Invaders

  “What did I say to you?” I spat, darting forward to protect Stone.

  “What are you going to do, exactly?” Ezra taunted.

  “One of these days I will wipe that smug little smirk off your face, and then you’ll be sorry for everything you have ever done to us,” I ranted, spurred on by the irritation of Commander Mahlo’s instructions.

  Ezra grinned. “Like I said, I’m quaking in my boots.”

  I wanted to lunge at him, but Navan’s voice held me back.

  “Ezra, have your men put Stone on the ship. As soon as we’re on the gangway, we’ll give you Orion.” His voice was steady and unflustered, his face a perfect mask of serenity. He had the right attitude; it wouldn’t do any good for me to lose my temper, with so much still at stake.

  Ezra arched an eyebrow. “That’s not—” he began, but Orion cut him off.

  “Do as he says, Ezra. They have given us the power to wield the nudus dome, and though we may relinquish them today, we will face them again tomorrow,” he said firmly.

  “Chief—”

  “Do not disobey me, Ezra. Their weapon is useless; they are no threat to us while we have the dome over our heads,” he pressed. “Once they are beyond the shield, they cannot do much else. It is the peace we need.” Even as a hostage, he seemed to be the one in charge of this operation. I had to commend him for that.

  “Very well,” Ezra muttered, clicking his fingers at the nearby rebels and instructing them to carry Stone on board the small ship, which was grounded off to the right. He didn’t look happy about it, but it was clear he didn’t dare defy his leader.

  Watching the rebel coldbloods pick up Stone with surprising care, I walked back over to where Navan stood with Lazar, both of them gripping Orion’s shoulders. The one-eyed coldblood had a weird expression on his face, which was proving difficult to read.

  I realized I’d broken my promise—we hadn’t asked about the notebook, and it didn’t seem like he dared to. Part of me felt guilty, but the other part felt hopeful. If Orion and Ezra hadn’t given the notebook to their rebel alchemists, then that meant there was something amiss with it. Perhaps, after all of this, it didn’t have anything valuable in it after all. That was the only reason I could think of to explain why they hadn’t given it directly to their alchemists. It didn’t make sense that they’d kept it to themselves, unless there was nothing to gain from it.

  “You should come with us,” I told Lazar, as a peace offering. He’d helped us, at great personal risk, and that was worth a lot.

  Lazar shook his head. “I’ll help you carry Orion over to the gangway, but I have to stay here. I go wherever my alchemy work goes, and there is much for me to discover.”

  “But they’ll kill you for betraying them.”

  He smiled. “They won’t. I’m too valuable to them.”

  Frustrated, but knowing we didn’t have the time to spare, I understood that we had to leave him behind. If he wanted to stay here and risk the wrath of Ezra and the rebels, then that was his choice. I just hoped his confidence didn’t let him down. Despite the bad blood between us, I didn’t want him to be executed for helping us.

  “Come on,” Navan urged me. “If he won’t come with us, leave him here.”

  I nodded sadly as he and Lazar picked up Orion and led him over to the waiting ship. Stone was already safely inside, with the rebels hurrying back out onto the rooftop to join Ezra. I took Navan’s blade from him, wielding it in case someone tried anything on our way to the ship, but the rebels seemed unnervingly subdued. Evidently, they thought they were going to get their leader back without any blood needing to be spilled and didn’t feel like exacerbating the situation.

  Well… they were half right.

  My heart thundered in my chest as Navan and Lazar carried Orion to the top of the gangway, where they set him down, facing his comrades. Lazar headed back down, leaving us to our own devices. As Navan and I took a step back into the belly of the vessel, I rested my palm on the mechanism that pulled in the gangway. Navan glanced down at me, frowning as his eyes drifted to my hand on the controls. Understanding washed over his features, as my other hand gripped the chip-device.

  “Wait a moment,” he whispered, before disappearing into the cockpit. A few seconds later, the engine thrummed to life. Below us, Ezra’s eyes narrowed.

  “Orion, you can stand and walk back to your fellow rebels,” I announced, watching as Ezra’s shoulders instantly relaxed.

