“It’ll be okay,” Red says.
I feel his body responding against mine.
No.
No.
He’s Enhanced.
I squirm and get my left arm free of him, but he’s quicker. He grabs me again, pulls me back against him. He smells of lemons, and my stomach twists.
“Are you going to join us voluntarily now?” His voice is a whisper, but there’s hope in it.
I shake my head against his chest, try to turn my body, from side to side, but I’m exhausted now. So suddenly. Too tired. Can’t move. My heart thuds, yet it’s like a herd of stampeding elephants. It thuds with darkness, not adrenaline.
“Oh, Keelie.” Red snorts, and then he twists me around a little, so I’m angled to the left, looking down the corridor—but I can’t see much of it, because my eyes are smarting. “Come on, K,” he says. “Walk.”
Something hard prods me in the upper back. I think it’s my gun.
I walk quickly, willing myself to think of something. Need to think. He’s holding onto my upper left arm now, his fingers like iron. And he’s strong. And I’m tired, exhausted.
Come on, think!
Need to get away from Red. Need to stay Untamed. Need to get my sister back.
“Where is she?” I ask as we walk.
“Who?” Red’s grip gets tighter. It’s not a friendly grip. It’s a grip that tells me I’m not getting away.
“Seven Sarr.”
“You know her?” He sounds surprised.
Irritation clouds me. “Of course I do. Where is she?”
“Conversion compound. Don’t worry, you can see her once you’ve both been saved.”
Once you’ve both been saved. So she’s still resisting. Good. But of course she would. She’s my sister. And we’re all strong, strong-minded and—
She’s not your sister, Mila says. I am.
I jolt.
“It’ll be all right,” Red says. “I’ll even see if you can both be held in the same wing. That’ll be comforting, won’t it? Knowing she’s nearby. But Raleigh thinks it will take longer for her, says she’s special.”
“Special?” I frown. Who’s Raleigh?
“She’s the one who can make a difference, apparently,” Red replies. “She can win the war.”
Darkness creeps down my spine. Seven can win the war? The war? The War of Humanity? I try to swallow, but I find I can’t. The muscles in my throat, they won’t work.
Seven will make the difference? But the Enhanced have her…and I’m supposed to be doing the distraction. Rahn and Corin and the others—they can’t get her out without me doing my part.
My head swims.
The gun. I need to get the gun. Got to do the distraction. Got to make sure they can get Seven out. Have to. Have to. Have to. My heart pounds heavier. A countdown.
To your death, Mila—my madness—says.
I flinch, try not to remember either Caia-Lu’s or Katya’s predictions. But death is a prophecy. My prophecy. And death belongs to all of us.
But Seven has to escape.
She’s special.
A special one is a Seer. Caia-Lu’s voice.
My eyes widen. Seven’s going to be a Seer. Her mother already is. The power’s often hereditary. Seven’s going to become one… Shit. Yes. We have to get her out. Nbutai needs a Seer. Rahn’s group has to get Seven back—because they’re not going to rescue Katya, Rahn made that clear. And they need a Seer.
They have to get Seven.
A group of Untamed cannot survive without a Seer.
“Let me go,” I say to Red as we walk. I narrow my eyes, trying to see farther down the corridor, see if any doors are in sight. But I can’t. It’s too dark, even though the light’s on. I can only see the immediate area. My vision’s not right. Everything’s swimming. “Please. Let me go.”
“No. Your father’s here. He’s here, K.” Red pulls me along a little faster.
I take a deep breath, try to remain calm. I can get out of this. Hell, I’ve fought Enhanced—killed Enhanced. I can do this.
But my energy’s low, and my body hurts, aches, thrums with pain. There’s still no adrenaline fueling me, it hasn’t come back. The traitor.
“Please, let me go, Red.”
“I will,” he says. “When we’re with him. He’ll do the honors. It’s what he wants. What he’s always wanted—to be the one who saves his precious daughters.”
Conversion.
