Page 65 of Kingdom of Chaos
“Locklyn?” she says, her voice slurred.
“I’m here. We’re going to get out of here,” I tell her.
She moves her head up and down in a sloppy nod.
“I found this stuck in her shoulder,” Titus says, holding up what looks like a cross between a dart and a needle, a couple inches long.
She must have been hit with a tranquilizer dart. I’m just glad it wasn’t one of the real weapons. The kind that puts holes through you.
“I think she’s going to be fine,” he says, but his “I think” sounds a lot like, “I hope” to me.
“She will be,” I assure him, and then explain what Violet told us.
“Makes sense,” he says. “I used my powers to try to heal her. I was able to fight off some of the medication in her system, but not all.”
I’d forgotten Titus had that type of magic. He’d been able to heal Talon of the shade ivy poisoning after one of the Chaos trials. Whatever was in Ensley’s system must be stronger, or perhaps it’s just so foreign to Titus he didn’t know how to heal her completely. But at least she is awake. Kinda.
Talon is chucking our backpacks into the truck when we reach them. One of them must have gone back into the house for them. When Violet comes around the truck, Titus comes up short. He lifts a hand in the air in front of him like he’s ready to blast her with faelight if she comes any closer. Spotting him immediately, she throws her hands up in surrender.
“I’m not trying to hurt you,” she says. “I want to help you get out of here.”
“Why would you help us?” Titus asks, his voice thick with suspicion.
Violet’s eyes dart to the teal house and then return to us. “Because I believe you,” she says. “I think you’re just here to save your friend.”
Titus stares at her, and I can tell he’s weighing her words. But the facts are that she hasn’t tried to hurt us like the others, and we need her right now. I don’t see another option but to trust her.
Titus scoops Ensley up into his arms. “I’ll get her into the truck,” he says, and then walks around Violet without a backward glance.
Coming up to me, Violet hands me the keys. “Take the truck, but ditch it as soon as you can find another method of transportation.”
Opening the passenger side door, she reaches into the glovebox, pulls out a couple folded pieces of paper, and then goes around to the front of the vehicle and spreads one out on the trunk’s hood. It’s a map.
“This is where we are,” she says, pointing to a spot in the lower right portion. “And this is New York City,” she says pointing to another spot higher. “You can take I-95 almost the entire way. There’s a map of the city as well. I’ll mark the location of the Order’s chapter in New York, but I’m not sure if you’ll get the same ‘welcome’ there as you did here. We don’t have much interaction with them. Even though we’re all part of the Order, the chapters act pretty independent from each other. But to be safe, I’d advise staying away from them.”
“You don’t say,” Imogen says sarcastically with a pointed look at her injured arm.
“I’m sorry,” Violet says. “It never should have come to this.”
“Why did your group attack us?” I ask, wanting to understand what happened.
Violet’s brows pinch. “We were always taught that the pathways between our worlds were closed down to keep us safe. That if creatures make it into our world, it could mean the end of it as we know it. I’m not saying what they did to you was okay, but I believe they thought they were doing the right thing.”
It was hard not to scoff, but fear can lead someone to make rash decisions. World domination isn’t on any of our checklists. We truly just want to get Becks and go home. If only Tobias had believed us when we told him why we’d come here, this night never would have happened.
Violet casts a worried glance at the house. “Are they . . . dead?”
I catch Talon’s eye over the hood of the truck. He gives me a sharp shake of his head to say they aren’t. I don’t know why, but I’m relieved to hear it.
“Just knocked out and injured,” I tell Violet, who immediately looks relieved.
“We’re not bad people,” she says. “We’ve dedicated our lives to protecting humans. That’s what they thought they were doing.”
“Let’s go,” Talon barks, his hard gaze on Violet.
Titus has already gotten into the back seat with Ensley. He has her on his lap with her head resting against his chest.
I turn to get in the truck, but then pause, looking over my shoulder at Violet. “You promise she’s going to be okay?”
