Diamond

by Tigris Eden

  “They’re my father’s dogs. They go out, scent, track, and retrieve breed-worthy females.”

  “Why would they attack Phyr and Nadya on the tracks? She’s hardly breeding material.”

  “Doesn’t…doesn’t matter.” Lindy’s breaths were faltering. Diamond looked to Emerald, who came forward with an injection. It was adrenaline, not a lethal dose, but enough to keep her conscious and talking.

  “How does it not matter?”

  “She’s a female. They all get brought to my father, whether they can breed or not.”

  “What happens to the ones he can’t breed with?”

  Lindy pulled in a deep breath. Her head was bent forward, her pants soaked in her blood.

  “They are given to my father’s pets. The Reapers either try to breed with them, or they eat them.”

  Diamond looked to Emerald, who looked down at Lindy in disgust. He hadn’t noticed before, but now he saw it. Lindy was about Lindy. Not about the good of the group. You’re no better than she is. You sell pussy and organs. Everyone was for themselves. They all benefited from their current situation. He’d let Lindy in, trusted her to at least be loyal to him. He should have been on his guard more. Especially when it came to her.

  “What do you want to do with her?”

  Diamond looked down at Lindy, her eyes glassy, the whites now a bloodshot red.

  “Make sure she doesn’t die. She can still be of use to us. But for now, have one of the guards take her to the infirmary.”

  Phyr came through the door, his breathing heavy. The elevators were off, and Diamond knew the other man must have run up at least six flights of stairs to reach him.

  “I’ve got Dasan back on the line. He wants to talk.”

  Diamond reached for the comm and was immediately connected.

  “You have a problem. I have a solution.” The connection was much clearer than earlier.

  “Yeah, what problem is that?”

  “Attia.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I want the girl.”

  “Non-negotiable.”

  “Everything can be negotiated and or traded in this world. We both know that, Diamond. You’d be a fool if you didn’t at least hear me out.”

  “Still listening.”

  “I’ll send you the girl back, along with my son, Fursay, and a handful of my Reapers. They’ll take out Attia and her group. In exchange, I get the girl for breeding purposes and will return her when I’m done.”

  “You can’t afford Nadya.”

  “Try me.”

  “Are you really considering this?” Phyr interrupted. Even Emerald looked shocked that he’d even consider the deal.

  “Time’s running out. I don’t have to give the girl back to you, but I’d rather us come to an agreement to avoid a future dispute. You and I have no problems. You took in my daughter when no one else would.”

  “Your daughter and I are not on good terms. She’s been keeping things from me.”

  There was a deep laugh over the comm device.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Nothing, I’d expect nothing less from Lindy. She’s always been one to hold stuff back. Her mother was the same way. But we’re going off topic. My offer is only good for so long. I’m sure Attia will be at your doors soon.”

  As if he needed the reminder.

  “How soon can your Reapers get here?”

  “There is the subway entrance at Central. Should put them two blocks away. If they leave now, they can be there in twenty. The girl will not like the journey. My Reapers are a little rough, and though they listen to my son, they tend to still do as they please. The results will still be the same. You’ll have the upper hand. I doubt Attia will want to battle with my Reapers. Do we have a deal?”

  Diamond looked to Phyr, who shook his head, but there was no other way. The Reapers would be a huge advantage. If Nadya’s sister were with Attia and the others, he’d take her instead of Nadya. One was better than none at all.

  “We have a deal.”

  Chapter 15

  Nadya was shocked.

  Hell, she was struck dumb when Dasan returned with the news. She was being released. Someone is looking out for you. That was obvious. How had Diamond secured her release? That was the least of her worries. She was told she’d be traveling with Fursay and a group of Reapers meant for her protection. Today was all kinds of fucked up. Fursay was just as tall as his father, if not taller. He had an odd color about him, and his eyes weren’t pink, but rather a strange brown and yellow mixture in one eye, and completely colorless in the other. She would have asked if he was blind, but she could tell he wasn’t by the way he zeroed in on her face.

