Uprising (Children of the Gods)

by Therrien, Jessica

  The crease deepened between my eyes as I realized this was really going to happen.

  Ian and I walked out about twenty paces from where Nics stood. He was maybe fourteen years old in human terms with frizzy curls and freckles. I tried to tell myself it didn’t matter. With Descendants, it was all about the power of your ability that determined a person’s strength. I didn’t know what Ian’s was, but I hoped it would protect me long enough to shoot the first dart.

  “Ian, step back a ways. Protect her from a distance,” Mac yelled. I moved my bracelet back and forth nervously, readying myself to draw blood from my left wrist.

  The minute Mac said go, everything changed. My vision went black, and all I could do was listen. I heard Nics steady her footing. I heard the watching crowd inhale and exhale in staggered patterns. I heard Nics swallow, grip the gun tighter. Then I realized I shouldn’t be able to hear those things. Nics stripped me of my sense of sight, but Ian must have been amplifying my hearing. I could make out everything. The bullet released from the chamber, cracking the air like shattered glass, and I jumped. It was so loud it hurt, but I could hear it flying toward me, a buzz that broke through the atmosphere. I heard William suck in a breath, heard him curse quietly to himself as he watched. I stepped to the side quickly, and the bullet whizzed by my left ear hitting a nearby tree.

  Adrenalin kicked in. I steadied my feet, listening to the direction of the breeze as it pushed the old dry leaves around like nature’s wind chime. I heard the crunch of nervous feet, the click, the bullet. I knew exactly where it was going, heard it so clearly that I could reach out and catch it. I ducked as it flew over my head. The group whispered. They were impressed. So was I.

  Nics shot three more bullets, and I dodged them all. I heard the last one hit the dirt with a dull thud, burying itself into the earth. It was too easy. I could’ve probably taken her out just by the sound of her shuffling feet, but I was having fun. I smiled. I felt invincible.

  Then things changed. I could see again. Nics must have realized the blackness wasn’t fazing me. I caught sight of William, a proud grin gracing his face as he looked back. He was a distraction. That’s what she wanted. I was too slow moving out of the way of the next bullet, and it grazed my arm. I winced and fell to my knees. I looked back at Nics expecting to see remorse, but she only raised an eyebrow and shot again. The bullet passed so close to my ear, I felt the air move. My heart kicked into gear, pumping harder. The bark behind me broke and splintered into pieces. I reached for my holster and grabbed a dart, but by the time I had it between my fingers I realized something was wrong. The world was pulling away from me. This had happened before. Everything distant, blurred. I heard nothing. I needed the sound. It was my only protection. I shook my head and brought my hands to my ears, trying to make them hear. Too late. Nics smiled and aimed one last time.

  “Nics,” I yelled, trying to get her to stop, but the bullet sank into my shoulder, tearing my flesh. I felt the pain everywhere and cried out. The last thing I saw was William rushing toward me before they all disappeared.

  This time when my surroundings began to transform, I was aware that what I was experiencing was a vision. Adrianna stared at me, only I wasn’t staring back at her. I was somewhere outside my body, watching the two of us have a conversation. I couldn’t hear what we were saying, but I didn’t seem to be in danger.

  We were in an office. I didn’t think it was hers. She sat against the front of the desk, not behind it. There were Latin textbooks on the shelves to her left, and light filtered through the windows on the right. The moment didn’t last long, only a few seconds, and the next time I blinked I thought someone turned out the lights. Then all I saw was a face. Small, young, skin the color of milk chocolate, and wide weepy eyes. It was her face. The one Christoph was looking for, the girl at the warehouse. The mind-wiper.

  Everything around me pulled away again, disappearing, leaving me in blackness.

  When I came to, William’s face was hovering above me. “Ellie,” he said, his eyes searching mine. He brushed my

  hair back and grazed my cheek with his thumb. “Are you okay?”

  I grabbed his hand, confused as he pulled me up to sitting. His palm was bloody and my shoulder tender. People were huddled around, staring at me.

  “What happened?”

