She wasn’t looking forward to the task ahead. Their goal was simple: kill Finn. They had no one to protect, no morals to uphold or honor.
Despite their obvious bloodlust, Finn refused to kill them, a fact that put her at a clear disadvantage. Aedan had tried to reason with her on that point last night, but she’d already made up her mind.
She would not be the killer the chancellor claimed she was.
As the final hybrid entered the Dome to uproarious applause, Finn’s eyes scanned the crowd, only to stop short. Her heart began to pound in her ears. The chancellor sat in his own private section, surrounded by soldiers in the very front rows of the crowd. He studied her face with a malicious grin, as though he’d been waiting for her to notice him.
“Noted,” she told Aedan, doing her best to hide the quaver in her voice the chancellor’s presence caused. “Besides, what could go wrong?”
The Solidarian chuckled under his breath.
“At least you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”
“At least there’s that,” Finn muttered. She turned to face Aedan. “Take care of him,” she pled, nodding in AJ’s direction.
“You have my word,” the Solidarian promised.
At that moment, the crowd began to hush and Mr. Green’s voice filled the Dome.
“You may notice the Dome looks a tad empty. I’ve just been told that things will be a little different today, given the events during our last games. Our half-breed competitors will no longer be competing in one of our custom-built obstacle courses of death.”
There was something wrong in Mr. Green’s voice; a hint of trepidation she’d not heard before. Her heart started to sink.
Bystanders began to murmur to one another, their low buzz growing louder with each second that passed.
“What’s he talking about?” Finn asked Aedan, the cold fingers of dread unfurling within the pit of her stomach.
“I don’t know. This has never happened before.”
“Yes indeed, ladies and gentlemen. Today you will see the Dome’s most violent game yet. At the count of five, our half-breed contenders will be provided with an assortment of weapons. The last half-breed standing will be victorious and live to see another day in the Dome.”
“Does that mean what I think it means?” AJ asked as Gray Matter made his way over to the trio.
“Yes,” Gray Matter answered when he reached them. “It would appear as though our last foray into the Dome has resulted in some unforeseen consequences.”
“They’re going to kill us all,” Finn whispered.
Horror began building inside of her as the truth sank in: Mr. Green’s fear . . . the chancellor’s presence . . . this new twist to the games. Help wouldn’t be here in time to spare them from the bloodbath the Reliance had devised. They were on their own.
“The plan hasn’t changed,” she told others. “Keep each other safe and aim to incapacitate. I’ll handle Rock and Viper.”
They each nodded their assent as Mr. Green began his countdown.
“Five . . .”
“You might want to rethink your plan, Finn,” Gray Matter whispered. “They won’t show you any mercy, and lives will be lost whether you like it or not.”
“Four . . .” The crowd began to stomp in unison.
“I’m not going to kill them,” she said.
He sighed and nodded as though he already knew what her answer would be.
“They will come at you as one. Rock will attempt to incapacitate you. His anger will make him rash. Viper truly believes the chancellor’s offer, and she will put on a show of making you suffer. Once you’re dead they’ll turn on each other.”
“Three . . .” Rhythmic clapping joined the vigorous stomps.
“Why are you telling me this?” she asked him sharply.
His eyes held hers for a long moment.
“So you will see the truth you’ve been avoiding. Some of us will not make it out of this arena.”
“Two . . . One!”
As the crowd erupted with maniacal cries of joy and anticipation, the ground shook beneath the hybrids and the earth opened up from the center of the Dome. A silver pedestal rose from the hole that had been revealed, elevating a pile of various blades and hardware onto the dirt.
“Go!” Mr. Green yelled.
The prisoners had been momentarily stuck, but at the sound of Mr. Green’s shout, each of them burst into a sprint, racing to the mound of weapons at the center of the Dome.
Then, all hell broke loose.
