Nita sighed and sat in his chair. Talon fell into the one beside her and put down his basket of food, his eyes always on Deryn.
“Her transition here won’t be easy, will it?” asked Nita, but she already knew the answer.
“No,” said Talon, leaning forward with his arms on his knees. “I don’t think anything with her will ever be easy again.”
Nita put down what was left of her apple and took her boyfriend’s hand, wanting nothing more than to be there for him. She knew he’d always envisioned himself as the hero who would one day save his sister. But he hadn’t. She’d saved herself and someone else had helped her pick up the pieces.
What role was left for the brother who’d told her to go five and a half years ago? The brother who’d unintentionally sent her off to the incident that took place in the hologram he’d witnessed. The brother who would always blame himself for everything that had happened to her since the day he’d lost her. Who still couldn’t forgive himself, even though he finally had her back.
“She doesn’t blame you, Talon,” said Nita, knowing exactly what he was thinking.
Talon wiped his tears on his sleeve. “Then why is she so angry with me?”
She didn’t have an answer for him.
CHAPTER 14
Talon and Nita had their chairs pressed together, her head was on his shoulder and his head was on top of hers. They had just started to doze off when someone banged on the door.
Talon got up first, hurrying to the door and opening it just a crack.
Adrian, Evangeline and Everett pushed their way inside.
“We just got word,” said Adrian. “S.U.R.G.E.s are swarming the forest. They’re on the hunt.”
Every last set of eyes in that room fell on Xander. Guardians had run before. They were all caught eventually - it was inevitable - but there had never been such a heavy search for one before. The president had always relied on more subtle means.
Talon was silent. This was exactly what he’d feared. But he had to keep Xander safe. For Deryn.
He tore his eyes away from them and addressed Nita and her team. “Gather everyone. Get them armed and ready. We’ll send them out in teams of two and lead S.U.R.G.E.s in all directions before taking them down. We cannot let them know where we’re coming from. That means we’ll need at least one taken down in this area. Nita, I’ll leave that to you and Adrian.”
Nita nodded and saluted.
“I’ll pull up my map in the center circle. Make sure each team checks in with me so I can give them a direction before they take off.”
They all saluted. They had just started to move when they heard a soft, “No.”
Everyone turned and found Deryn facing them. She was trying to get off the bed, but fumbled from the fading but present effects of the sleeping tonic. Talon caught her as she flopped onto the floor.
Deryn clutched his coat as he held her. Looking into his eyes, she said, “Don’t go.”
“I have to. I’m the commander here. It’s my job to give orders.”
“Y-you ... you won’t ... go down?”
He sighed and said, “I will if they need me, but I tend to just keep an eye on things. Up here.” He glanced sideways at Nita, who didn’t voice her displeasure for once.
Deryn nodded. “Be careful.” She hugged him, her arms weak but still holding on for dear life.
Talon returned her hug. He picked her up and put her back on the bed. “I’m locking the door. Stay here.”
Deryn nodded again, sadly watching as they all left.
She sat in the dark room with her eyes closed, waiting for the lingering effects of the sleeping tonic to wear off so she could focus. Eventually, she was able to listen and she could hear Talon’s voice barking orders.
Deryn followed the voice. There was a high and narrow window in the back of the room. She climbed onto a cabinet. She could see outside if she stood on the tips of her toes. Talon was out there in the center of a large circular area surrounded by benches. He had a hologram of a map in front of him with dozens of colored lights moving around. People. Members of the Resistance being tracked.
There was a large cluster of lights where they all stood in the center circle, running up to their commander and getting their orders. Talon would also press one of the colored dots every now and then to give some sort of instruction.
Deryn hadn’t seen it before.
Odette and Neo had taken the lead on their mission to rescue Xander and Talon had happily relented. He understood they knew more about the territory they would be entering.
But this ...
The forest was Talon’s territory and out there he was a leader.
Deryn watched him for a long time, wondering when her brother had gotten so good at multitasking. He could answer the ten people running up to him, click several of the lights to have the people connected to them change direction and get updates from other colored lights, all without missing a beat.
“Eleven S.U.R.G.E.s down!” he called.
A man nearby cheered and marked a tally on his own hologram.
Deryn’s heart jumped.
It was Piz Triggs. Dakota’s father, her father’s oldest friend, and the man who had been like a second father to her. She’d heard his name before but him being in Blackbird, so close to her, hadn’t become real until then.
“Two more just flew out of Utopia’s gates!” shouted Talon.
Piz groaned and added two more to the other side of his tally. Keeping track of how many robots they still had to destroy.
Deryn couldn’t take her eyes off of Talon as he continued his work as a commander, appearing so unbelievably calm as he gave orders. While she couldn’t always understand what he was saying with the window closed, she got the impression from the noise and commotion at Nita’s location that she used her status as his girlfriend to get away with being reckless. If Talon ever gave her an order to fallback - which he did several times - she never seemed to listen.
Several of the colored dots started screaming at Talon. Something bad had happened and with so many voices it took him a minute to decipher what they were saying. Finally, he got it, zooming in to some location on the hologram map. Deryn only then realized that his map showed a live feed. They must have had cameras all over that forest.
