Gods of Blood and Bone (Seeds of Chaos Book 1) (13 page)

The crow moderator opened its mouth. “Everyone has arrived. Congratulations on surviving. Now, for the special awards! Please take out your tokens.”

I slipped my finger between my strange vest and my shirt and pulled out my original token from the pocket where I’d stashed it. As the cube hummed, both mine and the boy’s token started to vibrate sympathetically, and then melted and reformed into strange shapes that reminded me vaguely of old Chinese characters, or maybe Egyptian hieroglyphs.
 

Words rolled out across the screen from left to right.

WISHER’S PENNY: JENNY SHEEN

GREEN WHISPERER: JACK URBAN

SECOND WIND: VAUGHN RIDLEY

AURA OF LIGHT: VAUGHN RIDLEY

FLICKER: VAUGHN RIDLEY

MADRIGAL’S SHELL: VAUGHN RIDLEY

NOSE_

I watched the guy next to me. As Vaughn Ridley’s name rolled out, over and over, his smile grew wider and wider. He held a handful of transformed tokens in his hand, watching the screen.
 

I grew cold inside, but was soon distracted as my own name rolled across the screen.
 

TUMBLING FEATHER: EVE REDDING

SPIRIT OF THE HUNTRESS: EVE REDDING

“Wow,” Vaughn said. “You got a spirit-type Skill? Impressive.”
 

I frowned at him. “What does that mean? What are ‘Skills?’ ”
 

He shook his head at my ignorance. “They’re just like the ‘skills’ in a video game. They let you do special things once you plant them, things you couldn’t do normally. They’re quite useful.”

I stared at the two tokens, sitting so innocently in my palm. “They’ll help me survive?” For a second, I was elated at my good fortune. I could hardly wait to plant them.
 

“They help you do more than survive. They allow you to become god!” He announced, looking at me with narrowed eyes. “I am the strongest Player to ever enter the Game, and I’m aiming for the ultimate power. I’m looking for allies to help me on my way. Strong people who will do whatever it takes, and don’t mind getting their hands dirty. How about it?”

It took a minute for my overwhelmed brain to understand what the braggart was asking. “You want me to join you?”

“Yes. You’re the only one here with more than one token, besides me. Even if you did only kill a little kid to get it, at least you’re ruthless. And I know you’re a bit strong, because you’ve got a spirit-type Skill. I’m going to dominate this Game and all the other useless Players, and I’ll take you with me to the top.”
 

I almost said yes. But then I saw the happy, charming smile on his face, and over his shoulder, the empty little body lying on the ground. Putrid disgust for myself washed over me. I hated myself, truly, at that moment.
 

“No. I’m not the one you want.” I turned and dragged my left leg slowly toward the cube, which now displayed the “Do you want to leave?” message, and pushed “Yes.”

Chapter 10

I carry death in my left pocket.
 

— Charles Bukowski

The feel of my suddenly lighter body and the sight of concrete walls rising up into smoggy air on either side allowed me to let out a sigh of relief. A window popped up, telling me I’d earned a few levels and Seeds. As the tension left my body, the pain and exhaustion washed over me like the waves of a rising tide. My head spun, and I fell against the wall and started to shiver. Blobs of light and dark swam across my vision, and a distant voice shocked me to alertness again.
 

With a gasp, I looked around. I didn’t know how long I’d been sitting on the ground, but numbness had overtaken my whole left leg and butt, and was spreading through my torso. I was shivering and clammy from blood loss, and my heart beat fast trying to keep my body oxygenated. “Damn it. No, no.” I shook my head helplessly. Soon, the numbness and paralysis would spread to my lungs.
 

I jabbed at my ID sheath, but the shattered surface didn’t respond. No phone call possible. I called out weakly toward the sidewalk, but the alley took a sharp turn, so no one could see me, and I was too weak to shout.
 

One last resort. “Bunny?”
 

He responded immediately.
 

YOU’RE BACK.

SHIT. YOU LOOK LIKE CRAP.

—Bunny—

I swallowed. “I need help. If I don’t get to the hospital, I’m going to die.”

