by M. R. Forbes
“Shrikes,” Violent said.
Hayley heard them. She spun around, bringing her rifle up into firing position. She could see the sharp heat of their thrusters. She followed the trail for a second, judging their speed. Then she adjusted her aim, falling to a knee to get a better angle.
She fired a quick series of rounds that sent half a dozen flechettes through the sky at supersonic speeds. An instant later, one of the Shrikes peeled off, its thrusters flashing out. It hit a building and exploded, sending up a fireball that nearly blinded her.
Then Tibor grabbed her waist, picking her up and guiding her away. They ran together, toward the closer side of the building, the remaining Shrike closing in.
“We’ll have to jump,” he said.
“Can you make it?” she asked. She knew Violent could.
“It’ll break my legs, but they’ll heal quick.”
They didn’t have time to discuss it. The Shrike opened fire behind them, rounds slamming hard into the rooftop at their backs. They reached the edge of the building, taking a shorter leap that left them falling.
Hayley activated the anti-gravity plate, slowing her descent. Tibor and Violent fell ahead of her, both of them crashing to the ground. Violent flexed her legs, coming back upright. Tibor stumbled and fell, rolling over with his legs twisted out of position. He grabbed them and snapped them back into place, soundless as they began to heal.
She landed a few seconds later, just as an armored carrier came to a stop at the corner of the street. She aimed and fired, sending the rifle’s remaining rounds into the side of the vehicle, the armor-piercing flechettes cutting through the metal and into the soldiers beyond it.
When the gun clicked empty she tossed it aside, moving to Tibor’s side. He was already pulling himself to his feet.
“That was fun,” he said sarcastically.
“At least we got away from the Shrikes,” she replied. “Which way?”
“This way,” he said, pointing in the direction of the armored carrier.
They sprinted toward it, the few remaining soldiers coming around the side of it to meet them. Hayley drew her pistol, leaping into the air and shooting down at them as she arced to the top of the carrier, landing there and grabbing her Uin. She flicked it open, pulling it in front of her as a few rounds skipped off it. The shooting stopped a moment later, leaving Tibor standing amid the bodies.
Hayley jumped down from the carrier, rejoining Violent and Tibor on the other side. They sprinted away from the scene, the other carriers approaching from down the street. The Shrike was still overhead, sweeping back and forth above them and monitoring their position.
“I know a shortcut,” Violent said as they reached an intersection. She redirected them into an alley. “It’ll get us away from the Shrikes.”
They ran to the center of the alley. Violent stopped at the back door to the building on their left, reaching for the security pad next to it and quickly entering the code. The door unlocked and they ducked inside, closing it just before the enemy caught up to them.
Hayley leaned back against the wall to catch her breath. Only it was easier said than done. The room smelled. Bad.
“This is disgusting,” Tibor said. “Where the hell are we?”
Violent activated the overhead lighting, revealing a room filled with pipes and containers and machines. A blackish goop was flowing down a channel into one of the machines, which was separating solid waste from liquid.
“Waste filtration,” Violent said. “My mother worked for the sanitation department. She made sure I knew the codes, in case I was ever in trouble and needed a place to hide.”
“Good foresight,” Tibor said. “Bad location.”
“Hold your nose and follow me,” she replied. “We can go directly to the Administration Center from here.”
“You don’t mean in there?” Tibor said, pointing at the murky slime.
“Lucky for you, no. But you are going to get wet.”
“As long as there are no clowns, I’ll deal.”
“Or spiders,” Hayley said.
“What?” Violent asked.
“Never mind,” Hayley replied. “Lead the way.”
38
The sewer wasn’t very large, leaving the three of them on their hands and knees, crawling through a trickle of not-too-dirty water that was making its way from the city center. It wasn’t the most pleasant thing Hayley had ever done, but it beat the hell out of trying to fight the enemy.
It took nearly an hour to navigate the tunnels. Even Violent got turned around a couple of times, even though she claimed she had memorized the map of the accessible pipes, committed to memory for that future day when Kelvar would rise and fight back against their masters. Hayley had no idea how that day would have ever come without the arrival of the Riders, since none of the members of the small resistance had ever wanted to fight. Then again, the Kevlarians who had decided to fight had all died. They had never stood a chance.
Maybe thinking about rebellion but not rebelling had been the smarter move for these individuals.
“Not much further,” Violent said, looking back at them over her shoulder. Her loose clothes were the most affected by being submerged, the ankles and cuffs soaked and heavy.
“You said that ten minutes ago,” Tibor said from the rear.
He had returned to human form to fit into the tunnel, with a warning that he wasn’t completely sure he could change back.
“I know,” Violent said. “I also said I was sorry. We’re almost there, I promise.”
They continued crawling for a few more minutes. Violent led them around a bend in the tunnel, which revealed a larger opening and a ladder.
“See,” she said.
“What is that?” Hayley asked.
“Drainage for the Center’s garden,” she replied. “It was installed by the Corporation. The executives who worked here thought the planet was ugly, and they needed somewhere to go to get away from the grays and browns.”
Hayley glanced back at Tibor. He shrugged.
