City of Stone (The Watchers Trilogy, Book Two)

by T. C. Edge

  They will devise a plan to take out Knight, not to save the others. And if they die as a result, caught in the crossfire, shot dead in the turmoil, then all be well as long as Knight is assassinated.

  And that is something that I cannot accept.

  So I nod along, and pretend to agree, and silently in my head make my own plan of attack. I won't wait until the 11th hour to take action. I won't follow orders any more.

  I've had enough of that.

  In the dead of night, I lie awake. It's silent in the room, and pitch black. I click on my torch, dousing the bright light to a low glow using a blanket. I look to Stein, and Drake, and Markus, dotted around the room, sleeping steadily on the floor and in chairs.

  Planning an assassination, it seems, is exhausting work. They're all sleeping like babies.

  But not me.

  Next to me, in the double bed, Leeta lies, shaking slightly and apparently in the throes of a nightmare. I reach to her shoulder, and gently shake her awake. Her eyes are stark in the dim light, and take a moment to recognise me.

  “Leeta,” I whisper. “I need to know something.”

  She frowns, still coming round, then focuses on me.

  “What?” she croaks.

  “I need to know where the cell block is,” I say.

  “Why...”

  “Just tell me, Leeta.”

  She's used to following orders. Still half asleep, she mumbles in the darkness.

  “It's down on Underwater 2,” she says.

  “The military level?” I ask.

  She nods.

  “On the South side of the level.”

  “OK...go back to sleep.”

  I stroke her head and smile, and her eyes start to close immediately. Within moments, she's returning to her nightmare.

  In silence, I stand. My underwater suit, made of light black fabric, is quickly slid into. It will offer cover in the darkness, help me hide in the shadows.

  Quietly, I fix my pistol to my belt, and sneak towards Drake. His bag sits on a table next to him. I pull out the laser rod and position it next to my pistol.

  “It's now or never, Cyra,” I whisper to myself.

  I move towards the door, open it without a noise, and step out into the corridor.

  If they won't save my friends, I'll have to do it myself.

  29 - Underwater Level 2

  I exit the building with a steady heart. Somehow, I feel no nerves, just a heightened sense of awareness. I turn left and right and take in everything. Scanning the world around me, I spy no movement.

  I don't have the benefit of Stein's supernatural sense of direction now. Just my own knowledge of the place. I creep through the darkness towards the perimeter wall. I know I'm in the South West quadrant, that at least can guide me.

  As with the previous night when we arrived, the city deck appears deserted. Nothing stirs. No lights flow out from the buildings around me. The only illumination comes from the city lamps, constantly saturating the nearby area in an attractive, yellow light.

  I avoid them, snaking between the shadows until I spy the grand perimeter wall ahead. One of the doorways is near. I creep along it and through. Ahead of me, the tram tracks stretch in either direction, and beyond, a series of lifts for quick navigation to the levels below.

  With the trams dormant at this time, I skip across the tracks and up against the lift. My finger hovers over the button – are they being monitored?

  I can't tell.

  The last time I performed a daring night time mission around Eden, when Theo and I raided the archives, we were able to use the lifts without alerting anyone. Eden, I discovered, traditionally has fairly low levels of security, owing to the simple fact that crimes are hardly ever performed.

  With the growing threat of war, however, I don't know if that has changed. The place, on face value, seems and feels the same. The deck is empty of guards. The place is deserted and quiet.

  Is this an example of the hubris of Augustus Knight? Does he really believe that anyone would dare such a rescue?

  I have to take my chance. I press the button, and hear the ping as the lift doors open.

  I stand for a moment, heart rate still steady. Nothing. No guards rushing towards me. No shouting voices. Nothing.

  I step inside.

  I press the button for Underwater Level 2, and the lift immediately plummets to the depths of Eden. I keep my hand on my pistol as I go, silencer on, ready for action should I encounter any enemies.

