Page 84 of Revenant

Whatever they injected me with enhanced my abilities a thousandfold. Instead of just hearing whispers, I can now see them everywhere. How Rue survived her childhood and didn’t go insane is a fucking mystery.

Walking through them is like stepping onto a set of a zombie movie, and I do my best not to look at them too closely for fear that I will draw their attention. Blood oozes from their wounds, and I swear it squelches under my feet with each step. And the smells… It’s all I can do not to choke on the overwhelming stench of rot.

I wish I’d had more time to talk to Rue about how to control my abilities, but that will have to wait until after we rescue her from this fucked-up place. None of the other guys seem to have a problem with the ghosts, the assholes walking through them like they don’t exist.

Their insubstantial forms twist and twirl like smoke, almost vanishing into thin air…seconds before they snap back into shape. James wiggles through the crowd, unconsciously winding through them without touching them. More and more of his unusual quirks become clearer. I watch for any sign that he can see them, but he remains oblivious. It’s like he has a sixth sense and easily avoids them.

When one ghost shuffles a little too close to James, I reach out and swat at the spirit, expecting my hand to pass through it.

It doesn’t.

When the creature—because whatever it was when alive, it was no longer human—turns toward me, it’s all I can do not to flinch when it snarls in my direction. The twisted, bulbous flesh kind of looks amphibious, his bulging eyes a milky white, his slimy skin a little too pasty…until I realize his skin—or scales, really—are shedding. In place of ears, it appears he has a set of fins.

His still outstretched hand is webbed, the tips of his fingers curved into claws, and a set of gills along his neck ripple, resembling a fish out of water as it struggles to breathe. The ridges are a little too deep, a little too raw, and I realize someone took a bite out of him. He doesn’t have any lips, leaving hisneedle-like teeth to arch out of his mouth, and I shudder at the way his mouth opens and closes like he can’t get enough air.

I freeze, waiting for him to attack, but whatever is happening in the room beyond seems to draw his attention. “Hurry,” he rasps, the garbled words scraping his throat raw. “You don’t have much time left.”

There is only one person he could be talking about—Rue.

And she’s in trouble.

Fear threatens my sanity more than any ghosts, my instincts warning me that if I can’t get to her in time, I will lose her for good. Ignoring Rue’s words of caution, I yank the planchette out from under the collar of my shirt, needing the boost to clear the ghosts out of my way if I want to reach her in time.

The contact is like a blast of hot summer sun. The chill of the ghosts is pushed back, and I storm through the crowd, the need to reach Rue overpowering everything else. I enter the room only a step behind the others…and plow into them when they stop abruptly.

Twisting to see what captured their attention, I stop dead.

Rue is lying on a gurney in the middle of the room, but that’s not what has my soul shivering in dread. It’s like I can’t feel her at all. Her body is just a shell. Wherever Rue is currently, she’s not residing in her body.

I try not to freak the fuck out, but I don’t think I succeed. “What the fuck did you do?”

I shove my way forward, ignoring the gun that swings in my direction. Not to be outdone, James and Gunner follow a step behind. When I touch Rue’s body, I nearly sag in relief that she’s still breathing.

Unfortunately, the spark of life so uniquely hers is so dim that I’m afraid I will snuff it out if I breathe too hard. Not willing to let her go without a fight, I drop to my knees at her side and gently rest my hands on her body.

Heat flares under the touch, and I close my eyes in relief when her breath catches. James must notice the change with his new abilities. I almost expect him to slap me away, but he grabs Gunner’s hand and drags the bigger man closer. “She needs physical contact with us. Whatever you do, don’t let go.”

When they touch her body, the spark that is Rue grows stronger.

“Fascinating,” Hershamn mutters, almost breaking my concentration, but I double down on my efforts to call Rue back, refusing to lose her to his experiments.

As I search the suffocating darkness, I swear her bright light shimmers in the distance. She stands out like a beacon, barely keeping the shadows at bay, and my chest swells in pride to see her still fighting.

For us.

For the future we’re going to build together.

I tighten my fingers on her ankle, sweeping them back and forth over the delicate skin. My grip on the planchette is so brutal that I’m surprised it doesn’t crack. When the wooden edges cut into my flesh, I don’t blink at the pain, not releasing my hold, even while blood oozes through my fingers.

“Please come back to me.” I bend my head, pressing my cheek against the side of her leg, not caring if I’m begging. “You have to fight. If not for yourself, then fight for me. I can barely breathe when you aren’t near. How the hell am I supposed to live without you? You brought me back to life. You can’t leave me now. I won’t survive.”

The planchette almost burns in my grip, and I’m not sure if it’s my blood or my whispered plea, but Rue must have heard me. The next instant, her fingers tangle in my hair. If I wasn’t already on my knees, I would’ve fallen.

I hastily blink back the sting in my eyes, barely resisting the urge to scoop Rue up in my arms and demand she open herpretty eyes. I never expected to fall in love, the emotion tainted after watching my parents use it as a weapon against each other.

It’s different with Rue. She gives of herself without expecting anything in return.

With her, love feels like a gift—something to be earned and treasured.

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