“Still out, for now,” I said. “But if we have anything to keep her down for a little while longer, I’d very much appreciate it. If her claws are as sharp as Amane’s, she will filet me like a fish when she wakes up.”
“Don’t worry, I’m keeping an eye on you both,” Amane murmured, giving me a sideways smile. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
That warmed me up on the inside, to the point where I could just drop Amal like a rag doll and take Amane in my arms. I needed to inhale her scent again and feel her lips on mine. There was no better cure against the anxiety piling up inside me.
“Okay, I think we’re out of the hot zone,” Raphael said, glancing over his shoulder.
The thunderous booms echoed behind us, but there weren’t any Perfects chasing us. Cassiel had definitely helped us, which made his double-agent statement more truthful. We’d left Ta’Zan without his favorite scientist, and we’d also stolen some devil-vipers for our pulverizer weapons.
We were one step closer to victory today. Whether that was going to change tomorrow or not, it didn’t matter. I planned to enjoy this tiny win. I was determined to reach the new base camp, to see Rose and the others again, and to let Derek and the dome prisoners know that we’d made progress—that there was hope.
As bad as things got, I had Amane by my side, and one hell of a team around me. We weren’t unstoppable, but we were recklessly relentless and determined to save our world. That was enough to add more fire to my heels, as we continued our race through the jungle.
We’d be home soon enough.
Douma
As I came to, I found myself surrounded by some of my Perfect brothers and sisters. They seemed concerned, though they had no reason to be, since we were so difficult to kill. After all, Dmitri’s crew didn’t even bother to cut my head off. My bullet wounds were almost fully healed already, though my body still ached from top to bottom.
Gritting my teeth, I managed to get up into a sitting position.
“Take it easy, Sister,” Dyona said, gently squeezing my shoulder. “You took quite a hit.”
“I’m still breathing. Relax,” I replied dryly.
“The outsiders hurt you, didn’t they?” Melyana murmured, her delicate brows furrowed.
“Perhaps ‘hurt’ is too strong a word,” Nadiel said, grinning. “Our Douma here is ironclad. A few bullets won’t be the end of her!”
“Yuk it up, Nadiel,” I retorted. “But don’t stay still when they point those weapons at you. The pulverizer will kill you. Forever.”
The smile vanished from Nadiel’s face, as he was reminded of the outsiders’ destructive capabilities. I reached out a hand. He took it and helped me up. My knees were still quite weak, but I was able to stand. I knew too well what those bullets did. The impact trauma had an effect on my entire body, not just the entry points.
“Are you okay?” he asked me.
I nodded. “I’m fine. Go with the others. Continue the search. We must find them before they get out,” I said. “This is the second time they’ve infiltrated the colosseum. Father will be furious.”
“He already is,” Melyana replied, clearly worried. “Word is they took Amal.”
My blood ran cold. “Then stop wasting time with me! Get out there and do your jobs!” I snapped.
Nadiel shook his head with dismay, then left, accompanied by Melyana and Dyona.
“Glad to have you back, Sister,” he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Once I closed the door behind them, I could breathe a little better. Everyone had been treating me as if I were damaged goods or something. As if the outsiders had traumatized me. I was alive and healthy, and ready to do my part. I didn’t like being treated like a very special snowflake.
Browsing through my wardrobe, I let a deep sigh roll out of my chest. All my clothes were identical. The same dark blue silk tunics with silver embroidery along the sleeves and around the collar. I took off the one I had on, then slipped into a new one. My appearance had to match my genetic design at all times—perfection, from head to toe.
I left my room and went straight into the forbidden area, where the genetic labs were securely located. Most of my brethren were busy roaming the hallways and searching through every room and common space, using their noses and the thermal scanners to find Dmitri and the others. Deep down, I knew they were already out. They weren’t stupid. They knew when it got too hot for them to linger. Otherwise, they would’ve tried harder to take me with them.
