Kai's shoulders tensed. While he would never admit it aloud, it did come across as strange that his leader would issue such a command. Raien's exact words were to ensure that they killed no more than one of their enemies per day.
“I agree,” Hana said, almost unable to believe that she was siding with Daye. “It doesn't make any sense. But as Kai said, we're not to question Raien.”
Daye bit his lip, knowing the situation was bleak. There was no convincing his fellow clansmen not to intervene tonight. The hierarchy within the Tianzu was firmly in place, meaning they would follow the directives of their leader, regardless of what they believed themselves. The order to resume eliminating White Shadow had been given, and there was nothing he'd be able to do to stop it.
They stopped talking when they heard a shuffling sound. The trio turned and saw a corpse slowly make its way toward them through the sand. They knew better than to continue their conversation while Night's bizarre creation was within earshot.
The corpse stopped before them and stood silently.
“Such a horrific ability,” Hana whispered, looking the rotting body up and down.
Kai nodded. “I agree. This is not an ability anyone should possess.” He stared into its decayed, lifeless eyes. “Have you no respect for the dead, Night?”
The corpse didn't answer.
Tahlia appeared out of nowhere in front of the group. “Nikolai said to hurry up. It's time for us to leave.”
Daye looked back toward the villa a short distance away. In the third-floor window of the suite he saw Nikolai standing tall, watching them all intently. Daye offered a polite smile, which was not returned.
“Let's go,” Tahlia beckoned, and began walking away.
The Tianzu obeyed, and starting making their way back to the large compound.
“We need to do what's right,” Kai said to Daye. “I respect your reluctance to murder another, but we need to do what's right for the people of Athenia and the Union.”
Tahlia turned around. “If you see Marion, please kill her for me.”
Hana shook her head. “Don't make the assumption that you're our ally. We won't kill her for you—we'll only kill her for the sake of protecting the world.”
Tahlia laughed. “I don't care about the reason,” she said. “Just kill her.”
Twenty-eight
Roman sat nervously at the table and watched Skye eat an apple.
“You don't have much of an appetite,” the young man observed, suddenly realising that none of them had eaten in front of him all day.
“Correct,” Ren said, not lifting her gaze from the large tablet she was holding. “You might say that we're more efficient at expending our energy than a regular person. We don't need to eat as much, or as often.”
Roman looked back and forth between her and Skye before a shy grin spread across his face. “That explains why I haven't been very hungry lately,” he said, the relief in his voice evident. “I thought I was sick, or stressed.”
Skye smiled back at him. “Far from it.”
“Take this,” Ren said, handing Roman a small computer chip. “Place it in one of your comm's ports. We all use them—it overrides the hardware and prevents you from being tracked.”
He took the chip and placed it in his wrist communicator obediently. “I thought you said that Tahlia can locate us at any time. Isn't this a little useless?”
“It's just to be safe,” Skye explained. “If we succeed at stopping Archie tonight, and you're seen by the country's surveillance system, it will help prevent the government from being able to locate you.”
Roman nodded, satisfied with the response. White Shadow was a very organised group and seemed to have already thought of everything. “Wait,” he said, a curious thought suddenly forming in his mind, “aren't you able to track Nikolai? They must use comms.” It was rare to meet anyone in the modern era who didn't wear one.
“They do,” Skye admitted, pleased that the newcomer was beginning to think of possible solutions to their endless list of insurmountable problems, “but Black Dawn also block their comms from being tracked. Ren's an expert hacker. If she could access their comms, she would've found them within minutes.”
“That also means I can't track you,” Ren added, “so try not to get yourself lost.”
Roman frowned at the demeaning warning. “I've lived here my entire life. I'm not going to get lost.”
“Shall we?” Tango asked, walking proudly into the room with Echo.
“No,” Roman muttered to himself.
“Let's go,” Sierra said, already standing by the front entrance. The sun outside had almost finished setting, casting a dark shadow over the beautiful island.
“Just wait!” Ren shouted, glaring at the impatient woman. She turned her attention back to the others. “Tango, Echo, before you go, I have something to say.” She took a deep breath, attempting to add drama to her short speech. “I know you're both devastated by the loss of Foxtrot. He was like a brother to me too. But I'm asking you, as a friend, don't attack the Tianzu. If they're there, defend yourselves like last time, or run, but please don't provoke them. If we start a war now, we're all as good as dead.”
Tango opened his mouth to protest. “Ren, the Tianzu attacked us first—”
“I know,” she interrupted, “you're exactly right; they attacked us, unprovoked. And it causes me agony that they've gotten away with it. But the best thing we can do right now is let Charlie and Delta do their job. Let them find some information on the Tianzu. Maybe even Nikolai will share some with Skye.” Skye frowned at the thought of another painful meeting at the cafe. “Just think about it, please,” she said quickly, stopping Tango from starting another debate. “Think it over.” She walked back to her desk without looking at them.
Tango and Echo exchanged glances. While part of them knew there was truth to their leader's words, neither of them knew how to suppress the fury they felt for the Tianzu after what they'd done to their group.
“Put this on,” Skye said to Roman, handing him a large, padded vest. “It's bulletproof.”
