Page 86 of The Echo of Forever

“We must proceed,” our guide announced. “It’s now or never.”

Never sounded better, but I was too much of a simp for her to say no.

“Alright,” I whispered, pressing my lips to her forehead. “But if I say get low, do it and don’t make me ask twice, understood?”

She nodded and kissed my chin.

“I understand.”

We fell back in step behind our guide, moving deeper into the property. The path was lit with torches, more fake fire if I had to guess.

A sonic ionizer, water, and a few halogen light bulbs could give the illusion of fire. They were trying to draw me in with pieces of her.

“The drugs are wearing off,” Forever whispered, leaning closer to me. “My head’s starting to hurt again.”

Her headaches were more important than this.

Our guide stopped at the end of the path and stepped aside.

“The high priest awaits.”

Lucien stood alone in the clearing, dressed in an identical black robe with his mask removed.

“It’s been a while,friend,” he said, tossing me one of those manic smiles he’d perfected over the years. “You’ve caused quite the stir outside of Everwood. We didn’t agree to more than half of it.”

I felt Forever’s gaze on mine.

“That why you went running to my wife?” I asked, annoyed by his presence. “Didn’t take you for the type.”

He chuckled, but I ain’t find shit funny.

“Uh. What the fuck is this?” Forever asked.

I cut my eyes at her.

“This is the part where I tell you he’s always been on our side,” I confessed. “However, our ally kept this secret to himself.”

Had she not answered my call the other night and told me about his visit, I’d still be none the wiser.

“I did what I had to do. And now that you’ve both been cleared, I can pass along something important.”

Kill him.

Kill him not.

Kill—

“No need to plan my death, Demetrius. What I have for you is well worth the commitment you made tonight.”

He turned to Forever and pushed a thumb drive into her free hand.

“The job your father assigned to you was to take out a spy planted in the collective’s inner circle. Her name…” He glanced at me. “…was Aurelia Samuels.”

Now I knew why my wife didn’t want to discuss the job as we had with others. She’d been up to no good, going beyond what we agreed on.

“Oh,” she muttered from beside me. “I think I’m in trouble.”

Lucien ignored that, and so did I.