They would’ve failed, but, still, I knew them well enough to understand exactly how relentless and resourceful they were. Through it all, I had learned plenty from Dmitri, and I was ready to apply it in my next endeavor.
I moved with confidence, keeping my head high as I entered the lab section. I punched a code into the first access panel. The glass doors slid open before me, and I went deeper, passing by the genetic labs and the sample storage rooms. There were plenty of Faulty geneticists here, but none of them seemed to notice me.
Some were too busy looking after the artificial wombs. To my right, the conception halls were filled with soon-to-be-born Perfects, each carefully monitored by the Faulties. Their vitals were beeping green on the wall screens. Nutrients were injected into the wombs, dissolving into the amniotic fluid before being absorbed through the skin. Another two hours, and this particular branch would produce another ten dozen brothers and sisters.
Each colosseum shelled out about six hundred of them, on a daily basis, as there were conception labs on each floor of each diamond structure. Our army was growing at an alarmingly fast rate.
Still, this wasn’t my concern.
I pressed another access code, then slipped through the double doors leading to the live specimen conservatory. There were only four creatures living here, isolated in pairs, in glass boxes. The code I used was stolen. I didn’t have access in this part of the colosseum. But I needed to speak to these… specimens.
Looking around, I made sure no one saw me, before I fumbled with the light and diamond wall controls and shaded the entire chamber. No one could see me from the outside—and Ta’Zan often visited this place, so none of the Faulties were going to get suspicious if they saw the darkened walls.
There were four Draenir living here. Two couples. They’d been prisoners since long before the great sleep. They’d woken up in the pod cave with Ta’Zan and the Faulties. And they’d ended up in these glass boxes, their DNA being the central line of our creation. We were all Draenir deep down. I knew about them from Ta’Zan—I was one of the few to whom he’d given details regarding who these creatures were, and what they’d been before. I remembered now.
Kerleise and Ivran Carmaris had once presided over a cultural association, in charge of organizing theatrical and musical events in all the major Draenir cities. They were once rich and loved by everyone, admired for their dedication to the development of performance arts.
Silene and Kellan Phiseiros had led the hunt for Ta’Zan, after the first Draenir women showed up dead, floating in the river outside Mygos, then capital of this civilization. Yet all four had been reduced to mere shadows of themselves, withering away in glass boxes, with tufts of greenery tickling their bare feet. They were miserable, to say the least. That much I could tell from their expressions as they all turned their heads to look at me.
“Hello,” I said, my tone flat. “We should talk.”
A few seconds went by in silence, until they realized that I wasn’t a usual visitor. Truth be told, only Amane, Amal, and Ta’Zan had the clearance to come in. I’d gone to great lengths to get the access code.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” Silene murmured.
“How would you know?” I replied, raising an eyebrow and crossing my arms.
“Oh, we know. We’ve been here for long enough to understand who’s allowed to see us, and who isn’t,” Kellan said. “You’re not Ta’Zan. You’re not Amal. And you’re not Amane, though we haven’t seen her in a
while. Therefore, you’re not allowed in here.”
“And that bothers you why?” I asked.
Ivran shrugged. He didn’t have the strength to do anything, but that didn’t mean he was ready to talk to anyone—especially me, a Perfect, one of the many reasons why they were still here, withering away.
“We didn’t say it bothers us. But, still, what are you doing here?” he said.
“Wait. You’re one of his newer creations, aren’t you?” Kerleise gasped.
I nodded briefly. “And you’ve been his gene bank for how long? Two hundred years?”
“More or less,” Kellan said, shrugging.
“Like I said, we need to talk,” I muttered, then stepped forward.
They all moved back, almost on instinct, as if terrified of me. They were pale, almost lifeless, their muscles weak and their limbs shaking. They could barely stand. All they got was food, water, medication, and the occasional muscular stimulation through padded wires. They hadn’t seen the light of day in almost two centuries, judging by their almost-white eyes. It was a miracle they could still see me, at this point.