  He laughed. “Well, Miss I-want-to-play-the-target, you got shot. Big surprise, I know.”

  I shook my head. I’d completely forgotten about target practice. “I’m fine. I think . . .” I looked around at their curious faces. Prying eyes, listening ears. “I need to talk to you.”

  “All right, next three,” Mac yelled to the crowd.

  William lifted me to my feet as the group around us began to mill about wondering who was next.

  “Sorry,” Nics said as I rubbed my shoulder. “I got a little carried away.”

  “No, you did good. You got me,” I said with a half-smile. “Yeah,” she shrugged, smiling back. “Got you good.” William led us to the back of the group while another

  three were selected.

  “Something happened before you got shot,” he said. “What was it?”

  “I don’t know. I just . . .” I knew I should tell him about the vision, but that would mean telling him about my theory, about the baby. I couldn’t, not until I was sure there actually was a baby. I didn’t want to think about it. There was no baby. I wouldn’t believe it. “We just . . . have to get to the mind-wipers,” I said, unwilling to be more specific.

  He laughed uncomfortably. “Now? You just got shot, Elyse.”

  “Yeah, well—”

  “It’s too dangerous,” William responded without thinking. “Things are going to be dangerous, William,” I said. “We can’t hide forever.”

  His eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What happened? Why’d you change your mind?”

  The visions replayed in my head. The warehouse, the girl, Adrianna. Alex was right. I had to make a move.

  “It doesn’t matter,” I answered. “What matters is that we have a lead. We can’t just sit on this information and do nothing.”

  “No.” He crossed his arms, resisting the idea. “You could get hurt or—”

  “William,” I interrupted. “It’s not your choice.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

  “You always tell your dad I’m the one who calls the shots, right?”

  He looked away and nodded. “I’m sorry I get like this. I can’t help it.” He sighed, giving in. His hands reached for mine, and he pulled our laced fingers to his lips. “All right,” he said. “How are we supposed to find them? There’s probably a reason everyone thinks they don’t exist. Anyone who gets close probably gets their mind wiped.”

  “I’m not sure, but we should make a plan over dinner. Maybe Kara has some ideas.”

  A gunshot made me jump. “Elyse!” Helen shouted. “We need you.”

  18.

  THE REST OF TRAINING was a lightheaded blur. I’d lost a lot of blood healing gunshot wounds, and I couldn’t concentrate on anything but the vision. Whatever these visions were, they meant something.

  We stayed in the woods until nightfall. Until our muscles ached. Until our hands were blistered. Until I had no more blood to give.

  Back in the caves the smell of food wafted around the camp. Normally I wouldn’t be looking forward to the grilled chicken and beans we’d been having every night. Making food for a large group was more complicated than it used to be, and I missed Cearno’s cooking. Our nightly meal was bland and dry, but tonight my mouth watered at the smell of it. I was starving.

  “So are we going to talk about the plan?” Alex asked from his seat beside me. I knew he only sat there because he wanted something.

  I’d called a meeting. Over dinner was the best way to be subtle about it.

  “What plan?” Dr. Nickel asked.

  “We have new information,” I answered. “Christoph is after mind-wipers. It’s important we find them first.”
/>   Dr. Nickel, Mac, and Anna sat across from me, like a panel of judges I felt I had to get approval from.

  “How?” Anna asked.

  “We need to find Adrianna,” I said. “She helped us once. I think she’s the key.”

  Anna shook her head. “You can’t go back to that house, Elyse.”

  “The last place she was seen was at The Institute,” Rachel added from a few seats down, and she was right. Adrianna would be there. In an office. I’d seen it.

  “You sure you want to risk it?” Mac asked, stabbing a piece of chicken with his fork. “Didn’t go over so well getting that information in the first place.”

  William raised his eyebrows. “He has a point.”

  I looked out at the groups of people gathered at tables talking cheerfully over dinner. All of them were here to see me take down The Council. They expected things of me. “We’re going to try.”

  “All right.” Dr. Nickel nodded. “Tell us what you want us to do.”

