She could see inside the level below them, and part of the level below that. The Riverhawk had crashed into the building, between the top two floors, removing part of the roof and outer wall. Acrid smoke drifted from inside, thick and black, illuminated on one side by a smoldering fire within. Katy stepped around the hole to the building's true edge to gaze to the street below. Rubble was scattered everywhere, small from so high up. The only thing that gave perspective to the debris was the heavy laser resting on its side among it. They were too high up to see Jarl, but they knew his fate.
"Fucking damn it all!" Onero screamed, kicking rubble over the exposed edge. Katy was glad for the dark to cover his expression. His voice alone was frightening. He strode toward the prisoners, holding the rifle at his side.
What is he going to do? Katy stepped forward to stop him, but to her relief he walked past the hostages, circling around the clearing. Thinking.
Eventually he said, "Spider, follow me."
Nobody said a word as they disappeared into the garden.
Katy held out a hand to Milana, still crouched in the same spot next to the new hole. "You okay?"
She allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. "I think... yeah, I think so." Her face was a mask in the darkness. "It happened so fast. Right next to me, the roof was just suddenly gone."
They checked on the prisoners, making sure none of them were harmed. A few of the students wept silently, but were otherwise fine. Aircraft still boomed in the sky, and unnatural green lightning flashed across the cityscape. Were they safe now that their heavy laser was destroyed, or would aircraft still target their roof?
Katy looked toward the garden, where the stairwell waited beyond. If I lead everyone downstairs to safety, Onero will... she didn't dare finish the thought. Now was not a time to disobey the man.
Flashes of light showed where the remaining aircraft dove and attacked the other laser batteries across the city. They didn't seem to be targeting their roof now that the laser battery was destroyed. "Over to the south edge," Katy told the prisoners, gesturing. "Use that low wall for cover."
They obeyed, arraying themselves along the waist-high wall. The tall woman's head stuck above the edge, exposed, but it gave the rest adequate cover. "I'll take the garden," Milana said, voice shaky. Mother, she sounds terrified.
Katy only nodded. She took a position on the other side of the prisoners, in the corner of the roof that still remained intact. She sat on the tiles, back against the short wall, facing west toward the captives and garden.
Two rooftops to the north a heavy laser screeched, close enough that each pulse briefly illuminated their own roof. It scraped thick beams across the sky, searching out the dark aircraft that circled, revealed by their own weapons flashing. The Chain gave away their position too, a curved rope dotted with lights across which shadows occasionally moved. The structure loomed at an awkward angle now, tilting to the west, almost hanging over them. It gave Katy vertigo to look at it, distorting her view, so she looked away.
She felt strangely disconnected from the battle now that their own laser was gone. They were almost spectators, helpless to affect the fighting above. The rifle in her lap seemed small, ineffectual. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.
We'll join with the ground forces now, I suppose. She eyed the captives. The Instructor spoke softly to her students, trying to keep them calm. It seemed to work--only one still wept. Capturing steadfasts and converting them isn't so bad, when they come peacefully.
Katy stared at the huddled shapes for a long time. The steadfasts had been the enemy for so long, the target of her frustration and anger. They fought for the Emperor, capturing planets and moons and subjugating anyone they found. An entire planet, Praetar, was essentially a slave colony! Anyone who assisted in that end should be punished.
But she didn't want to punish these students. They knew no better, following whatever they were told. And even the Instructors weren't as bad as she thought. Not ruthless authoritarians who molded innocents into monsters. Just caring teachers.
Milana suddenly jumped to her feet, rifle aimed deeper into the garden. She lowered it as Onero and Spider emerged, pushing a dark figure ahead of them. She wore a pilot's uniform, charred black across the chest and torn away revealing a bloody gash on her shoulder and arm. Without a helmet Katy could see her grimy face, the short hair disheveled.
Katy squinted at her in the darkness. This is the true enemy, she thought. Someone actively resisting, defending the Emperor to the end, delaying their Mother's glory. The other captives had surrendered easily, but this one would surely not.
