He still didn’t move.
“Your friends need you more than I do. Get back up there. That’s an order.”
The corner of Dakota’s mouth twitched. “Well, I suppose if it’s an order.”
With a deep breath, he leaned in and kissed Finley on the forehead. A gesture that took both of them by surprise. Their cheeks flushed as a moment of confusion passed between them.
Dakota flew off. She watched the small, flying figure become a speck as Rees carried her. But then the speck was coming back. Her heart raced as Dakota sped into view. She laughed when she noticed he wasn’t alone.
“Might want to take this with you,” said Dakota, plopping her father down beside them. “Found him flapping his arms and trying to fly off the balcony.”
“Got it,” she said. “Thanks.”
She and Dakota smiled at each other awkwardly before he took off again. The moment he landed on the balcony, Odette was grabbing onto the straps of his gravpack and pulling him until his face was level with hers.
“Where’s Finley?” she demanded.
“Her leg was broken. The tunnelers are bringing her to their medical station.”
Odette closed her eyes and sighed in relief. “I already lost one sister today. I don’t think I could handle it if I lost two.”
She let him go and ran back to where Neo was fighting with Luka.
Dakota circled his head around the battlefield. He spotted Harper fighting alongside Adrian. She’d been pretty angry when she was assigned to medical the night before, despite her profession. On the battlefield with the man she loved was where she wanted to be. Then he spotted Sam, fighting in the center of a ring of guards with ease. Dakota went to him.
“Did you see April?”
“No.” Sam shot a wave of fire like a blowtorch at the remaining guards. “Why? I thought she was hurt.”
“She is but, apparently, she came back with Izzy. Took her to the control panel.”
Sam tilted his head and stared upward. Flames were spreading through the tower, shooting out of windows near the top.
Sam’s eyes widened. “Shit.” He took out his two-way, pressed the button, and shouted, “Lieutenant Commander April Park, get your sweet ass out of that knucking tower before I come up there and drag you out personally!”
Click. “We’re busy.”
“April, I swear -”
“Commander Cavanaugh called. They’ll be here in two minutes, Sam! Two! Let us finish this and then we’ll talk.”
The two-way clicked off.
Sam growled and swung his fist in frustration.
He went back to fighting, the one thing he had control over in that moment. Two minutes past and he stared up at the sky, his heart beating fast.
There was nothing.
He blinked slowly.
When his eyes opened again, the sky began to change. The gray gloom melted away, revealing bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds, the rain from that morning lost in the distance.
And then there were ships. Two hundred eighty-three, to be exact. Their doors opened and two thousand and fifty-three soldiers dropped from the sky.
“WHOOO!” Sam flew high into the air and crowed like a rooster.
The falling soldiers mirrored the sound, several flying toward Sam and slapping his outstretched hands as they sped past him.
“Commander Knight!” Commander Cavanaugh stopped in front of him. “It looks like we’ve arrived to quite the mess,” she said, glancing down at what were once the peaceful streets of Utopia.
“I told you our numbers weren’t even. Grab the best soldiers you’ve got and help the people on the balcony. Lieutenant Commander Park decided to go on a suicide mission and I need to save her ass.”
Commander Cavanaugh laughed. “Not shocking. We’ve got this covered, Sam.”
“Thanks, Deirdre!”
They saluted each other. He went up and she went down.
Back on the balcony, Luka and his father paused their duel to watch the masses come flying onto the battlefield.
“This is ridiculous. Who even are these people?” asked Barath, looking back at his son.
Luka smiled. “Peace Ops. They travel the world keeping peace among the millions of people still alive out there.”
Barath shook his head. “We don’t need those people. Only Utop -”
A powerful blast sent them both flying. Luka hit Odette, who’d been fighting several feet away, and they both fell to the ground, a pillar landing on top of them.
Barath had been knocked onto his back. As he sat up, he caught sight of someone also struggling to get up again. His eyes narrowed.
“You’re still alive?”
