by C. R. Pugh
Only one final kill was needed and this nightmare would be over.
I spun to face General Wolfe, but no one was there.
Keeping my arms stretched out and my pistols ready, I searched the lab. My ears were ringing from the shots fired. The entire room reeked of gun smoke and the chemicals that had spilled at the back of the room.
Stepping over the dead soldiers, I rounded the table, searching every corner of the small lab … but Wolfe was nowhere in sight. He’d fled. But where would he go?
My stomach churned in dread. Camellia. He would go to punish her.
If I take the elevator shaft down, I could beat him there. As long as I didn’t run into any more soldiers.
Kneeling down beside each of his men, I slit their throats and then quickly searched them for every pistol, magazine, and blade they had.
I was going hunting.
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45
Thorne
The fight continued just up the hill. Tallon, Owen, Tameron, Dustine – I needed to help them, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t leave my brother here alone.
He’s dead, Thorne. He probably won’t mind. My gut twisted at that horrifying thought.
I closed my eyes and saw Pierce as if he were alive, standing right in front of me. He looked as if he was fresh from a bath. His dark hair hung down over his blue eyes and he wore a smirk on his face like he always did. “Why are you just sitting there?” imaginary Pierce growled. “Feeling sorry for yourself?”
A chuckle mixed with a sob caught in my throat. If Pierce were alive, this was exactly what he’d say.
“You’re being an idiot, Thorne.”
“I can’t let you go,” I whispered, as I held him tight to my chest.
“You made me a promise,” Pierce said. “Now get up.”
Reluctantly, I set Pierce down on the ground, gritted my teeth, and rose to my feet. From where I stood, I could see five more soldiers still fighting for their lives. I drew my pistol and blade and sprinted up the hill to help them finish the fight.
Tallon dueled one of the men. She was limping, but held her ground with both blades in her hand. The soldier rushed at her, but she spun and jammed her blade between his ribs, just as I’d taught her in training. Owen slashed and stabbed like a wild man, taking on two of the soldiers. I shot one of them, leaving him to finish the other with an uppercut to the belly.
The remaining two soldiers turned to flee and ended up running right toward me. I shot the first one. The other froze, a blade in his hand. He raised his knife, let out a high-pitched squeal, and charged. I blocked his downward thrust and plunged my blade into his gut. The soldier gasped and clutched at his belly. He fell out of my grasp to the ground with a final, satisfying thud.
There was no victory cry. My Warriors were exhausted and wounded. Those still standing simply stared at me, waiting for my next command. Tallon gasped as she gazed over my wounds.
“Brother! Your arm.”
“I’m fine,” I told her. I looked into each of their battle-weary faces. “We’ve all been through hell today. But the fight isn’t over.”
I wiped the blood, sweat, and grime from my face with the back of my sleeve and then counted the remaining fighters. Only eighteen Peton Warriors out of forty remained standing, including Tallon, Owen, Dustine, Ilsa, Farren, and Tameron, though they still had some minor injuries. My throat tightened again when I didn’t see Max or Brock among them. Kaelem and twelve of his men had made it through the fight, but he had brought significantly less fighters than I had. If they hadn’t shown up, I was certain the battle would have ended differently.
“Kaelem, Dustine, and Owen will be in charge of setting up a defensive perimeter … just in case more soldiers attempt to flee the compound.” I peered around the compound at the many wounded fighters. “Pile up the dead soldiers and burn them immediately. Kaelem … select two or three of your men to start building pallets. We will need them to carry our wounded and … our dead … back to Linwood.”
My eyes sought out Tallon, who stood on shaky legs, fighting back tears. Had she lost Brock today? I wouldn’t know until I returned from finding Ravyn. “Tallon, appoint two of our Warriors to help you see to any who are seriously wounded. All minor injuries can wait. And … the dead …” I swallowed the sob that threatened to choke me when I thought of Pierce and Archer lying out in the woods alone. I cleared my throat. “The dead can wait.”