The pilot's eyes remained closed as Onero pushed her forward. She lost her footing where the garden grass changed to tile, stumbling forward onto her knees and shoulder. Onero had already bound her hands behind her back.
"Get up," he said quietly, pulling her to her feet. She moaned in pain as he marched her across the roof. The students' heads swiveled in unison, watching.
Onero stopped at the hole where the roof disappeared. "Look what you did," he said, holding the rope that tied her hands so he could lean her over the edge. "Member of the Gold, crashing her ship into a building. I thought you lot were elite."
The pilot slumped her head, silent.
"You destroyed my gun, killed Jarl. He's down there with the rubble." He leaned forward, speaking in her ear, but Katy was close enough to hear. "That's a long way to fall. A person'd have a lot of time to think about what they've done before they hit the ground." He pushed his body against hers, inching her forward. Her flight boots scraped on the tile as she weakly resisted.
I should want her death, Katy thought as she watched. She knew she should be bloodthirsty, eager for Onero to push the woman to her death, the pilot who had nearly killed them. Why will my anger not come?
With a tug of the rope Onero yanked the pilot away from the edge, sending her falling to the ground. "You don't deserve such a quick death! Not after what you've done, oh no. We're going to have some fun instead."
Spider approached, pulling the coiled rope from his bag. He pushed a chair up behind the pilot and wrapped the rope around both, tying her to the chair.
Onero grabbed a bulbous red pepper from Spider's food bag and sat on the edge of the wall. He bit into it, juice glistening down his chin in the green flashing light that still flickered from the battle around them. A booming explosion sounded in the distance.
"What... do you want... from me," mumbled the pilot, disoriented.
Onero jumped up from the wall and strode to her, spry with anger and malice. He crouched on his heels. "I don't know, pilot... Brynn," he said, grabbing the breast of her uniform. He cocked his head. "What do you have to give us?"
He waited, and when no answer came he squeezed the half-eaten pepper over the gash in her shoulder.
The screams cut through the roof's silence, along with the sound of metal scraping as she thrashed in the chair. Katy flinched in spite of herself. Mother... The woman's screams were real, visceral, echoing off the neighboring buildings. Katy thought she heard some students cry out.
Pilot Brynn screamed all the air from her lungs until she gasped and coughed. Only the chair tied to her back kept her sitting upright as she sputtered in agony.
Onero rose. "I don't want silence. I've plenty of that already from this lot! What I want from you, dear Brynn, is information."
Brynn breathed in short, quick gasps. "I don't... know anything."
"Sure you do! You must know a lot more than the rest of us. Why, I'll bet the most basic knowledge you take for granted would be valuable to our little group of Children moving through your city. How about you start with what happened on Latea? Why is the Gold Wing here instead of with the Olitau?"
They already knew what had happened on Latea: the Olitau captured, the Chain destroyed, the Emperor slain. But she doesn't know we know.
"We lost the Olitau," she said. "The remains of the Gold retreated to defend Luccar. His Luminance..." Bry
nn raised her head. She looked at the captives against the wall and hesitated.
Onero laughed. "Oh, don't be afraid. You can say it. I've already told them, but they didn't believe me. His Luminance is..."
Brynn opened her mouth but no sound came out. She slumped her head, unable to say the words.
That was enough confirmation for Onero. "You see?" he said, turning toward the students. "I've been truthful to you this entire time. Your Emperor is dead. Dead!"
Some students began weeping again. Their Instructors stared straight ahead, expressionless. The tall woman glanced at the two redheads, who seemed unfazed by the information. Good, Katy thought, they've already begun to accept it.
But the old man suddenly leaned forward, eyes awake and alert. "Lies! The Emperor has lived a thousand immortal lives, and I--"
The others pulled the old man back down, whispering soothing words to calm him. Onero stared daggers. When he continued mumbling words of blasphemy Onero stepped forward.
Abruptly, Brynn began laughing.
Onero stopped. "Yes, your false god's death is quite funny," he said, but he frowned at her, confused.
