Annem’s blinking suit went shiny with a hazy glow.
“We don’t have much time.” Arden was already moving Annem to stand, while still keeping her in her arms.
She shifted to one side while Coco came up on the other. Together they lifted Annem between them. Annem cried out as her arm was lifted over Coco’s shoulder.
“I know,” Coco crooned. “But I can’t carry you by myself.”
It took them some trial and error to start moving out of the room. They stood by the door leading into the next set of rings, waiting for it to open. Annem was slung between them. Her head dipped forward, and Arden could hear her panting.
Arden felt her hot breath venting back to her inside the air-breather. Her body was tense, but she held it still, allowing no movement to ruin the illusion of the net-tech.
Waiting was the worst. If she could move, if she could be doing something, then she wouldn’t feel so useless.
She used the time to map out their route in her head, to prepare herself for any eventuality. They had to get through the entire facility in order to escape into the city. Her heartbeat pounded as she mentally calculated the distance. They’d take each ring efficiently, watching for traps. All the doors would be open. There would be hundreds of govies roaming the halls.
It wasn’t about speed. It was about calculation and avoidance. Though it was a bit difficult to sneak through the halls with an injured person.
Arden had no doubt the others were safe. They only had to make it out of the first ring to cross to the outside. That could be done easily enough simply by slipping past the first wave of govies.
She, Coco, and Annem could do this too. They were strong. Yet if anything happened, she knew the others had the same philosophy she did. It was get out of here or die. There were no other options.
Finally the door to the next ring opened. Govies poured in. They were suited up with blast-phasers. They wore their govie-greens with helmets and phase shields pulled down to cover their faces.
Arden felt her tension wind up, and yet a calm also settled over her. A peacefulness that let her know that they were about to do something amazing. The high of adrenaline was starting to spike in her system, and she grinned.
They waited until the door was clear enough to move through it three people wide. It became a jigsaw getting through the maze of hallways. They’d have to back up sometimes or turn sideways. Often having to press against the wall for minutes at a time until it was clear enough for them to move through.
Two rings from the exit, Coco said in a whisper through the comm, “We’re leaving a blood trail.”
Arden looked over her shoulder. The blood from Annem’s wound had soaked through the suit. She glanced at the floor. It wasn’t bad, a few drops every so many feet. Then she checked the wall they’d been pressed against and saw the smear.
Fantastic.
It wouldn’t be long until that would be seen. The trail led straight to them. “We need to move faster.”
Coco nodded, and they increased their speed to a near run. They started taking more risks. Slinking through even tighter spaces. They no longer waited for areas to be empty, instead simply striding past govies who were still clearing rooms. There was no time for caution.
Movement stirred in the halls. She could feel the alertness before she heard the alarm, the squeak of instructions given to the govies. Arden heard someone say, “Blood.”
Her heart raced and her body pumped. Straining her muscles, she pushed them harder. The three of them didn’t bother moving silently anymore. The words Get out, get out, get out played a drumbeat in Arden’s head.
They had made it to the last ring when Annem groaned and then fell. She slipped down between Coco and Arden, her knees hitting the floor.
Arden clawed at Annem with nearly numb fingers, her grip loosened from holding on too long. Her breath caught in her throat.
On Annem’s other side, Coco did the same, reaching for Annem. They moved together, pulling Annem up, although now she felt as if she weighed even more. Her body was completely limp. She couldn’t walk at all any longer. They’d have to carry her the rest of the way.
“They’re in the corridor.” A shout followed by a phase-blast nearly took Arden’s head off. She ducked, her hand reaching for her phaser. She returned the blast.
It was chaos.
Coco pulled her phaser too. They were shooting, and running, and hauling Annem’s prone body between them. Arden doubted any of their blasts made contact.
The govies shouted. Telling one another to shoot where their eyes couldn’t focus. The illusion of invisibility was broken.
“We’re not going to make it,” Coco panted.
“Yes, we are.” And they were because she was not going to die here. Arden had too much to live for. They were in the last ring, and they just had to make it through the blast hole. But there were too many govies congregated there. “I think it’s time for plan B.”
Coco nodded. “On three.”
Arden nodded, and counted down. The original net-tech the suit was made from would have taken out the car if anyone had tampered with it. Venz had done some restructuring. The modified version wouldn’t blow them up, instead emitting a shock wave that would knock out everything surrounding them.
Together Arden and Coco engaged their suits. There was a flash of light followed by a high-frequency sound that wiped out the govies closest to them. They fell, washing out like a ripple in a puddle before the girls. The nearest went down first. Followed by those behind them, and so on, until the entire group surrounding the exit lay on the ground. Arden could see blood trailing out the closest govies’ ears. She turned away.
“Run,” she said through bloodless lips. And they took flight, because their lives depended on it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
The door slid open, letting out the balmy air from inside. The church was kept warm, welcoming. Though Arden always felt that she should be a better person to enter this place. Or at least she should want to be a better person. Accepting that life was full of crap and then scraping to survive was the antithesis of believing that everything would work out in the end.
But she didn’t look down on others for needing the peace that came with this place. It comforted Dade. She was glad for that. Sometimes she wished she could also believe in some sort of steady presence in her life.
