“I think the fire will burn and the world will be purged,” he replied simply. When she gave him an uncomprehending look, he continued, “Don’t you see, Trinity? This is why we came back here in the first place—the Dracken have been chosen to do God’s work.”
“What are you talking about?” she stammered, not sure she really wanted to hear.
“It’s simple, really. Just as once upon a time the Almighty washed away the world’s evil by sending a mighty flood, so now we have a chance to cleanse it again—this time with flame.” He looked down at her, his eyes shining. “God’s word is clear. Only through destruction can we have any hope of salvation.”
Holy crap. She stared at him, heart beating wildly in her chest. He was totally looney tunes! Could this really be the true reason the Dracken had come back in time? On some kind of insane religious crusade?
“You can’t be serious!” she cried, though the look in his eyes told her otherwise. “You’d really burn down the world on purpose? Let millions of innocent people die?”
“Innocent?” Darius repeated incredulously, for the first time losing his cool. “Innocent? Please. Have you watched your local newscasts lately? Spent any time on your Internet?” He loomed over her, his eyes darkening to angry thunderclouds. “Not a day goes by when there isn’t a bombing or a shooting or a kidnapping. Rape, torture, or war. Child abuse, drug abuse, not to mention a complete disregard for the environment.” He shook his head. “Just like Sodom and Gomorrah, the world has become a filthy, corrupt place—far beyond the point of redemption. And it only gets worse in the future.” He drew in a breath, as if trying to regain control of his emotions. “We are left with no choice but to raze the whole thing to the ground and then rise again, like a phoenix from the ashes. Except this time,” he added with a triumphant smile, “it will be on the backs of dragons.”
Trinity shrank back, unable to speak as the enormity of what he was saying sunk in. Sure the world had its problems, she wanted to protest, but there were good people here too. People worth saving.
“We never lied to you, Trinity,” Darius continued. “We told you from the very start we planned to use dragons to save the world. And that’s what we’re doing: saving the world from itself.” His gaze bore down on her. “You should feel honored,” he added. “You have been chosen out of millions as a pure soul, worthy of becoming part of our brave new world. You and the other Potentials—our own little Noah’s Ark.”
Trin nodded grimly, everything sliding into a sick sort of place. That’s why they’d gathered representatives from every country. Just like Noah saved each species of animal. Her stomach churned and she suddenly knew what she had to do.
Sorry, Emmy. But we have no choice.
“You’re sick!” she declared, drawing up all the courage she had left inside of her. “Not to mention totally insane. And if you think for one second I’m going to play your little reindeer games, you’ve got another thing coming.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at him with defiant eyes. “You might as well go ahead and do it. Kill me now and get it over with. Because I’ll never join you—no matter what you try to do.”
She held her breath, her heart pounding in her chest, praying the Dracken leader would take the bait.
Sacrifice one to save the world. Turned out it’d been her mission all along.
Darius looked at her for a moment, then he burst out laughing. “Do you think I’m stupid?” he demanded. “Do you think I don’t know that Emmy’s life force is entwined with your own? If I kill you, she dies. Unless…” His lips curled into a smirk. “I de-bond you and bring in the backup.” He nodded slowly, as if coming to some sort of conclusion. “Yes, I think that’s the only thing to do at this point, seeing as you’re so unwilling to see the light.”
Trinity froze. “Backup?” she repeated doubtfully.
“My dear girl, do you think we came all this way without a plan B?” Darius asked in an incredulous voice. “Of course we kept a spare around, in case this kind of thing was to happen.”
“You’re telling me you have a spare Fire Kissed just sitting on ice?” she shot back. The idea was ridiculous. But something in Darius’s eyes told her it was also somehow unfortunately true.
“But of course. There’s usually one in every generation. And it can often be hereditary.”
She gasped, what he was saying suddenly making perfect sense. “You mean my grandpa!” she breathed. Thank goodness Connor had him under his protection. She prayed he was far, far away and out of the Dracken’s reach.
Darius raised an eyebrow. “No, no,” he corrected, giving her a cold, hard look. “I mean your mother.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Trinity stared at him, her mind reeling at his pronouncement. “That’s impossible,” she protested. “My mother is dead.”
“On the contrary,” Darius replied smoothly, “she’s very much alive. Would you like to see for yourself?”
Trin nodded dumbly—what else could she do? She tried to tell herself it was some kind of sick joke, a trick Darius had concocted to screw with her head. Because her mother couldn’t be alive. Trinity had seen her body, her head blown to smithereens. Her beloved bunny slippers still on her feet. The emerald ring still on her finger.
She twisted the ring in question almost violently, her stomach flip-flopping madly, this close to throwing up. How could she be alive? There was no way. No way on Earth.
Except, what if there was?
Giving one last longing look at Emmy, still stuck in her cage, she allowed Darius to escort her back to the staircase with the three hallways, this time taking the one to the left. The only one she hadn’t been down. She followed the light from the Dracken leader’s industrial-strength flashlight, her pulse pounding out her fear as she forced her feet to step, one foot in front of the other, down the featureless hallway. She wondered dully if she should try to escape. To overpower him and make a run for the elevator where Connor was probably still waiting. But Emmy was locked in a cage, and now more than ever, she couldn’t leave her behind. Not now that she knew what the Dracken were planning to do with her. She couldn’t even dare risk sending a message to Connor to let him know what had happened for fear Darius would intercept it and learn of his location.
And then there was her mother. If she was really here somehow—really alive—there was no way Trin could just walk away. Not without knowing for sure.
They stopped in front of a door at the far end of the hall—a simple door made of wood with no fancy locks to keep it secured or closed. Darius wrapped his hands around the knob and pulled it open, gesturing for Trinity to enter. She did, stepping into a small bedroom.
It was stark and barren, with none of the luxuries of her own room upstairs. A plain twin bed, lodged up against one wall, fitted with crisp, hospital-cornered sheets. A washbasin and toilet sat against the other, simple but recently cleaned.
But it was the back of the room that pulled Trinity’s gaze. A lone figure, silhouetted in the darkness, rocking slowly in a small wooden chair. From here, Trin could just make out the woman’s long, stringy black hair and emaciated frame, a dingy white tunic dress hanging from her shrunken flesh.
She stepped closer to get a better look, her mind a crazy tangle of hope and fear. She wanted it to be a lie but she wanted it to be the truth all the same. As she approached, Darius flipped a switch and light flooded the room.
Trin gasped, staggering from the shock. It couldn’t be.
But it was.
“Mom?” she whispered
The woman in the chair—her mother—did not respond. Instead, she continued to rock herself slowly, as her vacant black eyes stared into space. Trinity ran to her, dropping to her knees, peering up at her, waving her hands in her face. But it did no good. Her mother did not respond.