The Raising (The Torch Keeper Book 3)

  Now that light’s gone, snuffed out in this senseless war, another casualty, along with the lives of everyone I care about, Cage, Arrah, Drusilla, Dahlia and Corin, all gone because of their association with Lucian Spark.

  Maybe Queran’s right. Maybe the legacy of Lucian Spark isn’t really worth preserving after all. It would be so easy to just give in to the inevitable and let myself be absorbed into who I really am instead of clinging to the façade of a pitiful, false existence.

  And it would be far less painful to forget all the excruciating pain, the terrible losses I’ve suffered.

  “I can understand your conflict,” Queran speaks up as if reading my mind. “Once the process is complete, none of what’s plaguing you now will matter anymore. You will finally find peace. Isn’t that what you really want after all you’ve endured?”

  Who better to understand what I’m feeling than an older, wiser version of myself?

  Queran extends a mechanized hand. “Come with me now and begin a new life, unshackled from the burdens of a past best forgotten.”

  I glance at the holos and outside the tower’s windows, taking in all the destruction surrounding us. When I turn back to Queran, I begin to move closer, extending my own hand to take his—

  Cassius grabs me from behind. Cold silver presses against my neck.

  A sharp blade’s poised against my jugular. Its serrated edge digs into my skin with every breath I take.

  “I think this game has gone on long enough,” Cassius rasps into my ear.

  I twist my neck ever so slightly. “Cassius, what are you—?”

  “Shut up.”

  Panic and anger fill Queran’s face. “Careful now. There’s no need for any hasty decisions. I am sure we can reach a mutually satisfying compromise.”

  Cassius leers at him. “Now that I know there isn’t anything you wouldn’t do to preserve this body,” the blade nicks my throat, drawing blood, “I want you to input the launch codes on that console right now. If you don’t, I slit his throat and toss the body from the tower. There will be no vital organs left for you to harvest, and you’ll be forced to live whatever remaining days you have left in the confines of that stinking suit.”

  Queran’s eyes smolder like bonfires. “You wouldn’t do that. Once you kill him, you’re a dead man. And I’ll make sure your suffering is prolonged before your eventual demise.”

  Cassius laughs. “As long as I’ve prevented you from fulfilling your agenda, I’ll die a happy man, although I wouldn’t count my survival out if I were you. You have no idea who you are dealing with.” He nudges his chin toward the console. “You have five seconds to input those codes before I start cutting.”

  The look on Queran’s face is one of pure hatred. His gaze shifts between Cassius and myself.

  “Time’s up,” Cassius announces. The blade pierces my flesh—

  “Wait.” Queran trundles over to the console and enters the codes.

  Missile launch countdown has been activated, the computer announces. The Nexus facilities will be impacted in T-Minus Ten minutes.

  THIRTY-TWO

  The blade relaxes against my throat. “Excellent,” Cassius crows. “I knew your instinct for self-preservation would ultimately trump whatever scant ideologies you might possess, Queran. Despite the centuries, you still remain a selfish coward. That hasn’t changed.”

  Adrenaline surges through my body. Involuntarily, I activate the opticom.

  On Corin’s channel, he and Cole emerge from the pod’s supply compartment they’ve been hiding in.

  I release a deep breath. They’re both still alive. There’s still a chance they can make it through this.

  Other citizens huddle close by, fear and desperation plastered on their faces.

  Corin shields Cole with his body. “Whatever happens to me, Little Man, you just run as fast as you can and hide.”

  “No more running.” Cole grabs his hand. Then he stares down their attackers and begins to chant.

  “A spark does smolder deep within,

  While Winter’s blow doth burn the skin…,”

  Corin’s voice joins his.

  Look toward the Sky, a flame held high,

  The Season chars, its ashes nigh…”

  The survivors beside them all lock hands, standing their ground and forming a growing human chain as they, too, take up the song.

  “Keep it lit, Keep it burnin’

  All the dreams, all the yearnin’,

  Ole leaves will fall, New moons arise,

  The Keeper sings, the Season cries…”

  Heart racing, I quickly flick to the other channels. The same scene is repeating throughout the Parish, the chorus growing louder and louder, rising above the chaos of the aerial battle as the united crowd surges forward to meet their attackers head on.

