Everland(56)

Jack spits and snarls. “Once I give you the location of the Lost City, I can never go back to the Lost Boys. I’m as good as dead if I stay with them.”

Flicking my stare to the officers, I guffaw, trying to cover up the uncertainty brewing within me. I’m not sure that my stepbrother can be trusted. The soldiers join in the laughter, while Jack averts his gaze. I pat Jack’s shoulder, still laughing along with my men.

“Gentlemen, we have a martyr on our hands. Very well, it’s a deal.” I give Jack a brisk slap on the cheek. “I knew you’d make a fine Marauder, Jack. Our mother would be proud.”

The Marauders chuckle among themselves.

“Smeeth, take him outside. Find out where those kids are. Send half of your men to the Lost City and the other half to the girl’s location.”

“Yes, Captain!” Smeeth says, shoving Jack out the door.

I pull a book of matches from the pocket of my black coat. Striking the matches, I drop them on a pile of artwork, lighting it into a bonfire. The fire grows, licking the nearby walls and ceiling.

As the building burns, we move outside. Flames reach toward the night sky from the roof of the National Gallery and ash rains onto the street, blanketing it like powdery gray snow. Soldiers dart between buildings, dousing the structures with kerosene, lighting them all ablaze.

Jack’s eyes shimmer with fear, the orange fire reflecting in their dark, muddy pigment.

“This is it,” I say, excitement evident in my tone. Everland glows, leaving me with a quiet satisfaction, relief washing away the endless months of misery. “A year in this wasteland and tonight it will all come to an end. By the time the sun rises, there will be nothing left, nowhere for Pete and the Lost Boys to hide. We will take the girls and leave Everland forever!”

“It’s been a long time, Captain,” Smeeth says, holding a gun to Jack’s back. “I shall be glad to leave this place.”

I grunt approvingly. With the cure in my hands, I am certain my return to Lohr Castle will not only be welcome, but lauded as heroic. The prize of England is only a grain of sand compared with the vast glory the cure will bring. If the world is in the condition that I expect it’s in, millions will be grateful for my gift. Considering the Professor’s suggestion that girls are on the brink of extinction, I’ll be a world hero and I’ll rule it, starting with the German crown.

I turn to Smeeth. “Did you get the locations?”

“Yes, sir. Girl’s heading to the palace, and you won’t believe it, Captain, but the others have been hiding in the Underground this whole time,” Smeeth says.

Disgusted, I grab Jack’s shirt and shake him.

“This whole time? All this time you’ve been right under my feet?” I give him a hard shove. He stumbles, but regains his balance.

I take in my younger brother, my fists clenching. “Before you take us to the Lost City, there is one more item we must take care of. One last thing to be sure neither you nor anyone else questions where you belong.”

Jack steps back, bumping into Smeeth’s gun. “What more could you possibly want from me?”

I stride toward the burning gallery and pick up a piece of wood. A flame dances wildly on the end. I hold the torch close to my gloved left hand, careful not to burn myself but close enough to make the ring on my middle finger glow red in the heat.

Smeeth shoves Jack to his knees. The boy grunts as he hits the ground hard. He sits back on his heels, his head bowed. Smeeth’s fingers wrap around Jack’s ebony hair and yank his head up.

I stoop, my gaze meeting the Lost Boy’s glare. Jack clenches his teeth together defiantly.

I press the red-hot ring behind Jack’s right ear, relishing his violent screams as they rise above the sizzling of fiery metal against his skin. The putrid smell of burning flesh fills the smoky air. Jack’s face grows pale with a hint of green as he crouches and vomits. The insignia of the Marauders, a skull and crossbones, marks the skin behind his ear, angry and raw. Jack spits and stares up at me, his nostrils flaring.

“Welcome back to the Marauders, little brother,” I say in a guttural growl.





Traveling the narrow passageway, I shiver and wipe away the tickle of spiderwebs from my face and hair. Lily leads, holding the lantern to light the dark shadows ahead of us. A wave of claustrophobia washes over me as thick black smoke and the smell of something burning makes the air feel thinner in the small space.

“We must hurry,” Lily says, holding the fabric of her sari to her nose and mouth. “It is just a bit farther ahead.”

“Where are you taking us?” I ask, distracting myself from the anxiety that mounts within me, my breaths becoming more shallow and rapid.

She answers without turning. “Eventually, as far from Everland as possible, but for now, somewhere safe.”

“We’re looking for our friend Bella,” Pete says, crinkling his brow. “She’s about this tall, with blond hair and mechanical wings. Have you seen her?”

Lily keeps moving forward. “Not now. I will explain everything once we are safe.”

We travel a few moments more and stop at a hole in the ground. Lily holds her lamp over the opening, but it sheds very little light into the gaping, dark chasm.

“Take this,” she says, handing me the lamp. She sits on the edge of the gap, her legs dangling over the side. Her foot finds a step and she slides in, disappearing into the thick blackness.