Arise (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 3)

by L. Stoddard Hancock

  Nita grabbed his arm and slowed his descent, but their tethers were not designed to hold two and after jerking them a little downward it snapped. The ground was a good twenty feet below them but, without the speed of the slide spearing them against it, the fall was slightly less painful than it could have been. But it still hurt like hell.

  Deryn was trying to get her Element’s string of light to lower her and Xander, but when she jerked it the light went out. She switched the button quickly and aimed her Element at the ground, activating the metal on the bottom of her boots so she and Xander were hovering before they made impact.

  As she slowly lowered them the rest of the distance to the ground, Talon and Nita were in the process of standing. Both were happy to find that nothing was broken, just very bruised.

  “Talon, can you pick him up again? We need to move,” said Nita, stretching her aching arms.

  “Think so,” said Talon, twisting his back until it cracked.

  “Oh, fucking hell,” said Xander as he was lifted over Talon’s shoulder.

  “At least this will encourage you to nurse that ankle,” said Deryn as they ran into the trees, Nita using a compass to lead them in the direction of their meeting point with the others.

  While they moved, she pressed her earpiece and said, “We’re out.”

  CHAPTER 8

  “How the fuck are they out while we’re still in here?” asked Neo while their fivesome, all dressed as guards, moved on the outskirts of the crowd. They had just taken down another guard so Adrian would have a uniform like the rest of them and were trying to get back to the underground entrance he and Nita had found.

  “Are they out out? Like outside?” asked Evangeline.

  Odette took out her map and checked. It took her a few minutes to locate them. “Yep, and they’re headed to our meeting point from the east side of Utopia’s wall.”

  “Clearly there’s a story here,” said Adrian, shoving through the thickening crowd. He dodged one person but smacked directly into another. A tall man with chestnut brown hair and deep blue eyes. “Sorry,” he muttered before hurrying off.

  “Did that guard just apologize to me?” Bronson asked Quigley as a group of five guards hurried around the corner.

  “Guess they’re politer when they think you live in Inner City,” said Quigley, his eyes on alert. “Seriously, Bronson, what are we doing here?”

  “If a Guardian is really getting executed today then we need to see who it is,” Bronson said matter-of-factly. “I refuse to sit around our damn apartment doing nothing.”

  “And if it’s Ruby or Luka?”

  Bronson stared up at the twentieth-floor balcony, watching as the Guardians lined up. “I don’t know.”

  As Bronson looked from Guardian to Guardian, he caught sight of two people walking forward with another held between them. His heart went beat, beat, stop when he saw it was Luka, alive but barely. He was pale, bruised and weak, unable to stand on his own when one of the people holding him walked away. That Lona girl came up and anchored him before he collapsed.

  “Shit,” Quigley muttered from beside him.

  “If he’s in that condition then why do they have him outside?” Bronson asked quietly.

  “I can’t answer that.”

  Up on the twentieth-floor balcony, Finley and Lona were doing their best to hold Luka. He was still in so much pain and forcing him to move was only making it worse.

  “I don’t understand why he needs to be here,” said Lona, pressing the back of her hand against his forehead.

  “Because the president ordered it. Leave him be, Lona,” ordered her father Arron, grabbing her arm.

  Lona pushed him off and kept her hold on Luka. “Unless you plan on helping, do not touch me, Father.”

  Finley glared at the man from Luka’s other side, fully aware that Lona still being there was his doing.

  President Saevus was pacing near the entrance to the balcony, just out of view of all of his onlookers. The execution was running late and he and his citizens were getting anxious. Finley’s stomach twisted as she hoped for Xander’s escape but also feared the consequences if he did.

  Wyatt, who had gone back inside to get information, came out and hurried over to Finley, Lona and Luka.

  “What did you find out?” asked Finley, readjusting Luka since her arm was aching. Every time he slouched the president glared at them, so she was doing her best to make sure he wouldn’t be the one on the receiving end of the man’s anger.