“What do you want to talk about?” Ivran replied.
“Ta’Zan. You’ve known him since before the Faulties. You can tell me everything I need to know to take him down, for good,” I said, my jaw locked.
The Draenir were confused. And for good reason. Ta’Zan’s creatures were blindly loyal to him, so what the hell was I doing?
“What makes you think we know anything?” Kellan asked.
“And why would we tell you? Is this a trick? Is he trying to mess with us?” Silene added, pursing her lips.
I shook my head, then took another step. Mere feet remained between us, along with an impenetrable sheet of glass. I couldn’t do anything for these people now, but I could make sure they had a shot at freedom later.
“Let me tell you a brief story,” I said. “Not long ago, I came out of an artificial womb. My father took me under his wing and taught me everything I knew. I was superior, and no one beneath me could live any longer, unless under circumstances of humbling servitude. And even then, not many were needed. We were the supreme beings, the ones who would purge the universe of all that was inferior and redefine nature itself.”
I exhaled sharply, and leaned against the glass, keeping my gaze fixed on Kerleise. Her face seemed familiar, as if I’d seen her before, somewhere else. In a mirror, maybe. We did have a few features in common—the shape of our eyes, the length of our noses, the cheekbones.
“For a while, I fought for my father. I hunted the outsiders for him. I upheld his laws and regulations. Then, the outsiders caught me, by some twist of fate. I was forced to go around with them, hiding in the jungles, in caves and inside underwater bubbles,” I added. “But throughout that time, I remained loyal to my father. I knew that, sooner or later, they’d all get caught, and I’d resume my place at his side.”
The Draenir were clearly interested, their eyes glimmering with curiosity. I had their full attention, which made the second part of my story easier to serve. Not only because it was the truth, but also because it defined me.
“At one point, I lost my head, quite literally,” I continued. “I’m sure you all know, by now, how resilient we Perfects are.”
They all nodded.
“When I woke up, all my memories were gone,” I said. “I started anew, not knowing who I was, or why I was with these strange people. They took their time to teach me everything they knew, including everything they had on my creator and my Perfect brethren. They answered all my questions, and they hid nothing. They gave me the freedom to choose my path, to build my own life and to make myself heard. Needless to say, I understood how wrong my creator was, to begin with. My existence didn’t have to automatically exclude someone else’s. It never should. Anyway, I’m digressing. Long story short, I joined the outsiders in their fight against my creator. And it felt right. It felt better than all the times I’d acted on behalf of my creator. Ta’Zan.”
A minute went by, as they processed the information. An expected question emerged.
“So, what are you doing here, now, then?” Kellan asked. “Did you come back to Ta’Zan’s side?”
“I was captured and brought back here. Amal was ordered to wipe my memory and implant the old knowledge, along with a new memory chip. I had to be controlled. My views had to be tailored to fit my creator’s plans. But Amal surprised me. She didn’t touch my memories with the outsiders. She did implant the memory chip, with everything I’d done before, and gave me the choice to be the old Douma, the new Douma… or a better Douma altogether. So, here I am, being the latter.”
Kerleise frowned. “And what kind of Douma is the latter?”
That made me smile. “The kind of Douma who won’t openly wage war against her creator, but will still make sure he goes down in flames. He has too much control over my people. He’s been lying to us. He’s been manipulating us. The blood of millions is already on his hands, and he’s hell-bent on spilling more. I can’t have that,” I said.
I straightened my back and placed my hands on my hips, offering a most confident posture. The Draenir were totally with me on this one. “I’ve had to lie and act my way through this day. I’ve hurt my friends, I’ve pushed them away, just to make sure they didn’t get caught while trying to save me. They can’t help me with what comes next. I’ve secured my place in Ta’Zan’s circle of trust. This is my one shot to unmask him for the fraud he really is, to turn my people against him without unnecessary bloodshed. And you, my four withered friends, will help me.”