“What are you going to do?” Tallon asked me.
“I’m going inside,” I told them.
“There might be more soldiers inside,” Owen pointed out.
“I’m certain there will be.” I glanced around the forest floor. “Gather up any abandoned weapons. Arm yourselves. Reload your guns.” I reached down and snatched up another bloody dagger from the dirt and sheathed it at my waist, along with my other blade. “If I’m not back out by sunset, then Kaelem, Owen, and Dustine will remain in charge. Find a place to camp and keep each other safe.”
“No,” Kaelem argued. He picked up a crossbow and started yanking bolts out of fallen soldiers. He placed the good ones inside a quarrel and tossed away the broken ones. “I’m going in there with you.”
I ran my fingers through my filthy curls. “Get to work, everyone,” I shouted. My Warriors scattered immediately to follow orders. I approached Kaelem and lowered my voice. “I need you here. I’m going alone this time.”
Kaelem yanked two more bolts out of the dirt and shook his head. “No, you’re not.” Kaelem quickly appointed one of his best fighters to take his place at the perimeter and joined me. We headed toward the entrance of the compound. “Where’s Pierce?” Kaelem asked.
I lowered my eyes and swallowed back the lump that had been lodged in my throat for the last half hour.
“He’d never let you go in there alone,” Kaelem said. He loaded a bolt in his crossbow. “And I’m not either. If it’s all the same to you, I’ll go in his place.”
I picked up another blade from the ground, this one with a wicked serrated edge. “You don’t have to do this. You don’t owe me anything.”
“I owe it to Ravyn,” Kaelem said. “So … are we doing this or what?”
I nodded. The wooden panel that had previously covered the compound’s entrance had been knocked over in the soldiers’ haste to attack. I had a strong sense of déjà vu as Kaelem and I stepped over it and entered the corridor within. Had it only been three weeks since we had sneaked into the compound to rescue Ravyn? And yet here we were, doing it again.
Kaelem kept his crossbow against his shoulder. I still had the pistol I’d found, though there were only four bullets remaining. Any soldiers still inside the compound would be drawn to the noise, so I holstered it.
I gripped the serrated blade in my fist as we stepped silently down the hall. The fluorescent lights were much brighter this time – the compound running at full power.
There’s nowhere for us to hide.
As soon as the thought ran through my mind, the power went out and we were left in complete darkness. I froze. Behind me, Kaelem did the same.
“They know we’re here,” Kaelem whispered.
I glanced around, searching for enemies. “Not necessarily. Don’t forget … Ravyn is here.” If she had escaped those soldiers that had escorted her inside, she could be playing mind games with General Wolfe. Or it might be Wolfe playing with her. Ravyn hated the dark. Would she do this to herself?
“Ah, I see,” Kaelem said, having read my thoughts.
Ravyn had told me three weeks ago that the power had gone out due to an explosion. The scientist, Audrick, had caused it.
“Last time it wasn’t this dark,” Kaelem pointed out.
I peered over my shoulder at my companion. Kaelem pivoted slowly with his crossbow aimed, but he avoided pointing the weapon at me. “Can you see?” I asked him. “I can go on alone.”
“No, I can’t see, but I can sense where you are by your t
houghts. Can you see?” He chuckled. “Stupid question. Of course you can see. Keep going.” He quirked an eyebrow at me. “If anything, we now have a distinct advantage.”
“Agreed,” I said with a nod. “I’m heading toward the stairs, like we did last time.”
“Not a bad idea. Start with the holding cells on the bottom floor. If she and Camellia have been captured, that’s where they’ll be.”
We moved slowly and silently through the dark corridor and made a turn to the right. Our path was clear for the moment. As we reached the elevators, I ignored them, knowing they wouldn’t be working with the power out anyway.
“Do you hear that?” Kaelem asked.
I stopped and listened. To my left, I heard muted shouting from within the stairwell. “I hear it.”