The planet was ugly.
“So they brought in trees and flowers and birds from Earth to make it more like home,” Violent said.
“From Earth?” Hayley replied. She missed her home world. “That’s where I’m from.”
“Then you’ll probably feel at home.”
“Except for the assholes trying to kill you,” Tibor said.
“I had assholes trying to kill me on Earth, too.”
Tibor paused. “You don’t make friends when you go places, do you?”
“Sure I do,” she replied. “You’re here.”
He seemed surprised by the suggestion. “We aren’t friends.”
“The enemy of my enemy,” Hayley replied. “By default, if nothing else.”
Tibor’s qi shifted, a spark of happiness rushing through it like a different kind of lightning.
They spilled out into the larger space. There was a grate above them, and a small amount of water dripping down into the sewer. A burst of color was passing through the small holes in the grate, a wave of living energy from the plants in the garden.
She climbed the ladder, lifting the grate slowly and turning her head to get a feel for their surroundings. She ducked her head and replaced the grate when a voice echoed from somewhere in the area.
“Gloritant Thetan,” the voice said. A man’s voice. “My Lord.”
“Jol,” a second voice said. “What do you have to report?”
Hayley lifted her head. Was Thetan here? Grun had claimed he wasn’t.
“We’ve had a number of complications, my Lord,” Jol said. There was a long pause. “White is dead.”
“What?” Thetan said, his voice furious.
She heard choking. Jol was struggling to get his breath against the other man’s anger.
“My. Lord. I. Please. How.” He gasped as his throat was released, the air allowed to return to it.
“Explain to me how you and Devain managed to
screw up seven years of research and an entire year of planning in a matter of hours,” Thetan said. “Quark is a fine soldier, but he doesn’t compare to my new Children.”
“My Lord, I have Colonel Quark. I’ve done as you requested with him. The Colonel isn’t the problem.”
“Then what is, Evolent?”
“The girl,” he replied. “Our reports didn’t have anything about the girl.”
“What girl?”
“Hayley Cage, my Lord. Our informant said she was a healer. A Koosian witch doctor, not a soldier. She wasn’t supposed to be part of the drop.”
“Hey, they’re talking about you,” Tibor whispered.
“I know,” Hayley replied. “Shhh.”
“Your informant doesn’t seem to be as reliable as you thought, Jol.”
“She’s being dealt with,” Jol replied. “I’m holding her responsible.”
“For all the good that will do if we don’t retrieve our research. If Devain weren’t already dead, I would kill her for letting it be taken.”
“We’ll get it back, my Lord. I know for a fact that Cage is on her way here. She’s holed up somewhere for the moment, but she’ll turn up again. I guarantee it. We have Quark, and we have the only ships capable of taking her off the planet.”
Hayley’s mind ran through the names of all the female Riders. There weren’t as many of them as there were men. The traitor wasn’t Nibia, which only left five others. Which one was it?
“That name. Cage,” Thetan said. “It sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?”
“I wouldn’t presume to guess, my Lord.”
Hayley lifted the grate again. She turned her head in the direction of the voices. There was so much qi here; it was hard to separate it all. She managed to begin bringing it into focus, looking out from the center of a small line of bushes, through the branches to where the Evolent was standing. He was on his knees, facing away from her. The world was red and gold above him, a dense, frightening visage formed by the Gift glaring down at Jol from a pool of naniate-enriched blood.
A Font. One of the sources of the Nephilim’s power. Thetan was speaking to his subject through a bloodline. He could be anywhere in the universe.
The sight of the thing turned her stomach and brought back a memory she didn’t want. A memory she had lost a long time ago and was pretty sure she wouldn’t have missed.
Standing in a Font. A voice telling her to drink. She refuses. She’s scared. He makes her drink it. He makes her take it in. Pain.
She forced herself out of the memory, her body cold. She looked down at Violent and Tibor.
“Come on,” she said.
This was their best chance to sneak up on Jol and take him out of the equation before he could bring his Gift to bear. She wasn’t going to let him hurt anyone else. She wasn’t going to let any of the Nephilim bastards hurt anyone else.
“Cage,” Thetan said again. He paused. “I know I’ve heard that name before. It’s.” He paused again. “Cage. In the name of Lucifer, Jol. This girl of yours, she isn’t blind, is she?”
“I. I don’t know,” Jol replied nervously. “She. She wears a visor over her head. It covers her eyes.”
Hayley moved the grate aside and climbed out into the garden. She wished she had time to look at the plants and find the birds. Instead, she slipped behind a tree. Tibor and Violent climbed up after her.
“Whatever forces you have left in the region, call them back to Kelvar,” Thetan said.
“My Lord, I’m sure I have enough soldiers to deal with them. Losing White was a setback, but I’m calling the shots now, not that oversized dog.”
Thetan laughed. “You have no idea who Hayley Cage is, do you Jol?”
Hayley was surprised Thetan knew who she was. His fear had less to do with her, and more to do with her mother.
“I’m sorry, my Lord. I don’t.”
“The Queen of Demons, idiot,” Thetan said. “Hayley Cage is her daughter.”
