Ana heard a crack in the trees like a breaking limb. It was unlike the usual rustle she heard of birds landing.
Ana turned to Ophelia. “Did you hear that?”
“The trees,” she whispered.
“A bird?”
Ophelia shook her head.
Ana took out her sidearm and pointed it in the trees. Through the scope, she could see a sliver of skin amidst the green foliage. “Someone is up there,” she hissed. “I’m going to take the shot.” She aimed and fired.
The owner of the boot retracted his foot, and the foliage shook, further betraying his location.
Ophelia fired too. Her aim was worse than Baylan’s during training. She hit a tree.
Down from the trees, like spiders, Adam and Delphi descended to the jungle floor.
“I’ll run ahead. You stay here. We’ll have them from both sides.”
Adam dropped something from his hand, and there was a loud bang and a flash of bright light. Ana was blinking back stars. When her eyesight returned, she saw a wall of smoke. She an Ophelia were separated.
A boy with bronze skin and a dark mohawk tipped in blue dye stepped out of the smoke. He was wearing goggles, which he pushed up into his hair, revealing charcoal eyes that flashed with malice. “It’s a lot easier to win when you have the right tools, isn’t it?”
Ana reached for her sidearm, but he pointed his weapon at her first. “No fast moves. I thought we’d chat first. You must be Anabella Halt. The famed surviving member of the Halt line, huh? My big brother told me about you. He’s not a fan,” he added.
“And who might that be?” Ana said with a large glittering smile. She was hoping to buy enough time for a rescue.
Of course, if Ophelia was on the other side of that wall of smoke with Adam, she was probably already out of the game. Adam was one of the best marksmen in the academy.
“Henry DuBois.”
“And that would make you Delphi?”
“I’m so pleased you’ve heard of me too. Why don’t we take a walk?”
Ana’s legs started to obey. She panicked and dug her feet into the ground. The urge to walk faded.
“Oh Ana, there’s nothing to worry about,” Delphi said. “Calm down.”
Ana could feel a tidal wave of calmness surge over her. She was being pulled down in its current. She could feel herself nodding in agreement with Delphi.
Ana thought Henry DuBois was the most powerful DuBois at the school in terms of the gift. It turned out that wasn’t so. His little brother, Delphi, was three times as powerful. She had heard once that the legend of the siren—the creatures who called sailors to their death on the rocks—originated with the DuBois family. She hadn’t believed it.
She did now.
Like a siren, Delphi was gorgeous in his own way with his long dark eyelashes and glistening skin. But like a siren, it was false allure. His voice was the ocean—powerful and serene but deadly.
Even knowing this, Ana stepped forward.
“That’s it. Let’s just go for a walk. There’s a beautiful view ahead.”
Ana followed. Her feet led her to the edge of a cliff face that overlooked an immense drop-off. They were more than a hundred feet in the air. A little bit of gravel slid under her foot. Ana shook her head and took a hesitant step backward.
“There’s no reason to be frightened.” His laughter was like a pleasant gong, rich and deep. “Just take another step forward. You’re almost there.”
Ana began to lift her foot to take the step over the edge.
“Stop it, DuBois,” Adam shouted from behind them.
Ana shook her head as if knocking the water from her ears. She took a step backward.
Delphi gave Adam a look that could kill. “Damnit Adam. I’ve almost got her. One more step and she’ll be out of the game in a way they’ll be talking about for years. I’ll be an academy legend.”
Ana tried hard to concentrate. With effort, she turned her head. Adam’s clothes were ripped from t-shirt down to the bottom of his pants leg. Cuts were bleeding on most of his exposed skin. His wrist was bruised bright red, as if a whip had encircled it.
“I just got gnawed on pretty good by some carnivorous quick. There’s something off with the environmental safeties. That fall might kill her.”
“Your affection for her is clouding your judgment. There hasn’t been a death during a challenge in fifteen years.” He returned his attention to Ana. “Just one more step, love. You’ll soar into the air like a bird.”
Ana hesitated.
