The Skin Hunter Series Box Set

by Tania Hutley

  He steps closer, his squad moving up behind him.

  From the far end of the living room, I hear the doctor make a small, frightened sound. It’s so quiet, I only catch it because my hearing is sharper than normal. I should have told the doctor to run into her bedroom and hide under her bed. It might have given her a faint chance of survival.

  “William, please,” I say, racking my brain for some way to get her and Cale out of the house to safety.

  “Please?” He laughs again. “Is that all you can say? I expected better.”

  “Don’t you remember when you were little and I’d sing you to sleep? And when we used to climb onto the fire escape together. Remember how we’d imagine what it might be like if we ever got to live in New Triton?” I take a step forward, my hands still spread. “I dreamed of living in a proper house, but you said all you wanted was for us to always be together. You and Ma and—”

  “You really think I care about your stupid memories?” He lunges forward and swipes his hand across another workbench. Equipment crashes to the floor.

  The doctor makes another terrified sound, and I silently will her to start backing up. If she makes it back into her bedroom, maybe they’ll take pity on her and let her live.

  Cale grabs something from the floor. When he straightens, I see it’s the metal bar I bent to show Doctor Gregory how strong I am. He holds it up, and I wish I’d chosen something else to bend, because in a U-shape it doesn’t look like a very effective weapon.

  “Get out of here,” Cale demands in a low, dangerous snarl.

  William chuckles. “How sweet, my sister’s lover is being brave. Romeo trying to protect his Juliet. It’s a very old story, so you might not have heard it. Spoiler alert, both of you are going to die.”

  On the floor is the doctor’s scanner, the one she used to wipe my chip and re-code it. I step to the side to snatch it up. William watches me grab it but makes no move to stop me. He obviously has no idea what it is.

  I’m not even sure if it will work on his Skin. The doctor used it to wipe the chip embedded in my human body. But the Skin must have a lot of electronics in its brain stem, and maybe the doctor’s device will scramble it enough to kill the Skin’s connection to the person using it.

  I glance back at the doctor. She’s pale and trembling, but when I hold up the scanner and give her a pointed look, she gets what I’m asking and nods.

  Okay, good. This weapon will work. And my brother doesn’t know how strong I am. Maybe I can wipe one or two chips before he figures it out, but there’s no way I can wipe all six, especially with one shoulder not working as well as it should.

  “Cale, take the doctor into the bedroom.” I pitch my voice low.

  He shoots me a frown. “You can’t fight them.”

  “Neither can you.”

  “So whatever we do, we’ll do together.”

  “Romeo and Juliet,” mocks William. “Don’t worry, you’ll die together.” His yellow eyes go to his squad. “I want to be the one who does it,” he orders. “Grab them and hold them.”

  The knights lunge forward, their movements almost too quick to follow. I don’t fight, but let one grab me. Cale strikes one with the metal bar, but the knight doesn’t so much as flinch. It twists Cale’s arms behind his back, forcing him to drop the bar.

  With the knight gripping me tightly around my arms, I let my body go limp, as though I’ve fainted. I let my head drop and loll on my shoulders, though pain shoots through my shoulder.

  “What have you done?” snarls William. “You killed her.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” protests the knight that’s holding me. It has a girl’s voice. “I don’t think she’s dead.” It lets go of one of my arms, presumably to check my heart’s still beating. I wrench myself free, shooting my hand out to swipe the scanner across the back of its neck.

  The knight drops, almost taking me down with it.

  I jump back, and in the same movement lunge at one of the knights holding Cale. It lets him go and staggers back, but I don’t quite manage to swipe the scanner across its neck before it shoves me away.

  “That was a sneaky trick,” my brother snarls. He moves quickly, grabbing my arms before I can sidestep him. I use all my strength to tear one arm free, ignoring the pain that sears into my shoulder, and struggling to get the scanner where I want it. He grunts with surprise, but recovers before I can get the scanner in the right place. He hooks his arm around my throat, choking me while he forces the scanner out of my hand.