THIRTY-EIGHT
Finn’s feet pounded against the dirt as AJ, Aedan, and Gray Matter followed closely on her heels. The pedestal held a variety of blades from rusty daggers and throwing knives to longswords. Of course, the Reliance wouldn’t provide them with guns or blasters to combat each other; where would the fun be in that? The games would be over far too soon, depriving the bloodthirsty crowd of their violent show.
Finn caught a glimpse of a large net trap with pitons meant to dig into the earth mixed in with the blades and winced when she saw Rock pick it up.
Moving quickly, she threw out her left leg and slid into the dirt to cut off the Saosin hybrid just as he reached the pile. She grabbed the sharpest-looking dagger and a short-handled sword with a blade the size of her forearm. Overall, it was light, and the large pommel made it easy to grip.
She stuck the dagger into the waistband of her pants and palmed the sword.
Finn heard a rush of air and dove to the side to avoid the Saosin’s sharp wings. Apparently, he didn’t appreciate being cut off. As she rolled away to her knees, something glinted in the light and caught her eye.
She smiled with recognition.
The other hybrids had passed up the object for more intimidating-looking weaponry, most likely not realizing what it was. Finn palmed the five metal rings banded together and slipped them over her fingers. A small projector the size of her fingertip rested against her knuckle, humming imperceptibly.
“Finn, look out!” AJ yelled somewhere behind her.
She heard a low whistle and turned toward the sound, raising her ringed hand in a fist just as a knife came hurtling at her face.
The projector hummed to life, creating a hard-light shield in front of her. The knife bounced off with a zap and Finn’s shoulder stung slightly from the force of impact.
Long before their tech had been improved by time and the Arcturians, the Reliance Army had used these small rings to create hard-light projection shields that were impervious to harm.
Suddenly, the projector powered down and her shield disappeared. Finn dove to the left to avoid another blade as it came slashing down over her.
The shield design was flawed due to poor construction, the negative effects the shock absorption had on the user, and the shield’s charge time between each use leaving the projector depleted and the wielder completely defenseless for short periods of time.
Finn jumped to a crouch and raised her sword just in time to clash against Viper’s. The reptilian hybrid bared her teeth in a mock grin as she pushed against Finn’s hold.
Aedan, pulling AJ behind him, flicked his fingers and sent a small ball of fire in their direction. The flames hit Viper squarely on her webbed sword hand and she let out a cry of pain as her weapon went crashing to the ground. Careful to avoid her skin, Finn launched a hard kick to the hybrid’s midsection and sent her down with a grunt of pain into a crumpled heap.
“Thanks,” she called to the Solidarian as she ducked to avoid the Saosin’s talon-tipped wings.
The flying hybrid and the iridescent-scaled Chihiri had turned on one another and were currently engaged in a bloody battle. The Saosin dove from the air, his talons aimed squarely at the Chihiri’s head. Just before impact, the Chihiri’s mouth opened and she released a low frequency cry. Finn couldn’t hear it, but she could see the sound waves in the air where the shriek had left her lips. The force of it sent the Saosin careening backward until he hit the ground.
A blur of motion drew Finn’s attention and she caught a glimpse of Supersonic running laps around the Dome. Did she plan to outrun them until they were all dead?
A blow to the shoulder caught Finn unawares and her ears rang from the impact. She felt a pop and then numbness from her bicep to her fingers. She teetered on her feet and turned to find Rock glaring down at her. She’d almost forgotten how much his hits hurt.
Almost.
The Kreetian interlaced his fists together and raised them above his head. He gritted his teeth as he brought them down over Finn. She raised her sword between them with her uninjured arm and his hands hit the blade with such force it broke in half.
“Shit,” Finn muttered, tossing the weapon aside.
Rock smiled.
Fire sailed across the sky and someone screamed. Finn tried not to look, trusting that the Solidarian would protect AJ.
She backed away from the Kreetian, her eyes darting in search of something she could use against him. He barreled toward her, lowering his shoulder. Finn raised her ringed hand, holding the shield between his body and hers. Rock hit it with such force, he was knocked to the ground and Finn’s injured shoulder was forced to absorb the shock. It popped once again with the impact as it fully dislocated.
