Sunken Eyes (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 2)

by L. Stoddard Hancock

  She smiled. "Don't get any ideas."

  "If you're not trying to seduce me then what's with the language?"

  "We just came into the bedroom together."

  Xander cocked an eyebrow.

  Deryn rolled her eyes. "Well, we never exactly mentioned to Chace that we're involved. Sometimes I forget that we're a secret outside of these walls," she said with a sigh.

  Xander kissed her forehead. "Not forever."

  "I hope not." Deryn smiled and puckered her lips. Xander happily kissed them. He would have to take note of Chace's reaction when they told him they were involved later, and then expect that tenfold when brother Leon and Trigger found out. God, he hoped he would be there for that.

  Chapter Sixteen

  "Did you find anything yet?" asked Deryn, looking over Chace's shoulder as he flipped through one of the books Xander had, coincidentally, grabbed from her old house in Redwood on plants.

  "No," he answered. "I really don't think it would be anything in this book. Plants have changed since our ancestors wrote it. I was thinking it might be one of mine but I'm not sure how I would've smuggled it into the city."

  Chace had always loved plants. He used to study and breed them when they were children in Redwood, and he'd apparently continued his work after joining the Resistance. Some of his plants were lethal, others were for nutritional purposes and many, the majority, were simply colorful and fragrant.

  "There are a couple maybes in here, but I'll need Ruby to verify the leaf for me when he gets back."

  Deryn crinkled her nose. "You know, it would really be handy if one of us was an artist."

  "I'm an artist in the kitchen!" called Bronson, who was currently throwing ingredients into a pot. "Does that count?"

  "Only when we're hungry," said Deryn. Her stomach growled right on cue.

  An alarm triggered, informing them that someone had entered the building. It turned out Chace knew a clever trick that connected to Xander and Luka's wristbands, giving them their own unique alarms when they were scanned upon entrance. There was also one for Bronson and Quigley, and another for all strangers who attempted to enter. This current alarm was Xander's.

  Sure enough, Xander walked through the door a minute later, Luka right behind him.

  "Any luck, Moffett?" asked Xander.

  "Maybe," said Chace, flipping to his first marked page. "Come see."

  Xander looked at the open page. "No. The leaves were sharper."

  Chace flipped to another page.

  "The leaves were greener."

  Luka reached into his bag and pulled out a different book. He tossed it to Chace. "Merry Christmas."

  Chace read the title and gasped. "This book is forbidden in Utopia. It has every lethal plant known to man. Where'd you get it?"

  "Don't ask," said Luka, sinking into an armchair. "Hundreds of laws were broken, a few innocent lives lost. A truly messy ordeal. Dismembered limbs, heads hanging by nothing but a thin slice of skin ..."

  "Chace, he's joking. His dad has a library," Deryn said quickly when she noticed the sickly shade of green he was turning, similar in color to the plant on the page he currently had open. "Stop messing with him, Luka."

  Luka smirked. "You would think he'd have a stronger stomach after being involved in a war for five years - Ouch!"

  Xander had walked by and smacked Luka on the back of the head. He then sat next to Deryn, automatically putting an arm around her waist. Chace tried really hard not to stare but in the two days he'd been there he hadn't exactly gotten used to the idea of them being together.

  And then Xander leaned over and kissed Deryn's cheek. Chace couldn't hide his grimace.

  "If you don't like it, Moffett, then stop staring," snapped Xander.

  "Sorry," said Chace with a slight blush.

  "Whatever. I need to get our supplies ready." Xander stood and headed for his and Deryn's bedroom.

  "How do you know so much about plants, anyway?" asked Luka.

  "Living outside we had such little information about everything growing around us, so I began studying plants at a young age."

  "I discovered ancient poison oak," said Deryn proudly.

  "Yes, by falling out of a tree and landing right in it," added Chace with a laugh.

  Deryn shoved him playfully. "No one ever said the life of a scientist was easy."

  "Food's ready!" called Bronson from the kitchen.

  Deryn got up to help him prepare the plates. But then she noticed there were only four. "Aren't you eating with us, Bronson?"

