Page 99 of Taking Jenny
I frowned. “What do you mean, with what he did to Malice?”
“Valor stole Silence from him.”
My heart felt as though it had stopped beating in my chest. “What?” I said, louder than I’d intended.
“Quieter,” she hissed. “You didn’t know?”
I was thoroughly confused, because this was not the story I knew. “Wait, I thought Silence was supposed to unite with Deacon.”
“Justice…he used Silence as a pawn.” Discord’s voice was low and bitter. “Whoever pleased him, he dangled his own daughter in front of them like a reward. One of the people hedangledher to was Malice. He had no idea about her betrothal to Deacon, nor did he know about her and Valor. Not until it was all made public.”
What a mess.“Well anyway, that’s why we asked about Justice,” I said, which wasn’t the whole truth, but close enough. “No one wants Justice Bateen for an enemy.”
“Why would Justice target Deacon?” Discord asked. “Valor’s allies know better than to cross Justice now, if for no other reason than to avoid following Valor to Halla…wait, does this have anything to do with Valor? Is that why Deacon hasn’t been around much lately? He’s there?”
“I’ll just say my bosses have been doing things Justice would not approve of—”
She held up a hand to silence me, then pointed behind me.
I turned slowly, and in the distance, a hunter came up the path. He tried and, like me, failed at being stealthy. I almost felt sorry for him—we had so much in common.
Discord gave me a rock. “How’s your aim?” she whispered.
I shook my head in answer.
She gave me a sly grin and threw her rock at the man’s head but missed. The clatter drew his attention. He turned toward the sound, right as another rock flew from the other side of the path, surprising us both. It nailed him in the head, and he screamed, the impact and pain disorienting him for a moment.
We rushed in. Blood streamed from his forehead, blinding him. He swung his staff wildly, but he couldn’t see. Discord tackled him from behind, knocking him down to his hands and knees in the dirt. She kicked out, aiming for his groin, but he kicked backward at her, his foot slamming into her pelvis. She staggered but stayed upright.
The hunter pushed to his feet, turned, and lunged at her. I saw red, and I cracked the rock I’d picked up into the back of his skull with a loud, sickening crunch. He crumbled to the ground right in front of me. I kept hitting his head until I reached something softer and my hand was wet and slick with blood. Until Discord grabbed me from behind and yanked me off him.
I spun on instinct, still blind with rage. The next thing I knew, I was on my back. When the haze cleared, Discord stood over me, panting. She reached out her hand and I took it, staggering back to my feet.
Then I saw what I had done.
I vomited on the path.
My whole body revolted. My skin, my stomach, my bones…they all wanted to eject themselves from me. To get away from whatever thing I’d become. I didn’t feel like myself anymore. I wasn’t tethered to this body. I was a beast.
“I understand,” Discord said gently, looking into my eyes. “But we have to go, Tiger. Now.”
I blinked at Discord, unsure what her words meant.
She hooked her arm through mine and yanked me into the trees again. As she pulled me down behind a fallen log, another hunter came into view. They stopped at the body. The one I’d mutilated.
The hunter laughed and nudged the body with the toe of his boot. “Coil, buddy, she got you even better than Pleon, didn’t she? Between you, Pleon, and Boxer, my odds are even better this year. The avatar is mine.”
He chuckled to himself and strolled up the path, like he had nothing to fear.
After he vanished up the way, Discord patted my back. “It gets easier.”
My jaw clenched. “That is not a comfort.”
“I have no talent for comfort,” Discord said. “I have a talent for honesty.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, but all I could see was the man’s crushed skull and brain matter. “I don’t want killing to get easier, Discord. I…I can’t handle this.”
She half-smiled. “Thank you for doing it, though. That could have gone sideways for me, and you stepped up. I won’t forget that.”
