The Takeover (37 page)

At that moment, the overhead chandeliers blinked off, barely noticeable in the light coming from the huge windows, and then only because of the lingering clouds.
Yes!
Our Renegades had cut the outside power. I should have a moment to talk to Mari before the generators kicked in.

I reached out, but the red lines of the grid were still in place, except around our feet, and I could feel nothing beyond the room.
The columns have internal batteries,
Catrina sent to my surface thoughts, and I wondered why she bothered.

Two seconds later, the overhead lights flickered back on, signaling that the generators had kicked in. My chance was over. Even if Mari triggered the relays, I wouldn’t be able to reach beyond this room to let her know what was happening.

Ropte was watching me, plainly gloating over my dismay. I recovered my expression and hacked harder at Edgel’s shield. I was in! Still, getting out of here was a long shot, unless I could convince Lew and Jeane to work with me. I glanced in their direction to see them both staring murderously at Ropte, their hands tightly locked.

“Check to make sure the building hasn’t been compromised,” Stefan barked at Edgel. “I want the guard tripled and all soldiers ready for battle. Send an alert to the entire building.”

So much for our surprise. I’d blame Ropte and that stupid red grid, but Stefan probably would have checked anyway.

Edgel jumped to open the panel near the door, bringing up the cameras on the huge wall screen. He talked briefly into an intercom inside the panel before facing Stefan. “All areas secure,” he reported. “But there is a power outage in the neighborhood. Phone service seems to be out as well.”

Stefan whipped his head toward me, his lips twisted in contempt. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

With all the guns in the room, I needed a weapon. I’d have to mentally control Edgel and his gun until I could find something to fight with, regardless of how much energy it would cost me. I only hoped Mari and Keene could get backup here before I ended up permanently dead.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I told Stefan. “I think you have bigger problems right here. Someone tampered with your memories. How much else have they changed?”

A series of short beeps made everyone look toward the door. It opened to reveal Tihalt McIntyre drawing his hand away from the handprint reader. With him was Keene. I schooled my face not to show relief that I had at least one person for backup. I hoped Mari used the relays soon. If she could bring Ritter anywhere inside, he’d find his way to me.

Tihalt was older than I remembered, his brown hair darker and heavily washed with gray. His narrow face, slim build, mocking green eyes, and even the way his body screamed exhaustion reminded me of Keene. “I see you started without me,” Tihalt said without emotion.

“What’s he doing here?” Stefan jerked his head at Keene, still aiming his gun somewhere in the direction of the coffee table—closer to Ropte than to me, I noted with satisfaction.

“This is my son, if you will remember. He’s back to stay. He Changed.” No mistaking the pride in Tihalt’s voice, a pride that highlighted the disappointment and abuse he’d heaped on Keene when he was only a mortal. “His talent is synergy. He might be the most powerful Unbounded ever.”

“He’s a traitor!” Stefan countered. “I will not tolerate him here.”

“Oh, but you
will
tolerate your own daughter, whose loyalties have long been decided?” Tihalt’s lip curled in a sneer. By all accounts, they’d always presented a united front, but any warmth between them was completely missing now.

“My daughter,” Stefan murmured. He blinked, his face straying briefly in my direction.

Tihalt snorted his impatience. “Well, what has she to say? I’m assuming she’s the reason you’re all pointing guns at each other.”

“We’ve a mnemo here,” Stefan said in a deceptively soft voice. Murder laced through the words. “Or a raider. Someone has apparently messed with my memories. Would you know anything about that?” Stefan’s gaze transferred to Ropte. “Are you working with him? Is that why you’ve been withholding your recent inventions?”

“Don’t be insane,” scoffed Tihalt.

“I told you, it’s got to be her!” Ropte pointed at me. “She’s messing with our heads.”

“Call the guards,” Stefan barked at Edgel.

I didn’t know if the guards were for me or Ropte.
Oh, no you don’t.
I pushed hard at Edgel, keeping him from the buttons inside the panel. Terror spread through him. His eyes rolled toward Lew, but Lew wasn’t looking in his direction. Edgel met my gaze and shuddered. His mind revolted, but I clung on, not allowing him to push me out or signal for backup.

Ropte fired at me, his pistol bucking slightly in his hands. He didn’t miss—or wouldn’t have if I’d remained where I was. Using Edgel’s speed, I was near Ropte’s guard now, my foot popping up to smash the gun from the man’s hand. The guard turned and pumped his fist in a hook, catching me on the side of my head. Pain reverberated in my ear and jaw.

