by Larkin, Matt
Rachel drifted through the club, scanning for anyone matching the description she’d been given. A man in his forties, trim black hair, silver eyes. Save the eyes, dozens of people could have matched that description.
“That’s him,” Knight said a few minutes later, a jerk of his head indicating a man watching the pit.
“How can you be—”
“It’s him.”
Rachel glowered. “I wish you’d stop interrupting—”
“Are you going to talk to him or am I?”
“I’ll do it,” she said. “I wouldn’t want him driven to suicide in frustration.”
The sudden roar of the crowd made her jump. Down in the pit, a giant of a man, probably over 210cm, had caught a smaller man in a headlock. He must be an Anakim, one of the bloodlines the Angels had developed. Anakim were designed for high gravity worlds, larger, stronger, and very tough.
The victim’s eyes bulged as the Anakim squeezed. He beat vainly against the giant’s arm, and then was still.
The Anakim lifted his opponent over his head, then slammed him down over his knee. The sickening crack of a spine snapping echoed through the club, drowned out immediately by more cheers. Bile rose in Rachel’s throat.
Much as she wanted to look away, her eyes locked on the still victim, his body bent at an odd angle. These people were monsters. Could she blame the Angels for putting their ancestors here? Or did growing up in such a place create the monsters? Was the predisposition toward violence and crime genetic? Or just a result of this place itself? Imprisoned without a charge or crime, condemned to fight for survival, this world had given rise to men like that Anakim.
And men like Knight.
She threaded her way through the throng while the giant shouted for more challengers. Her target spotted her coming his way, met her gaze, then turned and began forcing his way through the crowd. Son of a bitch was running.
“Knight!”
She glanced back at Knight, who wended his way toward her.
And beyond him, at least a dozen Gehennan soldiers in battle armor had taken up position. “Everyone on the floor!” a soldier shouted, his voice distorted by his helm.
“Raid!” someone cried.
The crowd turned to chaos in a heartbeat. Some few, those nearest the soldiers, obeyed and dropped to their knees.
The soldier pointed at Rachel. “That’s her. Take her alive.”
Holy shit. Rachel couldn’t quite swallow. They couldn’t really be here for her. Government troops? An illegal pit fight, and they’d come for her? No, it wasn’t possible. How would the Gehennans even know?
“Run!” Knight shouted. He was beside her, shoving her away from the soldiers.
He leapt onto the rail surrounding the pit and sprinted toward the soldiers. One opened fire with a MAG rifle. A working MAG.
Knight spun horizontally through the air, avoiding the slugs while he pulled something from his coat. A small sword? The blade extended, becoming a weapon almost a meter long, with a slight curve.
Knight swung the blade at the soldier and it cut right through the MAG, splitting it in half.
Rachel almost stumbled. God, how was that possible? No blade should cut through even the outer shell, much less the rail.
“Run!” Knight shouted again, as the Gehennan troopers moved in on him. One tried to attack him with a long knife, while another leveled some kind of pointed rod at him.
One of the soldiers flung a grenade at her. Rachel dove to the ground and slapped it away. It exploded into the crowd, releasing an electrical cloud that dropped everyone nearby into convulsions on the floor.
Shit, shit, shit! She pushed herself up and jumped down into the pit. The three meter fall stung her ankles, though she landed in a crouch. David was right. She was in over her head. Redeemers were bad enough, but now an entire government was hunting her, too.
There was a side door in the pit, and the Anakim had flung it open. Rachel dashed after him. Gunfire retorted above her head. Something exploded.
She never should have come here.
She ran down the hall. Suddenly the giant stopped, backing up. Ahead of him, a soldier was pointing another of those rods.
“Surrender,” the soldier said.
The Anakim roared and charged him. The rod jerked and a half-meter spike launched from it. The lance struck the giant in the chest and hurled him back into Rachel. The impact threw her down. Numbing shocks ran through her elbows where they hit the floor.
She could still escape. Single shot projectile weapon, its ammunition spent. One soldier. She could escape one man. She rose to her knees and let the man approach. He shoved her against the wall and tried to restrain her hands behind her back.
She stomped on his foot and slammed her shoulder into his chest. The armor probably stopped any real harm, but an oomph escaped the man, and he released her.
Rachel took off at a dead run, dashing around the next corner and then the next. Stairs led back up to the main level.
Where was Knight? Those soldiers were going to kill him.
And there was nothing she could do about it.
Others were still fleeing out a back door into the alley, crowding the airlock.
Rachel pressed on her breather and pushed her way into the airlock. Knight could take care of himself. There was nothing she could for him right now.
CHAPTER TWELVE
In truth, I think the Gehennan history bears further study. It represents a useful look at the reality of human nature. If we are to rise above ourselves, our basic instincts, we must understand them. And what better place to see our truest, darkest selves than a world like Gehenna, a world where all comforts are stripped away?
Knight rammed his mono sword into the belly of a soldier. A splatter of blood gushed out, covering his coat. Behind him, another one was bringing a MAG pistol to bear. Knight snapped his foot out, slamming the MAG against the pit rail and pinning it there.
