‘Step back,’ the soldier ordered again.
The moisture fled my mouth as I slipped the key into my pocket. If it came to a fight, I would need both hands. ‘I can't do that.’ I glanced at the huddled Damiq near the exit. Several soldiers had weapons trained on them, preventing them from getting involved. I pointed at Holly. ‘This is the only one with sharp teeth that I want. You can keep the rest.’
‘That is not my order,’ the soldier said.
‘Then I suggest you get onto the Prime Minister because I'm not leaving without her.’ Damn! What was I getting myself into?
‘Move away from the cage!’
I met his eyes, refusing to be intimidated while my head screamed for me to let it go, to get out with my life and be grateful for it. ‘I have a deal for all Damiq. This one has sharpened teeth and nails, but she isn’t Fae.’
His eyes flickered to the cage. ‘She wears Fae clothing.’
The unknown Damiq with the dark shi pushed past me, knocking me to the side. ‘She is one of us! Let her go!’
I gripped his arm and pulled him back. The last thing we needed was an argument. There were too many guns, and if the soldiers felt too threatened, they wouldn’t hesitate to fire. ‘She is an undercover agent.’ I maintained eye contact, trying to convince him that I spoke the truth.
The soldier’s eyes widened in sceptical question. ‘The Damiq have spies?’
Not that I’d seen, but they hadn’t known about the priests until they met Eris. I nodded. ‘Not many, but enough.’
‘And you know this Damiq?’
I nodded again. He wouldn’t understand if I explained the shi to him. They saw it in their goggles, but they couldn’t determine the darkness in which it flowed through a person’s form. I’d seen that through the video they had made me watch while in their custody.
‘Smithy,’ he said. ‘Ring it through. See if—’ He glanced at the cage number. ‘—seventy-six is authorised for release.’
The soldier to his left lowered his weapon. ‘Yes, Serge.’ He marched to the exit with his gun at his side but still gripped ready to bring up.
The tension grew as we waited. Everyone remained still as if we were on pause. Many of the Damiq sobbed as they hugged each other, never once taking their eyes off the soldiers watching them. Holly wound her fingers through the wire mesh, her eyes brimming with tears as she waited to find out her fate. My shoulders ached, but I remained tense. What if the answer came back no? What would I do? Even if I could discretely rally the Damiq to fight, what weapons could we use? And what if we managed that? Did I really think we could get out of the base? Harvey stood to the side, laughing his ass off. He didn’t need to tell me that the situation was dire.
The minutes ticked by, but the soldiers remained still. They were like statues, except the moment I tried something, they would spring into life and kill half of us before they took a moment to breathe.
I glanced at Holly. Could I leave her behind? Maybe, but I wouldn’t. Not just because she might become Damiq, but because I couldn’t back down on this one. I couldn’t let the soldiers win. Not this time. Not ever again.
The Fae whispered to each other through the cages. The soldiers glanced around, uneasy as the hissed words sent a shiver down their spine. They were right to be afraid. Dark anticipation built in the warehouse, making me reach for a dagger I didn’t have.
I jumped when Toby touched my hand. ‘Something is wrong,’ he whispered as he scanned our surroundings.
I nodded with no idea what to say. The cages were secure. The Fae couldn’t break through the daku, and I had the key. Still, something was happening, something I wanted to run from.
‘Can you get the Damiq out?’ I asked the soldier as I looked around the warehouse. ‘Load them in the truck?’
The soldier glanced back at the Damiq. ‘Why?’
‘I don’t know.’ I continued to look around me, unsure, tense with anxiety. ‘I don’t think it’s safe here, anymore.’
‘They are secure.’ He scanned the warehouse with his rifle matching his view, looking for that out of place thing that his instincts recognised but he couldn’t.
The hairs on my neck rose, and it had nothing to do with the guns trained on me. I glanced at Toby, and he nodded. He felt it too. Crazed bloodlust saturated the air. The Fae were gearing up for something.
‘We need to get out now,’ I said, my throat tight. ‘Please. We can deal with Holly later.’ I stepped towards the soldier, trying to ignore his weapon. ‘I know you don’t trust me, but something is going on here, and we need to get out.’
