Page 38 of Insidious Monsters
“I am.” She nodded almost amiably. “And we’ve been desperate to make your acquaintance.”
“This is a trap,” Archie said. “That bitch Betsy—”
“Hey!” Another figure took a step forward, but Margie held up her hand to stall them.
“Calm, acolyte. We have a job to do, and the Holy will reward us.”
Acolyte? “You’re a cult.” I allowed my senses to stretch further, noting the lack of magical power on them. “You’re all human. Pure human.”
“That won’t stop me from punching a hole through somebody’s face,” Archie said.
Margie’s eyes flinched. “There will be no violence. You will come with us because you are outnumbered.” More robed figures appeared and spread out, cutting us off from the steps that led to the second exit. “And you have no weapons.” She smiled as her acolytes pulled blades from the folds of their robes. “You will come with us, Nandi, and you, New Blood, will die here.”
She was right. It was two on ten, and if that wasn’t enough, they had big blades. Even if Archie did go invisible, there was little chance of us making it out of this unscathed.
Archie and I were still holding hands, but our clasped hands were hidden behind us. I used this to my advantage, releasing him to draw my mobile phone from my pocket.
I had to keep her talking. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because your kind have siphoned off the magical energy in our world for long enough. You have abilities and yet you squander them. Once we are blessed, we will not make the same mistakes. Once we have power, we’ll use it to make this world a better place for all.” She clasped her hands together. “The Holy has been desperate to meet you. His shining one.”
“Oh, and killing people is a great way to start, right?” I hit speed dial for August.
“You have to break a few eggs to make an omelette,” Margie said. “And in order to gift us with uniqueness, the Holy must first be fed.”
They’d fed the mystics to this “Holy” character in the hopes of being granted power. The phone in my hand vibrated softly, telling me it was ringing.
“It doesn’t work that way,” Archie said. “You can’t just become non-human.”
“Why not?” Margie asked. “You did.”
“I was born that way, you stupid bitch.”
The phone stopped vibrating.
It was now or never.
I stepped away from Archie, bringing the phone to my ear. “August, it’s a trap, you have to get here. Now.”
Silence greeted me.
I stared at the dead screen on my phone. Bloody battery. I had to hope August had gotten the message but the knots in my belly warned otherwise.
“Your friends won’t make it in time,” Margie said as her minions closed in on us. “By the time they get here, your crimson-haired friend will be dead, and you’ll be long gone. Safe with us until it’s time.”
Time?
Shit. I needed time.
I had to stall, but how?
I sensed the spirits on the spirit plane watching, waiting for their vengeance. There was only one way to give it to them.
I had to feed them.
I had to give them me.
As Margie’s minions closed in, I turned to Archie and cupped his face. “Go spectral. Now!”
