Deryn looked at a clock. “Nope. Your team will be here -”
The door opened and Evangeline, Everett and Adrian walked in.
“- now,” finished Deryn. “What code was he talking about?”
“The code to enter his house. He created one just for me, so his wristband would notify him of my arrival. As opposed to one of the many other women he gave unique codes to for the exact same reason.”
“I still can’t believe you ever banged that guy,” said Adrian, picking up one of Deryn’s boots and turning it around in his hands.
“I was young and stupid! We’re all allowed to be young and stupid at least once!” insisted Nita.
“Does it count as once if it went on for three years?” asked Evangeline, looking genuinely curious.
Nita gave her a sharp glare. “Did Talon find people to cover our kitchen shifts?”
Evangeline glanced skeptically at Deryn before nodding.
“What was that look?” asked Adrian.
Evangeline cleared her throat and stared down at the floor. “Nothing.”
“You’re a terrible liar,” said Nita. “Who’s covering for us?”
Evangeline shrugged and said, “Cress and one of his friends.”
Deryn stopped what she was doing. “What?”
“Talon thought it would be a good test to see if they were really serious about cooperating and following orders. He asked Xander first and he said he was okay with it.”
“Of course he’d say that. He’s still trying to win everyone’s favor,” said Deryn.
“Even if that’s true, he’s fully capable of taking care of himself,” said Evangeline. “I actually think Talon should make them spar, so Cress can see Xander’s an asset.”
Deryn groaned. “He’d probably just accuse Xander of cheating, or something.”
“If Talon’s testing them, why didn’t he throw Hera in there, too?” asked Everett.
“He was planning on it, but then Cress asked him not to,” said Evangeline. “I guess they broke up again.”
“Okay, time to head out,” said Nita, grabbing her rucksack off the floor. “We should be back by late evening. Tell Xander to save us some dinner.”
Deryn saluted. “Will do. Be safe!”
Nita threw back her head and laughed. “Life would be so boring if we didn’t all live a little dangerously.”
“Not too dangerously!” Deryn called as they all headed out the door.
With the distraction gone, Deryn was finally able to focus on her work. She had silence for several hours and was just testing out her boots when Sam and April entered the lab. She was only hovering two feet off the floor but her movement was smooth.
“Impressive,” said Sam, crossing his arms and watching her. “If this is what you can do in a few days, I’d love to see what you could do after years in a research lab.”
Deryn carefully lowered herself to the floor. “To be fair, I already had something similar created. I just improved it.”
“Don’t belittle your accomplishments,” said April, picking up Deryn’s knife and tossing it in one-handed circles. “I understand you had a rough five years that may have affected your confidence, but you’re a smart girl. Embrace it.”
Deryn frowned. “I used to be smarter.”
April let out an exasperated sigh. “No.” She stopped spinning the knife and flung her hand toward Deryn, stopping mere centimeters before her eye. “Say you’re smart or I’ll pluck your eye right out of its socket.”
“She’s not kidding,” said Sam with an amused grin.
“Fine. I’m smart.” Deryn grabbed April’s wrist and twisted it until she was forced to drop the knife. She snatched it with her other hand before it hit the floor. “Don’t play with my toys.”
April smirked. “That’s more like it.”
“Sam, Chelsea has something for you,” said Deryn, taking off her boots and returning to her table to make a few tweaks.
Chelsea stood as Sam approached her. She smiled proudly as she presented him with a sword. “Deryn said you wanted something like this.”
Sam blinked, his mouth hanging open as he ran his hand along the blade. It was thick and sharp, with a handle similar to the Elements they’d shown him. The Peace Ops’ weapons were nowhere near as complex.
“It works like the knife?” he asked.
“With a few adaptations to account for its size,” said Chelsea. “Care to give it a try?”
Sam nodded enthusiastically, practically bouncing as Chelsea set up the test station for him.
The test-dummy hologram appeared before him. He studied the sword’s hilt and pressed his thumb against a small circle. He felt an electrical charge rush through the blade and smiled as he sliced the air. Even without making contact with the dummy, it was cut clear in half.
“The laser is invisible?” asked Sam, glancing over his shoulder at Chelsea.
“It is,” she answered. “Your enemies should see the sword and nothing else. If they witness a laser, they’re less likely to underestimate you.”
“I love it.” Sam pulled up another test dummy and tried it again, this time cutting off its head.
“It doesn’t have the poison, like Deryn’s knife,” explained Chelsea. “I figured there wasn’t much need.”
Staring at the hilt, Sam pressed another circle that was slightly smaller and below the first. A loud BANG echoed through the room and a large hole appeared in the headless dummy.
“And a gun?” he said with as much excitement as a child on Christmas. “Mom, can we go play with it outside?” He looked at Deryn expectantly.
She rolled her eyes. “It’s too late today. We can play outside tomorrow. I want to test my boots out there too. See if I can get a little higher without a ceiling restricting me.”
“Yes!” Sam danced around the room.
“It’s funny to think he’s actually in charge of people, isn’t it?” said April, sitting on the lab table beside Deryn’s boots.
