The Skin Hunter Series Box Set

by Tania Hutley

  “I get to kill one too,” crows the girl-knight. She steps up to the bearded man and reaches down to grab his neck.

  “No time,” calls one of the four knights that have gone ahead. “We have orders. We’re going to be late.”

  The girl lets out a disappointed sound, but lets the man go. The two of them join their friends before all six knights march away in a pack.

  I stay still, just twitching my head to ease my hood up a little so I can see where the knights go. None of the other rough sleepers move a muscle, though I know they’re all awake. I can hear their fast, shallow breaths, and smell their fear.

  The knights march into the Meat Locker, nodding at the guards as they enter. When the last one has disappeared inside, I let out a long breath and push myself up to sitting.

  “Bastards,” snarls the bearded man, wiping his hand over his neck as though the knight’s fingers left something nasty behind. “You see the director on the holo? She said the knights were going to kill the Deiterrans, not us.”

  “You believed that?” One of the other men lifts his head and makes a sound of disgust. “They’re worse than the stompers. Moment I saw them I knew they would be.”

  Getting to my feet, I look down at Gama’s body. Though I didn’t know her, I can’t stand to see her lying there like discarded trash. A cold anger burns in the pit of my stomach. She didn’t deserve to die like that.

  Cale emerges from the stall and motions for me to join him behind it. When I do, he grabs me by the arms with a worried frown. “Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you?”

  “I’m fine.” I nod toward Gama’s body. “I don’t want to leave her on the sidewalk. You think we can carry her to a street further away, then call a cab and take her to the morgue?”

  He nods. My own horror at the way she died is reflected back in his eyes. “I’ll call one.”

  While he taps his band, I cast another long look at the Meat Locker. It’s clearly the knights’ base of operations, where they leave to go on their patrols and where they return afterward. Old Triton is twenty-eight stories high, and the scraper looks big enough to house hundreds, maybe thousands, of pods.

  Cale was right when he said there was no way to get into the building.

  No way, except one.

  If I transferred into a Knight Skin, I might be able to walk right in.

  Chapter Twelve

  Cale calls Ma to arrange for her to meet us outside her factory that evening, just after seven o’clock when her day shift ends. While we wait for her to finish work, I study the factory. It’s where the Skins are being made, and the Fist’s explosives are already planted inside. There’s a main entrance where the grunts go in and out, and a roller door for deliveries. Both doors are guarded by stompers rather than knights, which is one good thing. Still, what I’ve decided to do isn’t going to be easy.

  When Ma sees me, she grabs me in a bear hug with a cry of relief. “You’re okay, love?” Her voice is thick with tears and she hugs me so tightly I can feel her bones poking out under her thick layers of clothing. “You have a new eye? I thought so, but my holo app’s barely working, so I couldn’t tell for sure. Oh it’s good to see you. Are you safe? Are they still looking for you? You’re much too thin.”

  “I’m too thin?” I protest. “You feel like you haven’t eaten in a year.”

  Her arms might be skinny, but hard work has made her strong. It takes me a while to prise free from her grip so I can introduce her to Cale. Then we head to a dark side alley where we can talk without attracting attention.

  “You’re okay, Milla?” she demands again. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

  “I’m fine. See?” In spite of the threat of being identified by any street cameras the Fist might not have knocked out, I tug my bandanna down so she can see my face. I can’t get over how old Ma looks. Her hair is gray and lank, and her face is etched with lines of worry and strain.

  “What happened to you? Why did they tell me you were dead? And now they’re saying you killed someone?”

  I hitch the bandanna back into place. “I didn’t kill anyone. But I’ll have to explain when we have more time. Ma, I came to ask you for something.”

  “Anything, love.”

  “You know The Fist are going to blow up your factory tonight?”

  “I heard. That’s why I’m not working the night shift.” Then she frowns. “You haven’t joined the Fist, have you? Not that I don’t appreciate what they’re trying to do, but you’re in enough danger already.”