If only their mental shields weren’t so strong, I’d flash them all with light and end this. For now, there was nothing to do but fight on.

Another shot came from Tihalt’s direction, and the bullet bounced off my shield, the momentum slamming into me. My body skidded backwards, my head smashing into the drywall with a sickening
whack!
Blackness mottled my vision. I heard one of the displayed swords clanging to the floor as I slid down the wall. My control over Edgel wavered.

Edgel 65890V.
Delia’s memories crowded in on me, bright and glowing in the darkness of my mind.

“Kill her!” Ropte commanded.

I watched from Edgel’s eyes as Ropte’s guard readied a blow that would probably keep me down for the count. Ropte sprinted from the couches to pick up the sword that had fallen, its gleaming edges no doubt sharp enough to permanently finish me, as his gun could not.

“Edgel 65890V!” I screamed, giving in to the memories that weren’t mine. What did I have to lose?

My sight returned, and I steeled myself as Edgel brought up his gun and fired. A bloody spot appeared in the middle of Ropte’s guard’s forehead. Blood and brain matter splattered behind him onto the weapons hanging on the wall. Drops hit my face.

Banging on the door sent echoes reverberating in my head as Ropte’s other three guards and the two Edgel had left there tried to get in. The two men by the elevator would probably be with them now, alerted by the shooting, and they would warn others. Just me and Keene against all of them. How did a perfectly good plan go so wrong?

The lights hadn’t gone off again to signal that Mari had triggered the relays and begun shifting people inside, or at least not that I’d been able to notice. Nothing to save us. There wasn’t even time for me to beg Jeane to null everyone—and even if she could, what use was that against their guns and swords?

Ropte fired at Edgel repeatedly, but the soldier jumped over the couch nearest him and landed on top of the coffee table, inexplicably unscathed. Ropte fired again, and his last bullet tore into Edgel’s neck. He fell back, his pain knifing through our connection, but his heart beat on. Ropte laughed and lifted his sword over me. I lunged at his feet, knocking him off balance, and he stumbled back, momentarily losing his grip on his sword.

“Help me!” Ropte shouted at Lew, who cowered in the corner behind him. “Or you’ll never have her. I’ll kill you both!”

Another shot ricocheted off one of the black corner columns, sending me diving for cover. Tihalt’s weapon again. Keene was grappling with him now, and I heard the
clunk!
of a gun as Keene pushed Tihalt back. Stefan started toward them, but Keene glanced over at him, and Stefan tripped, his feet tangling together. Keene was rewarded for this by a slam from his father that spread him onto the carpet.

Regaining his footing, Stefan pointed his gun at Keene’s sprawled form. He fired, but the bullet shot toward one of the huge window panes instead. Glass shattered onto the carpet or disappeared outside. Stefan shot again and again with the same result, but the bullets went less far now, as though Keene was tiring.

Tihalt brought something from his pocket and closed in on Keene. “You
are
a traitor,” he sneered.

I dodged Ropte’s next swing, still channeling Edgel, who was somehow holding on to consciousness, then lashed out, kicking Ropte’s knee. His sword slashed toward me, hitting into the wall and sending pieces raining down. From somewhere in the hall, I heard machine-gun fire—that door wouldn’t hold out those guards for long. I needed to get past Ropte to one of the swords on the wall.

I became aware of Edgel’s gun rising from between the couch and the coffee table where he’d fallen. Shakily, he aimed at Ropte. A second later, Edgel’s head exploded as Lew fired a gun that was suddenly in his hands. Abruptly, my combat ability vanished. I was on my own, with only my training to save me. I sprang to the side, barely ducking away from Ropte’s blade. More chunks of drywall scattered to the floor.

The next hit caught me on the top of my arm, and even though my shield was tight and the blade didn’t pierce my skin, it felt like being bludgeoned with a baseball bat. I needed to put some space between us—now. I jumped back. Ropte lifted the sword again.

“AAAAAAA!” The horrible scream pierced the air, and for a second, everyone looked around to see where it came from. In that instant, Jace dropped from a jagged hole in the ceiling, passing through the red crisscrossing grid and slamming into Stefan, sending his gun clattering away. I reached for Jace and found his shield gone. A dangerous gamble with Lew and Catrina there, but exactly what I needed.