I twist my head to the left, trying to keep breathing evenly. Need to stay calm. I glance behind me—can’t see the gun. He must be holding it by his other side, in his left hand. If I can just get it, I’ll be in charge again.
And I have to be in charge. Have to be.
You will be.
“You saved me a journey,” Red says. “Coming to see us. Coming to me. You can’t live without me, Keelie. Neither of us can. We’re too alike.”
My vision clears a little, and I see the corridor turns right up ahead, but I don’t think it’s a junction. Think it’s the only way to go.
“We are nothing alike,” I say through gritted teeth. “You are not the Red I knew.”
I look up, see a large, square air vent. An escape route?
But then we’ve walked past it. I twist my head back, ignoring the pain, looking. There could be a network above us… Can I get away from Red, run, get into the air vent, crawl along there, shoot out of the next opening, starting the distraction, then crawl through the passageway again? Could it connect to the conversion compounds? I frown, no. This building’s the other side of the gardens to the compound where Seven will be.
I breathe out slowly. I need the gun. I slow a little, trying to lean back so I can see the firearm in Red’s left hand. Maybe if I yank him back and—
“What are you doing?” His voice is abrupt, and he spins me around.
“No!” I scream, and I fight him, try to kick him, but he’s still got hold of my arm. My right hand flies out, and I punch him—but the punch isn’t good, because that arm, it’s not right—but I momentarily feel the gun against my side as we twist around and—
Red pins me against the wall.
For a second, I freeze. Then rage blinds me. I throw my weight at him, everything onto him, and manage to knock him back a foot or so. My head jolts up, and I see the gun—my gun—in his hand. I lunge forward, slam my head into his, flinch at the pain and….
He chucks the gun away. It clatters on the tiled floor somewhere to my left.
I freeze, stare at it, stay where I am, sort of crouching, reeling in pain. My breaths come in short, sharp bursts, and my head spins.
Then I lunge for the gun.
But Red grabs me, yanks me back. I shriek, and then his eyes are right in front of me, his mirrors throwing snatches of light at me in a way that hurts. There’s something dangerous in his expression, something that makes my stomach twist. He leans in close to me.
“Stop it.” His voice is low. “You don’t want to hurt anyone, Keelie. It’s the darkness in you. And I understand, because I had it once.”
I remember the knife and twine in my pockets—and why the hell didn’t I use them when he was marching me along? I let out a small squeak as Red’s grip on me tightens painfully, and I try to move my left hand down to my shorts. Need to pull them out. Need a weapon. But my fingers, they won’t work. They’re going numb.
I feel the tears in my eyes welling up, then they’re spilling over. My fingers scrabble at the pockets of my shorts, but I’m shaking, and they still won’t work.
“I will knock you out if I have to,” Red says. “I can do that easily.”
My eyes widen, and my chest squeezes.
No.
“Please, Red, please, no.” I turn my head, looking around for anything that can help me. But there’s just my gun, over there.
I get ready to kick him.
Then I hear footsteps.
Don’t go to any towns or cities. Katya’s voice.
I
look up.
My father walks toward us.
My father looks…he looks the same. Hasn’t aged a day. Our eyes meet—or at least, I think they do, but his are mirrors and—
Mirrors.
Mirrors reflecting the augmenters in his hands.
I scream and lunge to Red’s right, somehow pulling myself free from his grip. Energy slams into me; and I start to run, back the way we came, got to get out, even if I can’t get the gun, and—
He grabs me around the waist.
I scream as he hauls me back. Then I throw my weight down, try to throw him off balance.
I land heavily on my chest, Red on top of me.
“Keelie! Stop it! It’s okay!” Red yells into my ear, his weight pressing down on me.
I scream loudly. Screaming for Elf, for anyone. Tears blind me. I turn my head, trying to see something—anything that will help me.
My gun. It’s on the floor over there, not far away now. I’m closer now. Yes.
Get the gun.
I try to get it, reach with all my might, try to slip out from under Red, but he’s like concrete, too strong, holds me down, I can’t move. Shit.