Barath hurried to his feet and aimed his Element at Bronson, who was currently rubbing his aching head. Bronson stopped, his eyes widening.
Barath fired a blast.
Bronson got out of the way just in time.
A blast fired at Barath.
He threw up a shield, then looked at Quigley standing behind him.
“This doesn’t concern you, traitor trash!”
Finding himself overcome with a horrible rage, Barath fired a string of blasts at Quigley. They came so quickly that Quigley couldn’t do much more than protect himself. Then Barath switched the setting and flicked his wrist, hitting Quigley across the legs with a blue streak of light.
Quigley cried out as he landed hard on the ground. His eyes were blurry but he still managed to look at the damage. The flesh where the whip hit had been seared right off. He nearly fainted at the sight of blood and bone.
“Quigs!”
Bronson tried to run to Quigley, but Barath took aim at him. “Your turn.”
He fired.
Luka watched in fear. “Get it off me!” he shouted at Neo, who was trying to remove the remains of the pillar that had landed on Luka’s legs.
“Get it off me! Get it off me! Get it fucking off me!”
“We’re trying, Luka!” snapped Odette, who’d managed to shimmy out and was struggling to help her husband.
Evangeline ran over. Together, the three of them were able to get Luka free. He scrambled to his feet and ran toward his father, firing a blast at his head.
Barath put up a shield. “Does he mean that much to you, Luka?” he asked, looking at his son and pouting. “In that case, I suppose you should watch him die.”
It was then that their true duel finally began. Neither held back as they fired at each other. Switching the settings on their Elements from blasts to wind to quivering earth, anything that might take the other by surprise.
But, while Barath was angry, he didn’t have the same fire as his son. He was still thinking rationally, not to mention tactically. Luka was aiming to kill, but Barath was not quite ready to give up on his bloodline. Once the president had won, he’d reconsider. So there was only the matter of disposing of the nuisance.
Turning away from Luka, Barath fired a stunner at Bronson’s weapon.
“Toss it!” shouted Luka as the old Element began to glow.
Bronson obeyed, tossing it high into the air where it shattered into a million pieces.
Luka fired again at his father. Barath dodged this time, keeping his Element free to fire ropes and bind his son. As the blue light wrapped around Luka’s entire body, Barath kicked him in the ankles and he fell to the ground.
“You’ll want to watch this, Luka.”
Barath left Luka lying there while he went after a weaponless Bronson.
He fired a blast.
Bronson dodged.
He fired another.
Bronson dodged again.
Quigley was struggling to drag himself closer to them. “Bronson!” he called, but his friend was too distracted to hear him.
Evangeline fought the guards who had decided to block Luka while Neo and Odette went after Barath, but Barath switched his Element to wind and sent them both flying across the battlefield.
“Bronson!” Quigley called again, louder
this time.
Deryn was helping Xander take off his gravpack on the other side of the balcony, since it kept slowing his movements. They paused when they heard Quigley shout. Dropping the gravpack and headband, they searched until they saw Luka bound on the ground and Barath shooting blast after blast at Bronson. Deryn sucked in a breath.
Xander clenched his teeth and pushed her forward. “Go!”
“But what about -”
“I’ve got this.”
Deryn nodded. She wanted to kiss Xander but there wasn’t time.
Before she could turn away, he grabbed her hand and slipped something into it. She looked down, her heart jumping when she saw her ring.
“Come back to me,” he said.
Deryn nodded and slipped the ring onto her finger. Their throats swelled as they separated. Xander rejoined Talon in the fight against Saevus while Deryn ran as fast as her legs would carry her across the balcony.
She could see Luka struggling. He was trying desperately to remove the binds that were keeping him in place. There were still two guards between him and Evangeline.
Bronson landed hard on the ground as he dodged another blast.
“Bronson, my gun! Take my gun!”
Quigley stretched toward him. Bronson crawled over.
