Sierra landed on the ground where Tahlia stood a second earlier. Sierra spun around and surveyed the open space around her, but Tahlia was nowhere to be seen. She took a deep breath to maintain her composure, her fists shaking with rage. Tahlia was a difficult woman to find, and opportunities like this were not to be wasted.
Skye was dumbfounded as he watched the three Tianzu warriors casually walk away from the scene as though no battle had ever taken place. The opportunity to defeat them was right in front of his eyes, but he knew better than to pursue them at this point in time. From Tango's description of Raien, their chances of success were slim.
He snapped out of his trance and turned his attention back to the scene before him. “Juliet, Romeo,” he said into his headset, “can you hear me?” They didn't answer; all he could hear were their terrified pants as they continued running for their lives. He started sprinting in the direction they had fled, with Sierra running alongside him.
Tango picked himself up from the ground. He looked down at the remains of Sabina and Aurelius and cringed. He felt lucky to be alive—once again, his lack of speed and strength came at a major disadvantage when it came to fighting the other shengxian. He turned and began chasing after Skye and Sierra.
Skye tried to process his thoughts as he ran across the park. The battle had been dangerously close for White Shadow. It may have only lasted less than a minute for the skilled warriors, but with three of Black Dawn's fighters defeated this morning, their mission had not ended in complete failure. He was uncertain whether he felt jubilant over his enemies' demise or saddened that Nikolai was now in full control of Athenia.
Although, the loss of Echo was certainly regrettable. They had endured so much together, and their team would not be the same again.
“Skye, what's happening?” Ren asked impatiently, having heard only screams and the sound of metal clashing against metal through the headsets.
“It's over,” he said, gasping for air, his body in desperate need of rest. “Aurelius and Sabina are dead. The Tianzu were here, but we're all safe.”
They pressed onwards, but didn't have to run long before they saw Juliet and Romeo up ahead. Skye ran in front of them, stopping them from going any further.
“It's okay,” he reassured them. “It's over. You're safe.”
They fell to the ground, both exhausted and relieved, inhaling large breaths and trying to slow their racing heart rates. Sweat and tears dripped down Romeo's face.
“We need to find Tahlia,” Sierra said, aggravated. “She must still be nearby. She might have gone back to the villa.”
“No, we'll return to base,” Skye said. He turned his head to face Tango, only to see his friend writhing in pain. Raien stood alongside him with his hand outstretched, tearing the fluid from his helpless body.
“No!” Skye screamed. Sierra leapt forward and fired her crossbow at Raien, but the attack was futile as the bolt went through him once again. He lowered his hand and dropped Tango to the ground like a stone.
“It was not wise to start a war with us,” Raien said, turning to Skye and Sierra with a menacing smile, then evaporating into the air.
Bewildered, Skye stumbled forward and dropped to his knees by Tango's side. His fallen friend choked on the blood that gushed from his mouth.
“Skye, what's happening?” Ren asked, terrified.
Sierra joined Skye. They both looked down and watched as Tango's eyes glazed over. His lifeless body was covered in blood. Skye traced his fingers across the man's torso, desperately trying to find a wound to stop the bleeding, but knew it was too late.
“I'm so sorry,” Daye said solemnly as he appeared behind them.
“Skye! Talk to me, please!”
“Tango's dead,” Sierra spoke.
The words hit hard. Ren fell silent.
“What happened to him?” Sierra asked, looking up at Daye.
Skye stared in disbelief at his friend's body as his mind tried to process what had just occurred. Agonised tears fell from his face. Skye sobbed loudly, unable to comprehend the morning's events. He had dropped his guard for only a second, but it was enough for Raien to launch a final and devastating attack on the group.
“Raien is not a man you should confront,” Daye explained, his expression melancholic. “He's a master of water manipulation, and this is the horrendous aftermath of one of his victims. The fluid has been ripped from his body.”