He didn’t need to trust me. The hairs on his hands stood to attention supporting what I said. He nodded to the huddled group of Damiq. ‘Join the others.’
I didn’t need telling twice. The four Damiq followed me. Nicolai’s people scanned the area, their eyes nervous. Their fingers twitched as if gripping a phantom weapon. The Damiq with the dark shi remained unafraid. He felt the anticipation, but unlike everyone in the warehouse, he seemed not to care.
Something clinked, metal on metal. We all looked to the third column of cages as a key dropped to the ground. Oh my God! I patted my pocket. It was gone, the pocket now nothing more than a flap of material. The key was gone. Oh my God. The Fae were escaping.
CHAPTER FOUR
I turned as the Damiq hurled himself at me. His nails were normal, but he went straight for my eyes, trying to gouge them out. I twisted and threw him to the side. A shot rang out, and the Damiq dropped to the ground with a neat hole in his forehead. His lips remained twisted in a final snarl as his eyes glazed over.
‘Move!’ I shouted to the Damiq.
More shots rang out, the sharp sound deafening in the vast warehouse. My ears rang in response. I shoved against one of the Damiq as the Fae spilt from the cages, but the Damiq didn’t move. She couldn’t. Soldiers barred the way, blocking anyone from escaping.
Another soldier backed away from the growing Fae hoard. He pressed his back against an empty cage as he shot the Fae. A small figure crouched above him with saliva dripping from its sharp teeth. The Fae hissed and tensed, ready to spring down. The short, ginger-haired soldier continued firing, unaware that danger stood above, just out of reach. I ran towards him.
Concrete spat up as bullets hit the ground before me, and I swerved. It would take too long to warn them, to convince them I wasn’t the enemy. Even if I got them to listen, the Fae would be upon the soldier before I finished my sentence.
I collided with the man, and we both hit the ground. He rolled off as the Fae jumped down, landing on me. I hit and kicked, but sharp nails cut into my skin. I screamed and punched. It made no difference. The Fae didn’t shift under the force of my blow. He leant towards me, ready to bite.
A military boot collided with his head, and he skidded across the floor, crashing into a cage. He jumped straight up, ready to attack. Blood stained his hair a dark strawberry-red.
I sprang to my feet as more Fae spilt from the cages. They had retrieved the key. Before long, they would all be out. Screams filled the warehouse, soldiers and Damiq alike, mingled with the harsh, hissed laughter of the Fae.
Four Fae approached. The soldier pressed the trigger, but the gun clicked empty. He reached into his pocket for more ammunition, but one of the Fae sprang forwards, knocking him back into the cages. The man grunted and continued to fumble with the magazine, but the Fae tore the strap with his nails and ripped the weapon from the soldier’s hands. The man screamed as daku lined nails tore through his jacket and into his skin.
I kicked the Fae, but another one sprang onto my back, tearing my cheek with its teeth. I flung it over my shoulder, gripped its head, and twisted. It fell limp in my hands.
Fresh shots rang out. The Fae all screeched as one and surged towards the new group of soldiers lined up at the entrance.
The soldier near me screamed as the Fae tore his flesh. I kicked the Fae straddling him, and it crashed into the cage. It sprang up, ready to
pounce on me. Sweat ran into my eyes, and I swept it away with my sleeve. Why wouldn’t the Fae stay down?
The soldier clicked the magazine into place, cocked the weapon, and fired. The Fae dropped to the ground dead. There were too many for us to survive this way.
The Damiq tried to fight against them, but with no weapons, they were soon knocked down. One of the Damiq darted towards the exit, but dropped to the ground, a neat bullet hole in her forehead. The Damiq backed away from the soldiers, unable to escape, some screaming in terror, some snarling at the soldiers and Fae alike.
With fresh blood staining his orange hair, the soldier struggled onto one knee and fired shots into the Fae. Many of them darted behind the cages or climbed up them. One of them crouched on the second column with a rifle in its hands. It studied the mechanism for a moment, turned the rifle on the soldiers and fired. The recoil propelled it off the cages, and the gun clattered to the ground.