  I flick to the last channel.

  Digory’s convulsing face is reflected on the monitor before him. Blood oozes from his nostrils as the seizure gets worse.

  “We did it, Lucian.” He smiles. “I did it.” He collapses against the console.

  I’m stunned by the mention of my name. And that expression on Digory’s face. So full of pain. So full of relief.

  And then I realize, Digory’s been monitoring me all this time, the same way I’ve been observing him.

  The Fleshers aim their weapons—

  And freeze in their tracks.

  “What the hell are you waiting for?” Corin shouts at the biomachines. “Go on now and get it over with you metallic piles of shit.”

  The taunt seems to have its desired effects. But instead of firing on the citizens, the Fleshers whirl and discharge their weapons at the squads of Imps scurrying about like rodents, instead. The civilians seize the opportunity to grab weapons from the dead and dying Imps and join their strange new allies to wage war on Thorn agents.

  The tide of this bloody battle has turned.

  All because of Digory. He must have infected the Flesher Hive with his illness, freeing them of their programming, and finally giving them the autonomy that they’ve always craved.

  Corin lets loose a triumphant whoop. “Looks like there’s been another regime change, Little Man.”

  Cole’s one step ahead of him. He tosses Corin a weapon from one of the fallen Imps, after securing one for himself. Then he scoops up the battered chron and stuffs it into his pocket. “C’mon!”

  With the Fleshers providing cover, Cole and Corin blast their weapons and join the alliance of civvies and Fleshers waging war.

  A surge of hope fills my heart. I switch the opticom’s feed to Cage and Arrah’s channel.

  “Cage, let’s go.” Arrah drags his prone body toward the main server.

  It seems like they’ve only been playing dead at the hands of the Fleshers to buy themselves time. A grin spreads across my face.

  The biomachines ignore them as they stagger toward the computer terminal, both bloodied and bruised.

  “I’m not sure why those things aren’t attacking,” Arrah says. “Let’s just unleash the virus while we’ve got the chance.”

  “Already on it.” Cage shoves the chip into slot and begins inputting keyboard commands.

  Outside the Citadel’s tower, the fleet of Thorn carriers surrounds the devastated Lady Liberty.

  Cass’s lips brush my ear. His dagger cuts deeper into my throat. “How fitting that the last thing you should see is the complete annihilation of your insurrectionist fleet, along with the destruction of all your friends.”

  On the holos monitoring the Thorn fleet, a power surge registers on the readout displays. All ships batteries target the resistance fleet, initiating a countdown to fire. The already crippled Torch Brigade won’t survive the blast. My renewed sense of hope teeters on the brink of despair as I my attentions flits back and forth between the attack on the fleet and the opticom channels.

  “What are you two blokes doing here?” Cage looks up from installing the virus to see Corin and Cole racing toward him and Arra
h.

  Corin smirks. “Why should you two get to be the only ones to play?”

  Arrah shakes her head as she studies her com. “There’s a battalion heading straight for us. They’ll be here before the virus upload’s complete.”

  Corin grins. “Then we’ll just have to slow’em down.”

  Cole tosses charges to him and he wastes no time planting them in the hallway just outside the server room’s doors.

  They’re running out of time. The Thorn fleet has reached maximum firepower.

  “That’s it. Virus is almost uploaded. I’m blowing the hallway now. Take cover!” Cage flicks the switch on the remote detonator.

  Nothing happens.

  Arrah studies the small black box. “The detonator’s been damaged. We’re out of time. Someone’s going to have to stay behind and trigger it manually.”

  Cage’s eyes lock with hers. “Looks like that someone’s going to be me.” His eyes sweep Cole and Corin. “Just make sure you get these two clear of the blast.”

  “Forget it, Cage,” Arrah snaps. “I’m staying.”

  He grabs her by the collar. “We don’t have time to argue—”

  Gunfire blasts down the hallway. Corin whirls, grabs Cole, and pushes him out of the way of the next blast. Blood gushes from the new wound blooming across his chest like a lethal flower.

