Dusk

Chapter Fourteen

"Who are you?"

"Cassandra Sullivan."

"Sullivan? Your father is Senator Robert Sullivan, right?"

"Yup, that's him."

"Your mother's from the Outer Ring, right?"

"That's correct."

"So, why are you here?"

"My dad pulled some strings to get me back here after the Blot. Sorry if I'm a little inept- I lost my memory because of it."

"Oh, finally," Ezra says, throwing his head back. "You actually managed to sound natural this time."

"I put a lot of effort into that." I tell him.

Lex puts a hand on my shoulder. "That was fantastic. Keep that up and no one will suspect a thing."

"Hopefully," I say, leaning back against the rail in the elevator. "I want this to work out."

My words leave a bitter taste in my mouth. Deva Amador, assassin. It's enough to make me cringe. I am not a killer.

But I'll have to be.

Lex seems to notice the change in my mood instantly. She clears her throat to grab my attention. When I glance at her, she's looking up at me with those large viridian eyes, sincerity radiating from her every pore.

"You may not realize it now, Deva, but..." She gives me an earnest smile, her full lips spreading over her immaculately white teeth. "You're doing a good thing."

The doors of the elevators open soundlessly. We step out of it and into the garage, the shapes of many identical black cars appearing in the half-light. Anden waits by one of them, dressed in simple white clothing.

"I didn't know that you'd be coming," I state. "Are you just driving me there?"

He shakes his head, his dark eyes boring into mine. "I'll be staying with you as your personal servant."

Lex mentioned that it was commonplace for Elites to have attendants from the Outer Ring, so I'd been expecting some company, but I didn't think it'd be Anden.

"Aren't you kind of... you know... conspicuous?" I grumble the next bit, still sour over the topic. "People from all over probably know your face after you beat me in the X-Brawls."

Anden doesn't reply. Instead he pulls what appears to be a small, white compact mirror from his pocket. A long beam of blue light engulfs him; it moves over his face and leaves little dots behind. Soon after, his face changes into one very unlike his own. The face is narrower, with sunken hazel eyes, a hooked nose, thick eyebrows, and hair that is tied back in a simple tail.

"The software from your friend?" I turn to Lex.

She nods. "Undetectable by scanners." She reminds me.

Ezra goes to the car Anden's standing by, kicking one of the rubber wheels. "So, where's Mr. Mask?" He asks casually.

One of Anden's new eyes twitches. "You can't refer to Idris as Mr. Mask. What kind of-"

"I think I like that nickname."

I turn around, blood rushing to my cheeks. Idris stands in front of the elevator doors, dressed as he was when I had first met him, with his black bodysuit, blood-red cape, and mask. When I woke up this morning, he was gone, but his scent had lingered. While Lex was laying out my clothes, I'd embarrassingly buried my face in my pillow, trying to inhale as much of the residual soothing aroma as possible.