Broken Knights (Gifted Academy #4) - Michelle Hercules Page 0,64

is it, child?” Harry looks at me.

“I thought you said no one would be able to find this place,” Bryce grits out.

Harry follows my line of vision. “She’s with Brother Orion. Is there a problem?”

“We shall see,” Xavier answers.

Jodie glances briefly in Bryce’s direction, but her hard stare settles on me. “You’ve been difficult to track, Daisy.”

“That was the point,” I retort. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, since I can’t reach anyone via phone, I had to track you down the old-fashioned way.”

Xavier jumps onto the stage, stopping next to me. “We weren’t trying to be off the grid, Jodie. There’ve been complications.”

“Oh, you got that right. The Neo Gods have declared open season against Norms. They’ve attacked several Norm schools, burned them to the ground. The number of casualties is still unknown.”

My blood runs cold. “They went after children?”

“Don’t sound so surprised, Daisy. The Neo Gods are vile. Of course they would strike where it hurts the most. You can’t hide anymore. We have to strike back now or risk losing the war.”

The crowd begins to speak all at once, agitated and frightened. I guess we won’t need to sneak out of campus now. I turn to Xavier. “We must get ready.”

“Calm down, folks. Calm down,” Harry urges the crowd. “We knew dark times were ahead of us, but let’s not allow the awful news to deviate us from the master plan.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Bryce asks angrily. “They should be alarmed. They should prepare. We have to stop the Neo Gods before they kill more innocent people.”

Harry shakes his head. “No one is going anywhere.”

“What? Are you out of your mind?” I yell, not holding back my fury.

“Your friends can go, but you and the white-haired boy must stay,” Artex replies calmly.

“Why?”

“The prophecy,” Morpheus replies bitterly. “They want you to make the God-killer.”

25

Rufio

I grind my teeth as I try to make as little sound as possible creeping through the forest. Unfortunately, my companions sound like a pair of rhinos stomping behind me. I glance over my shoulder and hiss, “Could you please make less noise? We’re trying to be inconspicuous here.”

“Sorry,” Rosie mumbles under her breath.

I pause suddenly when I hear voices getting nearer and raise my hand, signaling for them to do the same. We’re not on the path, but any sudden movement might give away our location. We definitely don’t want to be caught going to the mines. I pay attention to the topic of conversation, hoping to get some intel about our hosts, but the two guys walking down the path are talking about a game they watched last night.

We don’t move until their voices fade away. Then we continue our trek slowly, a pace I set to compensate for my companions’ lack of grace. When the forest begins to thin out, we stay hidden behind some bushes and pause to make sure the mines are truly empty.

“What are we waiting for?” Rosie asks.

“I want to be certain those guys we saw were the last workers coming from the cave.”

“I don’t hear anything,” Felicity pipes up. “It’d be nice to have Idol super senses.”

I grind my teeth, irritated that her comment reminds me of what I’ve lost. If I don’t think too much about it, I can pretend everything is fine. At least Daisy isn’t here to see the truth on my face. I don’t know want her to feel guiltier than she does already.

“Just wait another minute,” I say.

Even without Idol senses, I can tell Rosie and Felicity are not very patient. I’m on edge too; the sooner we get this mission underway, the sooner we’ll be done. But ruining the entire operation because we jumped the gun would be stupid.

“Okay, the place has been quiet for a while,” I say after a few minutes have passed. “Let’s go.”

I sprint toward the mouth of the cave, but I stop just at the entrance, flattening my body against the stony wall to slowly stick my head inside. Thanks to the illumination, I can see the tunnel goes on for miles. I go in first, careful to not make any noise. Sound carries here. Along the way, I spot axes and picks meant to cut the rocks. But so far, no sign of lightning-glass. I wonder what it looks like in its raw form. We walk for about a minute until I have my answer. The uneven rocky surface gives way to a deep blue quartz-like material that shines under the dim light.