"Darian," she whispered. Her hand trembled as she touched him. His body sucked healing power from her. The lingering sickness in his body fled, gone for good.
"No!" Darian roared.
The world around them stopped-- literally. The car, the traffic, the wind, all went motionless. Darian fought himself, groping with glazed eyes for the crumpled Oracle. Bianca pushed herself away, uncertain which terrified her more: Darian's meltdown or the fact he'd stopped the world in its place.
Talon's jaw was lax, his eyes wide.
"What the fuck did you do?" he demanded, the first to break the terse silence.
She could hardly breathe, as if the air in the car was running out. The devil's cold dark eyes flared and turned black. The devil reached over to Darian, placing a hand on his red forehead. The door tore off, and Darian was flung out, his grip around the Oracle tight enough to take her with him. Before they hit the pavement, they disappeared.
"Get outta the car," the devil ordered. Bianca couldn't move. Talon got out then reached in and snatched her, dragging her out.
The world was dead. There were no sounds, no movement but theirs. Everyone and everything around them had frozen in mid-movement, like an eerie sculpture garden.
"Pop-- " Talon said, staring around them.
"Don't ever call me that," the devil snarled. "You're the son of some whore I don't even remember!"
Bianca righted herself. Talon released her, wired and uneasy. The devil looked around.
"Can't you fix this?" Talon demanded. He began to pace.
She looked into the car beside them at the smiling family frozen in place. Afraid of what she'd feel, she resisted the urge to touch them.
This can't be real.
Though his eyes were still dark, the devil appeared calm. He struck off in one direction, back the way they'd come.
"Pop, what the-- "
"Shut the fuck up. Bring the girl. We're going back to the portal."
Talon appeared as baffled as Bianca felt. He paused and then snatched her arm, following the devil as he walked down a sidewalk full of frozen figures.
"Creepy, screwed up …" Talon mumbled then stopped. He withdrew a small case with a needle in it and several small vials. She watched him shoot up. At once, the tension eased from his frame, and his eyes went glassy. He returned the case and grabbed her again.
She brushed one of the frozen women trapped in time on the sidewalk, surprised to feel her warm skin and the brush of the wool suit. Cold fear spiraled through her.
What kind of creature could do this?
*****
"How many people in the village?" Dusty asked.