  I search the Void, seeking danger, but the lift opens to silence and darkness.

  Out I step, looking left and right along the perimeter. Ahead of me, another set of tram tracks flow around the city, as they do on most levels. Beyond the tracks and the walls ahead, soldiers will lie sleeping. I'd do well not to wake them.

  I don't linger. I pace across the tracks once again, peering out across the wall stretching around the level on the other side. A flash of muffled voices enters my head. It comes from the right. I look closely, shut my eyes, and immediately know that someone is coming.

  I retreat, stepping back, and drop down into the hollow beneath the tram tracks. Shortly after, the voices grow louder, clearer. Those of three men, clearly on patrol.

  Torches flash in the darkness, cutting lines of light. They swing from side to side in a casual motion. The voices speak quietly, but there's no tension inside them. I crouch low, my black suit camouflaging me in the shadows, and listen.

  They're talking about the execution tomorrow.

  “I can't believe Theo Graves was captured,” says one. There's a half chuckle to his voice.

  “He's gonna get what's coming to him. Imagine betraying your city like that, betraying the Council. I'll look forward to watching him get his comeuppance.”

  “Yeah, I wonder how his parents feel though. They're gonna be right there watching,” says another.

  “They probably hate him as much as everyone else.”

  “Yeah, but they're still his parents. You don't have kids, do you Johnson...”

  “Well,” cuts in a third voice, “I've got a day off so I'm gonna be right there in the crowd. Get there early and you'll get a better view.”

  He laughs, along with the first guy. The second seems a little less keen on the whole thing.

  On they go, their voices fading as they continue past me, only feet away from them in the recesses of the tram tracks. I grimace and grit my teeth, and feel my fists clenching hard.

  They're enjoying this. They'll enjoy watching my friends get murdered in front of thousands of people...

  I have half a mind to spring up and show them my feelings on the matter. But I don't. I satisfy myself with a renewed desire to break my friends out and disappoint all of these bloodthirsty savages.

  I climb once more from my hiding place, and begin moving in the direction the soldiers came from. Not far along, a passage cuts through into the middle of the level. On the side of the wall, a sign is fixed, indicating the various points of interest in the nearby area.

  Soldiers quarters. Training rooms. Weapons holds. Mess halls..

  I scan down the list until I see what I'm here for: holding cells.

  They're not far from here. A small map accompanies the place signs, displaying the level's layout in a rudimentary schematic. I log the directions in my head, and then set off at a jog. I can feel them getting closer now. Ellie, Theo, Jackson...they're nearly within my grasp.

  In I turn, down an open passage. The level opens up ahead, a large chamber growing visible. From it, other passages extend, the various areas of the level cut off by large security doors.

  Damn it...

  I see the door leading towards the holding cells ahead. Entry requires identification. My barcode won't grant me access. I have no keycard. I'm stuck.

  No, not stuck...

  I reach to my belt and pull out the laser rod. I stand ahead of the heavy door and press the button on the end. A harsh, red light shoots from the end, immediately
burning the metal ahead of me.

  I swipe it across, searching for a lock. I'm no expert like Stein. Instead, I begin working my way down the lining of the door, guessing at where the lock would be. In the room around me, it's dark, only dim light falling from fixtures on the walls.

  The red laser glows bright, though, illuminating the immediate area as I begin to cut my way in. It takes time. Too much time. I begin to sweat, my cool being lost. My focus sticks to my one task, and I forget the one piece of training that Ajax always tried to imprint on me.

  Always be aware of your surroundings. Always be aware of danger.

  A voice sounds behind me in the darkness. It comes from nowhere, startling me. I drop the laser rod to the ground, and it quickly shuts off, drenching the room in darkness.

  “Cyra, Cyra, Cyra,” comes the voice.

  It's deep. So deep. It resounds around the walls and permeates every organ in my body. I'm stuck fast to the floor as I search forward, seeking the source in the gloom.

