The Takeover

by Teyla Branton

  Tihalt was older than I remembered, his brown hair darker and heavily washed with gray. His narrow face, slim build, mocking green eyes, and even the way his body screamed exhaustion reminded me of Keene. “I see you started without me,” Tihalt said without emotion.

  “What’s he doing here?” Stefan jerked his head at Keene, still aiming his gun somewhere in the direction of the coffee table—closer to Ropte than to me, I noted with satisfaction.

  “This is my son, if you will remember. He’s back to stay. He Changed.” No mistaking the pride in Tihalt’s voice, a pride that highlighted the disappointment and abuse he’d heaped on Keene when he was only a mortal. “His talent is synergy. He might be the most powerful Unbounded ever.”

  “He’s a traitor!” Stefan countered. “I will not tolerate him here.”

  “Oh, but you will tolerate your own daughter, whose loyalties have long been decided?” Tihalt’s lip curled in a sneer. By all accounts, they’d always presented a united front, but any warmth between them was completely missing now.

  “My daughter,” Stefan murmured. He blinked, his face straying briefly in my direction.

  Tihalt snorted his impatience. “Well, what has she to say? I’m assuming she’s the reason you’re all pointing guns at each other.”

  “We’ve a mnemo here,” Stefan said in a deceptively soft voice. Murder laced through the words. “Or a raider. Someone has apparently messed with my memories. Would you know anything about that?” Stefan’s gaze transferred to Ropte. “Are you working with him? Is that why you’ve been withholding your recent inventions?”

  “Don’t be insane,” scoffed Tihalt.

  “I told you, it’s got to be her!” Ropte pointed at me. “She’s messing with our heads.”

  “Call the guards,” Stefan barked at Edgel.

  I didn’t know if the guards were for me or Ropte. Oh, no you don’t. I pushed hard at Edgel, keeping him from the buttons inside the panel. Terror spread through him. His eyes rolled toward Lew, but Lew wasn’t looking in his direction. Edgel met my gaze and shuddered. His mind revolted, but I clung on, not allowing him to push me out or signal for backup.

  Ropte fired at me, his pistol bucking slightly in his hands. He didn’t miss—or wouldn’t have if I’d remained where I was. Using Edgel’s speed, I was near Ropte’s guard now, my foot popping up to smash the gun from the man’s hand. The guard turned and pumped his fist in a hook, catching me on the side of my head. Pain reverberated in my ear and jaw.

  If only their mental shields weren’t so strong, I’d flash them all with light and end this. For now, there was nothing to do but fight on.

  Another shot came from Tihalt’s direction, and the bullet bounced off my shield, the momentum slamming into me. My body skidded backwards, my head smashing into the drywall with a sickening whack! Blackness mottled my vision. I heard one of the displayed swords clanging to the floor as I slid down the wall. My control over Edgel wavered.

  Edgel 65890V. Delia’s memories crowded in on me, bright and glowing in the darkness of my mind.

  “Kill her!” Ropte commanded.

  I watched from Edgel’s eyes as Ropte’s guard readied a blow that would probably keep me down for the count. Ropte sprinted from the couches to pick up the sword that had fallen, its gleaming edges no doubt sharp enough to permanently finish me, as his gun could not.

  “Edgel 65890V!” I screamed, giving in to the memories that weren’t mine. What did I have to lose?

  My sight returned, and I steeled myself as Edgel brought up his gun and fired. A bloody spot appeared in the middle of Ropte’s guard’s forehead. Blood and brain matter splattered behind him onto the weapons hanging on the wall. Drops hit my face.

  Banging on the door sent echoes reverberating in my head as Ropte’s other three guards and the two Edgel had left there tried to get in. The two men by the elevator would probably be with them now, alerted by the shooting, and they would warn others. Just me and Keene against all of them. How did a perfectly good plan go so wrong?

  The lights hadn’t gone off again to signal that Mari had triggered the relays and begun shifting people inside, or at least not that I’d been able to notice. Nothing to save us. There wasn’t even time for me to beg Jeane to null everyone—and even if she could, what use was that against their guns and swords?