  “I’m not working with them. Not really.” I glance guiltily at Cale, because as it turns out, that’s exactly what I’m doing. “I’m just trying to find William.”

  Her brow smooths, and she gives me a smile so filled with hope that it makes my heart ache. “I know you will. You’ll find him. You’ll keep him safe.”

  I exchange another glance with Cale. His lips are tight and his expression pained. I dragged him into my plan while we were waiting for Ma to finish her shift, and just as I expected, he didn’t like it one bit. He agreed to call Gareth and Tori for me so I could talk through what I wanted to do, but he also spent a lot of time trying to convince me my plan sucks.

  “I figured out where William is,” I tell Ma. “But to get him out of the director’s army, I’m going to need one of the Knight Skins. Is there any way to get one out of the factory?”

  “One of the Skins?” She sucks in a whistling breath through the gaps in her teeth. “They’re always guarded. There are stompers on the line, more than ever before. And the Skins are big and heavy. You can’t exactly tuck one under your arm.”

  “That’s the door where trucks pick up the finished Skins and take them to the Meat Locker, right?” I point to the roller door, and when Ma nods, I ask, “Are there any Skins waiting to be picked up?”

  “A couple. The truck doesn’t come until there are six Skins ready for collection.”

  “Are the two that are ready near the roller door?”

  She nods again, and I let myself feel a sliver of hope. Maybe my crazy plan could actually work.

  “One more question, Ma. Where’s the button to open the roller door from the inside?”

  Next to me, Cale looks stony faced. I can tell he’s biting his tongue, not wanting to tell me again how dangerous my plan is, because he doesn’t want to worry my mother.

  She frowns. “I suppose it’s on the wall next to the door. I couldn’t say for sure.”

  I can’t help glancing again at Cale. When I catch his eye, he opens his mouth as though his objections are about to pour out, and I turn quickly back to Ma.

  “One last question. I can’t get into the factory without clearance. Would you lend me your band so I can pretend I’m you?”

  Ma’s eyes widen. It’s a lot to ask. The punishment for wearing somebody else’s band is suffering a miserable death in an overcrowded jail. I’ve been risking it for so long, I’d almost forgotten how shocking the idea of breaking that law is to everyone else.

  “But you can’t go into the factory now.” Ma shakes her head. “Not when they’re about to blow it up.”

  “I still have more than thirty minutes. I just need to open the roller door before the bomb goes off, then I’ll get out of there. Piece of cake.”

  “Milla—”

  “It’s the only way to get William out, and it’s not as dangerous as it sounds.” I wave a hand at the night shifters who are turning up to work, shuffling in through the factory’s entrance. There are far less than normal, but a dozen men and women are heading inside. “They’re all going in, and they know about the bomb. The fire alarm will go off, then everyone will have a good ten minutes to get out. Plenty of time.”

  Her eyes search my face, then go to Cale. “What do you think?” she demands. “Should I let her do it?”

  He lifts his eyes to the heavens, like he’s wishing she hadn’t asked him. Then he lets out a long sigh. “Maybe you can stop her, but I can’t. It’s dangerous and I wish s
he weren’t doing it. But she’s convinced this is the only way.”

  Ma nods slowly and looks a little less worried, though I don’t think Cale said anything reassuring. Her fingers go to the catch on her plain worker’s band, and she presses the release. It springs open, and without it, her wrist looks naked. I’ve never seen her without a band before. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen anyone without a band.

  “You’d better take off the one you’re wearing first, love.” She motions to my arm. “Lovely band, that one. Where’d you get it?”

  “From a floater.” I stare down at Rayne’s delicate gold band. It took me out of the shelter and gave me my Leopard Skin, but it’s useless to me now, especially in Old Triton. Still, I find myself strangely reluctant to take it off. I’ve been Rayne for what feels like forever, and without a band, I’m nobody at all. Without a band, I don’t officially exist, and the penalty for that is the same as stealing somebody else’s identity.