“Don’t be scared,” Red whispers, and then he moves quickly, pulls me up. My heart pounds as he holds me against his body, like I’m a shield.
My father walks up to me. He looks at me for a long time, sticking his head forward, like his neck has a crick.
I stare back. From what I can see of his expression, it’s blank. Just blank. Hatred boils inside me. He’s Enhanced. He’s the enemy.
“You’ve got the wrong girl,” my father says slowly. He turns on Red. “This isn’t her.”
Red blinks. “But you told me to find your daughters.”
“I meant my biological daughters. And I heard of Mila’s death, so now there’s only Bea: my surviving biological daughter.”
My gaze jerks to him.
I’m not….
My eyes widen. I stare at him. My mouth dries almost instantly.
Me and Elf, we’re not his?
I try to say something, but nothing comes out.
And the man who I thought was my father for all these years doesn’t look at me, he’s still looking at Red. And then they’re talking, about DNA and dates and family and…and I don’t understand. They should be ramming the augmenters down my throat…not standing here, discussing paternity.
“But I got her for you!” Red says. “I’ve kept her Untamed and oblivious until you got here. I made sure no one else discovered her group’s location so you could be the one to convert her.”
“Where’s Bea? Is she here too?” My father—no, Owen—pushes Red to the side, and Red pulls me with him.
Run! Mila yells at me.
But I don’t. I stare at my father…who isn’t my father.
Isn’t my father? I inhale sharply. So I’m not related to his mother, the woman who went mad. My shoulders get lighter. I haven’t got her madness! They were all wrong—wrong!
“Mr. Sykes, Bea’s whereabouts is unknown,” Red says. I turn my head, look up at him, confused. He called him Mr. Sykes? But he said Owen earlier… Why the change?
“But I need to convert her!” Owen waves a dismissive hand at me, and seeing him as just another Enhanced is weird when I thought he was my father. “Anyone can do Keelie, whenever. I don’t care. I wanted my daughters. And it’s Bea who’ll need me. I know how to help her, calm her, because she’s like her mother—and Mila might’ve been too. Redala, take Keelie away and do her yourself. Gods, you should’ve saved her the moment you set eyes on her, not let her suffer.”
“But you said she’d suffer more in the conversion if it wasn’t you!”
Owen shakes his head. I just stare at him. He’s shorter than me. And I’m not tall—but Bea’s taller than me, and she’s his daughter? And Mila…Mila was tall too, for her age. Yet he’s short.
“I was talking about Bea,” he says. “She can’t have someone touching her whom she doesn’t know. We need to find her.”
I look at Owen, and I feel…empty. “Who…” My voice is weak. “Who is my father?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Owen says quickly, eyes on the ground. But there’s something like fire burning in his voice. Then he looks back at me. “Redala, take her away and save her. I don’t care who converts Keelie.”
“Wait,” Red says, and he picks up my gun. “What about my new house… I’m still getting it, right?”
“You’ll get it when the deal is complete. When you bring my daughter to me.”
“But Keelie and I will need a house. And I’ve done everything you asked—lied, pretended, got—”
“And you got the wrong girl!”
My eyes smart. I can’t process this. Can’t. There’s too much. Too many reveals. But the man who claims not to be my father wants something. And I can use that to my advantage.
Red’s grip on me is no longer that strong—though he doesn’t let me go—but I find I can step closer to Owen. My heart pounds. I feel sick.
“Tell me who my real father is, and I’ll tell you where Bea is.” I hope the wobble in my voice doesn’t betray me.
Owen looks at me. He wipes the back of his hand across his mouth, then shakes his head a little. But not in a way that means no. More in a way that suggests pain. Like he doesn’t want to remember.
Because my mother cheated on him?
He coughs once. “Rahn Eriksen.”
I stare at him. “Rahn?”
Owen’s eyes seem to glisten. “Yes, that wild man corrupted my wife. We were traveling south—what was supposed to be a brief break from D’Elinous. We met Rahn’s group. I got injured in a hunt. Your mother was infatuated with him—by that corrupt, wild man. When we left, she was pregnant. I knew it couldn’t be mine. And he had to go and give her twins, didn’t he? Including a son. Eirnin should’ve been mine.” Resentment curls in his voice, and I shake my head.