Adam threw his shoulder into Delphi and sent him toppling onto the gravel. “I said cut it out.”
The waves began to dissipate. The ocean was calm. She took a step backward.
From the ground, Delphi snarled, “Who cares even if she does fall? One less problem for our families to worry about.”
Adam shot him with his sidearm. A beam of blue light engulfed Delphi. It turned gray, and his mouth was frozen in a twisted, angry expression.
Adam reached for Ana’s arm and pulled her further from the cliff face. “Are you okay?”
Her head was above water now. Her heart raced like a hummingbird as she realized what she had been about to do.
She reached out a hand to Adam. “What happened to you? Where’s Ophelia?”
“She’s fine. I shot her.”
“Adam!” She punched him in the chest.
“Ow, I’m already bleeding, Ana. Give it a rest, will you? I did it for her own safety. She’s out of the challenge now.”
“Fine, so what happened?”
“Carnivorous quick. I was wrapped up, about to be dinner. Ophelia worked enough of her magic for me to wriggle out. It was weird. I should be able to get hurt, but”—he swallowed—“the way things were going, it might have killed me. It shouldn’t have gotten that far with the environmental safeties.”
Ana raised an eyebrow. “Let me get this straight. Ophelia helped you, and you shot her?”
“Didn’t you hear the part about the carnivorous quick? It was for her own safety. She should have never been here in the first place.” He looked at Ana pointedly.
Adam stepped forward and winced. His t-shirt was sticking to the blood slashes running up and down his arms and torso.
“Let me see if I can help.”
He looked at her in surprise. “You’re using the gift now?”
She sighed and got the first aid kit out of her rucksack. “No, but I can still help the old-fashioned way.”
He relented, sitting on the ground, and holding out one of his arms. She sat cross-legged in front of him, his hand in her lap, and began to work.
“This might sting,” she warned, preparing some antiseptic to clean the wounds.
He rolled his eyes, but then gritted his teeth when she applied it. “Shit, Ana, what is that acid?”
“I guess you’re not used to old-school medicine,” she said, holding back a grin. “You should see what we do on Earth. What’s important is those bite marks won’t get infected.”
“How do you know all of this anyway?”
“Family.”
Adam frowned. “What does that mean? I thought you and your mom were safe until her death.”
She paused. Should she tell him? The truth was Adam hadn’t been the only one holding back in their relationship. He didn’t even know she had brothers. Was she ready to trust him? He had just saved her and shot one of his own teammates in the process. She really, really wanted to, especially when his beautiful green eyes were locked on hers, and he looked so very much like Adam. Not like a future general or a Rockwell. Just Adam.
But this was her family she was talking about.
Of course, three council members already knew— the Jacobs who had spied on her, the Rockwells who had piloted the ship, and whoever had sent the assassins. Now that she knew her brothers weren’t blood relatives, she understood why they weren’t so large a threat. They could never take the council seat.
Adam, noticing her
hesitation, said, “You don’t have to tell me. I understand why you wouldn’t want to. But, if you do, I swear on my life, whatever you say is safe with me.”
Ana believed him. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me. I have three older brothers— Fletcher, Ryker, and Hugh.”
Adam’s mouth gaped open.
“They’re step-brothers technically, but I just learned that over winter break. When my mom died, everyone expected Hugh would take care of me and my youngest brother, Fletcher. Hugh was the oldest and had just finished medical school. He had already started his medical residency nearby. Mom left us the house and a little bit of money. We didn’t need much. Fletcher and I were old enough to take care of ourselves. But Hugh took Mom’s death really hard. He started drinking all the time,” her voice cracked.
Adam reached out his hand and took her shaking one in it. “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to. It’s okay.”
“No, I can finish. I want to.” She took a deep breath, “Hugh got in accidents all the time. He stepped on shards of a broken beer bottle. We couldn’t tell anyone. He could have lost his job and custody. So, I picked the glass out and disinfected his foot. He put his fist through a wall,” she glanced at Adam’s hand in her lap, “I bandaged it. Fletcher had just started long shifts at the automotive plant in the evenings. He didn’t realize how bad things had gotten.
