Reckoning (18 page)

She raised her eyebrow at me, her eyes too knowing, too intuitive, too close to seeing the hurt and the burden I carried.

I motioned to the blue-haired boy, drawing her attention to him. “What’s his name?”

“Adler.”

“There’s something about him I can’t define.”

She hesitated, then said, “He procures things.”

As if he sensed me looking at him, he glanced over his shoulder and gave me a slight nod. “Why would he want to meet with me tonight?”

“He probably has something you need. Information or a tool, maybe. You can trust him. He’s a nice guy.” She sighed, then two spots of color rose on her cheeks. Ah. So that was the lay of the land.

I grinned at her and she grinned back, then shook her head and looked out the window. “Funny how when everything is so screwed up you notice things you never did before. Adler was in my English class, and I was too shy to talk to him.” She was silent for a second before she spoke again. “If we survive the war, I’m going to tell him I like him.”

“Why not tell him now?”

She rolled her eyes. “Right. Tell him now when I can’t escape? I’ll pass. I want to be able to take off if I get the wince face from him.”

I laughed at the mental image, and Riley turned in his seat at the sound of my laughter. His gaze slammed into mine. The force of it hit like a collision with a meteorite and bits and pieces of me fell through space. I had to force myself to remain in the seat and not rush to him and tell him what I had to do. I wanted to beg him to kill me rather than me killing him. But the world hinged on my actions. Sounds noble to save a world full of millions of people. But when the saving part involves killing someone you love, it’s a battle to put one foot in front of the other, to even want to keep breathing when you know you’ll be the one to take his breath away. Every time Riley smiled at me, I felt even more like a monster.

I pulled my attention away from him and stared out the window, not wanting to deal with the hurt when I thought about Riley. The Untolds dictated Riley had to die, and Henry cheered that destiny from the sidelines. I hated the Untolds and a little part of me hated Henry. It’s easy to say pull the plug on someone when you aren’t the one who’s supposed to do the pulling.

Nixie poked me in the ribs with her elbow. “I’ve heard rumors the humans plan to kill us if they win the war. Have you heard anything?”

“I can’t say for sure, but I suspect it’s true.”

Nixie chewed on her nail. “Then we can’t wait around. The faster we act, the better. The Supernaturals won’t sit around long and do nothing. There’s bound to be a rebellion.”

“If you expect me to join any of the Supernaturals in an attack on the base that could get all of us killed, you’re mistaken. I won’t risk Maisy. Now they have Stone, which makes it even worse. I will find a way, but I need time.”

“That’s something you don’t have a lot of.”

No pressure there
. I leaned my head against the back of the seat, hating the crushing heaviness of the responsibilities I carried. I had to keep my lips pressed together to keep from screaming out in frustration. I had no margin for error.

The weight of the world was on my shoulders, and one wrong move would send it tilting off its axis and crashing to the ground.

I squeezed my hands together, wishing I had someone to hold me long enough to have five minutes of not feeling alone. I pressed my fingers against the cool window, wishing everything could be different, wishing my ancestors had never come to Earth. Probably a stupid thought because if we hadn’t, I never would have been created.

The bus rumbled to a stop and the driver shut off the engine, then swung open the doors.

“On your feet,” Rick snapped at us as he bounded up. He was the first one off the bus. Riley stood and slipped out into the aisle. A Supernatural girl in one of the seats he passed smiled and cut her gaze at him flirtatiously. Riley ignored her as he exited the bus.

I was on the last step when I accidentally stepped on my untied shoestring. Pitching forward, I threw my arms out, hoping to break my fall with my hands rather than my face.

Strong hands closed around my upper arms, and I was jerked upright. My lips parted to thank the person who’d saved me, but when I saw it was Riley, I couldn’t speak. His touch made me feel like I’d grabbed a live wire. Surely no addiction in the world could make someone crave a substance as much as I craved him. For a few precious seconds, the base and everyone on it faded from my conscious and Riley filled every one of my senses.

Riley’s hands moved down to my forearms and his fingers flexed. “Tonight,” he whispered.

“I’m meeting Adler.”

“Meet me behind my barracks afterward. Be careful.”

“You’re attracting attention,” Nixie nagged.

I dropped my hands to my sides, not realizing I’d had a death grip on his forearms. “Thanks.”

Riley dipped his head in acknowledgement and jogged off to catch up with Adler.

We passed Rick as he paced with a cell phone. “I need more time,” he snapped. Then with a curse, he punched a finger against the screen and shoved the phone into his pocket. Raking his hand through his hair, he muttered a name I was familiar with.

“How is Stacy?” I asked. The pretty brunette had worked with Rick at FAD’s headquarters, and he’d been interested in her. I’d once encouraged him to ask her out. He whirled around, eyes wide, then narrowing. He grabbed me by the elbow in a hold hard enough to hurt. “What have they told you? Where is she?”

His reaction surprised me. He was fearful and for as long as I’d known Rick, I’d never seen him afraid. I pulled against his hold, trying to break free. “I don’t know. Is she missing?”

“Is there a problem, Rick?” Agent Davis asked.

“No.” Rick released his hold.

After the other agent walked away, I rubbed my elbow and said, “Do they have her? Is that why you’re working with someone like Agent Davis?”

A muscle worked in his jaw and he swiped at his mouth. “Catch up to the others.”

“I can free her if I know where she is.”

“Do as you’re told,” he said loudly enough for his words to carry. Then lower, “For both our sakes.”

RILEY

The humans thought they had the base protected. I scanned the area, quickly identifying several weak areas. I guessed the reason behind the weaknesses was due to the FBI’s FAD division running the show rather than letting the military handle it. The humans’ military specialized in defense, and they were good at it. I’d studied their maneuvers in past wars listed in the archives my father kept at the castle.

