To Whatever End (Echoes of Imara Book 1) (41 page)

The exit Pathius had drawn on his hastily scrawled map wasn’t far. A tunnel branched off, and they found it ended in a staircase, a slatted wood trapdoor at the top. Cecily’s Awareness found the shape of a building above them, the door leading into a cellar. It felt empty, so Sumara jolted the locked door to blast it open.

Cecily peeked her head through, finding an empty storeroom. She crawled up out of the tunnel and moved aside for the rest of her companions. Sumara and Edson came first, followed by Griff, struggling up the stairs under the weight of Daro’s upper body. Daro’s head lolled to the side, his eyes still closed. They set him on the floor and pushed him out of the way while Callum and Serv climbed out.

She probed the building again to make certain it was deserted. They crept up the stairs, as the men lifted Daro again and hauled him up to the ground floor. Cecily did what she could to help, Pushing Daro up to help alleviate some of his weight.

The building looked like a residence, but it was completely empty, and a thick layer of dust covered the floor. They left tracks in the dust as they walked, kicking it up in little clouds as their feet shuffled through. Light filtered in through curtained windows. Cecily had forgotten it was daytime; the darkness of the tunnel made it feel as if must be night.

She made her way to the front of the house, peeked out through the front door, and squinted against the daylight. The street outside was little more than a narrow alley, lined with small dwellings. Looking up and down, she found the street deserted but could hear the din of a busier road close by. She poked her head out further and looked around, trying to orient herself. Looking up, she could see the Lyceum perched on a hill not far away.

She darted back to her companions. “We’re near the Lyceum,” she said. “Callum, go find a carriage, someone we can pay to keep quiet. We can’t haul him up the hill like this, and I don’t know how long we have before he wakes.” Callum nodded and ran off. “Serv, make sure that trapdoor is sealed shut. I don’t know what that was about back there, but we don’t want anyone following us.”

Serv and Griff ran back down into the cellar. Edson and Sumara offered to watch for Callum in the front, leaving her alone with the unconscious Daro.

She knelt next to him and reached out, almost afraid to touch him again. Resting her palm against his cheek, she closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. His skin was warm, almost feverish. She laid her other hand on his chest and felt it rise and fall with his breathing. It took all her self-control not to collapse onto him and sob. She didn’t know who he would be when he awoke, so she reveled in the moment. Tears slid quietly down her cheeks and her hands trembled. He was here, in the flesh. She leaned forward and laid her forehead on him, her body shuddering as she breathed.

Her voice came out in a soft whisper. “I knew we would find you.”

41. CUTTING LOSSES

The day wore on as Pathius and Number Four made the long walk through the tunnel. He estimated they had crossed beneath the northern city wall, although the tunnel itself never changed. He watched for signs of the turn that branched off, leading to their meeting point.

His arms and legs were heavy, his body sluggish and tired. He wondered if it was an aftereffect of Absorbing so much energy. His eyelids drooped as his feet stumbled along. He forced himself to keep his eyes open and stay awake. Even the voices in his head were quiet, nothing but a low hum that threatened to lull him to sleep on his feet.

Number Four walked a step behind, occasionally flipping a hot chip of rock to pop on the ground. Pathius blinked at the sharp cracks, the muscles in his back clenching. Thoughts of Cecily crept through his tired mind. He wondered if she had managed to get Fourteen out, and whether Nihil had discovered he was missing. Would Number Three stay true to his word? What would Pathius find when he caught up with Nihil and Sindre?

Footsteps echoed down the tunnel. Someone was coming toward them. The sound jolted Pathius from his weary stupor. Three figures emerged from the gloom, masked and dressed in black. Pathius wasn’t expecting anyone to come this direction. What had happened? Had Nihil sent men back to find them?

Pathius halted and held his hand out toward Number Four. The three men stopped ahead of them, standing side by side across the width of the tunnel. Number Five, Number Seventeen, and Number Eighteen. Pathius could tell each by their height and bearing. He’d become adept at recognizing his cohorts even though he had never seen any of their faces. A curious thought fluttered through his mind. What did they look like?