WHAT’S WRONG? WHAT EXACTLY HAPPENED?

—Bunny—

My tongue felt furry and thick. “Got spit on by some monsters and my whole body’s getting paralyzed. Bit up pretty bad, blood loss…” I struggled for another breath. “Maybe a couple broken bones. Please, call an ambulance.”

I CAN’T DO THAT. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO SAY HAPPENED TO YOU? THERE’LL BE QUESTIONS.

—Bunny—

A surge of rage and desperation gave me a few morsels of energy. “If you don’t help me, I’m going to die right here on the ground! You will remember my death forever. How I begged you for help, and how you murdered me.”

No response, and then,

I CAN’T CALL AN AMBULANCE. BUT MAYBE I CAN GET HELP…

—Bunny—

The rage slipped away, and with it went my strength. My eyes closed, and when I opened them, I was somehow lying on the ground.
 

A bright orange screen pulsed inches from my face.
 

STAY AWAKE! HELP IS ON THE WAY.

TALK TO ME.

—Bunny—

I heard a deep voice speaking, panting and hoarse, but I couldn’t make out the words. I roused a bit, and tried to tell it I couldn’t understand, but all that came out was a ragged wheeze. I thought my eyes were open, but black crept in from the edges of my vision, wiping out the alley.
 

Running feet appeared in my last pinprick of sight, and then I knew only the black nothingness.
 

* * *

I woke with a gasp to a blonde boy giving me CPR.
 

He drew back with a relieved sigh and slumped against the opposite wall of the alley as I sucked for the air every cell in my body screamed for.
 

When I was re-oxygenated I sat up and stretched carefully. My legs both moved, and though the left one was considerably stiff, and still numb, I could now feel the ankle swelling painfully.

What had he done to save me? I narrowed my eyes and looked him over. Sandy blond hair, blue eyes, white teeth, and clothes that were worth more than everything in my closet put together. But the interesting things were the look in his eyes, and his exhausted shivering.
 

“Did Bunny send you?” My voice scratched against my throat and sent me into a fit of coughing.
 

He slipped off a light backpack and tossed me a half-empty water bottle from within.
 

I downed the contents in a few gulps, water overflowing and running over my cheeks and down my throat. “Thanks.” I handed the empty bottle back. "So? Did he?"

The boy took a deep breath and nodded.
 

"Did you heal me?"

He nodded again.
 

"How?"

He raised the corners of his mouth in an unhappy smile. "It's my Skill."

"Your Skill? You mean from the Characteristic Trial?" I didn't wait for his response. "Show me."

He frowned at me and didn’t move, so I smiled back as innocently as possible. "I'm Eve. What's your name?"

"Sam. Samuel, but I go by Sam." He smiled back at me, wide and open, and I decided that I liked him.
 

"How long have you been a Player, Sam?"

"A few months."

"Wow. I'm a new Player. I don't have any Skills yet, and I'd love to see your Skill in action. Would you show me?" I tried again, this time with a smile.
 

He'd stopped shivering, and gave me a half-shrug. "I guess something small couldn't hurt." He moved toward me and took my hand, which had long scratches along the palm, outlined in blood.
 

He held out his other hand. His skin separated and started to bleed, the same pattern as the cuts on my hand. Then it closed up again, gone as if it had never been.
 

He wiped the blood off on his jeans and showed me the unmarred skin. Then he rubbed at my cuts with his thumb, and the dried blood flaked off, showing skin just as smooth as if I'd never been cut.
 

My mouth hung open and I flexed my hand. It didn’t hurt. "It's gone. You took the injury from me?"

He nodded. "That's my Skill. I take the injury on myself and heal it." He looked down for a moment and in the blue depths of his eyes, I saw a shadow move, but it passed.
 

"That's completely amazing!"
 

He gave me a small smile. "Not really. I can't heal everything as easily as that cut. For instance, your poison. I only took a bit of that. I can't do anything about your previous blood loss, and I'll have to do a few more passes before you can be safely left alone. But I took care of the lung paralysis, so we've got time."
 

I shook my head. "No. It really is amazing. And you've been a Player for months. That in itself is amazing, too. Do you have others to help you?"

