Page 75 of Abducting Sarah

She cringed slightly, making me realize what I had done.

I exhaled a harsh breath. “Sorry, I need some air.” I trudged out of the house.

Sarah came out after me. “Deacon, let Ode help—”

“What can she do?” I asked, whirling around to face her, my insides in knots. “Bandage me up? What’s the point?”

But her kind eyes saw my hand, so she took it in hers and raised it to her lips and kissed my scraped knuckles, tears shimmering in her eyes. “I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now. I won’t pretend to. Your father can’t rouse his friends to help. I don’t know why Portend wants me, but—”

“She willkill you, Sarah,” I said in a harsh tone. “Just like Predict tried to. Mother Portend was their leader when they were alive, and that means Predict tried to kill you because Portend wanted her to. If you were to go to them, then you would die, and I amnotletting that happen.”

“That is not up to you, Deacon.” She lifted her chin stubbornly. “This is my choice. I’m not going to let two people die for one. Mom said the afterlife isn’t all that bad—”

The thought of losing Sarah made me insane, not to mention the horrific afterlife she would endure. “You would be stuck here on Halla, with the conduits who murdered you. What is the point of that?”

She met and held my gaze. “You respect me, don’t you?”

“Of course, what kind of question is that?”

“Then let me do this,” she rasped, the emotion in her voice coming through. “It’s the only way to save Tiger and Jac. You have known me for a few days, but you and Jac have been together since you were boys. I won’t let that end because of me.”

“You can’t—”

“She’s right, son,” Father said as he came out of the house. “You owe Jac more loyalty at this moment.”

“Keep that word from your mouth,” I hissed at him angrily. “It’s your fault we don’t have allies—”

A shriek from inside the house jolted us all. Wave ran out of the house, pointing up the path, still shrieking. As the suns came up behind the forest, a procession of thirty conduits marched down the treelined path toward the house. Their gray hooded battle robes marked them as conduits. They were ready for a fight too—their ghostly bodies lost their translucent nature and solidified in waves.

They are practicing solidification, so that they might come at us with everything they have. They are not prepared for a peaceful prisoner exchange. They are prepared for a battle.

Sunlight shone through portions of them, instead of all of them. Nearly all were solid at their hands and feet. Watching their bodies go from sheer to solid with such speed was dizzying, and I wondered if that was the point. Each carried bone knives and other bone-based weapons. There was no telling how many weapons each had—their hooded robes covered them head to ankles, with only their mouths and hands fully exposed.

Sarah began to step forward toward them, but I grabbed her arm to hold her back.

She glanced back at me, tears welling in her eyes. “Let me go, Deacon.”

My heart slammed in my chest and I could barely breathe. “I can’t—I just found you.” There was no mistaking the desperation in my voice.

“Please let me do this,” she pleaded. “Let me save Jac and Tiger.”

My heart ruptured in two as my hand loosened around her arm and I reluctantly let her go. I had to prove I respected her.How could I doubt her now?

Head held high, Sarah bravely walked toward the conduits, and her every step away from me was a knife in my heart. Another group of thirty conduits approached from the other side of my ships. The two groups came together forming a circle in front of my ships to surround their crone.

Mother Portend stood in the middle of the circle alone. Sarah walked to the edge of Father’s blue flowers, and the conduits in the front of the procession stopped there, too, facing off with her.

One conduit asked, “You are the conduit they keep?”

“Yes,” Sarah answered.

“And you come willingly, knowing we could murder you?”

“Let my men go into the house first,” Sarah demanded. “And then I will come with you.”

The conduit waved her hand, and Tiger and Jac were revealed to be on their knees in the middle of the conduits’ circle with Mother Portend.

Jac looked around and upon seeing Sarah shouted, “Sarah, no, you can’t!”

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