Virtue of War

by L O Addison

  Before Kaylin could stop herself, she stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. Beck froze for a second, clearly caught off guard, but it only took him a moment before he returned the kiss.

  It didn’t last long, hardly more than a couple seconds. But when Kaylin pulled away, she saw that some of the sadness had faded from his expression, replaced with a look of deep longing. He reached up and brushed his fingers over her cheek, sending sparks of warmth across her skin. But right as he opened his mouth to say something, the footsteps reached the door, and they both whirled around at the sound of the lock clicking open.

  Beck rested his hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. She reached up, resting her own hand over his and hoping it was enough to convey what she wanted to tell him: “I trust you more than anyone I know. And whatever Ascendancy hellion walks through that door, we’re going to face it together.”

  Kaylin’s heart pounded wildly as the door swung open. A small, lone figure entered the room, and her breath caught in her throat. Jaxon. He looked like hell, his skin deathly pale and his eyes wide with fear. Kaylin rushed forward, gripping the bars in her hands and desperately wishing she could rip them out of her way.

  “What happened?” she demanded.

  He stared at her, his brow furrowing with uncertainty as he looked her up and down. Then he said, “I met your friends.”

  All the bravado was gone from his voice, leaving it shaky and quiet. He sounded like a scared child, and even though Kaylin ached with the need to scoop him into a hug, she couldn’t help feeling relieved that his snarling, snapping behavior was gone.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  He pressed a hand to his chest and winced slightly. “They got me with a laser pistol, but I think it was just a stun round.”

  “What happened to them?” Beck demanded from beside her.

  Jaxon frowned uncertainly as he glanced over at Beck. “I don’t know. They got away from me after they shot me.”

  So that meant they were still alive and free. Or at least they had been when Jaxon had last seen them. Kaylin forced herself to push down her excitement and focus on Jaxon.

  “I’m so glad you came back,” she said.

  Jaxon didn’t say anything for a long moment. He just stared at her with searching eyes, pain and panic flitting across his expression. Then he quietly said, “They told me… things about the Shepherd.”

  Kaylin nodded slowly, but she didn’t dare confirm or deny what he’d been told. It was too risky—one wrong word could set Jaxon off into another rage. So instead she just said, “I know Nathan has helped protect you the past few years, and that you trust him. It must be hard hearing bad things about him.”

  Jaxon blinked, clearly surprised that she wasn’t spewing hatred toward Nathan. Then he hesitantly said, “They told me things about you, too. They told me you weren’t lying. That you actually thought I was dead.”

  She held her breath, not daring to speak. But she gave a slow, affirmative nod.

  Jaxon shuffled his feet and took a deep breath. Then he whispered, “I know the code.”

  “What code?” Kaylin asked softly.

  Jaxon nodded toward the lock on the cell. “The code to these cells. It’s the same one the Shepherd uses for his office. I’ve seen him enter it a hundred times.”

  Kaylin had to choke back a laugh. The Shepherd was a genius when it came to manipulating and organizing people. But, ultimately, he was just like all the other powerful, successful geniuses she’d stolen from before—so cocky about their intelligence, they forgot to take the most basic security precautions. Like using a different keycode for each security device.

  “Jaxon,” she said softly, “could you please let us out? I promise you we don’t want to hurt anyone here. Just the opposite, actually. We’re trying to keep everyone safe.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You want to steal the relic Shepherd got.”

  Kaylin nodded, knowing better than to lie. “If we don’t take it, it’s going to be used for horrible things. A lot of people will die.”

  Jaxon swallowed hard. “I have no idea who’s telling the truth anymore,” he said, his voice cracking with distress.

  Kaylin took a deep breath, deciding to try a new tactic. “Jax, if you don’t let us out of here, we’re going to be killed. I’m not asking you to join our cause. I’m just asking you to let us out of here so we don’t die.”

  Jaxon jolted back, his eyes widening. His reaction made Kaylin feel a small amount of relief. Even if Nathan had brain-washed Jaxon, he was clearly still disturbed by the idea of her getting killed.