I dove for it and hit a Fae head-on as she did the same. We scrabbled with each other on the ground, trying to get control of the weapon. Her fingers entwined in my hair and she reared back, pulling me with her. I screamed and twisted. My hair ripped from the roots, but I kept moving and rolled on top of her. I smashed her head onto the concrete. She slashed at me, screaming with bitter rage. I dodged her hands and smashed her head down while I roared all my anger at her, everything I didn’t know I carried. I screamed for the unfairness of it all, for the people who hadn’t survived. I screamed for myself and my unborn child. I screamed for all innocents and for the unjustness of life.
The Fae went limp. With my chest heaving, I rolled off, scooped the gun up, and struggled to my feet with it ready in my shoulder. I came face to face with the soldier’s gun.
‘Drop it!’ he ordered.
I shook my head. ‘I am not your enemy here.’
A Fae jumped down from the cage above him. I jerked the rifle up and shot. The Fae spun in the air and hit the ground with blood seeping from its hip. Its screams filled the warehouse. I shot it again in the head, making sure to keep the weapon tucked tight in my shoulder. I wouldn’t make the same mistake as the Fae.
When I turned, I came face to face with the soldier’s rifle once more. ‘Let me help,’ I shouted over the screams and shots.
The soldier turned a fraction, and a shot whizzed past my head. A Fae screamed as it was hit. Another Fae jumped off the cage. My bullet missed, and the Fae landed on the soldier.
His gun skidded along the concrete. He fought with the Fae as he reached along his body, trying to grasp the dagger strapped to his leg.
Another Fae sprang at me, and I twisted, reaching for her lithe frame. She died with her neck twisted at a grotesque angle.
The soldier’s dagger slid across the ground, knocked from his hand. Finally, something I could work with.
I scooped it up as I ran to him and brought it down on the Fae, embedding it to the hilt in its back. It slumped on the soldier who shoved it off and sprang to his feet. He looked at the dagger and rifle in my hands, waiting for me to react, waiting for me to take his life. It would be an easy task. After all they had done to me, I couldn’t be blamed.
I handed him the gun. My hate would have to wait for now.
More soldiers ran in, and the deafening sound of bullets hitting concrete filled the warehouse. I fought side by side with the soldier until no more Fae came for us. A few more shots rang out before the guns fell quiet. Only the low moans of the injured broke the silence.
I stood with my chest heaving as I tried to draw breath, warm blood rolling down my arm to mingle with Fae’s blood dripping from the dagger.
The Damiq whimpered. Many of them pressed against the wall, watching the soldiers with fear, afraid that, although they hadn’t been the ones to attack, the soldiers would fire on them.
Being unarmed made me uneasy but, once sure that threat had passed, I handed the dagger back to the soldier.
His eyes widened in surprise as he took it. ‘You could have killed me.’
I looked around at the carnage, Fae, Damiq and soldiers alike. ‘Yeah, but we need to work together if we are to survive this war.’ I couldn’t believe my own words as I wiped my hands down my jeans, trying to remove the tacky blood.
More soldiers ran up with their rifles aimed at my head. I raised my hands in surrender and followed their orders, lying belly-down on the ground.
The soldier held his hand up. ‘Lower your weapons!’
They looked at him, their eyes wide in question, but did as he asked as he tugged my arm, helping me to my feet.
Another soldier marched up, his bushy eyebrows waggling like they had a life of their own. Blood ran down the side of his face onto his lips, but he made no attempt to remove it. ‘What the fuck happened here?’
I forced myself to keep my eyes on him and locked my knees, determined not to step back from him. ‘They took the key.’
He pointed his rifle at me. ‘You did this?’
I shook my head. ‘They stole it from my pocket.’ My words didn’t relax him one bit. The short battle had ended, but we were still in danger. I wished I’d kept the dagger.
Men ran in with large medical bags banging against their legs and knelt beside the injured soldiers.
I pointed to the Damiq. ‘My people need help, too.’
‘I don’t care what your people need!’ He turned on his heels and marched to the exit. ‘Keep them secure until I review the surveillance. The C.O. will go batshit when he hears about this! The whole situation is fucked up!’