Kaelem closed his eyes, concentrating on their thoughts. “I can’t make out who it is. There’s too much going on.”
I stepped up to the door. “Well, we’re going this way regardless. Let’s see who it is.”
When I pushed the stairwell door open, the shouting grew louder. Kaelem followed me inside and I closed the door quietly behind us.
Leaning over the rail, I peered down into the darkness. There was nothing to see. They were too far away or hidden beneath us.
As stealthy as Sabers, we prowled down two flights of stairs before Kaelem stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.
“It’s soldiers and Camellia.”
My hands tightened on my blade. “She’s alone with them?” I asked.
“Seems to be.”
We ran the rest of the way, taking the stairs two at a time. I slowed once we were just one floor above them. Leaning over the rail again, I spied four soldiers trying to subdue Ravyn’s sister. She fought like a wildcat. Each time they grabbed her, she used her gift to electrocute them. Bruises covered Camellia’s cheek and wrists. Blood trickled down the side of her face. She screamed as one of the men punched across her jaw, sending her sprawling back into the corner.
“Hold her!” bellowed the soldier who had just knocked her unconscious. “Tie her hands.”
Rage gave me a new surge of strength. I leapt down the remaining steps and dove on top of the soldier who had hit Ravyn’s sister, driving my dagger into his back. An arrow whizzed past me, piercing another man in the neck.
“Shoot them!” another soldier yelled as he scrambled to raise his rifle in the cramped space.
Striding forward, I kicked the rifle out of his hands and slashed my blade across his throat. The soldier stumbled backward into the wall and slid to the floor. The final soldier was dead before I turned around to face him, one of Kaelem’s arrows protruding from his chest.
Camellia hadn’t moved from the corner. Kaelem was by her side in a second. I stepped over one of the corpses and crouched down beside them.
“Is she …” I couldn’t bear to say the words. There’d been too much death already.
Kaelem checked her pulse. “No, she’s alive.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “She’s pretty beat up,” I told Kaelem, since he likely couldn’t see her the way I could. What were we going to do with her? We couldn’t leave her here.
“No, we can’t,” Kaelem replied to my unspoken thoughts. “I’ll take her out of here. Then I’ll come back.”
“No,” I said. “I can finish this from here.”
Kaelem pinched his lips together. I knew he was going to try to convince me that I needed help. With Camellia out of the compound and safe, I could focus all my attention on Ravyn and Wolfe. Ravyn and I would finish this together.
Kaelem nodded finally. “So be it.” He scooped Camellia up in his arms. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
I smirked. “Not planning on it.”
I waited until he’d ascended to the first floor and exited the stairwell before continuing down to the holding cells.
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46
Ravyn
Shrugging off the white coat that I’d stolen, I peeked out the door of the lab to check for soldiers. The hallway was alarmingly clear. Four soldiers passed by at the end of the hallway near the elevators. Would they be gone by the time I got there?
Where is everyone? Wolfe had either sent every soldier to the surface or they’d be waiting near the holding cells on the lowest level.
With a pistol in each hand, I jogged down the corridor. I still had a dagger hidden in each boot and I’d holstered two pistols that I’d taken from the soldiers I’d killed inside the lab. Once I found Wolfe, I wouldn’t hesitate.
I hadn’t run thirty feet when the power went out. I skidded to a halt as darkness swallowed me up. The warning sensation in my neck flared again. My heart began to beat wildly in my chest as I waited for the backup generator to bring up the emergency lights. Ten seconds, thirty seconds – a minute went by and nothing.
When Audrick had brought down the power three weeks ago, he’d planted a bomb. And yet, I had heard no explosion nor felt a tremble like I had while I’d been Wolfe’s prisoner. Had Audrick cut the power this time? Or perhaps it was Wolfe, messing with me?
A thick curtain of darkness pressed in on me. I reached out to steady myself, but there was nothing, as if the walls had disappeared. There were no windows beneath the ground, not even the moon to light my path. I was blind to everything around me.
