With his face raised toward the sky, he felt the temporary heat still warming his face. What had she done to make this happen? One second, he was outside, enjoying being drenched by the rain, and the next, the sun seemed to be filtering its way between the dark and heavy cloud cover.
It had disappeared as quickly as it appeared, but it had been enough to fill him with certainty about her status. His delicate yet raging Iris was still alive and breathing somewhere inside this city.
For a second, the temptation to go look for her himself made him tremble. No, he couldn’t leave the comfort of the Tower. Not because he was locked up and forced to never leave, but because dropping any lower than ten floors would mean having to face the horrid, over-populated slums, which was a constant reminder of the overdue cleanup he still had to face.
“You’re still alive. Come to me, child.” The words left his mouth, and he hoped they would somehow reach her.
The sun hadn’t broken through or been seen for centuries. Kingsley had only come close to seeing it one other time. The day he stumbled upon the greatest treasure he’d ever found in Nexus: Iris. The day he found her, the sun shone for several seconds, but no one else caught its radiance. Well, except for Spalding. That prick knew too much. He needed to be reeled back into the Tower and silenced forever.
The buzz of his intercom caught his attention.
He stepped back into his office, pressed the button, and spoke, “This better be good news, Innes.” Only Innes and his son had access to the intercom, and since Fox was dead, he knew who this was. He wasn’t in any mood to chat. He wanted to reminisce about his little secret weapon—relish in what she’d undoubtedly caused outside.
The younger man cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to say that it’s definitely not good news.”
Kingsley sighed in frustration. “What the hell happened this time?” He lowered himself onto the plush chair, swung around, and glared at the computer screen on his desk. There she was…the dark-haired goddess who held so much in her powerful hands. She stood with her lithe frame, facing him.
She belongs to me. Every inch of her was his to dominate and manipulate. There was nothing sexual about his obsession with her, though even he couldn’t deny her beauty lent itself to such an attraction.
Iris was beauty incarnate, with her Snow White skin as soft as velvet, and the strands of her ebony hair tousled in waves down to her waist. Her body was feminine, yet a hard edge of muscle sculpted her every curve. She wasn’t tall in stature, but what she lacked in height, she had in brawn. Yes, Iris was the full package. She was special. So special, she didn’t even know it herself. As long as he kept her away from the source of her existence, she would remain without memories.
“Lex has run into an obstacle,” Innes continued in the background.
“What kind of obstacle?” The bitterness in his voice was hard to conceal. He’d used a lot of credits and pulled many a favor out of the woodwork to get his hands on the best components for the enhancement of this bounty hunter. He better be worth it, or he’ll end up in the junkyard in the bad company of the ones who failed before him.
“He’s okay but has run into a little trouble.”
“Trouble?” The anger and impatience raged deep inside his veins. Kingsley didn’t care if the brute was okay or not, just that he was still functional.
“He’s tracked down Iris. The schematics programmed into him match perfectly with the woman he tracked down amongst the Cat People, but she’s got help,” Innes answered.
Silence buzzed inside his office. She had help? Who the hell would be helping her and the Cat People? Memories of the many experiments conducted with those creatures filled his mind. His one indiscretion had led to the development of this secret project. It hadn’t been one of his best ideas, but at least he’d distanced himself from them. They’d all been abandoned in one of the lowest and furthest buildings in the outskirts of the city. The old brick building was nothing more than an abandoned storage place, slowly crumbling.
This was also the location where the Spec-Ops team had perished, trying to get their hands on Iris.
“Who the hell’s helping her?” he finally asked.
“Well, for starters, he’s convinced the Cat People provided an escape route. There are also two others traveling with her at the moment. One man and one woman. He doesn’t know who they are, though.”
“I don’t care who they are. Make sure he kills the companions and returns her to me ASAP!” He smashed his fist against the top of the desk. “Time is running out! Everything is set but the star of the show. I need her here!”
His assistant’s sigh caused static over the intercom. “He’s stuck at the moment, but he’ll get onto it as soon as he can.”
“Stuck? How is he stuck?”
“Looks like they outsmarted him inside one of the connecting tunnels,” Innes said.
“So, they’re on the move?”
“Yes.”
Damn it all to hell! “Tell Lex to go back to those Cat People and kill every single one of them, or I’ll personally kill his wife, right now. I refuse to allow any of them to live after this show of solidarity against me.” The realization of who’d most likely offered Iris safety and passage drove his mind into a rage he’d find hard to control.
I should’ve killed Rue when I had the chance.
“I’ll let him know, but he can’t get in or out of the tunnel.” Innes paused. “It might end up being a waste of his time if he—”
“Fine, have him concentrate on Iris for now. If she gets into the slums, it’s going to be virtually impossible to track her down. Even for someone as skilled as he is. Tell him to get a move on.” In the mood he was in, Kingsley might have to kill the hunter’s wife, anyway.
“Yes, sir,” Innes said. “Sir…would you like me to come up to your quarters and give you a massage? You sound stressed. Stress isn’t good for anyone, and I’ve got very capable hands.”
