Alec thrust more energy toward her. “How?”
“I tried… I tried to knock her off the beam in the basement,” she said on a gasp.
Seara made a choked cry, her hand flying to her mouth. She turned away as though unable to listen anymore. Alec’s hand tightened reflexively around Brianna’s arm. “Did you try to kill Kayla by opening the doors?”
“Yes. I just wanted her to be gone,” she croaked, her eyes now wide with panic while tears streamed down her face. “I didn’t care how. If she stayed, I wouldn’t have had a chance with you. She doesn’t deserve to be bonded to the council leader.”
Alec released her. Brianna collapsed to the floor, shaking and sobbing. Her testimony had doomed her. He felt a smidgen of pity for the pathetic creature in front of him, but not enough to intervene on her behalf. This was his fault as much as it was hers. He should have known Brianna was unbalanced. He certainly knew her penchant for manipulation, but attempting to kill Kayla was an entirely different matter.
Alec waved his hand toward Director Borshin. “Have her imprisoned while we determine a suitable punishment.”
Brianna sobbed even louder, pleading in high-pitched wails that she was sorry. Alec ignored her, going over to Kayla’s mother instead. “I’m sorry, Seara. This was my fault. I never should have—”
Seara held up her hand to stop him. “No, Alec. You’ve spent your whole life taking the blame for your father’s poor decisions. You will not take the blame for that woman now.”
He took a deep breath and turned back to Commander Thomas. “I assume you have more to report? Brianna couldn’t have been responsible for anything that happened on the surface. She’s manipulative and deceitful, but she’s not a mastermind to coordinate something like this.”
“I agree,” Commander Thomas said. “We have not found any ties between Brianna Kisbell and the Coalition. I believe this incident to be… of a personal nature.” He cleared his throat and added, “There is a leak within OmniLab, and I believe some of our security and infrastructure have been compromised. We’re doing our best to isolate the leak, but it appears it’s more extensive than we first thought.”
“And what about Kayla? Where is she now?” Seara asked, beginning to regain her composure.
“We aren’t sure yet,” Commander Thomas replied. “We’re retracing her last known steps. We don’t know if the surface dwellers abandoned their camp before or after the Coalition arrived. Our team is investigating and regrouping now.”
Alec’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have the camp’s new coordinates?”
Veridian interrupted and shook his head. “You’re not going to find her like that. Leo probably bailed when he found out about the conflict between OmniLab and the Coalition. He won’t let his people get caught in the middle. Kayla won’t stay with them either. She’ll find out where they’re heading but stay as far away from them as possible to protect them.”
Seara sat down in her chair. “He’s right, Alec. Kayla will want to protect her former campmates. Now that she’s delivered their supplies, I’m sure she’s trying to locate Carl. That’s where you need to focus your efforts. If Lars finds her…” Her voice trailed off.
Alec frowned. He turned away from the table and looked out the window across the desolate landscape, trying to get control of his emotions. “Thomas, I want you to activate the tracker in her bloodstream. It’ll take about thirty minutes to start getting a reading, but the entire duration will only last a few short hours. I want to be informed as soon as you have her coordinates. I’ll accompany your team to retrieve her.”
Seara’s eyes widened in shock. “You had a tracker injected into her?”
Alec’s jaw clenched, and he gave her a curt nod. “The deception was necessary, Seara. If I have to clip your daughter’s wings, so be it, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let anything happen to her.”
“I cannot fault you for this, Alec,” she murmured. “Not if it will save her life.”
Veridian pushed away from the table and stood. “With all due respect, I’m asking you to reconsider. Kayla asked me to stay and try to convince you not to go to the surface. I don’t understand everything between you two, but she was convinced Lars is going to try to kill you. She said something about him challenging you for her bond.”
Seara paled, her knuckles turning white as they gripped her armrest. “Alec, is this true? Is that Lars’s intention?”
Alec clenched his fists. “That’s irrelevant. It will not happen.”
