Reckoning

by Sonya Weiss

  “Give me a status report.”

  “The human police forces have been overtaken by our people. The 911 system belongs to us. We’re in control of the major airports and hospitals. The military bases remain strongholds as does the White House.” He indicated the Supernaturals gathered. “With a greater show of force, we can bring the humans of Command 47 to their knees.”

  I shook my head. “Our people have fought against the military bases and the White House with a stronger show of force than we’ve ever had to employ. They’ve proven their strength in those areas. At this point, we need to outthink them.”

  Adler stiffened, not liking me questioning his suggestion. “I disagree. If we swarm the base under the cover of darkness, we can overtake the humans.”

  “Is that right?”

  He nodded, full of cockiness and bravery. A mistake I’d seen cost lives under my father’s rule.

  “Tell me the details for Command 47.”

  Adler puffed his chest out. “The human head count on the base is 436. Their armory houses the XM2s and ammunition. Their hand device weapons, the grenades and launchers, aren’t stored there.”

  “Here’s why we won’t swarm the base. We’re outnumbered two to one. Their XM2s are long-range weapons with the ability to zero in on a heat force, which is essentially the basis of our power. Before we could get close enough to kill them, they could pick us off. Do I need to continue?”

  Shame deflated Adler. “No, sir.”

  “Take the XM2s out of commission. Locate the other weapons.”

  “Yes, sir.” Adler nodded. “I’ll put my people on destroying the weapons tonight.”

  “Good.” I nodded. “In three days we move on the White House. On my signal, you’ll swarm the base. Don’t kill unless you have absolutely no choice. I’ll need a dozen of you with combat training to enter the White House with me.”

  “I’ll have a team ready and willing,” Adler said. “But, sir, they have a weapon we don’t have the ability to stand against.”

  I frowned, wondering what I’d missed. “Go on.”

  “I’ve heard talk around the base that when it all hits the fan, Juliet Sawyer will be by the president’s side. With the updated fail-safes Henry implanted in her, the level of power she can use now makes ours look like the equivalent of cigarette lighters,” Adler said.

  “It might be better if we kill her first,” one of the Supernaturals said.

  Kill Juliet? A pounding began in my ears, and I clenched my teeth. Pain shot through my jaw at the thought of someone hurting her. I looked across the crowd, staring them down until they shifted uncomfortably. “No one touches Juliet. This is an order that has no grace with it.” The one who’d suggested it lowered his gaze.

  I handed the car keys to Mallen. “I’ll walk to the base from here.”

  “Sir?” Mallen took me aside. “Our historians have been working around the clock to decipher a code pertaining to the future.”

  “Code?”

  “Found hidden under a flap in the back of a diary belonging to Juliet’s father.”

  My face tightened. “I will not listen to any crazy theories about Juliet.”

  “The codes are copied writings from the Untolds. Juliet is called the harbinger of death. She betrays you.” Mallen rushed the words out with a tinge of desperation in his voice.

  “Are you crazy, old man? You risk our lives even speaking of the Untolds. The curse in them has great power.” I tensed as a wave of cold fear washed over me. The Untolds. The predictions in them were dark. They weren’t allowed to be stored near our ancient scrolls. I’d been taught from childhood that Supernaturals whose destiny was further explained in the Untolds were evil creatures. Damned to carry out deeds too horrifying to mention in the ancient scrolls.

  “I risk my life to save yours,” Mallen said.

  “There is no way the girl I love is connected to a curse.”

  “Sir—”

  “We will not speak of this again. Now is that all?”

  His shoulders slumped. “One moment, sir.” Mallen took out a small button half the size of a penny and stuck it to the inside of my boot. “Push the center if there’s a problem and you need to be extracted from the base. The device will send an alarm as well as GPS coordinates to me.” He squeezed my shoulder, translating his worry, then bowed, and the other Supernaturals followed suit.

