Chapter 18 Crossing Lines
Cressida's POV
Isolde is standing outside my apartment when we arrive.
She looks normal at first—same purple hoodie, same bright smile. But then she turns and I see it. Black veins crawling up her neck like poisoned rivers. Her eyes flicker between brown and obsidian.
"Cress!" She waves happily. "I've been waiting forever. Where have you been?"
I can't move. Can't breathe. This is my fault. This girl who wanted to help make the city better—I'm killing her.
Thaddeus puts a hand on my shoulder. "Stay calm. Don't let her know anything's wrong."
"How can I stay calm? Look at her!"
"She doesn't know she's transforming yet. The corruption tricks the mind, makes victims think they're fine." He studies Isolde carefully. "We have maybe hours before she realizes what's happening."
I force myself to walk toward her. Every step feels like moving through mud.
"Hey, Isolde. What are you doing here so late?"
"I found something!" She pulls out her laptop, fingers flying across the keyboard. "Remember Captain Vespera Hale? I dug deeper into her files. She's not just corrupt—she's running an entire network. Drug trafficking, human smuggling, murder for hire." Her eyes shine with excitement. "This is our biggest target yet!"
The way she says "our" makes my chest hurt. Like we're partners. Like we're friends.
Like I'm not currently killing her.
"That's great research," I manage to say. "But maybe we should take a break tonight. You look tired."
"Tired? I feel amazing!" She does a little spin. "Actually, I feel better than I have in years. Stronger. Faster. Like I could run a marathon." She grabs my hands. "Is this what you feel like all the time? This power?"
Where our skin touches, I feel it—my corruption flowing into her. Feeding the transformation. Making it worse.
I pull away quickly. "Isolde, we need to talk."
"About what?" She tilts her head. The gesture looks wrong somehow. Too sharp. Too predatory.
Thaddeus steps forward. "About what's happening to you. The black veins. The strange feelings. You're sick, Isolde."
Her smile fades. "Sick? What are you talking about?"
"Show her," Thaddeus tells me. "She needs to see."
I pull up my sleeves, revealing my own black veins. Then I point at Isolde's arms. "Look. You have them too."
Isolde stares at her arms. For a moment, genuine fear crosses her face. "What... what is this?"
"It's called corruption. It's what happens when you get too close to someone like me." Tears blur my vision. "I infected you, Isolde. I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you."
She backs away. "Infected? Like a disease?"
"Worse than a disease." Thaddeus's voice is gentle but firm. "It's a supernatural curse. And in a few hours, maybe less, you'll transform into something called a Hollow One. A monster that feeds on human suffering."
"No." Isolde shakes her head. "That's crazy. That's not real."
"It's very real." I step toward her. "But we're going to help you. We're going to find a way to cure—"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Isolde screams. Her eyes flash completely black for a second. "You did this? You infected me?"
"I didn't know! I swear I didn't know!"
"LIAR!" She throws her laptop at my head. I dodge easily. Too easily. My reflexes are inhuman now.
Isolde runs. She's fast—faster than any normal human should be. The transformation is giving her speed.
"We need to follow her!" I start running.
Thaddeus grabs my arm. "Wait. Let me track her with Lumiel's senses. If we chase her now, we'll just scare her more."
"She's terrified and transforming and it's MY FAULT!" I wrench free. "I'm not losing another person I care about!"
I chase Isolde through the city streets. She's heading toward the Rust Quarter—the dangerous part of town where gangs rule and police rarely patrol.
Bad place to lose control.
I catch up to her in an alley. She's cornered, back against a wall, eyes wild.
"Stay away from me!" She holds up her hands defensively. "I don't want to hurt you!"
"Isolde, please. Let us help."
"Help? You turned me into a monster!" Black veins pulse across her face now. "I can feel it inside me. Something hungry. Something that wants to hurt people." She looks at her shaking hands. "What did you do to me?"
"I made a deal with a devil. I got power to fight bad guys, but it came with a cost. Everyone I touch gets infected." I move closer slowly. "But there's a way to break it. A way to cure you."
"How?"
"I have to sacrifice what I value most. Do the opposite of why I made the deal." I meet her eyes. "I'm working on it. I promise."
"You promise?" She laughs bitterly. "Your promises mean nothing. You promised to protect people. Instead, you're spreading a plague!"
The words hit hard because they're true.
Thaddeus appears at the alley entrance. "Step away from her, Cressida."
"No! She's still fighting it!"
"She's seconds from Stage Three manifestation. I can see the corruption taking over." He moves closer. "I'm sorry, but we're running out of time."
"Please don't!" Isolde slides down the wall. "I don't want to be a monster. I don't want to hurt people!" She looks at me desperately. "Cress, help me. Please help me."
I kneel beside her. "I will. I swear I will."
"How much time does she have?" I ask Thaddeus.
"Hours. Maybe less." He checks his phone. "And we have another problem."
He shows me the screen. News alerts. Emergency broadcasts. Live footage of chaos in downtown Veridale. People attacking each other in the streets. Black veins visible on their skin. Eyes flashing obsidian.
The reporter's voice shakes: "Mass hysteria has broken out across the city. Hundreds of people showing violent, aggressive behavior..."
"The acceleration," Thaddeus breathes. "All your infections are manifesting early. Not three days. Now."
"How many?" My voice barely works.
"Hundreds transforming right now. By morning, it'll be thousands."
Isolde stares at the footage. "This is what I'm going to become?"
"Not if I can help it." I stand up. "Thaddeus, you said three people broke devil contracts. Tell me exactly how they did it."
"They sacrificed what they valued most in a way that went against their contract's core purpose." He meets my eyes. "For you, that means giving up your mission. Accepting that bad people win and you can't stop them."
I think about Captain Vespera Hale. About all the corrupt officials still destroying lives. About surrendering when there's so much left to do.
Can I do it? Can I let evil triumph to save the innocent?
Before I can answer, every phone in the room starts buzzing.
My phone shows a call from unknown number. I answer.
"Having fun watching your city burn?" Sable's voice purrs through the speaker. "But here's a twist for you, darling. Killing infected people won't stop anything. The infection is self-sustaining now. Even if you die, the transformations continue."
"You're lying."
"Am I? Watch the news again. See that woman who just transformed? Watch what happens when she touches someone."
I look at the footage. A fully transformed Hollow One grabs a bystander. That person immediately starts showing black veins. Transforming on contact.
"It's exponential now," Sable laughs. "Secondary infection creates tertiary infection. In twenty-four hours, every person in Veridale will be a Hollow One. And it's all thanks to you."
The call ends.
I stare at Thaddeus and Isolde. "We can't stop it. Even breaking the contract won't save them now."
"Then what do we do?" Isolde's voice is small, scared.
Thaddeus looks at his blade. At me. At the burning city on the news.
"We save who we can," he says finally. "And we prepare for war."