Page 80 of Harmless
I saw her arm thrust forward, the jerk of his arms against the chains. I heard the sound of a knife through flesh, and wet, gurgled attempts at breath.
Blood pooled on the ground, and I figured out then why the concrete floor was so dark. The blood followed the slight downward slope of the floor to find the gutter acting as a small, morbid canal.
He had stopped moving but the woman kept stabbing him, blood coating her arms and the front of her clothes. She had to be in a delusion of some kind, seeing the man who had attacked her in the innocent man she had just now brutally murdered.
Do you understand now what you are dealing with?Astarte’s voice cut into the horrified silence in my head.
Yeah, and I’ve seen enough,I snapped back.
Fuck, that scene would stay with me forever. I had to find out that man’s name and where he was from. He had to have loved ones who missed him. How I would obtain this information was yet to be seen, but it was the least I could do when his death had been so needless and cruel.
The goddess stuff is all bullshit, right?I found myself asking.It’s just a manipulation tactic, like every cult leader. There’s no way it actually exists.
Astarte was silent for a long while.
Eventually, all she said was,Time for you to return to your body.
27
SANTOS
Ifound Devin leaning against the loaner motorcycle we’d ridden on together, popping grapes into his mouth, and I wasted no time saying what was on my mind.
“Paige saw kids at the compound.”
He stopped chewing. “So?”
I shook my head, my mouth tight in clear sign that I wasn’t fucking around. “Come on, man.”
Devin finished chewing what was in his mouth and swallowed. “How old?”
“Not sure, but she said women were carrying around babies. So, young.”
He pulled in a breath. “Young enough to be…?”
“We’ve been away for four years, Dev. So yeah, I think it’s safe to assume so.”
“Fuck.” His head tilted back, eyes closed to the sky for a few long seconds. “Have you said anything to Rori?”
“Not yet. I came straight to you as soon as it hit me.”
Devin’s eyebrows lifted with surprise as he scoffed. “Why? Thought you didn’t need me anymore.”
“It’s not about me. If Hudson’s down there, he’s gonna need both of us.” I sighed out a heavy breath, unable to fathom what our friend had been through over the years. Or if there was even any ofhimleft. “I think we should tell Rori together. It’s gonna affect her plan for sure.”
“You think so?” Devin sounded skeptical, and that lit me up with anger.
“If we say he needs to be saved, she’ll do it,” I barked. “The only reason she’s here is because she wants to do right by all of us.” I spread my arms to indicate all of the ex-gladiators who were here. Rori was leading us to our revenge. Why he couldn’t get his head out of his ass and see that was beyond me.
To my surprise, he nodded and tossed his plucked grape stems, leaning up from the bike. “Alright. Let’s tell her.”
Who are you and what have you done with Devin?I wanted to ask, but would rather not give him a reason to stop being agreeable.
Together, we took the short hike up to the crest of the hill and found a terrifying scene.
Rori was lying on her back, her head in Paige’s lap, who was bent over her and crying. The Hunter stood behind Paige, his hands on his shoulders as he looked down at our new president with a worried frown.
Torr was kneeling at Rori’s side, stroking her arm and face while he stared at her like a man about to lose the love of his life.
