by J. J. Green
If Carina had Cast correctly with the elixir Bryce had stolen for her, each of the doors on their route that could be locked to bar their way should have quietly opened, and without alerting the security system. If her Casts had worked. If any of them hadn’t, they would be sitting ducks.
They arrived at the first door. It was shut. The group halted. Perhaps the door had been locked as an emergency measure due to the fires and risk of atmosphere loss on the ship, or perhaps the bridge knew they were attempting to escape. The effect was the same. Ferne turned to Carina. “What do we do now?”
“We’ll have to Cast Open,” Parthenia said.
“There’s no time,” said Carina, inwardly cursing.
The door slid to the side.
“Go,” yelled Carina. The Cast she’d sent into the future had finally worked.
They sped through. The second door they encountered was already open. Carina had set a delay between each one. After her first miscalculation, her timing was perfect.
The sound of running, booted feet came from behind, constricting Carina’s chest. They were being pursued by guards. “Faster,” she shouted, but the children were already running at top speed and they were beginning to flag. A life of luxury had left them physically unfit and quickly tired.
The running feet drew nearer, and the group had nowhere to hide. “You have to run faster,” Carina urged. She looked over her shoulder. The guards had entered the corridor. Only Oriana and Ferne were armed and they were running in front. She considered telling them to fire at the guards, but it would be hopeless. They were kids against trained, adult men and women.
They were going to be shot and there was nothing Carina could do about it. She only hoped their weapons were set to stun. What was she thinking? Of course they were set to stun. Stefan wouldn’t allow his precious commodities to come to serious harm. Carina looked down at her mother, who was clinging to life by a thread. Tears filled her eyes.
The guards began to shoot.
“I’m sorry, Ma,” Carina whispered. “I tried.”
She waited for the rounds to hit. She could see that the third and final door—the entrance to the shuttle bay—stood open as a result of her Cast, as if waiting for them. They’d been so close.
Pulse rounds were hitting the walls around, searing and scoring the surfaces. So far, no one had been hit. More rounds flew past, above and around them. Carina became confused. The guards should have brought them all down. They had to be terrible shots, or very badly trained, or…
Holy shit!
The guards were deliberately missing them. They were allowing them to escape.
They ran into the bay. “Lock the door,” Carina called. “Parthenia, Cast Lock.” The guards might have given them a chance by being the worst shots in the galaxy, but she doubted their commanding officer would let the men and women get away with not trying to enter the shuttle bay.
Four shuttles were inside the bay. Carina scanned them. She would have to fly one, but she thought she could manage it. When she’d been a merc, a pilot who she’d had a brief fling with had shown her the basics. She picked the shuttle that looked the most familiar.
“Come on, kids,” she said. “This way.” She had a short time to figure out the controls and fly it out of the bay before the Lock Cast would wear out. Carrying her mother in her arms, she set out toward the small vessel.
Then she noticed no one was following her. Carina looked back.
“Carina,” piped Darius, “is Father coming too?”
Chilled with disbelief, Carina saw why all the children had stopped. Stefan was in the corner of the bay, next to the door. He had Bryce. His arm was around Bryce’s neck and he was pointing a gun at her friend’s head.
Stefan’s smile was ghastly. “The minute I heard that you and the children had gone missing, I guessed where you were headed. Guards will be here any minute.”
As if on cue, a helmeted head appeared in the small window of the shuttle bay door.
“Nice try, Carina,” Stefan said, “but you lost. I’m going to have such fun teaching you the error of your ways.”
“I did what you asked, Carina,” Parthenia said quietly. “I Cast Lock.”
Carina gave a slight nod, acknowledging her sister’s words without taking her eyes off Stefan.
“Parthenia,” she said. “Please help Ma.”
She gently lowered her mother’s feet to the floor. Parthenia helped the woman weakly stagger to one side of the bay. Carina was watching Bryce.
Her friend was sweating, but he didn’t plead for his life. “Go,” he said. “Just go.”
