by Tigris Eden
She gave Phyr a curt nod.
He was right.
There was no other choice. It was either his way, or they’d both die. She didn’t know Phyr, not really. But what she did know of him, she liked. He was honorable. But he was loyal to Diamond and not her, and she wouldn’t forget that. He was, after all, leading them back to her slaver. The same dick who’d collared and chained her to a wall. The same brute, who didn’t give two shits about her family’s safety. Nadya thought back to an earlier conversation she’d had with Phyr and hoped he was right; she hoped Attia would bring Nika and her mother.
Nadya placed her hand against the slimy wall and tried to find purchase. Phyr waited until she’d given him the go ahead before he used her back to jump up towards the manhole cover. The Reapers were getting close. She could hear them. They were still following. The water hadn’t deterred them at all. Her throat still too sore to speak, she hoped Phyr could sense her urgency.
“There is somewhat of a ladder midway up, its rusted out, broken. It will barely hold me, so we need to do this quickly,” he called down from the hole. “You need to jump as hard and as high as you can. It’s going to hurt, but you can do it. You have to. Understand?”
She nodded again.
The Reapers were getting closer.
Nadya flinched at the sound of their claws scraping against the walls. They were too close. Her entire body was beyond pain now. She was numb all over. Phyr was right; she had to make the jump. He hadn’t left her. Whether it was because she was the property of Diamond or because he could truly be trusted, she wasn’t entirely sure. Right now, she was just thankful he was there.
With shaky limbs, she leapt. On her first attempt, she felt the tip of his fingers. When she landed, she slipped, falling back into the sewer water. Her entire body submerged. She came back to the surface, got back on the ledge, and tried again. When she jumped this time, there was a second when she saw the horror on Phyr’s face. She didn’t have time to process because mid-air, a grey, spiny arm reached forward, caught her around the waist, and tore her away from Phyr’s grasp.
V
There were a million thoughts going through Phyr’s head when Nadya was taken by the Reapers. He could still feel the ghost of her fingers as they’d barely touched his hand before she was gone. He didn’t think about the consequences of what it meant, nor did he think about what would happen when he went after Nadya and the Reapers. He leapt down into the tunnel and ran as if being chased by hundreds of Ragers. He knew which way they were headed, even though he didn’t know their destination. He could track them. Nobody who came in direct contact with a Reaper ever lived to tell the tale.
Phyr tried to rack his memory for information about Reapers. It was hopeless. Very little was known. If a person were scratched, cut, or run through with their venomous claws, it was thought to be certain death. In all his long years, he’d never heard of one of his kind being scratched, and maybe it was because their body processed things harmful to their body differently. He hoped Nadya’s would do the same. Raemas healed fast, and maybe her body would do the same as his would and filter out the toxins. There was no clear evidence of what exactly happened when someone was clawed because the Reapers would take their victims, sometimes leaving only body parts or articles of clothing behind. He didn’t know of even one recorded survivor.
There will be tonight.
Which was a weird conclusion. He didn’t know anything about this girl, only that she was like him. He’d been alone too long. He’d left his tribe in order to search for the disappearance of a person close to him. He and Nadya weren’t from the same tribe, but she was Raema and it had him running harder, faster. Maybe it was the scent of her blood that led the Reapers down the manhole. How else were they able to track her? He knew they’d follow, but Phyr had hoped he’d fooled them by going into the sewer, hoping the smell would mask them. There was a loud noise directly in front of him, and Phyr could see a faint light. Figures were moving up ahead, crawling up the wall. Nadya’s prone body lay lifeless on one of the Reaper’s shoulder.
She wasn’t moving. Could she be dead already? Phyr followed closely behind. He made sure to keep his steps in alignment with theirs. In a way, they were like Sub-dwellers with their heightened senses. Lindy had once told him how her siblings would play a game of following the other’s exact movements at the same time to throw each other off. He did that now with the Reapers. There were two of them. He mimicked the one closest to him as he followed, being sure to step when it stepped. When he came to the wall they were scaling, he saw that there were footholds and used those to get up the wall and into a hole that was inside of an old abandoned subway tunnel.
