“Don’t you ever stab me again,” said Deryn while forcefully gripping Xander’s coat.
He nodded, his wet eyes darkening as he gazed at her. “You lied to me,” he said, his throat aching with every word he spoke.
Deryn gulped. “I had to.”
“Why?”
“Because I was falling in love with you and I didn’t want you to look at me differently.”
Deryn’s eyes drifted over Xander’s shoulder. The disgusting hologram was still playing, a ghost forever haunting her.
Talon banged his chair against the panel, destroying it. Xander jerked out of Deryn’s arms and fell to the floor, writhing in pain.
“Xander!” she screamed, falling to his side and holding him still. Only then did she notice the collar around his neck. “What is this?”
“Th ...they p-put it on me s-so this would happen every time I closed my eyes,” said Xander, doing his best to sit up straight.
Deryn inspected the collar. It looked similar to the slave collar she was forced to wear for five years and needed the proper identification to be removed.
“Deryn, we need to move,” said Talon, throwing his chair aside.
“Just one second.” She pressed her earpiece. “Izzy, we have Xander out of the room but he’s wearing some sort of collar that has the ability to shock him. Is there any way to confirm if it will harm him if he moves away from the panel that controls it?”
“If it’s not shocking him to death then I’d say no but there’s really only one way to find out. I still have hold of the elevator but not for much longer. What’s your escape plan?”
Deryn and Talon glanced at each other and shrugged.
Talon pressed his earpiece. “I guess we’re just winging it.”
“Try the stairwell where Neetles is -”
There was a loud BANG on the other side of the line.
“Shit! Lincoln just got back from his patrol. Guards are coming!” shouted Izzy.
“We’re taking the bikes we can and destroying the others so they can’t use them to follow us,” said Rees. “Izzy, hurry up and grab your shit!”
Everything went silent.
The elevator dinged.
Talon and Deryn both looked at it, the doors sliding open. Talon readied his weapon while Deryn did the same, standing protectively in front of Xander who was trying to rise back to his feet.
Elvira stepped out, her legs wobbling and eyes spinning like she was intoxicated. She spotted them and raised her Element. “You fucking -”
The door to her left flung open and a flash of dark hair toppled into her. A sweaty Nita brought an elbow to Elvira’s jaw and kicked her back into the elevator. Both women raised their weapons but the doors closed as they fired. They just missed each other.
Nita put her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. She raised her arm and wiped ninety-two-floors worth of sweat from her forehead. She looked at the others through hazy eyes and breathily shouted, “Let’s get the fuck out of here!”
Deryn turned back to Xander and wrapped her arm around his back.
“No time for that,” said Talon, grabbing Xander’s waist and flipping him over his shoulder. “Fucking hell, Ruby. Next time, take it easy on the cupcakes.”
Deryn couldn’t help but laugh at the inside joke Talon didn’t even know he’d made.
“It’s muscle, not fat, you fucker.”
Nita held open the door. Talon made it into the stairwell with Xander, but as Deryn followed something hit the wall beside her head. She jumped and looked, immediately recognizing the handle of the knife that was now lodged into the wall. It was her knife, the one she’d used to obtain her freedom.
Deryn turned and saw Soren and several guards appear from the other stairwell. It figured he’d be the one to snag her lost possession. She glared at him and yanked the knife from the wall, holding it tight as Nita shoved her through the doorway just as Elvira stepped out of the elevator with more guards.
Nita slammed the door shut behind them and used some wire from her pouch to tie the door handle to the railing. Deryn headed down the stairs, but barely went half a flight when she heard several sets of boots marching upwards.
Panic spread through them.
“Guess we’re going up,” said Nita, who still seemed out of breath from her ninety-two-floor trek.
She inhaled deeply and darted up the stairs. Talon holding Xander ran up behind her while Deryn watched the rear with her Element and knife at the ready.
“You really had no plan to get out of here?” asked Xander as they ran up the stairs.
“Of course we did,” said Talon. “But things don’t always go according to plan.”
“You mean like how I got your sister back to you, just as you always wanted, and within two days you let her walk right back in Utopia’s door?”
“Let me!” snapped Deryn, smacking Xander’s head. “Stop being an ass, Xander, and just say thank you.”
“I’ll say no such thing until you’re outside and alive.”
“There are only ninety-eight floors,” said Nita, keeping her voice low so the approaching guards wouldn’t hear them. “I thought there were a hundred.”
“Floor ninety-nine is where those air pumping machines are. The president took me on a special elevator to get to those,” said Xander. “And floor one-hundred is his fucking rooftop garden. It’s useless to us.”
“Ninety-eight it is then,” said Nita, opening the door and taking a look around. “It’s clear.”
She held it while Talon - Xander still bobbing on his shoulder - and Deryn ran through. It was just a hallway with a left-hand turn at the end of it. The turn led to a dead-end.
“Shit,” said Talon, glancing around. “There’s nothing here. How can there be a damn floor with nothing on it?”
“No, there has to be something,” said Xander, pushing Talon’s shoulder until he put him back on his feet. “This floor should be as large as the one above it, if not larger. Check the walls.”
