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And Eli laughed.
The wolf raged inside. Eli attacked the vulnerable, the weak, and our pack. He had to pay. I let the anger release, let it shoot out of me like a bullet. All of the death that Eli sent my way ricocheted back at him.
But he was ready. He’d learned my trick and somehow used the spirits to shield him from it. I hurt them instead, and the wolf inside grew incandescent with rage. Logic and rationality were lost to me. A violent growl erupted from my chest, and Eli smiled.
He ran offstage and disappeared out of sight. I chased after him, kicking away Victor’s hand when he reached for my leg to stop me.
“Margo, no!” he called out. “It’s dangerous! Wait for me!”
I couldn’t wait for anybody. There was no time, Victor was already hurt, and Dorian was facing danger alone. Eli was my problem, mine to deal with, mine to solve. I couldn’t wait to face him, to unleash months of fear and anger and direct it at him. For Vira, my biological father and all of the other spirits. For all of the times my parents felt as though they weren’t good enough because they couldn’t save me from Eli’s world. For Dorian and the pack who risked everything to help me. For the friends who stood by my side when I needed them. For them, I had to do whatever it took. There couldn’t be any more encounters. It was time to meet the end.
I climbed the stage, ran into the darkness behind the curtain and followed Eli’s trail, his terrible scent, the sound of his footsteps. It was all a lure for the hunter inside me.
I followed him straight into a badly lit unfinished room, where the smell of turpentine made my eyes water. He barrelled into my side and knocked me over before slamming the door shut.
He stood over me with a knowing smirk. If he had been trying to get me alone, he had succeeded.
And that was exactly what I wanted.
CHAPTER34
Dorian
As soon asthe fire alarm went off, I moved directly to Perdita and the pram. Several voices shouted that there was a fire as though one had appeared right in front of us, but there was no smoke that I could tell. Still, it was better to be safe, and with the crowd panicking, Perdita and Diane needed help to get outside.
Nothing made sense though. The alarm was messing with my head, making it hard to think straight, but something felt off. Why were people panicking so hard? Some adults pushed their way to the stage against the crowd moving towards the doors.
I reached Perdita and helped her manoeuvre the pram to the doors. I finally noticed the growing chill around us and understood the sudden panic. I managed to get Perdita and Diane safely out into the foyer. Perdita’s face was pale as the crowd pushed us along.
“Get outside,” I told her, guiding her to the front doors. Some people were holding them open and directing the crowd outside, but too many lingered in the halls still, looking for friends and family. I heard many voices remark on the lack of smoke or fire. “Call Nathan. I don’t think there’s a fire, but the harbingers are here. Just keep walking away with the pram.”
She gripped my arm. “Dorian.”
“I know,” I said. “I’ll go back for Margo and be right out.”
I found Mrs Harding and pulled her towards the pram. “Get out with Perdita,” I told her. “Don’t come back inside.”
Somebody shouted that the doors to the hall were locked. Mrs Harding hesitated.
“I swear I’ll get Margo. Get outside.”
Perdita urged Mrs Harding to leave with her. I slowly made my way back towards the door to the event hall, staying along the wall instead of fighting through the crowd that had grown even more belligerent. The atmosphere was strange and affecting everyone, the cold causing hysterical panic amongst otherwise rational people. I came across Emma and Chloe who were clinging to one another, but when they saw me, they didn’t look scared anymore. Maybe they had gotten used to that kind of chill around Margo.
“Where’s the fire?” Chloe demanded of me.
“I don’t think there is one. Margo’s family are here. Watch out for anyone you don’t recognise or people wearing hoods or hats or whatever. I need to find Margo.”
They moved with me, bunching up against me to push against the crowd and help me through.
Emma suddenly screamed incredibly loudly, pointing at a nearby figure who was huddled against the wall, his hood pulled down so far it covered half his face. “They're here to kidnap Margo!”
Chloe glanced at me then dashed toward him. She reached out to roughly pull down the man’s hood, revealing him as an obvious harbinger. “Kidnapper!” she screamed, almost as loudly as Emma.
I stood watching blankly for a second, impressed by the speed of the girls’ reactions. The man stared at us with eerily pale blue eyes for a moment before dashing into the crowd, leaving only cold air behind.
I wasn’t sure if anybody actually understood, but the word “kidnap” was an alarm bell in a hallway full of families. The closest adults in the crowd swarmed the man, even as a chill emanated from him.
I lost the girls in the crowd, so I climbed onto a nearby receptionist's desk to see if I could figure out what was happening. The rest of the pack hadn’t returned yet, and I couldn’t see any sign of Margo. A number of people in the crowd kept their heads covered, and some of them were keeping people away from the blocked hall doors. Vira was pressed against a wall across the room. She met my gaze with questioning eyes. I shrugged in answer. There were too many people in the way to be sure, but I couldn’t see Margo anywhere. She had to be in the hall still.
