The Skin Hunter Series Box Set

by Tania Hutley

  I tug down my bandanna and his eyes widen when he sees my scars. Then he gives me a nod. I guess a sinker with a face like mine is unlikely to be an enemy.

  One of the people at the table gasps. “Milla?” She flies at me, grabbing my shoulders. “What are you doing here?”

  I gape at her, my heart expanding to fill my chest. Then I wrap my arms around her. “Tori.” Her name gets stuck in my throat, so it comes out as a mangled croak.

  “What are you doing here?” she asks again, hugging me with a grip so fierce, I’m all but crushed. “I can’t believe it’s you.”

  “I can’t believe it either. I was afraid I’d never see you again.”

  “Can’t get rid of me that easily.” She gives me a last squeeze and lets me go. “But look at you with two eyes. How did that happen? Does the new one work? It matches your other one perfectly.”

  “They grew it from my DNA, especially for me.”

  She raises her eyebrows. “No kidding? Leave you alone for a few weeks, and what do you get up to?” She grabs my arm and lifts it. “What are you doing with this fancy band? That isn’t gold, is it? And who cut your hair?”

  I snort out a breathless laugh. “Who cut my hair? I haven’t seen you in weeks, so much has happened, I’m not sure where to start, and that’s what you want to know?”

  My heart feels so light I could float away. After the terrible events of the last few days, finding Tori gives me hope that things could get better. She looks exactly the same as when I saw her last. Her long, dark hair is pulled back into a ponytail that explodes into a mass of curls, and her crooked smile always looks like she’s cooking up trouble.

  “Sit down and tell me everything.” She strides over to the table and hooks her thumb at the two people sitting there, staring curiously at us. Cards are scattered on the table and it looks like they must have been playing a game. “These two will make room. That’s Keren and Franco.” Then she nods to the toothless man who opened the door for us. “The rude one is Spade.”

  Keren has a broad face, and a nose that’s wider than it is long. She’s bundled in so many layers, she reminds me of when I worked in the part of the factory where we packaged goods up for shipping. She’s like a well-wrapped parcel.

  Franco is her opposite, so thin that he looks like he’s in training to be able to slip through prison bars. He’s chewing on the end of a small plastic stick, and I get the feeling he’s never still for long.

  They both give me friendly nods and move their game over to one of the beds without complaint. It seems like Tori’s in charge and they answer to her. But that can’t be right, can it? Sure, she used to go to Fist meetings sometimes, but she didn’t mention giving anyone orders.

  “Where’s Gareth?” asks Cale.

  Tori cocks her head. “Who are you, pretty-boy?”

  His jaw tightens at the nickname, but the friendliness of his tone doesn’t change. “I’m Cale. Gareth said he’d meet me here.”

  “He’ll be back soon. Sit down.” She turns back to me. “Tell me everything.”

  I sit down and fill her in on all the things that have happened since I last saw her, keeping my voice low so the other three Fist members can’t hear. I’m just glad Cale’s there to back me up so Tori doesn’t think I’ve gone completely insane, or that I’m making it all up.

  When we lived in the shelter together, Tori could always top anything bad that happened. This is nothing, she’d say, before coming up with a far-fetched story about something terrible she’d had to suffer, to make whatever hardships we were going through seem minor in comparison.

  Not this time.

  I would have sworn she could never be lost for words, but her mouth drops open soon after I start talking, and her eyes keep getting wider and wider. To be fair, I can hardly believe my own story. Swapping bands with a dead girl, competing in the Skin Hunter contest, and escaping from Director Morelle? It all sounds way too crazy to be true.

  “What happened to you?” I ask when I’ve finished. “You were transferred to a new job and a new shelter. How’d you end up here?”

  She shakes her head as though breaking out of the spell my story cast on her. Then she snorts. “My new job turned out to be looking after the boss, if you get what I mean. He decided I was going to warm his bed for him.”

  “What?” My stomach turns over. If I’d known, I would never have let her walk out of the shelter that night. I’ve no idea what I could have done to help her, but together we’d have come up with something.

