Page 70 of Rite of Unity

He did, and it came to life.

I tapped the emergency button and the screen flashed red.

REMAIN WHERE YOU ARE.

The words blinked in rapid succession.

HELP IS EN ROUTE.

A red bar surrounded the screen.

REMAIN WHERE YOU ARE.

“Fuck.”Elias stood, backing away from the device.“This will ruin me.”

I swallowed the acid taste rising up my throat and pushed to my feet while Elias mumbled curses, running his hands through his hair again and again.

A drone dropped from the sky, scanning the area.

“Statement required,” blared from the round metal object.

Elias fumbled in his pocket.I stepped toward the drone and held my pin out.A light flashed on, scanning.

“Maryn Veil.Match of Elias Hale.Confirmed.Provide your statement.”

I swallowed, glancing at Elias.In the low headlights, he was deathly pale, his eyes seemingly entirely white.

Loyalty.

My hands steadied at my sides.“Elias was teaching me to drive.”

Elias went still.

“I didn’t see the woman.She ran across the road too fast.”

The drone’s red light clicked off.

“Statement filed, Maryn Veil, Match of Elias Hale.”

It zipped into the air.

***

I sat up, gasping and stared blurrily around a stark metal room.Beside me, a slimy black creature lay on the low table, a smear of red on the tongs beside it.

The room tilted, and my hand landed hard on the table.

The nurse was gone, the men in coats staring at a screen replaying the images that had lived in my brain only moments before.

I sat, waiting for instructions.

They ignored me.

When enough time passed that I thought I could walk, I slid off the table, staggering toward the door.

No one tried to stop me.

I held a hand out, my fingers shrinking and growing as I tried to gauge the distance to the door.It seemed to stretch, then zoom toward me before my outstretched palms slammed against cold metal.I exhaled a slow breath.