Seara stared at him. “You can’t be serious, Alec. This must be a trap. He’s trying to lure you out of the towers to challenge your bond. How could he even be considering such a thing? What is Kayla to him?”
“Nothing more than vengeance,” he replied in a cold voice. “Lars still blames me for my father’s actions. As he should.”
Seara stood, fury causing her to shake. “That’s absurd. You were a child. No child is ever responsible for their parents’ actions. I don’t know if we can reason with Lars, but Trenon Noltreck is a good and honorable man. He stood by my husband’s side as one of his most valued advisors. Kayla said she met him while she was on the surface in the Coalition camp. We just need to find a way to contact him. I can’t imagine he would allow something like this to happen.”
Veridian rubbed his chin. “I might have a way. If I can get a message to my former camp, they may be able to let the Coalition know you’re trying to contact him.”
Seara nodded. “Do what you can, Veridian. We need to explore every avenue to avoid more bloodshed.”
Alec turned back to Thomas. “In the meantime, I want to be on the surface in the next thirty minutes. We have a limited amount of time to locate Kayla once you’ve activated the tracker. I won’t risk your men losing her again.”
“Alec, don’t make any rash decisions,” Seara urged. “Give us time to talk to Trenon.”
Alec took a deep, steadying breath. Time was exactly what they didn’t have. “I don’t have a choice in this, Seara. If Lars is already on Kayla’s trail, there’s a chance he could find her before we can get to her. I won’t risk him harming her. If he wants a challenge, by the gods, he’ll get a challenge.”
Seara squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her head. “That’s your right as Kayla’s bondmate, Alec.” She took a deep breath and lifted her gaze to meet his. “I won’t allow you to go alone though. Thomas, make the arrangements and notify the High Council that leadership of the towers is temporarily in their control. Marcus Staghorn and Devan Alivette shall act as High Council liaisons in our absence. I’ll accompany the retrieval team.”
Thomas bowed. “Of course, Mistress Rath’Varein. I’ll make the arrangements immediately.”
As the security commander left the room, Alec took a step toward the woman who had acted as a surrogate mother to him for more than a decade. “Seara, don’t do this. It would be safer for you to stay in the towers.”
Seara gave Alec a sad smile and shook her head. “No, Alec. If history is about to repeat itself, I refuse to stay behind in the towers this time. I won’t lose my family again.” She moved to stand next to him and put her hand on his arm. “And you, Alec, are my family just as much as Kayla. I won’t stand by and lose either of you.”
Kayla wrapped her arm around Felix’s waist and held on while they sped across the arid landscape. They passed ruined and collapsed buildings, heading deeper into Carl’s district. She didn’t need to look back to know Brant was right on their tail; the energy sparked and crackled around him. She nearly snorted at the thought of all the times he’d given her a hard time about leaking energy. The man was a freaking geyser and struggled to control it.
Although she normally hated being a passenger, she was thankful Felix had insisted on driving. The energy transference still had her feeling shaky. Brant, on the other hand, was wired like he’d stuck his finger into a live electrical socket.
“Not sure it’s a good idea to be heading underground,” Felix told her
over the headset.
“It’s not ideal, but we don’t have many options. After the earthquake hit, Carl ordered a secondary exit route installed. We shouldn’t get trapped underground if someone shows up,” Kayla advised.
Felix chuckled. “I almost respect that trader of yours. He’s just about as clever as you.”
Kayla smiled and gave Felix’s midsection a tighter squeeze. He had no idea. That was one of the things she adored about Carl. The thought of his unknown whereabouts caused her smile to fade. They needed to get to the cavern and try to see if Brant could locate him. If that didn’t work, she was nearly out of options. She’d either have to hope Alec would find him or offer herself up to Lars. Neither option was very appealing.
“We’re almost there,” Kayla spoke into her headset as she noted the familiar landmarks.
For the most part, they were driving blind. They’d deactivated the normal guidance system to evade OmniLab and the Coalition for as long as possible. Between Felix managing to scramble the detection systems and Mack offering a distraction, she hoped they had enough time to find Carl’s location.
