tell us what happened? With Neritous?”
I swallow and nod, grateful she didn’t call him my father. “He…did something to me,” I reply. “Storm…your mother, he…” I take a shaky breath. “He gave me her powers. That was all he wanted with me, was to transfer her magic to me…so that I could use it to remake the world.”
Storm’s jaw is set, the muscles in his neck tense, and I can see the justice twins struggling with the news. “And…the city?” Seth asks at last.
“He threatened Ruby,” I reply, looking down at my hands. “He was going to kill her if I didn’t cooperate. He said there would be survivors, said they would be changed, but…” I choke on the last part, shaking my head and putting a hand to my mouth.
Mum puts her arm around my shoulders, pulling me close and kissing the top of my head. “Shh, honey,” she murmurs. “I know. I know.”
I manage to pull myself together, not wanting them to see me like this, and straighten up in my seat. “Where is Ruby, by the way?” I ask, glancing around the kitchen. “Is she safe?”
“She’s in the garden,” mum replies. “She got a lot of sleep last night; she seems to be doing well. I’m glad to see you got her out safely.”
My mind briefly wanders back to Dominic, and I clench my eyes closed, not wanting to think about him or the other ones I couldn’t save. As ridiculous as it sounds, their blood feels like it’s on my hands. We can add that to the rapidly-growing list of casualties that are my fault, whether intentionally or not. The truth is, if I think too long about how many tragedies I’ve caused since Neritous’s name first appeared on my hand that day, it’s enough to drive me completely insane. “Yeah,” I say weakly. It’s the only word of agreement that I can manage. “Me too.”
As if on cue, we’re interrupted by the sound of feet on the wood floor, and an instant later, Ruby comes bounding in from the patio, breathing hard, her face red. Her hair is tangled, and I can see she’s been playing in the dirt, although I’m sure as hell not going to be the one to tell her to clean up. She deserves some time to just be a kid, seeing as she didn’t ask for any of this, either. “Karma!” she exclaims, trotting up to me, seemingly oblivious to how tousled she looks. “Your goat is amazing!”
“Michael,” comes the muffled voice of the goat in question. I peer out the bay window to see him staring in the kitchen door, looking a little put off that his newest playmate has disappeared inside the house. “My name is Michael! You red-haired devil!”
“Michael, right. Sorry,” she calls back, brushing some hair out of her face. “I’m glad you’re up, Karma. You were asleep for ages.”
“I was tired,” I admit, allowing her to come over and give me a hug. The feeling of her trusting embrace is almost too painful to bear; if things had been different, she would be the one lying dead next to the orb, or… God forbid, she could have died in the attack on San Francisco. The thought of that makes my blood run cold. Instinctively, I squeeze her a little more tightly, pulling close before I finally let her go. “I’m glad you like Michael. He’s a fun guy to have around.”
Ruby nods her agreement and then looks around the house as if she’s sizing the place up, her brow furrowed and her hand on her hip. “I like this place, too,” she declares at last, turning to look up at me. “I like you guys. Can I…” She fidgets for a moment. “Can I stay here? With you? I don’t want to go back to…him. I want to go to my mum but not if he is just going to come and take me again.”
“I know, Ruby,” I say, squatting down so I’m eye level with the little girl. We’ve known each other for less than a week, and I already feel the instinct to protect her, to keep her safe from the harsh realities of the world that I’ve been forced to learn over and over again. I can feel the others’ eyes on me: mum has the faintest of smiles on her face, as if she’s pleasantly surprised to see me this close to the kid, and the guys are watching me with