  “I’d like to start at The Institute. I’ll need Alex for transportation and Kara, but no one else needs to come.” I waited for William to protest, but he didn’t. He avoided my eyes and didn’t say a word. “Mac, you should stay to look after those here, and Dr. Nickel, it’s best you lay low. I just need a few minutes with Adrianna. I don’t want her to feel like we’re launching an attack.”

  “When do we leave?” Kara asked.

  “I want to go tomorrow tonight. We’ll be well rested by then.”

  William looked up. I knew he didn’t like this plan, so his words surprised me. “You’ll need Nics for cover, and my ability would be useful as well.”

  I opened my mouth to shut him down, but stopped myself. His ability would be useful, and if I expected him to let go of his protective nature around me, then I owed him the same.

  ***

  It was dark when Alex landed us some distance away from The Institute, but the city lights made the night glow. The plan was to approach on foot from a few blocks away. We didn’t know what to expect inside the building. Cool night air chilled my lungs as the five of us walked without speaking. The sound of the once familiar city seemed newly foreign. It was louder than I remembered, the noise of so many people and cars creating a busy chaos. I fed off the energy.

  I watched the building as we got closer. To anyone else it was nothing special, but I saw beneath its cosmopolitan camouflage. It was dangerous, unstable. It stared down at me with a thousand eyes, night windows that could be hiding anything behind their shadowed panes.

  I expected to feel nervous, doubtful even. Instead I felt alive, like my life finally had purpose. Tonight I’d prove that I could make a difference, or at least bring justice to the lives that were lost. Blood pulsed so fast in my chest it almost tickled, and for once it wasn’t fear that quickened my heart. It was the rush.

  Wait. Kara’s voice was hesitant. We all stopped. Cars passed by without notice as Nics hid us beneath her shield, and Kara stood there in silence for a moment, eyes closed.

  What is it? I asked, the thrill of the mission still egging me on.

  They’re watching from the windows. Lookouts. Though the words were in my head, they were hurried and tense.

  “Should we go back?” William asked.

  “No,” I answered. “We have to try. They shouldn’t be able to see us.”

  Kara shook her head. They know we’re here.

  Nics’s dark brow pulled together, and adrenaline made my blood pump faster. How? I asked. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.

  They’re waiting to see what we do. Keep walking. Slowly. I turned to lead the group, keeping my eyes forward as Kara spoke. It’s Claudia, she said. She’s of Selene. Nics can’t manipulate the Moonlight. Not for her at least. She has power over it.

  So we’re not hidden?

  My eyes darted back and forth across the building hoping to catch sight of something suspicious.

  Not to her, she answered.

  The building grew taller as we neared it, rising up like a giant, frightening and monstrous. I’d been overly confident, foolish, for thinking we’d get in without a fight. Help me out here, Kara, I said. What’s she thinking? What’s our best move?

  I waited for an answer as I kept on, but I didn’t get one. Instead, I turned around to find Kara stopped behind us, staring up into the night sky like nothing else mattered.

  “What is she—”

  “Don’t look,” William whispered. He shot a hand out to cover my curious eyes as they lifted upward. “It’s the moon.”

  We lost Nics next. Her gaze became fixated on the glowing orb above her, as if she were hypnotized by its light. Before I could react, Kara’s body jerked as a soundless bullet sank into her arm. Then another to her thigh, and her knee buckled beneath her.

  “Kara,” Alex yelled, and he was there to catch her as she fell. Her eyes stayed locked on the moon. No scream. No reaction.

  I panicked. I couldn’t move. Things were falling apart. If it wasn’t for William’s hand in mine, I would have been next. He pulled me toward Alex, and grabbed Nics by the arm. “Get us inside,” William said to him, and seconds later I was blinded by the white world of the upper air.

  I was grateful for the nothingness, the absence of oxygen, the silence. It meant we were safe. No one could touch us.

  But the moment was brief, and when my eyes could see again, they found the barrel of a gun in a dimly lit hallway.

