Violet searched for a place to pull over. “Do you want me to stop?”
“Keep going. Where are we going, anyway?”
“To the Fringe. It’s our territory…our advantage when they come for us.” She knew they would. “We need to bring Kade back to us before then. What did she say?”
Mia straddled Kade, but he continued to buck and spout nonsense. “It’s not good, not good at all. It’s going to, oh, gods…”
Ryan shook her shoulders. “Calm down and speak, woman!”
Mia’s eyes blinked, and she took a breath. “The Bore splinters a person’s memories. Three hours after getting it, Kade will be completely insane.”
“What if we stop it before then?” Violet asked.
“I don’t know. The outcome sounds iffy.”
Jessup said, “Do you want me to drive? You’re looking back there more than you’re watching the road. And all your blood just left your head. You’re as pale as a swamp lily.”
“I’m fine.”
“I’ll make sure we aren’t being followed. You keep your eyes on the road. Ryan and Mia can handle Kade.”
Violet wanted to be back there with them, but there was nothing she could do. The glow of Mia’s magick in the rearview mirror caught Violet’s eye. Mia created a clear, glassy orb like the one she’d made to camouflage Violet, only smaller. She leaned forward, her eyes pinched shut as she concentrated. “Come on, come out of there, damn you,” she said, her voice grinding with her effort.
Minutes dragged by as Violet tried to keep her focus ahead. It sounded as though Mia was wrestling with a demon back there.
“Come on, you little bastard! Or I’ll come in there and get you!”
“You’re getting it!” Ryan said. “It looks like a black bug coming out of his ear.”
Mia screamed.
“Damn, it went back in. Mia, get hold of yourself and try again,” Ryan said.
Violet gripped the wheel, frustration at Mia growing.
“Okay, I will,” she said, her voice resolute. She formed the bubble again, grunting with the effort. A thousand minutes passed, it seemed.
“It’s coming out again.” Ryan braced his hands on her shoulders, leaning over her to watch. “Stay with it, Mia. Don’t freak out.”
With a gasp, Mia fell backward against Ryan. The orb floated, containing a disgusting looking bug thing skittering around inside.
“Kill it!” Violet screamed. Bugs she didn’t care about, but that thing terrified her.
Mia straightened and, with her hands, sent a dark orb that swallowed up the clear one. With a loud smack both orbs disappeared.
“Kade!” Mia leaned forward, out of Violet’s view. “Kade, can you hear me?”
“Is he conscious?” Violet asked, her heart teetering between fear and hope. She could hear him murmuring, but it sounded like the same nonsense he’d been uttering.
“No. He’s not in pain anymore, not making that horrible grimace anyway. Kade!”
More murmurings, no actual response.
“Is he still fighting?” Violet asked.
“He’s struggling to get out of the straitjacket. I’m afraid to release him.”
Violet shook her head. “No, leave it on, as awful as it is. We need to keep him constrained while we’re on the road.”
