While Richard bent forward to look over the map, Susan took a step back towards her gun. That idea came to him too quick for her comfort. She was still a step away from the pistol, but she didn’t want to tip her hand yet.
“How’d you know that? You said it before even looking at the floor plan.”
“The records guy must’ve said something about it.”
Richard glanced up from the maps and looked at Jason through his eyebrows. Susan noticed his shoulders tense and his right hand clench into a fist. Jason wouldn’t be able to see it from his current position.
“He didn’t say much of anything.”
“Then I must’ve seen it when I was looking through the maps in the car.”
Jason took a step toward the door, trying to look like he was shifting his weight, but Susan recognized the retreat for what it was. Without warning, Richard propelled himself through the air and reached out with his powerful arm. Jason tried to turn, but only managed a quarter of the way around when Richard reached him. Richard grabbed the fabric of the jacket near the shoulder and twisted his fingers in it to get a better grip. His other hand went to Jason’s back. With a hard shove, the two of them lurched forward until Jason’s face slammed against the door. Holding him in place with a hand on his back, Richard let go of the shoulder and slid his grip down to the man’s wrist. He twisted Jason’s arm behind his back and jerked up. There was a yelp of pain. Richard pulled his opponent away from the door and shoved him against it hard enough to force air out of Jason’s lungs.
“Who are you?”
Susan grabbed her gun and turned the safety off, but kept it lowered. It looked like Richard had the situation in hand. She went over to the window and glanced out to see if Jason had backup waiting to help if he got in trouble.
“I told you, my name’s Jason.”
His face contorted as Richard pulled up further on his wrist. His breath came in ragged gasps.
“How come you know so much about the Shadows’ fortress? You’re one of them aren’t you?”
“I used to be, but I’m not anymore. I swear! I was only with them for a few weeks.”
The next slam made the door rattle. Jason’s eyes glazed over for a second from the impact. He coughed, trying to get his breathe back.
“Bullshit, kid. You’ve been playing us for fools ever since I found you in the cell. I knew we weren’t lucky. We were supposed to escape.”
“No, please listen to me!”
His plea was cut short by another room-shaking attack. Susan walked over and put a hand on Richard’s arm. It felt like corded steel underneath her palm, the muscles were so tight. She needed to calm him down if she didn’t want to deal with a corpse.
“Richard, let him talk.”
“He’s a damn Shadow. We can’t trust a single thing he says.”
“And what if he’s not one of them anymore?”
“It’s not the boy scouts. You don’t just stop going when you don’t want to be a part of it anymore. That’s not how they work.”
Susan turned to look at Jason. Blood trailed from his mouth and small specks of it splattered against the backside of the door. His right eye was forced shut from his head being crushed. Richard snarled and slammed his captive against the door again. Jason cried out once and then panted to regain his breath.
“He’s right. They don’t just let you leave. That’s the real reason I’ve been marked. They found out that I was trying to leave, so they brought me back and burned me as an example to the others. They wanted to remind everyone that once you join, they own you.”
“I told you. He’s one of them.”
“I’m still new, and they made me join them before I knew what was going on. I didn’t want to be part of them once I saw what they were like and what they’re up to. That’s why I want to help stop them.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that story from the beginning?”
“Because I know how much you hate the Shadows. It’s no secret that you three were in town trying to hunt them down. When I heard about you, I thought you might be my ticket out. If you knew I was a Shadow right off the bat, you would’ve killed me in that cell. I needed you to trust me first.”
“So you lied to get me to trust you? Here’s a newsflash kid, I don’t trust you. I never did.”
Richard pushed through his arms and the door creaked in protest. Jason’s feet came off the ground and he kicked, trying to get the leverage to push back. A sharp knock on the door made them both freeze. The voice from the other side of the door was muffled by the wood, but Susan recognized Darien despite the distortion.
“I was wondering if I could come in since it seems like you barred the door with a bucking horse.”
Richard pulled Jason away from the door and pushed him onto the bed. The captive grunted when he struck the mattress and bloody spittle landed on the blueprints. Susan opened the door and saw Darien and Bridget in the hall. They both smiled but Susan turned around and walked next to the bed.
“What the hell’s going on?”
Richard continued to push Jason against the mattress, but snapped his gaze up to the doorway. Bridget closed the door behind her after the two of them entered.
“Turns out that Jason works for the Shadows. He lied to us to get close. He claims he wants to leave, and that’s the real reason they burned him.”
Darien and Bridget exchanged a quick glance. Papers rustled as Jason squirmed on the bed. No matter how much he struggled, Richard held him down. Richard was larger, stronger, and more experienced.
“You gotta believe me. I wanted to leave. Once I found out the stuff they do, I didn’t want to be a part of them anymore.”
The four people still standing in the room exchanged glances. Richard’s face was carved into a dark scowl. Susan knew what he wanted to do, but she couldn’t read what the other two thought.
“What are we going to do?” Susan asked.
“We should get rid of him, and make sure he can’t turn us in. End of discussion.”
“I can understand why he’d lie about it at first. If he wanted to get out, who better to help him than us?” Darien chewed on his bottom lip. He directed his words at Richard more than anyone else in the room.
