Diamond (29 page)

Nadya didn’t know what had triggered the onslaught of memories, but she was happy for it. Kept her clear of the confusion she’d been feeling for the last thirty-six months.
Fuck. I’ve been here longer than intended.
She’d been behind the walls for three human years. She wondered if her father was still alive. He should be. Her mother, Senna, had given him her blood. Esa had told her exactly where she could find her father. Bolanger had sold him to the Genysis Tower five years ago, when they’d started to recruit for Diamond’s program. That heart-to-heart she’d promised to give Diamond was officially written on her to-do-list. He’d been the one to order her torture. He couldn’t be bothered to do it himself, but he’d made sure the order had been carried out. She was different now, her hair was black, instead of the color of fire. She was half starved, and to save energy, she’d allowed her body to exist on the barest of food. For days she’d been held, and he had to know what she was, he had someone take blood samples from her.

V

“They haven’t showed yet. It’s been more than twenty minutes. If Dasan’s screwed us, I will personally remove his breeding balls from his sack.”

“That’s pretty graphic, Phyr.”

“And?”

“And nothing.”

Phyr watched his longtime friend Emerald as he paced the length of the hall. Attia was nowhere in sight, and neither was Nadya and the Reapers. He was supposed to be stationed at the highest point of the Quarry. That meant he needed to get to the steel eagle ledge. Maybe from that vantage point, he’d be able to see when Nadya and Dasan’s son were coming.

“I’m out of here. Going to get up on the eagle.”

“Fine. Then I don’t have to hear your incessant complaints,” Onyx commented. He and Emerald were going with Diamond, who was already on the ground, making sure his guards were stationed where he needed them. There were men stationed in all four quadrants surrounding the Quarry. But everyone knew Attia was well aware of Diamond’s fighting strategy. She’d been one of his best battle planners in the beginning when they’d first come to the city. She’d know exactly what he planned. Their only element of surprise was the Reapers.

“Can I at least get some juice so I can take the elevator to the top?”

“Yeah, I can do that,” Onyx said, tossing Phyr a piece of metal infused with C-Tech. It was a key of sorts with enough energy to power the elevator. It was also energy he could manipulate. He wasn’t about to broadcast that shit to the world. He was Bloodborne, but if the others ever figured that out, he’d be cut open and experimented on. He knew what happened in the Genysis Tower. They were experimenting on men and women, trying to make them super warriors. During the tests, there was a handful that came back with a blood anomaly. One he was very familiar with. They were his kind. Most of them were from other tribes, but two of them were from his. Phyr had made a promise to himself, and it was simple. Follow one rule, and one rule only. Don’t get involved in other people’s problems. Nadya was the only exception to the rule. He couldn’t reconcile all the reasons why, he just knew she was different.

Phyr used the C-Tech to get to the top floor and then attached it to the top of his long-range sniper. Anyone hit with a bullet would be juiced. Fried from the inside out. Not a pretty sight, but if it was a war Attia and the Ibanez brothers wanted, it’s what they’d get.

The eagle wasn’t exactly the highest point, but it was the most stable. The Quarry had once been called the Chrysler building long before the comet had passed through Earth’s atmosphere. Back before the tunnels were flooded or destroyed. He remembered the building. Had walked past it many times when he was a young male. He remembered taking a meeting here once with a businessman named Charles. Phyr looked out over the city and sighed. Those were days long forgotten. Four hundred years forgotten. He missed pizza. Missed it like crazy.

Phyr dropped to his belly, making sure he was properly secured to the building before edging his way out onto the ledge and lining up his gun. He adjusted his scope and scouted the two blocks Nadya and the others were supposed to come from. He saw them. Dasan’s son had a tight grip on Nadya’s hand as the two of them made their way toward the Quarry. The Reapers following closely behind. Phyr’s grip on the gun tightened. He didn’t agree with Diamond, but he trusted the male to make things right. Phyr pointed his rifle in the direction adjacent from the Quarry and spotted Attia and her war party.

Directly four blocks up, she was riding what looked to be a horse. It was a lot taller than any horse he’d ever seen, though. All black with a shiny mane of silver hair. Its tail braided and tucked tightly against its hind legs. Phyr adjusted his scope and reached for his comm.

“I’ve got eyes on Attia and Nadya.”

“Where should we be focused?”

“Attia’s coming in from the northeast. I got eyes on her now. And Nadya is coming from the northwest quadrant of Central. Reapers in tow. “

“Excellent. Don’t make a move until I give the signal. We have men posted in the surrounding quadrant and Thys’s archers are in place. No one fires until I give the order. Let’s see what Attia has to say.”

Jack shit.

That’s what.

Attia was all about the action. She wasn’t going to walk up to the Quarry and knock on the door to ask for a sit-down. If she wanted something, she’d try and take it. She never made a move unless she had the upper hand. In this particular case, she felt she did. Phyr was all too happy to prove her wrong.

He watched as Attia and the troops behind her drew closer. There were others on tall horses. Nine riders with the others walking behind, all armed with weapons. Attia was dressed in a short leather jacket, one arm completely exposed, showcasing her fluorescent ink, the other arm encased by a tight-fitting sleeve. The jacket closed only at the neck, leaving her chest and abdomen exposed where she wore a torn tank top. Attia had gone full warrior mode. Phyr noticed that her full breasts were now only one breast. Somehow, she’d gotten the other breast removed, and where there should have been a full mound of flesh, she was now flat-chested.
Fuck. She actually did it.
Strapped across her back was a long sword. The leather strap now fitting across her chest with no obstruction. Her black hair was cut short and spiky. The one leg he could see had been amputated and fitted with some kind of device that was made completely of metal. It was sharp like a blade, the end pointy. He couldn’t tell if her other leg was the same, but if he had to guess, and knowing Attia, it was. She was all about enhancements. Talked all their ears off when she’d worked with them.