A shaken Juliet and Romeo trembled forward, their bloodshot eyes staring at their deceased protector. Romeo could hold on no longer—he fell to the ground and wept, the trauma unbearable for him. Juliet turned away from the repulsive sight of Tango, tears spilling from her eyes.
“I'm so sorry,” Daye apologised again. “I have tried, in every way I know, to put a stop to the Tianzu. What was once truly the Heaven Clan has become an empty and hollow tribe. I have only ever promoted peace, but they're very protective of their own.”
He looked at the distraught group mourning the sudden shock loss of Tango. “I never imagined it would come to this,” he continued. “When Kheree took over the Tianzu, I questioned his motives, but his regime appeared to be a peaceful one, even if it allowed murder.” He let out a long, exasperated sigh. “I don't know how to stop them.”
Sierra looked up at him. She was the only one paying attention. “If you want to stop them, kill them,” she suggested.
Daye shook his head. “No bloodshed,” he dismissed. “You can not fight violence with more violence.”
“If you don't stop them, they'll kill everyone here,” she said.
Daye looked into her eyes. He knew there was truth to her words, but he was unable to bring himself to condone murdering the Tianzu, irrespective of their intentions. It was an impossible situation. Whether he was to allow the Tianzu to carry on in their current state, or whether he was to intervene, more deaths were inevitable.
“They can't be killed,” he said finally. “Each one of them is as strong as yours and Nikolai's groups combined. But the situation is more complicated than that.” He stared down at Tango. “This was Raien's doing. And the actions of Raien weren't sanctioned by Kheree.”
A dull roar emitted from the other end of the gardens. Sierra turned her head to see a small battalion of soldiers running in their direction, all of them heavily armed and ready to neutralise the threat from the inauguration.
“Skye, we should leave,” she said.
He ignored her, still cradling Tango's lifeless body.
“Skye, the military's coming. They'll kill us. We need to go.”
She grabbed his arm and pulled him up from the ground, then turned to Juliet and Romeo, urging them to start running. They obeyed without question, not wanting to be shot or arrested. Skye began to snap out of his terrified trance and started placing one foot in front of the other, abandoning his comrade's remains.
“We'll meet again,” Daye said quietly as he watched them retreat.
Sixty
The mood at the White Shadow base was bleak. Skye sat staring at the table. It had been a long and horrendous morning for the group. While the soldiers fanned out in the gardens, Sierra had raced back to retrieve the van and collect the others before they were found. Juliet and Romeo sat at the table opposite Skye, uncertain how to react to the events.
Ren's face was streaked with dry tears. She didn't take the news of her friends' deaths well, but was even more devastated by the fact that Nikolai was now in control of the small nation. She stared up at her monitor, watching the various reports on the inauguration. None of them mentioned a word of what took place in the gardens; no doubt Nikolai was keen to keep information regarding the shengxian suppressed from the public.
“We've failed,” Ren whispered in a croaky voice. “Archibald is now president.”
And we've lost two of our own, Skye thought to himself, unable to even speak the words aloud.
Romeo stared into the distance absent-mindedly. “What do we do now?” he asked solemnly.
/> Ren sighed deeply and rubbed her eyes. “The only thing we can do—we keep looking for Archie.”
Skye's face fell. “Ren, you can't be serious. It's over, and you need to accept that. I say we turn our attention to the Tianzu. Black Dawn has been brought down to just Nikolai and Tahlia, so they're hardly a threat.”
“Licking our wounds, are we?” a booming voice asked.
Everyone turned to the entrance of the warehouse to see Nikolai standing proud and energetic as always.
“What do you want from us?” Ren asked.
“I just came to congratulate you on the fight you put up. It has been quite the busy day, but things are starting to settle now. Archibald is having a long and deserved rest. And now I have to spend a great deal of money repairing the villa you destroyed.”
They all glared at the happy man. “Just leave us alone,” Skye requested.
“Oh, come now, cheer up! You really did put up a good fight!” he walked over to the sombre group and sat at the table with them. “But, as I forewarned, you were never going to win this game.”
