Heath (Ember Quest Book 1)

by Arcadia Shield

  They reached the end of the corridor and Dmitri stopped by a door. “This will take us outside.”

  “We get to the truck,” said Heath. “We can put everybody in there and make our escape.”

  “Arlo will have set his explosives by now,” said Lincoln, from the back of the group.

  “We wait for the first one before we move,” said Heath.

  “You can’t destroy the base while people are in here,” said Dmitri.

  “We won’t blow it up,” said Heath. “But the flash bombs will distract the guards and give us time to take them out. Then we extract everyone else.”

  “Arlo knows what he needs to do,” said Lincoln. “And Hive One are prepping for an extraction. They’ll do a fly-by in an hour, make sure we’ve done our job properly.”

  Juniper turned and stared along the corridor. “Guards are coming!”

  “It’s too soon to go out in the open.” Heath pushed Annie behind him.

  “If we don’t move soon, the guards will find us.” Lincoln shifted Malachi on his shoulder and moved to stand next to Heath, raising his gun.

  Heath’s gaze shot to the wall vent. “We can hide in there.”

  Lincoln frowned. “I’m not sure I’ll fit.”

  “You’ll be fine.” Heath knocked off the front of the vent. If he’d been here with just Lincoln, he’d have taken on the guards, but wasn’t willing to risk Annie and her father in a fire fight. “We need more time. You first.” He grabbed hold of Annie.

  “You’ll be right behind me, won’t you?” Annie peered into his face. “No heroics.”

  “Of course.” Heath pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

  Annie gave him a nervous smile as she grabbed the edge of the vent and shimmied inside.

  Juniper was next, and then Dmitri, followed by the two dragon hybrids. Heath ignored the pounding in his chest as the guards’ footsteps got closer.

  Lincoln handed the unconscious Malachi to Heath before climbing in and forcing his broad shoulders through.

  Heath handed over Malachi. Lincoln had just pulled him out of sight, when Heath heard an alarm call from a guard. He spun around and raised his weapon.

  Three guards approached from the opposite end of the corridor, their guns aimed at him and their movements slow and measured.

  Heath cursed, as he realized the vent cover was off and the others would be easy to spot. But not if he took out the guards, first. He aimed at the lead guard, blasting him off his feet.

  Heath ducked, as the blast of a guard’s weapon exploded into the concrete wall near his head, sending chips and pieces flying. He rolled forward on the ground, taking the guards’ attentions from the vent. If the others hurried, they could move through the ventilation system and get out to the truck before anyone realized what had happened.

  Two more guards entered the corridor. Heath cursed again. He was outnumbered and outgunned.

  “Lower your weapon,” said the front guard, stepping over his dead colleague.

  Heath aimed his gun, but saw half a dozen weapons pointed at his head. He grudgingly held his weapon up. By stalling for time, the others could escape. “There’s been a mistake. I was trying to stop a patient getting away.”

  “So why did you shoot him?” The guard kept his weapon aimed as he toed his dead colleague with the tip of a black boot.

  “He was helping them,” said Heath. “He’s a traitor.”

  “Seb said there was a new guard on duty,” said the guard to his companions, not taking his eyes off Heath. “We’ve had no new intake for the base. And when the camera died in the lab, I realized there was a problem. You’re the traitor.”

  “We’ve got ourselves a dragon lover,” said another guard, a sneer crossing his face.

  “Who are you?” asked the first guard.

  Heath’s fingers tightened on the gun he held by his side. He could still take a couple of them out, give the others more of a chance to get away in the confusion.

  “Wait!” A round-faced guard at the back of the group pushed through and stared at Heath. “I know you. You’re one of the Ember brothers.” He turned to the others. “Those are the freaks trying to bring back the dragons.”

  A couple of the guards laughed, but their eyes narrowed as they all stared at Heath.

  Heath really was not enjoying this newfound notoriety. He flexed his fingers and grinned darkly at the guards. “Guess you found me.”

