Evolved [Book 2 of the Life Hearts Trilogy]

The End of Last Life

Ren Dog was slain by Martyn Littlewood

What had I just witnessed?

That was worse than Cleo and me. It was worse than Bigb and Cleo. For both Third Life and Last Life, these two had been allies.

Or so Ren had thought. So everyone had thought.

I had been allies with Martyn through Third Life. Had he been tricking me, too?

This had to be either a brilliant lie or a brilliant actor. I wasn't sure which was worse.

Martyn picked the crown out of the pool of blood that was all that remained of Ren. He placed it lopsidedly on his head and plopped into one of the chairs. "Okay," he said. "Now that I'm boss, we can wait for Joey."

Tango looked at him with horror. "I followed Ren because I was with him in Hermitcraft. I trust him. You're practically a stranger. My loyalty wasn't to the Crown. It was to the person who held it."

Then he ran up the steps, toward where Scott and I were. We pressed ourselves into the shadows in hope that he wouldn't see us. He glanced in our direction, but didn't otherwise acknowledge us as he hurried out of the Shadow Tower, probably headed back to the Roctopus.

Martyn, now alone, said, "You can come out now."

I held my breath. He didn't know we were there.

"I know you're there," Martyn continued. "You can't hide from shadows in shadows."

We didn't move. I hoped that he was just thinking that there might be eavesdroppers so he was trying to get the ones he didn't know for sure were there to come out. But then he shot an arrow that landed right in between my feet.

"There's at least one of you up there. I just want to talk."

I gestured for Scott to leave. He shook his head. I gave him a push, and he finally left to tell the others we had been discovered.

I took a breath and went down the stairs.

Martyn smiled triumphantly. "There you are! Where are the others?"

"Still at camp," I said. "I came alone."

"Probably for the best," Martyn said. "Then Ren would have killed all of you instead of just one."

"Ren's not going to kill any of us," I pointed out. "He's dead."

Martyn shrugged. "I have to be honest, I didn't walk into that meeting thinking I was going to kill Ren. But it was time."

I didn't like the complete lack of remorse that Martyn's voice contained. He didn't care at all.

"You don't deserve that crown," I said, pushing my luck. Maybe I could get a better version of him to rise to the surface.

He snorted. "Who does? You?"

I shuddered. "Nobody does."

"Then I suppose you'd destroy another priceless artifact? Preferably me with it?"

"'Priceless artifact' isn't what I'd call that," I said. "More like 'thing that owns you more than you own it.'"

"I'm in control," Martyn said.

I drew my sword. "Since when are you making deals with the Watchers?"

Martyn turned away, his cheerful facade gone. "Before Third Life. It was a world called Evolution."

I'm pretty sure that he was about to give some dramatic speech about the horrors of that world, but I interrupted him, whining, "Why are there so many Evolutioners here? You, Pearl, Jimmy, and Pearl hinted at Grian being one, too."