Hayley could see Jol’s qi shift, a vein of white spreading across it. She would rather not have to carry her mother’s reputation everywhere she went, but in this case, she would take it.
She moved from behind the tree, sneaking carefully through the brush and drawing closer to Jol and the Font. She froze behind an oak tree, listening. A door had opened somewhere else in the garden. Another opened after it, and a third after that.
It was followed by the pounding of boots. A lot of boots.
“Do not fail again, Jol,” Thetan said. “One way or another, I guarantee you’ll regret it.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
The red-gold face tumbled away, the blood splashing back into the Font. Jol returned to his feet. She pulled her Uin from her tightpack. She had to hit him now, or she might never have the chance.
She leaped over a bush, charging toward him from behind. He heard her coming, spinning and raising his hand, the naniates bursting from it in a stream and washing outward with fiery energy. It parted as it neared her, refusing to do her harm, and leaving Jol in shock.
She dove at him, leading with the Uin, ready to cut off his fragging head and satisfy the sudden fury seeing the Font had raised in her.
A black streak came at her from the side, a wave of energy she hadn’t seen and wasn’t expecting. It hit her hard, knocking the wind from her lungs and carrying her away from the Evolent, crashing on top of her, a mouth full of sharp teeth pressed in too close to her face.
“Got you,” Bale said.
39
Hayley looked up at the Goreshin, the last of the group Devain had bred to test their genetic modifications. His spit was running from his jaws to her cheek, his claws holding her arms pinned to her sides.
The bushes rustled around them, as two entire platoons of blacksuits moved in from the north and west. They brought their rifles up, aiming them at her like she was about to escape. They weren’t Kelvarian conscripts. They were real Nephilim soldiers, brought over from the Extant.
A squad of Executioners joined them a moment later, the large, spiked aliens carrying heavy pistols and large swords.
Jol hadn’t been kidding about being ready for her.
The Evolent appeared a moment later, walking over from his place near the Font. He came slowly, sauntering as though he was a fashion model instead of a high-ranking officer.
“Nice work, Bale,” he said. “I knew you were the right mongrel to guard my body.”
Bale glanced back at him, his qi turning red. The Goreshin didn’t care for his master. It seemed to be a common thread among them.
“You can let her up. I don’t think she’s going anywhere.”
Bale climbed off her, remaining close.
“Take the X-squad and find her companions. They have to be here somewhere. Unless of course, they abandoned you.” He smiled, amused.
Had they? If not, where the frag did they go? Back into the sewer?
Hayley pushed herself to her feet, remaining in one place. Bale headed off into the garden with the Executioners, leaving her alone with Jol and twenty-four soldiers, all pointing their rifles at her.
Before, she had been nervous about dropping onto the planet and running the mission by the book. Then everything had gone to hell, and she had spent the last day of her life fighting to survive. Now?
The odds didn’t seem all that bad.
She shifted her hand on her thigh, putting it over the tightpack containing the stims.
“I’m sure you heard my conversation with Gloritant Thetan,” Jol said, keeping his distance from her. “Is it true? Are you the daughter of the Demon Queen?”
Hayley nodded. “Yeah. Have you seen her lately? Because I haven’t.”
He laughed. “Mommy issues?”
“I’m not her. And she’s not me. If you want to be afraid, be afraid for the right reasons.”
He laughed harder. “I’m not afraid of you.”
She returned his smile. “Maybe you should be.”
She
could see the spike of fear in his qi. The Evolent didn’t like her confidence.
“Give me the data chip,” he said.
“Come take it from me.”
“I don’t think so. I don’t know what you’re expecting to happen here, Miss Cage. You did well, but you’ve lost. My troops will have Tibor and the woman any minute now. You’re outgunned. Outnumbered. Outclassed. You may have some special ability that lets you somehow move around without being able to see, but that will only get you so far.”
“Witchy, it’s Violent. I hope you can still hear me. I’m at the central power conduit in the basement. The Evolent didn’t leave it very well defended. I’m going to cut the power in ten seconds. The lights will go off, and it’ll take a few seconds for the emergency bulbs to switch over. If there’s anything you can do, that’ll be the time.”
Hayley’s smile grew a little wider.
“I think you might be underestimating me,” she said. “You want the data? Try to take it from me.”
He shook his head, getting angry. “Fine. Enough stupid games.”
He held out his hand. She could see the red-gold of the Gift stretching out toward her. It stopped a few centimeters from her body, unwilling to touch her.
“Were you trying to do something?” she asked. “Because I don’t feel anything.”
His qi turned a brighter red.
Something thunked in the distance.
The lights went out.
Hayley crouched low, grabbing the stim from her tightpack and jabbing it into her neck. In the same instant, she commanded the naniates to protect her.
Two-dozen fully-automatic rifles unleashed a barrage of fire that would have torn any regular person to a bloody mess. Instead, as she came out of her crouch and the lights went back on, the Nephilim found her surrounded by hundreds of metal slugs hanging in the air half a meter from her body.
Two-dozen rifles clicked empty. Hayley still had her Uin in her other hand, and she flicked it open.
Then she let the iron curtain drop.