"No," Brynn said between breaths, "not that. I'm laughing because... I'm going to die, but so are all of you."
Onero pursed his lips. "We shall see. Look above: the battle is ours. We have you outnumbered in the sky. We have the strength on the ground. Your Emperor's heir cannot save the city, he can only slow us down."
For some reason that only made the pilot laugh harder. Onero crouched in front of her, lifted her chin with his finger, and examined her face. Even in the near-darkness Katy could see he looked uneasy. "You are trying to discomfit us," he finally decided. "Your life is lost, so all you can do is try to chip away at our resolve. No. We are resolute!"
"You star-worshipping fools," she said, looking around the roof. "It's true, none of you know? You look above. It tilts so steeply and yet you sit here, converting children to your cause, oblivious to what you've done." They all raised their eyes as Brynn laughed in disbelief. "It should be obvious and you're all blind to it. The Chain. It will crash within hours, and you're sitting in its path like fools."
Katy looked up with all the others. The Chain angled over their heads to the west, like a tree nearly snapped in half by a summerstorm gale. Mother help us. She's right. Everything suddenly made sense: the Empire's forces suddenly resisting them in this section of the city instead of the palace, fighting to slow them down despite being outnumbered.
"No..." Onero said, shaking his head. "You're lying. We were told it would remain upright, held by the moon's gravity. The queer angle is only the Chain teetering, unstable."
Brynn shrugged, then winced with pain. "Sit here and wait to find out, then. It's what they want."
Onero began pacing across the rooftop, alternating glances between the Chain and Brynn. Occasionally he spoke into his wrist computer, though Katy could not hear the words. Finally he returned to the prisoner. "Even if this is true, why tell us?"
"Nothing I say is going to change anything," Brynn said. "Everything is fucked. The Exodus Fleet, the Emperor, command of the city..."
"What else do you know?" Onero asked.
"Plenty."
"What's the city's total strength?"
"Forty-five pilots," she said, "and more ships. One hundred peacekeepers in the city, or at least last I saw. A few more garrisoned at the palace."
Onero pointed a finger at her. "The Empire doesn't have that many pilots in the city. I know for a fact."
"Oh," Brynn said, "you mean the incapacitated city patrol? They've been sorted out. Every one of them is up there as we speak, along with the remains of the Gold and the aircraft brought in from the other cities."
"The false god's heir," Onero said, changing the subject. "What is his plan? Distract us until the Chain crashes, and then what?"
Her face lit up with anger. "I don't know what the heir's plan is," she snarled, "because he's not in charge. The Commander of the Gold Wing has taken advantage of the chaos to seize control of Luccar. The other cities have been abandoned to that end. You fanatics may not win, but we've already lost."
Katy stared at the pilot. The false heir deposed, the city taken in a coup by one of its most trusted heroes? It seems too good to be true. Even the other prisoners looked shocked; the tall woman and her companions exchanged glances, and Karrana, the pilot Instructor, stared with open mouth.
Onero was just as skeptical. "You're lying," he accused. "This is all a trick to make us underestimate your position, charge forward recklessly. Why has the heir not announced his so-called rebirth? What are you not telling us?"
"I've told you everything I--"
"Where has he gone?" Onero said, stepping closer. "There've been no fleeing aircraft. We've been watching, waiting for that. Is there an underground tunnel leading out of the city?"
She only stared up at him, confused. Onero struck her with the butt of his rifle, snapping her head back and causing her to cry out in surprise. Blood ran down her face and dribbled across her uniform, where her chest rose and fell in short, quick breaths.
"Tell me."
"Fuck off," she muttered, exhausted and defeated. "I've told you more than you deserve. Kill me and wait for your own deaths."
He kicked her wounded shoulder. Not even the chair could keep her upright then, and she fell onto her side with a thud and clatter. A few of the prisoners yelled. Onero's blood boiled, his face painted with rage when illuminated by the green light of the battle above. He pressed his boot onto her shoulder, and Brynn began screaming in earnest.
"Where is the heir? We need him to prove your god's falseness."