“Honestly, I can’t wait to see him in action,” said Deryn.
April nodded. She had Deryn’s knife again, the point poking into the table as she spun it around and around, watching Sam play with his sword with a frown on her face.
A thought popped into Deryn’s head when she noticed that frown. Sam and April were keeping something from her. But she didn’t dare ask what it was. Not when she was suddenly terrified she already knew the answer.
• • •
Sewick Blum was sitting at home, scanning his contacts on the hologram emitting from his wristband. There was a girl he’d met a few weeks back that, physically speaking, reminded him of Nita, and he very much wanted her company that night.
He didn’t understand why the spunky little Outsider still stuck with him, but she had.
Someday soon, Talon Leon would pay for taking what was rightfully his. Sewick would make sure of that.
Or rather, Soren would. As long as he kept his end of their bargain.
Sewick finally found the girl he was looking for, a naked picture of her linked to her number. There was no name, just the way he liked it.
He was just about to message her, demanding she come over for a good fucking when his email dinged. A message from the president floated in front of her naked picture. He opened it.
Come immediately.
What did that son-bitch want now?
Sewick groaned. Before leaving his house, he sent a quick message to his Nita lookalike, telling her to make sure she was available that evening. She would have to do until the real thing came crawling back.
It wasn’t a long walk to Saevus’s tower but, with the president’s current mood, it was almost always pouring down rain these days.
Lightning struck the street to Sewick’s left and he jumped. If Saevus’s mood didn’t improve after the war was all said and done, Sewick just might make a home for himself in the outside world. Because this was bullshit.
Sewick quickened his steps, practically runni
ng by the time he arrived at Saevus’s tower. The guards on duty automatically opened the doors for him.
That was a first.
Normally the assholes liked to make him wait while they called it in, even though they knew exactly who he was. Which was why he preferred to use the side door, where he had wristband access.
But the rain and lightning were stronger than his pride that day.
Once he was inside, he shook himself off and stomped his feet until he was only slightly dripping water everywhere. He entered the president’s parlor.
Saevus was standing near the fireplace, sipping on a glass of brandy while his daughter Elvira screamed at him. Sewick couldn’t make out the words of her shrill voice, but the presence of Finley sitting in Saevus’s armchair with a satisfied smile said plenty.
And the large diamond ring on her left ring finger said the rest.
Sewick had heard the rumor but he’d taken it with a grain of salt. Guess he should’ve listened more intently.
It was a shame. He had yet to seduce that prime piece of ass and now he wouldn’t dare risk it.
Saevus glanced over at Sewick and smiled.
“Perhaps we could put this useless argument on hold for now, my darling Elvie. It appears our guest has arrived.”
Elvira, Finley and Soren - who Sewick hadn’t seen sitting on the couch - all turned to look at him.
“I see congratulations are in order,” said Sewick, nodding toward Finley. “Am I here for an engagement party?”
Elvira fumed at the suggestion.
“I’m afraid the party will have to wait until news breaks of our four-year-old love child,” said Saevus, smiling at Finley. “I’m still waiting on that list of every man you’ve been with in the last five years, darling. We will need to execute them promptly.”
Elvira growled. “Good luck with that.”
Finley’s smile returned. “What a rude accusation, my darling stepdaughter.”
Elvira’s fists clenched as her body pulsed with rage.
“I’ll have the list for you soon. I willingly admit that some names and faces are a little hazy. Unlike your daughter, who plays the devoted wife to an unfaithful husband part flawlessly.”
Soren laughed. “Of course she isn’t faithful. She has to get it somewhere.”
The fire in Elvira flickered out. She stared sadly at her husband, her brow crinkled in confusion.
“We have actual business to attend to.” Saevus put down his brandy and left the parlor.
The others all followed, Sewick making sure to be in the back of the line.
The president entered the elevator. Once the doors closed, Sewick asked, “Where are we going?”
“We have an execution scheduled,” explained Elvira, tapping her foot impatiently.
“Someone I know?” asked Sewick since he was never invited to executions.
Saevus smiled. “Someone you know well.”
A chill ran down Sewick’s spine. There were few people he knew well and he found himself glancing at Soren, searching for some sort of sign that it was Nita on the chopping block. The president already knew about their history. He knew everything.
But if it was Nita, Soren gave nothing away.
The elevator doors opened. The rain slammed against the pavement on the twentieth-floor balcony.
Saevus’s other Guardians were already there, soaking wet and in a line. Everyone was on edge these days. After what had happened to Wyatt Firman and Stuart Scout, why shouldn’t they be? Any one of them could be next.
That was when realization struck Sewick like a tram going full speed.
He turned in a pathetic attempt to run but Soren was there to block him.
“Where you going, buddy?” He grinned and grabbed Sewick’s arms.
“What the hell have you done?” Sewick demanded.
“So sorry, Sewick, but my wife no longer has her father wrapped around her finger and I needed to prevent my execution. You understand.”
Sewick yanked his arms out of Soren’s grasp. He was just about ready to punch the traitor when Elvira grabbed his arm and twisted.