  Cale’s expression has gone dark. “Can he get away with that?”

  “Asshole thought he could, until I stabbed him in the knee with a fork. He chased me, but he was bleeding buckets and limping pretty badly. I got away and spent the next couple of nights on the street.”

  “Alone?” My voice rises.

  She gives a dismissive shrug, but her gaze flicks down so quickly, most people would miss it. “I’m too punchy for anyone to mess with. You should know that by now, slugger.”

  It’s only because I know her so well that I can tell things must have happened that she doesn’t want to talk about. While I was settling into my own private bedroom at the Morelle Corporation, she probably went through hell.

  I turn my face away for a moment, willing myself not to let my anguish show. Even if I’d known what she was going through, what could I have done to help her?

  “Anyway,” she says. “I couldn’t find work and couldn’t bluff my way into any of the shelters. So I went looking for a Fist safe house I’d heard about. I knew Gareth from the meetings, but we’d only spoken a few times, so I wasn’t sure whether he’d take me in. Long story short, he turned out to be one of the good ones. Gareth made room for me right away, no questions asked. I’ve been here ever since.”

  Her voice is warm when she talks about Gareth, and her eyes sparkle. Could there be something between them? If so, I hope I get to meet him. Any man Tori falls for must be one of a kind.

  “You’re running things here?” I ask.

  “Gareth is. But he’s been busy tracking the knights, collecting proof of how many sinkers they’re killing. We were broadcasting the footage on Sub Zero, until they shut it down. Now, the only way we’ll be able to get it out is if we can hack b-Net.”

  “You think you can do that?” asks Cale.

  “Gareth will find a way.”

  Yeah, there’s definitely something between her and Gareth. Her lips twitch up a little when she says his name, as though thinking about him makes her happy.

  “Gareth’s been spending a lot of time on the street,” she adds. “So I’ve been helping out here.” She glances at Keren, Franco, and Spade, who’ve gone back to their card game, and raises her voice so they can hear her. “These fools need someone to tell them what to do, or they’ll likely get themselves killed.” Judging from the grins they shoot her, they’re used to her sharp tongue.

  “I didn’t know you were so involved with the Fist.”

  She wrinkles her nose at me. “They’re the only ones trying to make this hell-hole a little less shitty.”

  Her words send a pang of guilt through me. She’s right. Now I feel selfish because I never joined.

  “Why are you staying so close to the breach in the wall?” asks Cale. “Isn’t that risky?”

  “We’re trying to get people through to the other side. Into Deiterra.”

  “What?” Cale goes slack-jawed, and I must look just as shocked.

  “Across the breach?” I ask. “Through all that rubble, with soldiers guarding both sides?”

  She nods. “It’s a challenge, that’s for sure.”

  “But why would you risk it?” demands Cale.

  “The Fist has been trying to help sinkers for a long time, but things are only getting worse. Now, with the wall down, there’s another chance for us. Conditions must be better in Deiterra, because they have more land and less people. If we can find a way through the breach, we can send people to a whole new life
.” She gets up and goes to the map to tap one of the pins sticking into it. “We’ve lost three people so far, but each time we get closer to finding a way through.”

  I stare at the map, at the thick black line that marks the wall. On the other side is empty space, because if any map maker knows what’s over there, they aren’t saying. Our peace treaty forbids any Tritoner from setting foot on Deiterran soil, so President Trask has always pretended Deiterra doesn’t exist. All anybody knows about it is based on rumours that are decades old.

  But on Tori’s map, someone has drawn in the tree I saw, and put in a few more around it as well. Have they seen more trees, or are they just speculating?

  The idea of going through the wall makes me feel a little like the first time I transferred into a Skin. Like there’s an entirely different life in reach, one I never dreamed of. The possibilities make my head spin. Could someone really get to the other side?

  “How can anyone get past the knights?” asks Cale.

  “That’s the tricky part. But all the rubble in front of the breach actually helps. It’s like a giant maze. We’re mapping it at night, looking for a way that’s not obvious, so we can sneak our people through.”

