Coldbloods

by Bella Forrest

  But as it came within view, I paused. Although its metal exterior looked innocuously intact, the crashing and cackling coming from inside told a different story. Shifters had taken it over.

  And with the ship infested, I had no way to contact the Fed. Which meant I had no way to save Navan.

  I breathed deeply, trying not to let a looming sense of despair overtake me.

  The ship’s door slammed open, and two shifters emerged, snickering and chattering between themselves. I backed away before they got too close. I needed someplace safe to think—somewhere I could formulate a new plan of action.

  My gaze scanned the horizon and stopped on a rocky-looking hill in the distance. It probably wasn’t that much safer than where I was now, but it was more out of the way, and at this point, I was in no position to be picky. So, with one last, forlorn look at the ship, I trudged forward.

  I was panting heavily as I arrived at the hill, weighed down by emotions as much as physical exhaustion, and I discovered with some relief that it contained a rocky cave. It would at least protect me from the wind. I made my way inside and found a flattish rock, where I sat down.

  I pressed the button on my wrist, allowing my body to materialize. I didn’t know why, but I felt the urge to see my legs and feet. It was strangely reassuring. I opened and closed my hand, which was white with cold. Then, leaning so that my back was resting on the rock wall, I closed my eyes.

  Immediately, my mind was flooded with everything that had just happened. My escape, our capture, our kiss… The coldbloods had hurt Navan earlier when they’d found him—was that what they were doing now? With their fury at my escape, would they take out their anger on him?

  Exhaling sharply, I got up and started walking from one side of the small cave to the other. Thinking about Navan being in more pain because of me was practically unbearable.

  What am I going to do now?

  The answer was as murky as the cave I was in. Without question, rescuing Navan was my number one priority, and the easiest way to accomplish that would be with the Fed’s help. But the ship had been my only means of contacting them. I could try to take out the shifters… but without my throwing knives, I didn’t need to be a Seer to know that wouldn’t end too well for me.

  But even if I did somehow contact the Fed, then what? I’d tell them about what I’d seen, and trust that their main priority would be rescuing Navan and not just attacking and destroying the base? What were the odds of that?

  I stopped pacing, nodding to myself. If I rescued Navan, together we could probably fight our way onto the ship, if it hadn’t been seized by the coldbloods by then, and get an urgent message to the Fed via the ship’s comm device. But the whole coldblood base was on high alert now—I would need at least one weapon to stand any chance of getting to him.

  Sitting back down on the flat rock, I took a deep breath. Really, it didn’t matter what the most logical or safest option was; I couldn’t just leave Navan in that bunker without trying to rescue him. Now was my best chance. Even if I somehow found an alternative way of reaching the Fed, the coldbloods could have sent Navan somewhere else or badly hurt him. I had to try to reach him myself one more time.

  And this time I could try stealing a weapon while I passed through the camp. It might not even be hard—all I’d have to do was stash it in my invisibility suit. That way I could at least defend myself and Navan, when the time came. Plus, I had the advantage of invisibility, and I doubted the coldbloods were expecting me to walk right back into their midst right after escaping. What kind of idiot would do that?

  Me, apparently.

  I tamped down the feelings of doubt threatening to paralyze me, and rose to my feet. I was desperately low on options, and this was the only course of action my brain could settle on.

  I steadied myself against the rock wall, though it didn’t help much. My head was throbbing; my belly was rumbling. After all that had happened, I felt like I might throw up, burst into tears, or both. But I didn’t have time for that. Not now.

  Outside, it was growing dark. The setting, grayish sun was visible on the horizon. By the time I reached the base, it would be night. I hoped that would somehow work to my advantage as I pressed the button on my suit.

  As I neared the base, I tried not to think. Instead, I focused on the steps my feet were taking. One after another, then another, then another. As soon as one harried thought would emerge, I would return my focus to my advancing feet.