Xander and Deryn started pressing every square inch of the center wall while Talon and Nita took the side walls. They ran their hands along everything, even the floors, but it was all smooth.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” shouted Xander, banging his fist against the wall with each obscenity.
Deryn stood frozen beside him. She took deep breaths as she realized this could be it. Their last moments of life. Saevus only needed one Leon and, after five years, she’d never brought her father out of hiding.
No. Talon would be the only one spared that day. If Xander was spared, he would have a mind-control chip installed. He’d be better off dead.
Deryn turned to Xander. She was about to give him one last kiss when a miracle happened.
The wall slid open.
The four of them stepped back and watched, their hearts racing as a room appeared in front of them. They gaped at the open wall, but when it started to close again they hurried through, sighing in relief as it clicked shut.
Talon circled the large room. It was decorated similarly to the parlor on the first floor, flames dancing in a fireplace and the scent of whiskey lingering in the air.
“Is that you, Evie? I thought I heard someone knocking,” called an old and frail voice.
Everyone froze, aside from their eyes, which darted around, looking for some sort of escape. But there were limited hiding places and the voice seemed to be coming from the only entrance that wasn’t a hidden wall.
A man appeared in the doorway, his hair white and unkempt with an uneven beard to match. He rolled into the room with a chair on wheels, a primitive model of the hover-chairs most elderly people favored.
He spotted them, staring thoughtfully for a moment before his eyes stopped on Deryn. He paled. Then blinked.
“Talitha,” he said as he gazed at the ghost in front of him.
Deryn looked at Talon, who seemed just as confused as she was.
“No. That was my grandmother’s name. I’m Deryn.”
> “Was?” he repeated, maneuvering his chair forward. When they all backed up a step, he stopped, only then noticing their fear. He cleared his throat. “Of course. Where are my manners? I’m Asher. Asher Saevus.”
Deryn and Talon looked at each other again, their eyes widening.
“President Asher Saevus?” asked Xander.
“That’s right. Formerly, anyway.”
Xander laughed, but there was no joy behind it. “Not possible. Asher Saevus is dead. He’s been dead for ten fucking years.”
“Thirteen years,” corrected Deryn.
“Not the point. This man is clearly an impostor so why the fuck is he up here?”
Asher gave a soft smile. “Quite the indecent mouth you have there. I have no reason to lie to you. What could I possibly gain from that?”
“Then where have you -”
“Been?” Asher finished. “Why, right here, where my son confined me to this horrid contraption.” He hit the sides of his wheelchair. “With no elevator to go up or down. Only my granddaughter knows I’m here, though the more that wretched father of hers gets inside her head, the less I see of her.”
“I remember you being pretty damn wretched during your reign,” said Xander.
Asher stared at him with his trademark green eyes, far closer in color to that of the Leons than the muted green of his son and granddaughter. Whether he was the former president or not, he was definitely of the same bloodline.
“You’re that Ruby boy, aren’t you? I remember your family being just as wretched as mine. But, alas, I decided to change all that. Which is why I’m here, the ghost of a man before you. Now.” Asher turned his attention back to Deryn. “Tell me about Talitha. She is dead?”
“Yes, she is. For over ten years now.”
“How?”
She looked at Talon again, his pain visible as he stared down at the floor. He glanced up at his sister, swallowing the lump in his throat. They’d never had the chance to talk about what had happened to their grandmother.
“She died protecting me,” Talon admitted, his eyes still on Deryn. “The day your son had me kidnapped and forced into guard training. When she tried to stop them from taking me, a Guardian shot her dead.”
“So there’s no way out of here?” asked Nita, walking toward the man, something none of the others had dared to do.
Asher looked at her curiously. “Why do you ask? Running from something?”
“Fucking obviously!” shouted Xander. “If you really don’t like your son then get us the hell out of here!”
Asher gave a mild laugh. “A Ruby running away from Utopia with two Leons. The world really has changed.” He stared Xander up and down. “Looks like you’ve been through shit. Very well. I will get you out.”
Asher turned his chair around with ease and wheeled himself into the adjoining room. Everyone exchanged glances.
“We don’t really have a choice,” said Nita, the first to follow him into the other room.
Deryn put her arm around Xander’s waist while he draped his over her shoulders. Together they followed her, Talon walking unsurely behind them.
They entered a simple bedroom, the bed low enough that Asher would be able to fall into it from his chair. There was another fireplace in there but this one wasn’t lit. Asher instructed Nita to crawl inside of it and press the center brick.
“Why is there an escape route in your fireplace?” questioned Xander.
“This was initially a panic room, in case society ever rebelled against our regime,” explained Asher. “We could survive up here until tensions dropped, or we could escape if necessary.”
“Then why haven’t you left?” asked Deryn. “If you really are being held captive -”
“This is not an escape route I would recommend to anyone not in their physical prime. Frankly, I’m a little hesitant sending you through with your vulgar crutch,” he said, pointing at Xander. “But I get the feeling he is why you’re here and you more than likely wouldn’t agree to leave him behind.”
“No, we wouldn’t,” said Deryn, holding Xander a little tighter.
