The Warrior - Initiation Driven Subversive Redemption Justice

by Rebecca Royce

  “Take me to that cage.” I moved in the direction I wanted to go. Andon would have no choice but to do what I wanted or risk exposure. I could tell from the way his hand flinched on my arm that he didn’t like this one bit.

  I really didn’t care.

  Drawn to the cage as though possessed, I raised my head to stare at the guy who had captured my attention so completely.

  He spoke through gritted teeth. “Are you crazy? You’d almost made it out the door.”

  “You saw me?”

  He rolled his eyes. “From the second you were up on that balcony.”

  “What is your name?”

  “What’s yours?”

  Okay, so clearly he was touchy. I might be too if I had to spend all my time in a cage waiting to be a snack.

  “I wanted to tell you I’m going to come back for all of you. I’ll bring help. We’ll get you out of here.”

  The blank expression on his safe softened a bit. “Come back and rescue everyone. I won’t be here. It’s my night. I was chosen. One of these things in here will end my life.”

  No. I shook my head. I couldn’t let that happen. A Warrior wouldn’t leave these people here to die.

  Andon’s voice was a hiss in my ear. “We have to leave. Now.”

  I knew he had to leave. He had to get back to his pack. To Jason and the others. Despite his earlier statement about how he’d be fine with death taking him because the kids would be fine, I knew he had no real intention of dying tonight. He’d shown me this place. That was all he’d wanted to do.

  I pulled my arm from him. “Get your pack out if you don’t want trouble. I’m not leaving these people to die.”

  “There’s no way you can get all of them out.”

  If he wasn’t Jason’s father, I would hit him. Hard. “Weren’t you a doctor? Forty-six years ago, weren’t you some kind of doctor?”

  He scratched his head. “I was.”

  “Then how can you stand here and handle the sheer waste of life that is about to happen in this room?” Enough. I was done with him. He could run or he could stay. It was no longer my problem except for one more piece of information I needed to learn. “What time will you be pulling the pack out one week from today?”

  “Noon. We always leave at noon.

  I nodded. “Great. I’ll be there.”

  “If you’re not, I’ll make Jason understand you had no choice but to stay with your people.”

  “I’ll be there. Now please get out if you’re going.”

  I don’t know if I expected him to stay. Logically, I understood that getting these people out of their cages was not his priority. His pack was. But when he moved away from to signal the others to go, I almost cried out for him.

  I’d kind of thought that since he’d wanted me to be his daughter, he might not leave me to die in an underground warehouse. One tear escaped from my eye, and I batted it away forcing my emotions back into the pit of my stomach. I had a job to do here. Keith and Patrick wouldn’t leave these people to die, and I’d like to think that back in the day my father wouldn’t have either.

  This was my moment to do the right thing.

  I wasn’t going to leave it behind and always wish I’d done something else. I’d grown up with a drunk in the house and that had taught me one thing—actions had consequences. If I left now without trying to help everyone, I couldn’t live with that decision.

  “It really sucks when the adults who should protect us let us down, doesn’t it?”

  I almost jumped at his voice. The green-eyed no-name guy was looking at me with so much sympathy I wanted to vomit. Whatever had happened to me over the last week, I could no longer stomach pity. Not even a little.

  “I’m getting this cage open.” I’d made the decision and now that I had, it wasn’t hard to move forward. I wasn’t even scared, which was amazing. “Get these people out through that door. When you do go out that door. About halfway down the corridor, you’re going to find a ladder.”

  “Seriously?” He swung around to look at the people behind him. “There are three cages in here.”

  “I can count.”

  In two steps I’d stepped in front of the cage. It wasn’t a hard lock to open, showing just how superior the Vampires felt in here. They were safe. Icahn had us all so fooled they had no reason to think anyone would ever be showing up to help.

  There were two rings, inserting one into the other would open it. I pushed hard and with a large click, the cage swung open. There was a gasp as the humans inside realized what was happening.

