by Ella Summers
“Have you sent our demands to the Legion soldiers?” asked another.
“Yes. They will cooperate to save their precious loved ones.”
Laughter spilled out of the darkness where another man stood. “The Legion is not as impervious as it makes itself out to be.”
“I say we strike now.”
“The Legion is weak, ready to be toppled,” agreed another.
The laughing man laughed once more. “The Legion is tearing itself apart from the inside. And thanks to our potion, we can create an army to finish the job. We can take back the Earth from those foreign invaders who call themselves gods.”
As the Pioneers spoke, I relayed everything back to Nero and Damiel.
“Which Legion soldiers have been compromised?” Nero asked me.
“I don’t want to condemn them to death because they have held on to a piece of their humanity.”
“I will restrain them, not kill them, if possible,” Nero promised.
I realized it was the best I was going to get. Nero’s first duty was to protect the Legion of Angels from threats both internal and external. If the Legion fell, so would the Earth. We were the shield that stood between humanity and the monsters.
So as the Pioneers discussed the Legion soldiers they’d blackmailed, I repeated their names to Nero.
The light in the dark room shifted, throwing off the shadows. For the first time, I could make out a face in the crowd. I recognized one of the Pioneer leaders. It was the district lord I’d seen dining at the Silver Platter in Purgatory as his starving servant, chained to the column, looked on.
I walked past the circle of Pioneers, straining my eyes to see their faces. I saw more district lords from Purgatory—all of them, in fact. And the remaining Pioneer leaders consisted solely of district lords from other towns across the Frontier.
The realization hit me with the force of a high-speed train. The Pioneers were the district lords. One by one, they were taking over the poor, neglected towns of the Frontier, and they were doing this all right under our noses as they plotted to destroy the Legion of Angels.
24
Siege
We rode in the back of a Legion truck headed for Purgatory. All roads seemed to lead me back there.
The truck’s wheels rumbled over the bumpy road. The hum of the engine filled the dead silence hanging heavy in the air. Nero sat across from me. His face was serious, devoid of emotion. It was his game face. In preparation for the coming battle, he was putting his mind in the right place to be cold, calculating, and merciless—the perfect angelic trifecta.
Beside me, Bella’s hands lay folded together in her lap, as steady as her pulse was erratic. She was scared for Gin and Tessa. We all were. Our little sisters were being held by a group of psychopaths who’d unleashed monsters on a city of thousands of people, just to swing a punch at the Legion.
“They’ll be all right,” I told Bella, reaching over to squeeze her hand.
She squeezed back.
I looked out the window at the dark curtain of clouds overhead. Fat snowflakes began to drop to the ground like goose down. It was the height of summer, but out here near the plains of monsters, the weather was always so variable, so unpredictable.
“It’s snowing,” I commented.
The truck’s windshield wipers were swiping back and forth, trying to clear the snow, but it was coming down too fast now. They couldn’t keep up with the buckets of fluffy white powder. Visibility was so low that I could hardly see past our truck.
The out-of-season weather almost felt like an omen that things were about to change big time. I hoped that didn’t mean the Pioneers would gain the upper ground. As harsh as the Legion could be, they were nothing compared to the anarchy and cruelty I’d witnessed from the district lords. If they rose to power and took over, the whole world would deteriorate into an unending gangster shootout.
The truck came to a stop, and everyone hopped out, our glossy black leather contrasting starkly with the whirling white snowstorm. There were nine of us: in addition to me, our team consisted of Bella and Calli, Nero and Harker, as well as Basanti, Alec, Soren, and Drake.
“Any news?” Basanti asked Nero.
“Not yet.”
We waited for the signal that the attacks were about to begin. In towns all across the Frontier, the Legion was running coordinated strikes on the district lords. Now that we knew they were the force behind the Pioneers, we were taking them all out. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of deep satisfaction at their impending demise, even as I came to terms with what that actually meant for me. I was going into a battle in which I would likely have to kill people. Killing people was not like killing monsters, no matter how evil they were.