Dull thuds came from the door as the guards tried to open it, but nothing would work against Lock. Nothing electronic or mechanical. Ten minutes. The Cast would work for around ten minutes. She had time to get everyone away before the guards would break through the door—everyone except Bryce.
It was an impossible choice. Should she save her friend’s life and consign her sisters and brothers to a lifetime of slavery? Or take the children to freedom but allow her friend to die?
Blood was rushing through her ears. The hammering from the door seemed to be pounding through her head. From the corner of her eye Carina saw Castiel standing with his hands on his hips. Nahla clung to his side, appearing confused about what was going on. The weapons the twins were holding hung loosely in their hands. Even if they stood the remotest chance of hitting Stefan before he killed Bryce, Carina could never ask them to shoot their father.
Darius had sunk to the floor, his arms wrapped over his head, as if the turmoil of emotions in the room was too much for him to bear.
She’d nearly saved them all but, as always, Stefan’s ploy was working. All he had to do was threaten to hurt a person his victim cared about. Carina couldn’t see a way around it. She couldn’t let Bryce die, not even to save her brothers and sisters. How could she spend the rest of her life living with her decision?
“Thinking it over, Carina?” Stefan asked. “The question is about to become moot. I know that Lock doesn’t last forever. Soon you won’t have time to get away. That door will open and the guards will round you up. I might as well blow your friend’s head off whatever you decide. Usually, I’d rather not. I don’t relish the idea of his blood and brains all over me. But I’m prepared to make an exception.”
Carina’s jaw clenched. She couldn’t bring herself to say the words. She couldn’t allow her siblings to return to this monster, but what choice did she have?
“What’s it to be?” Stefan asked. “Your idiot friend or my children? I’m not waiting any longer.”
Carina went to speak, but a movement off to the side of the bay caught her attention. From his position, Stefan couldn’t see Ma. She had collapsed by a wall with Parthenia by her side. Her daughter was removing the jug of elixir from her lips. Ma’s eyes were closed, and she was Casting.
“You’re right, Stefan,” Carina said coolly. “You won’t have to wait any longer.”
He frowned. “So you’re giving up? Of course you are. But I changed my mind. I’m going to kill him anyway.”
He dragged Bryce around and pushed the end of the muzzle to his forehead. But as he went to press the trigger, Stefan cried out. The gun fell and clattered on the floor. Stefan shuddered, and Bryce moved quickly away. Stefan shrieked and gripped frantically at his back, his face a white, rigid mask of agony. His legs buckled, and he dropped down onto his side. Blood began to spread from his back, creating a widening pool.
The children were fixated on the spectacle of Stefan’s ordeal.
“Children,” Carina shouted, “go to the shuttle at the end of the bay and get inside.” When they didn’t move, she said, “Bryce, please, take them to the shuttle.” Her friend obliged, ushering the twins, Nahla, and Darius away and across the bay. Parthenia wouldn’t leave her mother, but she faced the wall, her forehead pressed against it, her hands gripping her ears. Castiel refused to go. He was mesmerized, appearing fascinated as he watched his f
ather die.
Carina recognized the Cast. She’d used it herself, long ago. Out of horror of its effect, she’d never used it again. As Stefan had been gloating and threatening to kill Bryce, Carina’s mother had Cast Split. Her husband was now slowly tearing in two.
While Stefan writhed and screamed, begging for mercy, Carina’s gaze turned to her mother. She was moving, crawling bit by bit, grimacing with pain, toward him.
It was a horrible scene to witness. Though Carina had seen many fellow soldiers injured and killed in battle, she’d never heard the almost inhuman howls that issued from Stefan Sherrerr’s throat. The pool of blood around his body spread wider, but still he didn’t die.
In spite of everything he’d done to her father, her mother, and her sisters and brothers, Carina almost pitied the man. She hoped that the end would come soon. His body was grossly distorted. His clothes seemed to be the only things holding him together.
