Finn shoved the last of the recruits, who had made it to this side of the lake, inside the train, then barked at the instructors, “Hurry the fuck up, people.”
They ran inside, the confusion evident on their faces why they were leaving in such a hurry. But they obeyed the orders and raced up the stairs, disappearing inside.
My shoulders stiffened. “We need to get on that train.” I grabbed Godric’s hand with my shaking ones. “Come on, big man. Let’s go.”
“Finn, get Poppy on there!” Godric ordered.
But the door on the train shut on its own.
The train lifted into the air and shot over the lake.
I trembled where I stood, my lips quivering.
Godric bellowed, “What the fuck, Finn! She can’t be here.”
Finn jogged to our small group. He shook his head, his eyes wide in shock and confusion. “I didn’t do that.”
“I snuck in there earlier and set the timer.” Cassander yawned again. “Because she can be here.”
“Are you crazy?” I screamed. I pointed at the monsters heading toward us. “I don’t want to be here for whatever the hell you guys are up to.”
Cassander sighed. “Ms. Carvene, take the knife that God’s hiding against his right ankle.”
“I don’t want a weapon. I want to leave.”
“Just take it out.”
I ground my teeth together.
Nevertheless, I bent and grabbed the knife that was indeed hidden under Godric’s pant leg. I straightened with the polished blade in my hand. “It’s pretty. But I still want to go. Call the train back, someone.”
Cassander snickered. “Do me one more favor.”
“What?” I snapped.
“Prick the tip of God’s thumb with the blade.”
Godric blinked. He didn’t breathe.
“I’m not going to cut him.”
“Just a tiny prick. Then I’ll call the train back.”
I grabbed Godric’s closest hand and pressed the tip of the blade to his finger. “Sorry about this, big man. But that guy is crazy, and we need to get the hell out of here.”
Godric didn’t move a muscle as I put a little pressure on the knife. His eyes did lower though from the tree line to stare at his finger. A drop of blood beaded on his skin.
I pulled the knife away, and ordered, “Call it.”
Finn stared at the blood. He reached forward and brushed his finger over Godric’s, wiping the dot away.
Another blood dot formed slowly.
Finn choked. “Oh my. Fuck, God.”
Godric swayed where he stood, still staring at his finger. He whispered, “I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I,” I groused. I put a hand on his shoulder since it appeared he was about to faint at the sight of his own blood. “I want to get the hell out of here. And your friend is a liar.”
Godric argued absently, “He’s not my friend.”
He wiped off the blood, pinched his thumb, and stared in a daze as another blood drop beaded on his skin.
“Jesus, quit doing that. You look faint enough.” I rubbed his shoulder. Hard. “Godric, snap out of it. I’m seriously freaking out. The monsters from my nightmare are coming this way, and I’m afraid I’m either dead from the last test, have hit my head, or I’ve been drugged. I want to leave. Please.”
“You’re not any of those things, Ms. Carvene.” Cassander snickered, and then lowered his swords. He placed them on the ground. “This is so anticlimactic. The bastard must be weak. Those things are a lot slower than I thought they’d be. I imagined I’d rush to the rescue and get to kill some bad guys, but instead, they are slower than snails. Seriously. I’ve seen snails move faster than those rickety ass bad guys.”
“Call the train,” I hissed.
He ignored me. “I’ve got time to explain something.”
Then he did the unexpected.
I shook Godric’s shoulder again, my eyes widening in surprise. “Godric… Your crazy friend is stripping in front of us.”
“Not my friend,” he mumbled again.
Godric the Great stared at the tiny bead of blood.
“You’re not impressing me right now, big man.”
Finn blinked out of his own lethargy. “Just give him a minute, Poppy. He’ll be back to his controlling self in no time. Probably a whole lot more with you once he gets his shit together.”
“Watch it, asshole.”
“See? He’s already getting better.”
They were all losing it.
Cassander dropped his pants on top of the other clothes he had removed. He wasn’t wearing underwear.
I blinked at the naked man.
The pretty, pretty naked man.
Cassander lifted a finger. “Watch.”
“Call the damn train!”
“Don’t blink,” he ordered.
I froze in place, my mind instantly reeling.
White sparkles twisted like a tornado where he had stood, his body gone from sight.
“What?” I whispered, choking on air.
The tornado of sparkles disappeared.
A silver stalker fox sat on his haunches, and his tongue lolled out in a grin—where Cassander used to be.
I dropped the knife as my eyelashes fluttered.
“Someone, catch me,” I breathed.
The landscape sloped as I tipped to the side, my eyes closing on their own. Godric’s arms wrapped around me right before I hit the ground and the world ceased to exist.
CHAPTER THIRTY
“Where are we going?” I asked softly, my arms wrapped around my stomach. My reality had changed when I’d woken up surrounded by monsters with their heads torn off.
Godric, Finn, and Cassander had killed them all.
Then a freaking train had arrived.
A private King Corporation train.
The clean blue energy vibrated under my bare feet.
Godric didn’t speak, his attention steadfast outside the window, with his chin resting on his fist.
After they had finished fighting, he carried me into the train, placed me on a chair, and wrapped a blanket around my shivering form. But he hadn’t said a word.
Apparently, he still wasn’t talking.
Finn cleared his throat after looking at his friend, the mute man. “I believe our destination is Godric’s home.”
I swallowed and finally looked at Cassander.
I whispered, “Did you really turn into a…”
His smile was gentle. “A fox. I shift into a fox.”