  What am I doing putting Ma in that kind of danger?

  “You don’t have to do this,” murmurs Cale. “We can come up with another way.”

  I shake my head. “This is the best chance we’re going to get.” Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and remember what it felt like to be the leopard, drawing on every bit of the leopard’s strength. Then I force my fingers under the band and wrench it as hard as I can.

  The lock snaps open and the band clatters onto the sidewalk.

  Rayne is officially gone. She’s dead now. It feels like I’m giving up my identity all over again.

  Ma’s mouth slackens and her eyes go wide. “How’d you do that?” She bends to pick up the band, frowning at the latch that’s supposed to be all but unbreakable.

  Cale is gaping too. Though I filled him in on all the details on how I’m stronger than before, seeing it for himself must be a shock.

  “I’ll tell you later, okay Ma? The clock is ticking.”

  She wraps her own band around my wrist and fastens it shut. “There. Promise you won’t let them catch you? I’d never forgive myself.”

  I meet her eyes. As worried as she is for me, her naked wrist makes me more afraid for her.

  “I’ll wait here for you,” Ma adds.

  “It’s not safe. I need you to get out of here.” I turn to Cale. “Will you check with Doctor Gregory to make sure it’s okay if Ma stays the night at her house, then call her a cab?”

  He nods and steps away from us to make the call.

  Ma hugs me tight. “Be safe, okay love?”

  “You too.”

  When we’ve put Ma safely into a cab and she’s on her way to Doctor Gregory’s, I turn back to Cale.

  “Now will you check in with Gareth? Find out if they have a truck?”

  Cale calls Gareth, and they have a brief, silent conversation. When he disconnects the call, he says, “They’ve picked up the truck and they’re on their way, but it’ll take a while for them to get here. It’s going to be tight.”

  Cale looks truly miserable. If he had a band that would get him into the factory, there’s no way he’d let me go in alone. But his floater’s band wouldn’t make it past the scanners.

  “Okay.” I drag in a breath. “I’m going in. Wish me luck.”

  “Wait.” He takes hold of my upper arms and frowns at me. “I’m still mad with you for lying to me.” His eyes are dark with worry. “But I need you to be careful in there so I can be angry with you a lot more, okay?”

  With my bandanna over the lower half of my face, he can’t see me smile. “Okay.”

  He nods. Then he pulls me close and hugs me even tighter than Ma did. “I hate this,” he mumbles. “You don’t have to do it. We can call it off.”

  I disentangle myself from his arms. “I’ll see you just before the explosion. I promise, everything will be fine.” I mean every word of it. No matter what he pretends, I can tell he’s mostly forgiven me. There’s no way I’m going to let a factory full of stompers and a few explosives keep me from coming back to him now.

  At the factory’s entrance, I mingle with another group of grunts arriving to start night shift. They’re volunteers who are here to avoid raising suspicions before the blast, and I’m impressed by their bravery.

  Ma’s band gets a green light on the scanner, and I keep my head down to keep from catching the gaze of the stompers who guard the place. Once through the internal doors that lead to the factory floor, the din of the machines gets louder. An enormous conveyor belt snakes around the large room, with various workstations attached for specialized tasks.

  One heavily-guarded section is where the knights’ weapons are being made. At another, metallic skeletons dangle like nightmare marionettes. At a third, a holo is projecting images of tiny computer chips, magnifying them to a much larger size. A grunt is rotating each image to check every microscopic component is properly in place.

  I have no idea what workstation Ma is assigned to, and I don’t want to be recognized as an intruder, so I shuffle along slowly, trying to look like I’m ambling toward a workstation at the far end of the factory, near the large roller door. Sure enough, when I get close, I see two completed Skins, ready for shipping. What’s even better is that each Skin is standing upright on a wheeled trolley, so the workers can easily transport them.

  But like Ma said, there are stompers guarding them. Two men and one woman in black uniforms stand idly chatting, their guns in holsters by their sides.