  "No," he said while biting a piece of asparagus. "I have plans later."

  Luka glanced in their direction. Bronson pretended not to notice.

  Xander walked out of the bedroom carrying Deryn's smaller bag, which was more practical for the evening than his rucksack. He grabbed two of the finished plates, went to the couch and dropped one in Chace's lap. "Eat quickly, Moffett. Veli moved your meeting up an hour -"

  He pulled Chace's wristband out of his pocket and snapped it back on the man's wrist.

  "- and we don't know how much time we need with this source of yours."

  Xander ate his food while standing. Deryn brought a plate to Luka, but didn't grab one for herself just yet. She stood behind Xander, wrapping her arms around his waist. "He looks really nervous," she whispered. "You swear you'll take care of him?"

  Xander glanced over his shoulder and into her worried eyes. He smiled. "I already said I would. Relax, Deryn. We'll be fine."

  She nodded and kissed him.

  "Ready, Moffett?" he asked.

  "I guess so." Chace stood and carried his plate to the kitchen, though he'd barely taken two bites. "Sorry," he said to Bronson. "It really was good."

  Bronson smiled brightly. "It's fine. You can warm it up later. When your stomach isn't quite so twisted." He wrapped the plate in some tinfoil and put it away.

  "Thanks," said Chace, turning around just in time to see Xander lean in and kiss Deryn as she took his plate. More grimacing.

  "I know, it really is nauseating," said Bronson. "But they're happy." He paused. "Well, as happy as anyone can be considering their tragic lives."

  Chace nodded lightly. "I'm trying to understand."

  "Let's get a move on, Moffett!" Xander called while heading for the door.

  Chace followed after him, pausing momentarily by Deryn. She gave him a hug and said, "Good luck. Have faith in Xander, alright? I promise he won't let anything bad happen to you."

  He nodded, though didn't look entirely convinced. Then he went to the door, put on his shoes and coat, and followed Xander out.

  "Why isn't Voclain coming with us, again?" asked Chace as they headed down the stairs.

  Xander cocked an eyebrow. "Why? You trust him more than you trust me?"

  Chace thought about this. "No, I suppose not. I never really knew him during training."

  "And you knew me?"

  "No. But you were a presence. He wasn't."

  Xander could understand that. Luka was a bit of a loner back then. They'd known each other since childhood and had always been friends, but as teenagers they had drifted apart. Aside from the occasional night where they'd sneak out of Eagle Center to go drinking.

  Their friendship only really rekindled after becoming Guardians. A sad reality. But Xander always had more in common with Luka than he ever did with Wyatt or any of his other friends, and - while he'd never admit it aloud - he really did like having him around. So did Deryn.

  "Luka isn't coming because I don't want to draw attention to us. And, if there comes a time when I need to reveal myself to protect your ass, I want Luka as far away from this as possible."

  "Why would you need to reveal yourself?" asked Chace nervously.

  "If things go sour, Moffett. And, if that happens, you're going to need to suck it up and pretend I've reset your mind control chip. Understand?"

  Chace took a deep breath and nodded.

  "In fact, why don't you suck it up right no
w? If Veli sees you like this then we don't stand a chance."

  They reached the bottom floor and Xander let Chace take the lead, his hood up while he trailed him from the shadows. Chace studied Deryn's map earlier and had a fairly good idea of where they were and where they needed to go.

  They were walking to the house of Chace's supposed source so Xander could follow him more discretely than if they took the tram.

  It was quite a walk but, eventually, they ended up on one of the many reasonably deserted streets of Middle City. Even in Utopia's prime, Xander could tell that this wasn't the nicest of places. He didn't understand why anyone would choose to live someplace so dodgy. The city had an abundance of empty houses that the residents of this street could have taken and registered.

  Chace walked up a few steps to a door while Xander stood beside the stoop, still in the shadows. He did a special knock and someone answered. A woman Xander recognized as Sable Bai.

  Ah! Now it all made sense. Dodgy place, dodgy woman.