“Every single last one of them is rotten to the core. The best of them have only their own interests at heart. Right now it’s in his best interest to turn us in.”
“I know you don’t know me that well, but I agree with Darien. I think you’re being too blind with your hatred. Not every person is the same. And not everyone who becomes part of the Shadows wants to be. Are you saying that they can never be saved?”
Bridget took a step forward to stand next to Darien. The movement made it look like a display of solidarity. Susan tensed in response. She moved to stand next to Richard as she tried to stare the other woman down.
“So you’re saying we should just step out and welcome him with open arms? How do we know you two aren’t working together? At least his story makes sense. You haven’t told us anything about how you got here. I don’t remember you having a vote.”
“Trust me, she’s not a Shadow.”
“How do you know that, kid? We thought the same might be true about Jason, here.”
“From what she told me and what I’ve seen, she can’t possibly be one.”
“Care to share that information with us, or leave us in the dark and only have your word to go on? What’s the little secret you two have?”
“I don’t believe this. Suz, I told you why I couldn’t tell you. Bridget doesn’t want everyone to know.”
The voices increased in volume until they almost shouted at each other. Bridget held a hand up to quiet them down. When she spoke, her voice was the most level and calm one in the room.
“If it’ll make it easier, I’ll tell you. The ‘little secret’ is that we’re both Sheynan. I’m the other multi-shifter you might have heard about.”
Susan took a step back when she heard the admission. She r
emembered Darien saying there was someone else like him, but the memory was hazy at best. Richard paused in his struggle to eye Bridget up and down, as if reassessing her worth. He kept Jason pinned to the bed, but stopped trying to shove him through it.
“Now you know why I was hesitant to let him tell people I didn’t know. He and I share a common bond, the likes of which hasn’t been seen for hundreds of years. There’s never been more than one of us at a time, until now.”
“That’s still no guarantee that she’s not with the Shadows. And it sure as hell doesn’t say anything about this one.” Richard flexed his arm for emphasis, making Jason whimper.
“No, it doesn’t say anything about Jason, but it does say a lot for Bridget. If she’s with the Shadows, the Arm would’ve heard of it and the Shadows would be a lot more powerful than they are. Bridget’s like us, she works alone. I told you we could trust her.”
“But what should we do about Jason?”
Bridget took a step back to lean against the wall and waved one hand in front of her face. “I say we listen to what he has to say and keep a close eye on him. But you’ve already said I don’t get a vote.”
“He can’t be trusted, even if we watch him. I won’t let him listen in on our plans only to turn around and report everything he sees and hears to his superiors.”
“So what should we do instead? Just kill him here in cold blood and hope that he was guilty? Do you want that potentially innocent blood on your hands? Would you be able to do that in good conscience?” Darien gestured as he spoke, getting more animated the more he said. For his part, Jason remained as still as he could while the others discussed his fate. It was like the animal that freezes when the predator catches sight of it, hoping it gets looked over.
Darien took a step forward and put a hand on Richard’s arm. He got the man’s attention and shook his head back and forth.
“I don’t think we should trust him, but I don’t think we should kill him either. Just let him go.”
“To go back to the Shadows?”
“If that’s what he chooses to do, yes. If he’s a Shadow, then he’ll go back and tell them what he knows. And let’s face it, at this point, he doesn’t know anything they wouldn’t already know. They know we’re here, they know you escaped, and they know we’re planning something. It’s not a big deal.
“On the other hand, if he’s innocent and we set him free, then the Shadows will try to pick him up. If that’s the case, they’ll have way too much going on soon to worry about one deserter, so he’ll be able to slip through their fingers.”
No one spoke for a bit. Richard glanced over at Susan, reading her face. She knew he was looking to see her opinion. She couldn’t argue with the logic. They didn’t have much to lose, and it was a way that they could be safe and do a good thing if Jason was telling the truth. The idea of possibly killing someone who only wanted to be free made her skin crawl. She nodded once.
With a grunt, Richard let Jason up and walked him over to the door. He shoved Jason out of the room, making the younger man stumble into the far wall for balance.
“You’re damn lucky my companions are so soft hearted. I hope for your sake you’re telling the truth and we don’t see you anytime soon.”
Jason ran down the hallway to the nearest stairwell and flung himself through the door. Richard watched him go, and then returned to the room. Once the door was closed, Susan tried to scrub the blood off the backside of it with a washcloth. Richard grumbled to himself too softly for her to make out. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stood at the foot of the bed with the floor plans laid out on them.
“Jason mentioned something about an underground entrance. Of course, since you wanted to let him go, this means that over the next couple of days, it’s going to be heavily guarded and a trap.”
“Only if he’s…” Darien let the sentence trail off when Richard turned to glare at him. “When should we try to pull this off?”
“As soon as possible. We have everything we need. We just need a plan. The longer we wait, the longer it gives the Shadows to prepare.”
“Tonight?”