“One night, my middle brother, Ryker, came home from college to visit. He found Hugh sitting on the front porch drinking a fifth of whiskey, straight from the bottle. He wasn’t even trying to hide it. Ryker was really mad. Told Hugh he could ruin everything. He accidentally knocked over Hugh’s bottle. Hugh threw a punch. That’s when the social worker got out of her car. You can probably guess how the story ends.”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “I can.”
“He’s the reason I’m good at bandages. And the reason I went into foster care.”
They sat together for a moment in silence, while Ana applying ointment to all of the slashes on his arms and legs. Neither of them wanted to leave this moment, where they had no family duty or obligations, where betrayal and alliances didn’t exist, where they were just two teenagers that really liked each other.
Finally, Adam stood and pulled his shirt back on. “Pretty good,” he said, admiringly.
Ana stood up. She took his hand once more. “I don’t want to fight you.”
“Then don’t.”
“Will you call it off?”
His face hardened. “I can’t, remember. No ties. No forfeits. Even if I could, I can’t take the black mark on my record. Besides, Holden and I have unfinished business. He’s hiding things from me. I know it.” His face softened. “But you should drop out. I could shoot you, just like Ophelia. I don’t want to fight you. And I definitely don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I can’t. This is my chance to show the council what I’m made of. I won’t break like glass.”
Adam sighed. “I remember when I was attracted to your stubborn streak. I should have known a girl who stole swords was going to be trouble.”
Ana’s mouth twitched into a smile. She wished they could stay in this bubble forever. But she knew what she had to do. She dropped his hand.
“You know I won’t hurt you, but my team will play to win. Don’t get in the way.” His words would have been harsh, but she heard him breathe, “Please.”
* * *
Back at her team’s base, Ana explained what had happened.
“So, you didn’t actually see the plant nearly kill him?” Shay asked, raising one perfectly formed eyebrow.
“Well, no, but he was really beat up,” Ana said.
“Yeah, but we don’t really know how it happened. He shot Ophelia, the only witness,” Shay added.
“But he saved me. Why would he do that?”
“It could be a tactical maneuver,” Ja mused.
“But not likely,” Xan said. “A two person advantage would have been hard to pass up.”
Holden agreed.
* * *
In the end, they decided to continue the grid search. Pairs were mandatory, even for small tasks like foraging. They were extremely cautious—no standing near cliffs, no walking near fast-moving rivers, and no touching strange plants if it could be avoided. Nothing risky.
Ja and Xan left at first light. They were energized by their certainty that they had finally discovered Adam’s quadrant. First, the drone had spotted metal. Then, Ophelia and Ana had been ambushed. The other team’s campsite had to be nearby.
“We’ll be back with that flag by end of day,” Xan said.
“Bet,” Ja agreed.
“Only if you have the manpower,” Holden reminded them. “We can’t afford to lose our two best foot soldiers.”
“We got all the man we need, baby!” Xan crowed.
Ja high-fived him, and they headed into the oppressive humidity of the jungle.
* * *
By midmorning, everyone was resting. Holden was sleeping on his side with one hand resting against his cheek. His blonde, tousled hair made him look younger. Ana’s mouth curved upward into a small smile.
Shay was doing some light repair work on the drone, which was relaxing for her. Baylan had fallen asleep propped up against the outside of the hab.
Ana got in a quick shower. They had constructed a temporary shower around the back of the hab. When Holden woke, they walked down to see the graybeasts at the watering hole. The majestic, slow-moving creatures came every day like clockwork.
They were just coming up the hill when they saw Ja running through the trees. His clothes were ripped and torn. A large red gash stood out against his dark skin. His face was ashen, and his eyes were wide.
Something wasn’t right.
Ana hurried over to him. “Are you okay? Where’s Xan?”
