Page 55 of Hysteria Rises
“Just a thought, but I’d bury the bottle somewhere maybe, rather than trying to refill it.”
All three of us jump out of our skin at the unexpected participant in our conversation. “Holy fuck,” I mutter, glancing up to find Malakai leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest and an amused smirk on his face.
Hayze practically growls. “If you want us to trust you, maybe don’t fucking sneak up on us like that.”
Malakai shrugs, the devil in his eye. “I’m already party to what you were discussing, so I didn’t figure it was necessary.” He pushes off the frame and strides over to us. “So you drank the rest of that bottle inone go, huh? Goddamn, that’s some tolerance you’ve built up. Nobody’d want you at a party, though, finishing off all the alcohol by yourself like that. Didn’t your mama teach you to share?” He cocks his head to the side. “Right. Probably not.”
Fucker. That was dumb of him. Arrow’s jaw is twitching in a way that tells me if it wouldn’t hurt like crazy, he’d be off the table and strangling Mal. Meanwhile, Hayze looks like his head is going to pop right off. I frown, taking a quick step toward him and hooking his neck in the crook of my elbow. Beside his ear, I hiss, “Shut the fuck up. Mal. You aren’t helping.”
He shrugs free of my hold, spinning on his heel and backing away, a glint in his eye. “Maybe I’m tired of helping you.”
I exhale hard. “Doesn’t it ever get tiring being the asshole?”
My question is met with a glaring eye roll. “They sent me up here for a reason. Henry wants to know if anyone had the presence of mind to look carefully at the snake so we know what we could be dealing with if there’s another?”
Arrow groans. “No. That fucker was fast, whatever it was. I was more focused on trying to keep us clear of it. Sorry.”
Clenching my teeth, I tip my head to the side. “He probably wants to know if it was venomous or not.”
Understanding dawns on Hayze’s face, and he grimaces. “I should have been more careful. But I got apretty good look. Does Nolan keep paper anywhere around here? I could maybe draw what the head looked like before I bashed it in.”
“Yeah. The top drawer.” I gesture with a tip of my head toward the desk on the side of the room. “And Nolan has some books that might be useful on the bottom shelf there below his medical texts. Maybe we can compare.”
Hayze hurries over and quickly sketches while Malakai squats down, running a finger along volume after volume until he taps on one. “I bet it’s this.”
Returning a minute later with his sketch in one hand, Hayze takes the book from him and begins to thumb through it.
“That could take a while,” I huff out.
Several long minutes pass, and I’m about out of patience when Hayze finally holds up a finger, shaking his head. “I think I know what it was.”
Surprised, my brows raise. “Well, don’t keep us in suspense.”
He glances up from the page he’s scanning, his gaze casting toward me before moving on to Malakai and Arrow. Bowing his head again, his eyes travel the text in the book. A second later, he shoves the book into my hands. “Have a look for yourself. That’s it right there.” He turns, stalking toward the window with his arms crossed.
My brows furrow, but I peruse the image, comparing it to his drawing. “You’re sure?”
“What’s going on?” Arrow frowns.
My gut twists as I read. “It’s definitely venomous.”
A low whistle exits Malakai’s pursed lips, and his eyes widen as I show him the page. “Fuck me,” he grits out, swallowing. “How the hell did that get in the building, much less our room?”
Chewing on my lip, I wait while Hayze turns around again before I mutter, “And into Rafe’s bed? The whole thing is really fucking strange.”
Hayze gives a curt nod. “Agreed.”
Arrow swallows hard. “I can’t figure it out. Twenty-three bumped into the bed, and it just kinda crawled out from under the blanket and onto the floor, all angry and hissing at us.”
Pressing a few fingers to each of his temples, Hayze zeros in on Malakai. “Can you do me a favor?”
Mal raises a brow at him, and on instinct, I backhand his chest. “Come on, man.”
“Fine,” he scowls, sighing heavily. “What?”
“Think back,” Hayze demands. “You were at the river when the women came out to tell the Collective about the snake, right? Was anyone acting… I dunno. Not as expected?”
I eye Mal carefully. But I don’t think there’s anything amiss about his reaction.