  “What happens if someone makes it to the other side?” Cale gets up to stand in front of the map, peering at it like it holds the answers. “You really think the Deiterrans will let them stay?”

  “Why not?” Her chin lifts in a stubborn tilt. “We can give them information and help them fight against Triton. We have skills. And why should we be loyal to Triton after the way we’ve been treated all these years?”

  All those hours in the factory and the shelter when I allowed myself to dream about a better life, it would never have occurred to me to consider trying to get to Deiterra. I learned about the food wars at school, when Deiterra fought to stop Triton from expanding onto any more of their land. When the wall was built, Deiterra was less populated than Triton, but that was decades ago. Who knows what’s happened since then?

  “So you’ve given up trying to make things better for the workers here in Old Triton?” Cale asks.

  “Of course not,” she snaps. “We’ve taken out a few knights. But there are over a thousand of them, and they’re a lot worse than the stompers ever were. We’ve lost good people. More than ever before.” She waves one hand around the small room, her eyes flashing. “And I’m trapped in this stinking hovel, fighting a battle I know we can’t win, sending kids to their death. So don’t lecture me on giving up, okay? What are you doing to help, floater?”

  He raises both hands, glancing at the card players who are openly staring. “Hey, I didn’t mean anything. I was with Gareth at fifty-third when it was raided. It’s thanks to him I got away.”

  “You were there, pretty-boy?” Her tone softens, and she gives Cale an up-and-down look, as though assessing him with fresh eyes.

  I blink at him. I had no idea he’d actually been caught up in a raid.

  “We lost some good people at fifty-third.” He lets out a loud breath. “And I knew the four executed in the square.”

  “That shocked us all.” Tori shakes her head. “Did you see whether—?”

  A loud bang interrupts her. Then there are a series of cracks that sound like gunshots.

  “What’s that?” Cale demands, as the card players jump to their feet.

  “Sounds like fighting.” Striding to the window, I move the thick curtain aside so I can peek out. The alley is clear, but the sound of gunfire is loud.

  Cale moves beside me. “See anything?”

  “Nothing.”

  The door creaks open, and I spin around. Tori is easing outside.

  “What are you doing?” I hiss.

  “Gareth is due back.” She sounds worried. “The soldiers could be shooting at him. He might need help.”

  Before I can tell her it’s too dangerous, she disappears into the alley.

  Chapter Ten

  I take off into the alley after Tori.

  “Don’t, Milla,” Cale calls after me. But his footsteps are just behind me, following me out.

  Just as I catch up with Tori, she lifts her baggy shirt and tugs a gun out of the waistband of her jeans.

  I stare at it, shocked. “Where’d you get that?”

  “Stole it from a stomper.”

  “If you get caught with it—”

  “Yeah, I know. But they can only kill me once, right? Gun or no gun, I’m already on their hit list.”

  She moves quickly down the alley, hugging the walls. I stare after her for a moment, wanting to tell her to get rid of the gun, that it’s too dangerous to have one. But she’s right. Having an illegal weapon won’t make her any more of a target.

  Cale and I follow her down the alley to its entrance, and peek around the corner. All I see at first is dust kicked up from all the rubble around the breach in the wall. As more guns fire, flashes of light reflect off the dust.

  Then figures emerge. Men and women are pouring through the hole in the wall, scrambling over and around the boulders.

  Deiterrans.

  They’re wearing combat gear and firing guns.

  A line of knights in front of us are firing back at them, mowing the Deiterran invaders down. Their bullets tear through the line of enemy soldiers, while the Deiterrans’ bullets slow the knights down, but don’t drop them.

  Some knights don’t even bother to pull their weapons. They leap at the Deiterrans, moving faster than any human could. Their armored hands transform into claws. With vicious swipes they slice through flesh and sever limbs.

  I flinch backward as blood sprays across the rocks.

  The Deiterrans are being carved to pieces. The knights march forward, relentless and seemingly invulnerable. Mowing them down.

