Page 30 of Deathless
“We saw them throw the carrier in,” Devin said. He was next to me and must have been the one who had given me water. “And there was smoke for a bit, but that was all. Then you took off running like someone was after you with a chainsaw.”
The realization hit me with a cold sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. “None of you saw it.” I looked at Val, who was frowning with just as much confusion as everyone else.
“Fuck.” I rubbed my temples. “Did I dream it?”
No. There was no doubt in my body or mind that it had been real. I hadfeltthe grains of sand digging into my skin like thousands of tiny needles. I felt the exertion in my body as I tried to get away, the burning in my lungs as I had struggled to breathe. It was entirely too vivid to be a dream. And minutes ago, before I had woken up, there had been nothing. No dreams at all for the first time in over two weeks.
“Are you okay, Rori?” The question came from Devin, but everyone stared intently at me.
I must have gone quiet for a few minutes while trying to decipher dreams from reality.
“I...think so,” I said cautiously. Then more firmly, “Yes. Yes, I’m fine.”
It was one thing to let my guard down in front of just Santos, or even my family members. But right now, these were my riders, my Vengeful Gods, and I was their president. I couldn’t look like a wilting flower in front of them.
“Sorry to worry you guys.” I forced a smile. “But I feel good now.” Physically, anyway. At least I was partially honest. “So where are we? Base of the hill?”
“Yeah,” Val confirmed. “We didn’t want to risk moving you after you passed out. So we just camped out where you dropped. Your vitals were strong, so we figured we’d give you a few hours to wake up.”
“I wanted to get you a doctor immediately,” Santos muttered.
“In an area that’s clearly unfriendly to men,” Devin tacked on. “Great idea, that was.”
“Well, it all worked out. I’m awake and feeling fine.” I planted a kiss on Santos’ still-frowning lips before climbing to my feet. “What happened on the other hill? Did someone keep watching?”
The Saint nodded. “Not much happened after they threw the carrier in. They kept chanting for a while until the fire died down, then everyone left.”
“I saw the direction the van went,” LJ added. “We can keep pursuing them if you want.”
I thought for a moment, then shook my head, my head swimming for a moment and my vision becoming disoriented. Rubbing my temples to get clarity, I heard LJ speak again.
“You don’t think they—” LJ stopped, his voice catching in his throat.
“Spit it out, cuz.” Val squeezed his shoulder, encouraging him to go on.
“Burned a baby,” LJ continued, his face paling. “Would they just murder a child like that?”
“If it was a boy, they wouldn’t blink.” Devin walked over and clapped a hand down on his other shoulder. Even in my state of trying to decipher reality from dreams, I was still pleasantly surprised that Devin seemed to be getting along with the whole group.
“It could have been a new type of male sacrifice for them,” the Ghost went on. “But we had no idea what they would do and were too far away to act.” His hand dropped from my cousin’s shoulder, looking at him sympathetically. “There was nothing we could have done.”
“We’re not even sure if a child died,” I said. “Let’s check the fire. If we find remains, we’ll give it a proper burial.”
“If not a baby, then what was in that carrier?” asked the Saint.
No one answered, but I remembered part of a dream right then. When I thought I had a daughter but it turned out to be a faceless, fleshy mass that moved and writhed.
Embers were still glowingin the bonfire’s gray ashes when we crested the neighboring hill. We all found long branches and got to work, sifting and poking through the fire’s remains.
Pieces of the carrier emerged quickly. Mostly plastic parts that had melted and then cooled. A few metal bits like washers, bolts, and screws. Even a piece of charred fabric from the seat itself emerged. But nothing that resembled human remains.
No bone fragments or even teeth. It was a big fucking fire, but there would have been something more than dust left behind.
We kept searching until we scraped the unburned ground directly beneath the fire pit.
“There was no child in that carrier.” I dropped my stick and wiped my ash-covered hands on my jeans.
“So what then?” Santos asked. “Was it even a sacrifice?”
