by Amy Braun
My mother was alive.
She is alive.
Confusion rolled with possibilities, causing a pressure to build behind my eyes. I flipped the journal closed and slipped it into my coveralls. I kept my back to Riley and the Hellions, fighting to gain composure.
If what I read was true, I couldn’t let it show. The Vesper had a serious grudge against my mother. It was the reason he targeted me. He thought she was dead, and if I did anything to suggest that she wasn’t, he would make it his mission to destroy her. I couldn’t let that happen. Not until I was positive.
I closed my eyes and let out a long, slow breath to still my racing heart.
I had to see her with my own two eyes. Until then, I couldn’t be sure of anything.
But if she is alive…
It would change everything.
One of the Hellions suddenly screamed. I jumped at the noise, certain that my reaction would be believable to the crowd of monsters. My fear of them was very real.
The Hellion that started the commotion continued to bark at Davin and Riley. I couldn’t see Davin’s face, but Riley’s expression darkened. He shot me a look that would have cut me if it were a blade.
“Finally,” Davin said cheerfully, “some action.”
He snapped at the other Hellions and led them toward the door. Only two of them stayed behind. Riley stormed after Davin.
“Riley?” I started after him. “What’s going on?”
He didn’t turn back.
“Riley!”
The Hellions lingering behind whirled to face me. A raspy snarl came from behind their masks. Both needlepoints would have plunged into my cheeks if I hadn’t pulled to a stop.
At the door, Riley turned around. “Stay here until we return. Do not make a sound.”
“Tell me what’s going on,” I demanded. The Hellions snarled again, but I ignored them.
Riley stared at me, the dim light from outside the doorway obscuring his face. “There is a ship approaching.”
A ship… There was only one ship I knew of that was still active in Aon. “Is it the Dauntless?” I asked, both scared and hopeful of his answer.
Riley said nothing. Panic created a cold sweat on the back of my neck. “Riley, is it the Dauntless?”
He walked outside, leaving me alone with two snarling Hellions and a heart full of terror.
My hands tightened. I looked at my right fist.
I don’t know if Riley forgot that I still held the flare. It didn’t matter.
It was his mistake.
Chapter 9
Sawyer
Beck jumped off the Dauntless before I gave the all clear to stop. If I hadn’t watched him tie a rope around his waist, I would have thought he was suicidal.
I reached past the wheel and twisted the dial to cut the engine’s speed. I flipped the switch below it to turn off the power. It would be up to the crewmen below to watch over the engine itself.
“Drop nets,” I commanded, watching the recruits toss over a series of thick, webbed ropes for us to climb down. Nash and Gemma followed me down the stairs.
I grabbed one passing man by the arm. He was tall and gangly, but had sharp blue eyes. I think his name was Arthur.
“Tell the crew below deck to idle the ship,” I instructed. “Keep the anchor raised and be ready to fire engines to full throttle if we need to cut and run.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Arthur turned and hurried to obey my orders.
“I need five strong men and five strong women to pick up arms and come scouting with us. Everyone else is to stay here and guard this ship until we come back.”
As the strongest men and women began to collect extra weapons from the crates on deck, I looked at the other recruits huddled on the deck.
“Nothing but us is to get on this deck, am I clear?”
“Aye, Captain!”
I left the crew and started for the side of the ship. There was a slight tug on the back of my coat. I turned and looked down. Abby’s bright green eyes stared up into mine.
“Can I come?” she asked.
I knelt down and gently gripped her shoulders. “Sorry, Stargazer. You need to stay here.”
“But I can help scavenge,” she insisted. “I’m small and can fit in places you can’t.”
I smiled at her. “I know you can. But I need you to stay here until I know it’s safe. Claire would never forgive me if something happened to you.” I looked down. “I would never forgive myself.”
Abby bit her lower lip, torn between listening to me and ignoring me. Probably like her sister would have.
She whimpered softly then threw her arms around my neck. She squeezed tightly, as if she were afraid I wouldn’t come back.
She did this for me every time I left the ship for any reason.
I let go of Abby and gave her a gentle smile. After I told her to go into the cabin and not open it for anyone but Gemma, Nash, or me, I led my band of followers off the side of the Dauntless.