“Are we later than expected?” Pathius asked. He felt a brush of energy and his heart beat quickened. Was that Number Five, trying to put up a Shield against him?

“We have orders,” Number Five said. “Number Four, you are to come back with us. Number One is finished.”

A sheen of frost spread from Pathius’s feet. “You don’t have to do this,” he said, his voice steady.

“Yes, we do,” Number Five said. “We have our orders.”

There was no point feigning loyalty now. “Don’t you realize how powerful we have become? We don’t have to take his orders anymore.” Pathius could see their eyes shining in the dim light of their glowstones. Number Seventeen’s gaze flicked from side to side.
He’s unsure. Nihil hasn’t had him long. Maybe I can reach him.
“Nihil’s grip is weakening and his plans are falling apart. How hard did he work to defend our compound, only to have us destroy it and leave it behind? What else has Nihil lost?”
One of us already got away, didn’t he?

Number Eighteen turned his head and looked to Number Five. Number Four hovered behind Pathius and stepped to the side, closer to the wall. Number Seventeen clenched and unclenched his fists, as he looked back and forth between Pathius and Number Five.

“How much of this is your fault, Number One?” Number Five asked. “How long have you been betraying us?”

“I never betrayed you,” Pathius said. “Don’t let Nihil fill your head with his lies. Ask yourself, why should you believe him over me? Because he’ll have Sindre torture you if you question him? They only control us because of these damned pieces of rock in our backs. But they can’t keep us forever. Nihil took it too far. He made us into something else, something he can’t control. We are too powerful now.”

“Dangerous words, but not surprising for a traitor,” Number Five said, his voice a growl.

Number Four spoke, his voice a low hiss. “You speak as if we have a choice. We all know what will happen if we run. Death will be our only escape, and it comes soon if we flee.”

“Lies,” Pathius said, letting his voice ring out, echoing off the tunnel walls. “Fourteen got out, didn’t he? Do you think his implant will kill him? I don’t. I think they tell us what they need us to hear so we won’t run. Sindre can’t torture us all. If we rose up against them, there would be nothing they could do. They control us with fear.” He leached heat from the air, and his fingers crackled with frost. “I’m not afraid anymore.”

“You should be,” Number Five said. Daggers dropped into his hands and he threw them at Pathius, the blades flashing in the dim light.

Pathius reached out and Absorbed their energy. He stepped one foot back and to the side, letting the blades slice by him. Frost erupted across the metal and they clattered to the floor. He looked down at his hands. Those knives should have flown far beyond where they fell.
Did I just take the energy of their motion?

His mouth curled into a smile as Number Five threw two more knives. He held up both hands and Absorbed the energy from the blades. They slowed, bending downward, and fell to the ground at his feet.

“What are you doing?” Number Five yelled at the others. “We have our orders.”

Number Eighteen held out his hands and blinding light began to flash. Pathius held up an arm and squinted against the glare as the blaze pierced his vision. Invisible hands seemed to grab the front of his clothes, trying to pull him to the ground. He held his hand out toward Number Eighteen and Absorbed the energy from the flashes. The light streamed toward him, each burst filling him with power. He braced his feet against Number Seventeen’s Pull, reaching to Absorb Number Seventeen’s energy. The Pull on his clothes released and Number Seventeen slammed him with a Push, strong enough to deflect his energy drain. Number Eighteen doubled over but the afterglow of his flashes still burned in Pathius’s vision.

Pathius’s fatigue melted away as his body filled with power. Breathing deeply, he pulled in the ambient heat from the air. Frost formed on his brow and the cold bit into his skin. His breath misted out in a cloud, even through his mask. “We can break free from Nihil. It doesn’t have to end this way.”

“It does for you,” Number Five said as he unsheathed his sword.

