I rush into the gym and my breath catches in my throat when I see Sailor alive and well with the others. Nexus is with the team, in her own body this time. Aziza smirks at her.
“I told you, didn’t I?” she says. “It’ll take more than being two seconds from death to keep Rye down.”
“Two seconds from death?” I say.
Aziza nods.
“Yeah. We figured you and Sailor would both be dead, but then Sailor started yelling for us. We climbed down and you were pretty bashed up. Your head was split open and you were losing a lot of blood. Mel healed you as much as she could, but she was pretty drained from Sunday, so Grace portalled us back to the cabin and we contacted Nexus, who cast a healing spell.”
“So what have I missed?” I ask, my mind spinning.
“Sailor thinks Ms. Price is part of Boundless,” Jinx says, not even trying to keep the amusement out of his voice.
“It’s not funny, Jinx. She was telling a story in class about her date last night, and she kept looking at me as she said it. I’m sure she’s trying to keep me distracted so she can get the Soul Gem. I just…my instincts tell me there’s something off about her and none of you guys seem to believe me. I feel like my dad might be in danger.”
I feel a throb of guilt wash over me. Her dad is in danger, but it has nothing to do with Ms. Price. That’s all on me.
“Sailor, is it possible you’re feeling this way because you don’t like her dating your dad?” Grace asks gently.
“Yeah and she could have been looking at you in class because she suddenly realized you would know she was talking about your dad and she was uncomfortable,” Mel adds.
Sailor sighs.
“I guess it’s possible. I just don’t know anymore.”
“We’ll keep an eye on her,” Nexus says. “But for now, we have to forget about Raven and concentrate on getting the Soul Gem.”
“But how? We couldn’t open the trapdoor,” Aziza points out.
“I think I’ve found a way.”
She clicks her fingers and the next thing I know, we’re back in the forest standing outside of the narrow tunnel we crawled out from yesterday.
“I’ve been down and restored the tunnels. Let’s go,” Nexus says.
“Nexus, do we really have to do this now?” I ask.
I was watching Sailor as she talked about Ms. Price and I can see the strain around her mouth, the slight discoloration beneath her eyes. She needs a break. We’re pushing her too hard.
“Yes,” Nexus says. “Sailor, when you touched the dagger for the first time, what happened?”
“It sort of flashed white,” Sailor says.
So I didn’t imagine that.
“As I suspected,” Nexus says. “It means the rumors are true. Word is that the moment the Paradox finds the weapon to kill each horseman, the weapon gives off a surge of power and the horseman’s memories begin to wake up and they become aware of their purpose. It means you have to be extra vigilant, Sailor, because the horseman could strike at any moment. That’s why we can’t put this off any longer.”
“Wait,” Sailor says. “What if Raven is the horseman? Wouldn’t that explain why I feel so uneasy around her?”
“Was she at your house last night?” Nexus asks.
Sailor nods solemnly.
“Then she’s not the horseman. If she was, you’d be dead by now.”
Nexus turns and enters the tunnel and we have no choice but to follow her. She leads us back to the chamber and looks around at us.
“Rye, Sailor, I need you two. The rest of you, go and stand guard where we came in. If anyone approaches you, shoot first and ask questions later. Got it?”
They nod and move out of the chamber, arranging themselves around the entrance to the tunnel. Nexus looks at me.
“I need a drop of your blood,” she says.
I open my mouth to ask why, but I know she won’t answer until she’s good and ready, so instead, I take my knife out and dig the tip into my right palm. Nexus reaches out and pulls a hair from Sailor’s head by the root. Sailor puts her hand on the spot and rubs it.
“Ow,” she says.
“If that hurt you, Paradox, we’re in more trouble than I thought,” Nexus says.
“Just a warning might have been nice,” Sailor snaps.
Nexus ignores her and runs the hair through the bead of blood on my palm. She puts it in a crystal tube and shakes it.
“I need more blood, Rye,” she says.
She holds the tube out and I squeeze my blood into the tube. Nexus nods her approval and shakes it again. She holds it up and studies it. I think I see a shimmer of gold run down the hair, but it might have been a reflection of the light.
“That’s it. The hair is all coated. Sailor, pull it out and don’t let go of it,” Nexus says.
Sailor looks a little uncertain, but she grips the bloody hair between her thumb and first finger and pulls it out of the tube leaving behind a tiny smear of my blood. Nexus gestures for us to stand on the trapdoor.
“Rye, take the other end of the hair and insert it into the tiny hole in the trapdoor,” she says.
I take the end of the hair and peer at the trapdoor. I look back up at Nexus.
“I don’t see a hole,” I say.
Nexus rolls her eyes.
“Well of course you don’t from up there. It’s small enough to fit a single strand of hair in and nothing else. Get closer. Honestly, you guys will be the death of me.”
I nod to Sailor and we get down onto our knees still holding the hair. I squint my eyes and stare at the trapdoor, and
