The Darkest Legacy (Darkest Min - Alexandra Bracken Page 0,89
like it was made of wool. “Are you cold?”
He could be in shock, I thought. Owen, however, didn’t make any move to wrap the blanket around himself. He didn’t move at all.
“I have to ask you a question, if that’s okay,” I said, taking his silence in stride. “It’s about Ruby.”
Another nod. Progress.
The others had said Ruby was working with him one-on-one, trying to help him break Project Jamboree’s hold on his mind. This might be a long shot, but if she had mentioned anything to him about her trips, even in passing, it could be useful.
“Do you remember what the two of you talked about when she last spent time with you?” I asked. “She’s misplaced her phone, and we’re trying to track down where she might have gone.”
This wasn’t my first encounter with a Red who had been part of the ill-fated Project Jamboree, but it didn’t make it any easier. President Gray’s brainwashing program had been designed to turn them into weapons of mass destruction, but ultimately had only broken their minds and wills.
Ruby had worked with a number of them, until the world had tried to break her, too.
The longer I sat there, the longer that silence went on, the tighter my throat became. “It’s all right,” I told Owen. “You don’t have to say anything. But you should know that your voice is necessary, and you deserve to be heard.”
He looked up again, brow creasing, and I realized I’d had it wrong. It wasn’t that his gaze was empty; Owen’s eyes were like the deepest part of the sea, the darkness disguising every feeling, every fear, forcing them all deep below the surface.
“Well, no problem,” I said, tamping down the frustration I felt. “I’m really glad I got to meet you, Owen. If you think of anything, let Jacob or Lisa know. They can pass it on to me.”
I had just started to stand when a small voice said, “It’s for Ruby.”
“What is?” I asked, freezing in place. I turned to see him let the blanket fall into his lap. “The blanket?”
Owen nodded, not meeting my gaze. His thumbs ran along the edge of the blanket. “She’s so cold.”
It was only when those words ran through my mind a second time that I understood what he’d said. “You mean she was cold the last time you saw her?”
“She’s cold,” Owen said. “She’s so cold.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” I said. “Did she say something to you before she left?”
His dark gaze lifted from his blanket again. “Just good-bye.”
My pulse was already thrumming hard in my veins before I turned—before I heard Miguel’s “Oh, shit!” from across the field.
He, Lisa, and Jacob were huddled over one of the burner phones, each of their faces looking more horrified than the next. A short distance away, the burner phone they’d given us began to blare in Priyanka’s hand. Roman was already there beside her, and even from my distance, I could see the color drain from his cheeks.
The static was growling loudly in my ears again as I made my way over to Priyanka and Roman. They both glanced up, not saying a word as they passed the phone over to me.
At first I didn’t understand what I was seeing. There was a live-streaming video of an airplane burning, its broken pieces strewn across a runway. The camera shifted over to the sight of a motorcade roaring away from it, police lights flashing.
The words scrolled across the bottom of the video, their truth blistering.
JOSEPH MOORE’S CAMPAIGN PLANE EXPLODES ON RUNWAY
“What is happening to this world?” I heard Lisa say.
AN EXPLOSIVE DETONATED JUST BEFORE THE CANDIDATE WAS DUE TO BOARD. TWELVE CREW AND STAFF ARE DEAD. NO SURVIVORS.
“I don’t understand,” Jacob said. “Why would anyone do this?”
SUZUME KIMURA, LEADER OF THE PSION RING, CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY
THE SEDAN WAS AS OLD as it was plain-looking. It was the kind of car Liam had always favored: safe and completely nondescript. The beigest of beige. His only other requirement, aside from a decent engine and standard safety features, was a working radio. I would have left it off, except we needed to hear the latest updates about the bombing and the fallout from it.
An hour into our drive, I had the shock of hearing a recording of my voice, one that had clearly been cobbled together from a number of other speeches. “This is in retaliation for all the crimes against Psi.” An hour after that, I had serious thoughts about melting the