Ax pulls up on my right and takes my hand, uninvited. Keeping my gaze focused straight in front of me, I softly withdraw my hand. An exasperated sigh leaks out of his mouth. Jarod whips his head around and gives him the once-over. He frowns, shooting me a quizzical look, which I ignore.
I’m trying to keep calm, but it’s virtually an impossible task. Butterflies are having a field day in my chest, and my panic is mounting with every step. Jarod’s silence is telling.
After walking for at least twenty minutes, Vin stops at the side of the tunnel and runs his fingers over the wall, teasing an edge apart. A hidden door swings open, and he motions us through. Stepping over a small ledge, we march in single file. The minute Vin closes the door behind him—after everyone is inside—lights flip on one at a time, zipping down the narrow passageway until the entire space is well-lit. Everyone squints as we adjust to the brightness.
Vin steps to the front and leads the way. We follow silently behind him. The closer we get to base, the faster my trepidation builds. I need to know what’s happened to my sister, but I’m also terrified to find out.
We march down the long corridor, out through another door at the end, and descend more stairs. I’d challenge any enemy to locate us down here. I’m already wondering how the hell I’ll remember the way back.
When we reach the basement, Vin hangs a left, and we walk for a hundred meters. Rounding the next bend, he puts up a palm to stop us. We stall behind him as he raps five precise times on an old metal door. A thin bar runs across the middle of it. “Password,” comes a gruff command from the other side of the door.
“Omega XI.” Vin’s voice is low but confident.
The door opens quickly, and a man dressed in army combats pulls back to let us pass. My eyes pop wide as I confront the scene before me. We are on an elevated level, on a balcony of sorts, rimmed by a three-tiered railing that spans the perimeter. The balcony extends around the vast room on all sides. Boxes of all shapes and sizes line the balcony across the way. Below us, hundreds of voices echo around the open cavernous space. “What is this place?” I cock my incredulous face to Jarod. Little shimmers of awareness dance up and down my spine at the same time.
Logan.
“I’m okay. We got here safe.”
“Thank the stars,” he says. “I’ve been so worried. You don’t …” He trails off when I feed him my thoughts. It’s a quicker, easier way to communicate. “I didn’t think we could share that long distance,” he admits. “Do you want me to stay connected?”
“No. I’ll let you know after.”
“Okay, Angel. Take care. Love you.”
The tingle dies as he cuts our connection and the communication. It’s hugely comforting to know I have a direct hotline to him whenever I need it, even if it takes some getting used to.
Jarod lands a hand on my shoulder, staring intently at me. “You okay? You kinda zoned out.”
“I’m fine. What were you saying?”
“I was just telling you about this place. We think it was an old subway storage facility of some sort. It’s been vacant for years.” He hops down the steps in front of us. Lifting one shoulder, he gestures for me to follow him. I grip the railing as we step down to ground level. Ax and Izzy keep close to my back. “Some of the guys set up base here when they left G’s movement, and I’ve always kept in touch. When all the shit went down a few weeks ago, a big group of us broke away from G and came here.”
Jarod jumps the last few steps, slamming onto the solid concrete floor. Heads turn in our direction as he creates a path through the crowd.
The space has been configured for maximum functionality. This part is a communal social space of sorts. Battered, worn couches surround low tables. Groups of men and women, and boys and girls, congregate, talking now in hushed tones. Rusted café-style tables and chairs are full to the brim with people eating from small red bowls.
“Get something to eat,” Jarod says, approaching a long wide table.
Red plastic bowls and forks are stacked at one end, and he motions for us to help ourselves. A few people shuffle in a makeshift queue in front of us as we line up. Glancing over my shoulder, I notice the crowds behind are still preoccupied with us. I intercept more than a few suspicious, hostile stares, which makes me uneasy. My stomach roils. “Not very welcoming, are they?” I ask Jarod and Vin as I move along the line.
“I’m not going to lie,” Vin says, straightening up. “There was plenty of healthy debate when Jarod broached the subject of your arrival, but it’s all cool now.”