Rahn? Rahn’s my father?
“Now, where’s my daughter?” Owen growls.
I take a step back and another.
Red moves with me, his hand tightening on me again. “Let me save her first. She’s getting upset. We can…we can discuss this afterward, once Keelie’s no longer suffering.”
“No!” Owen shouts. “She said she’d tell me—and my daughter’s suffering. My child. My flesh and blood. She will be suffering for longer—and that is unacceptable.”
“Your other daughter is suffering—your words are hurting her. Keelie’s still your daughter,” Red says. “And our duty is to help them.”
Owen steps up to Red and I, glaring. He bares his teeth—perfect, white teeth. Not crooked like I remember. “Tell me where Bea is. Tell me now.”
“She’s out there,” I yell. “Untamed. Surviving. Being who we’re supposed to be!”
Fury fills Owen’s face. He grabs me, wrenches me from Red.
I fight back, but he’s strong. Too strong.
Hell.
I curse him, try and get the knife out of my pocket—but can’t.
Red starts shouting something, and I lose sight of him as Owen drags me forward, round the corner. Then there’s a door which he kicks open.
A room. Dusty. Bare.
Owen throws me into it, and I skid forward, fall, hit the tiled floor hard. Momentary pain. I spin around, launch myself up, need to get to the door. Need to get out.
“Redala, start saving her now! She’s too far gone to be trusted.” Owen thrusts the augmenters at Red as he appears in the doorway, and Red takes them.
“No…no…no,” I cry, and I run at them, try to push past. But the two of them make a solid wall. Hands push me back, and then Red latches onto me again. I try to fight him, but I’m freezing up. Hell, why am I freezing up? And my arm isn’t working properly, and there’s blood.
Owen smiles. “I’ll go and notify them to get a room ready for the mind-conversion. You give her first taste.”
“South Meg Wing,” Red says. “Her frie
nd’s already there. It’ll make it easier for her.”
I frown—that’s not the usual place. I struggle to think. South Meg Wing—is it attached to the usual conversion compound, but farther to the right, behind the main block? Or is it the separate building over on the other side? I curse my memory; I don’t know.
Owen grunts. “Have her ready for it by the time I’m back.” He steps out of the room. “Hopefully she’ll comply more once she’s had first taste.”
The door closes, clicks.
Red grabs me, squashes me against his body. My back against his chest, his arm around me.
I twist and twist, scream loudly, but I know there’s no one to help me; Elf can’t be nearby—he’d have got in here by now if he was.
Red flicks the lid off an augmenter, brings it closer.
“Open wide.”
I shake my head, clamping my lips firmly shut. Sweat breaks out across my forehead. My head and heart pound together in unison. I bend my left arm up, twisting around, manage to claw at his skin. The augmenter slams into the side of my face, breaks. I feel the jagged glass scratching.
Red swears at me, but I punch him. Weakly, but it’s still a punch.
He staggers back, but not far enough.
Then he jumps on me.
His body slams into mine. I fall back, hit my head hard, and—
Red hovers over me, somehow still standing. And I see the gun. My gun. The Luger. It’s in his belt. He went and got it? When? My head pounds. When Owen dragged me into the room?
But it doesn’t matter because the weapon is smiling at me. It’s saying I can use it, that I’ll manage to do it, and—
My gaze jolts up.
Another augmenter comes at me, and Red throws himself on top of me. His weight crushes me, but I turn my head to the side, just in time, hear the augmenter slam into the tiled floor. More broken glass.
Adrenaline pulses through me, and I push at Red, get him to go back a few inches, to lift off of me a little. I shove him again and spring up, spitting at him; my saliva sprays across his face, so much of it. And it’s pink—blood. My mouth’s bleeding? And then I taste it, the blood, like an augmenter of death.
A Dangerous Game Page 36