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Noel revved the bike with a grumble. “Well, they’re screwing everyone else over with this.” He ducked his head and pushed forward again, glad when the scenery changed, and the fog rolled away along the edges.
The blue-black sky greeted them once they hit the tall grass and rolling hills, bringing equal parts relief and dread. He sped up, and the scenery fell away in heartbeats—each thump a brave new world under the ever-brightening stars. Beautiful and terrifying, much like the fair folk.
Twinkling lights in the distance turned into the grand finish line, despite its alarming placement near the woods. The little hovels tucked into the chain linked fences and corrugated metal walls looked like they might collapse at any second. But a haven was a haven, and Noel wasn’t about to turn down someplace for them to seek shelter, rather than risk spending the night outside with Doctor Cavan and whatever creature he devoted himself to hunting them.
He cut the engine just short of the gate when one of the guards pointed a shotgun at him. “Who the hell are you two?” he demanded, his gruff voice slightly muffled through his face mask.
“Relax,” Noel said, holding up his hands, catching Grey mimicking the motion out of the corner of his eye. “We’re travelers. We got a little lost in the woods, or else we would’ve been here sooner.”
The other one glowered at them as he readjusted his bandana to rest on the bridge of his nose. “Marks,” he called, waving a pistol. “No mark, no entry.”
Noel rolled up his sleeve, displaying the black inked mark in the glow of lamplight until he was waved away for them to get a look at Grey’s. The one lowered his gun and went for the latch. An ear-splitting screech sounded as he pushed it open and jerked his gun toward the threshold.
“Inside. Park the bike there,” said the other, pointing to the nearby cinderblock garage missing doors.
He rolled it inside and turned it off, him and Grey dismounting while the gate screamed again before it locked.
Bandana pointed a pistol at them. “Hold out your arm, hemomancer.”
The guy lowered his weapon as Grey started toward him, but Noel stepped forward, his body going into fight mode. Bandana snapped to aim the gun at him. “Stay there. Hemomancer first. You next.”
Noel gritted his teeth as the guy holstered his gun while Face Mask hovered nearby, at the ready. An iron coin emerged from his pocket, and Bandana pressed it to Grey’s hand. Then he was ordered to stand by Face Mask before Noel was told to step forward. He held out his hand, and the coin grazed his palm for a second before the guy seized his arm. The other grabbed Grey, and they were led toward the main road.
“Where are we going?” Noel asked, resisting the urge to shove them away.
“Quarantine. People around here have been getting sick, so outsiders stay in a cell for twenty-four hours.”
“Sick?” Grey piped up, his voice barely above a whisper. “Sick with wh?—”
“Quiet,” came Face Mask’s gruff reply, shaking Grey slightly.
Noel’s hackles rose. His hands curled into fists as they passed a few run-down buildings until they were dragged through a door hanging off its hinges. Grey was pulled back behind a wall, and then Noel was forced to turn the corner to where a row of cells sat—some with barred windows at the very top of their back walls. His stomach clenched as Grey was pushed into one of the cages with the door locked behind him.
Noel pitched forward after a sudden shove sent him into the next cell. He stumbled inside and spun around just as his door latched shut with a resounding click. “So you’re going to keep us here for a full day? What about if we want to leave?”
Bandana shook his head. “We’ll come back with rations if you don’t have any, but you two are staying here until tomorrow. If you want to leave, you can leave after we release you. I’ll be back in a couple hours to check on you if you need anything.” Heavy boots clunked against the cement floor on their way out, leaving Noel grabbing onto the cool bars as he watched them leave. A slam of the front door later, and his hands fell back to his sides.
“Shit…” Noel paced, his palm cupping his mouth as he walked the length of his cell. “What are the odds that Doctor Cavan ends up here too? What if they throw him in the cells with us?”
“Well, then I guess we’d hopefully get a head start if they also decide to keep him in here for twenty-four hours, right?” Grey said with a slight shrug as he sagged against the back wall. “It’s better than being stuck outside for the night, I guess.”
Noel watched him slide down to the floor by the bars, and he started over to him, pulling Grey’s key free from his neck. “Here.” He dropped down next to him, holding it out to Grey.
He took it, turning it over in his hands. “You don’t think this can unlock the cell, do you?” he asked, a teasing glint to his eyes that made Noel’s heart pump a little faster.
Here they were, stuck with a row of bars between them and complete uncertainty about whether or not they might be handed over to the Grand Capital in the morning. He prayed it wasn’t the case since they seemed to be more anxious about some sort of plague going around, but for all they knew, it could easily be a plot.
He swallowed and forced out a chuckle. “I think that would be a little too convenient to have a skeleton key on you.”
Grey popped up and jogged over to the door, weaving his arm through the bars and trying to jam it into the lock for about thirty seconds before giving up. He pulled the cord over his neck and slunk back over to the corner.
“It was worth a try,” Noel commended, warmth tickling his side as Grey dropped down next to him again. His dark hair skimmed Noel’s shoulder as his head leaned against the bars. So close yet so far—a tease of all his hopes and foolish wants in the face of encroaching death.
But this was a hemomancer. Was he settling simply because this was the person he happened to rush in and save for his own selfish reasoning? Wouldn’t it be better for him to cut ties to give them both a better chance at finding a way out? How stupid was he to chase this thought that it’d somehow work out for them in the end?
His eyes flicked down to Grey’s mop of hair, resisting the urge to twist one of the stray waves around his finger. The one thing stopping him from bringing it up was the fear he’d seen etched into Grey’s features every time that fair folk reared its ugly head. He lightly thumped his head against the bars and blew out a sigh, pushing it all from his mind as he closed his eyes and basked in the silence.
Rest. That’s what they needed right now after the chaos of today. Then they could face whatever waited for them in the morning. He hoped.