The soldiers moved to block the exit, all except the man I had fought with. He gave me a weary smile. ‘I’ll make sure you don’t get the rap for this.’
‘Thanks. Though, I'm not sure they will listen to you, especially when they realise that I was the one who let the first Fae out.’
He wiped blood from his eyes with the back of his hand. ‘Did you know what he was?’
I shook my head.
‘I agreed to his release. If anyone gets it in the neck, it will be me.’ He strode to the exit but stopped. ‘Thanks. You might be Siis, but you saved my ass back there.’
‘You saved mine, too. But for the record, I'm not Siis.’
His eyes widened in surprise. ‘But I thought… the light in you… I saw it in the video footage.’
Damn, had everyone seen that incident? ‘Yeah, I know, but it doesn’t make me a Siis. Trust me on that. I am human.’
He studied me as if seeing me for the first time. ‘You got the short straw there, then.’
I smiled, though it remained strained. ‘I think someone forgot to offer me a straw in the first place.’
He nodded. ‘I will make sure you get home.’
‘And my people?’ I watched him carefully, not sure what to make of his friendly attitude, trying not to hope that he would keep to his word.
‘Them too.’ He strode off without another look back.
I hurried to the Damiq, who watched me with wide, fearful eyes. After a quick look around, I counted seven dead and five injured. I knelt beside a Damiq I recognised from Nicolai’s habitat who leant against the wall. Apart from a few torn gashes, she appeared unharmed. ‘Sarah?’
She nodded. ‘It’s good to see you.’ She gulped as her eyes filled with tears, which she brushed away with the palms. ‘I thought we were done for.’
I tore a portion of my top off, already sliced by the Fae’s nails. Dried blood coated the skin underneath. The shallow cut had already clotted. I pressed the scrap of material to Sarah’s head. ‘You’re safe now.’
‘What happened at the cavern? Did anyone else get out?’
I nodded. ‘About forty survived.’
‘The rest?’
‘Either here or dead.’
She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. After a moment in which she composed herself, she took a deep, slow breath through her nose, and opened her eyes. ‘The little ones?’
‘Verity and Matty survived.’
‘Charlie?’
I shook my head. She groaned and buried her face in her hands.
The medics treated all the soldiers and removed them from the warehouse before they approached, asking if we needed help. They took none of the Damiq away to treat but stitched and bandaged them on the ground. Their work was of an acceptable standard; not to the standard of the Damiq’s doctor could do with a needle and thread, his were a lot neater and smaller, but acceptable nonetheless. All throughout, the medics remained tense, but it didn’t stop them from treating the Damiq well. Armed soldiers stood to the side while they worked, watching us, ready for an attack.
Once the Damiq were stitched and bandaged, the medics left us in the care of the armed men and women. For over two hours, we huddled together with the cold air penetrating our clothes. Each fresh shiver jarred the new cuts causing them to sting and throb. We passed a few words, most of them about what had happened in the cavern, but the conversation always dwindled off leaving us to stare at the grey walls and the few Fae who remained in locked cages. Nobody wanted to talk in case we said something we shouldn’t, giving them information they didn’t already have. If only the Damiq knew I had already done that with the Kipsu.
The minutes ticked by silently. Each one that passed forced me to consider that we wouldn’t get out. I wanted to talk to the Damiq, to formulate a plan to escape, ask them what they remembered about the surrounding base, but even murmured words carried far in the vast warehouse.
Most of the soldiers remained alert, all except one; the man who had manhandled some of the Damiq into the corner. I recalled his heavy, bloodshot eyes and the stale stench of beer that seeped from his pores, hanging heavy on his breath along with the strong scent of tobacco. He had likely spent the night and early hours of the morning blowing his wages in the nearest bar. His responses would be slow, giving me an edge, especially as he viewed the warehouse with boredom.
I would need to get the gun off him fast. I couldn’t afford to spend valuable time fighting to undo the strap. He glanced at us, and I looked away, not before catching sight of the dagger on his leg. That would work. Now I just needed to find a way to approach without suspicion.
Noble Lies Page 6