“Get into position,” Nero told Harker. “It’s about to start.”
Harker ran off toward the entrance that led into the tunnel system connecting the castles of Purgatory’s district lords. Basanti, Alec, Soren, and Drake followed him. A few minutes later, an explosion lit up the stormy, snowy sky. Burning chunks of the gold and ivory gate flew in every direction. Gunfire roared, blades clashed, and magic sizzled. Harker’s team had engaged the enemy soldiers.
But they were just the distraction. Nero, Bella, Calli, and I ran down Twilight Alley, the gathering point of the town’s young delinquents. I’d spent a great deal of time there in my days as a homeless orphan.
I ran in front, leading the way down an unnamed narrow passageway. This was where I’d hidden from the street gangs, groups of big and mean kids who preyed on the weak and solitary, stealing our food and anything else of value that we had. Once, while hiding here, I’d seen a district lord and his posse go through a thick door, the kind that looked like the entrance to a safe or a bomb shelter. The tunnel beyond the door was a secret passage to the district lord’s castle—and, more importantly, to the tunnels that connected all the district lords’ castles together.
“You ready?” Nero asked me as we stopped in front of the solid metal door.
I nodded and took his hand, gathering my new telekinetic magic into a point. I could feel Nero directing my magic, channeling it into his own. A blast of our combined power slammed into the door, crushing it inside its psychic fist. Calli stood beside us, ready to shoot any enemies lying in wait.
The tunnel was empty. Harker’s team of heavy hitters must have drawn all the Pioneers’ fighters to the main entrance. So far, everything was going exactly to plan. We entered the tunnel, moving toward the central underground interchange. The district lords might have been working together to overthrow the Legion, but they still didn’t trust one another. They had to be keeping the prisoners in a neutral location, and based on the blueprints, my best guess was the underground level below this one. Was that too obvious to be true? Perhaps, but in my years as a bounty hunter, I’d found that people weren’t as clever at hiding as they thought they were.
We met no one all the way down the tunnel, but that all changed when we reached the intersection before the staircase. Gunfire drummed over panicked shouts as the Pioneer fighters scrambled to block Harker’s team from advancing further into the tunnels.
“There must be at least fifty of them!” a Pioneer shouted.
“And they’ve got three angels!”
Harker and his team of four soldiers must have been putting on a really spectacular show. I heard Basanti’s manic cackle echo down the tunnel, magnified with magic to sound like a whole pack of hyenas. The Pioneers listened, looking positively ill. Their potion might have given them all the same powers as we had, but there was no magic pill for willpower or courage. In fact, they’d completely skipped the willpower step in lieu of a quick fix.
“We can still sneak past them to get to the stairs,” I said, watching the Pioneers. “They have their backs turned to us.”
The red light over the staircase flashed on, pulsing repeatedly. A pack of large guard dogs bolted up the stairs. From the looks of them, they’d once been large dogs, but they now resem
bled werewolves in beast form.
Yet there was something wrong with their bodies. They weren’t fully proportional, like some of their parts didn’t belong with the others. They looked like they’d been pasted together from several different animals of several different sizes and species. They were a mismatch of various fur colors, yellow and silver, brown and black—a rushed blend, a discordant melody of lines and colors.
The beasts smelled like blood and rusty metal and wet fur—and a strange subtly-sweet smell that felt familiar. I couldn’t quite place it, but I was sure I’d smelled it before.
I spotted a laboratory past the pack of wolves, pointing it out to Bella. She nodded, and we ran toward the glass room as Nero and Calli covered us from enemy soldiers.
“See if you can find a sample of the potion,” I told Bella. Nyx had instructed us to obtain the potion for testing. If we could find a sample, we could figure out how the Pioneers had accomplished the impossible.
As Bella looked through the lab, I stood guard beside her. Nero and Calli had each moved to one of the two lab entrances.