  Right now, I didn’t have to figure out exactly how I was going to complete this impossible task—I just had to focus on the next step my foot took.

  This time, I didn’t pass by our ship. Instead, I headed for a part of the invisibility shield that was safely away from it, out of earshot. Although the shifters hadn’t caught me earlier, I didn’t want to take any chances.

  When I reached what seemed to be the invisibility shield, I paused. Sucking in a deep breath, I steeled my nerves. I held out a hand, and the air shimmered, the huge protective dome appearing.

  I’m coming for you, Navan. I conjured up the image of his handsome, smiling face in my mind and focused on it as I took my first step through the shield.

  But before I could lay my second step down on the ground, a sharp female voice pierced the cold evening air.

  “Who’s there?” a female coldblood called, and as I gazed in her direction, I realized she was looking straight at me. She was a terrifyingly burly creature, with thick brown eyebrows and snarling, downturned lips.

  “Shifter, you know it is forbidden to camouflage yourself when at the base,” she continued when I didn’t answer. “Especially now that we have a red alert about an intruder.”

  I looked left, then right. The whole invisibility shield was bordered by coldbloods standing in wait. If I wanted to get by, I’d have to sneak by this coldblood now.

  As quietly as I could, I set my foot down on the ground.

  “I mean it, shifter,” she snapped, jutting out a mechanical-looking spear. “Take another step and just see if I don’t impale you.”

  I froze. Another desperate look left and right found the situation as impossible as the last time I had looked. If I wanted to get by, I had to make it past coldbloods who were already primed for my possible arrival.

  Offering a small mental prayer to the universe, I surged forward. I heard a whizzing sound behind me, and ducked just in time. The spear slammed into the ground ahead of me with an electrical fizzle.

  I froze, staring at the spear for a few seconds, expecting the coldblood who had thrown it to immediately come chasing after it to retrieve it. When she didn’t, I cast a glance over my shoulder, and saw her distracted with throwing another spear in a different direction.

  It seemed like one of my prayers, at least, had been answered. I now had a weapon. I had no idea how to use it, or if it was even safe for a human to wield, but… I glanced from the now-blocked invisibility shield to the direction of the coldblood guards, then crouched down and gingerly poked at the spear.

  As soon as my finger touched its metal surface, I realized that was a mistake. A shock of electricity passed through me, and I cursed, realizing my whole body was suddenly visible. In a panic, I jammed the button of the invisibility suit, but it only made a light hissing noise. The spear had messed up the suit.

  Keeping down low against the ground, I prayed the coldblood guards were still distracted. My eyes frantically returned to the damned weapon, and I knew I had to make a last-minute change of plan.

  I poked at the electrical spear again, and when no electrical surge passed through me this time, I grabbed it, and immediately crawled as fast as I could back through the invisibility shield. I had to get away from those coldbloods now that I no longer had an invisibility suit to protect me.

  I’d have to try to board the ship again—facing the shifters instead. At least I had a weapon now… though I was without my invisibility suit, so I wasn’t sure if those two advantages canceled each other out.

&
nbsp; Whatever the case, I stood a better chance against a handful of shifters than a camp of coldbloods and shifters.

  As I neared the ship, its smooth surface looked almost eerie in the fading light, but all was silent. Maybe the shifters had torn through it to their satisfaction and left. Hopefully they hadn’t wrecked the comm technology in the process. That would be a blow I wouldn’t survive.

  I shuddered, a chill running down my spine at the thought.

  There was only one way to find out.

  I peered through the door, cautiously turning my head left, then right. To my relief and surprise, everything inside looked untouched. Navan’s bag was missing, along with the weapons we’d had inside the belly of the ship, but there was no sign of the shifters.

  And the control panel was right in front of me. All I had to do was flick that green switch, and I could transmit a message to the Fed.

  Excitement welled in me as my hand descended for the switch, but when my fingers were a split second from touching it, something slammed into my head.