  Light footsteps reach my ears. Tapping slowly, deliberately. I look towards the passageway I came down, linking into the central chamber. And he emerges.

  Dressed in black, with a long flowing cloak, he comes. He walks with a natural ease, a confident gait. A white smile flashes behind thin lips. His dark grey eyes seem darker than the world around them, staring from deep sockets.

  I still don't react. I just watch as he keeps on coming forwards, one step after another, his face like cold stone, cast from the light into the shadow and back again as he moves.

  Eventually, he stops ahead of me on the other side of the room. His hands clasp calmly behind his back, his tall frame suddenly motionless and still.

  And then he speaks again.

  “I hear, Cyra, that you've come here to kill me...”

  I search for my voice. It stays locked inside me, somehow restrained. My fingers creep towards my pistol, positioned to my side.

  He's watching my every move. His smile rises higher, enjoyment inside it.

  “Go ahead,” he whispers, “do what you came here to do.”

  He doesn't move. He just stares and smiles.

  My fingers move closer, and I take a grip of the pistol. His lips peel higher, his teeth shine brighter.

  I pull the pistol out, point it at him, straight at his head. Still, he doesn't move.

  Why...

  “Go ahead, Cyra. I'm not going to wait around forever.”

  I stare down the barrel of the weapon, my hand shaking slightly. This is my chance...my time to kill.

  It's now or never.

  I let my head fill with everything he's done, with everything he is. The millions of people he's subjugated. The hundreds of thousands he's killed. The virus, the nuclear bomb, the manipulation of everything around him in the pursuit of control.

  I think of Jackson, of Ellie, of Theo. Locked behind me in cells, waiting to be led out like lambs to slaughter.

  And finally, I think of my mother. The person I've loved more than any other. The woman who died of a virus Knight himself created. The woman who gave her life so I could be free.

  And free I've become.

  I pull the trigger. The gun cracks backs in my hand, the sound of a snap fills the air...but nothing else happens.

  I look ahead and see Knight still standing where he was. He doesn't seem to have moved at all. Then I peer further, see the wall behind him, the dark mark of a bullet lodged inside it.

  Did I miss?

  Cruel laughter fills the air. His mouth shapes into a smirk.

  I pull the trigger again.

  And again.

  And again.

  I empty the entire magazine at him, firing at his head, his heart, not stopping until nothing is heard but empty clicks.

  And as I do, I see him move. So easily, so calmly, he glides to the left and right, stepping forward as he does. Every bullet fizzes from the end of my pistol...and each bullet cracks into the wall behind him.

  Eventually, silence once more resumes, only broken by the steady sound of light footsteps as he approaches.

  I look at him starkly, everything coming together in my head. It all makes so much sense.

  “You're a Watcher...” I whisper.

  He continues on, his cold eyes staring.

  “I'm not a Watcher, Cyra,” he says. “I'm the Watcher.”

  He comes forward, and I shrink back, pushing up against the metal door behind me.

  “How do you think I gained such control of this city? How do you think I manipulated everyone for so many years? I have seen more than you can possibly imagine. And I've been watching you, Cyra, all along.”

  My mind flashes back to our first ever meeting. It was after the Pairing, when Theo and I were linked together before the great and good of Eden. That night, Theo's parents held a banquet for the most high profile Edenites. It was the last place I wanted to be.

  I was forced to dance with Theo, who I hated back then. I couldn't bare the faces watching, knowing that that would become my life now. When I had the chance, I vanished, escaping through the luxurious home of Theo's parents as far as I could. I came to a room, where I looked out over the main city square, wishing I could escape.

  It was then that Knight came to me. He appeared through the door from nowhere, casually staring at me with those deep, penetrating eyes.

  And then came his first words to me. Words he's just uttered again now.

  I've been watching you, Cyra.

  I wondered back then what he meant by that. Whether he'd been keeping tabs on me since I'd been on Eden, or had simply been watching me during the event that night. Now I know what he meant.