  I had no time to pay attention to them. There were two other cages, and the Vampires were more than aware of what was happening now. They turned almost in unison to stare at me.

  I pulled the stake off my leg and gripped it tightly in my hand. It felt good to hold it and to know before long I was going to get to use it. I’d been afraid. I’d almost died. I’d fallen in love.

  I swung around as a hand gripped my arm almost plunging forward with my stake.

  It was the guy. The one who wouldn’t tell me his name. “I’ll get the cages. You hold them off.”

  “You’re supposed to be leading the people out.”

  “I gave them directions. If they can’t follow them it’s their own damn fault.”

  Whatever his name was, he was funny. I snickered as I moved forward on the first Vampire. With a swift movement of my right hand, I’d staked the Undead monster where it stood.

  “Wow,” I spoke aloud looking at the group in front of me. “You’re all used to not having to try really hard for your food, aren’t you? Gotten a little lazy?”

  I head the crash of another cage opening. The Vampires in the room roared but they weren’t my biggest concern. No, the fact that I still didn’t have my darn machete was a bigger problem. There were Werewolves in here, and I had no way to fight them.

  That was okay. One thing at a time. I plunged, skirted backwards, and staked everywhere I could. I quickly lost track of how many Vampires I’d taken down. They didn’t seem to know what to do with me.

  None of them spoke. They kind of shrieked and moaned. It was disturbing, and I knew I’d hear those sounds in my dreams. I hadn’t seen any wolves, and that was a concern. Why weren’t they stepping into the fray?

  Distantly, I knew I heard the sound of the third cage opening. The Vampires roared again as I took two more down.

  “Hey, girl.” No-name boy called out to me. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “You run. I’m a little busy here.”

  He grabbed my arm, pulling me down as one of the Undead swiped at me.

  I smiled. “Thanks.”

  “I’m not leaving you here, so either hand me one of those awesome wooden things or come with me.”

  Darn it. “Where are the wolves?”

  “They all took off when you started fighting. No one looked very happy to see you. Who are you by the way?”

  Fine. We needed to run then because if the wolves had gone for help, I didn’t want to be here alone when they came back. Of course why they would need help from one little Warrior girl was another question all together…

  I took his hand and pulled him with me. “These Vampires are hardly fighting back. What’s the matter with them?”

  “Do most Vampires fight? I thought they only incapacitated humans with their venom so you didn’t fight back.”

  This was new information for me. “The ones up where we’re going. They fight back.”

  “Great. Something to look forward to.”

  We rounded the corner and I let go of his hand to take the steps of the ladder two rungs at a time. To give him credit, he kept up with me.

  I pushed the glasses up on my face as I swung around to look at him. If I couldn’t stand the sunlight, he probably couldn’t either. Only he seemed fine.

  “You’re used to the light?”

  “They bring us out a couple of times a day to exercise us. Apparently it keeps the blood healthier and occasi
onally one of the wolves decides they want a chase. Then we get to run.”

  I bit down on the inside of my cheek. Jason had done that. He, and his entire pack, they’d participated. I shook my head. It shouldn’t matter. They didn’t know what they were doing and they weren’t doing it back.

  No, a nagging voice insisted, they just left you to die.

  Well, Jason hadn’t done that. He was all that was important in this scenario. Jason and all the people I now had to get back to Genesis with me so I could tell someone what Icahn was doing.

  The guy next to me extended his hand. “My mother told me this is the polite way to greet someone. I’m sorry I forgot my manners. Nearly being eaten makes me nasty. I’m Deacon Evans.”

  I took his hand. He had a firm grip as we shook. “Rachel Clancy. Thanks for not leaving me in there.”

  “No problem.” When he grinned he had a dimple. “Where now?”

  Groups of the newly rescued stepped out from behind trees where they’d hidden. There were a lot of them. I hadn’t counted how many humans there had been, but I would guess about thirty at least.

  I called out to the group. “I can get you all to safety. But you’re going to have to keep up.”

