The City Of Death

Chapter Sixteen- Macy

"What?!" I refuse to believe what I've just been told. I'm not sure what I believe less- the fact that I've been Marked, or the fact that I didn't know. If I actually am Marked, how could I not know? Surely there would have been some physical sign, right? But yet, with the way Atlas and Gemma are still looking at me, eyes wide, I have to believe it. Their reaction was so visceral and so very hard to fake. Even the gryphons, who are sticking close to Gemma, seem nervous. The adult has her eyes wary, and the young one, who had sidled up to its mother, is giving me a wary look. "What the hell do you mean?" 

"You didn't know," Atlas says under his breath, and I look over at him. 

"Clearly I didn't know!" I snap, and Gemma lets out a long exhale, shaking her head. 

"It's not totally surprising," she mentions. "It's in a place that you can't see on your own, and it blends in with the color of your hair. Whichever Vulture Marked you, they were smart about it." 

"I don't even know how to feel about this," I say, putting my head in my hands. "What do I do now?" 

"Let's go to Savannah. I know enough about Marks to recognize one when I see it, but that's as far as my knowledge goes. Savannah, though, is a bit of an expert. She knows everything about Marks, and so far, Matt's is the only one she didn't know how to deal with. She'll be able to tell you what to do next, and she may even be able to tell you how you got it," Gemma explains, and I nod, taking a shaky breath. Gemma pats the heads of both gryphons, and they take off into the air, flying back to the mountain. 

My head spins as I follow Gemma to Savannah's tent. Atlas is beside me, gently squeezing my shoulder as we walk. As confused as I am, one thing is quite clear to me now. One thing that confirms that I have been Marked. And that one thing is Lucifer's presence in my mind. He said, very early on, that he wouldn't have let me go into the Outside without a way to communicate with me. At the time, I didn't question it. But now, I'm thinking back to that statement. 

Is it possible that the Mark is how he's able to communicate with me? Is it the Mark that allows his voice into my head? And if that's the case, how much can he see? Can he look into my head whenever he wants and see whatever he desires? The thought makes me nervous. If he can pick through my mind, he probably knows about my doubts. He knows that I haven't been doing much to complete my mission. Hell, I haven't even tried to find out what protects the Renegades from the Cardinals. In the grand scheme of things, I'm no closer to completing my mission than I was a month ago. 

In many ways, I'm further than ever. 

But the question remains, how did I even get my Mark? Now, I don't know much about Marks, seeing as I'd never heard of them until I learned of Matt's, but from what I understand, one has to be touched to receive a Mark. Lucifer certainly hadn't touched me before I entered the Outside. Even if it didn't take a physical touch, certainly there would have been some sort of sign that I was Marked? Something to tell me that it was there? 

"Savannah!" In all my inner mental twisting, I hadn't even noticed that we'd gotten to Savannah's medical tent. Gemma takes my hand and we burst into the tent, Atlas hot on our heels. Savannah's sitting on the ground, holding a pestle in both hands, a mortar secured between her feet. She looks up at us when we enter, the two other people in the tent looking over, as well. Israel is sitting on one of the cots with Rosalie on his lap. The little girl is leaning against her father's chest, a slight sheen of sweat covering her skin and a cough that sounds like it's rattling her entire chest. 

"Hey, guys. You need Savannah, too?" Israel asks, his voice shaking. I didn't notice when we entered, but Israel looks terrified. But I suppose any parent with a sick child would be scared.