  He was dressed to go topside. Another oddity, as most Sub-dwellers preferred to remain below. Lindy was the only exception she knew of. Fursay’s pants were brown leather, molded tightly to his thighs. His shirt was made of some sort of metal with very tiny holes. Over the top of his shirt, he wore a vest that held at least six daggers, and carried a long wooden staff with three metal hooks sticking out of its ends.

  “Here, you can have these back.”

  Fursay gave her the weapons they’d taken from her. With her hair shorter, she had to admit, carrying the extra gear was not an issue. She felt lighter, more agile. Nadya pulled her hair into a tight ponytail. Fursay gave her a wrap made of black metal she used to cover half her face. They walked down a tunnel moist with water and reeking with the smell of rotting flesh.

  “The Reapers will follow my orders, but you still need to remain close. I don’t want any of them mistaking you for a snack. Or as theirs. Watch for their urine. They like to spray it when they feel like mating. If they spray you, there is nothing I can do.”

  Great.

  Horny Reapers.

  That was all she needed.

  “Got it. Steer clear of Reaper piss and stick by your side. Anything else?”

  “Don’t try and escape or I’ll toss this on you, and then you’re dead either way.”

  Fursay held up a vial containing some kind of liquid.

  “What is that?”

  “Reaper seed. If there is even a drop of this on you, it will turn them into mindless beasts. They will attack, rape, and then devour. Father used this once on one of the mothers. It wasn’t pretty.”

  Dasan was a sadistic bastard. No matter how calm his voice sounded, his eyes would never lie. She and Fursay came to an opening, and all around them, perched on rocks or hanging above, were Reapers. Their eyeless heads turned in awkward poses, their mouths dripping saliva. Fursay said something she didn’t understand, and the group of them got into a line and began to follow them out of the tunnel.

  Nadya made sure to stay as close to Fursay as she could. Never directly behind him, and never ahead of him, but she kept pace with him. Even when the tunnel became smaller to where they had to sandwich themselves together and walk sideways. Fursay was okay with it, if the soft rumbling from his chest were anything to go by. The sound sounded almost like a purr. A strange scent wafted into her nostrils. He was throwing it out heavily, making her head hurt.

  They came to a larger opening, and Fursay took hold of her hand. “Stay with me. This part is tricky. The echo in here will set them off. We’re getting closer to Central.”

  Nadya nodded her head. Fursay’s hand tightened around hers. Nadya didn’t try to pull away. It was probably more for her benefit than his. The Reapers behind them were getting agitated.

  There was light ahead, and she blinked until her eyes adjusted. They were in an inline double tunnel. Like the ones in the abandoned subway yard by the marshes. The Reapers were going crazy as the sounds from above echoed through the tunnels. They were literally climbing the walls. Their claws scraping against the concrete as they scurried behind them. Some were on the ceilings as they made their way to a platform that was marked Grand Central.

  The ceramic tiles on the walls were cracked from vegetation growth. The deadly vines and moss grac
ed the walls, but it didn’t seem to bother the Reapers as they continued moving forward. Fursay lifted her onto the platform and was quick to hop up himself. He said something else to the Reapers, and they followed.

  “My father said we are to meet Diamond and his men at the Quarry. Should we have interference with Attia and her group on our way, we are to engage. I am going to assume by the weapons you came in with that you’re able to defend yourself?”

  Nadya gave a sharp nod. She could do more than defend herself. If she had her chance, she’d get to Anna and her daughter. No matter the cost. She’d walked into the Quarry hoping to make a deal. Walked through the Red Door with the intention of carrying out her plans. She’d been told of its perils and gone in search of him anyway. Her steps faltered. The wayward thought so clear and the memory so vivid, she was able to hold on to it. She’d come to the city looking for her father. That much she remembered. She even remembered thinking she’d finally found him when she’d been attacked. But by whom? Another memory of a man standing over her wearing a mask made of bones surfaced. He’d stabbed her, broken her ribs, and called her weak.

