The Deck of Omens (The Devouring Gray #2) - Christine Lynn Herman Page 0,40

hurting us.”

“But they don’t hurt the founders,” May said.

“I’ve noticed that, and I have a theory. I believe it’s because you are, essentially, already corrupted.”

May raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“It’s the equivalent of a vaccination,” Ezra said. “You’ve already been exposed to the pathogen in a contained environment when you completed your ritual with the Beast. The rest of the town, however, has not, and therefore they remain highly susceptible.”

“But what about a founder who failed their ritual?” she asked slowly, thinking of Justin.

Ezra hesitated. “If they were still exposed to it and survived… that theoretically means they could still be immune.”

May thought about this. Direct contact with the Beast leading to a later immunity would include Justin, but she was still a little concerned about the possibility of contamination.

“Either way, you don’t have immunity,” May said. “So be careful, okay?”

“Don’t worry,” Ezra said, gesturing to his gloves, his steel-toed boots, the bandanna. May realized that he had as little skin exposed as possible without wearing a hazmat suit. “It spreads through direct contact?—for now.”

“For now?”

“These growths concern me,” Ezra said frankly. “The corruption comes from the Gray, so when it opens, it emerges in its raw form, which seems to dissipate fairly quickly on its own. But when it finds a host to infect, it clings to it, festering and growing, turning its victims into vessels for the Beast. That’s how it spreads: Hosts come into direct contact with other hosts, which allows you to monitor and halt the spread with relative ease as we search for a cure. But these growths seem as though they emit a constant stream of raw corruption?—as if they’ve taken it from the Gray and channeled it into Four Paths. They’re still dissipating fairly quickly, but if they spread, it will be immeasurably more difficult to stop the corruption. People will potentially be infected simply by getting too close and breathing it in.”

May struggled to let the true magnitude of this sink in. If these buds bloomed, it would be impossible to stop the corruption from spreading more quickly. All their containment efforts would be for nothing. The thought made her want to rip each of the buds off with her bare hands and stomp on them, but she couldn’t do something that rash. Maybe all that would do was release it earlier.

“You’re familiar with the other founders’ powers, yes?” Ezra asked. May nodded. “I believe a team-up of the Saunders girl, the Carlisle who can petrify things, and the Sullivan destruction is our best chance to stop this. Their powers are uniquely suited to this situation.”

A flash of jealousy hit May. She was almost as useless as Justin when faced with such practical, easily applicable powers.

But they can’t do what you can, a voice whispered in the back of May’s mind.

Her powers were her responsibility. Her birthright. Her gift. What good was that gift if she could not use that to protect anyone?

“Their powers aren’t the only ones that might be able to help here,” May said slowly.

Ezra turned toward her. “Oh?”

May took a deep breath. “You know a lot about the Hawthornes. Do you… Do you know anything about a Hawthorne who could change the future?”

Ezra’s face transformed, and he stepped toward her.

“May,” he said softly, “do you have something to tell me?”

There was no going back if she told him the truth. He would be the only person in the world who knew what she had done. What she was capable of.

But he deserved to know. So May banished her last bit of doubt, and as the words spilled from her, a plan formed in her mind. She’d changed the future to get her father back. Maybe she could change it again?—to make sure they defeated the corruption.

“Do you think it’s possible?” she asked him.

“Potentially. But you’ll have to talk to someone who knows more than I do about your family’s powers.” He looked at her pointedly.

May’s stomach churned. “Do I have to?”

“I would do it myself, but I sincerely doubt our meeting would be productive.”

“Don’t,” May said hastily. “It’s fine. I’ll do it.”

Beside her, one of the buds began to twitch, like a hand about to unfurl. May swallowed down her nausea and left the clearing behind.

CHAPTER TEN

The founders’ seal looked like an opening eye, glowing reddish-brown in the light of the sunrise. Harper’s stomach clenched as she stood at the edge of the town square, staring at it.

She’d been thinking. About what Augusta Hawthorne had told her regarding