Athena's Ashes (35 page)

A moment later, Renna’s whole body jerked forward as Samil controlled her again. It felt inevitable somehow. Like everything had been leading to this moment. She didn’t even try to fight it this time.

Renna glanced back at her mother’s lifeless form as she followed the doctor up the stairs to Samil’s ship. From here she could see only part of her mother’s face, eyes closed, lines softened. For the first time in Ryla’s life, she finally looked at peace. Renna had mourned the loss of her mother years ago, but today she’d seen another side of her. A side she wished she’d known.

Renna tore her gaze away as Samil ordered her through the hatch and down a narrow corridor lit with bright hololights. Her footsteps rang on the metal floors as they marched through the ship, and she tried to get a sense of where she was. Dimensional Striker models were short-distance transports and ran with minimal crew. Only a pilot and a helmsman, but she didn’t see either as she followed the doctor to a small med lab at the back of the ship.

Still under Samil’s control, Renna’s knees bent, forcing her to sit in one of the stiff metal chairs. Her right arm lifted on its own accord to rest on the small table in front of her.

“You haven’t tortured me enough by now?” Renna asked.

“I know how much you enjoy it. Just wanted to make you feel at home.” Samil’s smile was sweet as she slid an IV into Renna’s arm and slapped some kind of sensor to her forehead.

Renna’s skin stung and burned as the drug seeped into her veins, but she couldn’t move her arm. The panic started deep in her gut, growing stronger until she gasped for air. Squeezing her eyes shut, she forced herself to take a deep breath as the pounding in her head grew louder. She hadn’t felt like this since she was a kid, since she’d been unable to fight back when her mother had attacked her.

She’d trained in three different forms of self-defense to make sure she’d never feel that way again. Except here she was, back where it had all started.

“Not much longer now and you’ll be completely integrated. I’ll be able to use you to control my entire army. From anywhere in the galaxy. We’ll be able to do so much good together, dove.”

Samil sounded practically gleeful, but Renna didn’t break her concentration. Nothing mattered any more besides stopping this woman. Samil’s ship shuddered as they prepped for takeoff. It was now or never.

Renna reached out with her mind, searching for the
Athena
again. The virus running through her had damaged Renna’s connection with the ship, but she could still feel it there, at the edge of her consciousness. Tendrils of electromagnetic waves curled into her, weaving into the implant and the neural network that hummed through Renna. She might be part of Samil’s plan, but she still had enough control to use that to her advantage.

She found the cracks in Samil’s network, the places where she could feel the
Athena
even more strongly, and focused on widening them until she could feel the ship’s controls, the familiar sense of belonging.

But there was something else there now. Something dark and monstrous. The virus had already populated through the
Athena’s
systems. Guilt twisted through her. She knew now that she’d infected it earlier, when she’d tried to send the coordinates from Samil’s warehouse. The
Athena
was dying.

She couldn’t focus on that. She needed to control the
Athena’s
weapon systems before they took off. Renna slipped further into the ship, becoming part of the system. Fear clogged her throat and set her pulse racing. She didn’t want to die, but she was out of options.

With only an order to her implant, she rewired one of the ship’s missiles to fire.

She thought of Finn’s heart-twisting smile. Of Myka’s unconditional belief in her goodness. Of Viktis’s sexy laugh. She was doing this for them, but gods, she wasn’t ready to leave yet.

But a good thief always knew when a job was up, and with one last command, she entered the firing codes.

The sirens in Samil’s ship screamed as the proximity sensors felt the
Athena’s
targeting system locking on.

Samil jerked her head up from her tablet, eyes widening. “What did you do?”

Renna smiled. “I won.”

The explosion sent the ship careening across the landing pad. A whole section of the roof blew off, sending cargo and goods flying into the sky. Renna flew across the med bay, landing in a tangle on the far side of the room. Her leg cracked under her as she fell, and she screamed at the white-hot pain shooting through her.

The metal side of the ship shrieked, shearing off as it scraped against the cement. She gasped for air as smoke filled the med compartment, thick and heavy with the scent of star fuel and burnt plastic. Something warm trickled down her face, and she touched a finger to the blood on her cheek. Somehow she was still alive.

She forced her gaze to focus on the dark, smoky interior of the med bay. Across the room, Samil moaned, shifting from beneath a tray of tools. Even worse,
she
was alive.

Renna felt her muscles clench and unclench as Samil lost control of her and the neural network disconnected. Every cell ached like she’d been beaten to a bloody pulp by a Trezian, but she forced herself to sit up, inch by inch, using every last bit of her strength to keep from vomiting as pain rolled through her in waves.

As she tried to drag herself across the floor, the ship suddenly tilted as it settled against one of the tenement buildings. Renna slid across the slick tiles, landing with a thud against the wall. She panted shallowly, trying to avoid sucking in any of the smoke rolling into the cabin.

Evidently, she should have used two missiles. Who would have thought MYTH would cheap out on their ballistics? She giggled hysterically.

Pull it together, Renna
.

Ignoring the pain shooting through her, she continued forward. As she scrabbled through the debris, she spotted a shiny scalpel from Samil’s tray. Her hand curled around the handle, the cool metal lending her strength.

The doctor lay near the door. Less than eight feet away. She could do this.

Inch by inch, Renna crawled closer to the doctor, dragging her injured leg behind her.

Six feet.

Four feet.

Each inch was a victory in itself.

Samil bolted upright, eyes wild as she squinted through the smoke. She met Renna’s gaze, a flicker of pain shooting across her face as she scrambled to her feet.