  The front guard grinned back, his expression cruel. “It’s our lucky day.”

  “I wouldn’t say that.” Heath’s hand tightened around the weapon.

  “Drop the gun.” The round-faced guard shook his head at Heath. “If you don’t, when we find your friends, we’ll kill them all and make you watch.”

  Heath growled but dropped the weapon.

  “Take him,” said the guard. “And check that open vent. He won’t be alone. You never know, we might capture ourselves more than one Ember brother today.”

  ANNIE’S HEART RACED so fast she felt dizzy. She kept hold of her father’s hand, squeezing it more to reassure herself than him. Too many minutes had gone by. Heath hadn’t yet made it into the vent. She wasn’t leaving him behind.

  They’d slid along the ventilation shaft, her eyes were fixed to the end of it, waiting for Heath to appear. He had to be okay. The guards couldn’t have captured him.

  “We need to get out of here.” Lincoln was wedged in front of Annie.

  “Not without Heath,” said Annie.

  “He’s a big boy,” said Lincoln. “He knows where we’re meeting. He’s gotten himself out of worse scrapes than this.”

  “We have to wait for him,” said Annie.

  “He’ll kill me if you’re caught,” said Lincoln. “Let’s move. We need to get outside.”

  Annie reluctantly inched farther away from the vent opening, but her heart clenched and she stopped. It was wrong to leave Heath behind.

  “We must go.” Dmitri tugged on her hand.

  Annie gave a slow nod, torn between saving her dad and helping Heath.

  “Come on,” growled Lincoln. “Don’t worry, Heath won’t give up on you now that he’s found you. He’ll find a way out if he has to take down this entire building.”

  Annie felt her cheeks flush, but increased her shuffling pace along the ventilation shaft. She had to trust Heath to do the right thing and get himself out and back to her.

  They reached the end of the shaft and faced another sealed vent, this time, beneath them.

  Juniper shimmied past Annie. “I’ll take this out and see where we are.” She slammed her boots into the vent and the cover smashed to the ground. Juniper shoved her head through and then ducked back, as a pulse laser blast exploded into the vent, an inch from her head.

  Lincoln cursed from the back of the group, unable to push past everyone. “Keep your heads down.”

  “Great idea,” spat Juniper.

  A guard’s face appeared by the vent and Annie kicked out, connecting with his jaw.

  The guard vanished, to be immediately replaced by three guns pointing into the vent. “You have twenty seconds to get out of there, before we open fire,” shouted a male guard.

  “They will kill us,” said Dmitri. “The guards are ruthless in this place.”

  “They’ll kill us whatever we do,” said Juniper. “We should fight back.”

  “Not yet,” said Lincoln. “We’re sitting ducks in this shaft. On the ground, we’ll be able to do damage.”

  “They’ll pick us off one by one when we leave,” said Dmitri.

  “I hear lots of talking, but I see no one,” said the guard. “Ten seconds, that’s all you have left.”

  Annie looked at her father and licked her dry lips. “Tell them I was kidnapping you. Tell them you’re here against your will. That way it will be okay for you. They won’t hurt you.”

  Dmitri touched her cheek. “My dear girl, they know I don’t want to be here. They will also know you’re my daughter.” He shuffled t
o the edge of the vent and dropped out of sight before she could stop him.

  Annie’s heart stuttered, before turning to Lincoln. “Get the others out of here.”

  His eyes widened. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “After my dad.” Annie scrambled after her father, ignoring Lincoln’s heated warnings. She dropped over the edge and onto the floor and faced six guns pointed at her head. She ignored the throb of fear and looked over to see her dad being held by another guard, before raising her hands.

  A black-clad guard grabbed Annie’s arms and shoved them behind her back, before binding her wrists.

  “Thought you could escape the base, did you?” Another guard approached, a smirk on his long, narrow face. “You know what happens to prisoners who try to escape?”

  Annie swallowed against the tightness in her throat. “I don’t suppose it involves you letting me go, so I can live my life nice and quietly?”