I can’t help glimpsing another peek at the mob behind us. They are still warily tracking our every movement. “You sure about that?” I raise a brow.
“Look, Sadie,” Jarod says, stepping in front of me. “You turn up with a bunch of aliens, and people are going to be antsy. Aliens have destroyed our city, killed family members and friends, and they’re showing no signs of leaving, so hatred levels are off the charts.”
“I don’t want to scare you, any of you,” Vin says, addressing us all, “but watch your backs while you’re here. We can’t guarantee that someone isn’t going to try something.”
An uncontrollable shiver rockets through me. Great. Just what we need. More and more I’m beginning to think this was a bad idea.
Jarod tilts my chin up. “I don’t think you have any genuine cause for concern. Vin is merely advising you to stay alert. I’ve vouched for you, and they trust me, even if you are in love with the enemy.” There is no malice in his tone, but there’s no humor either.
Ax drops his bowl and it clangs noisily off the ground. Jarod crouches down and picks it up, handing it silently back to him. I turn around as he takes a first, proper look at Ax and Izzy. Facing me, he looks confused. “Why do they look like you?”
“Long story,” I say, as I hand my bowl to a stern-looking older man standing behind a large vat of bubbling, steaming stew. He ladles a sparse portion into the bowl and hands it back to me. “Thank you.” He surveys me without response or acknowledgment before turning his suspicious scowl on Ax.
Okay, then.
“We have much to fill each other in on,” Jarod says quietly, causing my heart to damn near rupture.
My appetite evaporates on the spot. “Jarod, please.” My heart is in my mouth as I plead with my eyes.
His face collapses as raw, naked, pain contorts his face.
“No!” Tears spring out of my eyes as the bowl slips from my grasp.
Vin leaps into action, capturing it before it spills all over the floor. Jarod and I stare wordlessly at one another. Tears run down his cheeks too. Blood pounds in my ears, and all the sights and sounds around us fade into the background. Crunching pain rattles around my chest as the weight of what hasn’t even been said devastates me.
I’m vaguely aware of Vin suggesting we go somewhere more private to chat. Jarod nods, taking my hand and leading me away. Ax yanks on my arm, pulling me back. “I’m coming with you.”
“No.” I’m barely audible. “I need to talk to Jarod alone.”
“Sadie, please.” Ax reaches up and cups my face.
I swat his hand away. “I said no!” I yell way louder than I meant to. “And please stop touching me.” Additional heads turn in our direction. He flinches as if I’ve slapped him.
Izzy takes his arm, muttering in his ear, and he falls back.
Jarod makes no comment as he holds my hand tightly and leads me through the warehouse. We pass by row upon row of bunks and a separate enclosed space with two wide doors. Signs on the front confirm it’s male and female bathrooms.
Knocking on a door at the far end of the room, he says, “Stay here a minute.” He opens the door and steps inside, closing it quietly behind him. A couple of minutes pass before the door reopens, and two tall striking guys with matching sandy-blond hair and smoky green eyes exit. One of them casts a cursory glance my way, but I avoid catching his eye.
Jarod cradles his arm around my shoulders and leads me into
the room. A huge desk is the focal point of the room, residing slap-bang in the middle of the space. A massive digital map scans the length of the table, and a succession of flashing, red, amber, and green lights flicker on and off. A row of chairs frames the back wall and a mish-mash of haphazard boxes and supplies litters the floor on both sides.
Jarod pulls me down into one of the chairs and sits beside me. Clasping both my hands in his, he stares at me with glistening eyes. My own eyes automatically fill up again.
“Did you at least retrieve her body?” I whisper. He closes his eyes, audibly exhales, and nods. A huge sob lets rip from my throat. “Please tell me what happened.”