  Ropte fired at Edgel repeatedly, but the soldier jumped over the couch nearest him and landed on top of the coffee table, inexplicably unscathed. Ropte fired again, and his last bullet tore into Edgel’s neck. He fell back, his pain knifing through our connection, but his heart beat on. Ropte laughed and lifted his sword over me. I lunged at his feet, knocking him off balance, and he stumbled back, momentarily losing his grip on his sword.

  “Help me!” Ropte shouted at Lew, who cowered in the corner behind him. “Or you’ll never have her. I’ll kill you both!”

  Another shot ricocheted off one of the black corner columns, sending me diving for cover. Tihalt’s weapon again. Keene was grappling with him now, and I heard the clunk! of a gun as Keene pushed Tihalt back. Stefan started toward them, but Keene glanced over at him, and Stefan tripped, his feet tangling together. Keene was rewarded for this by a slam from his father that spread him onto the carpet.

  Regaining his footing, Stefan pointed his gun at Keene’s sprawled form. He fired, but the bullet shot toward one of the huge window panes instead. Glass shattered onto the carpet or disappeared outside. Stefan shot again and again with the same result, but the bullets went less far now, as though Keene was tiring.

  Tihalt brought something from his pocket and closed in on Keene. “You are a traitor,” he sneered.

  I dodged Ropte’s next swing, still channeling Edgel, who was somehow holding on to consciousness, then lashed out, kicking Ropte’s knee. His sword slashed toward me, hitting into the wall and sending pieces raining down. From somewhere in the hall, I heard machine-gun fire—that door wouldn’t hold out those guards for long. I needed to get past Ropte to one of the swords on the wall.

  I became aware of Edgel’s gun rising from between the couch and the coffee table where he’d fallen. Shakily, he aimed at Ropte. A second later, Edgel’s head exploded as Lew fired a gun that was suddenly in his hands. Abruptly, my combat ability vanished. I was on my own, with only my training to save me. I sprang to the side, barely ducking away from Ropte’s blade. More chunks of drywall scattered to the floor.

  The next hit caught me on the top of my arm, and even though my shield was tight and the blade didn’t pierce my skin, it felt like being bludgeoned with a baseball bat. I needed to put some space between us—now. I jumped back. Ropte lifted the sword again.

  “AAAAAAA!” The horrible scream pierced the air, and for a second, everyone looked around to see where it came from. In that instant, Jace dropped from a jagged hole in the ceiling, passing through the red crisscrossing grid and slamming into Stefan, sending his gun clattering away. I reached for Jace and found his shield gone. A dangerous gamble with Lew and Catrina there, but exactly what I needed.

  Channeling his ability, I jumped onto the couch and pushed off it past Ropte toward the wall with the weapons. Lew fired at me, but I was quicker. Grabbing a sword, I sprang away from the wall to confront Ropte, positioning him between me and Lew. From Jace’s eyes, I got a glimpse of Keene, back on his feet now. Tihalt faced him with an odd-looking sword in his hand, one that glowed with light. No, it was light. Had to be a laser of some sort.

  Even as I watched, Tihalt slashed at Keene with a horizontal strike. Keene jumped up and out of the way a breath before the light touched him. Instead, the laser sliced cleanly and deeply into the wall with a power that could easily sever a man in two.

  I swung at Ropte and he blocked. He might not have the combat ability, but he was powerful and well-trained, and I was tired from my efforts with Edgel. I feinted a jab and tried to twist his sword away, but he held on. With each crash of our swords, I slammed at his shield. If I could just get inside.
/>   More machine-gun fire came from the hallway, accompanied by screaming.

  Stefan and Jace were evenly matched, exchanging blows so fast the motions were blurred. But in the next instant, Stefan had a knife in his hands. “Stop.” He waved the knife in front of Jace, his face twisted with fury. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will.”

  “Really?” mocked Jace, his mouth curving into a smile. “Because the only reason I’m here is to kill you.”

  “Go ahead and try, whelp.”

  I pulled my attention back to Ropte, finally hitting him on the arm. Blood dirtied the pale blue of his sleeve. “Lew!” Ropte screamed, but every time Lew tried to shoot me, I danced around Ropte.