  The guard chuckled. “What a pleasant idea.” He slammed the back of his hand across her cheek. “Try again.”

  Dmitri let out a cry of alarm. Annie shook her head at him, her eyes full of tears, as pain flared on her cheek. If they didn’t know they were related, she could still claim she’d been abducting him and had plans to ransom him back to the State. They might believe that and keep him alive.

  “This is one of the lab workers.” The narrow-faced guard turned and studied Dmitri. “The one who’s always going on about dragons.” He walked closer to him. “What are you doing, helping this woman? Did she bribe you with something sweet so you’d help her?”

  “Don’t be disgusting,” said Dmitri. “She’s my daughter.”

  Annie’s eyes widened. “He’s crazy. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I’ve never met him before. I was taking him so I’d have a bargaining chip for when I came across you goons.”

  The guard’s smile thinned as he turned back to Annie. “You’ve come in here to rescue your father. How touching.” The back of his hand cracked against Annie’s face again. She tasted blood as her lip split. “We’ll have a lot of fun before we’re finished with you.”

  “What about the others?” asked another guard, still watching the open vent.

  “Get the rest of the prisoners out while I take this one to interrogation.” He caught hold of Annie’s arm and dragged her away.

  Annie struggled against the guard’s grip until he pressed his gun to her temple. “Go ahead. Give me an excuse. You run, and I get to shoot.”

  Annie swallowed bile, her gaze on the vent as the guards crept toward it. The others couldn’t get captured as well. “Where are you taking me?”

  “To see the Commander.”

  She let out a breath as she heard them cursing as the vent was empty. That was good news. “Why?”

  “He’ll be interested in hearing why you’re here and how you got inside,” said the guard. “He’ll want to make sure a breach like this doesn’t happen again.” He dragged her through a door and shoved her against the wall, pressing his arm against her throat.

  Annie blinked away tears of anger and fear. “I won’t tell you anything.”

  “You will.” The guard exposed his teeth in a predatory smile. “We always get the pretty ones to talk.”

  Annie struggled for breath, her gaze shifting as she heard approaching footsteps. Please be Heath, please let him be okay.

  A broad-shouldered, blond man stepped out from the shadows, partially obscured from Annie’s view by the guard. “You’ve caught me something of interest.”

  “Reckon she’s a prisoner trying to escape, but the crazy scientist in the lab said she’s his daughter,” said the guard.

  “Is that so?”

  Annie tried to get a clear view of the man. “I have nothing to tell you.”

  “I’m sure that’s not true.”

  “Let me go.” Annie kicked the guard’s shin and he cursed.

  “Do as she asks.” The blond man stepped closer, amusement tracing through his words. He wore a smart navy suit, with the collar of his white shirt open.

  The guard released his arm from Annie’s throat and she shoved him away with her shoulder. She raised her gaze to meet the stranger’s. Her mouth fell open.

  The man smiled. “You remember me.”

  Annie straightened. “You’ve been to the university. You even sat in on one of my classes.”

  “That’s correct. Commander Nick Falmouth, at your service.”

  “If you work in a place like this, why visit Helstone?”

  “Show the Commander some respect.” The guard raised his fist.

  “That’s quite all right,” said Nick. “We know each other. Annie Grimwald is someone to be respectful of.”

  Annie snorted in surprise.

  Nick smiled. “I like to take an interest in the work at Helstone and ensure there aren’t rogue elements on the staff team. It appears I overlooked you.”

  “You’re spying on what we do there?” Annie’s hands shook behind her back, the ties biting into her flesh. She hadn’t liked Nick the first time they’d met and had found his stare too intense and his questions frustrating. He’d asked a lot about dragons and her opinion of them. Now she knew why.

  “Not spying,” said Nick. “But we have to wipe out rogue elements before they become entrenched and spoil the world order.”

  Annie looked around the room. There was a table behind Nick, complete with tie-down straps on either side. A smear of blood stained the sheet on top of it. Her heart raced, and her gaze jumped to the door, but the guard had blocked it.