Grimacing in pain as the shield powered down, Finn’s arm hung awkwardly at her side. She doubted if she’d be able to hold the shield up again to withstand another hit like that.
Rock was already on his feet, his chest huffing with rage. He lowered his shoulders for round two. As if by some miracle sent from the Gods, he was quickly knocked aside by one of the Goslan’s singed tentacles as the odd-looking hybrid attempted to land a strike on Aedan.
AJ had moved away from the Solidarian’s protection, launching well-executed blows, while simultaneously dodging the Saosin as he dive-bombed the boy from above. Even as she cursed his rebellious streak, she couldn’t help but feel a sting of pride.
Suddenly, he turned to her, his black eyes wide with alarm as he frantically pointed to something behind her.
She turned in time to see a short-handled axe hurtling toward her chest. This was it. There was no time to dodge.
Finn closed her eyes and prayed for a quick end.
Gods, please let AJ make it out of this alive.
THIRTY-NINE
She waited for the blow to land but it never came.
“Godsdammit!” Viper yelled.
Finn opened her eyes to see Gray Matter standing motionless in front of her with the axe lodged in his small chest. The ashen hybrid’s face paled even further as his dark eyes locked on Finn’s. His body fell to the dirt in a heap and she sprinted to his side.
Viper let out another yell when Aedan, hands ablaze, came charging at her.
With Viper preoccupied, Finn focused on Gray Matter, applying pressure to his chest on either side of the axe in an attempt to stem the flow of blood.
“I thought you were supposed to be smart,” she told him shakily. “Why would you go and do something so stupid?”
His spherical eyes blinked slowly and the air rattled in his chest as his breathing shallowed.
“It . . . was always . . . meant to be this way,” he rasped. “I only wish . . . I could’ve seen . . . the Reliance . . . fall.”
“Just hold on,” she begged him desperately.
He placed a trembling gray hand over hers.
“I’ve done my job . . . Now it is time . . . for you to do yours.” He paused to glance at the melee around them. “War is not . . . won without casualties.”
His fingers squeezed hers lightly, and he took one last shuddering breath. As he released it, his eyes went blank and his body went slack.
“Let’s make things interesting,” Mr. Green suggested to the audience with a barely perceptible hint of reluctance.
The Dome’s earth opened once again and another pedestal rose from the hole it revealed. A single stunner glove ascended into the fray.
Finn rose to her feet and gritted her teeth in anger. She lost sight of where the glove ended up as several of the remaining hybrids dove for it, stirring up a cloud of dirt around the skirmish.
“Still want to stick with the plan?” Aedan muttered angrily as he looked at Gray Matter’s lifeless body.
War is not won without casualties.
Gray Matter’s final words echoed in her head.
The dust settled around the scuffling hybrids, and when it did, Finn glimpsed the half-Goslan’s bloodied body where he lay dead on the ground. The Saosin’s wing had been struck through with a blade, and he struggled to take flight and escape.
Finn’s eyes searched for the stunner glove but it was nowhere to be found.
“I don’t see it,” she told Aedan. “Where is it?”
“Sorry, Brain-Dead. No hard feelings.”
Supersonic skidded to a stop several feet from their trio, her palm now covered in the sleek stunner glove. She raised her hand and closed it in a fist, wiggling her fingers to send a blast straight for them.
Finn engaged her shield, but the hybrid hadn’t gotten the hand movements completely right and her aim was off. The blast missed Finn by a foot. She heard a grunt followed by a heavy thud and turned.
Though she’d been spared, Aedan hadn’t. His big body now lay sprawled on the ground in an unconscious heap.
“No!” Finn screamed.
“Whoops.” Supersonic blushed with embarrassment and launched herself into a dizzying sprint.
“What now?” AJ glanced around nervously.