  “One of you keep hold of Romeo,” he orders the two knights who’ve grabbed Cale between them again. “The other come and help me with this one. And keep your grip tight. She’s stronger than she should be.”

  When he releases his arm from my throat, I gasp for breath. With a knight on each side of me, both holding on firmly, there’s no way I can get free.

  “Why are you so strong?” William snarls in my ear.

  I press my lips together and shoot him a glare. My throat feels like it’s on fire.

  My brother nods at the knight who has hold of Doctor Gregory. “Kill her,” he orders. “Not too quickly.”

  “No!” Cale and I shout in unison.

  “Please don’t,” begs Doctor Gregory. “What do you want? Please take anything you like, but leave us—” Her begging is cut off by the knight’s hands around her neck. It lifts her off the ground and her feet flail. She claws at its hands, her face going red and her eyes bulging.

  It’s Gama all over again.

  “Stop. Let her go.” I fling myself toward the doctor and feel the knights’ grip on me slip before they manage to grab me again.

  “Why are you so strong?” snarls William. “Tell me.”

  “Let her go first, then I’ll tell you.”

  “Tell me now.” He nods at the knight holding the doctor. “Finish her.”

  “No!”

  But Doctor Gregory’s hands are only moving weakly now, her frantic clawing at the knight’s hands turning into a flutter. Her mouth opens and closes as she tries desperately to draw in a breath. Then she goes limp. The knight drops her and she crumples to the floor.

  She’s not breathing.

  I stare at her body, a deep agonising scream ripping its way out of my throat. When I had nothing, Doctor Gregory took me in. Without her, I wouldn’t have survived. And William killed her because of me. I did this. I repaid her kindness with death.

  My heart is on fire. My throat aches with the need to scream again and again. It can’t be real. She can’t be dead. Please don’t let her be dead.

  “Why are you so strong?” demands William in my ear.

  “Go to hell,” I gasp.

  “Tell me, or I’ll kill Romeo.” He nods at the knight holding Cale, and a black armored hand fastens around Cale’s throat.

  “A Skin made me strong,” I spit at William. “It changed my brain. Just like using that Knight Skin has changed yours.”

  “Using a Knight Skin made your human body strong?”

  “Not a Knight Skin, a Leopard Skin. I was the clouded leopard in the Skin Hunter contest.”

  He snorts. “You’re lying.”

  “I’m not. Cale was going to use the Saber-toothed Tiger Skin, but he was replaced before the contest. He was on the holo, doing interviews. Do you recognise him?”

  William cocks his head in a gesture that reminds me of Sentin. “And after the contest, you were stronger?”

  “That’s right. My brain got used to me being as strong as the leopard. That was my new normal, and somehow it carried over to my real body.”

  He considers it for a moment, then nods. “Makes sense.” He raises his voice, addressing the knight that’s still holding Cale by the throat. “Now I want you to kill Romeo.”

  “No, you can’t,” I shout. “I told you what you wanted to know. Let him go.”

  “I’d rather kill him.” He nods at the knight, who lifts Cale off the ground. Cale starts choking and kicking just like the doctor
did.

  My heart is going to burst out of my chest. This can’t be happening. Not to Cale. Not him. Anyone but him.

  “I’m going to tear you to pieces,” I scream at my brother.

  “Sorry sister, but it’s going to be the other way around.”

  Cale kicks harder, and I can’t bear to watch. This isn’t fair. Cale is the best person I know. All he’s ever done is try to help people. He’s the last person in the world who deserves to be hurt.

  “Kill me,” I beg. “Let him go and kill me instead.”

  My brother chuckles. “Don’t worry, it’ll be your turn next.”

  Then he glances down at the panel on his wrist. It’s lit up and glowing red. He’s getting a communication.

  “Stop,” he orders the knight who’s holding up Cale. “Put him down.”