Phyr continued to follow closely behind, making sure to stick to the shadows. Not that it would matter, but he knew there were others down in the subways. He didn’t want to tip anyone off to his presence. It was warmer in the tunnels. He wanted to remove some of his clothing but knew better. The water they’d walked through earlier had soaked his pants and begun to rub his skin raw, but half the stuff down here was toxic to his skin. As they moved forward, Phyr noticed there were sacks hanging from the walls. They swayed as the Reapers moved past. One Reaper stopped in front of one, sniffed, but then kept moving forward. Phyr knew what was in the sacks. He was not ignorant of the meat that hung inside. There were some that were bound in corners, more blackened with age, others still fresh. The other inhabitants of the tunnels were not Sub-dwellers or Reapers. No, they were one step away from succumbing to the Rage. These were the men and woman who scavenged the city for any manner of food. They stockpiled it down in the subway tunnels to prepare for the Razor Winter.
The Reapers stopped in front of a service entrance. Their eyeless faces turned toward each other. They were communicating. Their mouths weren’t moving, but they were doing something. The one holding Nadya moved forward, pulling the door open as he slipped inside, the others following closely behind. Phyr crept towards the entrance they’d gone through and listened.
Nothing.
Not one sound.
When he opened the door, there was nothing but an empty closet. He looked for a switch, a latch. Anything that would lead him to a secret passage. He came up short. Phyr stepped back, looked up, and noticed a symbol etched just above the doorway. It was a symbol he’d seen many times before on Lindy’s left shoulder. This was an entrance to where the Sub-dwellers lived. Why would the Reapers be taking Nadya there?
Only one person would know the answer to that question.
Lindy.
Chapter 13
Nadya could feel the chains. They were wrapped around her ankles and clasped to the collar at her neck. She opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She’d awakened from one nightmare and dove headfirst into another. Her clothes were gone and replaced with some type of clothing made from smooth white rocks. The style left her stomach, shoulders, and thighs bare. It only covered her breasts and lower half. She may as well be naked. Though she knew, even fully clothed, she was no match for the Reapers.
She tried to move and found she was bolted to the ground. She was only able to sit up. She could lean forward, but that was it. She was on a bed of something soft and silky. Her head felt lighter. She reached up and realized her hair had been cut. Her long, black hair was gone. It barely went past her shoulders now. A woman, pale like Lindy, walked forward and hissed in Nadya’s direction. Her platinum-blonde hair was streaked with black.
“Don’t fuck up your hair. Dasan wouldn’t like that. He wants all his breeders fresh and ready. That means perfect in every way.”
The woman clicked her tongue and walked away. Nadya looked to her left and noticed there were other women. Some looked happy, ecstatic even. Others looked pissed as hell and maybe even a little scared. Somehow, she’d ended up getting exactly what she’d bargained for—only not at the Quarry.
“Why do you look so upset? You’ll be taken care of,” a woman whispered to her right. Nadya turned to see a
n older woman. She had brown hair, green eyes, and a very curvy body. She was dressed in the same fashion as Nadya.
“What’s going to happen?”
“Dasan will come and select breeders. You’ll be taken to a breeding chamber, where he will mate with you until you become swollen with child.”
She wasn’t going to be a breeder, someone who gave birth to multiple babies. That was not going to happen to her.
“Who is Dasan?”
The woman looked at her as if she had two heads.
“He is the Overlord.”
Nadya still didn’t know who he was. She knew about Sub-dwellers, but she was clueless about an Overlord who called himself Dasan.
A Sub-dweller never went topside. Well, there was Lindy, but she was the exception. Unless she’d been exiled. There wasn’t much knowledge on Sub-dwellers. They were people who’d taken shelter beneath the city when the comet flew over. Somehow, they survived below, and over the centuries, adapted to the darkness. Some were said to burn dangerously if they ever came in contact with the sun. If Lindy were anything to go by, she knew that wasn’t true. Sub-dwellers were overly sensitive to all things, however. Taste, touch, sight, smell, and sound.