“Head east about ten klicks and you’ll see the marker for Sector Twelve. There’s an old building still standing nearby where we can hide the speeders from view.”
Felix turned the speeder and headed in the direction Kayla indicated. He slowed as they approached the building and pulled into the partially collapsed structure. They didn’t bother to set up the UV guard; it would just be another indicator advertising their location. Their best bet was to get below ground and out of the range of any aerial detection.
Brant parked beside them, and Kayla motioned for the two men to follow her. Since Carl had begun some preliminary excavations, equipment had been left in place for them to drop down without having to set up their own. Even so, she bent down and ran a quick check to make sure it was sound. On the surface, the smallest mistakes could sometimes be the deadliest.
Satisfied that everything was in order, she climbed into a harness. At Brant’s perplexed look, she chuckled and showed him how to use the unfamiliar equipment. Sometimes it was hard to remember he’d spent his life in the towers and all of this was new to him.
Kayla slapped her gloved hand against the button to begin lowering the cable. It wasn’t as safe to drop down without a spotter, but it was far more dangerous to stay above ground where Lars or the Coalition might find them.
As they descended into the ruins, Felix said, “I don’t have a good feeling about this, crazy girl. Your Omni boy here doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing. There’s no way to know if this energy thing is going to help you find your lost trader.”
Kayla gripped the cable and glanced down, trying to judge the distance to the bottom. “Me neither, but I don’t have any other ideas. I’m not going back to the towers yet, and I won’t endanger any other ruin rat camps.”
“This Lars guy really seems to want OmniLab’s council leader,” Felix mused. “Why not just give him up? Regardless of the outcome, you’ll be out of danger and so will your trader.”
Brant shifted in the harness awkwardly and glared at the ruin rat. “You seem to forget Master Tal’Vayr is the one currently holding your trading contract. Endangering him could jeopardize the entire infrastructure of the towers.”
Felix snorted as they reached the bottom. “You seem to forget I don’t give a fuck about your towers, your trading contract, or your leader. I’m only interested in getting Kayla out of this situation alive.”
Once her feet touched the floor, Kayla unhooked her harness and dropped it to the ground. She leaned over and yanked off Brant’s harness, tossing it aside.
“I’m going to do my best to make sure Alec and Carl get out of this safely. I don’t want anything to happen to either of them.” She put her hands on her hips and looked at Brant. “All I want is one more shot at trying to find Carl my way. If you can’t locate him using my energy, I’ll agree to contact Alec. Deal?”
Brant hesitated and then nodded.
Kayla turned back to the dark-haired ruin rat. “I get it, Felix. I hated the towers for a long time too, but I’ve started to get to know some people there.” She sighed and adjusted the light on her helmet, sweeping her gaze around the dilapidated room. “The people in the towers aren’t that different from us. In some ways, they’re more trapped than we are on the surface. Their trap is just a gilded cage. If anything, I pity most of them. They’ve never known what true freedom feels like.”
Felix frowned. Kayla took a step forward, pushing some debris aside with the toe of her boot. “Once all this is said and done, I’m going to do everything in my power to build that damn tower for the ruin rats. We need to stop living apart and start working together. The Omnis don’t know how to navigate the surface, and they need us to help find more resources. In return, they have access to things we don’t.”
She motioned for them to follow and tentatively led the way through the ruined rooms of what once was an upscale apartment house. “I think it’s time to get rid of these trading posts and the old ways of doing things. If we’re all going to survive what’s to come, we need to work with the Omnis to accomplish our goals. We need each other, whether we like it or not. So please, Felix, can you put aside your contempt for OmniLab for a little while?”
Felix swore under his breath and stepped over a partially collapsed wall. “You’re killing me here, Kayla.” She halted and looked back at him. At her insistent glare, he shrugged. “Yeah, fine. I told you’d I’d help, so let’s do it.”
