Lady Renegades (Rebel Belle #3)(49)

“Why not just kill him?”

For a second, I thought Bee was talking about David, and my head shot up.

“Alaric,” Bee clarified. “If he was seeing things and making Paladins and sending them after the Ephors, why did they bother trying to save him?”

“Because they weren’t monsters,” Blythe said, not looking up from the book. “Maybe they wanted to find some way to help him instead of putting him down like a dog.”

“It didn’t work, though,” I reminded her, that cold feeling still sitting at the base of my spine. “They did kill him.”

Now Blythe lifted her head, her eyes meeting mine. “Because it was the last resort,” she said. “It happens. Once he’d gotten to that cave and started powering up, there wasn’t anything they could do but kill him.”

I didn’t like the way she said that but wasn’t sure exactly how to reply.

And then Blythe looked down at the book and sucked in a breath.

There, at the end of the book, was a little paper pocket affixed to the back cover. It was probably just the slightly wavering beam of the flashlight that made it seem like Blythe’s fingers were trembling as she pulled out two worn, folded sheets of paper.

When she unfolded them, gently smoothing the paper with her hands, I looked down, hoping I’d be able to understand what was written there.

This was another one of Saylor’s weird ciphers, part Greek, part English, part symbols, and it all swam in front of my eyes.

Whatever was on those pages, though, Blythe got it. I actually watched her go pale, saw her eyes widen as she took it in.

“Well?” I asked, louder than I should have, but the suspense had me feeling like something was crawling all over my skin.

“It’s definitely the spell,” she said, and the paper crinkled as she lifted it, turning to look at the back. This time, there was no doubt her hands were shaking.

“Duh,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Will it help? Can you do it?”

To my surprise, Blythe didn’t look all that enthused. This was what she’d been looking for—what we’d brought her along for, after all—and instead of seeming pumped, she looked a little . . . sick, to be honest.

Frowning again, she turned back to the pages. “It’s harder than I thought it would be,” she said, and there it was again, that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“But you can do it,” I pressed, and her head shot up, dark eyes meeting mine.

“You saw how things went with Dante. This kind of magic, it’s . . . it’s really complicated, Harper. It’s unwieldy. This”—she rattled the papers at me—“won’t just take David’s powers, it’ll wipe his mind, too.”

I thought of Dante, sitting in that field, the confusion on his face. “Oh. Right. I . . . forgot that bit.”

A David who was normal but didn’t remember me? Or anything, for that matter? It was worth a shot, surely.

I thought about Bee, asking why they didn’t just kill the Oracle when that was clearly the easiest course of action.

The idea of David looking at me blankly, no idea who I was . . . it sucked. It sucked a lot.

But it was better than the alternative.

“What about the other part?” I asked, and Blythe’s head jerked up.

“What?”

“In the memory,” I reminded her. “Dante said there was another part to that spell, some scary, intense thing he didn’t think people should try.”

Blythe glanced back at the paper. “Not sure,” she said, then looked up, startled, as we heard a noise from outside.

The three of us froze. We heard footsteps, quick and soft, and saw a thin line of light underneath the closed office door.

Blythe turned off her own flashlight, plunging us into near darkness, and as quietly as she could, she slid the book from the desk, shoving it awkwardly in the waistband of her pants.

There was no sign that this was Paladin-related stuff, and we hadn’t been attacked since that first night at the motel, but I was taking no chances. Wordlessly, I held my hand out, and Blythe put the flashlight in my open palm.

The three of us held very still, shrinking back into the shadows as I tried to think of what to do. Was it better to rush out, taking whoever it was out there by surprise, or should we wait, hoping they passed us by?

But then the door swung open, making the choice for me.

My fingers were tight around the handle of the flashlight, ready to swing.

A pair of teenagers came stumbling in, and I was about to leap at them when I realized they were giggling, arms looped around each other.

Not Paladins sent by David. Just . . . kids exploring a deserted building.

The guy was tall, his hair blonder and shaggier than David’s, but there was still enough of a resemblance to make my stomach flutter. The girl in front of him was a little taller than me, but her hair seemed as dark in the dim light, and when she turned to face him, winding her arms around his neck, the gesture seemed familiar.

It was all still so mixed up for me—the Oracle, the boyfriend, the guy I’d known for so long—and I couldn’t sort out how I felt about any of it. Stopping the Oracle might still mean losing David, and while this was still the best way, I wanted . . . something more.

Something easier.

I was so caught up in those thoughts that I didn’t even notice Blythe until she was stepping slightly in front of me, hand raised, murmuring under her breath.