Page 55 of The Infinite Glade
A wave of relief washed over Minho.
Hedidhave a plan, after all.
He had the Godhead—or someone who claimed to be the Godhead—the one thing the Remnant Nation came to Alaska to destroy.
Two thumps from the bottom of the Berg startled him out of the thought. The only noise from the bottom of a Berg when flying is the release of landing gear.
“Orange.” Minho tried to get her attention as the Berg decelerated. “We’re not going to the fortress.” But Orange’s bruised face was still lifeless. Minho’s heart sped up, his eyes darting to watch the soldiers as the Berg prepared to land.Where were they headed if they weren’t going back to the Remnant Nation?He just assumed they’d go there, be taken to the lower floor called Hell, and tortured.
“This is it? We’re landing?” Dominic looked at Minho, but the Orphan didn’t have any clue what might happen next.
Minho knew the rules in Hell. He knew step-by-step what the Grief Bearers would do once they got there, what they would say, and every way he might possibly escape. But that would now do him no good. As the Berg landed quickly with a series of thuds, Minho could only tell the islanders and Roxy one thing. “Don’t say a word. Not a whisper. Heads down.” He looked at Sadina, right in her eyes to add, “andwhatever happensdon’tscream. That’s exactly what they want.”
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Flare’s Devil
Tall, pointed trees blanketed the island so heavily they had no choice but to land the Berg a mile south and walk north to the building Cian had seen from the air. They trudged along white snow that melted a little with every step.
“You sure it’s this way?” Jackie asked. The air was cold, and Ximena walked with her hands wrapped around the bare skin where she’d ripped her shirt for Isaac’s wound. He looked down at the material wrapped around his calf, all covered in blood.
“It should be just up here.” Cian checked some sort of device in his pocket and pointed ahead. Darkness limited their sight but the moon and aurora lit their view enough to see one footstep in front of the other. Erros cleared tree limbs until his arm got stuck in some sort of fishing wire. “What is . . .”
The sound of cracking branches caused everyone to freeze and look up—everyone except Old Man Frypan, who took two steps back. The cracking sound reminded Isaac of the Griever coming down the steps of the Villa. With a thud into the snow, three axes came falling from above. “Watch out!” someone shouted too late. But no one was hit.
“Flare’s Devil!” Cian tightened the red scarf around his forehead.
“Nearly took my left hand!” Erros shouted. “That’s my favorite hand!” He looked left, right, and then above before taking a large step forward over the axes sticking out of the ground. “Come on, then? Can’t stop at every threat we receive now, can we?”
Isaac turned around to check with Frypan. “He’s right, they’ll see we’re innocent when we get closer. Maybe they’ll have some answers about how long that war’s been going on in Alaska.”
He stepped over the axes but then turned around. He may have given up on a lot of things, but he was still a blacksmith at heart and could see that the axes were well crafted. Small but sharp. He handed one to Old Man Frypan, just in case. One to Jackie. And kept the other for himself. He positioned it on his belt loop with the blade away from himself so that there was no risk of falling and slicing himself open again.
“You know. In case we see any Grievers here.” He tried to make it a joke, but in truth, he already trusted this Villa less than the last one. He wanted to be prepared for anything. Everything. Even Grievers.
The painted black door of the Villa hung wide open, and broken glass littered the entryway. There was no use walking around the front of the house and knocking politely.
“Something didn’t end well, here,” Isaac whispered to Jackie. Despite this being the only house on the island, the whole scene reminded him of the row of homes he and Jackie had stepped into before getting kidnapped—right before Kletter got her throat sliced open. If fear had a scent, Isaac could smell it in the doorway on top of the broken glass.
“More axes you think?” She peered up and around the house.
“No . . . something’s off.” He looked behind the group at Frypan as the old man caught up. “Does it smell weird to you?”
“Smells like . . .” Frypan took a big whiff. “Pine trees and smoke? Almost reminds me of back home.”
Isaac knew they shouldn’t go inside but then Ximena entered fearlessly right behind Cian and Erros. Jackie entered after her. And so Isaac carefully stepped on top of the broken glass.
Black curtains hung in every room. Some of them covered windows, and others covered equipment. Cian and Erros looked behind every single one.
“Who would put a Villa all the way out here?” Isaac stepped farther into the first room, not touching anything. An exact replica Villa from the one they’d just escaped from. “Crap.” He turned around to stop Frypan from walking in through the open door and seeing all the vials and science equipment, but it was too late.
“Oh . . .” Frypan’s face showed the exact amount of disappointment Isaac felt. This place couldn’t have been more like the last. The only thing missing was a glass pod in the corner and a Griever dispensing medicine.At least the Griever was missing.But Isaac’s ears stretched for any sounds of metal creaking and clanking in the distance. His whole body tensed, waiting to hear or see one of those crazy mechanical beasts.
“It’s really a Villa.” Jackie peeked under a cloth covering. “All this equipment just like at the last one. Up here in the middle of nowhere?”
Ximena kicked the broken shards of glass at her feet. “I guess someone already destroyed this one for us.”
“Wonder how long it’s been empty?” Cian traced the cabinets with his finger. “Not long enough to collect any ash from the fires.”