Our people had infiltrated their military ranks to study them. Every one of them reported back with words like honor and respect, defenders of right, making them sound like superheroes. The description enraged my father. He’d wanted to know only the evil about the humans.

I rubbed the back of my neck. My emotions were mixed about the species. They weren’t the ideal neighbors. They could be obnoxious. Each one bent on his opinion, his way, being the only right way.

Maybe they thought the same way about us. Our leaders had scoffed at their laws from the first day on the planet, claiming alien immunity when the humans tried to force us to adhere to their laws and their rules. The resentment simmered on both sides for almost twenty years. The war was that resentment boiling over.

I studied the agents, Simon and Davis. Between the two of them, Davis was the most vocal. He didn’t try to hide his disdain of Supernaturals. Rick Simon was a bit of a mystery. He seemed to care deeply for Juliet, but I’d seen his hands shake. Seen the desperation in his eyes. Something was at stake for him, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it was. Between the two agents, Simon was the kinder of the two. The other one would knife a Supernatural in the back given the chance. I didn’t trust either of them. They were human.

Chapter 14

JULIET

The Supernaturals and humans gathered at the edge of the field. Signs around the perimeter warned that it was a training area. Piles of rocks and junk cars were scattered about the place.

Agent Davis paced back and forth in front of us. “You’ll use your power to blow up the cars. Do this while crouching and running so we can gauge your speed and intensity. Each of you must hit a target at least once in those positions as well as an enemy. We’ll divide you into teams.”

He began calling out our names and arranging us on either side of him. “You’ll fire at your enemy team and hit the center of their chest where the X is marked. You’ll all be wearing chest armor to protect yourselves from the hit.”

“What if we accidentally hit someone where they’re not covered?” a Supernatural girl with a circular scar on her forehead asked.

“Then it’ll hurt like hell,” Agent Davis said. He lifted his chin at a couple of the humans who moved toward us. They handed out bulletproof vests.

The vest was heavy. I dropped mine over my head and adjusted the straps to make sure the fit was snug.

The humans walked in front of us, using canned spray paint to mark the front of the vests with orange and yellow Xs. I waved my hand to clear the pungent fumes away from my face and checked how the Supernaturals had been divided up.

Riley and I were on the same team. I wished I could know we’d be on the same team in the future. I was tired of dreading each day. I wished time would leap forward and all this could be behind me already, and I would know for sure everything was okay. Or not.

When the humans were through marking us, they stood behind Agent Davis.

Several trucks pulled up and parked nearby. Men dressed in black and wearing bulletproof vests spilled out of the backs. Across their chests were straps holding the pellets sprayed with oil from the Void. They carried long-range weapons and gathered as a group at the edge of the parking lot, standing stiff-jawed and silent.

A ripple ran through the Supernaturals. They pressed around me, clearly nervous. Nixie chewed on her lip. “I don’t like how this looks.” She shook visibly. Adler smiled and put his arm across her shoulders. She flushed. “What do we do?” she asked, looking at me for guidance.

“Don’t pause to hit the first cars. Put as much distance as you can between yourself and the men with the long-range weapons.”

She looked at my leg. “Can you run fast enough to get out of harm’s way?”

“Not really, but I can duck.”

Agent Davis walked between each of us and checked the vests to make sure they were on correctly. When he was through, he said, “The exercise is done to simulate how you’ll come under attack once you’re outside the base. Your prisoner bands will be removed for the duration of the exercise. If you attempt to use your power on a human, we will not hesitate to kill you.” He motioned a soldier forward. The way he acted made me think he was up to something.

“Arms out,” he bellowed. He went down the line systematically removing the bands.

He would know my prongs were gone when he reached me. I was sure his reaction wouldn’t be a kind one. Waving the sensor over my band to release it, he waited for the click signifying the band had opened. When it didn’t happen, he lifted my arm and inspected the band.

“Problem?” one of the humans with the guns asked.

Agent Davis slid the band off. “No.” He moved down the line.

I tried not to gape after him. He’d known my band was useless and he’d let it go? Was he setting me up somehow?

Adler jarred me from my worrying when he put his arm around my waist, drawing me close against him as if he was flirting. “See the Supernatural over there? The guy with the red hair? That’s Martin. The humans were holding his twin brother, the last member of his family, and he died this morning.”

Understanding dawned. “He has nothing to lose and the humans know this.”

“Right.” Adler shot a dark look back at the agent. “My guess is Davis will take Martin out and call it an exercise mishap. Are you going to let them kill him right in front of us?”

“No.”

“All right, enough socializing. Let’s get started.” Agent Davis clapped his hands.

We all approached the edge of the field, and I ended up beside Riley. I flexed my leg and sucked in a breath. Riley looked at me. “I’m right here if you need my help.”

“I can take care of myself. Keep yourself safe.” I dug my nails hard into the skin on my forearms and didn’t look at him. The guilt was eating me alive, turning my stomach inside out. I wanted to hurl at the sour taste in my mouth. Kill Riley. My God, how was I going to do that?

Agent Davis nodded his head at one of the vest-wearing men who brought his long-range weapon up slightly. I breathed out slowly, shaking with adrenaline as he swung the tip of it in Martin’s direction. Nixie, Adler, and I exchanged a glance. “Go!” I yelled.

Riley didn’t move. The minute the teams began running, a red dot touched the back of Martin’s head. I spun around and fired a short burst of my power at the weapon, causing the tip of it to melt and droop. Steam rose from the gun, and the man dropped it with a loud curse. Agent Davis screamed at me. “Did you use your power against a human?”

“No. I used my power to stop a murder.”