“Those marks are spreading fast—nearly as fast as the Dust Sickness,” said Lucy, concern rising in her voice. “Seems like a fourth of the town has them now.”
“I think we have bigger problems to worry about than a ringworm outbreak,” Olivia said soberly, looking out at the sky. Beside her, Rosa twitched on the couch, the red mark on her hand vivid in the low light.
“I know, I know,” said Lucy. “Still… this just… doesn’t feel right somehow.”
Lucy bent suddenly with her handkerchief over her mouth, coughing a deep, muffled-sounding cough that sent ice down my spine and a knife through my heart. I reached over and held her to me, held my forehead against hers, feeling her ragged breathing steady itself, hearing the telltale rattling in her throat, hoping that somehow I could take some of it from her, wishing I had the magic to do just that.
“I’m going to make this all right,” I whispered to her. “We’re going to win. I promise. Then the Dust Sickness and everything else will be over.”
On the couch, Rosa whimpered in her sleep. At that moment, Judith and Mowse both clutched their hands in pain.
“Ow!” said Mowse. “That spot hurts!”
“Mine too,” said Judith, turning her hand over to look at it more closely.
“How did it hurt?” Lucy asked. “Burning? Sharp? Dull?”
“Burning,” Judith said. “Like a… a pulse. Kind of a… a thrum.”
“Let me see,” Asa said. He took Judith’s hand and scrutinized it. “There’s magic in this. Dark magic.” He turned to me. “And I’ll give you one guess whose it is.”
Olivia and I exchanged glances.
“Mother Morevna’s,” growled Olivia.
Lucy’s eyes widened in realization. “You know, I did see her doing what looked like a spell the other night… with stones, looked like. Looking out over the city.”
A trapdoor spell.
“I knew she wouldn’t give up her power that easily. She’s behind this,” Olivia spat.
“But what is it?” I asked.
Olivia rose from her place by the couch. “Whatever it is, it can’t be good. We’re going over to the church and shutting it down.”
“We report to the walls in two hours!” said Susanah. “We can’t just—”
“I don’t want the rest of you to do anything,” Olivia said. “You all go to the walls as planned and fight. We’ve come too far not to. But this… this is a matter that concerns the people of Elysium. And as an Elysian, this is my responsibility.”
Asa reached into his ear and pulled out a green silk handkerchief. Then he bit his finger and let the blood soak into it, muddying the green silk.
“Take this,” he said, handing the handkerchief to Olivia. “I’ll be most effective on the walls. But take my power with you. Just be careful. Please.”
Asa’s face flickered daemon for a moment, one eye his usual odd yellow and the other black and terrifying above a still-human nose and mouth. Then he was himself again.
“You know how important your decisions are now,” he said. “Don’t play into Death’s hands after all this. We still have to fight.”
Olivia put her arms around him and kissed him deeply.
“I’ll be back,” she said. “I’ll be back in time to fight the Dust Soldiers, right beside you. Beside all of you. I promise. But Morevna has to pay for this.”
“I’m going too,” I said, and Olivia turned to me. “I’ve got to get her to lift the spell. Besides, even if she’s dying, Mother Morevna might put up a fight. You’ll need my help.”
Lucy came to me and held my hands in her own. She looked at me for a moment, as though she was unsure what to do. My heart sped. Then, quickly, she reached out and kissed me on the cheek. “You can do it,” she said. “I’ll see you soon.” Then she went to the door and disappeared into the night, leaving the place she had kissed me burning on my cheek. Without thinking, I reached up and touched my face. (“I knew it!” said Zo’s voice somewhere in the background. “Pay up, Judith!”)
Then Olivia, looking amused despite herself, snapped her fingers and brought me back into the real world.
“We only have two hours until nightfall,” Olivia said. “Come on. Let’s put an end to this once and for all.”
CHAPTER 27
2 HOURS
REMAIN.
The ground rumbled. The sky churned green and black, making the setting sun look queasy through it. Already, the guards were pulling the platform the new Sacrifice rested on, all of it, out the gates and into the desert. This way, the