  Then Lew altered his trajectory, aiming at Jace. I pushed out my shield toward my brother—hard. But I was too late. The bullet hit the middle of his back, and he fell forward onto Stefan’s knife.

  Jace! I felt the hot pain of the knife at the same time he registered that it hadn’t hit anything vital. Neither was there any sign of blood on his back. It was then I felt the other shield over his back. Not mine. My eyes ran to Catrina, who stood alone by the broken windows, her small face concentrating on Jace.

  She’d protected him?

  Lew pulled his trigger again, but he was out of bullets. I parried another swing from Ropte as Jace pushed himself off the knife, shaken but not beaten. He punched Stefan in the face, and something cracked so loudly, I heard it across the room. I lunged at Ropte again.

  If Catrina was helping Jace, maybe she wasn’t the mnemo. Or maybe she just liked him. Either way, we had a chance, at least as long as the door to this room held. We could still turn off the red grid in the room, trigger the relays to shut down the generators, and shift our people inside.

  The gunshots in the hallway had lessened but still came at intervals. Miraculously, the door held.

  “Damn you!” Ropte spared a moment to slash out at Lew, who shrank away, his shield deserting Jeane as he enhanced his own protection. “Grab a sword. You’re trained like the rest of us!”

  “Don’t listen, Lew!” I countered. “He’ll never, ever let you or Jeane go. I know you hate me, but it’s him you need to fight!”

  Ropte’s laugh resounded in our ears. “We have over a thousand soldiers here. Do you really hope to get out of this room alive?” He jabbed at me before taking another swing at Lew, his sword rebounding off Lew’s shield. “If you don’t help me, Lew, I’ll make sure you never see Jeane again.”

  I pressed the advantage of Ropte’s distraction, sinking my blade into his shoulder.

  Ropte backpedaled. He grabbed Jeane’s hand and threw her between us, but he didn’t let her go completely. He held her hand tightly as she tried to tear away. “Remember Kennedy? I never hurt him. Never! I love you. I wouldn’t do that. Remember how you think you hate me. It’s not true. I’m your favorite brother. Remember, you would give your life for me. You would fight for me.”

  Something in his words clicked. Remember . . . he’d used the same word with Patrick when he’d asked for his support. He’s the one changing memories, I thought. Not Catrina.

  “Leave her alone!” Lew jabbed in another clip, his gun wavering uncertainly on Ropte.

  “Not me, you idiot!” Ropte leaned to the side as I tried to reach him around Jeane. He parried my thrust. She sobbed but was no longer trying to get away.

  Lew aimed again at Ropte and pulled the trigger, but Jeane was already in motion. She launched herself in front of her brother. The bullet crashed into the left side of her chest, and Ropte pushed her at me as she fell. I barely stopped myself from accidentally burying my sword in her stomach. Lew gave a bleak cry and scuttled across the floor to pull her to his chest.

  Time to finish this, I thought. Ropte retreated toward the windows as I lunged.

  The splintering door cut off all thoughts of success. Guards piled into the room from a dark hallway. There seemed to be far more than the seven I’d expected.

  Dark hallway? I glanced up to see that the lights in this conference room were also off, though with the fighting and the light from the window, I hadn’t noticed. The screen that had once held images from the security cameras was black.

  Someone had activated the relays—and maybe left them off. What that could mean for us, I could only hope.

  A bullet from one of the guards slammed into my chest, ramming me again into the wall. My shield held, and I bounced off the wall, bringing my sword against Ropte’s, hooking his sword up and away from his grasp, leaving him wide open. Too bad we’d need him later. Rejecting the urge to slaughter him, I turned my blade flat and slammed it into the side of his head. He crumpled to the floor and stayed down.

  I turned back to oncoming guards. There was no way past them. Jace had jumped away from Stefan and was battling three guards at the same time. Blood drenched his chest. Next to him, Keene slammed a few heads together. Tihalt wielded his laser, accidentally slicing through a guard as if he was nothing but air.

  Bullets flew into me. One pierced my shield, ripping up the surface of my arm to my shoulder. Pain made me want to vomit. Keene threw a guard into a man that was targeting Jace. Stefan picked up a fallen guard’s gun.

  We weren’t going to make it.

  And then I felt him come through the door.

