Of Blood and Bone (Chronicles of The One #2)(102)

“Yeah, yeah. I read books, I’ve been to school. I’ve watched Monty Python.”

“Who?”

“Too bad for you on that one,” Duncan said over another bite of sandwich. “How do you know so much about Mercer?”

“I saw it in him. He doesn’t have—what is it? A filter. He just doesn’t. He thinks it, or feels it, it’s his truth. We killed his brother, and years later, we humiliated him, disfigured him.”

She frowned down at what Duncan sketched in the corner of the roll. “How do you know what Mercer looks like now?”

Duncan frowned at the sketch in turn. The thin face, the straggle of beard, the raw, rippled scarring that puckered the left side of his mouth and eye.

“I don’t know. I’m getting it off you. I don’t know how. Is it right?”

“Yes, it’s right. You draw really well.”

“It’s something to do.”

“Is reading people something you do?”

“Not usually like this.” His gaze cut up to hers. “Vibes, you know how it is.”

“One of my brothers reads people, but he understands and respects privacy.”

“What can I say? It was pumping off you when you were talking about him. And I saw his face. How many?”

“More than a hundred. The tanks, about twenty trucks—some of them are the military trucks they sometimes use to transport prisoners. Ten on horseback, armed with swords. The Raiders on motorcycles.”

As she spoke, Duncan scribbled notes.

“Horseback, swords, that’s cleanup. They’ll come in with the tanks first—after they send in a squad to take out our guards. That’s what I’d do.”

“That’s what I’d do,” she agreed. “So you’d want your line here, a mile out.”

“A good mile. We’re not going to let them get into town. Take out the tanks first.”

They huddled over the paper, the maps, the plans for nearly an hour. Fallon figured Will and others would refine it further, but she’d given them all they needed.

“Not tomorrow night, but the night after. I’ll watch,” she told him. “If I’m needed, I’ll come. But I don’t think you’ll need me. The Raiders don’t have any loyalty to the PWs, and these PWs? Mercer’s? They don’t have any loyalty to anybody. They just want blood, and payback.”

“Yeah, we’ll handle it. Appreciate the heads-up. Again.”

“Tell Will and your mother my mother saw them. She wants them to know she saw them.”

“How does she see them? How do you watch?”

She started to smile, and when she did, it moved something inside him. Then the smile faded, and her eyes went dark with vision.

“Don’t trust the fruit, the flowers. The fruit is black inside, the flowers hide the serpent’s bite.”

“What fruit, what flowers?”

“I don’t know. Sorry.” She dragged her hands through her hair because the vision, so short, so full of dark, made her head ache. “I have to go. I’ll come back if you need me to.”

“You went really pale. Do you want—”

She vanished.

“Never mind then. See you around.”

Fallon came back through the crystal, back fully into herself, and fainted.

She woke on her bed with her mother clutching her hand.

“I’m okay. Just a little dizzy.”

“I’m going to get you some water, and a restorative.”

“Don’t go. Give me a minute. How long was I gone?”

“Nearly two hours. Dear God, Fallon, nearly two hours, and you didn’t split. The whole of you went through. I could only see little pieces, and only now and then. I couldn’t see you.”

“Too long, that’s part of it. I’ve never stayed more than about an hour, and I … I pushed it too long, and I know better. You have to build it up. I’m sorry, you must’ve been so worried.”

She brought Lana’s hand to her cheek, soothed herself. “Right before I came back, I had this short, fast, really intense vision. It gave me a terrible headache.”

“Nausea?”

“No, just the headache and a little dizziness.”

“Let me see.” Gently, Lana ran her hands over Lana’s face, her head, rubbed at her temples. “Does it help?”

“A little. It feels so deep.”

“I’m going to get what you need. Don’t try to get up.”

Lana flashed. All the training and practice with Fallon had paid off. Now sick worry added to her power and speed. She came back with a glass, water, a vial, and a white cloth.

“You’ll drink this.” She tapped pale blue drops into the water. “Three sips. Pause. Three sips, pause, and again a third time. Three by three,” she ordered as she supported Fallon’s head.

Fallon obeyed, felt the deepest layer of pain ease during the second dose. “Better.”

“One more. Three by three. Where do you feel it?”

“Here.” She touched her forehead. “But it’s not bad now.”

“Lie back, close your eyes.” She laid the cloth, folded in threes, on Fallon’s forehead. “What was the vision?”