flicker through my head. I feel like a different person now—like I’m in someone else’s skin. I know more, I feel more, and I remember more. Now that it’s morning, it’s time for a new adventure to begin; an adventure that I am unexpectedly prepared for, yet still weary of.
I prop myself up in bed and see the journals and maps scattered around my legs. I reach for the book that contains the drawings. As I slide it onto my lap, I think of what I have already learned about these creatures. The alloquet and its imposing height, clever mind and poison laden tail. The bettinger with its soulless, liquid black eyes, fanged teeth, and gray, hairless skin. The glasma; an enormous force with incomparable strength.
I am mournful over the fact that it has been well over three hundred years since the original curse was cast and there are now thousands of people around the world who the curse has spread to. My thoughts turn to my family. My mother, my sisters, and my father. The things they have all experienced, the horrors they have faced. And me. An incredibly dark, evil witch wants my soul. I have no concept of what that truly means and no idea what she is capable of doing to me.
The words my dad spoke to me last night ring through me. You’re ready for this… So many preparations were made for this day… A lot of people are rooting for you, prepared to keep you safe… You’re saving all of us.
I abruptly snap out of it as Zoë emerges from the bathroom, her hair pulled back, wearing the same clothes she had on the day before. “Hey. It’s 7:45. We should get on the road as soon as possible. Remember what your dad said?”
“Yeah. Just give me a few minutes to reboot and we can head out.”
I grab my jeans off the chair and head into the bathroom. My hair is still damp in its braid from the night before. I tug off the elastic band that holds it in place and run my fingers through it, deciding to leave it down for now. It feels like added protection—like a shield I can hide behind.
When I head back into the room, I see that Zoë has gathered all of the journals together and repacked our bag. She is nervously pacing around the room looking for any items that may have been left behind.
“Hey,” I ask her. “You okay?”
“What? Oh. Yeah. I’m fine. Just nervous about getting out of here on time.”
I look at the clock. It’s 8:03. Our cutoff for getting on the road is 9:00. We have plenty of time. There’s more behind her words that she’s not sharing. The weight of what we learned last night is a very heavy load to carry. I know that Zoë has a list of questions of her own that she wants to ask—and nobody to ask them to.
“Do you want me to drive?” I offer, knowing that she will refuse.
“No, it’s okay. Driving will give me something else to focus on. Keep my mind from running in a thousand different directions.”
“If you change your mind, just let me know. Did you get all of our stuff packed up?”
“Yeah. I’ve checked and rechecked and rechecked again. I got it all. Journals, phone, cash, it’s all packed. You should probably do a once over anyway just to make sure. This stuff is really important.”
“On it.”
“There’s breakfast downstairs. We can grab some on the way out.”
***
Thirty minutes later we are checked out of the hotel, bagels and orange juice in hand and back in the Jeep. Zoë wraps her bagel in a napkin and sets it on the center console. “I’m not hungry yet.”
I sip at my juice as we head back toward the highway and consider taking a bite of my bagel, but eating seems like too much work right now. “So how many hours of driving are left today?” I ask her, already knowing the answer.
“Two and a half, maybe three."
“Do we need the map yet?”
“No, I checked it out this morning and wrote down the highway changes on this paper.”
She pulls a small notepad with the hotel’s name on it out of her jacket pocket and hands it to me. “When did you do this?” I ask, baffled.
“Early this morning. Around five. It was right after the pendant showed us Clara. I woke up and felt too restless to stay in bed.”