  “They’re gone. All of them. Xander, the Leons, that Resistance girl who always breaks into the city. They went into the stairwell and just vanished.”

  “Vanished,” repeated Lona. “From nearly one-hundred floors up? There’s no way. They have to still be up there somewhere.”

  Wyatt shook his head. “Elvira’s already double-checked every floor personally and she’s doing it again now. They’re gone.”

  Finley’s knotted stomach released, though only slightly. It looked like President Saevus was getting that same information from a guard who had just appeared. He punched the unlucky messenger, knocking out several of his teeth. The guard gathered them off the ground without flinching and hurried out of the line of fire.

  It was another ten minutes before Elvira and Soren stepped onto the balcony. The president grabbed his daughter by the arm and pulled her aside. The two of them whispered for a while, their words harsh as she was unable to give him the answers he wanted. It ended with a firm ‘yes’ by Elvira, followed by a quick shake of her head.

  President Saevus’s anger had officially reached its peak as he slapped his daughter so hard she fell to the ground. But she was up quickly and standing at attention.

  Then his ever-growing anger moved to Soren, who stared back at his president with a sort of silent confidence that Finley had never seen in him before. The bargaining chip Saevus had used to keep Soren in check over the years had been lost and he knew that.

  But, alas, Soren was not destined to be the victim that day. Because he was the bargaining chip to keep someone else in check.

  Elvira still had enough courage to step in front of her husband, causing her father to growl before searching elsewhere for someone to punish.

  And then he saw Luka. Finley gripped her friend tighter.

  As the president stepped forward, she somehow found the strength to speak. “He has already been punished for a crime he was proven innocent of. No one needs to die today.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” said Saevus, his gaze now on Finley. “I promised my citizens an execution and I’ll be damned if they don’t get one.” His eyes drifted back to Luka and then over to Lona and Wyatt. “You four are Xander’s closest comrades. If any other Guardian has dared to betray me, I reckon it’s one of you.”

  “Xander is my ex-boyfriend and has treated me terribly for months. I am not his friend, and Luka had to have a mind-control chip installed to go along with him. Wyatt is nowhere near as close to him as Luka is and Lona has only known him for a few months, at the urging of her father. We are on your side, my president,” pleaded Finley.

  “That may be so, but I still need a body.” His eyes moved back through the four of them.

  Arron Von, who had been watching closely, stepped forward. “Mr. President, what is going on -”

  “Your daughter has done nothing but disappoint me since the day she became a Guardian, Arron, and we need to send Xander a message.”

  Arron paled and said, “I understand that, sir, but Lona is not the way to do that. She barely knows that traitor.”

  “She has been seen around him.”

  Lona shook her head. “No, I ... I was trying to get to know Luka. He’s the one I’ve ...” Her grip on Luka tightened. “Xander Ruby is nothing to me.”

  Her words were fairly convincing but Finley still felt the lie behind them. Xander was the only one who continually defended her to the president every time she was reprimanded. Her father may have tried but he didn’
t have nearly as much pull.

  The president’s eyes drifted from Lona to Wyatt again. And then back to Lona. They did not come back to Luka or Finley.

  “Why not punish his father?” suggested Finley, not having any other name to give.

  Saevus smiled softly at her, showing her the first hint of fondness since the day she’d become a Guardian.

  Atticus, having heard her words, stepped forward. “What are you saying, girl?”

  “If you want to punish Xander then he’s the way to do it. Send him a message,” she urged, not truly believing her words. She sounded eager to throw this man in front of a tram even though she wasn’t. But better him than Wyatt or Lona.

  “No,” the president said, his eyes finally stopping on Lona.

  Finley’s heart sank. Lona had been so close to freedom that day. He couldn’t -

  “Gordon, step forward.”

  The air thinned as Gordon Mackey obeyed, his eyes falling on his son Wyatt, and then his president.