  I walked out of the cover of the woods onto a dirt road running the length of the base. In the history of the Tazavorn, no Supernatural had ever willingly given himself over into enemy hands. My father, no doubt, would have suggested leveling the base and killing every man and woman on it. While I understood war always brought inevitable death, it wasn’t something I was willing to cause unless I didn’t have any other way. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of going after the president. Lives would be lost on both sides. But if the humans could see what Ide had showed me, they’d hand over the president themselves.

  As I neared the gate, a soldier manning it screamed at me to stop. I did as he commanded and was taken inside the base. The three-day countdown began.

  Chapter 11

  JULIET

  When I walked inside the prison barracks, I had to close my emotions off to deal with what I was seeing. The barracks had been divided into areas, each no bigger than a jail cell. Cement slabs without mattresses were attached to the walls, and on the slabs were thin pillows and sheets.

  I heard my sister and the other children before I saw them. When I came into view, Maisy yelled my name. I took off limping and hopping toward her voice, thrilled to hear her speak. The illness robbing her of her voice before the war was now gone.

  Three steps in, I tripped and fell. I refused to cry out from the pain. When Rick tried to help me stand, I shoved his hand away and got to my feet on my own. Moving slower, I reached her cell and gripped the bars with my hands. I pressed my face against the steel strength and kissed the side of her face, longing to rip out the bars and hold her.

  Maisy pulled frantically at the lock, and tears rolled down her face when it didn’t open. Her eyes, wide and not understanding, begged me to free her. She wore a gray jumpsuit too big for her, and the excess material dragged on the floor. My sister should be concerned about playing outside, watching her favorite shows, and talking to her friends, not locked away.

  The other children crowded around the bars, dressed in the same uniform. Beautiful, eight-year-old Annora who’d taught herself to lip read after becoming deaf. Funny seven-year-old Maxfield was missing an arm. He’d tried hard in the past to be the clown to make the other children laugh through their fears. Brave eleven-year-old Tobiah who wore his eye patch to cover his missing eye reached through the bars and gripped my arm like he never wanted to let go.

  “Listen to me.” I touched each of their faces in turn. “We’ll be out of here before you know it.”

  With her voice muffled, Maisy said, “I want to go home now.”

  “As soon as the war ends, we’ll all be together.”

  Tears gathered in her eyes, and she shook her head. “Now.”

  “It’s okay, Maisy. Juliet’s never broken a promise. Right?” Tobiah said.

  “Right.” I pressed my lips against Maisy’s ear, letting the agents think I was kissing her good-bye but instead, I whispered, “Where did they make Henry put the tracker?”

  Without raising her head, she rubbed her right side.

  “You’ve had your visit. Let’s go.” Agent Davis pushed me roughly away from the cell.

  “Soon,” I mouthed at Maisy. I walked away with agents while looking back at the same time, wishing I could stay in the cell with them.

  When we were outside again, Rick said, “We’ll take you to the barracks now. You’ll be issued a uniform and meet the rest of the team.”

  “Team?” I got into the back of the standard Jeep.

  Agent Davis looked into the rearview mirror and met my gaze. “The other Supernaturals we’re teaching to kill your k
ind. We’ll cover agility and psychological training. Gotta make sure none of you are crazy,” Agent Davis said.

  Rick looked disgusted by his colleague’s comment. “We’ve tested most of the team. Unfortunately few of them can hit a target. We’ll cover that first.”

  “They can’t hit targets because they’re not killers.”

  “Right,” Agent Davis scoffed at me and looked back at the road.

  Rick shot him a warning look. “You’ll need your power for the target practice. We’ll remove your bands for that exercise.”

  “Don’t get any ideas. We’ll kill you if you attack.”

  Rick ignored his partner and said quietly, “You have seventy-two hours, Juliet.”

  “Seventy-two hours? Why such a quick deadline?”

  Rick grimaced. “We have reason to believe the Supernaturals are going to try to capture the president within that timeframe.”