Deryn did not slow her pace. She pushed and shoved, her head spinning and heart racing. There was a break in the crowd and she sighed in relief. Evangeline had finally reached Luka and cut him loose.
Bronson grabbed hold of Quigley’s Element and hurried to his feet. He aimed it where Barath had been, but the man was no longer there.
“Left! LEFT!” screamed Luka, scrambling to his feet.
Bronson turned left. Barath had his Element pointed at his heart.
“Goodbye.” He fired.
“NO!”
Luka watched helplessly as Bronson seemed to fall backwards in slow motion. His body landed beside Quigley, whose heart shattering cry reverberated across the battlefield as he looked into his best friend’s lifeless eyes.
Deryn felt herself falling even before it happened. The whole world became darker as Bronson hit the ground. And she hit it right along with him, her legs no longer working as one of her dearest friends died right in front of her.
In that moment, Luka went mad.
CHAPTER 56
Luka shot a blast at Barath, immediately followed by another.
He would do more than simply stop his father’s heart. That was too merciful. His father would die, and it would be slow and horrible.
The earth quaked beneath his feet as Luka raged onward. Deryn wanted to help, but she knew she had to stay back. Luka was blinded by rage, and anyone who got in his crossfire was bound to die horrifically.
Barath had not been expecting that sort of reaction, and he was forced to defend himself instead of retaliate. But Luka was quicker than him and, when he was still shielding one blast, another was fired. The shield fragmented at just the wrong moment and the blast hit Barath in the chest, knocking him to the ground.
His entire body convulsed as blood gushed from the wound. Luka walked over to his father and stared down at him coldly. Without a word, he lifted his foot and jammed it into Barath’s open chest. Blood dripped down the sides of his father’s open mouth.
“You disgust me,” said Luka, his eyes never leaving Barath’s as he jammed his foot in deeper. “I hate you. I’ve always hated you. Any children I have will not be named Voclain. You can be damn sure of that. Your bloodline dies here. With you.”
Luka twisted his foot around the inside of his father’s chest. Barath’s head shot up. He let out one last horrible cry of pain before falling back and ceasing all movement.
The moment his father was gone, Luka removed his foot. Looking down at the man lying dead before him, his stone-cold face fell into grief. Tears swelled in his eyes as he turned away, following Quigley’s cries to Bronson. He collapsed beside him, his heart cracking as he refused to look at his face. But he had to. He had to know if this was real. So he looked. And that was when his heart broke completely.
Luka slowly reached out his shaky hand to touch Bronson’s cheek. He pulled it away before making contact, then urged his fingers forward until they were stroking cold skin. He looked into Bronson’s deep blue eyes one last time before closing them.
Luka and Quigley didn’t even notice as more Peace Ops landed on the balcony around them, joining the fight and relieving the exhausted Resistance members. For them, help had come too late.
A soft hand touched Luka’s shoulder. He tried to push it off but the person held on tight. Deryn kneeled beside him, crying hard as she gazed at their friend lying in front of them.
Luka, Deryn and Quigley were all too distracted to notice when Barath’s hand twitched. His fingers spread, searching the ground for his Element. When he finally touched metal, his hand began to close around it.
But someone kicked it away. He opened his eyes. A girl stood above him. The same one who’d released Luka from his binds, freeing him so he could do this to his own father.
The two of them gazed at each other. Then, without a word, Evangeline aimed her gun and fired a bullet into his exposed heart, hidden beneath all the blood from anyone who might wonder how Barath had died.
This was Luka’s kill and she would not have him believing otherwise.
Across the battlefield, Xander could not see what had happened, but he knew in his gut that something was wrong. He tried to look, but Saevus shot another blast at him and he was forced to dodge.
“Your mind is distracted, Xander,” said Saevus. “I refuse to kill you like this. Show me your true strength.”
Xander turned his eyes to the president.
“You have given this slave too much power over you. Have you forgotten what I taught you? Love makes people weak.”
“Then why do you keep staring at Elvira’s dead body?”