  He’d gotten halfway down when I triggered a shock. Orion crumpled to the floor. The rebels surged forward to get to him, but it was too late; the gangway was retracting at speed, and my arms were outstretched to pull Orion in, using his momentum to drag him the last few feet into the belly of the ship. I was almost crushed beneath his weight as I hauled him backward, but it was worth it to see the hatch automatically close on the advancing rebels as the ship surged upward, taking us away from them. Somehow, we’d managed to win this one.

  Wriggling free of Orion’s weight, and keeping him on the ground with another cursory shock, I scrambled to my feet and hurried to the window, wanting to see Ezra’s reaction. I hated that man so much, and I was desperate to see the shock on his face. However, as I looked down, Ezra was standing with his arms folded, his face blank, showing no surprise or sorrow at his leader being stolen away. All around him, the other rebels were livid, shaking their fists up at the ship and stretching out their wings as if to follow us.

  I saw Ezra’s mouth move, telling them not to chase us. The other rebels stared at him as though he were crazy, but they did as he asked, retracting their wings. A shiver of dread bristled up my spine. It almost seemed like Ezra had let us get away. After all, he hadn’t put up much of a fight. At any point, he could have snatched Orion back with force, but he hadn’t even tried. He’d let me wander around the side of the rooftop to take a call, and he hadn’t balked at the idea of us taking his ship, with an ambaka on board. Stone might not be in the best state, but he still had powerful potential.

  I felt sick, realizing it had all been too easy. Was this what Orion and Ezra had planned all along? Had Orion wanted to be captured? He had seemed pretty eager not to let Ezra stop us, and Lazar had been so confident that the rebels wouldn’t execute him for his betrayal. Had we walked straight into their trap, believing ourselves to be the hunters instead of the hunted?

  I turned toward the spot where Orion lay curled up on the floor, keeping my finger on the trigger that activated the chip.

  Slowly, he sat up, staring up at me with a small smile and a faraway look in his eyes.

  Chapter Thirteen

  With Navan at the helm, putting a cloaking barrier over the ship, we passed through the shimmering blue haze of the nudus dome. We couldn’t go back inside without someone who wore a nudus to open up a gap in the dome’s shield, following the same rules we’d witnessed on Glossa. Stone was one such bearer, but he was in no state to do any wielding right now. He was slumped on the far side of the main space, totally unconscious. The only thing that told me he wasn’t dead was the gentle glow of the nudus on his wrist.

  Given our status as enemies within the base, and the fact that we were massively outnumbered, we’d had no choice but to retreat. At least we had Orion and Stone to show for it, even if my enthusiasm over Orion’s successful capture was waning slightly. Ezra’s face was going to haunt me for a long time to come, prompting my brain to overthink every single action we’d taken.

  Plucking the comms device out of my pocket, I linked it up to the last channel that had connected to it. “Commander Mahlo, this is Captain Idrax speaking.”

  “Go ahead, Captain Idrax. It is good to hear from you.”

  “We’re heading up to Lunar HQ right now, so please don’t shoot us down. We’ve got Stone and Orion on board.”

  “You do?” Commander Mahlo sounded shocked.

  “It wasn’t easy, but we’ve got them both.” I didn’t want to break the news of my suspicions just yet, not if it was jus
t my overactive imagination putting thoughts in my head. “Stone is injured and will need medical attention, and I’d send your toughest soldiers to put Orion into custody.”

  “Noted, Captain. We look forward to your arrival. There’s much for us to catch up on, though there will be time for you and Navan to recuperate when you return,” she said kindly.

  “Thank you, Commander.”

  “The gratitude is entirely ours.” With that, she cut the transmission, leaving me to my paranoid thoughts. I wondered what state we’d find the Lunar HQ in—everyone would, no doubt, be running around like headless chickens, trying to get everything in order for the end of the ceasefire. I was very much looking forward to a bit of recuperation. Ever since we’d left the HQ, I’d been operating on pure adrenaline, but I could sense it starting to leave my system now that we were moving away from the rebel base and all the dangers therein. It wouldn’t be long before I barely had the energy to stand.

