The Maad Doctor [The Maad Series #1]

|21| Thou Shall Seek Thee Hiders.

Ono steered left and right as the black UTV swirled through the streets of Archaic. Stella was on the passenger side, wearing a fox skull and fur cloak Ono had given her. She looked like a member of Bones. Echo and Jojo were at the back, sporting a gorilla and cheetah skull, respectively.

"You were clever not putting Sky's address on the flyer. It reduces the number of people going to her apartment."

"When we capture her, leave her to me," Stella said with gritted teeth. Ono glanced at Stella, then faced forward. Stella couldn't tell what the woman was contemplating with the lion skull on her face.

"As you wish." Ono rotated the wheel with force, making the UTV swerve to the right. Then she jerked the gear back and forth before stepping on the accelerator.

People were in the streets loading and sharpening their weapons. Others were in groups having a discussion. They all seemed prepared for the bounty hunt.

"Do you smell that, Slayer?" Ora asked.

Indeed, Stella thought. The scent of death reeked in the air, poisoning the minds and hearts of the innocent. "Many people will die today."

"You feel it too? Good." Ono said. "Now you know how serious this is. Your mother was stupid to drop those flyers. She should have sent professionals instead. This bounty hunt could destabilize Sin City."

"What if that's what they want?" Stella asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Virtue City..." Stella nibbled her lower lip, unsure if she should tell Ono or not. I owe nothing to Virtue City. "Virtue City is at maximum capacity and won't last for long floating in the sky. Magic held it up for all these years. But with its banishment, the city is falling apart. You won't know that because the Founding Families have withheld the fact. But they have been seeking ways to get rid of people in Sin City without causing a civil war."

"Why?"

"They want to make it the new Virtue City."

"Are you sure?"

"Indeed."

"Did your mother tell you? Do you think she would go that far?"

Lady Camilla loved playing games. A masquerade being this year's auction theme was proof. But Stella didn't hear it from her mother. A suitor had blabbed on a drunken tirade where he also confessed his love of feet.

"My mother is a terrible person, but the Founding Families are worse."

"Believe me, I know. The things I've seen out there... I will never trust those in positions of power."

Silence washed over them like a tidal wave. Stella gazed at the flyer in her hands while Ono focused on the road. As she stared at Sky's image, Stella realized she hadn't thought this through. What would she do after capturing Sky? She didn't want to kill her right away. That would be a mercy kill. Stella wanted to inflict as much pain on her as possible. But that would be hard with everyone after her. She would have to find a private place to do it.

"How long was I asleep for?" Jojo's voice asked from the backseat.

"Not long enough," Ono replied.

Stella watched Jojo through the rearview mirror and saw her taking off the cheetah skull. Jojo then rubbed her bloodshot eyes and then yawned. Echo slept beside her. All the free food she ate when they were in the airship made her sleepy. When Stella locked eyes with Jojo, she panicked and looked outside the UTV.

The buildings were uneven and jagged. They looked like they weren't from this era. There were women taking clothes from a clothesline, and others hung them on a balcony's guard rail. Most of them had a child strapped to their back or front.