  “Don’t move,” the woman said, but even if I wanted to I couldn’t. Almost instantly I felt sick. Her ability, whatever it was, was crippling me by the second. Someone collapsed to the floor behind me, and William fell to his knees at my side. It didn’t take long before I recognized the feeling. Hunger. Thirst. To the point of pain. I felt the burning need throughout my body. I had no strength, no will, no life left in me. She was starving us. I hit the ground before I realized

  I was falling. Too weak to stand.

  “Stop,” William pleaded, hardly able to get the word out. “Give me the gun.”

  I watched from the floor, hoping William had the strength to get a hold of her. All he needed was a moment of power. Just a moment.

  She didn’t move. With her hand settled on the radio on her waist, she stared back, indecisive.

  “Please,” he whispered.

  Her lips moved gradually into a smile. It had been enough. With every breath I felt the relief come as the harsh feeling of starvation dissipated. William held his gaze strong, until we’d all risen to our feet.

  “The gun,” he said, holding out his open hand. She handed it to him willingly. It was large. Not a handgun. William pointed it at her, and she looked wounded, but didn’t retaliate. “Is there anyone in there?” He gestured to a closed door to the left of the hallway.

  “No,” she said, unable to look away from him. “Open it,” he commanded.

  Only then did I begin to hear Kara’s moans as she breathed through clenched teeth.

  “What happened?” Nics asked, helping Kara into the safety of the dark office. “I don’t remember any of it.”

  “Yeah, you weren’t much help either,” Alex scoffed.

  Both William and I ignored the question as she laid Kara out on the floor. “Sit there. Don’t talk or move,” William told the woman. He looked back at me. “What do you need?”

  “Just something to soak up the blood, so I can heal the wounds.”

  William slid his shirt over his head.

  “Here.” He handed it to me and found the small tear in Kara’s jeans where the bullet had passed through, his fingers ripping it wider.

  “Ready?” he asked her.

  She nodded, and I pressed the black cloth against her wounded leg. She covered her mouth and clenched her jaw to keep from screaming as I dug for the bullet. It was messy. Too deep. I couldn’t get it.

  Kara let out a breath, and her head fell back against the floor.

  “Just let me try again,” I said as I examined the wound. “I can d
o it.” I’d practiced this over and over again in training, but never under this much pressure. My heart was beating fast. I hadn’t realized how much I’d come to care about Kara. I felt her pain as if it were my own. Every second she writhed and moaned made my stomach ache with regret. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Kara. I dug deeper as she cried out, unable to hold back.

  “Elyse,” William interrupted. “Maybe you could give her something. Just enough . . .”

  I looked at him confused at first, but he glanced at my left wrist with reason. Maybe I could knock her out long enough to remove the bullets.

  “I don’t know. What if I—”

  “Do it,” Alex demanded. His eyes never faltered from her face, and something in them was desperate.

  Just a drop. She nodded, and I moved closer to her, pressing the buttons on my bracelet. She opened her mouth, and I let the blood hit her tongue. As soon as she was out I felt thankful I could give her such quick relief.

  I moved back to her leg, trying to find the hard metal in her fleshy thigh. I couldn’t see through the blood, so I focused on Nics’s feet. She moved nervously, shifting her weight back and forth, rocking her body without realizing it. She couldn’t look away from the woman against the wall.

  “You want me to try?” William asked.

  “I got it.” I found the bullet with my fingers, carefully pinching them around the slippery surface, and threw it to the floor. I unlatched the bracelet and placed it on my other arm, pressing the buttons without hesitating. The blood ran over the open flesh sealing the wound with fresh skin.

  “One more,” I whispered, moving on to her arm. I’d just gotten the bullet out when Nics stopped me.

  “Elyse,” she said. “Hang on.”

  “Someone’s coming.”

  The room went quiet. As I lifted my eyes, I recognized something. The books. The desk. This was the room where I’d spoken to Adrianna in my vision. The excitement I’d felt before found its way back into my chest.

  “Maybe it’s her,” I whispered.

  Footsteps. Murmurs. William held a finger to his lips, his brow cinched as he tried to make out words through the walls. He reached for my hand and nodded at Nics to make contact with Alex.