Siege of Shadows (Effigies #2)(134)

“We’re fugitives now,” Belle pressed. “They’ll be looking for all four of us. If we split up, it’ll be harder for them to capture us all.”

Sibyl went quiet. But after a moment, she acquiesced with a sigh. “Two per car.”

“Maia.” Belle was already staring at me, the dark circles under her eyes deep and unforgiving. “Come with me.”

I didn’t argue as the agent opened the backseat doors for us.

“Is this really happening?” Lake said. “We’re splitting up?”

The four of us stood in a circle, close together and yet still separated by the chasm of the unknown. Belle was the only one who avoided our gazes. Her bloodshot eyes remained steadfastly low as the rest of us joined hands.

“It’s going to be okay,” I told them, mustering up what little bravery I could through the pits of despair and fear. “It’ll just be for a little while.”

“I don’t have the best feeling about this,” Chae Rin said. “I’m kind of with Sibyl. But maybe splitting up really is the best way to go. In that case . . . well, just don’t get caught. Or killed. Or I’ll be super pissed, okay?”

Lake laughed a little, and the strain in her voice made it obvious that the gesture hadn’t been easy. I felt her squeeze my hand. But when I looked over at Belle, she was still in her own head, staring at the floor. I grabbed her hand, trying to smile. She didn’t look up.

“Okay,” I said, letting go of both girls. “Let’s go. I’ll see you guys again at the safe house.”

“Right, then. See you in a bit!” Lake’s cheerfulness may have been artifice, but it gave me courage like I suspected she’d meant it to.

We entered our own cars and drove out of the hangar, down the underground path, until we surfaced outside the facility. We came to a fork in the road, and there, under the night sky, we separated. I twisted around, watching the other car until it disappeared into the darkness.

“Where are we heading?” I asked carefully.

“The Straits of Dover,” the agent answered, looking at me in the rearview mirror. “We’ll rendezvous with some people who’ll help us cross into France.”

“France,” Belle repeated lifelessly. “My home. The place I was . . . born.”

She fell silent.

I half expected her to be limp against the door again, but this time she was surprisingly stiff. Her back was straight as if held up by a metal rod. Her hands were placed on her lap, her fingers curled at an odd angle against her knees. She said nothing. She didn’t even look at me throughout the almost two-hour drive. The entire time, I kept to my side of the bench, my hand awkwardly gripping my seat belt as I tried to keep my eyes on the antiphantom threads weaving across the highway, keeping us safe from the horrors outside. I made sure my gaze stayed on them. I’d been awake for so many hours I’d lost count. I was running on nothing, but I couldn’t let my eyelids flutter closed like they wanted to. Because if I did, I’d see his face. I’d see Rhys obliterated by a weapon that to him would have looked simply like a beautiful light from above. Before absolution.

I held my sobs in for the ride until we came to the White Cliffs. It was somewhat still under the glow of nearby antiphantom protection, so we didn’t have to worry about phantoms here. But the strait wasn’t protected. The agent had told us to expect a fishing ship coming down the strait. I was sure it would come with its own APD, lest we let the monsters lurking beneath the waves drag us down into the deep with them. We waited patiently for the rendezvous, but after we stood close to the edge of the cliffs for several minutes, nothing showed up.

“They’re late.” The agent checked his watch impatiently.

“Redman.” Belle approached the young man. “I need to speak with Maia.”

Surprised, I turned from looking over the cliffs.

“What?” Redman cocked his head. “Look, miss, I’m sorry, but we’re in a bit of a—”

Belle knocked him out.

“What are you doing?” I yelled as he fell limp over her arm.

Reaching into her ear, she took out his earpiece and crushed it. Before I could move out of the way, she’d grabbed my arm, yanking me close so she could dig out mine as well. She threw both into the strait.

Real fear started to colonize my body. I was backing away from her, away from the cliff, before I’d even realized it. “What are you doing?” I asked again as I watched her throw Redman’s unconscious body to the ground.

“I told you. That man told me many things.” The dark circles cast poisonous shadows under her eyes. “Strange things.”

“The Surgeon?” My feet slid and scuffled across the gravel.

“He said I would always be alone.” Belle’s head was low, but tilted slightly. She’d lost focus again. “I think he was right.”

She began closing the distance between us.

“Belle,” I started, wrapping my arms around myself to keep from shaking. “I don’t know what he did to you. . . .”

But I did. I knew that he’d tortured her physically, mentally, and emotionally. He had twisted her for an entire hour while I was locked in my cell, unable to do anything. Yet what he’d done to her maybe wasn’t as important as what I had done.