“Of course,” Raya says before we rush Mickey through the Door. Since the Door at Special Agent Kim’s department is constantly monitored, we decide to go there. That way if someone comes through from Obsian, there will be people to deal with them, unlike creating a Door in Shaarune.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Riley
It only takes us a few minutes to hop from Door to Door before we’re standing in the underground room where Lark and a group of others are talking. The second Lark sees us, she looks relieved and hurries over with her brother not far behind.
“Something’s going on with those who were hurt,” she says.
“Did they have seizures?” I ask, curious whether they had the same reaction Mickey did.
Lark looks surprised. “They did. I don’t know what’s going on. Sterling is trying her hardest to identify the problem. Everything is falling apart and our people are becoming restless and anxious. We’re currently trying to get a meeting with Onyx to see if she can give us information on what caused it.”
“Mickey had the same reaction. Can we see the others?” Torin asks.
“Of course. Bring Mickey with you. We’ll get him in a bed and have a doctor examine him.”
We follow her outside and I find that there aren’t many people out and about; they seem to be hiding in their homes where it’s likely safest.
“Did you deliver more food again this morning?” I ask.
Lark nods as Story jogs over to catch up to us. “We did… but not as many showed up. I think they’re afraid. Things… things don’t quite feel right,” she says.
I push Mickey’s hair off his forehead and look at him, but he’s still completely unresponsive. I anxiously wonder if I should take him back home and find a healer there, but they’d have no idea what Onyx’s men are using.
Lark leads us up to a building that has a peeling sign out front with the words “Medical Center” painted on it. Inside, people are busy rushing around, but a nurse notices the moment we enter and hurries over to help.
Torin sets Mickey down on the bed we’re ushered over to, and a nurse is immediately on him, reading vitals and checking him over while we explain what happened to him. We’re informed that it’s the same thing that happened to the others who were hurt yesterday—at least the others who were on our side since we don’t know what’s happening inside the capital walls.
“You can come see the others,” Lark offers, but I don’t want to leave Mickey when I don’t know what’s going on with him, even though the nurse has assured us that his vitals are perfect and it has something to do with his magic versus something wrong with his health.
“I’ll stay,” Vero says as he flops into a seat that creaks beneath his bulk. He folds muscular arms over his chest while he glowers in Mickey’s direction. And though I know he’s not the fondest of Mickey, I have an odd feeling that he’d crush the skull of the first person who even dreamed of harming him.
“We’ll be quick,” I promise.
“Don’t have to be.”
“You have your walkie-talkie, right?”
“Wishing I didn’t,” he says.
We step out into the hallway and Lark takes us into the next room where a girl of about fifteen is lying. I don’t remember her among those who’d been shot, but there was so much going on that I might have missed it.
“She wasn’t one of the wounded,” Torin comments as he hurries over to the bed.
“No… she wasn’t,” Lark says, confirming my observation.
I tilt my head in thought. “I assumed it was because of the bullet. Was it not?”
“I don’t know,” Torin says, examining the young woman before he hesitates and looks at where her sleeve is pushed up on her arm. It’s showing her shoulder, so Torin pushes the edge of the fabric up, revealing the back of her shoulder. “She has two brands?”
Lark nods. “Most of us do. They… ‘switched’ to a different one about two years ago after a few people were still able to use their magic. They realized the brand they were using wasn’t offering complete control over all magic.”
“They do it to degrade us,” Story says as he looks down at the brand on his wrist.
“But you can still access enough magic to keep Story…” Is “alive” the right word? “Enough magic to use it on Story.”
“Yes. It seems like those of us who were very strong continue to have a sliver of our magic even today.” Lark rubs her finger over her brand. “Every day, I fear they’re going to learn how to create a stronger brand, so I do my best to never let them know. I can’t lose my brother.”
