“Then there was a section about dying to really live, and the fact that you need fire to burn the toxin out of you.” He arms tightened around me. “I know you tried that on yourself, but I’m thinking your fire was already compromised. Either that or Zombie Ali is as immune to your fire and toxin as you’re becoming to the antidote.”
That one, I thought. That second one. That was the answer. “I wonder what will happen if you use your fire on me.”
“I’ve thought about that, and I’m not willing to risk it. What if it kills you? Ashes you? I would never forgive myself.”
What if Z.A. died, and I lived? “Just...don’t take it off the table, okay?”
He sighed. “All right, but it’ll be a last resort. It’s risky, and I’m not happy with the idea of risking you.”
“Great risk comes with great reward.”
“Yo, Muhammad Ali,” a female voice said before he could reply.
I peeked up from my position against Cole’s chest and watched as Trina, Mackenzie and Lucas approached the side of my bed.
Trina said, “You got yourself and three wimps out of Anima. I’m not sure I’ve ever been prouder of you.”
“Hey,” Kat huffed.
“Yeah! Who are you calling a wimp?” Reeve demanded.
“I believe she was talking about you,” Bronx said.
He was here? I looked over and found him seated beside Reeve’s bed, and the two were...oh, glory...the two were holding hands. Openly. Unashamedly.
Happily.
Mr. Ankh must have relented.
“Ali Bell doesn’t play hide-and-seek,” Lucas said. “She plays hide-and-pray-I-don’t-find-you.”
Mackenzie smiled. “When Ali Bell gives you the finger, she’s telling you how many seconds you have to live.”
Cole chuckled, saying, “Fear of spiders is arachnophobia, and fear of tight spaces is claustrophobia, but fear of Ali Bell is just called logic.”
“Oh, oh.” Kat clapped excitedly. “There used to be a street named after Ali Bell, but it was changed because nobody crosses Ali Bell and lives. True story.”
I snorted.
“I heard Ali Bell once got bitten by a rattlesnake,” Lucas said, deadpan, “but after three days of pain and agony, the rattlesnake died.”
“Well, I heard that when Ali Bell wants to laugh,” Reeve exclaimed, “she reads the Guinness Book of World Records.”
Giggles spilled out of me, but they quickly turned to coughs. I wasn’t sure how many minutes passed before the hacking stopped. I only knew I’d spewed blood all over my hands. Awkward.
“Ankh told me this might happen,” Cole said. “The zombie toxin and the antizombie toxin you produce are going head-to-head.”
Trina tossed me a rag.
“Thanks.” As Cole cleaned me up, he kicked her, Mackenzie and Lucas out of the room. “You, too,” he said to Frosty and Bronx.
“Sorry, bro,” Frosty replied, sounding anything but apologetic. “I’m not leaving Kat.”
Bronx gave him the finger. “And yes, I’m telling you how long you’ve got to live if you try and make me go.”
Cole opened his mouth to protest. I knew he wanted to limit the scope of my embarrassment, and I fell a little deeper under his spell.
“They can stay,” I said. How could I deprive my friends of their boyfriends? I’d hate anyone who tried to take mine away.
Cole rested his chin on the top of my head, petted my hair. “Okay. For you.”
Bronx leaned forward in his seat and buried his face in his hands. “I don’t think I’ll ever leave your side again. You were so close to death, Reeve, and there was nothing I would have been able to do to stop it from happening.”
Reeve traced her fingers over the shell of his ear. “I survived. We all survived.”
The way he looked up and stared at her caused the air in the room to crackle with awareness.
It was the same stare Cole often gave me. Needy. Confused. Resolute. A little savage.
“We have to bring Anima down,” Cole said, determined and cold. “We can’t allow such a threat to remain.”
“What are we going to do?” I asked.
A pause as the three boys shared a look fraught with promise.
“Go to war,” Cole said.
Chapter 27
Blood Bath and Beyond