  The knight obeys slowly, as though reluctant to let Cale live. As soon as the knight’s hand releases Cale’s throat, he collapses to the floor, gasping with relief, dragging in air in big, noisy gulps.

  “We’ve been ordered to wait to kill them,” says William in a grudging tone.

  “Wait for what?” I demand.

  “It won’t be long.” He stares at his screen. “In fact, the person we’re waiting for is already here.”

  The door opens and though there’s no noise, I sense another presence in the room. Craning my neck, I see a huge, jewel-green figure moving closer.

  Sentin.

  My limbs go weak with relief. He’s here to save us.

  The Reptile Skin stops next to Doctor Gregory’s body and stares down at her for a moment. Then he looks at William. “You already killed one.” His voice is so cold and emotionless, he may as well be talking about the weather.

  “My orders were to bring them in dead or alive, sir.” William sounds sullen.

  I stare at him in shock. Sentin has authority over the knights? The director—I mean, the president—must have given him that power. She must trust him.

  “And you chose dead,” says Sentin flatly.

  It’s not a question, but William nods. “Yes, sir. And we were going to kill the other two.”

  “Stand down, soldier. President Morelle wants that one alive.” He nods at me. “Your orders are to take her into the lab. There’s a doctor waiting to run some experiments on her.”

  I swallow, remembering how the doctor wanted to slice open my Leopard Skin so she could watch wounds appear on my human body.

  “Take her back to the Morelle tower,” Sentin commands. “Doctor James is waiting for her in the lab on level twenty-six.” He frowns. “And don’t damage her before you get there or you’ll answer to our president.”

  “You’re not taking her anywhere,” growls Cale. His voice is raspy and hoarse. “Let her go.”

  Sentin ignores him, and anger surges through me, giving me the strength to struggle and almost tear myself free again, though my shoulder screams with pain.

  “Hold her tighter,” snarls William at the knight on my other side. Then he nods at Cale. “What about him, sir?”

  “I want to question him before I dispose of him,” says Sentin. “Leave him with me.”

  “Sir, I can help you—”

  “I don’t need your help. I’m a hundred times stronger than he is, and the girl is more important. Using a Skin altered her physiology, and President Morelle wants to study her. Take the rest of your squad to make sure the girl doesn’t get away.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Cale—” I call, but William clamps his hand over my mouth.

  As my brother and the other knights drag me away, I can no longer pretend Sentin’s on our side, or that he’s somehow going to free us, or help us get away.

  The way he’s giving orders, President Morelle must have given him a senior position in her army. He’s on her side, not ours.

  He betrayed us, and now Cale’s going to die.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Before leaving the doctor’s house, my brother binds my wrists and ankles. Then he throws me over his shoulder, carrying me in the same way I carried him. Face down, bumping against his armor with my arms strapped behind my back, the pain in my shoulder is almost unbearable.

  Instead of shoving me into a cab and driving to the Morelle Corporation, he strides down the sidewalk with me. Behind him, his squad march in step. It’s going be a long walk. I’m jolted with every stride and pain shoots down my arm while his hard armor digs into my flesh.

  Every step takes me further from Cale and Ma. I’m leaving them both to die, and I can’t do a damn thing to stop it. All I can do is grit my teeth against the pain and try to reason with my brother.

  “You hit Ma over the head and she could be dying right now. Do you even care that you might have killed your own mother? The only thing she ever did is love you.”

  He doesn’t reply, so I keep talking.

  “Ma and I have been working long hours in factories. I got my scars on the job. You think I’ve had an easy few years?” I force myself not to think about what Sentin might be doing to Cale and Ma, or to let my fury, pain, or frustration leak into my voice. I need to sound as reasonable as I can to have any chance of getting William to listen. “Every cent Ma and I earned went into a fund. All these years, our one goal has been to get a place where the three of us can live. Where we can be a family again, and—”

  “You two stayed together and sent me away.”