“Then I shall prepare you. This exit works as a slide, right along the protective shield of Utopia. But to keep it secret it doesn’t go all the way to the bottom. You’ll slide until the top of the wall and then you’ll have to catch yourself somehow so you don’t fly right over the edge and drop at such a high speed. Several test dummies were shattered this way. If you have a grip of some sort, use it.”
“I have something that should work in my Element,” said Deryn. “It’s strong enough to hold me and Xander.”
“Neetles and I should be able to hold ourselves,” said Talon, pointing to a small grappling hook attached to his belt.
“Then we should go,” said Nita. She’d successfully opened the entrance in the fireplace and was eager to crawl through.
“Hold on. I still don’t understand. Why are you up here?” asked Deryn.
Asher bit his cheek. He glanced out the large window in his room. Deryn noticed that the very top of the shield was all that was visible. The mechanics of it kept Asher from seeing fake or real sky.
“I wanted to dispose of the shield. I wasn’t getting any younger and I hadn’t seen my sister in years. I lived my whole life in a mechanical box and only near the end of it did I realize how trapped I was. Talitha and Hayden did it right. They got out and experienced the world. The real world. I wanted to give others the same chance. But Collin disagreed. He thought my plan to open the gates of Utopia would be damaging to the safe world our ancestors had created and bring war from the others.”
“The others?” repeated Deryn.
“Yes. It’s a big world out there. Of course there are others.” He noticed the flicker in Talon’s eye. “You don’t look surprised. Did my sister succeed in her mission to contact them?”
Talon exchanged a glance with Nita. “No, she didn’t.”
“Not the whole truth, I’m sure, but now is not the time. You should leave before Collin or Elvie think to look for you here. Be safe out there.”
That was all Nita needed to start crawling through the fireplace. Deryn helped Xander to the floor and got him crawling after Nita before turning back to Asher. She took out her earpiece and handed it to him.
“I have more questions for you. Use that to communicate with me.”
“I will,” said Asher, smiling fondly at her. “You look just like her.” He turned to Talon. “You, less so. There is a lot of Hayden in you.”
“We never knew him,” said Talon. “Goodbye, sir. And thank you.”
Talon held out his hand. Asher shook it. “Good luck to both of you.” And then, with a tug, much stronger than such a frail looking man should have been capable of, Asher brought Talon close and said, “Win this war my son has created and avenge my sister.”
“We will,” said Talon, standing up straight.
Deryn crawled through the fireplace and Talon followed.
“Press the button beside you to close the exit,” Asher called after him.
Talon did just that, taking one last look at the old man as the fireplace shut between them.
He crawled on, a straight shot to the end of the line. There were a few stairs there but the ceiling was too low to stand. Talon followed Deryn’s ascent on hands and knees.
A blinding light appeared in front of them with two silhouettes standing in its center. At the top, Deryn and Talon stepped onto a platform beside Nita and Xander, staring out at the world beyond.
“Fuck, we’re high,” said Xander, appearing uneasy as Deryn took his hand.
Then they all glanced down, the slide hovering above the mechanical shield. It was clear as glass, with sides barely high enough to keep them from tumbling off course.
“Looks dangerous and exciting,” said Nita.
“I don’t think we have the same definition for exciting,” said Deryn.
“I’m happy to go first.” Nita sat on the edge of the platform and stare
d down at their one means of escape. She took a deep breath. “Talon, you go last. Just in case Deryn isn’t able to hold onto Xander and one of us needs to slow their fall. Better to have us on each end.”
Talon nodded.
“No dawdling. One after another. Me, Deryn, Xander, Talon. Got it?”
More nodding.
“Okay.” Another deep breath. “Here goes nothing.”
Nita pushed herself off the edge, dropping onto the slide and immediately falling toward the ground at an incredible speed. Without a second thought, Deryn kissed Xander, sat on the edge and dropped after her.
Talon helped Xander lower himself down. Xander slid away, leaving only one on that platform.
This was it. Their escape or their death.
The only way to stop himself from over-thinking it was by jumping off the side, his heart beating too fast and his stomach in so many knots that he couldn’t even enjoy the feeling of the wind against his face.
The ride down the slide was a long one. It covered the entire length of the city and quickly went from scary to thrilling to dull. Nita kept her eyes on her feet and her hand on the grappling hook attached to her belt. She didn’t want to unhook it until the very last second out of fear of dropping it.
Finally, after a good twenty minutes of sliding at an incredible speed, the slide began to even out and the tops of trees came into view. Her descent slowed enough that, when she reached the end, she was able to attach her hook to the edge and tether a little way down with minimal smacking against the wall.
Deryn came next, successfully attaching her Element to the edge. As she fell, Xander arrived and grabbed onto her as best he could. Their smack against the side of the wall was much harder than Nita’s, Xander twisting them so he took the majority of the hit.
“Dammit, Xander! You’re the one who’s already hurting!” screamed Deryn.
Talon tumbled over the side. He successfully hooked his tether, but the string didn’t emerge as it should have and he began to fall.
Arise (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 3) Page 7