But a guard dog got past them by making an entrance of its own. The beast jumped straight through a glass wall, battering it with its hard, boar-like tusks. As the glass shattered, I went to intercept the monster.
I swung my sword, flames flaring to life across the blade. I killed the beast in a single stroke of fire and metal, but there was already another one springing through the hole in the glass wall. It opened its mouth and breathed fire. Shit, the guard dogs could do magic too.
I countered the stream of fire with a swing of my now-icy sword. The flames sizzled out into wafts of steam. Unconcerned, the beast just spit another fireball at me. I’d been researching the monsters of Earth, and I hadn’t read about a single one like these dogs.
And that’s when I realized the Pioneers had given them the potion too. It hadn’t just made them big and ugly monster amalgamations; it had given them magic. From the looks of the dogs, the potion hadn’t fully taken to them like it had with the humans. It seemed the Pioneers hadn’t yet figured out the canine formula of their potion.
Speaking of the potion…
“How’s it coming?” I asked Bella.
“I’ve got a sample.”
“Good. Then let’s get you the hell out of here so you and Nerissa can analyze it.”
The guard dog spat a wad of goo. I cut to the side, but a few green drops sprinkled across my uniform, burning holes right through the leather. Great. Not only did the beasts spit fire; they also spat toxic acid. A siege wasn’t complete without toxic-acid-spitting beasts.
I froze, watching in shock as the speckles of splattered green spit peeled off the floor, moving as though controlled via telekinesis. They floated into the air, suspended like a hundred buoys bobbing in the air. Crap.
The spit shot straight at Bella. I jumped into its path, casting a psychic shield to counter the forward thrust of the toxic spit bubbles. I was too slow. One of the green bubbles hit the vial in Bella’s hand, shattering it. At least the acid hadn’t gotten on her skin. Who knew what that would have done to her.
Frowning, I faced the juiced-up monster. It snarled at me, showing off fangs coated in toxic saliva.
“Now you’re just asking for it, Wolfie,” I growled at it.
I grabbed the bobbing bubbles of poison spit with my mind and shot them at the beast, setting them all on fire for good measure. The punch of my toxic telekinetic spell pushed the beast out of the lab. It landed in the tunnel with a thump, then exploded next to a group of Pioneer soldiers, showering them in monster blood.
I looked at Bella, who’d already taken another few vials of potion. “According to the lab notes, the potion dies quickly outside either the special cooler or a living body,” she explained as she loaded them into a transport cooler.
We left the lab. The Pioneer forces were streaming in from every direction, flooding the corridors. I saw Harker’s team surrounded by enemies. Calli’s jacket was ripped open, her undershirt saturated with her own blood, but she refused to leave. She just stood there, bleeding out as she continued to shoot at the Pioneers.
“You have to go,” I told her. “Nerissa and the other doctors just arrived. They’re waiting outside. They’ll heal you.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not fine. You’re bleeding out everywhere. Don’t be stubborn.”
She snorted. “You can’t lecture me about stubbornness.”
“Sure I can.” I waved Drake over. “The same way I can knock you upside the head so my friend Drake can carry you to safety.”
Her mouth hardened.
“Gin and Tessa wouldn’t want you to die to save them,” I told her. “They want to see you again.”
Resignation shone in her eyes. I’d hit the right note.
“Ok,” she said, looking at Drake, sizing him up. “Try not to drop me.”
“I wouldn’t dare drop Leda’s beautiful mother.”
Calli glanced at me. “I like him.”
“I thought you would,” I replied as Drake lifted her carefully into his arms. “Don’t worry. I’ll get Gin and Tessa out of here.”
Drake carried Calli through the tunnel that led to the back entrance. It was still empty, which was more than I could say for this hall. The Pioneer guards seemed to multiply by the minute. I found Harker and ran over to him.
“You need to get Bella out of here, so she can bring the Pioneers’ potion back to our lab,” I told him.
Harker looked across the battle scene, his face conflicted. He didn’t want to abandon his soldiers, but he also wanted to keep Bella safe.