  “This base is one of the finest in the country,” said Nick. “We have been making great progress with our work.”

  “It doesn’t look so great to me,” said Annie. “I’ve seen dozens of sick and injured people.”

  Nick spread his hands. “There must always be sacrifice for the greater good.”

  “What’s your greater good?”

  Nick gave Annie a small smile. “I think you know that. How far have you been compromised?”

  “I haven’t,” said Annie. “I came to get my father out. He should never have been here.”

  “Then he should never have been in the Black Zone in the first place. And he should not have been hunting for something that doesn’t exist.”

  “Dragons?”

  Nick moved closer until he stood in front of Annie. “Do you believe in them?”

  Annie’s mouth twisted. She should say no. “I’ve never seen one.”

  Nick inhaled. “But you think they’re real?”

  “I didn’t say that. I know I’ve made a mistake breaking in here. But you wouldn’t have let my father out. He’s a prisoner.”

  “We might have released him,” said Nick. “But you didn’t give me that choice. I can be a reasonable man, but not when an enemy attacks my work.”

  “He’s a sick, old man,” said Annie. “Let him go.”

  “Are you offering an exchange?” asked Nick. “I can have you, if I let your father go?”

  Annie swallowed. “If that’s the only way to get him out.”

  “A tempting suggestion, but that won’t be possible. Dmitri has proven to be a valuable member of our team. And his insider knowledge about dragons is exemplary. Anyone would think he was one himself, the way he raves about them.”

  The guard blocking the door smirked and shook his head.

  Annie squinted at Nick. “What do you believe?”

  “I believe in the State.”

  “So you know dragons aren’t real?”

  Nick grabbed hold of Annie’s chin and wiped a trickle of sweat from her cheek with his thumb. “I know the truth. But you needn’t concern yourself with that.”

  “Why not?” Annie tried to pull away, but Nick only pressed his fingers harder into her skin.

  “Because it’s time for you to have your mind wiped.”

  Chapter 15

  Heath jerked awake and was met by a cold blackness. A jumble of thought
s hit him as hard as the guards’ fists had done: getting trapped in the corridor before they could all escape; Annie and the others hidden in the vent; the tortured patients.

  His ribs throbbed with a sickening burn as Heath rolled into a sitting position. He’d been beaten unconscious. A laser wound on one arm throbbed, along with his racing heart. His arms were strapped behind his back, the muscles cramped from being in the same position for too long. He could feel his wrist comm had been removed and his earpiece. He had no way to reach the others, find out if they were okay.

  He longed for a hit of adrenaline. He was an idiot thinking he could do this on his own. He wasn’t good enough to save Annie and get her father out of this nightmare. Heath had failed her and himself and dragged his brothers into this suicide mission. They’d be killed, once word spread about who they were.

  Cursing, Heath smacked his head against the wall as the same thought slammed into him repeatedly. Where was Annie? If she’d been captured, it would be over for her. Her cover blown. The State would know she was working with outlaws. What would they do when they discovered her betrayal? Keep her to work in this prison like her father? Or something worse.

  Annie deserved better than this. He shouldn’t have brought her on this mission. Now, everything was gone. He was trapped in this damned cell with no weapon and a hundred guards wanting to take him out and show the world how easy the Ember brothers were to destroy.

  Desperation pulsed through Heath’s veins. He’d lost Annie before they’d had a chance. He’d taken a stupid risk. Gambled with the woman who made him feel alive and gave him something bright and hopeful to enjoy. And all for nothing. She was lost, her father gone, and the group in chaos.

  The cell door hatch slid open.

  Light blinded Heath. He blinked against it, trying to see who was watching him.

  “Time for your wake-up call,” said a male voice on the other side of the door.

  “About time.” Heath was more than ready to confront the militia and fight his way out. He dragged himself up, using the wall for balance, as the door opened and more harsh light spilled in.