  Cage drops to his knees and scoops Corin in his arms. His eyes fill with wetness that cuts through the grime coating his cheeks. “Hang on, Mate. We’re gonna get you back to base—”

  Corin grabs his hand and coughs up a gout of blood. “You’re such…a bad…liar…” his smile reveals bloody teeth. “We both know….I’m done playin’…” He looks up at Arrah. “Now get me to that detonator….and make sure you get…the kid…out…”

  “No. We can’t leave him,” Cole punches Cage and tries to wriggle out of his grasp. But Cage carries him away.

  Arrah buries her face in her hands. Then she nods and carries Corin over to the detonation switch. She gives him a fierce hug and kiss before sprinting away to join the others.

  “Prepare to fire,” The Thorn fleet commander orders through the bridge speakers at the Citadel.

  On the opticom feeds, Corin smiles at Arrah, Cage, and Cole from a distance. Another stray shot hits him in the neck. He slumps forward, jamming his hand on the control switch in his death throes.

  My whole body’s tense. I switch off the opticom feeds, unable to bear them anymore, and gaze at the holos.

  “Something’s wrong!” the Thorn fleet commander shouts.

  One by one, the guidance systems on the Thorn craft shut down, powering down the ships’ defenses and weapons’ systems. All the vessels begin to drift aimlessly, some crashing into each other. More massive explosions fill the skies.

  Seizing advantage of this unexpected reprieve, the remaining resistance ships swoop in and bombard the drifting Thorn battalions with all their firepower. Guided missiles zig zag across the horizon like fiery comets, erupting in brilliant arrays of color and smoke, even as they disintegrate their targets.

  “What is this?” His hold on my neck tightens, making it difficult to breathe.

  “Looks like you underestimated your opponents.” The satisfaction drips through Queran’s tone, despite the voice-modulation. “Your entire world is crumbling around you, Thorn.”

  Five minutes left until Nexus missile launch.

  Cassius sighs at this announcement. “Actually, it’s everything you built that’s about to crumble, Queran. First Nexus, and then the Establishment. But first,” he pushes the tip of the blade against my throat, drawing blood, “I’m going to make sure you will never be able to return. This time, your death will be final—”

  An explosion rocks the tower. The power flickers. Through the windows, a Thorn carrier hurtles toward the surface, trailed by chunks of debris from the Tower’s antennae. Shards of glass and superheated metal spray through the chamber. I seize advantage of Cassius’s temporary distraction and ram an elbow into his ribcage where Delvecchio shot him.

  He yelps and loosens his grip, just enough for me to grab hold of his arm and yank it away, spinning and kicking him in the gut. But his grip’s too powerful. We both topple onto the ground. I’m trapped underneath his weight, grabbing his wrists as he attempts to jam the dagger in my chest. Being on top gives him the edge. The blade dips closer to my chest.

  His eyes are molten pools. “Why…did you make…me do this…?”

  Hot drool flows from his lips onto my cheeks. His face grows crimson. He forces the tip of the blade into my skin—

  Focusing all of my energy, I knee him in the groin, thrusting my hands upward, ramming him in the forehead with the dagger’s hilt. I hurl him off me and roll out of his reach.

  We both spring to our feet, facing each other.

  He peels the remnants of his tattered shirt away. Blood’s oozing from the wound in his chest down to his abdomen. Yet he’s grinning at me. “Not bad. But the end result’s going to be the same.”

  I curl my hands into fists. “This has been a long time coming, Cassius. It ends now.”

  Our eyes deadlock for a moment. We charge toward each other like wild animals.

  Just before we make contact, I leap and spin, clipping his chin with a kick of my foot.

  Arching his body backwards at the last second, he escapes the full impact of the blow and drops to his knees.

  His fists pummel my gut.

  Something cracks, and I double over in pain.

  Cassius is relentless. He grabs a broken support strut and wields it like a club toward me. I duck, just as it smashes into the marble column where my head was a split-second ago.