He slammed his palm into a third man’s face, then spun back and grabbed the man trying to free his MAG. Knight turned the fool round, bent him over his own MAG, and pulled the trigger. He tossed the volatile weapon at the helmet of a soldier rushing him with a mono sword.
His heart pounded in his chest. His adrenaline soared. Everyone else moved in slow motion. He could always count on his reflexes. He yanked his sword free from the dying soldier, ducked under the blow of the newest attacker, and chopped the man’s sword arm off.
A sudden sense of unease told him someone took aim at him. Knight flipped sideways through the air, landing on the rail again, and evaded a lancerod bolt. The bolt impaled a civilian behind where Knight had just stood.
Knight kicked off the rail, jumped on a man’s shoulders, and leapt to the wall. He kicked off it, landing in a crouch behind the soldier with the lancerod. A swipe of the sword severed both of the man’s legs.
More gunfire rang to the side. A pair of soldiers rushed him, mono swords high. Knight waited for them to close, then jerked to the side, using them against each other. His own blade cleaved through armor with little effort, cutting down the first man.
The second tried to reposition. Knight kicked out his knee, grabbed the man’s sword, and rammed it right through his faceplate.
A lancerod clicked. The world fell into stillness as Knight turned, seeing the trajectory. He twisted, almost fast enough, as the missile flew through the air. It caught the edge of his coat. He felt the impact, but the nanobots in the mesh absorbed and distributed the kinetic energy.
Rachel had to be free by now. She’d gone down into the pit. Chances were, more troops would show up soon. Knight jumped onto another charging fool, kicking off his face, and flipped into the pit.
He landed in a crouch, then launched himself forward through the tunnel. The champion was dead down there. Knight leapt onto the wall for two steps, going over the massive body, and kept running.
He reached the back lobby, a secret escape into the alley. The suits had to have a way
out in case of a raid. Rachel wasn’t here. At least the damn girl had run like he’d said. Now where was she? She was his ticket off this rock, and no way was he letting her slip through his fingers.
He shoved others out of the way and entered the airlock, buzzing it closed. Damn things took too long. Especially for those who didn’t need breathers. He recompressed his mono sword and tucked it back inside his coat. More soldiers were out here, rounding people up.
Knight slipped into the shadows, making not a sound. He scrambled up crevices on the wall, then kicked off it to reach the next building. This one had windows. Perfect handholds. He leapt sideways from one to the next, ascending onto the roof, five stories above.
Thunder rumbled. More rain was coming.
Just what he needed.
From the edge of the roof he scanned the alleys. Soldiers had rounded up a lot of patrons, but not Rachel. He sprinted to the other side of the building. She was there, off another alley, talking to her lead.
She’d actually found the guy with the silver eyes. Impressive.
She’d wind up in danger again within the next five minutes, though. Another building, a story lower, stood across the street, perhaps five meters. Knight backed away from the edge, took a deep breath, and ran. He kicked off the roof ledge and flew through the air. His coat tails streamed out behind him.
A heartbeat of freedom. Soaring.
He landed in a roll on the lower roof, coming immediately back to his feet into another run. He turned, leaping to another building, and catching a balcony on the second story. He released his grip, then caught the lower ledge. Then he let go and landed in a crouch.
Rachel would be just around the other corner. As long as the target hadn’t moved, he should have his back to this alley. Knight slipped around the corner, keeping to the shadows. Never let them see you until it’s too late. That was always the way.
“Look, it’s ten thousand kesitahs,” Rachel said, trying to press some chips at the suit. “Just take the money and tell me where to find these people.”
“You’re fucking off rotation if you think I’m getting involved, bitch. Those were government soldiers. What’s next, Gibborim?”
Knight grabbed the man’s shoulder, eliciting a shout from him and a muffled cry from Rachel. He flung the suit against the wall. “Don’t want money? Fine. You still have to answer the question.”
The man rubbed his shoulder and glared at Knight. Then he went for something in his coat. Knight grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted. A knife clattered to the ground. Knight slammed his palm down on the man’s forearm. The bone snapped with a sharp crack and the suit fell, screaming.
“Angels above!” he moaned. “You broke my arm.”
“Knight!” Rachel said.
Knight leaned down to look in the suit’s face. “It’s okay. She’s going to give you the money to get it fixed. Start talking before your hospital stay becomes more expensive. Right now, you’re still making a profit.”
“Fuck you, you—”
Knight punched him across the jaw. The man’s head snapped back against the wall, and he slumped to the ground, gurgling something incomprehensible.
“Knight!” Rachel said again. “Void, man!”
He barely glanced at her. “Sooner or later those soldiers are going to catch up to us. This has gotten a lot bigger than it was a day ago. Now it’s time to get this information and get the fuck out of here.” He turned back to the suit. “Tell her what she wants to know. Now.”
The man glared up at him, blood trickling down his chin.
Fine. Knight grabbed him by the chin and pulled him to his feet. “Do you like the other arm?”
“Wait!” Tears slipped from his eyes, whether from pain or fear, Knight didn’t know. Or care.
He was getting his money and getting out of here. Now that the government was involved, time was short for Rachel, and maybe even shorter for him. The moment the Shadow Council learned he was involved, things would turn very, very ugly.