The place he zoomed in on was blanketed in black smoke and several figures moved through it. When they came into focus, she felt relief in seeing the Resistance members wearing gasmasks. But they were also all injured, one of them being dragged between two others.
“How far are you?” asked Talon.
Deryn could not understand the muffled response.
“Piz, find Harper and tell her to get ready.”
As soon as Piz ran off, Talon stared back at the medical ward. His eyes were aimed at the window but Deryn got the impression he couldn’t see her. Either way, it was clear what he was thinking. They should have moved Deryn and Xander to somewhere more secure.
Deryn turned away and climbed off of her cabinet. Her eyes darted around the room in a panic, relief rushing through her when she spotted a privacy curtain on wheels. She ran to it and rolled it over to Xander, who was still sleeping soundly.
Some keys rattled just outside of the door and she froze, unsure of where to go as the door opened. She yanked at the curtain, exhaling a breath of relief when Harper stepped inside.
“Let’s move his bed against the wall,” said Harper, running over.
She grabbed one end of Xander’s bed and Deryn grabbed the other. They moved it as best they could with the deadweight on top of it. When he was against the wall in a corner, Harper went back for the curtain and rolled it over.
The door began to open. Panic flashed in Harper’s eyes as she pulled the curtain between Deryn and her, covering the other woman just in time.
Harper whipped around. “Laramie. What are you doing here?”
“My dad sent me to help since all the other healers have been sent down.” Laramie Triggs, Dakot
a’s older brother, glanced at the curtain. “Who’s here?”
“Just someone who ate some bad berries while out on a mission,” she answered with a shrug.
“What mission?”
“For supplies, mainly herbs.”
Laramie raised his eyebrows. He took off the rucksack he wore and opened it. “You mean like the mission I just came from because no one else wanted to do it?” He pulled out several sealed bags of herbs and tossed them onto a nearby table.
Harper was drawing a blank. She was good with medicine, not excuses. That was Adrian’s specialty.
Laramie rushed over to the curtain and pulled it open before Harper could stop him. He was met immediately with the wide green eyes of Deryn, who gulped at the sight of him.
Laramie stood frozen, not completely sure if what he was seeing was real.
“Deryn?”
She nodded slowly.
He relaxed and pulled her into a hug.
“What are you doing here? Why has no one been informed?”
“I just got here,” she said, happily hugging him back. “We’re waiting to make a formal announcement because of ...” She gulped. “Because of who I came with.”
Laramie knitted his brow and finally glanced at the bed. All he saw was a blond head. He kneeled down and got a good look.
“It’s that Guardian,” he said, his voice full of surprise. “The one always by Saevus’s side. His favorite.”
“Not anymore,” said Deryn, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
“There will be time for explanations later.” Harper grabbed Laramie’s arm and pulled him away from Xander’s bed. “If you’re going to assist me then we need to get things ready.”
Laramie nodded, but his eyes were still on Xander. “Does Dax know you’re here?” he asked Deryn.
“Yes.”
Laramie said nothing more. Harper pulled the curtain shut and the two of them went to work preparing for the injured soldiers that would be arriving soon.
“Do you know how many are hurt?” asked Harper.
“Four. One seriously. They were near the radio tower when it suddenly exploded,” explained Laramie.
Deryn’s ears perked up. Her stomach twisted as she stared at Xander. He would’ve been there if she hadn’t pushed Talon. She took his hand.
“We’ve kept that place secret for years. How the hell did they find it?” asked Harper.
“My guess is they already knew where it was.”
That wouldn’t be shocking. The president knew far more about the Resistance than they ever knew about him.
The door burst open and this time Deryn’s heart stopped. She squeezed Xander’s hand tighter.
“Chelsea, my god! Sit down!” Harper’s footsteps hurried toward the door.
“No, don’t worry about me. I only came ahead to tell you about Danny’s condition. He’s losing a lot of blood in his leg. He was barely conscious when I left him.”
“Where’s the injury?” asked Harper.
“His upper thigh. A piece of flaming debris from the radio tower hit him and burned right through his pants.”
“Got it.” Harper moved again, many things clanging as she better prepared. “Laramie, treat her head wound and ankle. Get off of it, Chels! You shouldn’t be standing right now.”
Xander’s fingers wriggled against Deryn’s. He mumbled and she turned her head to look at him. His eyes were fluttering open. He looked at her as they focused.
“W-wha -”
Deryn held a finger up to her lips and he immediately went silent, his gaze darting toward the curtain as he listened.
It wasn’t long before Danny was being carried in by two other injured people.
“Get him on the bed. Chelsea, stay off that ankle!” ordered Harper, everyone scrambling around.
“Is he still breathing?” asked the deep female voice of one of the new arrivals.
A pause.
“Yes,” answered Harper. “He’s going to need blood. Laramie, check our records for someone with a matching blood type. We’re lucky the wound didn’t reach his femoral artery. Hera, Cress, treat your wounds. The last thing we need right now is something getting infected.”
There was a lot of shuffling around the room. Laramie started speaking into a two-way.