  I had no time to lose. My own week countdown had started, and I was on a clock.

  I looked at Deacon. His hair was cut short, shaven until it was practically not visible but I thought it might be a dark brown color. “Can you run?”

  “I think so. I’ve never run very far, but I’ll try to keep up.”

  That’s the best I could ask of any of them. As we took off into the woods, leaving the confused Vampires and the missing wolves behind, the enormity of what I’d just undertaken hit me. I was responsible for all these people until we got to Genesis, and at the rate at which we were walking. it was going to take twenty-four hours at least.

  Some of the people who had come out of the cages were in really bad shape. There was no other way to put it. They’d been hurt, abused, and defeated time and again for a lifetime. And they needed me.

  So I talked to them. I told them about Genesis about where we were going. I told them about movies they sometimes played on television and that they would be protected there. I didn’t tell them about the Icahns. They needed comfort, not more stress.

  “And that’s what you are?” Deacon interrupted me only once. “A Warrior?”

  “That’s right. Technically, I shouldn’t be out here on my own quite yet but circumstances have been a little out of my control.”

  “I’ve never been so glad to have met someone. I wasn’t sure who you were when I first spotted you.”

  “I was leaving until I caught your eye.”

  I could admit that. I’d done the right thing. I tried to tell myself I didn’t need to feel guilty about almost not doing it.

  He took my hand. “Thank you, Rachel.”

  I pulled my hand back. He was adorable with his green eyes and dimple but I had Jason and I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else holding his hand.

  “I take it you’re spoken for.”

  I smiled. He sounded sad when he said that and I couldn’t help but be flattered. I was weirdly shaped with red hair, freckles, and a huge scar on the side of my face, and Deacon was still flirting with me. How could I not be?

  “I am.”

  He nodded. “Of course you are.”

  “If it means anything, his father just left me to die.”

  His eyes got huge. “If that was my dad…”

  “Where are your parents? I don’t know how these things work. You were walked around so you couldn’t have spent your whole life in that cage.”

  “Oh.” He put his hands in his pockets.

  The rescued group was all freezing but there was nothing I could do for them. I’d given my coat to one of the younger girls. Other than that we all had to keep moving. There was no other choice.

  “I didn’t realize you didn’t know. They keep us underground except for the exercise and we work for them, doing hard labor jobs to keep the food supply for the wolves going. We work in mines, we farm, we handle anything they need done, and then when our number comes up, they eat us.”

  “You say that so calmly. You’re talking about them eating you.”

  He shrugged. “Up until today it was inevitability in my life.”

  “And they breed the next generation?”

  “They don’t always get to control that. I understand I was not a planned pregnancy for the Vampires. My parents just liked each other.”

  When he grinned his dimples came out and they strangely affected me. I wanted to make him smile. All the time. I shook my head.

  I might be attracted to Deacon. Who wouldn’t be? But I was in love with Jason. I tried to tell myself he would be furious with his father and when I arrived back with them, I would be getting a huge apology, but I still wasn’t sure how I was going to handle it.

  Could I stay with him now or were Jason and I going to have to go off on my own?

  Andon’s wolf pack had saved my life. Was I really so selfish that I was going to let this one little incident—an event I’d known in advance Andon wasn’t handling well—get in the way of all my future happiness?

  I rubbed my head. It throbbed. “We’re almost there. This is quadrant one. Genesis will be around the corner after that line of trees.”

  “I don’t care where we go. I’m free and I’m with you.”

  “Deacon…”

  He held up his hand as he interrupted me. “I know. You’ve got someone else. I can’t help it if I’ve fallen for you hard. I’ll try to get over it.”

  “That’s probably the best idea.”

  He didn’t respond and I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Not that I was given much time to contemplate. A group of Warriors rushed through the trees.

  I gasped. It was Frank and some of the others. I’d never been so happy to see a group of people in my life. Tears blurred my vision.

  I raised my hand to wave. “Thank God!”