Her only answer was agony until he removed his boot. "In the palace," she gasped, "hidden away somewhere, I suspect."
"Lies," Onero spat. "You just said he was gone. Everything you've told us is poison."
Katy glanced to the sky again. It didn't look like the Chain's impending crash was a lie, but she knew this woman would say whatever she could to disrupt their plans.
"I've told you truth," Brynn whispered, "you're just too blind to see it."
Onero gritted his teeth and aimed his rifle, and for a split second Katy was certain he would fire. His arm shook with rage as he aimed down at the woman. She stared back defiantly. Katy found herself holding her breath as the moment stretched. Just end it. She'll only spread more lies.
Finally he lowered his gun. "Katy, bring me a student."
Yes, use the young ones against her, she thought. They didn't need to harm them--the threat would be enough to make Brynn talk. The prisoners watched Katy approach. Karrana began to rise until Spider pointed his rifle, grunting. She fell back against the wall. "Don't do this," she whispered. "They've said the words. They're only children."
They're fine, Katy thought, they've said the words, Onero just means to use them as leverage. Without looking Katy selected the closest student, pulling him to his feet by his arms. The boy looked up at Katy with wide eyes. He was four, maybe five years old. He seemed more confused than afraid--he didn't understand what was happening. She marched him forward to where Onero waited.
Onero rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "What's your name?"
"Cairne," the boy answered, sheepish.
"Cairne," Onero said, "tell this nice pilot that you don't want to die. Go on, don't be afraid."
He obeyed and turned his eyes toward her, not understanding what he was doing. "I don't want to die," he said in a small voice.
"I've told you everything," Brynn said to Onero. Now her words came out in a rush. "The heir is nowhere to be found. The military controls the city, shooting servants in the palace who disobey. Their only plan is to slow you until the Chain falls."
"Where is the heir?" Onero asked, ignoring her.
"I just told you."
Onero fired his rifle.
The boy crumpled, his head hitting the ground with a sickening crack. His tiny body struggled for a mo
ment, limbs writhing in confusion, before he was still.
No, Katy thought in disbelief, he couldn't have shot him. The boy accepted our Mother. He said the words.
"Onero," Milana said, barely a whisper, "what are you doing?"
Onero spoke again, but his voice was drowned out by cries of anguish and disbelief. Karrana jumped to her feet, screaming, until Milana knocked her down with the butt of her gun. The students were frenzied, crying and looking around helplessly. Only the tall woman's group remained silent, watching. Spider continued pointing his rifle at the prisoners, but even he looked shocked.
Katy's feet suddenly stepped on something soft; only then did she realize she'd been backing away from the others, and now stood at the edge of the garden. She wasn't sure what to do so she raised her rifle at the prisoners, all of whom now stood. Even the old man was on his feet, shouting to nobody in particular about his importance.
Onero reached the prisoners. "Shut up," he shouted, pressing the barrel of his rifle against a boy's forehead. The boy whimpered and begged. "All of you be quiet!"
Brynn twisted on the ground. "Please--"
Onero's rifle flashed and the student fell.
The male Instructor suddenly darted forward, but a beam from Milana's rifle caught him in the chest. He fell forward, carried halfway to Onero by his momentum. The others all stood still. Milana looked over her shoulder and gave Onero a pleading look.
He didn't see. "I can't hear Brynn's lies in all of this noise!" he said, stepping up to another student. "See how the Empire rewards loyalty? All she need do to save you is tell the truth, but even that is beyond her."
The next student was a girl, no older than twelve. Another flash from Onero's rifle.
Katy watched, unfeeling. A switch had gone off in her head the moment the first boy hit the ground, wrapping her emotions in wool. She was not standing there on the roof--it was all happening to some other girl, and Katy was only watching. They're steadfasts, she told herself, just like the ones you killed at the Academy. But those were actively training to defend the Empire, whereas these students had all said words of praise for their Mother. It was a small distinction--they'd converted under duress, after all--but it made all the difference to Katy.
Drowned by Fire (Tales of a Dying Star Book 4) Page 19