“Shit,” he muttered after asking about a few names. “He’s type O, Harper, and we don’t have anyone with that blood type at the base. The closest is Evangeline and she’s fifteen minutes away.”
“Shit,” Harper echoed. “He’s lost so much blood already. I don’t think we have fifteen minutes.”
Deryn felt a small tap on her hand. She looked at Xander again, who pointed at himself.
She paled. “Shit.” There was no other word for that situation. She stared at the curtain again before meeting his eyes. “Are you sure?” she whispered.
He nodded.
She nodded back. After taking a deep breath, she released his hand and came out from behind the curtain.
Harper jumped when she saw her.
When the two people treating each other’s wounds started to react, Harper held out her hand to silence them.
“Deryn, what are you -”
Deryn stopped beside Harper and whispered in her ear.
Harper blinked and thought. She looked Deryn in the eye. “He’s sure?”
“Yes.”
She sighed and looked around the room. “Laramie, lock the door. Everyone else, keep your mouths shut. What’s about to happen does not leave this room. Got it?”
Three sets of unsure eyes watched her and Deryn, but they all nodded.
“Laramie, I need your help moving him. He’s still groggy from a sleeping tonic,” said Deryn.
Laramie hesitated but still followed her. Behind the curtain, Xander was already attempting to sit up. Deryn crouched down and he swung an arm over her shoulders.
“Xander, this is Dax’s brother, Laramie, and he’s much more level-headed.”
The men gave each other a polite nod.
“Careful of his back,” she instructed as Laramie went to Xander’s other side.
“Christ,” said Laramie, getting a good look at the slowly healing gashes.
“My punishment for your attempted kidnapping,” said Xander.
“This is no time for your damn sass, Xander. Save it for when you’re not a secret prisoner in the medical ward being treated for your injuries,” ordered Deryn.
“That was very specific,” he said, his head spinning a bit as he moved with them.
“You can’t be fucking serious!” shouted one of the wounded Resistance members. By the deep yet feminine voice, Deryn guessed that this must be Hera.
“He’s type O,” was all Harper said as she set up everything for the blood transfusion.
“How do we know he isn’t lying? He’s a Guardian and all Guardians are liars!”
“Not all of us, sweetheart,” said Xander as he was lowered onto the bed beside Danny’s.
“He’s not a liar, and what did I say about your sass?” snapped Deryn, pinching his arm.
“I don’t know why he’d lie when he has nothing to gain here. Saevus wants him dead and we’re his only chance of surviving that bastard.” Harper checked for a vein and cleaned his skin. She tied a band at the top of his arm, gave him something to grip and slipped a needle into the vein. Blood immediately started flowing to the sister needle already placed in Danny. “Now keep your mouths shut unless it’s something constructive.” She looked at Xander. “Your blood already isn’t the most plentiful so we’re only using it until Evangeline gets back.”
“I can’t believe you’re risking Danny’s life like this,” Hera spat.
Deryn’s eyes narrowed.
“If we wait for Evangeline he’ll die. I’d say it’s worth the risk,” said Harper. “This is our one chance to save him and I’m taking it.”
Harper moved to Danny’s other side. She had already cleaned the wound but needed to stitch it up before he
lost any more blood.
“I need hands.”
When no one moved, Deryn went to her side.
“You don’t get queasy from blood, do you?”
Deryn shook her head. “Is it too large for a sealing salve? I have some in my bag.”
“Yes, but Chelsea could use it for that cut on her face.”
Deryn ran to her rucksack, which was near Xander’s bed, and pulled out a bag full of all of their medical supplies. She grabbed the salve and tossed it to the girl with the wounded ankle, who she assumed was Chelsea.
“Thank you,” Chelsea said quietly, not looking directly at her, or at Hera, who was watching her with a disapproving sneer.
“When this is over I’d like to add your supplies to our inventory, if that’s okay,” said Harper. “Utopia’s medicine is superior to ours, unfortunately.”
“It’s all yours,” said Deryn.
Harper had a needle and thread already working their way through Danny’s leg. She showed Deryn how to do it before checking the rest of his body for wounds. There were plenty. He had definitely gotten the worst of the explosion. Chelsea, who was his partner, explained that it was because a large pile of debris flew right at him. She was lucky enough to be thrown into a bush. Hera and her partner, a man named Cress, had been farther south and felt the heat more than the impact.
“We’re lucky it blew when it did. If we’d been any closer ...” Chelsea wiped away tears.
“Danny is going to be fine,” Harper reassured her. “How are you doing, Xander?”
Xander, who was leaning back with his eyes closed - wounds be damned - gave a very faint nod.
“What’s wrong?” asked Deryn, not fooled by his faked poise.
He took a deep breath. “No judgment?”
“Of course.”
“I’m not the biggest fan of needles.”
Deryn, Harper, Laramie and even Chelsea laughed. Hera and Cress did not.
“The big, bad Guardian is scared of needles. How precious,” joked Harper as she cleaned a wound on Danny’s arm.
“Doesn’t your finger get poked to take your blood every time you use an Element?” asked Laramie.
“Yes, and I hate it.”
Arise (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 3) Page 14