  “Gordon, I am finished here for the day. Make a speech about your son’s betrayal and execute him.”

  Gordon’s eyes darted to his son again, both of their color draining from their faces. “What betrayal, my president?”

  “I don’t know. Make something up.”

  “But -”

  “If you argue with me again you will be joining him on the gallows.”

  Gordon’s mouth pressed into a straight line.

  “It’s not as if he’s carrying on your legacy. He denounced your name, I’m sure you recall. This boy should be nothing to you.”

  There was a thick silence as father and son stared at each other, their bodies frozen but not their hearts. The removal of a name did not mean the removal of blood. But an execution would.

  “Finish this quickly. Then get out there and find Xander before he gets too far. I’ll be in my chambers.” The president walked toward the exit. “Elvira.”

  His daughter followed obediently. Neither of them glanced back.

  While Gordon stood there, unsure of what to do, Soren stepped forward and grabbed Wyatt’s shoulder. When Wyatt took a swing at him, Barath Voclain snatched the arm midair and twisted it behind his back.

  “Sorry, Gordon. Better your son than mine,” said Barath as he and Soren dragged Wyatt kicking and screaming toward the gallows. “Better get that speech ready!” he called over his shoulder.

  Gordon walked toward the podium in a trance, his eyes straight in front of him and refusing to watch as a noose was wrapped around his son’s neck. It was a very primitive way of executing someone but had always been a favorite method of the president.

  Lona whimpered and took a step forward. She jumped when Luka’s arm snapped and he grabbed her wrist, holding her in place.

  “No,” he said.

  “But -”

  “You have no power here.”

  Lona nodded. She held him tighter and looked away.

  Finley was the only one of them brave enough to watch. They held onto a struggling Wyatt until the very last moment. Her ears were clouded as Gordon spoke, deaf to his words but not the pain cracking behind them. Yes, he and his son were estranged and had been for a long time, but it was still his son, his flesh and blood.

  Not one person stepped forward when it was time to cut the rope, so Gordon had to do it. He watched as the ground beneath Wyatt’s feet collapsed and the life was choked out of his only child. A single tear slid down his cheek, but even his grief had not stopped him from obeying his president. He could have offered his life instead. But he didn’t. And before long Wyatt was dead.

  Finely finally turned away. She looked at Luka, hoping to see some sort of reaction from her damaged friend. But what she saw was so much more than she was expecting.

  Luka’s eyes were cast downward, watching the gathered audience. His breathing was heavy, his nostrils pulsing as he held something back. Finley followed his eyes, tilting her head when she noticed Xander’s two neighbors standing there, small but clear. One of them was attempting to pull the other away. But the taller one would not budge, his eyes fixed on Luka. His face emitted both joy and sorrow as he stared, trying to burrow into Luka’s damaged mind.

  And he was in there. Somewhere.

  Finley knew by the way Luka was breathing that there was something familiar throbbing in his heart.

  “Do you know them?” Finley asked quietly.

  “I -”

  Luka flinched and grabbed his head, collapsing to his knees as everything inside of him burned and twisted. As he screamed, gripping his aching head, Finley and Lona gathered him up. They carried him inside as best they could and into the elevator.

  Luka screamed all the way to the third floor, sweat soaking his skin as he searched his mind for the familiar.

  By the time Finley and Lona got him back into his bed, the screaming had stopped, but the pain ... the pain kept throbbing somewhere deep inside his heart.

  Once they were alone and Luka had calmed, Lona began to cry.

  Finley left her there sobbing and went into the room next door. Once alone, she screamed as loud as she could, punching the wall with her fists before tearing that room apart, not stopping until every last lamp was broken, every sheet and curtain was ripped, every nightstand was whacked into a million pieces. And then she pressed her back against the door, sinking to the floor. She pressed her earpiece.

  “Odette, are you there?”

  Silence.

  “Odie, please. I need you.”

  Nothing.