He shook his head. "No. I play alone."

Good. That meant I might be able to use him without the hindrance of other Players.
 

"And you'll want to burn or bury these pants. Don't wash them. The saliva might be reactivated if you do, and you don't want that spreading through the city's water system." He placed his hand on my hip, and some of the numbness from that area receded. He took a few minutes of rest while his body fought off the effects of the poison, and then did it again, and again, moving down my left leg toward the original point of contact.
 

Then he placed his hand on my rib and some of the pain of each breath flowed away. My armored vest had returned to its original state of two black bands crossing my chest sometime while I’d been too out of it to notice the change.
 

“You've got a few fractures there. I'm not healing them completely, but I've given you a jumpstart on the process."
 

"Why did you come?"

He shrugged. "I came because I heard you needed me. What else could I do?"

I laughed. "You could have ignored me. Or you could have used my weakness against me."
 

"Well, I guess I could have. But for what?"
 

"I can think of a few things. Like Seeds. But you wouldn't do that, would you? Because you're a genuinely good person."
 

His eyes rose to mine in surprise. "I'm not, really. I use good behavior to mask the truth."
 

"The truth?" I parroted.
 

"I’m not an angel. I'm the harbinger of death," he murmured, and stood up, obviously exhausted from his efforts. "I've got to get home. My parents might be wondering where I'm at."

I nodded and rose carefully to my feet. If he didn't want to discuss his secret with me, that was fine. I could understand that. But it didn't change the judgment I'd made of him. "Thank you, Sam. Really. You saved my life." I met his eyes, making sure my own held that judgment of him clear to see.
 

He looked at me for a moment, then smiled happily, gave me a nod of acknowledgment, and started to walk away.
 

"Wait!"

He turned.
 

"Give me your contact information."

He hesitated, so I stepped forward, limping from the pain of my sprained ankle. "Please. I just want to be able to contact you in case something happens. You can trust me."
 

He held out his wrist with an ID bracelet on it, but my link was too broken to accept the flashed information.
 

"Just tell me. I'll remember your number," I said.

I stood in silence for a while after he’d gone, and then spoke into the empty air. "Bunny. Thank you."

YOU’RE WELCOME, EVE.

—Bunny—

* * *

I entered my house carefully in case my mother and brother were there. My clothes were once again ruined, and despite what Sam had done for me, injuries riddled my body. How would I explain that? ‘I got mugged by a meat processor?’ I placed my hand on the doorknob to my bedroom and turned the handle slowly so as not to make too much noise.
 

"Where were y— What happened?" Zed's urgent voice came from his bedroom doorway, which he had just opened.
 

I opened my mouth and closed it again, like a fish.

He looked me up and down, then rushed toward me and grabbed my shoulders as if I might collapse at any moment. "Oh my god. Are you okay? What the hell happened?"
 

I shook my head sharply. "Shh! Be quiet."
 

He frowned down at me as if I was crazy. "What do you mean, be quiet? You're hurt bad, Eve! I'm going to call Mom."

I clapped my hand over his mouth and shook my head vehemently, then dragged him into my room. I closed and locked the door behind us and turned back to him. "You can't tell anyone about this. Please."

"Tell anyone about
what
? Were you bullied? Did someone hurt you? Just tell me who it was, Eve. I'll make sure they never touch you again."
 

I smiled and shook my head, looking at his clenched fists. He wanted to be the savior, but there was nothing he could do about this. He couldn't know. I didn't want him to be the subject of one of NIX’s cleanup operations. Would they make it look like another run away? Or maybe an accidental death? "Trust me, Zed. You don’t understand. I'm doing this for your own good. Please, just listen to me. Trust me. Have I ever led you wrong before?"

He sputtered and shook his head. "I can't just
ignore
this. I—”

I cut him off. "I'm not asking you to ignore it. I'm asking you to keep it a secret. I'm asking you to not ask questions. Please. I need you to do this for me." I looked into his eyes and imbued my voice with as much sincerity as possible.
 

He clenched his jaw and frowned at me as if in pain. After a long, tense moment, he said, "Can't you let me help you?"