Night Resurrected (49 page)

want to say the words:
with you to the

Strangers
.

“No. They’d just hurt him. He’ll be

happier here, with Wyatt. But don’t say

anything to him yet—he’ll just argue.”

To Remy’s surprise, Marley Huvane

was in the mayor’s office. She, too,

looked weary, and less put-together than

the other times Remy had seen her. Her

thick dark hair was pulled in a loose

ponytail and she was talking quietly to

Quent and Zoë when Vaughn walked in.

“Marley’s here because she has . . .

news.” The mayor’s voice was formal,

and he took his seat behind the desk after

a brief glance at the newcomer.

“My crystal has changed,” Marley

said. “It’s cracked.” She pulled the

neckline of her shirt away to reveal the

small blue stone, set in her skin just

beneath the collarbone.

Remy leaned forward to take a good

look. It was the size of a pinkie

fingernail or an old pencil eraser—and

looked like one too. Smooth and round,

it rose like a large translucent beauty

mark from the delicate skin surrounding

it. “It’s not the same as Lacey’s,” she

said. “Hers went gray and opaque.

Yours is still blue. But I can see the

crack running through the inside of it.”

And you’re still alive.

“It doesn’t glow anymore,” Quent

said. He was looking at Marley as if

trying to read her mind. “How do you

feel?”

She shrugged. “A little tired. But

that’s most likely related to everything

else that’s going on. Haven’t gotten much

sleep the last two nights.”

“Ana, do you have any idea what this

means?” Vaughn asked. “This alteration

of her crystal?” He didn’t come right out

and ask if it was a death sentence for

Marley, but he might as well have.

Ana had leaned forward, and Marley

allowed her to touch the small crystal.

“Usually when a crystal goes dark—

loses its glow—that means it’s lost its

life. It’s dead. Eventually, it goes gray

and opaque.” Her voice trailed off and

she glanced at Fence as he rubbed her

back. “I’ve not seen one cracked like

this before.”

“Does this mean she’s going to die?”

Quent demanded. He turned to look at

Elliott. “What happened with that

woman you tried to save for Ian Marck

—the one whose crystal died. What

happened then? Is this the same?”

“Her

situation

was

completely

different.” Elliott, too, had taken a turn

to examine the crystal. “Allie—that was

her name—her skin presented brittle and

black around the stone, and the infection,

or whatever it was, grew from there and

eventually took over her whole body.

From what Ian told me, the crystal had

been introduced and it wasn’t accepted.

Like a transplanted organ might be

rejected from a body. And the stone

itself was a sick, yellow color. I don’t

see any resemblance here to what

happened then.”

Remy was watching Vaughn, and his

fingers, curled on the desk, relaxed

slightly at this pronouncement. Still, he

said nothing.

“How long do you think I have?”

Marley asked. She was looking at Ana,

and, to Remy’s surprise, at her.

“Lacey came in close contact with

the crystal,” she told Marley. “And the

effect was immediate. She . . . expired

within five minutes. It’s been well over

twenty-four hours since you were near

the crystal.”

Marley nodded, her face grim but

accepting. “Well, I guess after living

more than eighty years, I should be ready

to go at any time.”

“We should all be ready to go at any

time,” Sage said quietly. She patted

Marley on the arm, then drew her close

in an embrace. “None of us ever know

which day will be our last.”

“On that happy note . . .” Fence said,

looking around. But he, too, was sober.

“Zoë had a thought,” Quent said. “If

we went out through the Waxnickis’

secret tunnel, we could come up behind

the Strangers and their Humvees—

ambush them while they’re distracted

from the front. It would at least give us

the chance to evacuate.”

“The entrance to the secret tunnel by

the Wendy’s sign is within view of

them,” Elliott said. “I checked. But using

one of the old city sewage tunnels,

where Jade’s favorite snakes live, we

can come out far enough out of sight, like

the evacuees are doing. It should work if

we can figure out how to ambush them.

Nice thinking, Zoë.”

“It’s worth a try,” Vaughn said. But

he didn’t seem optimistic.

Remy felt for him. When they first

met, she found him very attractive with

his rugged looks and easy flirtation. But

in the last thirty hours, he’d seemed to

age before her eyes. She knew he was

torn up inside about the decision facing

him and the city . . . and that was part of

the reason she’d made the choice she

had.

They mulled over the prospects of

what to use for the ambush and when to

do it—when Remy was surrendering

herself later tonight under cover of

twilight, or during the day, well before

the so-called witching hour. She didn’t

participate, and neither, she noticed, did

Wyatt.

Instead,

he

watched

the

proceedings

with

his

inscrutable

expression, casting an occasional glance

at her.

Someone knocked and Wyatt, in his

customary position, checked and then

opened the door to admit Cat. She’d

taken Dantès to the computer lab and

was only now returning—but with some

urgency.

“There’s something going on out

there,” she said, looking at Wyatt and

then Vaughn. “I heard someone shouting

‘Fire!’ And there was a lot of smoke

coming from near the kitchen.”