As his cries became weaker, her mother reached him. Her hands slid through the pool of blood. Her nightdress soaked it up. When she looked down on what remained of Stefan’s face, he was still breathing. She said, so weakly Carina could barely hear, “I told you I would have my revenge, Stefan Sherrerr. I lied. Mages can kill.”
Then he was gone.
Chapter Fifty-Two
They had no time left.
“Parthenia,” Carina shouted. “Get to the shuttle.” She ran over to her mother and scooped the blood-soaked, fragile woman into her arms and raced with her to the other side of the bay. Parthenia arrived at the shuttle right behind her, carrying the jug of elixir.
The door of the shuttle opened. Bryce had seen them coming. As soon as they were inside, he thumped the button to close it again. “I hope you know how to fly this thing.”
“So do I.”
Carina went into the passenger area and gently placed her mother in a seat before going into the pilot’s cabin. As she strapped herself in, she ran her gaze over the console. She guessed she knew what most of the controls did, but as she glanced up, a bigger obstacle confronted her. The shuttle bay doors were shut. They could only be opened from the bridge.
Except that wasn’t the only way. “Parthenia,” Carina called back into the passenger cabin. “Cast Open on the shuttle bay doors.”
While she waited for the Cast to take effect, Carina checked the other end of the bay. The door there was already opening. The Lock Cast had worn off and the guards were pouring through. They began firing at the shuttle. This time, their commanding officer was at their heels. The shots they fired hit their target. Their weapons weren’t powerful enough to disable the shuttle right away, but neither could Carina afford to wait any longer. If only there were a Cast to fly a shuttle.
She activated the screen. It lit up. Yes! A pulse round hit the window, scoring a hazy gash across the outer shell. Carina started up the engine, giving the approaching guards a quick glance. If they didn’t take the hint and get out of the bay, they were about to be fried.
The bay doors were opening, revealing a black expanse littered with stars, vapor, and flying debris from the shipyard explosion. They still had a chance of escaping into the confused mess of heat signatures.
Carina silently thanked her sister. She scanned the console, trying to find the take off mode. Another opaque gash appeared on the window. Carina thumbed the console, and the shuttle lifted up, wavering in midair. The bay doors had nearly opened wide enough.
Hesitantly, Carina attempted to maneuver the shuttle out of the bay. As she flew the vessel through the gap, she hit the edge of the upper door and winced as the screech of metal echoed through the ship. Then they were outside, but that was only the beginning of their flight from Nightfall. She had to fly the shuttle into the debris cloud and then hope that the flagship’s scanners would lose them.
Of course, they would be shot at all the way. The only thing they had in their favor was the fact that it was a military craft. Carina quickly found the jinking command and activated it as they cleared the ship.
“Carina.”
Bryce was standing at the pilot cabin entrance.
“Kinda busy right now.”
“I know. I’m sorry, but… ”
When Bryce didn’t complete his sentence, Carina guessed what he’d come to tell her. “No,” she exclaimed. She stood halfway up before sitting down again. Sorrow and despair almost overcoming her, she said, “I can’t leave the controls.”
The shuttle window was filled with flashes of light—the remains of the shipyard speeding past. She had the shielding on full, hoping that nothing large hit them. The shuttle’s speed had to match the velocity of the debris if her plan stood a chance of succeeding. Some of those flashes were pulse cannon fire from Nightfall.
Carina had to focus. She checked the shuttle’s scanner readings on the debris. Desperation was gnawing at her. Her mother was dying. That was what Bryce had come to tell her. But she couldn’t go to her. She was the only one who could get everyone to safety. If she didn’t do this right, the Sherrerr flagship would vaporize them.
She steered the shuttle out of the shadow of the Sherrerr ship and toward the debris cloud, setting a matching speed. The craft juddered and the scent of frizzled electronics invaded the cabin. They’d been hit. The control screen winked out.
“Carina.” It was Darius this time.
“I can’t speak to you right now,” Carina said. The poor kid. He’d witnessed his father’s horrible death and now his mother was dying. But she couldn’t help him. She had to save their lives.
“Do you want me to Cast Cloak?”