  Ear-splitting cries filled my ears as four shifters materialized within the small chamber. They leapt out from the walls, un-camouflaging themselves as they flung their bodies toward me.

  I staggered backward and out of the ship, a scream stuck in my throat, my body half numb from the shock as I tried to fight them off with my spear.

  I had no choice but to retreat, as they all launched at me at once. I ran away from them, from the ship, toward the direction of the village—and the opposite direction from the coldblood base. As I raced, my legs pumping faster than I’d ever thought them capable of going, a pain bit into my shoulder. One of the bastards had landed on me, was digging its nails into my back.

  I skewered the hideous, pale-skinned creature, stabbing the spear into its flesh and harpooning it into the snow. And then the next that came launching for me, and the next. I found myself descending into a panicked, slashing frenzy, until they all lay bleeding on the ground… and then I noticed three more shifters popping their ugly heads out of the back of the ship.

  Oh, for God’s sake.

  I had to run. I didn’t have time to withdraw my spear from the last shifter I had harpooned—that would be allowing too short a distance between myself and the shifters now darting toward me.

  I pounded ahead, and, thanks to my head start, managed to put a safe distance between myself and the shifters that had followed me; they were considerably smaller than me, after all. But, as far off as they were, I could still see their little bodies running for mine.

  So I kept sprinting, slamming my feet into the ground with all the strength I had left. Where I was headed didn’t matter, so long as it was away from the ship and the harrowing cries emitting from it. I sprinted over rock, snow, and ice, not slowing until the ship was a speck on the horizon behind me. Only then did I stop, shooting the tiny thing a forlorn look. It was my last point of reference. Without it, I had next to no idea where I was. But right now, I had no other choice. I’d have to make my way to the nearby village on foot.

  At the mere thought of more walking, my legs collapsed under me. The adrenaline was finally leaving me, and as I sat, my butt aching from the cold, hard ground, I gazed drearily into the wilderness ahead. Last time I had wandered off by myself in search of something, it hadn’t gone well. But now I didn’t have any other choice.

  Chapter Two

  It took nearly all my strength to clamber back onto my feet. I took a deep breath, then set my gaze in the direction of the town, or at least where I thought it was.

  As soon as I started walking, my head throbbed with an ache that spread to my whole body. What was a full-body ache called—a way-too-tired-because-I’ve-been-attacked-by-just-about-everything-ache?

  “Shut up, Riley,” I muttered to myself.

  When I got crazy-tired, I tended to get crazy-hysterical too. I tried to think of what Angie or Lauren would say to soothe me. But, as my legs stumbled ahead, I came up with a big fat nothing. Usually, I was the one comforting them.

  No, all I could think about was the same useless, repeating word as before: run, run, run.

  I kept my gaze on my feet to ensure that I didn’t fall. Under my boots, the snowy ground swirled. A glance across the landscape revealed that the air all around me was swirling with snow.

  I groaned. A snowstorm. Just what I needed right now. Every step I took was beginning to feel heavier than the last, while my eyes seemed to be blinking slower and slower…

  I barely registered my body collapsing onto the ground. When I struggled to open my eyes, all I saw was white. They fluttered closed, and a warm, comforting blackness swallowed me.

  * * *

  PINGGGGG.

  My eyes snapped open. My hands went to my ears as I wrenched around. Blinding fluorescent light. Flat gray stone walls.

  Where was I?

  I leapt up, the blood rushing from my head as I raced to the door—which was also made of stone. I yanked uselessly at the handle a few times, trying to get a grip on the momentary dizziness that came from standing up too quickly.

  “Back away from the door,” a husky voice boomed from the ceiling.

  I looked up, my eyes coming into focus. The entire ceiling seemed to be one big speaker, its black surface dotted with tiny holes. My gaze swept around the room, my heart pounding as I realized that I recognized this place. A Fed interrogation room.

  There was a beep, and then the door slammed into me as it opened. I tumbled to the floor, and someone chuckled. With their boot, they pushed me away.

