Summary

In Chapter 21, Royce wakes up when the cart stops. He is in a lot of pain. There is a tarp over the cart. He cuts a hole in the tarp so that he can see. They are in a city. He does not recognize it. The driver of the cart is gone and the streets are deserted. The wagon looks like a peasant’s cart. He can hear Hadrian struggling for breath. Royce pulls himself up to a sitting position. The pain is horrible. He wonders how long they have been in the wagon.

Royce acts without a plan for the first time in decades. Merrick had taught him to always have a plan. He knew Hadrian was dying and he had to act. He lets himself fall to the ground. He ignores the pain and crawls to the closet door and hammers it...