He grips my hands tightly. His voice is shaky and quaking with emotion when he speaks. “I’m sorry for dragging you all the way here, Sadie, but I had to tell you this in person, and I wanted you to see what’s going on with your own eyes because we need Logan’s help.” I nod in complete understanding. “I couldn’t find her. It was as if the VP just dropped off the planet. I was frantic, Sadie.” His eyes beseech me. “Vin got a couple of guys on our side, and we holed up down here searching online for days. I used every single piece of tech at my disposal to track him, and everything came up empty. With each passing day, I grew more and more distraught. Then he sent me a message.” Blood drains from my face. “He told me where I could find her.” He gulps, and my breath stalls.
I clamp a hand over my mouth and try to ready myself.
Huge tears slide down his face. “He dumped her in the middle of an abandoned field like she was a piece of trash. And she—” He breaks down uncontrollably and I pull him into my arms, holding him tight.
Jarod continues to cry, and even though my thoughts are a jumbled mess in my head, I’m unbelievably numb. I can’t believe she’s gone. That the VP followed through on it. That Ella is dead because I failed her. Because I selfishly left her here with a death threat hanging over her head. My thoughts swirl in a loop while Jarod continues to fall apart in my arms.
Eventually, he cries himself out. Sitting up, he pulls out a tissue and dabs the moisture on his skin. I stare at him through dazed, dead eyes. I don’t know what to say, how to feel, what to do.
“I’m so sorry, Sadie.” I stare through him. “I failed her. Failed you.”
“No.” I shake my head repeatedly. “You didn’t. I failed her. By placing her in harm’s way in the first place and then choosing to leave with Logan. I should’ve stayed here with you.”
He looks at me with sad eyes. “It wouldn’t have made any difference. Judging by her condition”—he shudders—“she was already dead. I’d say he killed her before he even sent you that message.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, and the image of my sister’s broken, battered body resurrects to haunt me. She was barely conscious that last time I saw her in the VP’s house. I don’t think she even knew I was there. I hate that her last few days were filled with so much abuse and torment. I can only hope she wasn’t conscious at the end. My heart hardens and blood solidifies in my veins.
I’m going to kill him.
Hunt him down like an animal and torture him until he begs for mercy. He’s going to pay for this. Even if I spend the rest of my life trying to find him, I won’t give up.
I focus on Jarod as I speak. “Do you know where he is now?”
“No, but I have an idea.” I wait for him to elaborate. “He’s not on this planet, Sadie. I’m sure of it. Some of the tech we pinched from G is the most sophisticated there is. If the VP was on Earth, I would’ve found him, but there isn’t a trace of him. The only logical deduction is that he is in space.”
I wouldn’t put it past the VP to have had a hand in all this. He wanted me to kill King Adjani and Logan, but there had been no mention of Dante. Has he been working with him this entire time?
“What about the message you received from him? Can you track him using that?”
He shakes his head. “It was encrypted and the signal was re-routed too many times for me to trace. But there was one strange thing.” He taps a finger off his lips as he thinks. A tiny spark returns to his eyes. “I found a weird anomaly I couldn’t decipher. But if it’s what I think—that he is on another planet—then that means—”
“That it’s alien tech and Rylan might be able to figure out where it originated from.”
Jarod hops up. “I’ll get him.”
“No need.” I tug him back down. “Give me a sec.”
I’ve never tried to telepathically connect to Rylan before, but Logan had briefly explained how to do it before we left. Now that we have Eterno bonded, I should be able to telepathically communicate with any Saven, irrespective of the distance.
I’m about to test that theory.
I transmit my unique telepathic signal, pushing it out of my mind and focus on identifying his. It’s actually not that difficult because there are only a few Saven in the vicinity, and it doesn’t take me long to pick up his frequency. He connects with me instantly, and I relay my request. The comm ceases and I blink a few times.
“Okay. You’re acting weird. What’s going on?”
While we wait for Rylan, I tell Jarod about Eterno bonding with Logan and how my ability to communicate through my mind has expanded, how I can even communicate with Logan back on Saven. I’m not sure how he’ll take the news because he’s never been Logan’s greatest fan, or a supporter of anything alien, even if he did seem to be thawing before we left. So his reaction shocks the hell out of me.