Roman cringed. “Bullets are the least of my worries.”
“If the Presidential Guard are there, they won't hesitate to kill you. This might just save your life. Take this too.” Skye revealed a grey mask not unlike his own to the young man, placing it in his hand.
“It's light,” he stated. He ran his fingers around the perfectly crafted curves of the graphene mask. “I think a friend of mine has a mask like this hanging on his wall.”
“I doubt that,” Skye dismissed. “Very few people will ever see these masks and live.”
Roman frowned with confusion. “Where did you get them?”
“Nowhere legal.”
Roman studied both the vest and mask and noticed the letters 'DYM' engraved on both, which stood for the Xiayu words 'Dong Yue Meng'. Or, as it was referred to in Alexan, the 'East Yue Union'.
“DYM ... do these belong to the government?” Roman asked.
“More or less,” Skye said. “They belong to the military. So does this,” he held up his retractable sword, “and so does Sierra's crossbow.”
“And this,” Ren added, removing her pistol from her desk drawer.
Roman shook his head. “Are you trying to tell me that you stole these from the military?”
“No, not at all,” Skye said. “We bought them.”
Ren smirked. “... from someone who stole them first,” she whispered.
Roman dropped the mask in panic. “You ... I can't believe—”
“We had to,” Skye defended, not wanting to be lectured by the young man. “We didn't have a choice. We need to be armed if we're going to survive tonight.”
Roman folded his arms across his chest. “I'm not comfortable with any of this.”
Ren muttered something inaudible from her desk. Roman couldn't quite hear it, but he was certain it was something obscene.
“I trust you have a plan for tonight?” Tango aske
d Skye, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
“My plan is to not let anyone die.”
Juliet took in several deep breaths, trying to relax herself for the terrifying encounter before her.
“We should give him a code-name,” Echo suggested, causing everyone to turn their attention to Roman.
“His code-name would be an obvious one,” Ren said. “It wouldn't sound any different from his actual name.”
Roman looked at the others, confused by the conversation taking place. “What code-name?” he asked innocently.
“R for Romeo,” Skye explained.
“Let's go,” Sierra said again from the doorway, still waiting for the rest of White Shadow.
“Yes, time to go,” Skye agreed, grabbing Romeo's arm and helping him out of the chair.
“Wait, I'm not ready,” he cried, the reality suddenly sinking back in. “I don't think I can do this.”
Skye walked on, still holding his arm. Skye would usually have been happy to offer the support and encouragement Romeo may have needed. But he himself was uncertain of the night's outcome, and debated whether or not bringing the boy was the right decision. Regardless, he knew they had to press on. It was only a stroke of luck that Ren was able to hack into the president's itinerary, and it may be their only chance to kill him before he is sworn into office.
They all walked over to the door where Sierra stood waiting. She double-checked that her crossbow was securely fastened to her left wrist. Tango, Echo, Juliet, and Romeo stepped out into the night, each holding armour and masks.
Ren watched as they left. She looked at Skye and offered a hopeful smile. “Good luck,” she said.
He weakly returned the smile, unable to hide his concerns over the impending mission. “Thanks.”
Sierra stared back at Ren for a brief moment, maintaining her warrior-like expression. Her blank eyes showed neither hope nor fear. She closed the door noisily behind them.
Twenty-nine
Romeo's head was buried in his hands as the van drove back toward Shangwu. His mood had been fluctuating all day, but his fear and anxiety were now beginning to boil over again. It was all too much to bear in such a short time.
“It took me a while to understand everything too,” Juliet said with a quivering voice, sitting opposite him in the back. She was just as frightened as he was, but still wanted to offer her comrade her support.
“There's nothing to understand,” he replied, confused and exasperated. “None of this can be real. People don't live forever. People don't possess any strange abilities.”
“We've all done it, Romeo, and we all know how hard it can be.” Skye spoke as slowly and empathetically as he could. “You live life a certain way and then suddenly everything is different, with no going back. And I'm sorry we've had to rush you into everything, but tonight is an important night for Athenia. Just try to stay close and you'll be fine,” he lied.
Sierra had volunteered to drive the van on all outings. She insisted that because she had the fastest reflexes in the group, she'd be the best to commandeer the vehicle in the event of an attack. She continued driving in silence until Romeo asked his next question. “Do you think I'll have an ability too?”
“It's hard to say. Your mind and body are changing,” Skye explained. “If you train hard, you might find that you have a unique ability.” He had already discussed everything with Romeo earlier in the warehouse, but he was mindful that it might take more than one conversation before the boy began to accept his new life. After having a similar experience when he first met Juliet, Skye wanted to be as patient as possible.
“But how? How can this happen?”
“The mind is capable of just about anything,” Skye pointed out. “Humans are already such an advanced race. If you evolve your mind, you can accomplish even the wildest of dreams.”
Romeo sat and pondered the statement. Part of him believed what was just said, but part of him was trapped in the realm of what he still perceived to be reality.
“It was so sudden,” he said. “I was living normally until a few weeks ago. And then I reached a point when everything I knew just didn't really matter.” He'd accepted that he recently had a very deep and profound realisation, but never once thought it would lead him to this present moment in time.