Arden stepped into the vestibule. Annem still hung between her and Coco. Annem’s head lolled on Coco’s shoulder. She’d come to after they’d made it out to the streets, but in the last quarter mile, she’d passed out again and they’d had to carry her.
The streets had been silent. Arden had heard only the splash of their feet on the cold, wet stone as they’d hurried up the front steps. The lights were dim in deference to the lateness of the hour. Though it was always dark in the Levels. Inside, the church was just as quiet. It was around two in the morning, but the front doors remained unlocked. She wasn’t sure if there even was a lock.
Still, despite the empty streets and the time, it was dicey to meet here and not somewhere more private. But there was a purpose to it. As expected, the govies had shut down the streets around the CRC. Arden and the group had known that for at least a few hours, there would be no way to get out of the district without tipping off their location. And they knew they had to stay in the Levels. They couldn’t take their prey, the one whom Nastasia and Venz would bring soon, down into Undercity.
They’d needed a place with deniability. The church wasn’t bugged, and the city’s cameras couldn’t monitor them inside. As long as they stayed in the public areas, the church was open to all and therefore couldn’t be held responsible for their nefarious activities if they were discovered there.
Arden, Coco, and Annem entered the main sanctuary and started down the aisle. Flickering candles left most of the expanse shadowed, and she didn’t see any priests. It smelled of age, candle wax, and lingering spices from the ceremonial smoke. She often thought this was w
hat God must smell like if he was real.
Annem moaned softly. It would be hours until they could get her to a medical facility where she could get looked at properly. Father Benedict would have medical supplies. Hopefully they would stabilize her in the meantime.
They headed toward where Mina, Roan, and Saben were using a pew near the front. The girl they’d rescued lay on a bench, Mina leaning over her. Arden was too far away to see the girl properly over the high seat back. But she saw that they’d covered her with a blanket, and she looked worse than Annem.
Arden looked around the sanctuary for Dade and couldn’t find him. Anxiety tightened her chest. Her heart stuttered to a hard pulsing beat. She refused to believe that something had happened.
They were halfway down the center aisle when Roan looked up. He took them in for a full heartbeat before he made a low sound of distress at the state of Annem. That snagged Mina’s attention, whose sharp gaze snapped up. Saben, who’d been loitering near the raised dais at the front, straightened and stepped their way.
Then it was a blur of action.
Roan was the first to get to them. His arm slipped around Annem, pulling her into him. Annem’s head lolled against his chest, and then Roan scooped her up under her knees.
Coco quickly stepped after them, not letting Roan get too far ahead as he went toward the bench where they’d placed the other girl.
“What happened?” Mina asked Coco, turning to follow as well.
Arden sagged. She was exhausted. The night felt like it had stretched on for hours, and sleep was still a long way off. She pulled at reserves that she didn’t quite have.
Saben stepped up beside her. “Are you okay?”
“I will be.” She tried not to let her fear bleed into her question. “Where’s Dade?”
“He’s in the back. Father Benedict isn’t doing well.”
There was relief that Dade hadn’t been hurt. On the heels of that, she felt bad for Father Benedict. And for Dade, who would be devastated when the priest died. Father Benedict was more of a father to Dade than his own had been. A confidant, someone who provided a place where Dade could feel peace.
Father Benedict suffered from Violet Death. He’d been sick the last time Arden had seen him. His skin molded with the purple veining, open sores swallowing up his body. She hadn’t thought that he had much time to live then. Without any medical shipments, he must have gone downhill even further. She knew Dade would take it hard and blame himself. Especially since he hadn’t been delivering regular VitD supplies here.
Arden didn’t want to face the others quite yet. She wandered down the pews and sat at the back of the church. Her exhaustion didn’t help with everything else that weighed on her. Too wrapped up in taking care of Annem, they hadn’t noticed Niall wasn’t there. But the confrontation was coming. And Arden didn’t have enough mental stamina to deal with it.
She watched as they got Annem situated and fussed over her. Another blanket appeared to drape over the girl. She heard Mina murmur reassurance to Coco. “She’ll be okay for now. Don’t worry, she’ll make it.”
Coco squeezed her eyes shut and nodded. She was kneeling beside Annem’s head. And then she bent low so that Arden couldn’t see her anymore behind the bench.
Regret was an oppressive thing. It squeezed her. Taunted her. Told her that no matter how hard she tried and what choices she made, the outcome would always be this: brokenness. It was not fair. But then, her entire life hadn’t been fair. She’d have to deal with it as she always did, by moving forward.
Mina slid out of the bench where the two girls lay and made her way up the aisle. Her gaze was intense, pinning Arden like a bug to a board. As Mina’s gaze slid off her to check the rest of the sanctuary, Arden knew what was coming next.
Arden didn’t want this to be a confrontation, and the best way to avoid it was to act like it didn’t matter. She leaned back, sprawled her legs, and forced herself to relax against the wood. The pew bit into her back, reminding her not to get too comfortable.
“Where is he?” Mina asked, assuming Niall had bailed.
