I said, placing a slip of paper between the pages and closing my book shut. I ran my finger along the leather binding. “But it’s not like we’re in a rush. Our current plan is to find something that helps April finish the cure, then maybe meet up with Jacob again before we try to sterilize King Richard and take his head. Or something like that, right? Without the cure, all we’ve got is a few thousand displaced Havocs with a literal axe to grind. They’ll attack the compounds to put pressure on the citadel. Attack blood supply chain, blow up the factories, so to speak.”
“Keep your voice down,” Trevor whispered. “She’s an elite remember? You really think she’ll be okay with us looking for an antidote to immortality – that will effective kill her, or at least allow humans to wipe out her kind?”
“Fair point,” I frowned. I felt bad for lying about who we were or what we were search for. But we didn’t have a choice.
“It’s either this or war. Every person in the citadel, every human in the compounds, would be slaughtered, and then the elite would slowly starve themselves to death. It’ll be history repeating itself. It would be the end of everything.”
“Or the start of something new,” Trevor said. “Something better. Plus, you heard Tobias. They didn’t know what they were fighting, what they were dealing with. They didn’t want believe it.”
“And?” I pushed away from him. “You really think you can do better?”
“It’s worth a try,” he frowned.
“Not if it means destroying the compounds we grew up in, along with everyone inside.”
After he left, I picked at the plate next to me, but I wasn’t feeling hungry. I’d only made it through a third of the books on the shelves, but I didn’t even know what I was looking for. I took anything sciency to April, who was sitting at the desk, illuminated by the glowing monitor, absorbed in scrolling text.
“The others are sleeping?” I asked, glancing upstairs.
“Yeah,” she said, pulling off her large earphones. “Like you should be.”
“Alright, fine,” I said, yawning.
I squeezed her shoulder and headed upstairs towards my room. I’m not sure how long I lay under the soft blankets before a heavy exhaustion fell over me. In my dreams, someone beckoned from the darkness, with slender white fingers and dark red lips that curled up in a seductive smile. I followed her down an endless hallway with hundreds of locked doors. We paused in the shadows and she whispered something into my ear.
I woke up suddenly, my heart pounding in my chest and my shirt damp with sweat. It was still dark out, but I couldn’t get back to sleep again. I decided to sneak downstairs and find a book I could read in bed. The stairs creaked as I stepped lightly down them in my pajamas. I was almost to the office when I realized the front door was open. A soft light from the moon slashed across the floor, and falling ash drifted into the corridor.
I went to shut it, peering outside first, and saw a dark silhouette standing near the sidewalk past the lawn. I sucked in a breath, grabbing my hood and my knives, before stepping outside lightly.
His back was to me, but at my approach he turned around. I sighed in relief. It was just Luke.
“What are you doing out here?” I hissed.
He looked around, blinking his eyes then cringing as a piece of hot ash landed on his bare arm.
“Don’t know,” he said. “Just needed some fresh air, I guess.”
“Without your mask?” I frowned.
He shrugged, folding his arms.
“You compounders are scared of everything,” he smirked. “You haven’t lived until you’ve stood in a hailstorm, feeling the ice and fire against your skin.”
“Okay, psycho,” I said. “But next time you take a time out, could you shut the fucking door at least? Please.” I went back inside, picking up my candle again. I grabbed some books from the office, and was heading back to my room when I saw the rectangular hollow under the stairs. I peered closer, holding up the candle for light. The space warped and blurred, almost like it was resisting observation, but I pushed through. The shadows fled, and I could see a dark door. It was nearly flush with the wall and had no handle.
I felt around the edges for a latch or key. Finally I scanned the surrounding area for a latch or lever. Nothing, except some small