  He sounds contemptuous, but at least he’s listening. That fact alone is enough to light a spark of hope, however faint.

  “I was burned right after you went to the academy, and instead of helping out with my treatment, the only thing the company did was transfer me to a different factory. For my own good, they said. But it meant I had to leave Ma. Since then, we’ve been living in different shelters. I was on my own too, just like you.”

  The position I’m in, I can’t see his face, but his stride seems to hesitate. Could I have finally gotten through to him?

  “We both tried contacting you a thousand times after you went to the academy,” I add. “We could never get hold of you.”

  “No, you didn’t,” He spits the words. “You never called.”

  “We left hundreds of messages. You didn’t get any of them?” I’d suspected he hadn’t, but to hear it confirmed is gut wrenching. “When I stayed at the Morelle Corporation, they had a firewall set up to block some functions of our bands. They must have had the same thing at the academy. They made sure you didn’t get any of our calls or messages.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I’m telling the truth, William. President Morelle’s the one who’s been lying to you.”

  “Without her, I’d have nothing.”

  “That’s not true. Without her, you’d have me and Ma. We’d never have let her take you if we’d known—”

  “Stop talking. Speak again and I’ll bash your brains out on the nearest wall.”

  He sounds furious enough that I clench my jaw shut. How can I change his mind? I’d tell him I love him, but I don’t know if it’s still true. All I can see is the fear on Doctor Gregory’s face before he killed her. Even knowing he’s been brainwashed doesn’t change my horror over what he’s done.

  Still, I’d probably say it anyway if I thought it’d help. But he needs time to calm down first, to think about what I’ve told him, and hopefully start doubting everything that’s been drummed into him.

  I keep quiet for what seems like a long time. Behind us, his squad are marching in perfect synchronicity, their boots crashing rhythmically on the sidewalk. None of them are talking either, or if they are, I can’t hear them.

  The sun has risen. It’s hot on my back, and when I turn my head up, a blinding glare hits my eyes. The light is shining through the top of the Morelle Building.

  It’s by far the tallest building in New Triton, and according to legend, Morelle keeps the top two floors for her own private use. Floors one-ninety-seven and one-ninety-eight. The very top of the buildi
ng is all glass, and when the sun reflects through it, it’s too bright to look at. Triton’s newest president sleeps up there, with her head in the clouds.

  I’ve never hated her more than I do right now.

  We’re almost at the building, and William still hasn’t said anything. His armor has been grinding into my torso with every step, and my arm and shoulder are on fire. With unbearable pain shooting through my limbs, wondering if Cale and Ma are already dead, and what’s going to happen to me when we get to the building, I’m slowly going crazy.

  “Did they treat you well at the academy?” I ask in what I hope is a gentle tone, though I’m speaking through clenched teeth. “We hoped it’d be better than that terrible orphanage, but we worried about you the whole time.”

  “The academy was my home.”

  “I’m sure it was nice. Morelle made it that way to turn you and the others against your real families. She’s using you, William. Everything she did was so you’d be loyal to her. So you’d fight for—”

  “Shut up,” he says harshly. “I won’t tell you again.”

  I suck in a breath, wondering whether to keep talking anyway. But I’m afraid to push too hard, and we’re both silent when he carries me into the Morelle scraper.

  This is the first time I’ve been back to this building since the Skin Hunter contest. The lobby is huge, with marble floors and walls. Its workers bustle in and out. Most stare curiously, but nobody challenges us.

  President Morelle is here somewhere. So is the huge training room on the forth floor where Cale and I trained for the contest, and the laboratory on the twenty-sixth floor, where I was going to be experimented on.

  The thought of being so close to that laboratory makes me want to scream. I escaped from it once, and the doctor who wanted to experiment on me won’t make the same mistake again. This time, she’ll make sure I’m securely tied up before she starts taking me apart piece by piece.

  As my brother strides through the lobby, I suck in a breath, searching desperately for something—anything—that might get through to him.