  He wipes the blood from his chin. “You’re quick, I’ll give you that. But I was always quicker.” The smile disappears from his face, smothered in rage. “I can’t believe I struggled over sparing your life when I discovered the truth. That I had pity on you.” Pulling the club free, he raises it again. “I assure you, I won’t be making that mistake again.”

  Cassius swings the club down. I roll out of the way and it smashes into the marble floor. Before he can launch another attack, I smash my foot down on a fallen plank, which catapults a hunk of still smoldering metal debris directly at him.

  It hits him in the face. He cries out in pain, swatting at the burning fragments. I leap and tackle him full-force. The impact sends us both crashing through one of the tower’s already cracked windows.

  We crash onto a rickety circular platform around ten feet in diameter, connected to the control room by a narrow beam. Jutting from the center of the platform is a towering communications spire.

  Our bodies intertwine. We come to a rough stop in a tangle of limbs, broken glass, and debris, facing each other, buffeted by the winds

  “I never wanted things to end this way,” he groans. “I really did love you.”

  I feel like I’ve been run over by a Trundler. All my limbs ache. My insides feel like they’ve been squeezed in a vise. “Why?” Is all I can muster the energy to whisper.

  “The more we love someone, the deeper the pain they can inflict.”

  Staring into his eyes, it’s all coming back to me. “When I was…Queran….my father married your mother when we were both fourteen. You were…Lisandro. My Lisandro.”

  His smile is caked with blood. “Step brothers who eventually grew to love each other much more deeply than two people ever could.”

  Unfathomable pain fills me, not from my wounds, but from somewhere deep inside of me, a vault in my brain I’ve never accessed as Lucian Spark. “It was me, wasn’t it? I was the one that decided to use you as Case 1. I’m the one responsible for all the pain you endured even though I loved you more than anything in the world.”

  He struggles to move closer to me. “That’s right. You condemned me to an existence of eternal suffering.”

  “But why would I do that?” I feel I already know the answer to this question, but I can’t bring myself to face
it.

  Cassius crawls closer. His breath’s hot in my ear. “Maybe you’ll remember when you watch Tycho die. I made sure I programmed the nanotech in his body to make him suffer even more than I ever did. And when the excruciating pain is finally too much for him to bear and he succumbs, you’ll know it’s because of you and everything you’ve done.”

  A gush of anger fills me. “I hate you.” Rolling on top of him, I wrap my hands around his throat, squeezing them tighter and tighter.

  He tries to claw my fingers away, but my grip’s relentless. Not only has Cassius caused me so much pain and grief, he’s also destroyed the lives of those I love the most. Cole and Digory.

  With an earsplitting crack, the already damaged platform beneath us gives way. I struggle to hold on to the communications spire with one hand, hanging on to Cassius with the other, both of us dangling hundreds of feet in the air.

  “Queran…Lucian…whoever you are…help me,” he gasps.

  “That’s it,” Queran says behind me. “Finish him off. Take your revenge.”

  My mind exists in two places at once. Holding on to a young man. Cassius. His face burned. Pleading with me…

  “Lucian, please…”

  Queran, help me.

  Last time, jealousy and envy ruled my emotions. I loved him so much. But he was going to go away and leave me. After everything we shared—

  It’s all coming back to me now. So vivid. Like it just happened.

  The heat searing my skin from the inferno below. I’m barely clinging to the inside of the ship’s open hatch as the attack craft zooms through the ash and haze. My hand’s slick with sweat. I grip on to his, struggling not to let go.

  “Queran,” he shouts over the roar of the flames and the aircraft’s engines. “I can’t hold on much longer.”

  My arm feels like it’s being ripped from its socket, but still I hold on. He’s the man I love, after all, even though he’s gone behind my back, earned my father’s favor. I’ll pull him into the ship, and we’ll both be safe. And then he’ll go on to join my father and take everything away that should rightfully be mine. It’s so unfair. I earned it. I’m the one that endured all of my father’s drunken beatings, the broken bones, the public humiliations. All I ever wanted was his approval. And now this young man that’s my brother, my lover, my best friend—he’s going to take all that away from me.