“That's good,” Skye said. “It's good that you can see the correlation between your mind and your cells evolving. Quite a lot of people would struggle to see the connection.”
Romeo closed his eyes and sat quietly. Bright lights began to filter into the van as Sierra entered the outskirts of the city. Tango sat beside her, while Echo was in the back with the others.
Skye stared down at the floor of the van, his mind racing. He had no idea what the night ahead would possibly bring. He only hoped that it wouldn't end in bloodshed for his team. With any luck, they'll finally kill Archibald Denning and then move on to stopping both Nikolai and the Tianzu.
But the situation was a challenging one, and his group could barely function in the state it was in. Even if they were to succeed at eliminating Archie, there was still so much work to be done. Even if White Shadow was fortunate enough to escape death tonight, it wouldn't guarantee their immunity—not from the Tianzu.
Thinking about their future made Skye's chest tighten.
We don't even know how many of the Tianzu there are, he thought.
Romeo started laughing to himself, breaking the nervous atmosphere. “Is this actually happening?” He was beginning to sound delirious.
“It is, and you've handled it quite well,” Skye said, snapping out of his daze. “You've done what only a handful of others have done. Everyone has the potential to access deeper parts of their minds, but their everyday lives block the truth. They live simply and contently, not daring to venture into the unknown.”
Romeo sat quietly and took in the words. “You sound so wise,” he mumbled with half-closed eyes.
Skye smiled at the compliment. “I've spent quite a bit of time with Nikolai. We'd have conversations like this on a daily basis.” The fond memories of the previous four years with his former friend always had a euphoric effect on his mind and body. It was a time that he often wished he could return to. It was a time free from the chaotic life he now lived.
“Why do you have code-names?” the curious boy asked.
“Ren's idea,” Tango muttered, adding to the conversation for the first time.
“She thought it would be more exciting to have them when she started White Shadow with Charlie and Delta, and it creates a sense of anonymity,” Skye continued. “I'm not overly fond of using one, so I kept my real name.”
“And ironically, so did Ren,” Tango complained from the front seat.
“Oh, I thought 'Skye' was your code-name,” Romeo said.
Skye shook his head. “No, that's just the Alexan name I chose for myself growing up in Xiaguo.”
Romeo yawned loudly, his mind starting to drift to sleep. “So you're telling me that I could live forever if I wanted to?”
“Essentially, yes,” Skye said. “If you take care of yourself, you can live for a very long time.”
Romeo didn't miss a beat before asking his next question. “How long?”
Skye's jaw clenched for a brief second. The conversation was dragging on, and he'd much rather use the time to focus on the mission. “As far as I'm aware, for an eternity. Although we don't really know much about the shengxian ourselves, aside from what Daye told me. He's the oldest one I've met.”
“How old is he?”
Skye saw Juliet smirk out of the corner of his eye. “I don't know,” he admitted.
Romeo dismissed the notion. “I still don't believe you can live forever.”
“Neither could I, at first. But it's really not so hard to believe now.”
“It's impossible,” he fired back. “Life has to end at some point. The thought of living forever feels a little ...”
“Overwhelming?” Skye asked. Romeo nodded. “You're ri
ght—it can be overwhelming, which is why you need to be cautious with your mindfulness. Your eternity can turn against you if you're not mindful. But that's a conversation for another time.”
The van rolled on quietly. The impeccably built Athenian roads made for a smooth and comfortable ride. Romeo sat and stared blankly, yawning again.
“Try to stay awake,” Skye suggested. “You might be in for a big night.”
“Watch out,” Tango warned.
“I see him,” Sierra said.
Romeo's wandering mind snapped awake. He turned his head to the front to see what had caught their attention. A short distance away was a hooded man walking toward them, dragging a metal bar on the ground behind him. Sierra drove the van around him, allowing ample room to ensure that he didn't swing the bar at their vehicle.
“I never come into the business district during the evening,” Romeo said. The sight of the strange figure sent a shiver down his spine.
“You can thank Archie for that,” Skye murmured in agreement. “Shangwu Qu used to be safe. Nowadays, the evening is home to the violent outcasts that Athenia has forgotten.”
“I remember when it used to be safe. It wasn't that long ago. It seemed to just get dangerous overnight.” Romeo turned his attention to the rear window and watched the homeless man slowly disappear into the distance. “Why doesn't the government intervene? This is such a beautiful country, but the violence in the city at night needs to be stopped.”
“Agreed,” Skye said. “The current government has tried to take action over the last year, but it's not a problem that can be solved any time soon. It didn't take Archie and Paul long to ruin everything this country has worked so hard for, but stopping the violence is not just a matter of stationing more police officers around the city. The people committing these crimes had their minds altered by Paul, and they can't be rehabilitated. Seeing what a man like Paul can do is why Nikolai is so cautious of other shengxian.”
Romeo's jaw dropped. “Paul was a shengxian?”
Skye nodded. “The only Athenian that we know of, apart from Juliet and yourself.”
Eternity's War (Books 1-3) (Eternity's War Boxsets) Page 15
