Deathless by Daniella Draven

Author:Daniella Draven [Draven, Daniella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ruby Raven Publishing
Published: 2024-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

Carmel is still talking as I follow her into the Temple, her words echoing off the walls, pillars and glass throughout the vast space. The Ghouls are at their typewriters clacking away. Paper is lining the floor, crunching under our feet. A few turn to look at me, but most don't even notice our arrival.

“Morning, babies!” Carmel calls through the room.

Carmel has a desk near the centre of the room. Kaleidoscopic flowers bloom in a vase, and the sweet scent permeates the air. She walks towards it, and I notice how her body is slowing, her movements awkward. The sudden shift is staggering. She's stumbling more than walking, slurring her words. My chest tenses as I wander forward, following her. The sand is working. She sinks into her chair, and I see her weary face.

“And I thought coffee was supposed to wake you up …” She laughs, but then her face drops. She can sense something is wrong. “Maybe Ginny gave me decaf by mistake again …” Her words drift as she leans forward on the desk, her eyes dropping.

“Are you OK, Carmel?” I move closer. It occurs to me now that I don't really know what's about to happen. Thomas described it as a sleep-like state of suggestibility, but what the hell did that mean?

“I feel … I don't think … Jackson?” She looks at me one more time, her eyes narrow slits, her lips parted in confusion. And then she drops.

I launch forward, my hands catching her head before it smashes into the table. My heart thrashes hard. I glance around, spotting her shawl draped across the back of her chair. I bundle it up with my spare hand and slip it under her head. She groans as she shifts in her chair, instinctively getting comfortable, curling her body tighter. Around us, the Ghouls keep typing, unaware or uncaring about what is happening.

“Carmel?”

“Mmm,” she mumbles, her breathing slowing and growing heavy.

I bend down on my haunches till I'm close to her face. “Carmel? Carmel, I need you to do something for me. I need you to ask Victor to retype a death.”

“Ugh.” Carmel's lips part, and a strange sound emits, but nothing else. Her deep breathing causes the papers on her desk to flutter.

Shit.

“Carmel?”

Nothing. Her breathing deepens until she snores loudly, a noise loud enough to make some of the closest Ghouls glance in our direction.

“Carmel?” I hiss, but nothing. Carmel isn’t in any kind of state. She’s asleep—pure and simple.

Grunting, I stand upright, cursing Thomas under my breath. He'd given too high a dose. All that planning was for nothing. My fists ball at my side, and the aching in my temples returns. I hadn't saved Millie. She was still going to die. Fear was turning into an iron knot in my stomach. Without Carmel, I couldn't do this. Closing my eyes, I run my fingers through my hair, willing my brain to work. To think of a solution.

When I open them, I realise every Ghoul is staring at me.

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