The Darkdeep Series by Ally Condie

Author:Ally Condie
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781547610259
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2021-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

24

OPAL

Opal slammed the front door shut behind her.

“Did you see that mob?!” Tyler moaned, backing through the houseboat’s foyer. “How many figments are out there?”

Emma’s chest was pumping like a bellows. “Hundreds of them.”

“We should’ve gone for the tunnel,” Logan fumed, throwing his hands in the air. “Now they have us trapped!”

Nico raced into the showroom. Everyone else followed. “They’ll be here any minute,” he said, seizing another dagger from a battered coffin filled with weapons. “Grab something to fight with. Now!”

Not a good idea.

Opal stumbled. It was the second time Thing had spoken like that—in a tone that pierced straight through her brain. She whirled to face the jar. Thing stared back at her, suspended in liquid, its eyes open and watching.

“What do you mean?” Opal said. “There’s an army of figments outside. We have to protect—”

No.

Opal staggered against the weight of the word, the way it slashed into her mind. The others all grabbed their heads.

“Thing, stop,” Opal said, a shiver of unease running down her spine. “You don’t need to … to yell. Or whatever it is you’re doing. We hear you.”

Another sound filled her head. Low and echoing.

A chuckle.

The hair on Opal’s arms stood up.

Thing was laughing. At what? At them?

Sorry. Thing’s mouth twitched into a satisfied grin. There will be no more fighting today.

“Why? Are they gone?” Logan strode to the window and peered out into the darkness. Then he stiffened, a sickly look creeping over his face. “They’re everywhere. Even on the stepping-stones. But they … they aren’t moving.” He spun, eyes scared and confused. “They’re all just standing in place, watching the houseboat. Like … like they’re waiting for something.”

Opal felt her stomach knot. She met Nico’s eyes. As one, they rushed back into the foyer. With a shaking hand, Opal swung open the front door. Outside, nightmare creatures ringed the pond in a mass of gleaming eyes and teeth. Some bobbed in the water. Others crowded the field, or lined the surrounding ridges. Slash and his companions crouched on the closest entry stone, teeth bared.

Adrenaline flooded Opal’s body. She yanked the door closed and tried to lock it.

Return to the showroom, please.

“Come on,” Nico whispered. “Something’s not right.” They passed back through the curtain, joining Emma and Tyler in front of the pedestal. The group stood a full step farther away than before.

Logan kept his position by the window. “We need a lookout.”

Unnecessary. I am holding the figments at bay.

Thing’s expression hardened into something less than friendly.

Don’t make me change my mind.

There was a wild hammering on the front door. Monstrous faces suddenly pressed against the bay window, driving Logan back with a yelp. Footsteps thumped on the roof as spindly bodies crowded the skylights. Opal’s skin crawled at so many deadly creatures being so close.

Logan was breathing fast, his whole body rigid. Tyler and Emma stood with their shoulders pressed together. Nico’s face grew pale. His gaze flicked to the wall panel hiding the Darkdeep. Opal felt trapped between the horrors outside and the little green creature who no longer seemed like a friend.

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