Beck hadn’t waited for us. I couldn’t say I was surprised, or that I blamed him. He had friends here. Family, maybe. The town wasn’t big so I was sure I would find him, but the flames had grown recently. The arsonists might still be here.
While I had no doubt Beck could take care of himself in a one-on-one fight, he would have to see his opponents coming. Being blinded by rage, grief, and smoke would make him an open target. One good strike to the neck would be all it took.
I was walking faster than I realized. My head turned left and right, taking in the ramshackle lean-tos and the papery grass. My hand curled around the flintlock pistol on my hip. I drew it without hesitation and held it close to my side. From the corner of my eye, I could see Gemma taking out a knife, and Nash slipping his brass knuckles over his fingers.
Behind me, the recruits shuffled slowly. I was hesitant to split them up. They were all good, sturdy looking men and wiry strong women, but I didn’t know how much fighting experience they had. Maybe they could hold their own in scraps with other survivors, but that wouldn’t save them against the Hellions.
I’m making a mistake. I’m going to get them all killed.
I shook my head and kept marching toward the fires.
Nothing happened yet. Whoever raided this place could have left. We hadn’t seen any raiding skiffs. We could be walking to the aftermath.
My other hand was wrapped around the hilt of my cutlass, gripping it tight.
By the time we reached the source of the fires, the clouds were darkening. Night was beginning to fall. I wanted to get back to the ship, but we couldn’t do that until we found the people Beck was looking for. If no one was here, maybe we could take some supplies. Hopefully the soldier would understand why we needed to take them, and Abby would forgive me for keeping her in the cabin.
Beck stood in front of the three burning houses. At least that’s what I thought they were. The flames were so bright and powerful that all I could see were three fat pillars of flame. I couldn’t see the sky beyond the black smoke chugging lazily to mingle with the clouds. Wood popped and crackled, metal groaning under the pressure and intensity of relentless heat.
I approached Beck carefully. He was staring at the flames, running his hand up back and forth over the top of his head. The anxiety surrounding him was infectious.
“Beck?”
He whirled to face me. His dark eyes were swirling with anger. “This was the work of Hellions,” he spat bitterly.
It seemed likely, but I didn’t want to give into the assumption without proof. “How many people did you say lived here? A few dozen?”
“Almost seventy,” he said.
I blinked at the number. Combined with our new numbers, over a hundred and twenty people would be impossible to feed unless this village had another way to grow food. I wasn’t feeling very optimistic.
“Beck,” I took a careful step closer. “Where would your people go if they were attacked? Where would they hide?”
�
��We hide underground,” he said, starting to pace. “Each house had a hideaway or tunnel that would lead them to safety. She demanded that every building–”
He stopped abruptly, horror creeping over his face like a shadow.
“Who?” I asked. “Beck, you’re not making any sense– wait!”
He’d been turning around as I spoke, suddenly running at full sprint deeper into the village.
“Damn it,” I hissed. I whirled back around, looking at my crew.
“Nash, Gemma, with me. The rest of you…”
I counted my numbers. Counted them again, and one more time after that.
Someone was missing.
Putting the Beck problem to the back of my mind for now, I marched to the crew. I quickly found the missing man’s sister.
“Lisa, right?”
She nodded.
“Where’s your brother?”
Lisa squinted at me, confused. She looked to her right, expecting to find him standing at her side.
Her eyes widened in terror when she realized he wasn’t there.
“Myles?” she called. “Myles?!”
I stalked over and hushed her. Lisa’s eyes never lost their terrified sheen.
“We need to stick together,” I said. “Everyone turn back to back. Don’t leave yourself exposed.
The new crew members took their time following my orders. I kept demanding them as they moved.
“We’re going after Beck. He’s looking for some damn building and we need to find him.”
“What about my brother?” Lisa whimpered.
“We’ll look for him later,” I said, hoping I wasn’t lying. “We’ll find him.” Though I refused to make promises about the state he was in.
Once everyone in the group had someone at their back, I led the group forward. We walked past the blazing houses in the direction where Beck had run. He was out of sight, and I didn’t want to risk shouting for him. But I had to find the headstrong bastard.
What was so important that he would run from the group when we hadn’t checked to see if the village was safe?
