Reckoning (17 page)

I stopped chewing the unidentifiable meat patty.

“Don’t you want to know who it is?”

“I don’t have any friends left,” I said, trying to act like I wasn’t scared.

“You could be right. He certainly wouldn’t give us any information about you. I believe he said his name was Stone.”

I dropped my fork and rose. “Where is he?”

“Recovering from his interrogation.”

I took a step toward him, my anger rising. “What did you do to him?” Closer to him, my power reacted, leaping to kill mode. Usually, the only time my power reacted strongly was when I was close to a Supernatural enemy. Was it possible my power had evolved to the point it could tell which human I could and couldn’t trust?

The soldiers leaning against the wall across the room shifted their stance from relaxed to alert as they watched us. Dr. Death stuck a hand in her lab coat, pulled out a syringe, and headed in our direction.

Nixie clawed frantically at my arm. “Sit down. Now.” She tugged hard, and off balance, I landed in the chair, nearly missing it as the force of the fall scooted it away from me. I righted myself.

Agent Davis grinned. “And you said you didn’t have any friends. Nixie might have kept you from doing something incredibly stupid just now.”

Thankfully, Rick called him over to another table, and the agent stopped to talk to the doctor before he went to Rick.

The doctor glared at me, then returned to her watchful perch. She reminded me of a vulture, but instead of waiting for prey to die, she wanted to make sure it did. I got the vibe she enjoyed killing. The blank look in her eyes creeped me out.

Nixie leaned in, her brows drawn into a V of worry, nearly working herself into a frenzy. “You can’t show any signs of aggression. I’ve seen what happens to the Supernaturals who fight back. She injects them, and their power arcs like they’ve been electrocuted. You can see it spark outside their body. They twitch and their muscles lock down and they die.
So don’t
.”

I nodded. Dr. Death had to go. I couldn’t have her lurking around waiting to pounce. I glanced at her. She held up the syringe and flicked the side of it, then smiled at me.

Agent Davis clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. “Wrap it up. Time to move it people.”

I pushed away from the table and carried the tray to the trash bin. I dumped the uneaten food and joined the rest of the Supernaturals as they made a mass exit toward the door. I couldn’t see where Riley disappeared to in the crowd.

RILEY

Adler fell into step beside me. “Mallen spoke to Henry and confirmed he told Juliet to kill you. Henry managed to elude the Guards, and no one seems to know where he is.” He paused, then continued. “Juliet didn’t warn you or inform anyone else. Doesn’t that make her as guilty of treason as Henry is? I need to take care of this.”

I stopped walking. “I think the war has fooled you into thinking you have the right to ask questions that are outside your boundaries and to make decisions beyond your authority.”

“It won’t happen again, sir.” Bland tone. Patronizing. Thinking he knew the art of war better than I did.

I gave a small wave of my hand. My power jerked him off his feet. Leaning over him, I extended a hand. “You seem awfully eager to kill Juliet. I can only surmise you either have your own agenda or you’re trying to suck up to me in the hopes that when I take the crown, I’ll find a higher position for you.”

His face reddened.

“What do you want?”

He accepted my help up. “I’m not interested in another position.” He smoothed his clothes and looked me in the eye. “I don’t trust Juliet. When she looks at you, it’s with regret and intention. She’s up to something. I want to make sure no one prevents you from becoming the king. I hate Ide. He’s evil. That’s all it is, sir.”

I wasn’t sure I believed he didn’t have his own agenda. “You’re loyal, willing to lay down your life if needed?”

His shoulders straightened. “For you, absolutely, sir.”

“Juliet is the future queen. I expect you to treat her with the respect due a Supernatural of her station. You will help her and watch over her.”

“Yes, sir.”

My gaze drifted to where Juliet walked through the crowd. In school, she’d always slipped around in the shadows, not letting herself shine. She’d never acted like the daughter of a king. She wasn’t spoiled. Didn’t demand her own way. I’d never seen her be unkind. She hated the oddity of the seven suns circling her eyes, thought it made her look weird. I thought she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.

I didn’t fully understand Juliet’s power or her destiny to save the humans. But I did understand our love and as far as I was concerned, it was unbreakable. She turned her head and my eyes met hers. She smiled. Had I glimpsed regret in her gaze or was I simply looking for wrongdoing because of Adler’s words? Henry betrayed me and yet she hadn’t mentioned it. That troubled me.

Chapter 13

JULIET

Nixie wove her way through the throng until she was beside me. Her small face pulled into a worried frown. “Dr. Death has you on her radar.”

I stepped out into the chill. The stinging cold made my eyes water. “I picked up on that.”

“She’s zeroed in on Supernaturals before, and they always end up dead. “

“I’ll be careful,” I promised.

“Less talking, more moving!” Agent Davis called out.

He led the way to a small building painted in camouflage colors next to the dining barracks. Inside, rows of folding metal chairs faced a wooden podium. I took a seat, and seconds later, Halo sat beside me, her nose red from the cold. She clutched a paper cup full of coffee in her hand, looking fierce and determined. Nixie slid into the chair on the other side of me.

Her elbow bumped mine, and I scooted my chair over a few inches to give her some room. When I settled the chair back down, a Supernatural boy with spiked blue-tinted hair was watching me from across the aisle. He sat in the third row surrounded by other Supernaturals, yet he stood out. He was the first to look away. When he leaned back in his chair, I saw he was sitting beside Riley.

Agent Davis walked to the podium, and his gaze found me in the crowd. “The faster this war is over, the sooner your lives will return to normal.”

I knew he was lying, telling the Supernaturals what he thought would make them more compliant, something to give them hope. The deception angered me. Our lives would never be normal if the humans won the war. They would force us to live in enclosed areas where we’d be kept under their control until they decided what to do with us. I doubted the decision included living.

