Page 101 of Beg the Night

When I didn’t reach forward and open the door, Sinner stepped up behind me. He stood so close that when he took a breath, his chest brushed against the backs of my shoulders. To my surprise, he grasped my upper arms. His breath caressed the side of my neck as he whispered, “Don’t be afraid of your sister. I’m just waiting for the right time to let you practice your shadows.”

He reached in front of me and pushed the door open.

“There you are!” Margaret jumped up from the edge of the bed. “I was starting to think you two left us here.”

“It was tempting,” Sinner replied. “But we have work to do. Please tell me you came up with a plan.”

The bed was covered in sheets of paper, all full of notes, drawings, maps, and what looked like schematics.

Wow. They really had spent all day brainstorming.

“What is this?” I asked.

Katherine stood near the window, looking out, as if she hadn’t noticed our arrival.

“This is everything I know about where they’re keeping the rest of the mystics,” Benedict said. “I’ve only been underground a few times and it’s very complex, but it’s nothing we can’t figure out.”

My chest expanded a fraction. “You sound confident.”

“Look at this.” He handed me a piece of paper.

It was a diagram of the underground tunnels layered with one of the camps above ground. “When you were at the mansion for the claiming ceremony, you were here.” He pointed to an area on another paper. “Which is only about a mile from here.” He pointed to the map with the dungeons.

“That can’t be right. We were in a car for nearly an hour when we were transported for dinner and the claiming,” Sinner said. His voice had hardened. Grown more serious.

“We’re instructed to drive around to confuse mystics who don’t have the proper security clearance.”

I studied the maps. We were really that close to the rest of the mystics the night of the blood moon?

“And how many men are protecting these places? What types of gifts will we be fighting against?”

Margaret picked up another piece of paper. “Here. We compiled a list of the gifts of every guard we’ve encountered. Of course, it would be nice if we had Katherine’s help, but someone is being stubborn.”

Every eye turned to my sister.

“Really?” I asked, my heart sinking. “Still?”

She finally turned her gaze away from the window. “I don’t want anything to do with the massacre you’re walking into. That’s what will happen, you know that, right? They’ll kill you all.”

“Not this again,” I groaned.

“It’s true.” She stepped toward us. “You can draw your maps. You can make your plans. But do you really think your scary little boyfriend is strong enough to fight everyone?”

I ignored the little boyfriend comment, but beside me, Sinner stiffened. “Why are you so adamant that we’re going to die?” I asked. “What do you know?”

She rolled her eyes. “Nothing.”

“I’ve known you my whole life, Katherine. You’re stubborn, but you’re not an idiot. You know Sinner’s abilities are far stronger than most of the generals in Director’s army. What is it you know?”

“I don’t know anything, Thena! And neither do any of you! Do you think the Ministry gained all the power they have by allowing gifted to infiltrate them so easily? You’re smarter than that. There are other mystics out there with powers you’ve never even considered. Trust me.”

“Do you know other threes?” Sinner’s voice echoed off the walls. “Or powerful twos?”

She crossed her arms and leaned against the windowsill. “The Ministry has been operating for decades. Use your imagination, Sinner.”

God, she was annoying. Of course there would be mystics with powers we hadn’t seen before, but we were bringing the literal power of death with us.

“We can be in and out of there before they even realize what’s happened,” Benedict interrupted, saving us all from drowning in the growing tension. “That’s our best shot. We don’t have to fight everyone alone, either. The second we open the gates to the dungeons, we’ll have dozens of other mystics with us.”

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