Chrysalis would be wraith mist, and James would be the lifeless shape of a boy.
“If I can find Chrysalis, I can tell him to send the wraith back.” Maybe if I just wanted it enough, he’d do it without my order. But I couldn’t count on that; he was unpredictable at the best of times.
And this was not the best of times.
We picked up speed as the streets cleared closer to the lowcity. The eight of us took up a steady trot, with Tobiah and me in the center, and the others around us like the points of a star.
“You should have announced yourself back there,” said Kevin. “They’d have made way for you.”
“Maybe.” Melanie waited a few steps before continuing. “Or the royal presence would have caused even more calamity.”
“You’re the one who made her take her mask off.” Theresa huffed. “Make up your mind.”
Melanie flicked her little finger in Theresa’s direction. “Masked figures are equally exciting.”
“I told you.” I smirked at Tobiah. “The best mask is a face no one will remember.”
He managed a faint smile as we darted around a flurry of snowflakes clumping together.
As we entered the lowcity, threads of white drifted through the streets, twining around buildings and statues and trees. Gardens withered, and houses grew eyes. Bits of wraith clung to everything, making corners of buildings rot, storefronts melt, and paving stones liquefy. A handful of bodies—both in red and blue—sank into puddles of wraith, and vanished.
We hadn’t even reached the biggest mass of wraith. Not nearly.
Several times, we stopped to dispatch wraith beasts: cats and dogs, even birds. Nothing was safe from the toxic effects.
“Chrysalis,” I whispered. “Where are you?”
“Here.” The wraith boy appeared directly in front of me.
I skidded and crashed into him, but he didn’t budge. He grabbed my shoulders and held me upright while I found my balance.
Around us, everyone else stopped and stared. James moved close to Tobiah, who looked at the wraith boy with murder in his eyes.
“Where have you been?”
He tilted his head. “Trying to stop Patrick. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“No!”
Chrysalis took a step away from me. “I’m sorry. I thought—”
“Send away the wraith.” From the corner of my eye, I could see James muttering to Tobiah. The lengths of everyone’s drawn swords gleamed in the wraith light. “Send it away now.”
The wraith boy cringed. “My queen—”
“Do it!”
He took another small step back and glanced over his shoulder where the hulking line of factories loomed like a wall between us and the fighting. Screams, gurgles, and pleas for help sounded in the distance.
And suddenly: silence.
“I’m sorry,” said Chrysalis. “I’ve lost control of it.”
FORTY-FIVE
EVERYONE LUNGED FOR the wraith boy at once.
He dropped to the packed-dirt ground, covering the back of his head and neck with his hands. Rocking side to side, he angled his face toward me and whispered something over and over, inaudible under the sound of my friends’ weapons being drawn.
“Wait!” I stepped closer, my arms outstretched. Everyone backed off.
“Wil?” Tobiah shot me a wrecked, confused look. His sword stayed in guard position, ready and deadly, but statue still.
I grabbed Chrysalis by the collar of his dirt-streaked jacket and hauled him to his feet. Sweat matted his hair, and small burns dotted his face, as though the snowflakes had injured him. “What were you saying?”
“It won’t hurt you,” he repeated. “The other wraith won’t hurt you. I told it not to.”
“What does that mean?” James’s voice was rough; he stood close to Tobiah, protective as always, no matter the ten-year secret raw between them. “That’s all wraith does—hurt people.”
Chrysalis glanced at Tobiah, something like shame crossing his face. “I know.”
“What do you mean, the wraith won’t hurt me?” I asked. This wasn’t the time to discuss the past.
“I told you I wouldn’t let it hurt you, so it won’t.” He touched the small red welts spotting his face. “It hasn’t hurt you.”
I mirrored his movements. It was true; I hadn’t been burned, though the others showed evidence of injury. “How, when you’ve lost control over it?”
“Control, yes. That’s lost. But not yet influence.”
Not yet.
Which meant I had to act quickly.
“The whole kingdom needs protection.” I looked beyond him, toward the now-quiet battlefield on the far side of the factories; the silence was deafening. Something had happened, and the wraith was likely responsible. “What happened there? Are the soldiers dead?”
He shook his head. “Not yet.”
My stomach dropped as I motioned at Sergeant Ferris and Oscar. “Go look.”
Ferris glanced at Tobiah for direction, but his king didn’t shift his glare from the wraith boy.
“Go!” I said.