“Stay out of the way and let me handle this,” she told the boy. He looked like he wanted to argue, but was interrupted by a rush of air as the large net flew toward them.
Finn pushed AJ out of the way as the net collided with her, wrapping itself around her body and taking her to the ground. As soon as it hit earth, the pitons dug into the dirt and held her down.
“Finn!”
“Get back, AJ!” she yelled.
She watched helplessly as Viper came striding over, a longsword grasped tightly in each hand.
“I’m disappointed,” she cooed. “You made this way too easy.”
“Viper!” AJ called out to the venomous hybrid from Finn’s left. Viper turned to glare at AJ, only to stop short, her arms falling limply at her sides. “Leave her alone,” he ordered.
“Leave her alone,” Viper repeated.
Finn glanced up to find AJ’s eyes swirling with an array of colors, his stare locked on Viper’s.
“You want to let Finn out of the net now,” the boy instructed.
“Yes,” Viper replied flatly. She closed the distance between them and fell to her knees. Clumsily, her hands found the release on each piton, loosening the net and allowing Finn the breathing room to escape.
“I told you I could help,” AJ boasted.
Finn watched a disoriented Viper take a seat in the dirt, her reptilian eyes blank.
“Not now, kid.”
She shot AJ a frown.
“I don’t think you can call me that anymore,” he said, grinning widely.
Finn shook her head and sighed. At least he seemed to be enjoying himself.
As she began to lift the net from her body, she noticed the Dome had gone eerily quiet around them. She looked around to find Supersonic, the Saosin, and the Chihiri watching them closely.
Something was wrong. Where was Rock?
“Come on, Finn, hurry up.”
“AJ . . .” Her panicked gaze shot over to him, ready to call out to him in warning. He saw the look on her face and his smile faltered.
The steady ruckus of the crowd hushed and AJ’s eyes widened. Finn watched in horror as the tip of a blade shot through his sternum from behind, his blood spraying down over her.
A dull roar sounded inside Finn’s mind as she watched AJ gurgle and gasp for air. The blade disappeared and the boy fell to the ground in a heap. His face landed mere inches from Finn’s.
Behind him, Rock waved a bloody sword and raised
his arms over his head in triumph.
AJ’s sightless black eyes bored into Finn’s soul, his frozen mouth parted in shock.
AJ was dead.
She released a rage-filled cry from somewhere deep within her belly, the sound of her grief causing even Rock to pause his celebrations to shoot her a nervous glance.
The crowd remained silent. Not even Mr. Green dared to speak.
War is not won without casualties.
Her mind screamed in denial.
Not AJ.
She was supposed to protect him.
She had failed.
Training with you is the only time I’ve ever really been happy.
Tears streamed down Finn’s face as she remembered the boy’s earnest expression and the shy blush of his cheeks when he’d admitted that fact to her.
A single clap sounded from somewhere in the audience and Finn tore her eyes from AJ’s, seeking the source of the applause. She found the chancellor waiting for her, an amused smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he slapped his hands together and broke the eerie silence. His dark eyes, alight with humor, taunted her from the distance.
As Finn watched the chancellor, something inside of her snapped irreparably. Her fractured mind conjured up an image of Sophie, her sad, sightless eyes staring skyward next to AJ as the circle of blood on her gown began to spread.
In a burst of speed, Finn shoved the net from her body and rose to her feet. Her chest heaved with angry breaths as she walked slowly in Rock’s direction.
War is not won without casualties.
AJ was dead and for what? The entertainment of a bunch of rich barbarians? Refusing to kill the others had been a mistake . . . one that cost AJ his life.
Finn had been running from herself for most of her life, from a truth she knew deep down to her core: she was a killer. And now the Reliance wanted a show? Well, she would give it to them.
A calm stole over Finn as the screams in her mind quieted.
Her steady gait seemed to snap Rock out of his stupor and he brought the longsword in front of him and began to charge her. She didn’t bother with the shield or her dagger, looking forward to the pain their collision would bring.
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