“Were you captured, too?”
The woman shook her head. “No, I came of my own free will. I’m from House Alpine.”
“Alpine?”
“Inner-city gang as some would call us. Things are sparse. It was either here or the Quarry. I happen to know a little something about the selection process, and thought my chances were greater here.”
“What happens if he doesn’t choose you?”
“He will give you over to the Reapers. They’re his hunting dogs. They used to be Sub-dwellers. Now they’re Reapers. They’ve evolved and are specifically bred to gather fertile females.”
“What do the Reapers do with you if you’re given over to them?”
“If the Reapers get you, they’ll do way worse to you than Dasan. I even heard one of the girls say they try to breed with females, as well. I can’t even imagine that.”
Neither could Nadya.
“Does he pick everyone?” Nadya found herself asking.
“No, he only takes three breeders a year.”
But there were seven females in all. Seven. All chained to the floor.
V
“What the fuck do you mean she was taken by Reapers?”
“They took her to where the Sub-dwellers reside,” Phyr repeated.
Lindy didn’t say anything. She was doing her best to look shocked, but Phyr could see right through her. She knew exactly what was happening to Nadya. She was gnawing on her bottom lip and she couldn’t stop scratching the inside of her hand. She was twitchy.
She fucking knew.
Diamond turned his attention to Lindy.
“Lins, what do you know about Reapers?”
“The same as you do. Mostly nothing.”
“Bullshit!” Phyr roared, throwing the glass tumbler he had in his hand against the wall, shattering it. The bitch was lying. It didn’t take a genius to see that.
“Why do you even care? Lavarious is hell-bent on punishing her.”
“Yeah, but he wasn’t going to kill her. If you know something, Lindy, you need to speak up,” Lip interrupted. “If anything happens to her, I’ll kill you myself.”
Phyr nodded in agreement.
“What?” She looked in Lip’s direction. “You drinking her piss, too? What is it about this girl? She’s gone, that’s one less thing we need to worry about. We have Attia coming here to start a war with the Ibanez brothers in tow. All of you are worried about this slip of a girl, who claims to be a virgin.” Lindy threw her hands up in the air then slapped them down hard on her thighs for dramatic effect.
Diamond watched. Phyr knew he was getting pissed. The man’s eyes were starting to lower to slits. It would eventually lead to blood being spilled. Lindy didn’t know Lavarious like the rest of them did. She’d only been with him for a few years. Phyr had been around longer.
“Lins, come here,” Diamond’s voice was soft. Too soft.
Lindy froze. Her body visibly rigid. Diamond’s voice was cold. Emotionless. His gaze was locked on Lindy’s. Her feet barely moved, but somehow, she made her way to stand in front of him.
“If you know what’s going on, and I find out you’re lying… I will remove fingers from your hands. I may even take it a step further and remove your whole fucking arm.”
“Diamond, I don’t know anything.” Her voice vibrated with her lie, but her chin was strong. She was determined to play ignorant. Phyr didn’t understand why. Nadya wasn’t a threat to her, and Lindy knew Diamond never kept any of the women he auctioned. They were of no use to him, and if things went the way Phyr wanted, Nadya would be with him. She was a fighter, her instincts were sharp, and she was smart. It wasn’t because she was Raema. It was much more than that. He needed someone like her. Diamond had already given him permission to train someone. They needed to infiltrate more areas, get in unseen, and Nadya would be perfect for the team.
Everyone had been called back to the Quarry. Thys and the others were on the top floor, waiting to meet with Diamond. Phyr knew they had no manpower to spare to go and search for Nadya. They were going in blind anyway. There hadn’t been a door, but the symbol was definitely a Sub-dweller symbol.
What to do? What to do?
How could he make Lindy talk?