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be.” She kicked his heels until he walked forward, twisting his arm a little farther whenever he failed to cooperate.
No one met Sewick’s eyes as he was forced toward the chopping block. The president was already standing beside it, full of delight as Sewick was pushed to his knees.
“So tell me, Mr. Blum. How long have you known the location of the Resistance’s base?”
Sewick sneered. “A year. And I’m still the only one who knows. I didn’t take your precious son-of-a-bitch-in-law all the way there.”
“Yes, he explained that to me. But we don’t need to know exactly where it is. We just need to get close enough to bring them down to us.”
“And what makes you think they’ll do that?”
“Because we have something they want.” The president turned to Soren. “Strap him in. This is your job.”
“Yes, sir.”
Soren took Sewick from Elvira.
Sewick no longer struggled. Even if he did manage to escape Soren, there was nowhere for him to go. They were twenty floors up and the balcony was lined with Guardians.
“Your precious slave will know you’re the one who betrayed them,” said Sewick as Soren strapped him into the guillotine. “She’ll never forgive you.”
Soren smiled and glanced over his shoulder. Elvira was the only one standing nearby, and the heavy patter of rain was more than enough to block out their voices.
Soren leaned down. “I’m not the traitor among us, and I’ll make sure Talon’s girl knows all about the deal we struck. No one will mourn you.”
And then, just as a streak of lightning stretched across the charcoal sky, Soren released the laser. Sewick’s head fell, a scowl now permanently etched on his cold, detached face.
CHAPTER 42
The sun was already setting as Nita and her team hurried through the forest. She’d promised Talon they would return before dark, but it was a lie.
There was something she needed to do and he would never approve.
Nita stopped at the base of a tall tree near the forest’s edge. Just one-hundred yards away from the entrance to Utopia. And yet not one S.U.R.G.E. was around.
“Are they hiding in the trees?” she asked Everett as he worked on tracking the annoying things.
He scanned their cameras placed throughout the area, none picking up the electrical buzz from the small, flying robots. “No. It’s clear.”
Nita shook her head in disbelief. How could that be?
“Keep a close eye on it. Adrian, let’s climb.”
Her second in command joined her and they climbed the large tree, hoping to get a bird’s-eye view of the area.
They’d heard days ago that Saevus was mounting the heads of people he’d executed above the large, metal doors. He wanted to send a message to Xander, but Talon had kept it quiet to prevent furthering Xander’s torment. But Nita knew and she refused to leave Anan’s head sitting up there to rot. She was getting it down and they were giving him a proper sendoff in the ocean.
Reaching a branch high enough to get a good view of Utopia’s doors, Nita took out her knife and hacked off the small branches and leaves. Adrian settled on the branch beside her, digging through his pack until he found his binoculars.
“Do you see it?” asked Nita, leaning against the trunk and searching her pack for her own binoculars.
“I see heads,” said Adrian, clicking the side of his binoculars so they would zoom in. Then he clicked it three more times. “Granted, the president has always been a bastard, but this whole head thing is so primitive and disturbing, even for him.”
“Clearly, his sanity is cracking.”
“I see Anan.” Adrian lowered his binoculars. “Didn’t feel real until this moment.” He brought a hand up to his face and sighed deeply.
“I know Xander’s source said Del’s he
ad was destroyed but just ... let’s double check.”
Adrian nodded and lifted his binoculars again.
Nita finally located hers. She turned them on and adjusted the settings.
“Shit.”
“What?” she asked.
The color had drained from Adrian’s face. “There’s a new head. Above Anan. Shit!”
Nita looked through her binoculars and zoomed in. She went from the bottom to the top, her heart feeling heavy as she gazed at what remained of the lives so pointlessly lost. And then she saw Anan, the poor boy. While he may have gotten on her nerves from time to time, he certainly didn’t deserve this. No one deserved this.
And then she looked up.
Nita stumbled back a few steps and nearly fell out of the tree. Adrian grabbed her shoulders and steadied her.
She stepped forward and looked through her binoculars again.
There, resting on a pike just above Anan, was Sewick Blum. Or what remained of him.
“Shit!”
How the hell could this have happened? She had just talked to him that morning. If he had been executed then -
“Soren sold us out!” Nita tossed her binoculars in her pack and climbed down the tree. Adrian was right behind her.
“Is it clear?” asked Evangeline as she watched them jump from a high branch.
“We have to get back now!” Nita ordered, already sprinting in the direction of the base.
“Why, what happened?” asked Everett as they all took off after her.
“Sewick Blum has been executed,” explained Adrian.
Everett’s eyes widened. “Shit.” There was really no better word for it.
Sewick was dead and there was no doubt in any of their minds that Soren was behind it. The question was, how much had he blabbed?
• • •
Back at the base, Deryn was taking a break so she could visit Xander and grab some dinner. Instead of going through the mess hall, she went straight for the backdoor leading into the kitchen. She was a little surprised to find Xander standing outside of it smoking a cigarette with Cress.
Arise (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 3) Page 41