Page 368 of Shadowblood Souls
Is it possible he somehow found the right emotional button to push on to make her admit to a betrayal she hadn’t committed? Or was it only in the end he was manipulating her, so he could take credit for that betrayal?
Even if it’s the latter, even if he was honest with us every moment before then… why did he do it?
He had a knife ready. I think he’d have killed her, with the excuse of self-defense, if Jacob hadn’t thrown himself in there first.
None of it makes sense. All I know is that in the next few frantic seconds, I squirmed in the net, which zapped me hard enough that my vision whited out.
And then there was a prick on the back of my neck, and everything went dark until the helicopter.
The guardians obviously overwhelmed the shadowbloods who escaped the nets. All of us from our group of escapees are cuffed alongside me in our procession—except for Celine, of course.
I don’t know what Clancy ordered the others to do with her body. He wouldn’t have left it as evidence.
Even though chances are high that she’s the one who ruined our chance at freedom, a twinge of guilt runs through my stomach, remembering her frantic expression and her neck snapping with the force of Jacob’s power.
She didn’t want to be there with us. If I hadn’t pushed for all the kids we encountered to come with us, if I’d realized how hesitant she was sooner…
It’s too late for that now. One more death that’s at least partly on my conscience.
Ahead of me in the line, Jacob sways and shakes his head as if trying to clear it. I think they drugged him like the guys told me the guardians used to after our first escape attempt, to dampen their powers.
They’ve wrapped a heavy blindfold around Andreas’s face so he can’t aim projected memories at anyone. He’s relying on Dominic to keep him on the right track, a tentacle tucked around his hand like a lead.
I can’t see Zian, who’s behind me now, but from his glazed eyes on the chopper, I’d bet they drugged him too. There aren’t many ways to contain his combination of brawn and monstrous strength.
The cuffs are pretty solid on their own, though. The guardians have had lots of time to experiment with what can hold us shadowbloods back. I can’t feel the effects of any drug, but I can tell from my furtive tests that I wouldn’t be able to snap the chain.
Clancy stops partway down the front hall, just past the door to the cafeteria, and the rest of the procession halts with him. An older man stands there, looking over the line of us captives with a dour expression that fits perfectly with his sagging features and posture.
Despite the sense of deflation he gives off, his voice comes out crisp and firm. “This is all of them, then?”
Clancy holds his posture with easy certainty, as if he isn’t the slightest bit ruffled by the events of the past couple of days. “We lost one of the second generation. Not an especially valuable talent.”
The older man grunts, his frown deepening. “We’ll talk about it later. You’d better get them shut away before they flee on you again.”
“If they do, we’ll simply round them up like we did this time,” Clancy says without showing a hint of concern.
I grit my teeth at his dismissiveness. Hewouldn’thave rounded us up if Celine—or Griffin—hadn’t signaled him.
But what are the chances we’ll get another opportunity as good as the one we just lost? He’ll have figured out that wetriggered the emergency system—and he’ll have adjusted it to prevent the same gambit.
Every helicopter delivery will be heavily guarded from now on, no doubt.
We had our chance, by far the best chance we were ever going to get, and it’s been wrenched from our grasp.
The guardians march us on down the hallway, pausing here and there to direct one kid or another into their rooms. I think we’ve passed mine, although it’s a little hard to tell when the rocky walls look so similar throughout the facility.
My nerves prickle with uneasiness when the last of the younger shadowbloods, a drooping Lindsay, disappears behind her thudding door.
It’s just the six of us “Firsts” now. Does Clancy have something else in mind for us?
Most of the guardians have drifted off during our walk. Only four remain with Clancy, two up ahead with him and Griffin and two others bringing up the rear.
They all grip the gun-like weapons that can shoot streams of electricity like something out of that ghost-capturing movie we all watched years ago. Although the sizzling bolts zap our bodies rather than our spirits.
The end result is the same—trapped and under their control.
I never expected to relate to the ghosts.