Pathius reached his hands toward Number Five, aiming to drain him dry. Number Seventeen Pulled his arms, yanking them sideways, and dislodged Pathius’s grip. He darted his glance to the side. Number Four was still against the wall, watching with wide eyes.
At least he isn’t attacking me.

“What’s Nihil going to do to you when you get back?” Pathius said, throwing his words at Number Four. “Assuming Number Five lets you live. How long before he destroys every one of us? But if we fight, we could have freedom.” Number Four stayed frozen, backed against the wall, his eyes darting from Pathius to the others.

Number Five advanced and Pathius sent a blast of energy that sent him stumbling back. Reaching for his heat, he Absorbed his energy, feeling the warmth saturate his body. Number Five cried out and Number Eighteen stood, sending flashes of light and a pulse of energy that clouded Pathius’s mind with pain and beat against his vision. He cringed, squeezing his eyes shut and covering his face with his hands. The light still burned behind his eyes and he lost his hold on Number Five.

Number Seventeen’s Pull gripped Pathius and tossed him to the ground on his back. He hit the dirt with a thud, his eyes watering. A weight pressed him down as Number Seventeen Pushed on his chest. He could see Number Five from the corner of his eyes, the sword still in his hand. “Nihil is going to kill all of you,” Pathius said, his voice a gasping croak. “But if we work together, we can be free.”

Number Seventeen pressed harder and drove the air from his chest. Pathius lifted his head and reached out a hand to Pull Number Seventeen’s energy. He began to Absorb and felt the man’s heat pour through his arm, filling him with raging fire. Number Seventeen Pushed back, severing Pathius’s hold, but he let go of the Pressure on his chest. Pathius sucked in a deep breath and surged to his feet, then reached out to hit Number Five with another power drain.

Number Seventeen gripped him again, and the Pressure held his legs. Number Eighteen moved closer, his flashing hands burning Pathius’s eyes and flooding his head with agony. He knew he had only seconds left as Number Five approached with his blade. Spreading his hands, he Pulled all the energy he could reach, sucking it in as the air around him sparkled with frost. Snapping ice spread out along the surface of the tunnel, circling from the floor around the walls to the ceiling, as he Absorbed the heat energy into himself. This might be the end, but there was no way he was going to let Number Five be the one to kill him.

Number Five raised his sword, the ice and frost reflecting the light from Number Eighteen’s hands. Number Seventeen gripped him with Pressure, holding him fast, his arms spread wide.

From the corner of his eye, Pathius could see Number Four spring into motion. He dug into his pouch and drew out a handful of pebbles. Pathius gasped in surprise as Number Four tossed them at the others and jumped toward Pathius with another handful of rocks. The rocks hit, bursting with loud pops, and sent dirt and shards of ice flying into the air. Number Four slammed into Pathius and pushed him backwards, away from the others. An explosion hit at Number Eighteen’s feet and he flew back, hitting the floor of the tunnel. Number Seventeen lost his Pressure on Pathius as he threw his hands up over his face to block the spray of dirt and ice. Number Five turned a shoulder to the blasts and held up his arm to shield his face.

Number Four turned, digging his other hand into his pouch, and emerged with another handful of rocks. Both fists gripped tight, and Pathius could see the rocks glow in his grasp. He threw both handfuls up in the air, and the rocks exploded on impact as they struck the walls and ceiling. The tunnel shook as the ceiling cracked, rocks and dirt pouring down. Pathius scrambled backward, watching as the tunnel collapsed. Through the falling debris he could see Number Five stagger backward. Seventeen and Eighteen stumbled back but the rocks and dirt poured over them, burying them in a pile of rubble.

Another boom echoed from the other side of the collapse and the tunnel shook again, the air heavy with dust and debris. Pathius held his hands out and widened his feet for balance. Number Four looked up at him, his eyes wide as a crack snaked across the floor, the rock cracking with a loud groan. Pathius tried to run back up the tunnel but the ground shuddered and opened under his feet.