  Her memories were coming back so fast, Nadya almost stumbled. Her name, her real name floated through her mind. It wasn’t Nadya. It was Nadeastroya. And that really wasn’t her name either, but rather what her tribe called her, in her people’s language. Na Daestroya. The Destroyer. She was the destroyer. Nadya smiled. She remembered.

  She remembered everything.

  V

  It was like someone had turned on the faucet, allowing heavy amounts of information to flow through. Every single memory she had was at her disposal. With that, her emotions were flipped. All the pieces were lining up in her head.

  Why she'd come to the city in the first place.

  Her reason for killing Bolanger.

  He'd been the catalyst for her departure. Then there was her battle with the guards at the gate when she’d first arrived, followed by her subsequent capture when she’d been caught during her scouting missions to the Towers. Not her fault, of course. Although, there could easily be a good case against her judgment of others. She’d gotten into all the Towers except one. The Quarry. She’d scouted each one thoroughly, blended into the masses, making it easier to infiltrate their ranks. Her capture at the Quarry was what had led to her memory loss. It all made sense now. Even Anna had played a part. Her betrayal elaborate. Nadya’s only real question to herself now was: what role did she play? Her goals were all different now. Emotional baggage be damned. Her second visit to the Quarry was for Anna and her daughter, she’d gotten inside, catalogued what she could, but her direction was clear now. Diamond was an obsolete piece to the elaborate puzzle that was now falling into place. She’d seen the Grid on the wall, studied it, taken it to memory. He’d had it out in plain sight as a piece of art.

  Nadya didn’t know what had triggered the onslaught of memories, but she was happy for it. Kept her clear of the confusion she’d been feeling for the last thirty-six months. Fuck. I’ve been here longer than intended. She’d been behind the walls for three human years. She wondered if her father was still alive. He should be. Her mother, Senna, had given him her blood. Esa had told her exactly where she could find her father. Bolanger had sold him to the Genysis Tower five years ago, when they’d started to recruit for Diamond’s program. That heart-to-heart she’d promised to give Diamond was officially written on her to-do-list. He’d been the one to order her torture. He couldn’t be bothered to do it himself, but he’d made sure the order had been carried out. She was different now, her hair was black, instead of the color of fire. She was half starved, and to save energy, she’d allowed her body to exist on the barest of food. For days she’d been held, and he had to know what she was, he had someone take blood samples from her.

  V

  “They haven’t showed yet. It’s been more than twenty minutes. If Dasan’s screwed us, I will personally remove his breeding balls from his sack.”

  “That’s pretty graphic, Phyr.”

  “And?”

  “And nothing.”

  Phyr watched his longtime friend Emerald as he paced the length of the hall. Attia was nowhere in sight, and neither was Nadya and the Reapers. He was supposed to be stationed at the highest point of the Quarry. That meant he needed to get to the steel eagle ledge. Maybe from that vantage point, he’d be able to see when Nadya and Dasan’s son were coming.

  “I’m out of here. Going to get up on the eagle.”

  “Fine. Then I don’t have to hear your incessant complaints,” Onyx commented. He and Emerald were going with Diamond, who was already on the ground, making sure his guards were stationed where he needed them. There were men stationed in all four quadrants surrounding the Quarry. But everyone knew Attia was well aware of Diamond’s fighting strategy. She’d been one of his best battle planners in the beginning when they’d first come to the city. She’d know exactly what he planned. Their only element of surprise was the Reapers.

  “Can I at least get some juice so I can take the elevator to the top?”

  “Yeah, I can do that,” Onyx said, tossing Phyr a piece of metal infused with C-Tech. It was a key of sorts with enough energy to power the elevator. It was also energy he could manipulate. He wasn’t about to broadcast that shit to the world. He was Bloodborne, but if the others ever figured that out, he’d be cut open and experimented on. He knew what happened in the Genysis Tower. They were experimenting on men and women, trying to make them super warriors. During the tests, there was a handful that came back with a blood anomaly. One he was very familiar with. They were his kind. Most of them were from other tribes, but two of them were from his. Phyr had made a promise to himself, and it was simple. Follow one rule, and one rule only. Don’t get involved in other people’s problems. Nadya was the only exception to the rule. He couldn’t reconcile all the reasons why, he just knew she was different.