For a moment, she thought Ja wouldn’t answer. He just stared blankly forward. Finally, he mumbled, “Lost him. Something is wrong. Something is wrong with this game.”
Holden gripped his shoulders. “What do you mean? What’s wrong with the game? What happened to Xan?”
“There was a malfunction or—I don’t know—maybe it was intentional. safety controls are off. All of ‘em. A beam of light pursued us for over a mile. We were trying to stay ahead of it. The ground was covered with vines. It was solid. Then, it wasn’t.” His voice cracked. “Xan fell. He’s—he’s dead.”
Holden sucked in a breath of air. “Are you sure? I know sometimes the safeties can be misleading. They can freeze someone in midair, then evac.”
“I saw him. On the ground.” Ja’s powerful arms were wrapped around his chest, and he started shaking.
Ana felt tears welling in her eyes. How could Xan be dead?
If ever there was a time to show the gift, it was now. The game had turned deadly.
She held her hands over Ja and concentrated, trying to summon the gift. She could do this. She could heal him. It was in her blood. Her DNA.
She could.
She could.
She couldn’t.
She did the one thing she could do—retrieve the first-aid kit and return to Ja.
“Sorry, Ja” she murmured. “We’re going to have to do this the old-fashioned way.”
He didn’t answer. He was staring out into the trees. Staring out to where Xan still lay somewhere on the jungle floor.
Ja lay alone on his cot, facing the wall of the hab. From the kitchen, Ana could see his back. He was completely still, not moving. Even in grief, the Rockwells were strong. It was unfair, really.
Xan and Ja had been close for a long time. They had told Ana the story around the campfire. When Ja was ten, his dad was stationed at Warden. He was the only boy his age on the base and totally miserable. Desperate to get back to his old friends on Bellaton, he had stolen a hoverkart and took it all the way to the nearest docking station. His plan had been to hitch a ride on a ship back to Bellaton.
Instead, he met Xan. He had just move
d to the base with his parents and was looking for a new friend. He offered to ride with Ja to the docking station. Ten minutes into their journey, they were stopped by a base security officer.
Xan had taken the fall for the hoverkart theft, and suddenly, Ja realized he didn’t miss his friends on Bellaton so much after all. They had been inseparable ever since.
No, Ana didn’t think Ja was sleeping. She knew what it was like to lose someone really important to you. When Ja finally did fall asleep, it wouldn’t be so still. The nightmares would come.
Ana went to join the others outside and give Ja some privacy. It was the only thing she could do for him. They were huddled just outside the front door—Baylan, Holden, and Shay.
Baylan had begun to pace. “What’s going on? Why aren’t they ending the game?”
“I don’t know,” Holden said, running a nervous hand through his hair. “Clearly, the safeties have been taken offline. He should have frozen in midfall.”
Shay looked confused. “I thought the dome didn’t drop until there was a victory.”
“There’s no precedent for what’s happening here. It looks like someone is interfering. There hasn’t been a death”—he choked on the word—“in fifteen years.”
“What if what they’re seeing outside the dome is different from what is actually happening, like a looped recording?” Ana suggested.
“It’s possible,” Shay said.
“Then no help is coming,” Holden said.
“What do we do?” Baylan asked.
Ja spoke, and they all turned to see him standing in the open hab door. “We end the game.”
They took a vote. It was unanimous. All five of them were dedicated to ending the game.
The first step was to contact the other team. Ja, Ophelia, and Xan had managed to freeze the Fleur boy before the accident. It was now five versus four.
Holden activated his comm. “Adam, I know you can hear this. We want a meeting. There’s something wrong. The safeties are off.”
There was a long pause.
Finally, Adam crackled in. “How do I know this isn’t a trick? There are five of you and only four of us.”
Shay butted in, “It’s fine. I’ll stay here. That’ll make it even.”
“Accepted,” Adam said. “One hour. Southwest quadrant. We’ve both been there. It’s neutral territory. We’ll decide a specific spot en route, that way no one has the tactical advantage.”
Seven Crowns (Bellaton Book 1) Page 25