  Tori says something into my ear, but the deafening cracks of gunfire drown her out.

  Then I spot someone sprinting out of the darkness of a New Triton street. A man is running toward our alley, skirting the sunlit area near the breach. A knight is on his heels, thundering behind him, catching up fast.

  “Gareth!” gasps Tori. She jumps out from the cover of the alley into full view of the oncoming knight and aims the gun at Gareth, sighting down its barrel like she knows how to use it. With her other hand, she makes frantic ‘get down’ motions.

  Gareth dives forward and Tori fires. The bullet hits the knight, making it flinch. Tori fires again and again. The bullets don’t seem to hurt it, but Gareth manages to sprint away from it, gaining a slight lead.

  The sound of Tori’s gunfire is lost in the noise from the battle that’s still raging. But as soon as she runs out of bullets, the knight will take Gareth down. Both he and the knight are almost on us. We need to get back to the safe house and barricade ourselves in. Even then, it’ll probably just punch its way through the door.

  I’m turning to run when somebody comes up beside me. The others from the safe house have followed us out. Franco is next to me, and he tenses as though he’s ready to spring. He can’t mean to attack it? The Skin will tear him to pieces.

  Gareth rounds the corner into the alley and charges past us, heading for the safe house. The knight is right behind him. As it thunders around the corner, all the Fist members leap on it, trying to bowl it over. With one sweep of its arm, it sends Franco flying. Tori and Spade cling to its other arm, struggling to hang on. Keren leaps on its back. Gareth skids to a halt, turns back, and tackles its feet. Cale rushes to grab its free arm before it can tear the others off.

  When I realize what’s happening, I throw myself squarely at its middle, using all my strength to overbalance the knight. It goes down with a grunt of surprise, landing heavily. I keep hold, but even with all of us pinning it, the knight still thrashes around, impossibly strong. We won’t be able to hold it for long.

  Tori scrambles up, jams her gun into one of the pointed ears on the top of the knight’s head, and pulls the trigger. The knight goes limp.

  The Fist members pull themselves off
it, Keren extracting herself from underneath its shoulders with a grimace of pain. I get to my feet. Tori’s face is pale and her hands are shaking. The knight is still intact, but its eyes have gone dull. Blood and brain matter leak out of its ear.

  “Come on,” says Gareth in a low voice, peering back out of the alley. “Let’s get out of here before any more knights see us.”

  We run silently back to the safe house, the sounds of battle still loud behind us. Good thing their gunfire is deafening. If the Knights hadn’t been so busy slaughtering all those Deiterrans, they’d have heard us for sure.

  When we get inside, Gareth puts his arms around Tori. “You okay?” he asks.

  She frowns. “Am I okay? You’re the one who decided to race a knight.”

  He laughs and kisses her forehead. “Not on purpose, believe me.” Releasing her, he turns to us. “Thanks for jumping in.” He gives a nod that includes everyone in the room. “That knight didn’t know who he was messing with.” His gaze goes to me and he sticks his hand out, flicking his shaggy fringe out of his eyes. “I’m Gareth. And what you did was impressive.”

  I shake his hand, letting my small hand be swallowed up in his huge one. He’s a big guy, the tallest in the room, and I can see why Tori likes him. His unruly beard is bushier than Tori’s exploding ponytail, his smile is large and even, and his eyes crinkle like he’s thinking about something funny. He already seems to have brushed off the fact he was seconds from death.

  “Milla,” I say.

  “Welcome.” He turns to Cale and slaps his back. “Good to see you both.”

  Keren is at the window with the curtain pulled aside so she can see out. “It was a slaughter out there. The Deiterrans didn’t stand a chance.” Over the top of all her other clothing layers is a threadbare brown coat, which she tugs further around her as though she’s cold. She’s short and wide, and if I hadn’t seen her charge at the knight and leap fearlessly onto its back, I wouldn’t have believed it.

  Tori sinks into one of the chairs at the table. “Inside those Skins, they’re just kids.” She shakes her head. “How could they do that? How could children rip those people apart?”