  “Odie ... I don’t want to do this anymore.”

  Finley’s face pressed into her knees. She cried, soaking the bottom of her Guardian coat as she realized how alone she was in there. Xander was gone, Luka was broken, Lona was weak, and Wyatt ...

  As much as she wanted to leave, she knew she couldn’t. It was up to her now to keep everyone still trapped inside safe. There would not be another drop of innocent blood spilt.

  Saevus would suffer for all of the pain he had caused her friends. She would make damn sure of that.

  CHAPTER 9

  Xander flinched as Nita inspected his injured leg. She groaned and held his leg still, cutting his pants a little higher so she could see the full extent of the damage.

  “You’re lucky it’s not broken,” she said, feeling around the growing bruise.

  He screamed. “Fuck, woman! Why the hell are you pressing it when we’ve established that I’m in fucking pain?”

  “If you call me woman again I’ll make sure that pain is intensified,” said Nita, grabbing a salve and rubbing it on the wound.

  “Here. Take this,” said Deryn, handing him a small bottle of liquid that he knew would numb him.

  Xander shook his head. “No. I don’t want to be out of it right now.”

  Deryn sighed. “Xander, you’re safe here. There’s no reason to stay on alert.”

  “But -”

  “Please don’t argue with me and just take it.”

  Xander stared into her sea-green eyes and gulped. “If I drink that and they try to take you away from me I won’t be able to do anything.”

  Deryn sighed again. She knew he wasn’t talking about Saevus or his Guardians. And so did Talon and Nita, who exchanged a look.

  “No one is going to take me away from you,” she said, stroking his cheek. “I promise you, I’m not leaving your side.”

  Xander still didn’t look convinced. He glanced over her shoulder at Talon, who was refusing to look at the intimate way his sister was touching a Guardian.

  “I want to hear him say it,” demanded Xander.

  Talon finally glanced at him, but only briefly. “So me going into the snake pit to rescue you, then carrying your heavy ass back here wasn’t proof enough?”

  “No, it wasn’t. I trust you about as much as you trust me, which we all know is very little.”

  Talon rolled his eyes and said, “Fine, I promise.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

&nb
sp; Everyone in the room groaned.

  “Xander, just take the damn medicine!” snapped Deryn.

  “No, I don’t want to!” he snapped back. “I won’t scream again, alright? But don’t you dare force that shit down my throat.”

  Deryn huffed but conceded. She put the medicine down and inspected his visible wounds while Nita worked on his leg.

  “This is not the scenario I’ve always imagined with two women undressing me,” said Xander, pressing his head back against the wall.

  A clock chimed, signaling the top of the hour. Two voices began to speak. It was only then that Xander really looked around the small shack he’d been carried to. There was some sort of large radio on a desk in front of him connected to a record player. When the voices were finished speaking, a familiar song began to play.

  “Where are we?” he asked.

  “The radio tower,” answered Deryn, leaning over him and tending to the clotted gash on his face. “Our grandfather found it and fixed it up years ago. There’s a lot of brush around it so it’s hidden.”

  Xander felt someone grab his left wrist. He looked and found Nita investigating the temporary wristband that had been placed over his indented wrist.

  “How the hell did you get the real one off?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Ask Neo and Odette. They did it.”

  She traced the short black veins going up his arm. “I don’t know anything about this poison. Is it something we should be concerned about?”

  “No. When it’s stopped, it’s destroyed. The blackness left behind is basically a scar. Nothing more.”

  Nita touched where metal met skin. “There’s nothing I can do about this now. We have a trained healer at the base. We’ll have to bring her here.”

  “It would be quicker to bring Xander to her,” said Deryn, grabbing the salve and rubbing it on the bruises and gashes along his chest.

  Talon and Nita exchanged another look.

  “Stop doing that!” shouted Deryn. “I understand that you’re in a difficult position, Talon, but I made it very clear from the beginning that I’m not going to your base without Xander!”