“I’ll go,” Elliott said, and Jade rose

to follow him. Fence was in their wake,

but Wyatt didn’t move.

“It’s a
fire
,” Cat said, looking at

Wyatt. “They might need you. What if

someone’s trapped?”

He gave a brief nod and glanced at

Remy, then the rest of the room. “I’d

better go check it out. Be back as soon

as I can.” He looked at Cat. “You going

to show us where?”

“Yeah,” she said, and slipped out the

door.

T
he dangerous blaze in the kitchen

turned out to be a small fire in a metal

wastepaper basket stuck in the corner

not too far from the restaurant area. Cat

seemed properly embarrassed about

raising the alarm, but Wyatt was too

distracted to be annoyed.

It was the perfect opportunity.

As soon as he was assured

everything was under control and no one

needed to be dragged from a fiery room,

Wyatt found what he needed and slipped

off to the computer lab on his own.

Confident that Remy was safely in the

custody of the others, he knew he had the

time to do what had to be done.

Up, up, up, down
. He pushed the

buttons and the old elevator doors slid

open. The spiral staircase was revealed

and down he went.

Dantès greeted him with a whine and

a lick, and Wyatt took the time to hug

him back, accepting a few good swipes

from a canine tongue. The dog, as

always, made him feel calm and at

home. Loved.

After a moment Wyatt stood. He

looked around and confirmed what

seemed obvious: no one was here. That

would make things so much easier.

He knew where the crystal was kept

—in the second room, stored in a file

cabinet. One of the drawers held the

piece of Jarrid stone that Quent and Zoë

had stolen. Another drawer contained

the Mother crystal, currently wrapped in

asbestos he’d removed from the semi-

truck cab’s brakes. He had no idea if the

asbestos did anything to contain the

crystal’s heat or otherwise mask it, but

he figured it was worth a try in case it

started to burn again. Not that it would

matter for much longer.

Placing the crystal on the surface of a

sturdy table, Wyatt unwrapped it. It sat

there, orange and glowing, unassuming

in its width and breadth. Hard to believe

it held so much power; it was hardly

larger than his thumbnail.

He hefted the sledgehammer in his

hand, looking down at the object that, if

destroyed, would save countless lives—

not only the people of Envy, but anyone

else who would ever get in the way of

the people who sought it.

Remy.

The memory of her face rose in his

mind. Strained and frightened, heavy

with knowledge. Acceptance.

He gritted his teeth. She wouldn’t

have agreed to do what he was about to

do, for the same reason that she’d

decided to give herself up to the

Strangers. Which was why he’d made

the choice.

She could make hers. He would make

his. Someone had to do it.

He lifted the sledgehammer. One

blow with its massive steel head and the

crystal would shatter, be ground to dust.

And it would all be over. Remy could be

free. Envy would be safe. The Strangers

destroyed.

His family—and all of the world—

would be avenged.

Maybe then he could find some

peace.

The hammer was heavy above his

head. Wyatt closed his eyes, thought of

Cath and Abby . . . everyone he’d ever

known, and those he knew now. David.

Dantès. Remy.

And he brought it down.

N
o sooner had Cat dragged Wyatt from

the meeting place than Remy looked at

Simon. “I . . . uh . . . left something up in

the room. Personal. Will you go with me

to get it?”

“I’ll get it,” Sage offered. “It’s

probably better if you stay hidden.

Especially with the deadline so close.”

She couldn’t help but look at the clock,

and Remy’s eyes followed.

Thirteen hours.

Or less, if Remy had her way.

“Oh, you wouldn’t be able to find it,”

Remy said, and gave Sage a look.

The redhead’s eyes widened in

understanding, and she frowned. Her

expression said,
Are you sure?

“Simon, do you mind?” Remy asked

again.

“Of

course

not.”

He

seemed

oblivious to the silent communication

between the two women, and stood.

Because of Simon’s background and the

fact that he was the security and

authority figure for Envy, Remy knew

she’d be well-protected.

Besides. They weren’t going far.

As soon as they got out of Vaughn’s

office, she turned to Simon and said,

“Take me to Ian Marck. I need to talk to

him.”

He paused, looking her over with

expressionless

brown

eyes.

“You

planned all that, didn’t you?”

“I had to. Take me to him, please?

Before Wyatt gets back.”

He didn’t look pleased, but took her

arm and led her off through a short

warren of hallways. They came to a

door and he drew a handgun from his

back waistband, then unlocked the door.

Remy went in and found Ian sitting on

a sofa in accommodations just as

comfortable as her own. He rose when

they came in, and she was gratified to

notice that Simon replaced the gun in his

waistband and took a seat near the door.

“Could we speak alone?” she said,

turning to Simon. His cool eyes went

from her to Ian and back, but he didn’t

argue. He simply stood, opened the

door, and disappeared into the hallway.

When the door closed behind him,

Remy turned back to Ian.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” he

asked.

“I need you to tell me everything you

know about the Mother crystal. Why the

Strangers want it, what you know about