in particular continued to build. ‘Where?’
Max pointed to the right. ‘Infirmary or his room?’
‘His room,’ Griffin and I both said.
‘Right, here. We’re going to have to cross the walkway.’
I led the way with Max but stopped in my tracks when we came to the end of the corridor. We faced a gap in the wall, a huge opening in the building.
‘Whoa!’ I said, looking over the edge. We were more than a hundred storeys above ground level. One more step and I would be falling and I didn’t imagine it would be the kind of fall that would land me in the angel realm.
‘What’s the hold-up?’ Griffin called from behind.
‘Violet’s at the walkway!’ Max called back.
‘Hurry up, for Christ’s sake!’ Griffin yelled.
‘What do I do? Where do we go?’ I looked between Max and the open space before me.
Max rolled his eyes and pushed me aside, storming towards the edge. I reached out just in time to grab the back of his T-shirt before he fell.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ I screamed.
He steadied himself and turned to face me, his feet dangerously close to the opening.
‘Violet, it’s a walkway. Just because you can’t see it …’ he took a step backwards. I lurched forwards to grab him again, but before I got there, his foot landed on something in mid-air. Nothing visible – but something that supported his weight. ‘Doesn’t mean it is not there.’
I’m hallucinating. Drenson must’ve messed with my head.
Max took another step back and I was suddenly staring at a man standing perfectly still in the sky.
Morgan pushed past where I stood frozen, staring at the impossible. She marched right out onto the invisible walkway without so much as a second of hesitation, turned back to face me and then released her power. It flowed from her in a multicoloured mist, floating out. I watched, amazed, as it hit invisible walls, revealing the transparent tunnel they were now standing in.
‘These tunnels connect all of our buildings,’ Morgan said. And when she saw the question in my eyes, she added, ‘Just think of it as a glamour. A really complex glamour.’
With that she started to walk towards the building ahead. I could see now a similar opening in its wall and a person stepping out into the open air, who started walking towards us as if it was no different from taking a flight of stairs. This is what Lincoln had been showing me earlier.
‘Violet, we need to move,’ Griffin said, now behind me. I didn’t like the urgency in his voice.
I nodded, but didn’t look at Lincoln. I couldn’t, not yet.
Ignoring every natural defence in my being, I followed Max and Morgan and stepped into thin air. My foot found a solid landing.
‘Whoa!’ I said again, marvelling. But now I knew it worked, I was moving at full speed, my feet seemingly walking on air. Logic struggled to keep up – the sensation not unlike stepping onto a stationary escalator. I looked down. The streets below buzzed with activity.
‘Can’t they see?’ I called out to Morgan.
She followed my gaze. ‘Nope. The whole thing is glamoured. They can’t see it, or anything within it. Once you know it’s there, you can see it a little. It has a kind of golden glow, but unless you know it’s here you’d never see it.’
I felt Lincoln’s heartbeat, which I’d been tracking since the fight had started, speed up. ‘Griffin, I think he’s waking up.’
We both knew when he did he’d be in a world of pain.