Susan wondered if they were as ready as Richard claimed. She knew that waiting would just make the situation worse. But at the same time, both Richard and Darien tended to rush into danger, assuming their abilities could get them out of any trouble. It didn’t seem to matter that they had both been proven wrong on that score multiple times.
“Do you at least know who we should go after?”
Bridget surprised them all by being the one to answer the question. “There’s a man called ‘the Dark’ in there. He’s in charge of this division and they all take their cues from him. The second in command is named Cameron, and if anyone can keep everything together after the Dark falls, it’d be him. Eliminate both of them, and the beast will feed upon itself to see who comes out on top.”
“How do you know this?” How much Bridget seemed to know made Susan nervous. Even if she was what she claimed to be, she still might be working with the Shadows.
“I used to work with Twitch. He’s one of the few who decided to leave the Shadows. In exchange for helping him escape, he gives me information. He may be clinging to sanity, but he is trustworthy.”
“I don’t think she should come along.” Susan turned and made a point to address Darien without looking at Bridget.
“Are you going to try and stop me?”
Richard growled and moved closer to Susan. His hands were still clenched in fists. Darien positioned himself between Bridget and the others. He held up his hands to stop everyone.
“Enough. Richard, Susan, I know you don’t trust her, but she has every reason to hate the Shadows as much as we do. I’m asking you to trust my judgment. Besides, having the extra abilities would be huge. We can’t pass this opportunity up and we might need her help.”
Susan and Richard both stared at Darien. Susan sighed and dropped her shoulders as she resigned to the decision. The odds were stacked heavily against them and any option to tip the scales in their favor was worth considering.
“I trust you, kid, but I’m not taking my eyes off of her if I can help it.”
Once they reached an uneasy alliance, the four stood at the edges of the bed and poured over the floor plans, discussing different options and guessing where they might find the Dark and Cameron. After several hours of planning and re-planning, they agreed upon a course of action. They’d leave at two in the morning, when the city was somewhat quiet. The group as a whole decided to catch some rest while they could in preparation for the evening’s assault.
Chapter 22
Darien once again found himself surrounded by trees bigger than any he had seen in the real world. In the distance, water trickled over rocks and fell a short distance, splashing in a pool below. The ever-present chirping of the birds threatened to drown out the gentle brook. In a rare moment when the birdsong ceased, Darien heard the murmur of voices.
He opened his eyes and sat up, looking around. The woods appeared the same to him as during his previous dream, but he realized how little that meant. For all he knew, he was in the exact same place as before, or he was hundreds of miles away in a completely different forest. It was futile to try and decipher it. The only thing that mattered was that he was here now.
Looking around, he saw his faithful guide, Gregory, sitting on a large rock a short distance away. His head was tilted to the side as he listened to something. Before Darien could open his mouth to start a question, Gregory held two fingers up in a gesture of silence. Darien’s mouth snapped shut as he tried to focus on the sounds around him. He filtered out everything but the voices in the distance. It sounded like a chorus of frenzied cheering. Drawn by a desire to see the cause of the commotion, he stood up and walked towards the voices.
He glanced back and saw Gregory following him. With a simple nod, he acknowledged the other’s presence. They continued on their way, trying to keep their passage a secret. Overhead the w
ind picked up and the trees groaned in response. It wasn’t long before they came to the small brook Darien first heard when arriving in this reality. The stream was shallow and slow, and it dripped over a small wall of rocks to a pool ten feet below. The pond was filled with crystal clear water. As they walked near the edge, Darien saw flashes of silver as fish danced underneath the surface.
Continuing on their way, the voices grew louder and drowned out the noises of the wood. The trees thinned and became smaller. At the edge of the tree line, they saw a great grass plain, broken up by small farms. Several primitive homes clustered together in the center of the farms. Most of the buildings faced inwards, towards a brown circle of trampled dirt. At the moment, a crowd of approximately thirty people stood in the center. Their attention was focused on a raised platform with a lone figure on it. Darien squinted and recognized him as the bald man in white from the previous memory. Now they were close enough for him to hear what was being said.
“Would you allow them to take our greatest advantage from us? Would you allow the council to strip our power away and tell us to wait for our slaughter at the hands of those who don’t understand our ways?”
The crowd cheered, some of the members raising fists into the air. The speaker held out a hand and led a young woman up to the platform. She looked around often, her head swiveling from one side to the other. Her head was slouched down, making her look caged.
“The Sheynan are a gift to us! They’re a gift that we must use to force the humans to accept our presence. We must defend our borders and have a home of our own.”
More cheers echoed across the valley. Darien turned to face his guide.
“It sounds like he’s starting a riot.”
“And I’d venture that the young lady is a Sheynan, like you.”
“Gregory, is the sickness real?”
“Yes, it is very real. Power always comes with a price, and you must admit that your abilities are significant.”
Darien nodded. He had read as much in the book that Bridget had shown him, but he still fought against accepting the idea. But, if it was unavoidable, it would be best to be prepared. Darien started to ask if Gregory knew about a cure when the older man reached out and placed the palm of his hand over Darien’s mouth. He pointed at the clearing, and Darien turned to look.
The Bringer of War (The Sheynan Trilogy Book 2) Page 17