“You played us from the beginning, didn't you?” Skye asked.
Nikolai laughed. “Of course! You know I like to perceive all possible outcomes and eventualities. And my plan was riddled with one contingency after the next. It was all my doing—East Tower, the inauguration. I even had your arrest warrants removed so you wouldn't be detained. Although, I will admit that having the military attack you yesterday was not my fault. You can blame the minister of defence for that. But yes, you were outwitted this time, my friend.”
Skye closed his eyes and fought back his rage. “How did you do it all?” he reluctantly asked. He didn't wish to speak with the powerful man, but was unable to hide his curiosity.
“Well, it does help that I know you better than you know yourselves. That always gives me an advantage. But my master-plan began with young Roman here.” He looked down at Romeo, who sunk into his chair as the great man stared down at him. “I've been watching and monitoring him for many weeks now, ever since Tahlia first detected him. I found his file from the university, and I knew he went to that restaurant every day either before or during work. And I also knew that he could either serve Black Dawn, or he could join you and occupy your attention while you kept him out of harm's way.”
Romeo shuddered at the thought of being a part of Nikolai's plan all along.
“You used him from the beginning?” Skye questioned.
“Indeed. You see,” he said, rising and pacing around the room, “usually I enjoy the challenge of having you always attempt to thwart my actions. But having Archibald sworn in as president was far too critical—I couldn't let you get in the way. Whether Roman joined me or joined yourself, he would certainly come of use. After all, I know how you desperately try to protect the newly evolved from any harm, so I purposely did all I could to keep you at bay.”
Everyone in the room was angered by the announcement, but hardly surprised.
“What you did to Juliet was unforgivable, Nikolai,” Skye uttered. “You purposely made her an enemy of the state.”
He nodded in agreement. “Of course. The girl is a novice tracker, and it's obviously no secret that I can't have her tracking my every move.” He turned and stared at Juliet with his eye sockets. “You'll have to forgive me, but you pose arguably the largest threat to me. I do need my privacy. Anonymity is the key to success,” he grinned.
“You always proudly explain how you've never killed anyone,” Skye snapped, “but ordering someone's death is murder. Surely a person as smart as yourself can understand that.”
“Perhaps,” Nikolai agreed. “But then again, perhaps not. Athenia is a nation ripe for ruling because of its laws pertaining to state-run enterprises. The fact that the government controls all media provides me with a rather interesting opportunity for an experiment.”
He paused, waiting for the others to enquire. When no one asked, he continued his speech. “It's all a test of power, Skye. Making young Jacinta here an enemy of the state just proved to me that the masses will blindly follow orders, even once the warrant for her arrest had been retracted. Whether one is a soldier for the military, or merely a shopkeeper like Ying, the people will believe whatever information I feed them. He who controls that information will subsequently control the world. I must admit it is a fascinating, yet eerie revelation.”
Juliet glared up at him, her eyes watering with fury that he ordered her execution as a mere test.
“Of course, my views on power can go even further,” his loud voice bellowed. “Those who work for me obey my every command without question, yet I offer them nothing in return. Is it because they're afraid of me? Or is it because they are simply subservient to one who leads?”
“Tango's dead,” Skye said with great remorse, steering the subject away from another philosophical lecture.
Nikolai raised his eyebrows. “Tango too? I was unaware.” He looked across to see the pained expression on Ren's face. “There were casualties on both sides today,” he continued. “Sabina and Aurelius were foolish enough to get themselves killed.”
Skye stared up at him, bewildered. “Foolish enough? Don't you have any regrets, Nikolai?”
The towering man scoffed at the question. “You should know me better than that, Skye.”
“But you ordered them to attack! You're responsible for their deaths.”
“I am responsible for nothing,” he rebutted. “Whilst I certainly claim to be their leader, I am hardly responsible for their deaths. Each and every individual in this world is responsible for their own life. I hold myself accountable for nothing.”