“Seriously?” His eyes are out on stalks. “You can do that?” I nod. “That is freaking amazing.” His face lights up and I know he’s computing all the ways in which this talent can be used to our advantage.
Wait until he hears about my incendio gift.
Rylan knocks before entering. Jarod quickly explains the situation and hands him his D-pad. They pull chairs up to the table and start working away leaving me to my own devices, which is not such a good thing right now.
I reach out to Logan and tell him what’s happened. I’m still strangely anesthetized, which he obviously picks up on. It takes me about ten minutes to convince him not to teleport to my side. I know I won’t be able to keep it together if he is here, that I’ll cave to the comfort on offer and allow him to buffer me. But I refuse to give into my grief. As much as I’d love him here, I can’t be that selfish. His hands are full, and he can’t afford to jeopardize anything we’ve achieved thus far. There will be plenty of time in the future to mourn my considerable loss. Ample opportunity for Logan to console me.
I sense how hard it is for Logan to adhere to my wishes, but he reluctantly agrees to it, for me. “What’s the update from Saven?” I ask, badly needing distraction.
“Fighting is still ongoing in the eastern sectors of Saven, and the two Advisors from yesterday’s meeting have decided to defect. Instructions have been issued to the Saven ships on Earth to disengage. They will shortly leave your airspace. I’m still trying to locate the president. No one seems to know what Dante did with him.”
I ponder his words. “Rather than recalling them, which might trigger an adverse reaction in the Amaretti, why not leave them here and switch their duties to more of a protective nature instead?” I suggest.
We disconnect with him promising to do just that. When I turn around, both Rylan and Jarod are watching me with bizarre expressions on their faces. “What?”
“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?” Jarod asks. I shake my head. A spark of recognition whips across his face. “It was like you were here but not here, and your eyes had a strange glazed look to them.” I know it well. I remember the times I noticed Logan doing the same before I knew what he was or that he was telepathically communicating via astral projection.
“I was talking with Logan,” I confirm.
Rylan’s mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water. It doesn’t take much for him to figure it out. “I need you to keep it a secret.” I spit the words out with urgency. My look brokers no argument.<
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“Stars! It’s true? You and the king have Eterno bonded?” I nod as he jumps to his feet and bows before me.
“Oh my God, Rylan. Stop that. You’re freaking me out. And you certainly can’t act like that around you know who.”
“Who’s ‘you know who?’” Jarod asks, his gaze skipping back and forth between us.
“Ax. That’s the next part of the sorry tale I have to tell you. But first things first,” I say, fixing my attention on Rylan, “Have you figured out where the message came from?”
“No. It’s alien all right, but I’ve never seen that exact type of technology before.”
I guess that rules the Saven connection out of the equation, unless Dante has access to a different form of tech. Another idea occurs to me. “Let me get Ax and see if he recognizes it.”
I stop at the door and turn back around. “Remember, not a word to him, or anyone, about me and Logan.” I pin them both with a serious look and they nod.
I arrive back a few minutes later with Ax in tow. I apologized profusely for my earlier outburst but the reception is still distinctly chilly. Rylan shows him the screen. His fingers tap idly off the top of the desk as he scrunches his eyes and studies it. “I don’t know what it is.”
“Are you sure?” Rylan asks. “Look again.”
“I’m sure,” he snaps. “It’s not Tor.” A weird sensation crawls over my skin.
Rylan raises his hands. “Relax, buddy. I was only asking.”
Air wheezes out of Jarod’s mouth. “So that’s a dead end.” His disappointment is obvious.
“We can take it back to Saven and see if any of the experts on the STSS can identify it,” I suggest. “Someone has to know something.”
Another thought occurs to me. Anxiety causes rampant butterflies to swamp my chest. “Jarod? What happened to her? Her … body, I mean. Where is she?” The tenuous control on my sanity starts to wobble. It takes considerable effort to hold it together, but somehow I do. I know if I open those floodgates, it will be damned near impossible to close them again.
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