Her eyes were still fixed to the pilot’s screen. It had reappeared but it was flickering. The shuttle was nearly at the debris cloud’s velocity. Nightfall’s scanner would have a tag on them. It could read the heat signature of their engine, but the debris was also hot. It was time to deactivate the jinking function.
Darius’ words finally sunk in. “Do I want you to Cast what?” Carina had never heard of Cloak.
“I can hide the shuttle if you want. Just for a little while.”
She stared at her little brother. “What the hell? How?” But it wasn’t the best time for explanations. “Yes. Yes. Whatever it is, do it, Darius. Do it.”
The ship shook again. The pilot’s screen went black. Carina glanced at the pilot cabin entrance but Darius had gone. She tried to reactivate the controls. After a few seconds, the screen returned to life, listing the damage to the ship. Their primary power was offline. The shot must have hit their main fuel tank or severed the lines to the engines. They were lucky the tank hadn’t exploded. The shuttle was running on auxiliary power. Would it be enough to get them to the nearest planet?
Try as she might, Carina couldn’t work the controls. But they were running at the speed of the explosion remnants. She’d done all she could do. For the moment, it seemed to be working.
Carina unfastened her harness and went into the passenger cabin. A strange scene confronted her. Castiel was tied to his seat and so was little Nahla, sitting one seat away from him. The other children were crowded together around the seat where she’d put their mother. Ma’s bare, blood-stained foot poked out into the aisle.
When she went over to her, the children stepped away a little, making room.
Parthenia was utterly distraught. “I tried Casting Heal but it didn’t work.”
Carina said sadly, “It won’t work at the very end. There’s nothing we can do.”
But for the slight rising and falling of her chest, Carina would have thought her mother had already left them. Her face was still and calm, a peacefulness resting on her features that Carina had never seen before, except maybe when she was very young. She stroked her mother’s hair. It was fine and soft. One of the few early memories she had of her mother sprung into her mind. She remembered being carried in her arms and burying her face in her mother’s hair.
At Carina’s touch, the dying woman’s eyes opened. They were dark and warm and sad as she fixed
them on Carina. “Look after your sisters and brothers for me, will you, Carina? Especially Darius. And Castiel. They need you.”
Carina looked up at Bryce, who was watching over the back of her mother’s seat. He shook his head slightly as if to signal that her mother didn’t know about the altercation that had resulted in Castiel’s being restrained.
Carina swallowed. “I will.”
“I love you all,” Ma whispered. “I’m sorry. I have to go to Kris now.” Her mother exhaled deeply, then her gaze was still.
Chapter Fifty-Three
For a while, no one spoke. Though Carina had long known her mother’s death was inevitable, now that it had actually happened, she almost couldn’t believe it. A gulf had opened inside her.
For a painfully short time, she had felt whole. Now she didn’t think she would ever feel the same way again. Rage and anguish battled within her. The injustice of it all was overwhelming. Ma had done nothing to deserve what she had suffered. Her children had been born into slavery through no fault of their own. Nothing could justify what had happened to Carina herself. And now they were finally free, nothing would bring her mother back.
Carina became aware of the sound of weeping. She looked up from her mother’s unmoving face to see that it was the twins and little Darius. The three children were standing in a huddle, quietly crying. Parthenia stood apart, pale and still, as if frozen with shock.
Carina took a deep breath. She had to be strong. She had to get them all to safety. She was about to return to the pilot’s cabin when Bryce put a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m so sorry, Carina.”
She nodded numbly. “Could you try to find something to cover her up? I have to set a course for the nearest planet. Then I have to arrange some things for the funeral. Why are Castiel and Nahla tied up?”
“The boy made a grab for the jug of that liquid you guys use, but the big girl— Parthenia?—she was too quick for him. They started fighting and I dragged him off her. He started saying some stuff… I didn’t really understand but maybe he’ll tell you himself. Parthenia seemed to think it was very bad news. Tying him up was all I could think to do in the circumstances. And the other one—the little girl—she’s like his little puppet. I don’t trust her either.”