  My plan is simple. As soon as the fire alarm goes off, the stompers will evacuate with everyone else. As soon as they’ve gone, I’ll hit the button to open the roller door, then push one of the Knight Skins out. Gareth and Tori are bringing a truck to load it onto. Hopefully the bomb blast will be enough of a distraction that we’ll be able to drive away with the Skin.

  Simple.

  Okay, so there’ll still be lots of stompers around, but Gareth said he and Tori would bring weapons with them, including poppers. We should be able to hold back the stompers for long enough to get away.

  Keeping my head down, I walk slowly enough that I can take a look around while I head to the roller door.

  “What are you doing?” A harsh voice rings out and I jerk around to see a stomper striding toward me. His eyes narrow at the bandanna over my face. “Why aren’t you at your station?”

  “Sorry. On my way.” I wave an apologetic hand and turn to go, but he grabs my arm with rough fingers.

  “Why is your face covered?”

  “Allergies.”

  He snorts. “What workstation are you assigned to?”

  “That one.” I point to a part of the conveyor belt where small metal rods are spinning.

  “Come with me,” he snarls, hauling on my arm to drag me in the opposite direction.

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “Admin. They’ll check who you are and where you’re supposed to be, and dock your wages while they’re at it.”

  I don’t have time for this. If he drags me all the way to Admin, I could be stuck there when the fire alarm goes off. I’ll have to get away from him. There are too many people in this part of the factory to try anything, but as soon as we get around the corner, I’ll—

  An alarm shrieks, so loud it’s deafening. The stomper stops dead, looking around. Grunts at every station drop what they’re doing and run at full speed toward the exit.

  The alarm’s gone off early, and I’m nowhere near the roller door.

  Wrenching my arm from the stomper’s grip, I shove him with all my strength. He falls backward onto the concrete floor. His head cracks against it.

  I don’t know if anyone saw him fall, but I’m not sticking around to find out. I turn and run toward the roller door. The grunts are all moving the other way, heading toward the main entrance, and I have to dodge through them. Nobody tries to stop me. They’re all intent on getting out of the building before it goes ka-boom.

  Running up to the roller door, I scan for stompers, but the ones I saw earlier have gone. The door�
��s unguarded, and the button to open it should be on the—

  A deafening boom fills my head. Then a shockwave slams into me like something solid and catapults me sideways. I hit the wall, but manage to get my arms around my skull in time to keep my brains from splattering on the concrete.

  Dust billows, making it impossible to see, and my ears ring so loudly I can’t hear a thing. My bandanna has come loose, and I gasp in dust, then cough and hack, trying to clear my lungs.

  The explosives went off too early.

  I can’t panic. I need to stick with the plan. First, I tighten the bandanna around my nose and mouth so I can breathe without coughing. Then I pull myself to my feet, ignoring the pain in my hip where it hit the wall.

  Staggering forward, I feel my way along the wall. Dust fills the air, stinging my eyes and blinding me. The ringing inside my head is gradually replaced by the shriek of the alarm, and I’m not sure which is worse.

  Then I hear shouts over the din, faint but unmistakable. Not just shouts, but the barking of orders. Stompers. That’s definitely worse.

  Talking it through with the others, we all assumed the stompers would stay outside. I mean, why come rushing back into a factory that’s just been bombed? But the shouts are getting closer and it sounds like they’re looking for whoever’s responsible. They’re probably spreading out, searching the factory, hunting for a target. And I doubt they’ll be picky.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I still can’t see a damn thing, but somehow I manage to blunder into one of the Knight Skins. It’s been knocked off its trolley and is lying on its side, but doesn’t look damaged.

  Ma was right; it’s heavy. Even with my super strength, straining with everything I’ve got, I barely manage to lever it back onto the trolley. But finally, it’s back in place and ready to wheel out of here.

  Now all I have to do is find the button to open the roller door. Not so easy when I’m blind in the swirling dust and the stompers’ shouts are getting louder.