Channeling his ability, I jumped onto the couch and pushed off it past Ropte toward the wall with the weapons. Lew fired at me, but I was quicker. Grabbing a sword, I sprang away from the wall to confront Ropte, positioning him between me and Lew. From Jace’s eyes, I got a glimpse of Keene, back on his feet now. Tihalt faced him with an odd-looking sword in his hand, one that glowed with light. No, it
was
light. Had to be a laser of some sort.

Even as I watched, Tihalt slashed at Keene with a horizontal strike. Keene jumped up and out of the way a breath before the light touched him. Instead, the laser sliced cleanly and deeply into the wall with a power that could easily sever a man in two.

I swung at Ropte and he blocked. He might not have the combat ability, but he was powerful and well-trained, and I was tired from my efforts with Edgel. I feinted a jab and tried to twist his sword away, but he held on. With each crash of our swords, I slammed at his shield. If I could just get inside.

More machine-gun fire came from the hallway, accompanied by screaming.

Stefan and Jace were evenly matched, exchanging blows so fast the motions were blurred. But in the next instant, Stefan had a knife in his hands. “Stop.” He waved the knife in front of Jace, his face twisted with fury. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will.”

“Really?” mocked Jace, his mouth curving into a smile. “Because the only reason I’m here is to kill you.”

“Go ahead and try,
whelp.
”

I pulled my attention back to Ropte, finally hitting him on the arm. Blood dirtied the pale blue of his sleeve. “Lew!” Ropte screamed, but every time Lew tried to shoot me, I danced around Ropte.

Then Lew altered his trajectory, aiming at Jace. I pushed out my shield toward my brother—hard. But I was too late. The bullet hit the middle of his back, and he fell forward onto Stefan’s knife.

Jace!
I felt the hot pain of the knife at the same time he registered that it hadn’t hit anything vital. Neither was there any sign of blood on his back. It was then I felt the other shield over his back. Not mine. My eyes ran to Catrina, who stood alone by the broken windows, her small face concentrating on Jace.

She’d protected him?

Lew pulled his trigger again, but he was out of bullets. I parried another swing from Ropte as Jace pushed himself off the knife, shaken but not beaten. He punched Stefan in the face, and something cracked so loudly, I heard it across the room. I lunged at Ropte again.

If Catrina was helping Jace, maybe she wasn’t the mnemo. Or maybe she just liked him. Either way, we had a chance, at least as long as the door to this room held. We could still turn off the red grid in the room, trigger the relays to shut down the generators, and shift our people inside.

The gunshots in the hallway had lessened but still came at intervals. Miraculously, the door held.

“Damn you!” Ropte spared a moment to slash out at Lew, who shrank away, his shield deserting Jeane as he enhanced his own protection. “Grab a sword. You’re trained like the rest of us!”

“Don’t listen, Lew!” I countered. “He’ll never, ever let you or Jeane go. I know you hate me, but it’s him you need to fight!”

Ropte’s laugh resounded in our ears. “We have over a thousand soldiers here. Do you really hope to get out of this room alive?” He jabbed at me before taking another swing at Lew, his sword rebounding off Lew’s shield. “If you don’t help me, Lew, I’ll make sure you never see Jeane again.”

I pressed the advantage of Ropte’s distraction, sinking my blade into his shoulder.

Ropte backpedaled. He grabbed Jeane’s hand and threw her between us, but he didn’t let her go completely. He held her hand tightly as she tried to tear away. “Remember Kennedy? I never hurt him. Never! I love you. I wouldn’t do that. Remember how you think you hate me. It’s not true. I’m your favorite brother. Remember, you would give your life for me. You would fight for me.”

Something in his words clicked.
Remember . . .
he’d used the same word with Patrick when he’d asked for his support.
He’s the one changing memories,
I thought.
Not Catrina.

“Leave her alone!” Lew jabbed in another clip, his gun wavering uncertainly on Ropte.

“Not me, you idiot!” Ropte leaned to the side as I tried to reach him around Jeane. He parried my thrust. She sobbed but was no longer trying to get away.

Lew aimed again at Ropte and pulled the trigger, but Jeane was already in motion. She launched herself in front of her brother. The bullet crashed into the left side of her chest, and Ropte pushed her at me as she fell. I barely stopped myself from accidentally burying my sword in her stomach. Lew gave a bleak cry and scuttled across the floor to pull her to his chest.