  He's been watching me in his own mind. He's seen my every move, glimpsing the future as I've travelled across the land towards him. Everything that's seemed so easy now has been so for a reason; he's been luring me into his web.

  And now he's got me. Now he's got us all.

  He continues forward, stepping slowly. I recoil once again, now dropping lower to the ground. But within myself, I find the resolve that's seeded into all Watchers. By my feet I see the laser rod. I move lower, reach for it, and in one swift motion turn it on and launch myself forward.

  I swing as the laser shoots out from the end of the rod, slashing it across him. His movement defies everything I imagine to be possible, shaping himself into strange positions to avoid the deadly light.

  Ducking low, swerving suddenly left or right, stepping with perfect timing as I try to slash across his legs. He can see every move coming, seeing further into the Void than anyone else I know, even Ajax. Everything appears effortless, mundane even. And all the while, that cold smile never leaves his face.

  Eventually, he gets bored.

  “Enough,” he calls.

  He comes forward quickly, and even though I can see his attack coming, I can do nothing to avoid it. It's too fast, too ferocious. Before I even have a chance to react I feel a fist slicing across my face. The impact is so hard I spin on my heels, turning towards the door.

  And all I can do before I pass out is reach forward, touching the metal, and think of my friends beyond it.

  I'm sorry.

  I've failed.

  We're all going to die.

  30 - Kill or be Killed

  I awake in a black room.

  My hands are tied behind my back, my body fixed to a hard chair. There's a smell of chemicals in the air, and a chill in the room that I haven't felt in a long time. I feel groggy, the right side of my face throbbing, a dull ache running through me.

  And the thought enters my mind again: I've failed.

  I call out into the darkness, but no one answers. I wonder if I'm now in the holding cells too, like the others. Everything, all of this, has been planned by Knight all along. And today, my vision will become reality. There's nothing I can do to stop that now.

  I call again, and this time, the door creaks open. Light spills in from a corridor outside, illuminating my surroundings. I no
tice the shape of tools on a table to my side, weapons of torture lined up, one after another. A terror grows in me that they will have been used on my friends.

  My eyes return to the shadow entering. Only a silhouette is visible, but the shape is unmistakable.

  Ajax.

  A light bursts on above me. For a moment I'm blinded. Slowly, my focus returns as I blink hard. The slate face of my old mentor is the first thing I see.

  “You've come a long way, Cyra,” he says. “I really wish you hadn't.”

  I agree with his sentiments. I wish none of us had come back across the wall.

  “What did you really think would happen? Did you think you'd be able to defeat High Chancellor Knight, defeat Eden? Did you learn nothing from me at all...”

  I don't answer. I grit my teeth and look away. I can't look at him, won't. He'll never understand that he is wrong, that Knight is evil. He's been indoctrinated beyond saving. And now Link seems to have been the same.

  “I wish you had never come,” he repeats once more. “You've forced High Chancellor Knight's hand. Now you all have to die by law.”

  “Law,” I whisper with a growl, breaking my silence. “Whose law? Knight's?”

  “It's the law of Eden.”

  “Knight is Eden!”

  A short period of silence dawns. Ajax's strong frame, draped in a black suit as always, strolls to the table of torture instruments. I can't help but follow him with my eyes.

  “Don't worry about these,” he says. “They won't be used on you.”

  “And the others? Have they been hurt?”

  “No,” he says immediately. “We had nothing to gain from doing so.”

  “We? You have no soul,” I bite. “How can you stand by while people you've taught and mentored are held captive and killed?”

  His face now turns harder. His eyebrows drop, his eyes falling into shadow.

  “You have plotted to assassinate the High Chancellor, the ruler of this nation. I don't enjoy what's happening here, Cyra, but I can do nothing about it. It is my duty to do what's in the best interests of Eden.”

  “Me too. That's why he needs to die.”