  Kaylin didn’t dare say anything else. She just stared at her brother with an imploring look, silently begging him to save them.

  Jaxon took a shuddering breath and then leaped forward, hurriedly punching the code into the keypad. The lock snicked open. Beck shoved open the door, rushing out before Jaxon had the chance to change his mind.

  Kaylin ran out behind him, heading straight for her brother. Before he had a chance to protest, she swept him into a tight hug. Jaxon froze, his arms stiff at his sides. But she held him close, savoring the miracle of having him back in her arms.

  “I missed you so much,” she whispered, struggling to ward off tears. “So, so freaking much.”

  The stiffness gradually faded from Jaxon’s body, and he slowly, awkwardly returned her embrace. His hug only lasted for a single second before he pulled away, but it was the most blissful second Kaylin had felt in years.

  Jaxon suddenly tensed again, his eyes locking on something in the corner of the room. Kaylin turned and spotted Red. The dragon was slinking out of the other cell, his head cocked curiously as he tried to get closer to Jaxon. Red froze when he realized Kaylin had seen him and let out a tiny, guilty chirp, glancing back at the corner he was supposed to be hiding in.

  Jaxon grabbed at his pistol, but Kaylin whipped her hand out and caught his wrist. She kept her grip gentle, but her voice was firm as she said, “That’s just Red. He’s not going to hurt you, I promise.”

  “What the hell is that thing?” Jaxon demanded.

  “He’s my pet.”

  Jaxon looked at her with wide eyes. “You have a pet dragon?”

  Kaylin gave a small, choked laugh. “We have a lot to catch up on, Jax.”

  “Kaylin,” Beck said softly. “We need to go.”

  His words yanked her back to reality. As much as she wanted to stay here and talk more with Jaxon, it would only put him in more danger. She reached out and placed her hands on his shoulders, looking him square in the eyes.

  “Jax, I need you to leave this base,” she said. “You need to go right now. It’s not safe here anymore.”

  Jaxon shook his head. “I can’t just leave.”

  Kaylin gave him a gentle shake. “You have to.” She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm as she said, “Please, Jax. I know nothing is making sense right now, but you have to believe me. You’re in danger, and if you don’t leave now, you might be killed.”

  He met her gaze, closely reading her expression. He must have seen the genuine fear in her eyes, because he gave a small nod.

  “Okay,” he whispered. “I’ll go.”

  She let out a relieved breath and quickly pulled him into another hug. “There’s some abandoned warehouses on the northeastern outskirt of the city,” she told him. “Go there and wait for me. If I get out of here, I’ll meet you there.”

  He shook his head. “What do you mean ‘if’ you get out of here?”

  She gave him a sad smile. Part of her wanted to lie to him, but she knew she couldn’t. Too many people had told him too many lies, and she owed him the truth.

  “I’ve got a mission to complete,” she told him. “No matter what it takes.”

  Before Jaxon had a chance to protest, she pushed him toward the door. “Go,” she commanded. “Get out of here as fast as you can.”

  Jaxon stumbled toward the door, his hand closing around the handle. He
pulled the door open, but before he had a chance to step through, Kaylin called out, “Jax.”

  He glanced back at her, his eyes wide and bewildered.

  “I love you,” she said. “More than anything in the universe.”

  He swallowed hard, clearly unsure how to respond. Finally, he just whispered, “I believe you.” And then he ducked out the door.

  Kaylin stared after him, fighting off the urge to run after him. Instead, she turned her attention to the locked cabinet in the corner of the room. When they’d stripped her and Beck of their weapons and supplies, she’d seen the guards stuff it in there.

  She immediately ruled out trying to pick the lock—it was far too high-tech to attempt without her toolkit, which was stuck inside. She strode over to the cabinet and banged on the doors. They were sealed tightly, but the metal seemed fairly thin.

  “I’m going to try something that’s probably stupid,” she told Beck. “Get ready to run.”

  He nodded, knowing better than to protest, and stepped back toward the door. Kaylin followed him and then turned to Red, concentrating as hard she could on a simple thought.

  “Breathe fire at the cabinet.”