  I wished I could go to Navan and curl up in his lap like a kitten, falling soundly asleep with his arms around me. But someone had to fly this thing, and someone had to keep an eye on Orion. So, even though there was only a short distance between us, I had to stay put. His comfort could wait, though I was looking forward to that, too.

  Drifting out of Earth’s atmosphere, we flew toward the moon, arriving at the hidden headquarters within half an hour of leaving the planet. Other ships could do it faster, but this rebel vessel wasn’t exactly the most state of the art.

  “Permission to descend,” Navan’s voice echoed from the cockpit.

  “Permission granted,” another voice replied.

  I walked up to the window to watch the landscape change from barren lunar terrain to the shiny curved domes of the Fed HQ. It was always cool to see the frosted craters disappear and give way to smooth chrome. In fact, I wasn’t sure I’d ever get over how astonishing barrier technologies could be, no matter who was using them. It felt like crossing the border between dimensions.

  Below us, a large group of lycan agents was waiting on the ground, each of them armed to the teeth. It looked like Commander Mahlo had heeded my suggestion. With a hostage like Orion, I was glad she had—there was no telling what he might do if this had been his plan all along. I’d checked him for explosives and trackers, even scouring his neck for any sign of other injected chips, but he appeared to be clean. It didn’t mean he wasn’t up to something, though.

  A few moments later, another pair of agents hurried out of the front entrance of the headquarters as the ship set down on the ground, the two of them carrying a stretcher between them. I glanced at Stone, who was lolling against the wall, his face sickeningly pale. Honestly, if it hadn’t been for that nudus on his wrist, I’d have faced the facts and called him a lost cause.

  As soon as we landed, I opened the hatch and let the lycan agents run up the gangway to deal with Orion. They muttered something about being short-staffed as they passed, but they seemed to be doing okay with what they had. The two agents who were carrying the stretcher came up next, hoisting Stone onto it before hurrying away again, taking the ambaka off to the medical unit for some much-needed attention. I watched him go, praying for a speedy recovery.

  “Play nice,” a lycan growled as they wrapped a gag around Orion’s mouth and proceeded to drag him out of the ship in cuffs, toward the headquarters. He dragged his feet, making a show of fighting against them, but I wasn’t convinced by the act. Ezra had shaken me to the core.

  Navan joined me in the main body of the ship, taking my hand as he led me down the gangway, both of us following the path of Orion and Stone. Everyone we passed as we entered the HQ looked haggard and exhausted, but the arrival of an important prisoner seemed to have buoyed them up, giving them a crucial dose of hope. A few nodded their heads to us, while others patted us on the back and congratulated us, but I knew the battle wasn’t won yet.

  “Where can we find Commander Mahlo?” Navan asked, stopping a passing lycan.

  “The commander is busy planning the retaliation attack at the moment. She won’t be out of meetings for a few hours, though I imagine she will want to debrief with you as soon as she’s done,” he replied. “In the meantime, if you’re looking for the other members of your group, they’re currently in the serenity room on the second floor.”

  I shot Navan an excited look as we thanked the agent and carried on toward the room he’d mentioned. “Do you think he means…?”

  “I hope so,” he murmured, squeezing my hand as he leaned down and kissed my forehead.

  We were lucky to be alive. I cast a glance over my shoulder to make sure nobody was looking before pulling Navan to an abrupt halt. He gave me a curious look, but I didn’t give him time to wonder as I lifted up on tiptoe and pressed my lips to his, looping my arms around his neck. His hands slipped around my waist, wrapping me up in a tight embrace. We didn’t have time for much more, but it was enough to keep me going. If I couldn’t have adrenaline, then he would have to be my energy source.

  “I love you,” I whispered against his lips.

  “I love you so much,” he replied, catching mine in a passionate kiss.

  I smiled as I pulled away. “I just wanted to do that, considering we almost died a couple of times today.”

