Black Holes - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 3

Chapter Nine

"You want to destroy the Mors Mortis Device?" Danny asked again.

Riley's face was expressionless. "Yes."

"You want to kill Seth and ruin everything the S.I.S has done to keep our worlds safe?"

Riley grimaced, and for the first time, Zarah pitied her. She didn't know Riley well, but she was certain the heaviness in Riley's expression hadn't always been there. It was the kind that came from extremes, from being forced to question everything you knew.

"Stop saying want," Riley said. "I don't want to do any of this, but—"

"But nothing," Danny snapped, standing up and, this time, managing to stay there. "You can't do it. You'd never be able to kill Seth."

Riley's chin tilted up.

"This isn't only about Seth anymore. We've run out of other options."

Danny started swearing profusely and with more colour than Zarah thought him capable of, but she ignored him, looking at Riley.

"How are you going to get to Seth?" Zarah asked. "He's alive and you're here."

Zarah glanced at Danny for confirmation and he nodded, the movement a harsh jerk.

"I told you," Riley said. "I went through one of the portals. I'll be able to do it again. And Seth trusts me. When all this happened, something changed. He can pull me there now, stabilise things a bit."

"Well, why aren't we exploring that?" Danny asked. "Maybe he can stabilise everything?"

"Or maybe he'll make it all worse and hurt himself!"

Danny's gaze filled with something Zarah hoped she'd never find directed her way. It made her think of storms — of undulating grey fury and heat lightning.

"So you've convinced him to kill himself and everyone else alongside him? Great job."

Riley's gaze hardened. "I didn't have to convince him, Danny. He's seen what the portals can do, just like we have. Nothing stops them. You could chuck an atomic bomb into one of those things and all you'd get is a hiccup. The only way we'll be rid of them is by cutting them off at the source."

"And damning the live world in the process?"

"Better than damning all of us!"

They were both breathing heavily, staring daggers at each other, and Zarah shifted in her seat.

"Are you sure there's no other way to fix this?" she asked. "Or at least slow the portals down?"

Riley turned on her, and Zarah felt a strange sense of relief. Danny had been close to losing it. She'd seen it in the strain of his muscles against his skin, and Riley was rising to match his fury.

If Riley reacted to a stranger in her apartment by clocking them over the head with a kettle, Zarah didn't want to know what'd happen if she and Danny actually went head to head.

"If there is another way, we don't have the time to find it," Riley said. "Danny knows that as well as I do. He's just refusing to accept it."

Danny stared at Riley for a second and then shook his head.

"So, what's your plan? Just sit around and wait for Seth to find the knife and stab himself?"

Riley's fists clenched, and Zarah could tell she was fighting the urge to throw something at him.

"I'm not the bad guy here," she seethed. "Stop treating me like one. The S.I.S was built to protect humanity. If you know a better way to do it, I'm all ears, but saving one world is better than none."

"Fine," Danny said stiffly. "Turn into the next Brenton Caldwell. Don't blame me when I end up having to hurt you."

Riley jerked back as if he'd slapped her, and her eyes flared.

"Well, unluckily for you, you'll never get the chance. Once we've got a few roadblocks out of the way, this is happening. You can thank me later, Dan."

She turned, stomping towards the door. But before she could reach it, Danny was there, the knife Riley had discarded on the table materialising in his hand, and Riley swore, pulling a gun from the back of her pants and pointing it straight at his head.

Zarah let out a little squeak. How many hidden weapons had Riley been walking around with? She was about to dive for the gun she'd discarded on the couch when the redhead's eyes flicked to her.

"Don't even think about it," Riley warned.

Zarah froze, looking at Danny for direction, and the focus she saw in his eyes made her wonder whether he'd been faking his head injury the whole time.

"So, you're really doing this?" Danny asked.

"Yes," Riley said. "And you do not want to try me again today. Trust me. Now, move."

Danny eyed her. For a moment, Zarah thought he wasn't going to do it, and she'd end up stuck in this apartment with an unconscious body once again. But then his jaw clenched, and he stepped to the side. The movement was small, but enough for Riley to slip past, and she took her opening quickly, disappearing into the darkness of the corridor as Danny stared after her.

"Shit," he said softly.

"Did you know she had a gun?" Zarah asked.

"No, I probably should've guessed, though. Riley always had a tendency to stash weapons under her clothes."

Zarah decided not to ask how Danny knew that, as he crossed to the window and peered out. She moved to his side, watching as Riley emerged from the front of the building and started jogging away, heading towards the police station.

"What do we do now?" Zarah asked.

"We stop her," Danny said. "Riley's tough. But she's not discreet."

"What do you mean?"

Danny turned to her.

"She mentioned roadblocks, things that would get in the way of Seth successfully severing the connection between the worlds. There's only two people I know who might be able to do that, and my bet is that we were right to keep trying to get into Narra Police Station. One of them must be in there."

...

Hello everyone!

What did you think of the chapter? How are you liking the increased focus on Danny and Zarah in this book?

I have some exciting news, and some not so exciting news:

The exciting news: I'm going to be participating in the Open Novella Contest (#ONC2022) this year! I've never done it before and I'm really looking forward to pushing myself to write a whole Novella in 2 months! 

The not-so-exciting news: While I'm doing ONC2022, I'm going to keep working on Black Holes at the same time, but my chapter updates will be stalled. I'm not sure what exactly I'm going to be able to handle until ONC2022 starts, but I'm hoping I'll still be able to post once every month.  

Hope this isn't too disappointing for anyone! If you're absolutely desperate for me to stick to a post every two weeks, let me know and I'll try my absolute best! :) 

- Skylar xx