It wasn’t the wrong assumption, clearly. But it still pissed Arden off. She honestly couldn’t say why. Perhaps it was because she’d tried to give Niall a chance even when he’d proven himself untrustworthy. And she usually was suspicious of everyone. It felt like a reflection on her judgment.
Arden shrugged. “I don’t know.”
There was nothing to say. No excuses to be given. She hadn’t been privy to Niall’s plan. He’d ditched her once again and left her to pick up the pieces of his betrayal.
Roan had followed Mina up the aisle. His teeth were gritted, and he made to step around Mina. “Why did you let him go?”
Mina stuck out her arm and held him back.
Arden snorted. If they thought she had control over Niall, then they were more ridiculous than she was. She refused to take the blame. Arden gave them a quick rundown of what happened. Leaving out the fact that Niall had nicked the two other spheres and that he’d used the serum to burn out all his trackers. And perhaps she embellished the end a little bit. Maybe “forgot” to tell them that she’d neutralized Niall’s phaser and let him walk out the door.
She didn’t think it was wrong not to tell them. Call it self-preservation. Since Mina kept secrets from her, it was only fair. Until Arden figured out what was really going on, she’d keep her mouth locked up tight.
“What did you want me to do?” Arden asked. She wasn’t about to sit here and be lectured by Roan.
“Shoot the bastard?” he said sarcastically.
Yes, there would have been immediate satisfaction for frying his lying, deceiving ass. She honestly wished she’d at least wounded him a little. But she would let him walk out that door again, given the same circumstances. He had things and information she wanted, and he served her purpose better alive.
Alive and not with Mina.
Which perhaps circled right around to where her frustration came in. Arden had realized that after today, she needed to start playing the long game. Dade’s read of the situation made sense to her. He was right. If she wanted to win, she needed to be the one in charge of making the decisions in her life.
While Roan bitched, Mina frowned. She wasn’t happy. That was evident. But she wasn’t really surprised either. Not if she’d told Coco to watch him. Arden wondered if anything shook her, if she wasn’t already three steps ahead. If Mina ended up being Arden’s opponent, she wasn’t sure who would win. Mina wouldn’t be an easy enemy to defeat.
Mina watched Arden with those too-calculating eyes. Seeing what?
Arden wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She locked gazes with Mina.
Then Roan said, “Tell me you at least got the sphere.”
The question allowed her to look away from Mina. That she could answer honestly. “I did.”
“He didn’t take it?” Mina’s eyes narrowed.
“He tried to.”
“Probably let her get away with it because he needed us to open it,” Roan muttered. “The bastard will come back for it.”
Arden pulled the sphere from her utility belt. She held it out in the palm of her hand. “Here.”
Mina looked from the sphere to Arden. Then her shoulders relaxed slightly. “Let’s hope this is the one we want.”
Roan snickered. “Right? Because I’m not going back.”
Mina reached forward and plucked the sphere from Arden’s palm. She inspected it. Pinching it, holding it close to her face. She stuck her fingernail into the grooves.
Roan looked over her shoulder. His eyes gleamed, and Arden could tell that he wanted to pluck it out of Mina’s hand but he didn’t dare. “Now all we have to do is open it.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Dade heard shouting when he stepped into the sanctuary from the back rooms of the church. He’d left Father Benedict, not knowing if it was the last time he’d ever see him. His heart sat heavy, and he didn’t know how to process the loss.<
br />
He breathed out in frustration. He’d deal with this one last thing on this never-ending night, and then he could crawl into bed.
The yelling focused him. He watched as Venz and Nastasia stepped in from the vestibule, wrangling a trussed-up man between them. The man’s hands were electro-cuffed behind his back, and there was a hood over his face. He had a good deal of weight on the slim-built pair. As he fought, the two struggled to keep him still. He cursed, promising world-ending retribution. They weren’t empty threats. His voice sounded loud in the cavernous sanctuary, echoing back at them.
Nastasia said, “Shut it or I’ll gag you,” and gave him a push.
Dade didn’t need to get any closer to know who it was they had. The man had been in his Sky Tower practically every day of his childhood.
They led Nakomzer halfway down the church to the opposite side from where Kallow and Annem reclined. Roan and Mina stepped forward to help.
Roan shoved the man down onto the pew. “You could have tranked him.”
“Then we’d have to carry him,” Nastasia said sourly.
Nakomzer made a noise as he fell into the seat. He immediately tried to get up, but Roan just pushed him down again. Mina, Roan, Venz, and Nastasia formed a blockade around him, boxing him in with their bodies.
Dade was weary. This confrontation with Nakomzer was necessary, yes, but he didn’t want to watch it. Tonight had been a tumult of emotions. Seeing the pain of the people held inside the CRC. The overwhelming knowledge of finding out his sister was alive. Wondering what the govies had done to Kallow. Worried that he couldn’t figure out a way to keep Crispin from taking her. Knowing that he couldn’t save Father Benedict’s life. He felt useless and he hated it.
His gaze sought out the only person he wanted to be with right now.
Arden sat at the back of the church apart from the rest. She looked up, and their gazes met. Her eyes glittered as she stood and walked the aisle toward him.
The Stolen Sky (Split City Book 2) Page 26