  “You don’t ever need a reason to kiss me, wifey. Although, if you were to have a reason, that’s a pretty good one.” A soft laugh pealed from his throat, easing my unsteady nerves.

  After fifteen minutes of walking, we realized we were lost. The headquarters were like a maze, and though we’d been sure we were going in the right direction, we’d somehow ended up on the fourth floor with no idea how to get back down to the second. The anticipation of seeing who had returned was more than I could stand.

  “Excuse me, could you tell us where the serenity room on the second floor is?” I asked, catching another lycan agent by the arm. There were merevin agents wandering around, too, but I figured they’d be just as clueless as us, since this wasn’t their base of operations.

  The female lycan gave us thorough directions, pointing us toward an elevator hidden in a wall panel.

  “Thank you. This place is like a labyrinth.” I flashed her a wry smile.

  “You get used to it after a while,” she assured us. She was about to turn, when Navan called her back.

  “Do you know if Bashrik was one of the people who returned?” His tone was nervous.

  The lycan frowned. “Bashrik?”

  “Yeah, he’s a coldblood. He looks like me.”

  She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Yes, I believe there was another coldblood who returned with the other three a couple of hours ago.”

  “Thank you.”

  “No problem.” With that, she turned and walked away, leaving us to exchange a worried look. The lycan agent should’ve said other four, not three. Neither of us dared to say it out loud, but that surely meant that one of our friends hadn’t made it back. I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out who was missing.

  Following the instructions she’d given us, Navan and I walked down the hallway and entered the elevator, saying nothing about what we might find when we reached the serenity room. Nonetheless, I clung to Navan’s side, snuggling close to his chest as he wrapped a comforting arm around me. With a whirr of machinery, the elevator took us down to the second floor, opening out onto another set of identical white-and-chrome-walled hallways. This place really was like a maze.

  We came to a halt in front of an ordinary-looking door. On a plaque beside it there were some words. I looked up at Navan expectantly.

  “It’s the serenity room,” he said, with a half smile.

  Not bothering to knock, I turned the handle and pushed the door open, stepping into the room beyond. Familiar faces turned to look at us. I felt my knees shake, my whole body turning to jelly as I saw Bashrik, Angie, and Lauren sitting on sofas up ahead, as if nothing had happened… as if they’d never been away. Tears pricked my eyes, and a sob caught in the back of my th
roat. They looked a bit battered and worn, with a couple of scrapes and bruises, but there were smiles on their faces and they appeared to be okay, all things considered.

  “I don’t know how many more times I can take being separated and reunited in one lifetime. I’m going to have a coronary by the time I’m twenty!” Angie joked, rushing over to where I stood.

  “How’s Stone?” Lauren and Bashrik asked in unison, prompting them to exchange a weird look.

  “Not too good, I’m afraid,” Navan replied, while Lauren bundled me into her arms and squeezed me tight.

  Bashrik frowned, giving his brother a hug. “What do you mean?”

  “He was more or less unconscious by the time we got him away from the base, and he’s been unresponsive ever since,” Navan explained, as Bashrik moved on to me, pulling me into a warm embrace. It felt so good to see them all again that I almost forgot there were two people missing.

  Lauren looked as though someone had just punched her in the gut, her head shaking slowly from side to side. “Will he live?” she rasped, her voice barely a whisper.

  “The medics are doing everything they can,” I said, moving to comfort her. “And that little nudus on his wrist has proven to be the most incredible thing. It refused to leave him when the rest abandoned ship, and it’s been a constant sign of hope. As long as it’s glowing, we know he’s alive. Last I saw, there was still a glow.”

  “Do you mean it? You aren’t just saying that?”

  “I wouldn’t give you false hope, Lauren,” I promised, as Angie took over the comforting duties.

  “Hey, if anyone’s got the skills to cheat death it’s that three-eyed renegade of yours. He’s probably already got something tucked up his sleeve, ready to whip out when danger calls,” she assured her. “And it’s not what you’re thinking about, so get your mind out of the gutter!” A small smile tugged at Lauren’s lips as Angie joked. It truly was her gift, to make people smile when they didn’t think it was possible.