My first thought was survivors, but if they had their own undergrounds and hideaways, why would they all run to one solid building where they could be easily found and picked off?
Something else was going on, and it didn’t make sense. Whenever I found Beck again, I was going to have a serious talk with him to get answers–
“What was that?” a woman gasped.
“I didn’t see anything,” someone else countered.
“There was a shadow.”
“Your mind is playing tricks on you.”
“I’m not playing some game.”
Good grief,” Gemma exasperated. “Would you both just shut up?”
When I turned around, I saw the flicker of movement in the crooked crevice to the right of the group. It was a small, subtle predator in hiding. But I knew what it was.
I finally withdrew the cutlass I’d been gripping so tightly, then stepped toward–
A low, raspy hiss came from my left. Several members of the crew jumped. Another hiss came from my right.
We were surrounded.
Beck shouted from behind me. Everyone made the same mistake I did, and turned in the direction of the noise.
The low, taunting hisses erupted into full-fledged screams. I turned fast, ready to meet the threat. It was over by the time I saw it.
An unmasked Hellion appeared from nowhere, grabbing a woman at the edge of the circle. She didn’t have time to use the knife to defend herself as the Hellion threw her to the ground. She screamed as it dug its claws into her hair and dragged her back to the shadows.
Nash was running to help when another Hellion leaped from behind the lean-tos. He reacted better, slamming his brass-knuckled fist into the creature’s jaw. It reeled from the hit, but it was far from deterred. I raised my pistol and took aim. I fired a single round into the Hellion’s skull. Blood exploded from the far side of its head. It dropped to the ground with a heavy thump.
The captured woman was in the alley now. Her scream was almost as loud as my gunshot, and ended just as quickly.
Three more Hellions surged forward and attacked. It was chaos.
The recruits, so used to hiding instead of fighting, panicked and bolted away rather than defend themselves.
“Stand your ground!” I shouted. “Everyone together!”
Only Gemma and Nash listened. The rest of the recruits broke ranks like shattered glass.
The Hellions each grabbed another recruit and pulled them to the ground. One man and two women screamed in agony as the Hellions ripped through their skin like it was paper. Blood flew into the air. The Hellions chomped and bit their bodies, not seeming to have any specific direction. They wanted their victim to bleed as much as possible.
We reached the Hellions seconds later. I roared and swung at the Hellion tearing into a brunette woman. It heard my war cry and raised its head. Blood stained the lower half of its face, matching the glow in its eyes. The tip of my cutlass sliced across its face, cutting deep but not enough to kill it.
The beast jumped back and drew to its full height, swinging its claws at me. I swept my sword across its hand and stopped the attack. The Hellion hissed in rage. It didn’t look at the blood dripping from its cut wrist. I lifted my flintlock and gripped the trigger. The Hellion rushed me, batting my hand down. The bullet exploded from the barrel and drilled through the monster’s leg. It didn’t falter or flinch.
The back of its hand crashed into my face. Pain filled my head and sent white spots into my vision, but I rolled with the strike. When my back was to the Hellion, I pushed my cutlass back and felt the resistance as it plunged through Hellion flesh.
Claws curled into my right shoulder and gripped. My pain-filled shout mixed with the Hellion’s snarl as it lunged for my neck. I snapped my elbow up and slammed it into the monster’s face. The joint crunched the Hellion’s nose inward, dazing its attack. I pulled forward, forcing the claws to rake over the curve of my shoulder. But I was freed.
I spun on my heel and unleashed a powerful kick that crashed into the Hellion’s jaw. The force sent it spinning onto the ground. It tried to push itself up, halted when I put my boot on its back. I plunged the tip of my cutlass into the back of its neck, then twisted until it stopped moving.
I heard fighting next to me. I looked up and watched Gemma and Nash battle a Hellion together. Another already lay dead at their feet, between the two recruits. One of them was Lisa. Her face was washed in blood, and she was no longer moving.
As a team, Nash and Gemma were all but unstoppable. They didn’t give the Hellion a chance to defend itself, kicking and punching before it could raise a claw against them. Nash suddenly darted in, his brass covered fist crashing into the Hellion’s head. It howled long and loud, until Gemma surged forward and thrust her knife into the monster’s skull. It slackened in her grip and dropped when she pulled back the blade.