Life seemed to have burst through them, all of a sudden. Their faces lit up as they stared at me. This was it. This was my chance to do something incredible. To save Dmitri’s grandparents and brothers. Elonora’s family. All those people who didn’t deserve to spend the rest of their lives in misery and despair. All the worlds that deserved freedom and the right to pursue happiness.
This was my chance to save my people from perdition, too. The Perfects could be much better; they could achieve incredible feats, if given the opportunity. They didn’t deserve to be lied to and exploited like this, used as brainwashed killing machines. No, they deserved better. We all did.
Ben
After Vesta told us what she’d experienced during her freakish seizure, we decided it was time to head back to base camp. Dawn would be upon us, soon, and more Perfects would be out and about. The night was in our favor, but when the sun came up, the danger factors increased.
I was troubled by Vesta’s convulsions, not only because she’d lost consciousness, but also because she no longer had control over her elemental abilities. All fae were connected to water, fire, air, and earth, but most were specifically inclined to work with one in particular. Vesta was one of the few who could master all four, so, when she lost her grip, it wasn’t just fire or air that she failed to reign in. It was pure mayhem, just like we’d seen at the lagoon during her episode.
Lightning and fires that quickly got out of control. Storms raging and waves crashing against the shore. The earth shaking and crumbling. The winds blowing with the strength of tornadoes. Fortunately, something had happened during the seizure, and all the natural anomalies were contained. But I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen the next time she faded out like that.
The look on her face as we walked back to our new base camp told me that she was thinking about the same thing. And I couldn’t blame her. It was her body that had been taken over.
“At least Elonora and her crew made it out of the colosseum in one piece,” Draven said, noticing the gloomy expressions that had settled on our faces.
We stuck to the deep jungles, protected by the rich green tree crowns. From island to island, Vesta and Taeral created water pockets. We didn’t need Nevis’s frost to move underwater, after all.
“They didn’t get Douma, though,” Taeral replied. “We need every Perfect we can get on our side for what comes next.”
&nb
sp; I nodded. “True. But we can rescue Douma another time. We got the two most important components for our plan. We now have devil-vipers and Amal. I call that a win.”
“The downside is that we clearly have to reset Douma in order to save her,” Bijarki said. “She’s already been programmed back to her old self, judging by her reaction to Dmitri and the others.”
“May that be the least of our problems,” Lumi chimed in. “I, for one, am worried about the Hermessi.”
“Gee, why would you be concerned about them?” Vesta asked sarcastically.
“I don’t like how they take over fae bodies like that,” Lumi said. “It doesn’t bode well for us in the long term.”
“There’s no long term to worry about if we don’t get the Hermessi to help us,” Bogdana shot back. “No one said this would be easy. None of us should expect to get out of this unscathed. Not all of us might survive.”
“Your optimism is contagious,” Taeral muttered.
“It’s the truth,” I agreed. “This is a whole new kind of war. The stakes are too high. Whatever it takes, remember?”
How could any of us forget the pact? Harper and the rest of GASP had made it back on Calliope, shortly before Draven’s crew arrived to Strava, and it applied to all of us. We couldn’t ignore it. The grand prize was our survival.
“How are you feeling?” Zeriel asked Vesta. He never took his eyes off her.
She shrugged. “Like I was caught in a landslide. Every single muscle aches.”
“How far is the new base camp?” Zeriel then asked me.
We’d caught up with Rose over the comms along the way, and she’d given us the new location. I checked the tablet map, where I’d made some notes, including the best routes, then looked at Zeriel.
“We should see the mountain rising in the south, soon,” I said.
Thunderous booms echoed in the distance behind us. I got goosebumps whenever I heard them—the sound of hostile Perfects looking for us, dashing across the sky at supersonic speeds as they tried to cover as much ground as possible. I kept my fingers crossed, hoping they would never find Elonora’s crew. They were the most valuable assets we had, at this point.
A Shade of Vampire 66: An Edge of Malice Page 20