“Good,” she agreed and headed deeper into the ruins with the two men following behind her.
The familiar pathway had been cleared more than she’d anticipated. New stability supports had been installed, and more than a few crates of supplies had been brought down. Carl had definitely been busy.
A rush of energy swirled around her as she approached the natural cavern. She now recognized it as the same energy that had prompted her to look in that direction in the first place. It was familiar, like an old friend. It was almost as though that particular thread of energy had been waiting years for her to call upon it.
They reached the natural cavern, and she had to bend slightly to enter the area. The two larger men had a bit more trouble. Although Carl and his crew had widened the passage, it was still narrow. They’d also installed some lighting to help offset the dark interior. They’d still need to do a great deal more excavation to move in the rest of the equipment and bring in a crew to run a full analysis though. It would probably take one or two fully manned teams to utilize the river to its fullest potential. That was even without knowing its origins or where it led.
Kayla pressed her gloved hand against the rocky wall. “We’re almost there. The ground is slippery once we drop down, so be careful.”
Both men murmured their acknowledgement. Kayla gripped the edge of the opening and dropped down, recalling the last time she’d been in the cavern. Hopefully, Brant could keep her from causing any more earthquakes this time.
As she moved toward the center of the cavern and the underground river, she pulled off her helmet and gloves. Brushing her hair away from her face, she inhaled deeply. The air was heavy and thick with moisture. Glancing back at the two men, she saw equal signs of astonishment. Until now, they had only seen images of the cavern and river. The reality was something completely different.
“This is incredible,” Felix whispered almost reverently. “Fuck me, Kayla. How the hell did you find this?”
She bit her lip. If the ruin rats and Omnis were going to work together, they needed to start revealing some of these secrets that kept them segregated. Besides, she owed Felix nothing less than the truth. “Well, you know all the energy stuff we’ve been mentioning?”
At Felix’s nod, she explained, “I don’t really understand what all of it means, but I have the ability to sense missing or lost objects. When I was down here before, I caused an earthquake and a passage opened. I followed the trail of
energy and it led me here.” She turned toward the rushing water, feeling a sense of rightness about being in this space. Everything had been leading her here for so long. She just didn’t know why. “I guess the river was lost and waiting for me to find it.”
Felix frowned. “That’s what all that energy talk was about?” He jerked his thumb at Brant. “And why you insisted on bringing this guy along? How long have you known about this?”
Kayla sighed. “Not long. It wasn’t until Alec brought me to the towers and showed me I had these abilities. I must have blocked it out when I was a kid. Maybe it was self-preservation or something.” Leo would have probably left her in the ruins if he’d had even a small inkling about her secret talents. She shrugged. “I don’t know. I still don’t know how to use the energy very well, but I’m hoping Brant can help me with that. If we can get an idea where Carl’s being held, we can tell Alec where to focus his search. I was hoping Mack could help narrow down the location of the Coalition camp, but that’s out of the question now. I’m not sure how close I need to be to find Carl.”
Felix nodded and knelt next to a stalagmite, investigating the surface upward until it united with a stalactite. She watched him for a moment and turned to Brant. “What do you think? Are you ready to try this?”
Brant frowned. “In all honesty, Kayla, I don’t like this plan. You channeled an enormous amount of energy to me just to escape from Lars. You’re still shaky.” He paused for a moment, as though unwilling to admit his next words. “If things don’t go well, I’m unsure whether I can negate your abilities. I’m having some difficulties containing the energy you sent to me.”
Kayla bit her lip and sent out a small thread toward him. It snapped and sparked against her borrowed energy. He was carrying too much and felt unbalanced. “I think you need to get rid of some of it.”
He looked around the cavern. “I’m not sure how to do that safely here.”
“I have an idea,” she offered and motioned for Brant to sit on the cavern floor across from her. Once he was on the ground, she held out her hands to him. He hesitated and then took her hands in his. A spark of power between them flashed briefly.
Tremors of the Past Page 19
