Chapter 6 · Hollowborn - Chapter 6: Put Her on the Purge List

Marcus stood five feet away from me. Close enough I could see the scar on his left eyebrow, the one everyone said he got during the Purge War. He wasn't even breathing hard.

"You look just like her," he said. His voice was soft. Almost gentle. That scared me more than the guns.

The scarred soultaker leader stepped between us. "She's under our protection, Vane."

"Protection." Marcus tilted his head. "That's a funny word coming from someone who just tried to walk her into a ritual circle."

My throat went dry. "What?"

"The coordinates he gave you lead to the old bell tower on Eighth Street." Marcus pulled out a tablet, flicked his finger across the screen. An image appeared—chalk marks forming a massive circle, symbols I'd seen in Mom's journal bleeding into the concrete. "We found this two hours ago. Fresh markings. Someone's been preparing."

The scarred man's jaw tightened. "That's not—"

"Shut up." Marcus didn't even look at him. His eyes stayed on me. "Your mother tried to destroy the rite ten years ago. She failed. Burned alive in the archive hall before she could finish."

I couldn't breathe. Cole's voice whispered in my head, faint and cracked.