“Please, I’ll tell you… They have a safe house in the Beulah District. Underground, marked with the sign of the serpent. Please, just let me go.”
Knight did, and the man fell back onto the ground, cradling his arm. “Come on,” he said to Rachel.
She trotted after him. “Don’t you even care about the pain you’ve caused?”
“Do you?”
“Of course I care! That’s why I told you to—”
“Not what I was asking.” He shook his head, continuing his circuitous route back to the bike. Best avoid the whole area of the club, as much as possible. “Do you care about the pain you’re causing? Your mission for this Sefer, whatever it is, has led to dozens of deaths, conspiracies, and God knows what else.”
Rachel stopped for a moment, stumbling over her own feet. “Wait a minute, you’re the one who killed most of those people.”
“Because of a situation you created. And you’re being naive if you think those are the only victims of this. You’ve got megacorps and the Gehennan oligarchy after you. I can guarantee there are more people hurt by this than you know.”
“I’m trying to change the future.”
“Tell yourself whatever you want. It doesn’t change the truth.”
Rachel pulled him around to face her. She still wore the headscarf, and though he couldn’t see her mouth because of the breather, her eyes glowered. “You talk like you care about other people. Deep down, maybe there’s a part of you that does. But you’re the one breaking bones!”
Who the void did she think she was? He sneered at her. “Don’t put this on me. You came looking for a warrior, because you’d managed to get dangerous men after you. Now, I’m all you’ve got.” He turned the next corner and hopped on the bike. “So get on.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Angels had always forbade mankind to journey into the Expanse of Nod. After the Vanishing, some people did—most never returned. The Redeemers claimed the region was damned, and those who ventured there deserved their fate. And yet, pirates and privateers began to take up hiding in the Expanse, knowing even Sentinels would hesitate to pursue them inside. Without doubt, the Angels chose Gehenna for their prison because most people would fear to even get close to this system.
Rachel climbed onto the back of Knight’s hoverbike. “We should go for that safe house now.”
“The soldiers are already looking for you,” he said. “Every minute we spend in this city—”
“Then we’d best do this before they realize where we’re going.”
Knight shook his head and sighed. “Put on the helmet. Let’s get this done.”
Rachel did, and Knight started the bike again. It lifted off, and he drove fast, but not fast enough to draw attention. It took less than ten minutes to get to the Beulah District. Her bodyguard seemed to know where he was going—fairly well considering he’d said he’d only been here once or twice.
There were far too many things she didn’t know about this man. He’d tortured that guy almost without a thought. Rachel didn’t have any love for the vile little informant either, but Knight had crossed a line he didn’t even seem to know was there. And yet, an hour ago, hadn’t she been thinking she couldn’t judge him, that circumstances had led him to where he was?
She hopped off the bike and stowed the helmet. “Do you know where this serpent building is?”
“No.” He took off his own helmet and powered down the bike. A moment later, he started walking, again almost like he knew where he was going. “You know this mission of yours is off rotation, right?”
Rachel grit her teeth and said nothing. The Sefer Raziel was said to reveal the location of the Ark, the repository of all Angel knowledge. With that, the entire universe would change. Humanity would finally have the understanding to rise up and reach its next stage. To break away from rules and traditions that had dominated them for thirty-one centuries.
“Haven’t you ever wondered about the truth, Knight?” she said after a
moment. “Where do we come from? What else is out there? Why the rules about the Conduit? What is the Conduit really? How can we speak to God ourselves?”
“Not really. I wonder about when I’ll get paid, where I’ll get my next meal, whether the man watching us from the far alley is a threat, or if whoever is moving behind the shades in that window has a gun.”
Beaten down by the practical. Rachel sighed. Could she really blame him? However off rotation her father may have been, she and her brothers had always had food, a safe place to stay, all the comforts of the elite.
“That looks like it,” he said, pointing to a building matching her reluctant informant’s description. “What now?”
Rachel shut her eyes. Indeed. David made it clear these people were dangerous criminals. They weren’t going to share, and they weren’t going to cooperate. She sighed and looked him right in the face. “This is too big to let some fringe group control the answers. We have to get whatever they know. But Knight, don’t kill anyone.”
He shook his head. “Not going to promise that. I’ll do my best, but I have to take whatever steps are necessary, when they’re needed. You want this info so badly, face the consequences of that desire.” With that, he strode toward the building marked with the serpent.
Rachel swallowed hard, then trotted off after him. He’d really kill more people for her, whether she wanted him to or not. And by pressing forward with this, was she responsible for their deaths?
She had to focus. She’d come this far. There was no turning back. “How are we going to get past the airlock?” If this place was secure then surely they’d need a code to open it.
Knight pointed to the windows at the building above. “Reinforced glass. Tough, but not indestructible.”
Okay. But how was he going to get up there?
Knight drew the sword from his coat and extended it again. Then he took off running toward the building, and ran up it, three steps. He lunged with the blade and it pierced the window with a slight shriek. The glass was too thick to shatter, but his weight pulled the sword down until he got a foot on the windowsill to support himself. He carved out a circle in the window, then kicked it in.