Renna tensed, gripping the scalpel tightly, ready for the doctor’s next move. But instead of attacking, Samil stumbled from the bay, away from Renna.

Dammit. She was going to escape.

Renna tried to climb to her feet, but agonizing pain shot through her leg as soon as she tried to put pressure on it. She gasped and collapsed back to the floor with a hiss. Broken.

She had to finish this. Dragging herself across the floor, she made it to the med bay door as another smaller explosion shook the ship. One of the small fuel cells must have caught fire.

Heat seared the side of Renna’s face as a fireball shot through the space. Her cheek throbbed angrily, but she forced herself to move again toward the gaping hole in the side of the ship. The metal had been torn away like tinfoil, the edges ragged, but outside, sunlight streamed through the smoke billowing from the ship.

Hand over hand, she clawed her way out. With a great push, she tumbled through the hole to land in the dirt beneath the ship. Renna screamed as her leg twisted beneath her. Bone ripped through skin as her broken shin shifted.

Pain. So much pain
. If she didn’t do something, she was going to pass out. A command to her implant turned off her neural receptors, and the agony stopped like someone had cut power to her brain. She knew it hurt, could see how bad it looked, but luckily she couldn’t feel a blessed thing.

Across the park, Samil limped toward the
Athena
, clutching her side. Her white coat was streaked with blood, her hair hanging in lank strands around her pale face. The bitch was going to get away.

Even worse, Samil still had her tablet. With a quick tap, she locked onto the
Athena’s
controls, brought down the hatch, and climbed in. A few seconds later, six hybrids ran toward the ship at full speed, thundering up the gangplank as they boarded. Enough crew to get the
Athena
off the ground.

The door slid shut behind them, and the ship’s engines roared to life.

Fuck.

Renna watched helplessly as the
Athena
started to rise. On the bottom of the ship, the missile bay doors opened. The ship cleared the top of the tallest building, and Renna realized what Samil was planning. Dear gods, she was going to attack the tenements.

An arc of fire shot from the bottom of the ship as one of the bombs burst from the bay. She watched in horror as it hit a nearby building, erupting in a surge of flame and heat. The explosion thundered through the neighborhood.

As smoke rose from the destroyed upper level, Renna watched another missile descend from the belly of the ship.

What was left for Samil to target?

Renna stilled. The missile was for her. If Samil couldn’t use Renna for her evil plans, she didn’t want anyone else to either. And with Renna out of the way, she’d be able to escape and regroup with her new data.

Then no one would be able to stop her.

The
Athena
picked up speed, shooting toward the Earth’s atmosphere as the missile locked into position.

“I’m so sorry,” Renna whispered as she closed her eyes. She slipped back into her connection with the
Athena
, saying her goodbyes to the ship before she found the switch in the command systems. Every MYTH ship had one.

Self-destruct.

As if it could feel Renna’s intent, the
Athena
bucked and shuddered against her mind. It might have only been the ship clearing the atmosphere, but it felt like panic beating against Renna’s implant.

Samil’s neural network felt like cold tendrils in her mind as it reached out to capture her again. It had already infiltrated the ship, using the comm field to broadcast its signal to Samil’s army. The doctor could still control them. Which meant Finn and the others were still in danger.

Using the ship’s electromagnetic field, she found Samil standing beside the pilot’s chair. The woman’s blood-streaked face was gleeful.

“Fire at will, then head for Centa IV,” she ordered the hybrid pilot. “We’ll regroup there and figure out our next strategy.”

The hybrid pilot started typing Samil’s command into the console.

If only there was another option. But somehow it felt like this was meant to be the end. The
Athena
had saved all of their lives more than once. If she was already dying from Samil’s virus, perhaps her last sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain.

Renna’s heart broke as she slipped the last piece of code into place.

Sirens screamed throughout the ship.
“Warning. Warning. Self-destruct in twenty seconds.”

Samil’s eyes went wide as the blinking timer counted down on the console. “What the hell is going on? Shut it off!”

The hybrid pounded at the controls, but nothing worked. The
Athena
shot closer to space.

Thirteen.

Twelve.

Eleven.

“Do something!” Samil screamed. She slammed her fist down on the control panel, but the numbers ticked closer to zero.

“Goodbye, Doctor,” Renna said, leaning back against the ground and closing her eyes. She caressed the ship one last time and shut off the connection. “Goodbye, my friend.”

Above her, the
Athena
burst into a searing fireball, the boom echoing through the air a moment later.

The gunfire in the distance ceased as every hybrid went offline.

The
Athena
had sacrificed itself to save them all.

She glanced upward, at the remains of the
Athena
drifting in ashes through the afternoon sky. It was so pretty. Like snow in spring.

And then the pain flooded back through Renna in a blinding wave.

Everything went dark.

FORTY-THREE

When Renna woke, the first thing she noticed was the silence. For the first time in weeks, the strange electric humming in her head was gone. She blinked at the warm, afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows, a soft breeze ruffling the gauzy curtains.

Had she died?

Renna shifted on the bed and hissed as pain burned through her leg. Not dead then. In a hospital. She focused on taking in the rest of the room—the soft bed, the pale yellow walls and muted artwork that could grace a museum, the state-of-the-art holomonitor tracking her vitals.

Not exactly the usual hospital room.

The soft snick of a door opening drew her gaze, and Finn poked his head in. His smile was as bright as the sun.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

She nodded, feeling strangely tongue-tied as emotions swirled through her. He was still alive. But he’d lied to her and betrayed her. And she still loved him. Renna had no idea how to handle any of those feelings. Maybe she didn’t need to right now. Maybe just seeing him was enough.