My power surged and I breathed in deeply to soothe it, the way my parents had taught me from the time I was a little girl. I cupped my hand over the metal band, hoping the surge wouldn’t cause it to pop off. I sucked in a breath when my power continued to strengthen and the metal heated up enough to make it uncomfortable against my skin. I took a covert look around to see if anyone was watching me. When I turned my head slightly to the left, I saw the same Supernatural boy staring at me.

“Everyone stand,” Agent Davis said, and I looked away from the boy.

The agent glanced to the left of the room and nodded at three fierce looking humans in black uniforms with red stripes around the arms indicating they were Enforcers. They walked to stand in front of the podium, weapons ready.

“Front row, Juliet.” Agent Davis said.

Keeping my hand on my wrist, I ducked my head and stood, threading my way through the crowd to reach the first row of chairs. I felt hot all over. The last time I’d experienced a rise in body temperature, one of my fail-safes was giving way.

Agent Davis frowned at me, his eyes searching as if he thought something was up. I kept still, keeping my eyes downcast even though by now my power had heated the band to the point where it was burning me. When the agent finally stopped looking at me and started talking again, I drew in a shaky breath.

He called out Nixie’s name, and she slipped out of the row to join me. When the agent told Halo to come up front, she refused. A murmur rippled through the crowd, and the agent’s face mottled with anger. He motioned for the Enforcers. “Take her to Prison Sector 12.”

I expected Halo to fight the humans who grabbed her by the arms, but as she hung her head and let her hair swing forward; she smiled.

“Stupid of her to defy them, but her parents are locked in that sector,” Nixie whispered. “She wants to go see them.”

I nudged her. “Look,” I said when my skin beneath the band began to sizzle from the heat.

The blue-haired boy stared pointedly at my wrist, then doubled over, going into a prolonged coughing fit.

While the humans’ attention was diverted, I put the palm of my other hand against the band, trying to soothe it. Instead, my power gave one final surge and the band popped off in my hand. I quickly felt for the prongs, but there was nothing there.

Discreetly, I glanced at the floor. The two prongs were at my feet in plain view. I took a shuffling step forward, putting my shoes over them. Cuffing the band around my wrist, I bent the ends of it so it would stay on.

Agent Davis pointed at a human. “Give the boy some water.”

As blue-haired boy drank the water, his gaze found mine again. Had he known what was going on with my power and distracted the agent to protect me?

When he was satisfied the coughing was over, Agent Davis continued calling Supernaturals to the front until there were nine of us.

“The majority of you will fight outside the White House to keep the attacking Supernaturals at bay. The two of you”—he pointed to Nixie and me—”will be in the room with her.” He studied each of us for a second, then nodded toward Rick.

Rick moved to the podium and picked up a box from the floor beside it. He opened the lid and walked in front of us, tilting it so we could see inside. The bottom of the box was lined with small gray pellets, but they were unlike any I’d ever seen before. He snapped the box shut after he went down the row. “You’ll use these in the weapons we’ll give you. The pellets are sprayed with the oil found in rocks of the Void. Any Supernatural who is hit by one of these pellets will immediately become as powerless as a human, which will make them easier to kill.”

“If you have the pellets, why do you need us?” the blue-haired boy asked.

“Because we can’t tell the difference between your kind and the Ragespawn, and some of them could be in on the plan to grab the president. These pellets are ineffectual against those creatures.”

“So are we,” Nixie muttered.

Another Supernatural boy stood. “Supernaturals don’t always win in a fight against the Ragespawn.”

“Pity,” Agent Davis said with a sly smile. “Nonetheless, you can recognize them easier than we can, and you’re more expendable to us than a human life.”

A tide of anger rippled through the crowd. Rick’s lips tightened at his colleagues goading. He glanced at his watch, then motioned to the door. “We have to stay on schedule. There’s a bus parked outside that will take you to target practice. File out everyone.” He moved to block Nixie and me from being able to leave.

Agent Davis passed us and headed down the center aisle. I didn’t like his smirk, his swagger, or the way he looked at me as if he’d like nothing better than to slit my throat.

“Walk with me.” Rick joined us in the aisle once the other agent left. He held the door open for us. The smell of diesel from the bus hung on the brisk air. I hunched against the wind and Nixie did the same.

“You’re not the only one with someone to lose.” He walked off without saying more and climbed onto the bus.

“What did he mean by that?” Nixie asked.

“Maybe the humans are holding someone he cares about too.”

The blue-haired Supernatural had taken a seat in the front of the bus. I don’t know why the thought of walking by him made me feel edgy. His leg protruded slightly out in the aisle with his hand resting on his knee. I looked pointedly at him, waiting for him to let me pass. He slid his finger over a fraction of an inch, and I caught the edge of a piece of paper sticking out.

I put my hand over his and tucked the paper into my palm.

“Sit down!” one of the humans shouted.

Nixie and I scurried to the back of the bus. I unfolded the slip and glanced down.
Midnight. Back of
the barracks.

I tore the paper into tiny strips and scattered them under my shoes.

“I wonder how the humans found out what the Void does to us,” Nixie said.

I stared at Riley’s back two seats ahead, wishing I could sit with him.

She followed my gaze. “What’s it like? Being with the future king?”

“It’s like any relationship, only the responsibilities we have are heavier. He’s the one his people look to for salvation from the Great Extinction and I’m the one—”

“The humans look to.”

“Exactly,” I admitted, looking down at my lap and linking my fingers together. If I failed to kill Riley, then everyone and everything ceased to exist. The pressure of my looming destiny gave me a headache. Why couldn’t it be my life at stake? I would have gladly given it.