  Ritter.

  GUARDS WENT FLYING AS RITTER burst into our midst. Cort and Dimitri immediately followed him. I had no idea how they’d gotten inside the building or how long they’d been here, but they already looked worn, as if they’d fought their way down a hallway full of Emporium soldiers. Ritter didn’t carry an assault rifle, and the only way he’d have abandoned it was if he’d run out of ammunition. Maybe that explained the repeated gunshots I’d heard.

  Had Ritter fought his way into the building after all? If Ritter had fallen back to one of the alternate plans, where were the New York Renegades and the ex-Emporium Unbounded? I’d even welcome Oliver—we could use one of his illusions about now. I still felt nothing beyond this room, so I had no idea what awaited us in the hallway. Or how many we’d lost.

  I couldn’t think about that now.

  Ritter looked once in my direction, taking me in with hungry eyes. I’m okay, I thought to him, but his shield was too strong for me to get through without expending energy I didn’t have. But he’d be able to see I was fine, despite the shallow furrow up my arm that drenched me with blood.

  Even as I had the thought, his shield opened a crack, and I was in. I saw his invitation to channel his ability, and also felt his agreement when I suggested I stick with Jace in case he needed backup. Jace had been on ops before, but not like this. Not with his father trying to kill him. Besides, Ritter would fight better if he weren’t so closely linked to what I was doing; his protective urge where I was concerned might distract him.

  There was no time for a reunion. More Emporium Unbounded were pouring into the room after them. At such close quarters, guns had mostly been abandoned in the fear of hitting a comrade. Or they were kicked away by opponents. A female Emporium soldier threw down an empty pistol. Knives and swords flashed. The two Emporium soldiers nearest me had drawn their swords, but when they saw our reinforcements and no one behind me, they reached for their guns instead. I dived between them, coming up fast and bashing one in the neck with my sword. He hit the ground before drawing his gun. The other man blocked my next swing, but not my kick at his groin, which gave me an opening to thrust my sword through his middle. I’d never really understood the appeal of swords before, but I did now. They were so very deadly.

  I whirled to face two more combatants, trying to pierce their mental shields at the same time. If I could flash light into their minds, I could even the odds a little. But they were at full alert, and like Stefan and Ropte, their shields were strong. Until I could get somewhere away from the fighting, where I didn’t have to concentrate on staying alive, I wouldn’t be able to break through.

  I rammed my sword into one guard, but he clutched it as
he fell, and I had to let it go or be skewered by his comrade. Backpedaling as fast as I could, I was relieved when Cort took out the guard, his sword sinking deep into the man’s side.

  A few more Unbounded came through the door, one heavily wounded. He took only a few steps before collapsing to the ground. The others plunged into the battle.

  “Erin!” I turned to see Ritter fighting his way toward me. Only two men separated us when he took out another sword from his back sheath—my sword—and tossed it to me.

  I grabbed it in time to slash at another opponent. Over the man’s shoulder, I spied Tihalt struggling to his feet after an apparent fall. Keene was turned away, finishing off another attacker, when his father raised his laser to slice across Keene’s torso. Keene would never move out of the way in time.

  “No!” Cort shouted. He lunged at Tihalt, pushing his brother away. The laser ripped through Cort, severing his head from his neck. For a moment, I thought I was seeing things because he looked exactly the same, but then his body started to crumple and his head tipped. Tihalt grinned, his face covered in gore, his eyes glinting with triumph. He was already slashing down with another thrust that would severe Cort’s remaining two focus points. Three parts severed. There would be no coming back from that.

  I threw back another guard and rushed toward them. Keene caught himself and turned, his mouth open in a silent scream. Down came Tihalt’s laser.

  The light pierced Cort’s body, carving through it with the same ease it had shown before.

  No!

  Grief rose up to meet me, along with another guard. I feinted and slammed into him, my sword piercing his heart.

  Power pulsed around Keene, and Tihalt slammed backward against the wall, his head twisting violently to the side. Keene raised the sword in his hands. Tihalt cursed him, blood and spittle flying from his mouth. Keene sneered at him as his sword cut through the man’s neck as effortlessly as the laser had, driven by his ability. He raised the sword again.