Page 27 of Deathless
“Do I look like I know horoscopes?” I shoved a jug of water at his chest. “Stash this in yours, you got the biggest compartments.”
Val laughed. “Typical Scorpio.”
“Shut up.” To the guys, I asked, “Did you all see anything out here?”
“Just the flyer, President,” voiced the Saint.
“I didn’t ask you all to look for a flyer, so I guess that’s a no.”
“You really don’t know what Virgo is?” Devin pinned me with a stare that made me want to squirm with discomfort.
“No. Should I?”
“It’s the constellation of a woman. A maiden, or virgin.”
Silence fell over the group as that information sank in. “You think our targets will be at this thing?” I pointed at the flyer.
“Shit, the whole town might be,” Val said. “The flyers are everywhere, and the guards back there said something about the Dark Mother’s blessing. The cult probably owns the damn place.”
“Where’s this stargazing thing happening?” I scanned the paper. “LJ, how far is this from here?”
“About an hour’s ride, maybe,” he said.
“Let’s go there now.” I threw a leg over my bike, wasting no time. “We’ll scout the location before it gets dark and see if there’s a covered place we can watch.”
Everyone followed without another word, LJ pulling up next to me since he knew the way. My stomach flipped with anxiety as we hit the road, the complete unknown threatening to make my thoughts spiral. I missed Torr badly right then. His strong, solid presence was always able to ground and calm me.
But I needed to beat my self-doubt now more than ever before. I didn’t know what I was riding into, what I was leading my people, my family, into. Regardless, I needed to be their president and stand tall on my own.
9
RORI
The directions on the flyer brought us to a series of hills that looked like a miniature version of a much greater mountain range. The stargazing event would take place on the highest one, and we could already see groups of people settling in with blankets and food.
We parked our bikes at the base of one of the smaller hills, making sure to hide them in the brush, then hiked up the hillside farthest away from where the action was happening. We noted other people parking vehicles at the base of the tallest hill before making their way up, but there was no van that we could see.
What if this is all a waste of time?I wondered.The Virgo thing could be a total coincidence and the Sisterhood has nothing to do with this. They could be getting farther away, or closer to the safehouses to do fuck knows what.
I pushed on harder, putting more speed and power into my legs as I hiked up the hill. The ache in my muscles and lungs helped to keep the thoughts at bay, kept me here and focused. No wonder Torr used exercise as a coping mechanism.
We were here, so we might as well see it through.
A flapping of wings brought my attention upward, but in the fading daylight, the white dove was a dim blur.
Remember what I told you,Astarte had said.
She said to trust my instincts, to look deep into the divine part of myself, below the surface of anxiety and what-ifs.
I took a deep breath, still pushing onward as I tried to quiet my mind.
We were in the right place. Deep in my gut, I fucking knew we were in the right place.
Everyone spread out once we crested the hill, keeping low behind the cover of boulders, shrubs, and trees. We had an unobstructed view of the neighboring peak where everyone was gathering. Voices drifted over, all feminine. People chatted and laughed, sounding relaxed with an air of excitement. Someone started a campfire, which slowly grew as people fed it dry wood. After a few minutes, it was a roaring bonfire, lighting up everyone’s faces with an orange glow.
“Look.” Val nudged me. “The two on the left. They were at the service station.”
I nodded at her observation. “Did you happen to see what their patches were? The black ones on their arms.”