  Red glanced at the cabinet and then at her. He let out a confused chirp, cocking his head.

  Kaylin took a deep breath and tried again. She thought back to when he’d breathed fire earlier and concentrated on the memory, trying to drive it into Red’s mind. Then she concentrated on the cabinet.

  Red let out an uncertain grumble and shifted to face the cabinet. He sniffed at it, and Kaylin let out a frustrated curse, realizing it wasn’t working.

  Then Red coughed, and it was the same ugly, wet sound as before. Silvery liquid shot from his mouth, immediately catching fire as it struck the cabinet doors. The flames glimmered blue and purple, burning hotly against the metal, and the doors quickly began to glow a deep orange color.

  Red growled suspiciously at the fire and jumped back, but Beck leaped into action. He picked up the small metal table by the door, scattering the cans that had been on top, and hefted it into his arms. He rushed forward, bringing the table crashing down on the doors of the cabinet. The weakened door crushed under the force of the table, leaving the left door hanging open by a single hinge.

  Beck let the table drop and stepped back, waiting for the fire to burn itself out. It didn’t take long—without any fuel, the flames dissipated quickly. Beck kicked away the broken door and waved some lingering smoke away from the cabinet before he reached inside, pulling out Kaylin’s toolkit. He tossed it to her, and she breathed a sigh of relief as she caught the backpack.

  Beck retrieved his rifle from the cabinet, and then he pulled out her pistol and holster, tossing them to her.

  “Ready?” he asked, nodding toward the door.

  Kaylin belted the holster in place and slid her pistol inside. Then she strode toward the door and gestured for Beck to follow. “Let’s finish this.”

  37

  Lio

  The three of them rushed toward the hangar as quickly as possible. Automated security checkpoints were set up at the doors leading deeper into the East Wing, but Matteo used Jaxon’s comm unit to get past them, scanning the unit’s screen under the checkpoint scanners. Each of the automated doors seemed to open painfully slowly, but Lio did his best to conceal his anxiety.

  They passed three guards along the way, but with their uniforms on, no one stopped them. They just exchanged grave nods and hurried on their way, as if they had been summoned as extra security.

  Lio knew their luck wouldn’t hold out. One of the other guards was bound to recognize Matteo, just like Jaxon had, and sound the alarm. Or they’d look too closely at Lio and realize his facial features weren’t quite normal. Or maybe they’d recognize Adrien as a scavenger boy who didn’t belong inside the base.

  There were so many potentials for disaster, and all Lio could do was hope that they managed to get to the hangar before their luck ran out.

  As they neared the hangar, his fear grew stronger, its vice-grip tightening with each step he took. For so many years, he’d studied the Ascendancy and the devastation they always left in their wake. Now he was walking straight toward them with only a boy, an inexperienced soldier, and his own pistol to protect him.

  It was suicide. And he had no choice but to charge straight toward it.

  “How far are we from the hangar?” Adrien asked, keeping his voice low.

  Matteo shook his head. “I’ve never been this far into the East Wing,” he admitted. “So I’m not sure.”

  “We’re close,” Lio told them. He could feel it. The Fragment burned against his skin, its pulsing becoming faster as they neared the Virtue. Lio wasn’t sure if the Virtue was directly inside the hangar, but he assumed it had to be extremely close. If the Shepherd planned to hand the Virtue over to the Ascendancy, it would make sense for him to greet them with the Virtue in hand.

  They neared another locked door, and Matteo quickly scanned the comm unit’s screen under the sensor, deactivating the lock. They pushed through, but as they emerged on the other side, a voice said, “Hold up a second.”

  Lio whirled to the side and found two guards there, both of them men who were casually cradling rifles. An assortment of patches marked the shoulders of their uniforms, marking them as high-ranking soldiers. The taller of the men tapped at his own comm unit and said, “We’re going to need to see your IDs. Just to double-check before you head into the hangar.”

  He sounded almost bored, and Lio had a feeling the man thought checking IDs was a useless job. After all, the Wardens liked to think their base was impregnable.