  Phyr used the C-Tech to get to the top floor and then attached it to the top of his long-range sniper. Anyone hit with a bullet would be juiced. Fried from the inside out. Not a pretty sight, but if it was a war Attia and the Ibanez brothers wanted, it’s what they’d get.

  The eagle wasn’t exactly the highest point, but it was the most stable. The Quarry had once been called the Chrysler building long before the comet had passed through Earth’s atmosphere. Back before the tunnels were flooded or destroyed. He remembered the building. Had walked past it many times when he was a young male. He remembered taking a meeting here once with a businessman named Charles. Phyr looked out over the city and sighed. Those were days long forgotten. Four hundred years forgotten. He missed pizza. Missed it like crazy.

  Phyr dropped to his belly, making sure he was properly secured to the building before edging his way out onto the ledge and lining up his gun. He adjusted his scope and scouted the two blocks Nadya and the others were supposed to come from. He saw them. Dasan’s son had a tight grip on Nadya’s hand as the two of them made their way toward the Quarry. The Reapers following closely behind. Phyr’s grip on the gun tightened. He didn’t agree with Diamond, but he trusted the male to make things right. Phyr pointed his rifle in the direction adjacent from the Quarry and spotted Attia and her war party.

  Directly four blocks up, she was riding what looked to be a horse. It was a lot taller than any horse he’d ever seen, though. All black with a shiny mane of silver hair. Its tail braided and tucked tightly against its hind legs. Phyr adjusted his scope and reached for his comm.

  “I’ve got eyes on Attia and Nadya.”

  “Where should we be focused?”

  “Attia’s coming in from the northeast. I got eyes on her now. And Nadya is coming from the northwest quadrant of Central. Reapers in tow. “

  “Excellent. Don’t make a move until I give the signal. We have men posted in the surrounding quadrant and Thys’s archers are in place. No one fires until I give the order. Let’s see what Attia has to say.”

  Jack shit.

  That
’s what.

  Attia was all about the action. She wasn’t going to walk up to the Quarry and knock on the door to ask for a sit-down. If she wanted something, she’d try and take it. She never made a move unless she had the upper hand. In this particular case, she felt she did. Phyr was all too happy to prove her wrong.

  He watched as Attia and the troops behind her drew closer. There were others on tall horses. Nine riders with the others walking behind, all armed with weapons. Attia was dressed in a short leather jacket, one arm completely exposed, showcasing her fluorescent ink, the other arm encased by a tight-fitting sleeve. The jacket closed only at the neck, leaving her chest and abdomen exposed where she wore a torn tank top. Attia had gone full warrior mode. Phyr noticed that her full breasts were now only one breast. Somehow, she’d gotten the other breast removed, and where there should have been a full mound of flesh, she was now flat-chested. Fuck. She actually did it. Strapped across her back was a long sword. The leather strap now fitting across her chest with no obstruction. Her black hair was cut short and spiky. The one leg he could see had been amputated and fitted with some kind of device that was made completely of metal. It was sharp like a blade, the end pointy. He couldn’t tell if her other leg was the same, but if he had to guess, and knowing Attia, it was. She was all about enhancements. Talked all their ears off when she’d worked with them.

  Somehow, she’d gotten her hands on some C-Tech. Which meant they had a problem. Her fluorescent ink was a dead giveaway. It glowed an eerie orange. But only Bloodborne or Raema would react to C-Tech that way if the ink were infused with it. Attia was full of surprises. He’d had no clue she was Raema, but she wasn’t like Nadya, she was a full-blood Traveler. A purebred female of his kind. How had he not noticed before?

  “Any of you able to see her now?” he said into the comm, hoping to get some sort of feedback.

  “Yeah, the bitch has metal legs,” Emerald said.

  “This is a problem. I don’t see anyone else in the group with metal legs, but don’t leave anything to chance. Be on alert.”