Crouching down, I placed my hands on the floor and took a deep breath to calm myself.
Stop panicking, I thought. Wolfe is just trying to rattle you.
I inched my way to the right until I felt the wall against my shoulder. With my sight taken away from me, I’d have to rely on my other senses to guide me. Tucking one of my pistols into my belt, I slowly stood, keeping my right hand against the wall to keep me steady. The gun in my other hand hung at my side.
The sound of boots filled my ears. Behind and ahead of me, people were moving quickly. I flattened myself against the wall. If I couldn’t see, then they couldn’t see either. The darkness subsided as a man turned the corner and pointed a flashlight down the hall. I turned my face away, hoping my dark hair and clothing would conceal me.
“The power’s out everywhere,” he said in his monotone voice. He pointed his flashlight all around, not looking for anyone or anything in particular. “What do you think General Wolfe wants us to do?”
“He didn’t give us new orders,” the other man replied. “We stay near the elevator for now.”
They walked away, but their small light from their flashlights gave me just enough light to see. Silent and wary, I made my way down the hall. I would make a left at the end of the hallway to reach the elevator again. The soldiers would be waiting. As I walked, I strained my ears to hear enemies approaching – the clicking of doors or the squeak of a shoe. A glance over my shoulder assured me that no one was sneaking up behind me.
Somewhere in the distance, behind some closed door, I heard shouting. I froze and the beams of light shifted.
“What was that?” one of the men asked his companion.
“They were taking a prisoner downstairs.” His voice was deeper than the other’s.
Camellia.
Suddenly, the yelling stopped and it felt like my heart did too.
“Well … I guess they got the girl contained,” said the man with the baritone voice. “That means 33 and 41 will be coming back soon.”
My stomach clenched. I had to fight the urge to recklessly charge around the corner and into the stairwell. Think, Ravyn. Deal with the soldiers first.
Finally reaching the end of the hallway, I peered around the corner. Just thirty or forty feet to the left was the elevator shaft and the stairs just beyond it. The two soldiers held small flashlights and were guarding both exits. One was taller than the other and broader in the shoulders. The other looked younger than me.
They’d said something about two other soldiers. Wolfe must have assigned four men to guard the elevator on each level. Two of them had abandoned their post to
help with Camellia. Was she trying to fight them? Had they just killed her in their struggle?
Don’t think about it. Focus on one thing at a time.
I tucked my fourth pistol into my belt and drew both my daggers from my boots. Two soldiers were easily dealt with, but I needed to hurry. The other two might return soon.
With no other plan in mind, I scraped the tip of my blade along the wall. A flashlight whipped around in my direction, lighting up the main corridor.
“What was that?” The voice was higher-pitched, possibly the younger soldier.
I pressed myself up against the wall, still hidden in the shadows of the adjacent hallway, just around the corner. I wasn’t stupid enough to take them head on. Instead, I would lure them to me.
“What was what?”
“That sound?” the younger soldier asked. “Did you hear it? It came from over there.” He continued to point the flashlight toward the corridor I was hiding in.
“You’re imagining things,” the other murmured. “The General said to stay here. TS1 is inside the compound.”
The beam of light lowered. Biting back a smile, I ran my blade along the wall again. The scraping noise was louder this time.
“I heard it again!” the younger soldier shouted. “That scratching noise.”
“Yeah, I heard it, too. Stay here.”
By the way the beam of light bounced along the floor and walls, I knew a soldier was prowling toward me. I heard the click of a gun being readied to fire. I gripped my daggers tight in my hands. I’d have to be quick to keep him from pulling the trigger and alerting everyone of my whereabouts. The swish of his pants and the quiet sound of his boots padding along the floor drew nearer. He was close – within five feet. As the taller soldier rounded the corner, I plunged my blade into his abdomen. The man grunted, all the air in his lungs leaving his chest. He made a last-ditch effort to aim his pistol at me, but I blocked it easily. I twisted my dagger to make the kill and the soldier collapsed.