  Lio froze in panic, but Matteo merely shrugged and tapped at the comm unit’s screen, bringing up the ID. He raised his arm, casually displaying the comm unit to the taller guard. The guard squinted at the ID photo on the screen, his brow crinkling in confusion.

  “This isn’t—”

  Matteo drew his pistol and fired at the guard’s chest. A choked cry escaped from the man’s throat, cutting off his words. The other guard cursed and aimed his rifle at Matteo.

  Some deep instinct took over Lio, one he wasn’t familiar with, but understood perfectly: kill or be killed. Before he even had time to think about what he was doing, Lio raised his pistol, flicked off the stun setting, and fired at the second guard.

  His blaster round struck the guard straight in the throat, more out of luck than actual aiming. The man crumpled to the ground, his eyes wide with surprise and pain, and Lio watched in shock as the man struck the floor.

  He’d just killed. Again. And he couldn’t even bring himself to feel remorse.

  Two more guards rushed out from around the corner, one holding a rifle and the other a laser pistol. Lio whirled to shoot them, his heart pounding wildly, and he took aim at the man with the rifle. But Lio froze as he got a better look at him—he was tall, with dark skin and a blessedly familiar face.

  “Beck,” Lio sputtered, lowering his weapon. He turned to the woman with the pistol and let out a relieved breath. “Kaylin. You’re alive.”

  “For now,” Beck said grimly.

  Beck and Kaylin both kept their weapons carefully trained on the downed guards for a moment longer, both of them approaching cautiously. The two of them worked together in synchrony, both lowering their weapons at the same time as they confirmed the guards were dead. Then they turned to Lio, and Kaylin said, “Where is it?”

  With fresh adrenaline pounding through him, Lio had been able to forget about the pulsing of the Virtue for just a moment. But now it came rushing back, the heat of his pendant searing against his skin. He drew it out from under his shirt, staring down at its gleaming metal case. With each pulse that ran through it, blue light seeped through the joints of the metal casing, throbbing like veins.

  “It’s like a drum-beat,” Matteo murmured. He clasped a hand over his ribs, where the Fragment had healed his deadly wound. “I can feel it coming from the hangar.”

  Lio
nodded and gestured toward the closed doors at the end of the hall. Unlike the other security doors they’d passed through, these were hulking double doors that looked to be made of thick metal.

  “We need to go in there,” Lio said, stepping toward the doors. The pulsing, which had previously radiated outward, now seemed to have reversed. It pulled him toward the hangar, yanking at his Fragment and drawing him closer.

  “It’s going to be swarming with guards in there,” Kaylin said, eyeing the hangar doors uncertainly.

  Beck nodded. “But we have the element of surprise.”

  “So do they,” Kaylin said. “We have no idea what’s waiting for us in there.”

  Beck raised an eyebrow. “You have any better ideas?”

  “Nope,” she said, following after Lio. She let out a short whistle and Red came rushing from around the corner, sprinting to her side. The little dragon was on full alert, the spikes along his back raised and his scales camouflaging with the floor.

  Lio was relieved to see that Kaylin had her thieving kit slung back over her shoulder. They might have been going in blind, but at least they had a few tools and tricks to use.

  “I’m not going with you,” Adrien said, his sharp voice breaking Lio’s concentration.

  “Good,” Kaylin said. “It’s too dangerous.”

  Adrien ignored her comment and asked, “Where did they take you when they captured you? Are my siblings there?”

  Kaylin shook her head. “We didn’t see them. But there were a few rooms near ours that looked like they might be used for holding prisoners, so they could be in there.”

  Adrien scowled. “You didn’t check?”

  “We’re a little preoccupied right now,” Kaylin said, giving a meaningful nod toward the hangar. But then she pointed toward the hallway she and Beck had come from. “Go down that way and take the first left. Keep an eye out for guards—Beck and I ran into one, and we took care of her, but she might have backup coming.”

  As she spoke, she walked over to the fallen guards and slipped their comm units off their wrists. Kaylin tucked one into her pack and tossed the other to Adrien. “Scan the comm unit’s ID screen under the lock scanners. It’ll open most of the doors.”