Skye stared at him with bewildered eyes, but again, unsurprised. “And what about Echo? Did you order his execution?” he asked, his eyes dark.
“Not at all,” Nikolai said, shaking his head. “I found his remains in the villa earlier. You can blame Night for taking it upon himself to do that. I gave no such order.”
“But you're responsible!” Skye shouted, slamming his fist on the table, startling everyone in the room.
“Hardly,” he dismissed. “Night has always acted rather independently. As I said, I only accept responsibility for my own direct actions.” He stood defiantly, not willing to offer any apology for Night's deeds.
“Nikolai, how on earth did you find Archie in the first place?” Ren asked, unable to hide her curiosity. “I spent a year trying to find him. How did you do it?”
He smiled as he read her exhausted face. He knew that she wasn't impressed he'd somehow beaten her to it. “A combination of luck and strategy, it would seem.”
Ren cringed, reluctant to ask, but again unable to hide her desire for the truth. “Tell me.”
He placed his hands behind his back and stood tall. “Well, you might recall late last year that I wasn't in the most affectionate of states. As you know, I became quite the recluse, spending much of my time contemplating—brooding, if you will.”
Ren nodded, her mind trailing back to the time when her relationship with Nikolai began to fracture. “I remember.”
“It was during this time that I had my master-plan with Denning, and everything else I wanted to achieve. You see—and you're not going to like what I'm about to tell you—by this time, I'd already long since found Denning, and knew he was hidden in Government House. While you were all ever-so-desperately trying to find him, and I was feigning assistance in the matter, I, in actuality, secretly knew his whereabouts the entire time.”
Ren's jaw dropped. Veins bulged from her temple as she choked on her rage. “You knew he was in Government House the entire time?”
“I did,” he said. “You theorised correctly when you said he was most likely housed there. And you were wise for deciding not to invade—it would have certainly resulted in death. No one's getting inside that building without authorisation. I can assure you, it is nothing less than a fortress.”
“How did you find him in the first place though?” Skye asked, wai
ting for the answer to Ren's original question.
Nikolai smiled and laughed smugly. “It's not something you'll want to hear.”
“Yes, I do,” Ren pressed. “Tell us.”
Nikolai stretched his arms upwards, taking his time. “I actually intercepted His Excellency last year, before the riots.” He paused and keenly waited for Skye's and Ren's reactions. Ren buried her head in her hands. Skye clenched his jaw, overwhelmed by the explanation.
“The whole time?” Skye whispered. “You're saying that you approached Archie before the riots even began?”
Nikolai nodded.
“That whole time,” Ren said through gritted teeth. “That whole time we were investigating Paul and Archie, and you'd already spoken with him?”
“Correct,” he admitted. “It was after we stole Paul's money. It's no secret that I love this country and would gladly do whatever I could to play my part in running it. So I approached Archibald and proposed to fund the remainder of his campaign for him, in return for some political power, of course. The old fool was dubious, understandably, but agreed nevertheless. And so, my partnership with Denning began. Although, at the time I had no idea what events were about to unfold. After the riots, I was prepared to murder him as violently as possible. But I suppressed my rage—at least for the time being—and focussed on getting him elected. I ordered for him to remain in Government House for his own safety.”
Skye was aghast. “The whole time,” he repeated. “You knew where he was.”
“He wasn't in hiding yet, so he was relatively easy to locate.” Nikolai smirked. “I'm afraid I deceived you, brother. You were justified in your reasons for wanting to kill him; I felt the same way. But I knew there was greater satisfaction to be had if I was running Athenia rather than if I was to end Denning's life.”
Ren's head hung low; she was too choked to speak, too horrified to comprehend the revelation. She clenched her fists and fought back tears; not of sorrow, but of frustration. She'd pushed her body to its limits for a year in an attempt to locate the elusive politician, yet Nikolai had beaten her to it months prior.
Eternity's War (Books 1-3) (Eternity's War Boxsets) Page 43
