A black armored vehicle is waiting for us about a mile from the platform. Quin shoves me inside, not bothering to protect my head as I smack it on the hard metal. I take a seat between him and the Morrigan he called Rabaan back at the power plant. The others join us several minutes later. We only move a few feet when the sky behind us lights up. I turn around to look out the window behind me to see the shuttle disintegrate into ash.
My heart screams as Jagger is killed.
Everyone I try to protect dies. Everyone.
Tears start to roll down my cheeks. I’ve let everyone down.
I can’t take anymore. I wish they would just kill me.
I no longer care what happens.
I’m dead inside.
Chapter 20
The trip is quiet.
Quin continues to grip my arm, perhaps fearful I will slip my restraints. Hours pass by slowly. The forest begins to thin out slightly as the trees begin to change from evergreens to large ficus covered in Spanish moss.
A headache begins to build behind my eyes and I’m growing restless from the long ride. I start to fidget with the binders since they are now cutting into my skin. Quin tightens his grip, almost cutting off the circulation in my arm but I manage to slide the binders off.
More hours pass as we drive, and now the sun is bright over our heads. Cool air filters through the vents along the roof, but it doesn’t help with the stagnant feel inside the car. My headache grows, moving from behind my eyes to my temples. I ask for some water, so Quin places a cup to my lips in order for me to drink. The water helps my headache, but only a bit.
We approach a tall stone archway with a closed iron gate. The driver pushes a button on the console, causing the huge gates to swing open, shaking from their size and weight. We pass through, the gate closing behind us. We go by four cinderblock buildings, all with small windows and metal doors. Men sit perched atop rooftops, two sets on either side. Behind the buildings is thick forest, tall canopies that cast great shadows onto the earth below.
The vehicle begins to slow as we come upon people walking about the area. Men and women run around the barren ground, going from one building to another. We go about a mile before stopping in front of the tall round structure with the domed roof; ornate columns and stained glass windows complete the picture.
Quin yanks me out of my seat. I step out into the humid air and squint in the bright sunlight, but no one pays much attention to us. Rabaan takes my other arm as he notices I’m no longer wearing the binders, and I am escorted up a small flight of marble stairs, under an elaborately decorated archway, and inside.
Long wooden pews cover much of the floor, candles burn in the corners, and paintings and sculptures of ancient religions hang on every wall. The fragrance lingering in the air is one I haven’t smelt before and it’s increasing the pain in my head. The three of us, along with two heavily armed Morrigan, walk up the red-carpeted aisle towards a man preaching to rows of pews filled with young children.
He is yelling about the evils of the world, and how humanity can only truly continue if they believe in him. He’s holding a worn leather-bound book in his arthritic hand, shaking it above his head as he stands tall and straight, thinning hair as white as snow. His slender stature makes him look frail, but from the vibrato in his voice, he is far from it.
“Here children,” the man says, as we march down the center. “Look at this young woman being brought before you. She was created by the devil’s hands.” He points towards me, book shaking in his grasp. “She must be punished for the sins of the men and women who created her, as she’s not of human flesh. We must seek these demons out and cast them back to hell.”
The children turn and stare at me as I stand disheveled before them. The man approaches me, brushing my cheek with his cold bony fingers.
“Trea, I presume.” He pushes my head down to check the marks on the back of my neck. He places his hand under my chin, bringing my face up to meet his. “How long I’ve been waiting to see you.”
He gestures to Rabaan and Quin and I’m dragged out the back door behind the altar. We pass a small ring with a tall pole in the center, charred wood and cloth scattered beneath it. Approximately a hundred yards away is another cinder building with a tin roof, bars on the windows, and two guards outside. One unlocks the bolt as he sees us approach. Rabaan and Quin walk me through the door, down a small hallway, and into a cell. I’m secured to the wall by heavy metal chains, one around each ankle and wrist, as well as my neck. Rabaan steps away as Quin finishes fastening me in place.
“It will be okay,” Quin says to me. “You’ll see.” He kisses me and leaves.
As soon as the cell is closed and locked I try and break free of the chains. The moment I move my arm, the restraint around my neck tightens. The same goes if I move either of my legs.
Great, I think to myself, I’ll wind up choking myself to death.
Nothing is coming to mind at the moment as I try to think of a way out of this. I begin to wonder if Lehen is being held in the same building, so I