“All right. She says she doesn’t know anything, I believe her,” Phyr stated.
Lip threw him a sideways glance, his brow raised. Let her keep the lie alive, Phyr thought a second later, hoping Lip could read his facial expression. There were ways to make Lindy talk. He just hoped it would happen in enough time to save Nadya. If she wasn’t dead already.
“Agreed,” Diamond tacked on. He was pissed. He no longer had his gold mine. Or what he thought to be gold. There were so many other issues they were dealing with as a team. The impending confrontation with Attia and her people had to be top priority. There was nothing else left to be done. At least not now.
Chapter 14
“Attia and her people will be here within the hour if not sooner,” Amethyst reported.
Diamond looked in her direction and nodded. They barely had enough men and women to defend the Quarry. It was the other parts of the city he was worried about. If he were trying to take over, he’d have conquered the city in sections. Not gone straight for the Quarry. The other Towers were on high alert, but unable to spare any of their soldiers. He knew it was on purpose. They wanted Diamond out, but they didn’t have the balls to try and do it themselves. Someone had tried to kill him with a bomb the other day. That could have easily been the beginning of what was to come.
Nadya had been so sure Attia was coming for her. Facts weren’t adding up, and Diamond couldn’t shake the feeling that he was missing the big picture. It wasn’t just about her purity. There had to be more than that. Otherwise, why would Attia come all this way? She’d once been a part of their unit. Like the Ibanez brothers, she’d taken her small slice of rebellion and went straight for the uninhibited islands not far from the city. NorBro was a pair of small islands located in the East River. She’d staked her claim on both, and Diamond had let her. Bitch was certifiable.
Weird shit happened on NorBro. He’d had Thys scout the place once just to check up on Attia. The inhabitants of the island were mostly women and men who suffered from some deformity or another due to radiation, but they were resilient all the same. He’d once thought Attia was conducting experiments there, but he knew she didn’t have the resources. There was no way she could pull it off without the proper amount of technology. A technology he cornered the market on.
Now she was hell-bent on coming to the Quarry. If she were traveling with an army, it sure as hell wasn’t to stop by unannounced for a cup of tea. And if she were coming for Nadya, she’d be in for a shock. The girl was no longer in his company. Phyr had been pretty sure of himself when
he’d threatened Lindy. He was also pretty sure about the symbol he’d seen above the entryway. If she had, in fact, been taken by Reapers through a Sub-dwellers’ entrance, he could contact Dasan. He’d know if anyone were in his tunnels.
“Thys, I want your women on the fifth level of the Quarry. I want you all armed and ready to fire on my signal. Phyr, I want you to go as far up to the top of the building as you can. I want you to be able to take Attia out if needed. Onyx, Emerald, I need the both of you with me on the ground floor. We’ll be the welcoming committee when she arrives.” Diamond looked over at Lindy and Lip. This whole thing was fucked up. If Lindy had anything to do with any of this, he was going to work her over something fierce. Allowing the female in his bed in the first place was mistake number one. Thinking she could handle the type of arrangement they had was mistake number two. He thought he’d been clear with her, but he could see the truth now, she wanted the keys to his kingdom. Diamond knew he had issues, deep-seated issues. But it couldn’t be helped now. That aside, something told him Lindy was full of shit. He hadn’t mistaken the misleading look on Phyr’s face when he’d agreed Lindy wasn’t lying. Which meant, she was. “Lip, take Lindy and leave her locked in my office. Change the code. Code red. She knows all of the other ones.”
“What’s going on?”
“Shut it, Lins.”
“But I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I. But I will soon.”
Diamond turned his attention to Lip.
“Don’t let her get out of the fucking room. If she’s not there when I get back, we got problems. And as fucked up as this day has already been, you really don’t want to have a problem with me.”
“Sure thing.” Lip stood from his chair and made his way to Lindy. “Come on, move.”
“Lavarious, I don’t understand. Why lock me up? I want to help.”