  “I don’t know if we can be ready as a team in seventy-two hours.”

  “I don’t doubt you’ll make sure they are. Maisy’s life depends on it.” Agent Davis parked the Jeep in front of a set of barracks on the opposite side of the base from the hospital and twisted around in the seat to face me. “Any questions?”

  “Did you also force the other Supernaturals to fight?”

  “Whatever gets the job done.” Agent Davis hopped out of the Jeep. “We spent days trying to come up with a way to control your people to get what we wanted and kept failing. You’re all a stubborn bunch. Who knew it would take something as simple as love? The powerful Tazavorns willing to die for someone they love.”

  I got out of the Jeep, my leg throbbing with every movement. “The powerful Tazavorns are also willing to kill for someone they love.”

  His smirk faded. “We’ll return with your uniform. In case you’re thinking this is where you make a bid for freedom”—he pointed to cameras mounted on poles facing the barracks—”I wouldn’t. Someone’s always watching, and the use of lethal force is authorized.”

  Rick mouthed “sorry” at me as they left.

  The Supernaturals milling around the barracks stared at me. There had to be at least fifteen of them. Tense. Angry.

  I looked at the barracks where I’d be staying, noting its proximity to the fence. I wasn’t the only one studying it, taking in how to get through it. A handful of Supernaturals were also covertly examining it. Then suddenly, a faint signal carried across the wind. The Supernaturals slowly turned and filed around to the back of the barracks, out of sight of the cameras.

  Curious, I followed after them, then froze. Riley was behind the barracks.

  Wearing a shirt with the royal crest embroidered on the collar, his shoulders stiff, eyes piercing, he moved toward me like he owned the world.

  The hurt flared, followed by anger. “You left me to die in the Void with Emma. How could you abandon me?”

  He threw his arms open. “I beg you to trust me, to believe that when it comes to you, my actions are based on love. I can explain.”

  His eyes were wide, without guile. I went to him in a fast limp and flung my arms around him, burying my head in his neck.

  “Juliet,” he breathed as if he’d come up for air after nearly drowning. He kissed the side of my face, then framed my cheeks with his hands. He lowered his head and covered my lips with his.

  I trembled as I clung to him. He kissed me passionately, uncaring who saw us. Wrapping his arms around my waist, he pulled me closer and kissed me deeper. Only the soft murmuring of the Supernaturals broke through the haze of finding each other again.

  “Riley—”

  He touched his index finger against my lips as if guessing what I wanted to ask. “I didn’t have a choice but to leave you behind in the Void. Mallen told me—” His attention traveled to the Supernaturals now listening intently. “Leave us,” he said quietly and they all turned and left. Taking my hand, he pulled me closer to the barracks.

  “Mallen said Ide wanted to kill you. He was waiting outside the Void. He’d camped out by the crevice. I knew what you would do if I told you.”

  “Riley, he could have killed you. I could have—”

  “You could have done nothing. You were injured and powerless. The second you stepped away from the confines of the Void, your power would have rushed back and without the fail-safe, you would have died before you could battle Ide.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I wasn’t willing to take a chance with your life.”

  I didn’t like the high-handed way Riley had made the decision without involving me, but knew his motives were pure. I nodded, having to look away from the love and desire in his eyes. I wanted him as much as he wanted me but being near him when he didn’t know the truth wore at my already thinly stretched nerves. I couldn’t speak about the future. What if I could give him something? Make him understand how the thought of what I had to do gave me nightmares? How the idea of it all broke me out in a cold sweat and left me bursting into tears at random moments?

  Raising my gaze to his, I said, “You know that I love you.”

  He nodded and smiled, giving my hand a small squeeze.

  “I would do anything to save your life.”

  He looked confused by my intensity. “I would do the same.” Running his hand up and down my arm, he asked, “Are you okay?”