  “You were told to back away from the door,” a cold voice said.

  I craned my neck to see a gnarly, clawed hand dipping for me. I jerked away instinctively, but it managed to grab me.

  “Don’t try to escape. It won’t work,” the masked lycan said.

  He lifted me up and placed me on a stone chair as easily as if I were a feather, then lowered himself onto the chair across from me. Folding his hands on the table, he addressed me.

  “So, human, tell me the truth. Tell me what you and your coldblood master have done.”

  I gaped at him. It was hard to focus when I was face-to-face with the sight of my own distended, terrified face in the steel of his mask.

  “I-I don’t know what you mean.”

  His fist slammed on the stone table so hard it sent a crack snaking through the top. “Lies,” he hissed.

  The door opened behind him.

  “What is the meaning of this?”

  The new speaker was a lycan I recognized—he was the same head of interrogation with whom Navan and I had spoken days ago. Right now, however, he was baring his wolfish teeth in rage at the lycan sitting across from me.

  “Commander Sylvan, sir, I apologize,” the masked lycan said. “You were in a meeting. I thought I could interrogate her beforehand. See what else we could get out of her.”

  Sylvan strode forward, grabbing the stone chair he was sitting in and pulling it to the door. It scraped loudly on the floor as it moved.

  “You thought wrong,” Sylvan growled, gesturing out the door.

  The masked lycan rose and advanced so that he and Sylvan were nose-to-nose.

  “Are you going to believe anything that human slave will say? After what we’ve found?”

  Sylvan turned his back on the other lycan.

  “What I do is no business of yours. Farl, you have a compromised interest in this case and are therefore not permitted to speak to the human. I am the head interrogator, and you will listen to me, or face the consequences.”

  “Commander, with all due respect, I won’t just take this sitting down.”

  “You’re right,” Sylvan snarled, storming forward and shoving Farl out the door. “You’ll take this standing up.”

  He pressed a button on his suit, and the stone door slid closed. He turned to face me.

  “I would apologize, but we haven’t yet established exactly what it is you’re guilty of.”

  As he went
to sit down, I sputtered, “I don’t know what… I just got—”

  He dismissed me with a wave of his hairy hand. “I haven’t asked you a question yet.”

  I shut my mouth, directing my glare to the door over his shoulder.

  He clasped his fingers together, his long claws coming to rest on the backs of his hands. He directed a piercing look at me.

  “Tell me how you came to be here.”

  Now that I finally had the chance to tell my side of things, I paused. Doubts from before crept into my head. What if telling him the scope of the rebel coldblood camp made him focus on attacking it, instead of saving Navan?

  “Today, human,” Sylvan barked.

  One glance at his intelligent coral eyes made up my mind for me. Lying or leaving things out now was too dangerous to risk it. I’d finally gotten what I’d desperately wanted, back there in the snow—contact with the Fed.

  So I told him everything. From flying in the Fed-equipped ship, to picking up the sneaky shifter, to discovering the coldblood camp. At the last, Sylvan’s deep-set eyes bugged out.

  “You say there were how many of these rebel coldbloods and shifters?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “The shifter had said there were a few hundred shifters there when Navan asked him, but I don’t know if he was telling the truth. Combined with the coldbloods, to me it looked like a few thousand… maybe even more.”

  He bowed his head, as if considering what I’d said, then shook it fiercely.

  “No, no,” he said. “Impossible. A camp of that scope passing under our notice? Impossible! When we sent you on that mission, our intel indicated the base likely numbered from a few individuals to fifty, tops.”

  “They had an invisibility shield,” I reminded him.

  But now his thin lips were set in a firm line.

  “Impossible, human. For something like that to slip by our notice, that would mean one of our own was betraying us, changing the data in certain reports. What you’re suggesting is a traitor inside our very own ranks.” His voice lowered. “It’s out of the question.”