Chapter Thirteen: The Pawn
(Reilly and Lottie returned to the Embassy, after another nearby attack by the Deceptors. They speak with Flynn, the woman at the registration desk, who has gone mad due torture by the Deceptors. She knits red wristbands for everyone to wear at the Embassy, but Reilly doesn't know why she does this. Reilly and Lottie bring Flynn a basket of food.)
Most of the critically injured people in the auditorium were
still asleep or unconscious, and those who were awake seemed delirious with
pain. Even the Infusionists could not provide adequate remedies for severed
limbs.
Reilly and Lottie headed down the spiral jade staircase.
They moved aside as three people carried another casualty out of the building. The
bodies were taken to a burial site between the West Woods and East Forest. Survivors
of the Crumble knew to look there for their missing family members.
Pucatrows still guarded the Infusionists’ doors down the
long hallway to the main entrance, and they sniffed loudly as Reilly passed by.
Lottie asked several of the trolls if they had seen her father, but they had
not. Reilly and Lottie passed Flynn at the registration desk, and offered her
something from the basket of food.
“Such a lovely color,” Flynn said. She held a single
strawberry in her hand as if she had never seen one before. “It will make a
beautiful dye.”
Lottie glanced at Reilly. “You have plenty of red yarn
here,” Lottie said. “These berries are for you to eat.”
“How kind of you, my dear. I will save them for a special
occasion.”
Reilly stepped closer to the registration counter. “Today is
already a special occasion, Flynn. Everyone in the Embassy is wearing the
wristbands that you made … and …” He
looked to Lottie.
“… and without you, Flynn, none of us would be protected
while we are here at the Embassy.”
Flynn held the berries in her hand, squeezed them, and
watched the juice run through her fingers. “The wristbands will soak up the
blood.” She licked her fingers and smiled as Reilly and Lottie walked outside
to the Square.
“What are the wristbands really
for?” Reilly asked Lottie.
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