World on Fire

Dominick flew the helicopter back to the hotel. Wrecked, it looked like the center of a war zone. Not too far from the truth. Various sections of the building blazed or smoldered, and an entire wing of it had cracked open like a clam shell.

Abigail ran through the train, leaping across the walkways and heading toward the engine. Nida must be somewhere up ahead, but she couldn’t see her yet. The demon proved easy to follow, however, because she’d left all of the doors open along the way.

Dominick sensed that something had gone wrong even before he made it to the hotel room where Haatim’s mother stayed. The lobby stood nearly empty with few guests staying at this time of year.

“But you’re … you’re …” “Dead?” Nida grinned. “I was, but I am no longer.” “How?” Haatim asked. “How is this possible?”

The trip back to Lausanne passed uneventfully for Abigail. She kept expecting to see Colton, Anong, and Jack coming after her, but during her two days on the road and flying in, she never came across them.

Haatim noticed that the external security grid seemed to ramp up around the hotel each time another Council member showed up. Eleven such members resided here now, counting Frieda, which meant that only two more were on their way before deliberations could begin in Frieda Gotlieb’s trial.

Haatim rested in his room, reading a book. A knock sounded at the door. He assumed it must be Dominick, coming to spar some more, and didn’t feel in the mood. Not after everything that had happened earlier in the day.

“Did you find anything useful?” Abigail asked. “Not yet,” Mitchell said. He reclined on his beanbag chair with his water bong and stared at the ceiling.

Abigail arrived at her destination sometime in the afternoon. Not having eaten in almost twenty-four hours, she felt starved. However, covered in blood, she couldn’t risk stopping anywhere for food.