Somehow, she’d gotten her hands on some C-Tech. Which meant they had a problem. Her fluorescent ink was a dead giveaway. It glowed an eerie orange. But only Bloodborne or
Raema
would react to C-Tech that way if the ink were infused with it. Attia was full of surprises. He’d had no clue she was
Raema
, but she wasn’t like Nadya, she was a full-blood Traveler. A purebred female of his kind. How had he not noticed before?

“Any of you able to see her now?” he said into the comm, hoping to get some sort of feedback.

“Yeah, the bitch has metal legs,” Emerald said.

“This is a problem. I don’t see anyone else in the group with metal legs, but don’t leave anything to chance. Be on alert.”

“We will be,” Diamond said back.

Phyr looked into his scope, checking to see what else they were up against. Farther back in the ranks, he was able to make out a cage. There were people inside. Phyr had no clue what Nadya’s family looked like. He had nothing to go on.

“I can confirm there are prisoners among the group. But there aren’t just two. More like ten.”

“You got eyes on Nadya and the Reapers?”

Phyr swung his rifle around and peered through its scope.

“Yeah, they’ll be rounding the block in about two minutes. Attia will be on you before they will.”

“Got it. Remember. No one fires until I give the signal,” Diamond ordered.

“What the fuck is the signal?” Amethyst said via her comm.

“You’ll know it when you see it.”

Phyr looked through his scope again. Attia and her team had stopped across the street from the Quarry. Her riders lined up directly behind her. She looked up and smiled, giving Phyr the finger.

She knew he was there.
Fucking bitch.

V

The Reapers were getting restless. Nadya could see the Quarry now. It was dark, the moon casting an eerie glow on the pavement and buildings as they passed. Fursay still hadn’t let go of her hand. His thumb absently rubbing across her wrist as they walked. It was annoying.

“Enough of that”—she yanked her hand from his—“I can take care of myself.”

Adrenaline was coursing through her system, giving her bursts of energy. Her breathing was short, and her chest hurt from the strength of her heartbeat, as it pounded rapidly against her ribcage.

“I only meant…” Fursay tried to speak. The Reapers behind her became more and more agitated.

“Doesn’t matter. Let’s keep moving.”

Funny thing, she wasn’t in a hurry to rush headlong into a battle. She was concerned about settling scores. There was Diamond, Lindy, Anna, and of course Marius. She blamed him for Rory’s death. It didn’t matter that it was by her hand. She’d cared for Rory in her own way, but it was Marius who held his strings, pushed him to his death. Yeah, Marius was now added to the list of people she had beef with. Fursay would be first if he kept up with the grabby hands. A small voice claimed she still cared for the old woman and her daughter.
Maybe.
She’d let them live, along with Phyr and Emerald. Although, the two males would try and kill her the moment she ended Diamond. Her limbs loosened. She was ready to settle up.

A fight was brewing. She could feel it. The air was saturated with high-octane testosterone. It poured out of the males inside and around the Quarry. She and Fursay were to get to the Quarry, await instructions from Diamond, and go from there. Nadya planned to be a big fucking wrench in those plans. She had no intention of listening to anyone. She wasn’t following orders or staying quiet for anyone anymore. Right as they reached the entrance to the Quarry, Diamond, Emerald, and Onyx stepped forward. She sized all three men up. Diamond saw her first, his eyes wide as he took in her appearance. He’d never really seen her for who she really was. He saw her now. Nadya made sure of it. She grabbed Fursay’s hand as a taunt and smiled.

Diamond looked to their entwined hands and grunted.

“You may want to let her go, boy. Your father and I have an arrangement.”

“I’m well aware of the arrangement. Nadya stays with me at all times. If she moves, the Reapers will take her for their own. They’ve followed us the entire way here, they expect a reward, and right now, the lot of them have their sights set on her.”

She’d eat those fuckers for breakfast if they even thought they could piss on her. Still, she didn’t say a word. She turned and took in the female atop her horse.

Attia stared down at Nadya with searching eyes.

Nadya pulled herself and Fursay towards Attia. Her eyes searched for Anna and Dominika. She didn’t see them in the crowd.

“Where are they?” Nadya demanded.

Attia looked down at her from her mount and smiled. There was something different about the woman. Something not right. She was missing a breast. Her hair was dyed a pitch black, and instead of legs, she had what looked to be blades.

“Do you mean Anna and Dominika?”

Nadya sharply nodded her head. “If you have them, release them to me.”

Attia threw back her head and laughed.

“You think I want them? It’s you I want.”

“I know this already.”

“You do?” Attia asked as she dismounted her horse.”

“Yes?”

“You agree to come with me?” Now it was Nadya’s turn to laugh. She wasn’t going with anybody.

Attia watched her closely. Her eyes a mixture of confusion and uncertainty.

“Lavarious. You have no idea what’s going on here. You and your men should leave this matter to me and the girl.”

“He stays,” Nadya said.

“What she said.” Diamond took a step in her direction. He had no clue what was going on. But he still thought he had the upper hand.

“Nadya, you are coming with me.” Attia said. Her confidence was almost offensive.

“I know you think that, but going with you was never an option.”

“How do you figure?”

“Because I know.”

“Know what?”

“Bring the old woman and her daughter or things will get ugly.”

“We’ve only started getting ugly, Nadya.”

“That’s not my name. But you knew that already. Didn’t you, Senna. Or should I call you Mother?”

Attia stepped back. Diamond cursed, as did his other men.

“How did you—?“

“How do I know? I’ve seen your picture a million times. Esa showed me. I know exactly who you are.”

Fursay, the dumbshit tried to reach for her hand again. Nadya turned and yanked her arm away from him.