Kingsley rolled his eyes. He had no doubt that a massage from Innes would end with a little friendly tug of release. As tempting as it sounded, he knew that allowing Innes into his quarters once would only serve as an irreversible invitation.
“I’m fine, Innes. Just concentrate on your job for now.”
“Yes.” Hesitation weighed heavy in his tone.
“Well, get to it. I can’t afford to have anyone mess this up for me. Tomorrow night, the city of Nexus as we know it will be changed forever. There’s a new frontier that no one suspects exists, and I’m going to reap all the rewards from it.”
“Of course you are. I’ll get in contact with Lex.”
“You do that.” He switched off the connection.
Kingsley stood up and stopped in the doorway of his sliding door. His gaze roved the city. For decades, York Industries had been trying to match his financial situation as well as the quantity of city he owned. As much as they’d managed to gain, it was nothing compared to what would soon be his.
The blank screens strapped to the sides of buildings would click into action very soon, and no one would ever forget what he was about to announce.
Without Iris by his side, there would be no further rewards to reap. To crush his competition, he had to get his hands on her. She was the key.
Kingsley Wentworth didn’t appreciate anyone taking charge of what belonged to him. Whoever this man and woman helping Iris were, he’d personally end their lives.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“How many more tunnels do we need to go through?” Honey asked as she rubbed her face. The child was safely strapped inside a fabric harness around her shoulders, back, and chest. He was sound asleep, unaware of their constant change in scenery.
Iris took a deep breath and released it slowly. The little life Honey held in her hands fascinated her. She’d stopped herself from touching the child’s tiny head several times. All she wanted to do was feel his fur and the life force within him, in the same way she’d felt it on White. That this was his child�
��an extension of him—somehow made her feel a sense of hope.
So much of what she’d seen, done, and experienced so far had been dark.
Fox walked beside her. “As many as it takes for him to lose the trail.” He looked exhausted but pushed on as if he were on a separate mission.
The thought roused something inside her. What if he was? She’d suspected he had an agenda of his own from the beginning. There were still so many unspoken things between them. She knew he was staying tight-lipped about who he really was for some reason. In a way, she supposed she too was keeping secrets, but she had no choice. No matter how hard Iris tried to tap into a stream of something, she continued to come up empty.
Well, except for the voice inside her head. His latest whisper had been: “You’re still alive. Come to me, child.”
At least she could be grateful that Fox didn’t seem to be disgusted by what she’d done to those bounty hunters back in the corridor. Or even seemed to hold her responsible for whatever reason she’d done the same to the Spec-Ops team in the basement. She no longer cared that he’d lied about knowing them, either. Iris supposed it was easy to turn a blind eye to a lot of things in this dark world of theirs.
Besides, what would be the point of holding a grudge? They needed each other. Without Fox, she didn’t know where to turn to for help. She needed to understand so much, including why the outside world called her, and why she lost total control of herself whenever any threat emerged.
On purpose or not, I don’t want to kill anyone else.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t rest for a bit?” Iris wanted to shift the focus of her thoughts. It was better to concentrate on their current situation. There was enough to keep her thoughts occupied—they were moving from one building to another and another without stopping, accompanied by a young mother, her child, and a scary-looking hunter desperately trying to track them down. Her emotions for Fox were so twisted with desire, she found herself reacting every time their eyes met.
Honey rubbed her eyes and yawned, her eyes half-lidded. “I think we should. I don’t know how much longer I can walk.”
Fox stopped inside the latest tunnel they travelled and nodded. “Okay, fine. We’ll find a place to stop so we can rest for a while, but we need to clear this tunnel. How does that sound?”
Both Iris and Honey nodded in agreement.
The door opened at the end of the tunnel as soon as they crossed the internal sensor. Unlike the other buildings—which they’d come and gone from with no problem and without running into anyone—this one buzzed with activity. The roar of conversation and commotion erupted outside.
There were people everywhere.
She hesitated, and Fox took her hand.
“It’s okay, Iris. We’ve reached the slums.” His voice was tight. “Make sure we’re always within sight of each other. It’s best to hold hands, so we don’t get lost or make ourselves vulnerable to anyone. With a kid, we could become easy targets. Down here, anything’s fair game for food, ransom, or sale. So, make sure you keep him under wraps, Honey.”
Honey readjusted the sling around her body and threw a small blanket over Basil’s head. She now looked like she was holding a bag, rather than a child. She reached for Iris’s hand and wrapped the other protectively around the lump in front of her.
Together, the three stepped out into the crowd.
Grubby, blackened faces stuck out at every corner. Some were talking to each other or screaming to be heard over one another. Others held belongings in their arms, trying to bargain for something else at the multitude of stalls in this large area.
Iris gazed at the array of stalls as they passed by. One of them caught her attention. On an uneven table lay a bunch of small, furry animals, elongated and stiff. Their small, beady eyes were shut, mouths gaping and pressed together tightly. Her stomach turned.
Are those rats? They certainly appeared similar to the creatures that had attacked her in the basement.