  Frank shook his head. “Don’t move, Rachel. We have orders.”

  “Orders?” I was so confused. What was going on here?

  “These people are all survivors. We’re to take them down. You,” his face fell as he spoke, “are under arrest for conspiracy. The Icahns have labeled you a traitor.”

  Deacon whirled around to look at me. “Are they kidding?” He looked back at Frank. I had to give Deacon credit, Frank was an intimidating guy and Deacon wasn’t scared at all. “She’s a hero.”

  Frank nodded. “I’m hoping we can get this all cleared up. Up until an hour ago, we all thought you were dead. I don’t mind telling you that despite all this craziness, it is damn good to see you, Rachel.”

  His voice shook as he spoke, and I suppose that was something. There was nothing like going through hell to go home to be charged with treason. It all made sense now. The wolves had run out. They’d reported back to Icahn. He’d had time to plan for my arrival.

  “Please take care of all these people, Frank. They need medical help.”

  He nodded. “I will.”

  I held out my hands to be cuffed. There was no way to escape, they’d catch me and kill me. I still needed to tell someone about the underground lairs. That meant I had to go quietly.

  Frank approached with loud footsteps, his eyes getting wide. “Tell your friends they’re not to cause me any trouble.”

  I stared at Deacon, unsure of what Frank saw that I didn’t. He seemed pretty calm to me.

  “He’s lethal.”

  Deacon nodded. “You saved me.”

  “If you want to repay me you’ll go down and live a good life. Okay?”

  I hadn’t brought them all this way to watch them die.

  Frank spoke again. “Did a Vampire get you?” He pointed at my cheek.

  “Yep.”

  “And you lived?”

  “What can I say, Frank? I’m not an easy person to kill.”

  I hoped.

&n
bsp; Chapter Sixteen

  I hadn’t seen anyone I knew in twenty-four hours. Frank had hauled me into the elevator and then deposited me in a jail cell. There must have been a state of emergency called before I arrived, because the streets had been empty.

  My jailor was polite, but he hadn’t spoken more than two words to me except to tell me to give him all my weapons and to ask if I had any health concerns. I’d told him no. The real answer would have been, yes, I was concerned that Isaac Icahn was going to have me killed.

  I had managed to keep that to myself.

  Hours later my lawyer arrived. He was a non-Warrior human, and he stared at me through thick glasses.

  I tried to see myself through his eyes. What did he see when he looked at me?

  Right off the bat, he knew I was a Warrior. That meant, in his mind, I was someone to fear, someone to stay away from. I was good enough to save him, just not good enough to speak to on the street.

  Then, I’d been accused of treason. That meant that I was really someone to fear. Not to mention I was a teenager and by definition untrustworthy.

  I leaned back in my chair as he spoke to me across an old wooden table that tilted to the right. He told me is name was Theodore ‘Call me Teddy’ Costos. Personally, I think people should stop using nicknames when they approach forty, but what did I know? Maybe being called Teddy worked for him in some legal sense.

  “You’re accused of some terrible charges, Rachel.”

  I nodded. “I know.”

  “You do?”

  “They told me outside that I’m being accused of being a traitor.”

  “Oh.” He pushed back his glasses on his face. “Okay then. So you know that.”

  “I don’t know what I’m accused of having done to earn the charge.”

  “Let’s see.”

  He looked down at the paper. He hadn’t read it before hand? Wow. They’d really sent me a winner.

  “You’re charged with conspiracy to overtake the habitats and helping to imprison humans.”

  “Really? All that? I’ve been busy in the last week considering I only saw the light of day for the first time on my sixteenth birthday.”

  If my voice rose, I couldn’t help it. Hell, I couldn’t even make my foot stop pounding on the floor. I was furious. I needed to get out of here. My countdown to Jason was rapidly approaching, and considering what had happened when I came home, I couldn’t wait to turn my back on this place. Where is my father? Where are the Lyons? Didn’t anyone care I’m locked in here?