Saevus bit his cheek, knowing very well that if he spoke he’d be forced to reveal the truth.
“Loving Deryn has given me something to fight for. She makes me strong, not weak. But you grow weaker every moment. You let the betrayals of your followers consume you. Their lack of love for you, my lack of love for you drives you mad. Because that’s all you really want. Love.”
President Saevus smiled in amusement. “Are you saying that I love you, Xander?”
“In your own twisted way, yes,” said Xander. “And Elvira. She meant something to you and so do I. Even now, do you really want to kill me? If so, you’re not trying very hard.”
“You’re right,” said Saevus. “With Elvira gone, I need a new second in command and you’re the only one who’s proven himself strong enough for the task. You will not die today. But Talon and Deryn Leon will, along with everyone else fighting alongside them.”
Xander’s hand tensed around his Element. “No. They won’t.”
“But I don’t love you, not even in my own twisted way.”
“And Elvira?”
The president glanced at where his daughter was lying dead, her eyes wide and body slightly trampled.
“She’s the only person I’ve ever loved. In my own twisted way.”
“If you’re incapable of lying, does that mean you really believe you’ll win this?” asked Xander with a laugh. “Look around. There is barely anyone left fighting for your side.”
“I fight for the safety of my people, and the side of good always wins.”
“That’s some warped logic.”
A blast fired at Saevus. He put up his bubble shield again and turned, scowling at Talon as he marched forward.
“I heard what you said about my father.” Talon fired again, even though he knew it was pointless.
Saevus smiled. “Did you? I never meant for it to be a secret, but I very much wanted to tell you in person. Until today, you never gave me the opportunity.”
“How can you kill a man so horribly yet still consider yourself to be on the side of good?”
; “How can you come into my city and murder people in cold blood yet still consider yourself so righteous?”
“We would have saved some of the guards if you hadn’t turned them into zombies!” shouted Talon.
“It can be undone.” Saevus aimed his Element at Talon. “I think it’s time you joined your father.”
He fired.
Deryn felt the battle shift.
The area around them had cleared and she’d just finished bandaging Quigley’s leg as best she could. She stood up, her eyes scanning the crowd for any sign of Xander, but she saw nothing.
“I’m going back for Xander,” she said, looking down at Quigley. “Will you be okay?”
Quigley nodded, his throat too raw to speak.
Deryn put her hand on Luka’s shoulder as she headed for the battle. To her surprise, he grabbed onto it.
“I’m coming with you,” he said.
Deryn nodded and the two of them hurried off to find Xander.
On the other side of the balcony, Xander was standing on the sidelines.
The battle was still in chaos but no guards were attacking him. Not after the president had said he didn’t want him dead.
Soaked in blood and sweat, he scanned the battlegrounds. Dakota was to his left. A Guardian he didn’t notice fired at him, but Hera shoved him out of the way and ended up getting hit with the blast. Cress cried out when he saw, but that only made him fight harder. A good one-hundred Peace Ops had joined the fight on the balcony, killing anyone in a dark-blue or steel-blue coat. He hoped Luka and Finley had discarded theirs, wherever they were.
The battle raged on, and Xander soon found himself in a fight with Nita and three guards. Even as he attacked, he made sure to stay close to Talon. Just in case.
One of the guards used wind that sent Nita flying. She landed hard just beside Talon.
“Neetles!”
Without thinking, Talon ran to the aid of his girlfriend, stopping directly between Saevus and Xander.
The entire world slowed as Xander watched Saevus raise his Element.
“Xander!”
He heard her voice call his name through the crowd. The people around him faded into nothing but faceless blurs until there was only one. Deryn. Standing in the middle of the battlefield with her sea-green eyes focused on him. Even through the madness of war, he could still see it. Their future. A life where they were free to be together, to be happy. Where they could get married and have children, raising them to not hate and fear those who were different from them, but to love and embrace them. Like they had with each other.
Arise (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 3) Page 60