  No, but I hope to be. For us to be. “Promise me, whatever the future holds, you’ll always remember how much I love you.”

  “Is there something you want to tell me?” He looked at me like he knew a secret. “Because if there is, we can figure it out together if you’ll confide in me.”

  Was that suspicion in his voice? Yes, there was something I wanted to tell him. But if I did speak aloud about the Untolds, it would kill Riley and me. I would hand over my life in the blink of an eye, but not his.

  I had to do this and push through my fears and the pain inside that made my heart beg for mercy. Straightening my shoulders, I faked a smile. “There’s nothing to tell except I want you to know what you mean to me.” I stroked the front of his shirt. “How did the humans capture you?”

  “They didn’t. I surrendered.”

  I knew he hadn’t. It didn’t take a genius to guess what he had in mind. “You’re mounting a rebellion right here under their noses.”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “You know I have to fight for the humans, not against.” Though I didn’t like destiny, I understood it had to be the way it was or we would all die.

  “You do what you have to do, and I’ll do what I have to do,” he said, wearing a pained expression.

  “Riley.” I searched his face. “I can’t let you kill the humans.”

  He gave a disbelieving shake of his head. “Don’t you know me at all?”

  I lowered my head, and he tipped it back up with his fingers. “When have I ever advocated the taking of a life except in self-defense?”

  “I know… But I’m worried our purposes are contrary, and I don’t want that to cause problems and put us on opposite sides.”

  “We won’t let it. I couldn’t be on the opposite side and fight you.” His eyes blazed with love. “I can’t imagine raising my hand to you, much less killing you.”

  His words tore at me, destroying me. The thought of killing the love of my life left me in shambles, and I had to press my lips together to keep a whimper from escaping. When the desire to break down and tell everything became too strong, I kissed him quickly, then took a step away. “The agents are probably heading back.”

  I kept a treacherous smile fixed while I spun on my heel and went around toward the front of the barracks. My body ached from holding back the tears. I wished I could go off alone for a few minutes and let out all my bottled-up emotions. How could Riley ever forgive me once he knew I betrayed him? “Please,” I whispered into the stillness, but my only answer was the blowing wind.

  I went back to the front of the barracks. One of the Supernaturals, a girl with red hair and
a smattering of freckles across her face, followed closely behind me. She had a trio of multi-colored stars tattooed on the side of her neck. Her dark eyes were solemn as she watched Riley enter the other barracks. She studied my face, her gaze lingering on my eyes. “You’re no ordinary Supernatural. What are you?”

  The others snickered at the sarcastic way she’d phrased her question. I’d never thought of myself as a leader. I’d always preferred to stay in the background. In elementary school, I’d been bullied by other Supernaturals because I hadn’t wanted to use my power to show off like they had. In high school, I’d been the quiet one, hating to draw attention to myself. I’d hoped to stay under the radar until it was time to do what I was born to do. But the time for remaining in the background had passed whether I liked it or not.

  “What’s your name?” I asked the star girl.

  “Halo.”

  “What I am, Halo, is a girl who doesn’t want her sister to die. I don’t care who I have to fight to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  “What makes you sure you would win a fight against any of us?” Boldness dripped from her words.

  “The scrolls say a Supernatural with the seven suns of Shimea Prime like King Faulk had was predicted to stop the Great Extinction. One with great power. Tell me what you see in my eyes.”

  Halo’s smugness evaporated. “The seven suns,” she whispered, from bold to fearful in milliseconds.

  “My biological father is King Faulk. His DNA was taken from our home planet and used to create me. I am the true ruler over the Supernaturals, chosen for the throne even before King Dacce or Riley, but I’m not here to fight for a throne. It means nothing to me. What does is saving the life of my sister.”

  A murmur rippled through the crowd.

  I understood their hesitancy. The Supernatural with the seven suns was a prophecy whispered about for years.

  “How do we know we can trust you?” a dark haired boy called out.