  Chace hadn't given him a name before, claiming he wouldn't know her, but while Xander didn't know her personally he knew enough to understand that she was hardly the epitome of sophistication. She was the instigator of many shady dealings but the Guardians had always let her be, knowing very well that she was loyal to whoever paid the most. President Saevus wanted to hold on to this trump card, for the day Sable knew enough to bring down the entire Resistance.

  "You," she said, eyeing Chace questioningly. "You come alone?"

  "Yes," Chace said coolly, his previous anxiety nowhere to be found.

  Xander was mildly impressed.

  "You know the rules," said Sable, holding out her hand. Xander took this moment to duck into the alley beside the house, climbing inside through a window that Chace had said was always open a crack.

  Chace handed over the Element he had strapped to his hip. If Sable thought it was strange for him to have such a weapon, she didn't voice it. Instead she just smiled, showing off her two gold front teeth, and led Chace inside.

  "I assume you've come here for info on Deryn Leon," said Sable, leading Chace into the main room of the small house. Xander, who was watching closely from a dark hallway, had to hold in a moan of distaste as he glanced around. The entire place was cluttered with old wanted posters, moldy books, dirty plates and empty bottles.

  "Tea?" asked Sable, holding up a kettle from a hotplate.

  Chace eyed the dirty mugs beside it and said, "No thanks." Good call. "And yes. I was hoping you found out more information on what the Resistance is planning."

  "Aye," said Sable. "I did. But it'll cost ya."

  Chace took a few hundred coin in paper money out of his pocket - donated by Xander's sock drawer - and handed it over. "I believe this will cover it."

  Sable ran her fingers through the bills and counted. She smiled, showing off her gold teeth again, and some silver ones way in the back.

  "Funny, isn't it? How after all these months, you still haven't found a better way to contact your own people than through me."

  Chace knitted his brow. "I'm sorry?"

  "I contacted 'em today, through the radio. Spoke to that Laramie Triggs. Didn't wanna give me the info so I gave 'im your name. Funny thing. He said you been missin' since before the curfew. Now, if that's true, then how the hell are you in front of me now?"

  Without so much as a flinch, Chace looked her in the eye and said, "No one's supposed to know of my presence here, Sable. Least of all you. But, like you said, the curfew went up and I lost my means to contact the Resistance. So here I am. Now, if you let me use that radio of yours, which I can see right now shoved under the couch, I can straighten this out with them and we can continue business as usual."

  It was a decent lie. One Xander would never believe, but he had a feeling Sable just might be that stupid.

  There was a long pause as Sable studied Chace, searching for any sign that he might be lying. There was nothing.

  Then a drop of sweat dripped from his forehead, Xander catching the glint of it in the light. A clear and vivid sign that something was amiss. But Xander was a trained Guardian. Surely this woman wouldn't notice something as minute as -

  "Is it warm in here, Moffett?"

  Shit. Apparently, slimy criminals and Guardians were trained similarly.

  Sable started to lift her gun but, before she could strike, Xander stepped out of the hallway, lifted one of the unregistered Elements Deryn had taken from Sewick Blum's house, and fired.

  Sable screamed as she went flying backwards, slamming against the wall. Then there were strings of light binding her to large hooks she had used to hang pots. She continued to scream as Xander stepped towards her.

  "Ah! It's R-Ruby! What're you gonna do? You gonna turn me inside out? Like Oscar Venner?"

  Xander cocked an eyebrow. "My reputation precedes me."

  "Did you really turn someone inside out?" asked Chace, taking several nervous steps backwards.

  "No," said Xander. "Just a rumor. I was a young Guardian back then. I merely tortured Venner into a confession. The president then had him skinned alive. Elvira volunteered." He looked into Sable's eyes and waved his Element in front of her. "I really wish you hadn't made this difficult." His Element stopped dead, pointing straight at her head. "Now, tell me what the Resistance is planning for Deryn Leon."

  "I don't know anything!" she screamed.

  "You're lying."

  "I'm not! I swear! I asked but they wouldn't tell me anything after I mentioned him!" She nodded her head towards Chace. "All I know is they're planning something soon. Very, very soon."