“We need to analyze the potion. Nyx’s orders,” I reminded him.
That sealed the deal. Harker led Bella down the tunnel, away from the fight. I went over to Nero. I didn’t even need to say anything.
“We’ll hold off the guards so you can find your sisters and the other prisoners,” Nero told me.
Thank you.
There are likely more Pioneers guarding the prisoners. Be careful, he replied.
I’m always careful.
He made a noise that bore a suspicious resemblance to a snort. Go before I change my mind, Pandora.
I made my way toward the staircase, using my sword to cut through the last remaining guard dog. I paused on the top step, looking across the battleground. There were so many more enemy soldiers than we’d expected. The Pioneers’ organization was enormous, their supporters plentiful. Were there really so many people willing to take up arms against the gods?
As I ran down the stairs, I could hear Nero calling in more Legion soldiers to fight the Pioneers. They could have just left now that they had the potion, but Nero wanted to give me the chance to save my sisters. Who knew what the Pioneers would do with Tessa and Gin. Based on everything I’d seen and heard of them, I just knew I couldn’t let them have my sisters.
At the bottom of the stairs, the hallway was clear, but I could hear voices shouting up ahead. I locked onto that sound and sprinted all-out down the hall, bursting into a prison block. The Pioneers were waiting for me.
I didn’t stop moving. I dashed past the first two guards, flinging them aside with a psychic blast. The remaining four guards closed around me from all sides. Their movements were so slow, so human. I knocked them out easily. Either their potion had worn out, or they’d not yet taken it.
I stepped over the Pioneers strewn across the cobbled ground and hit the green button on the wall. All the cells swung open, and the prisoners shoved and pushed to get out, as though they were afraid that the doors would close again if they didn’t move now. I scanned the crowd of dirt-stained teenagers. My sisters were not among them. Of course they weren’t. Because that would have been too easy. Hardwicke had said they’d been set apart for their magic. Where were they?
I picked out the only prisoner who didn’t appear to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She must have been the daughter of an angel.
&nb
sp; “Get everyone out of here,” I told her. “Follow the hallway to the end. General Windstriker is there. He’ll help you all out.”
She nodded and guided the others toward the door. I ran deeper into the prison, passing empty cells and the occasional laboratory table. Ahead, an eerie blue glow pulsed against the walls like a flickering flame. Somehow, I was completely positive that beacon would lead me to my sisters.
The light was so close now. Everything was blue. I ran into the next chamber—then skidded to a stop. A translucent blue veil of magic blocked my path. It was cloudy, foggy, like looking through a pool of water, but beyond the glowing ripple, I could just make out Tessa and Gin. Two guards held to my sisters, who kicked and pushed against them, trying to get to me. I moved toward the veil.
“It’s about time,” a voice said from behind, surprising me. “Doesn’t the Legion teach its soldiers punctuality anymore? I’ve been waiting here for you for so long that my foot fell asleep.”
I spun around to face the familiar voice. It was Balin Davenport, the deserter. I’d been so focused on my sisters beyond the veil of magic that I hadn’t even seen him lurking in the shadows of the room. Moving as quick as lightning, he knocked me aside with a combined punch of magic and muscle. I slammed against the wall. Damn, he hit hard. I jumped up, but I wasn’t fast enough. The deserter now stood in front of the veil, barring my path to my sisters.
“Move.” My voice was a low growl. “Or I’ll move you.”
He laughed.
I swung a psychic punch at him. He caught my fist and threw me to the ground. I kicked back up to my feet, preparing to strike again.
He yawned. “I’ve grown bored of your stubbornness, Leda Pierce.”
In a flash of magic, wings sprouted out of his back. They were a brilliant, iridescent mixture of blue and green, bearing a striking resemblance to a peacock’s feathers.
“You’re not supposed to have wings,” I said, frowning.
According to Jace, Davenport had been one level shy of becoming an angel when he’d deserted the Legion.