A woman handed a full sack knotted at the top to the man behind the stall. He gave her three of the desiccated animals in exchange. She nodded, flashed a tooth-gapped smile, and graciously took them. With shaky, skeletal hands, she handed each of the children around her a furry animal. Their mother then watched them bite the heads off their food, licking her lips as the kids savored the only nutrition she could provide and would miss out on, herself.
When the woman was pushed away from the stall by the man standing behind it, another desperate man took her place. How many of them collected their meager belongings and exchanged them for this sad excuse of a meal?
She remembered the tinned food Rue’s people had to offer and wondered why this part of the population couldn’t even afford that much.
Iris turned away—tightening both of her hands around her companions—and looked ahead. This was worse than she’d imagined. Worse than any nightmare world she could’ve conjured up. Misery rolled over her in a desperate wave that almost knocked her off her feet.
She steadied herself, and looked up. A woman sat behind another stall to their left. Her face wasn’t as grimy as the others. She was overweight, rolls of fat straining against her tight clothing. Several rows of cans sat in front of her, while a wagon of some sort held more. It turned her stomach to realize this woman could be both indulging and thriving when children were forced to eat vermin. The injustice pissed her off so much, her hair buzzed.
“Uh…Iris. This isn’t the place to get angry.” Fox shook his head, turning to look at her and forcing her to turn toward him. “You have to shut it all out. I know the misery’s overwhelming, but there’s nothing we can do about it. That’s not why we’re here, remember?”
Tears of anger burned the backs of her eyes. “It isn’t fair. We need to help them. Didn’t you see those kids?”
He nodded. Both of his hands were now against her face as he forced her to keep his gaze. “Yes, I saw it, but we can’t bring attention to ourselves. We don’t know how many other people are looking for you or where your face might be posted. We need to keep quiet. Keep moving and don’t attract any unwanted attention our way. Okay?”
The back of her neck ached while he held her in this position, but she knew he wouldn’t let her go until she agreed. As much as it pained her to admit he was right, there was nothing else she could say or do. “Okay.” They had to get out of here, make sure Honey got to the professor she was seeking, and then find someone who could help her remember her past. “Let’s just concentrate on Honey and Basil.”
Her heart dropped into her stomach when she realized her hand wasn’t in Honey’s.
Fox dropped his hands from her face. “What’s wrong?”
“Honey. Where’s Honey?” Iris turned around in a half-circle, pausing to meet the black eyes of the overweight woman. “She was here a second ago. Where’d she go?”
“Oh, shit!” Fox looked ahead, into the crowd, using his stature to see above their heads. “I can’t see them. She’s so small, she’s been engulfed by everyone.”
Iris couldn’t take her eyes off the woman lounging behind the stall. The grin on her face was so infuriating, it was almost as if she had a big secret she’d never share with anyone. A sneer with spit collected in the corners of her mouth. She had to know something, had probably seen Honey slip away.
“Where’d she go?” Iris shouted to her.
The chubby woman looked away, and her eyes focused on the cans in front of her. Her mop of black hair wasn’t as dirty as everyone else’s. There was definitely something about this woman that didn’t fit with the rest of these surroundings.
“I asked you a question!”
“Iris, this isn’t how we keep attention from ourselves,” Fox whispered near her ear. His hand was tight around her elbow, but she shook it off.
She pushed forward until she could lean over and press both palms against the stall table, forcing the woman to look at her. The sneer remained. One way or the other, she didn’t look phased. The pudgy woman yawned
, as if she were bored and saw Iris as an inconvenience.
The stench of her rotten breath wouldn’t sway Iris from this confrontation. This woman knew something. She was sure of it.
“You saw our friend. Where did she go?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t see anyone or anything.”
Electricity buzzed along her hair and scalp. Somewhere overhead, lightning once again tore the sky in two. For the first time, Iris wondered if she could control how much power she could draw from it, instead of the other way around.
Before she had the chance to realize what she’d done, her fingers rested on top of the woman’s pudgy hand.
The woman’s hair stood on end—every strand affected as much as the blackened spot on her hand. She gasped and cried out, but no one noticed.
“Shit.” Fox moved in closer, concealing what was going on. As far as anyone else was concerned, they were conducting business the same way as everyone else.
“Now, unless you want me to do that again, tell me where my friend went.” Her tone was short and sharp.
“The girl was standing there one second and gone the next.” The woman’s body shook, but Iris didn’t know if it was from fear or the shock she’d delivered to her system.
“I need to know more.” Her fingertips hovered over the woman’s hand, buzzing with current. “In which direction did she go?”
Her eyes were glued to their hands as she said, “Okay, okay. When you weren’t looking, she was nabbed by someone.”
“By whom?”
“I don’t know. Do you think I know everyone who walks in and out of these markets?”
“Wrong answer. I think you know exactly who comes and goes around here.” Iris lowered her fingers a little, but there was nothing left in her. Her connection to the lightning outside had faded, but the woman didn’t need to know.
“Don’t! Please don’t use any more magic. I’ll tell ya.” The chubby woman looked up and met her stare, tears welling up in her small eyes. “A Weasel took her.”
Iris Page 13