  Xander frowned. "I believe her. Fucking waste."

  "Yeah, that's right! So there's no reason to kill -"

  "There is if you plan on telling anyone about this."

  "I won't!" she cried.

  "She certainly is frightened of you," observed Chace.

  Xander smiled proudly. "Just the way I like it. I'll tell you what, Sable. I'm going to let you live. But I have many people working for me, some just as slimy as you are, and from now on one of them will be watching you at all times. If there is ever a moment where it seems like you might betray me then that's it for you. Finished." He ran his Element across her neck like a blade. "Got it?"

  Sable gulped and nodded.

  "Good." He grabbed Chace's Element from her hip, where she'd strapped it, and handed it back to him. Then he turned and walked to the couch, grabbed the radio she somehow used to communicate with the Resistance and stuffed it in his bag. "Find your own way out of those binds. If you can!"

  Xander headed for the door, Chace at his heels.

  "Care to venture a guess on what they have planned?" he asked on their way out.

  Chace shrugged. "I dunno. But they've often toyed with the idea of doing something during the president's New Year's speech. I just don't know what that would have to do with Deryn."

  Xander sighed. "Still, we should keep our guard up."

  "But if they're trying to help Deryn -"

  "Endangering her is more like it," snapped Xander. "Any rescue attempt could very well expose her. We need to get her out without drawing attention. Somehow, I don't think your Resistance friends understand that."

  Chace nodded. "Yeah. Sometimes Talon and Dax can be a bit dumb, especially when it comes to her."

  Xander nodded. "Well, onto our next stop. You did alright here, Moffett. But now for the hard part."

  Chace gulped loudly.

  Xander opened the door and ushered him out, but he shut it behind him and exited through the window, Sable shouting nasty words at him as she continued her struggle to remove her binds.

  Chapter Seventeen

  "Please, Luka?"

  "No."

  "Please, please, please?"

  "Did I not just say no?"

  Deryn frowned. He was really making this difficult, and it wasn't like with Xander where she could just suck on his neck to get what she wanted. The only method that ever seeme
d to work with Luka was blackmail, and with everything between him and Bronson out in the open she was lacking dirt.

  "Level with me, Luka. What exactly would I have to do to get you to go to the basement with me?"

  Luka smirked. "Well, I wouldn't be completely against you getting naked -"

  Deryn huffed.

  "- but I really don't feel like being killed by Xander tonight," he added with a chuckle."You've already seen me in my bra," she said, crossing her arms.

  Luka's face dropped. "That was an accident."

  "Still, imagine if Xander were to ever find out about that. Accident or not, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't hesitate to -"

  "Are you blackmailing me again?"

  Deryn smiled. That wasn't her intention but ... "I suppose I am."

  Luka sneered. "Oh, fuck you. We're not staying down there for long."

  "That's fine. I just want the distraction. So I don't ..." She gulped. "... think too much about everything that can go wrong."

  They went to the front door, put on their shoes, and left the apartment with Luka in the lead. They hadn't even gone down two flights of stairs yet when Luka put his arm out to stop her. Deryn froze when she heard a knock. Poking her head underneath Luka's arm, she noticed a man she didn't recognize standing outside of Bronson and Quigley's door. No alarm had gone off, so someone must have buzzed him in.

  He glanced up at Luka and gave a half-smile.

  The door opened. "You're late," said Bronson in a playful tone.

  "Sorry," said the man. "I got a little lost." He stepped inside. "I think that Guardian who went out the backdoor in our kitchen that one time is on the staircase."

  "Oh?" Bronson poked his head into the hall and looked up at Luka. "And so he is."

  Luka seemed pretty much frozen, so Deryn lifted her head over his shoulder and said, "We were just heading down to the basement to distract ourselves. Right, Luka?"

  He said nothing.

  "Luka?" She pinched his side.

  Without reacting, he said, "Right."

  Bronson nodded. "Have fun then." And the door shut.

  "So you know him?" asked Deryn as soon as Bronson was gone.