by Cheree Alsop
I stopped on the roof of a building long enough to assess Kale’s wounds. I didn’t want to risk him bleeding to death before I could find help. A quick check showed that one of the bullets had pierced low through his right shoulder; the other was embedded in his thigh. Both bled freely. I ripped off my shirt and pressed half to each wound. Kale’s eyes flew open at the pain. “Hold these,” I told him.
“Where. . . ?” he managed to get out. Blood touched his lips.
I gritted my teeth at the sight. “To find help,” I replied.
“Blade,” he said, his voice weak.
I shook my head. “Varo stepped in. When I get you somewhere safe, I’ll make sure he’s taken care of.”
His head tipped from side to side and he looked at me as if it took every ounce of his willpower to keep focused. “He’s. . . too. . . strong.”
I nodded. “I noticed. Glad to see you have such faith in me.”
A half-smile pulled at his mouth as his eyes began to close. I shook him. “Stay awake, Kale. Whatever you do, keep your eyes open. You’ve lost too much blood, and you’ve got too much to live for to give up now.”
He let out a breath that gurgled slightly. His eyes opened again, focusing on my face. I ignored his cry of pain as I slipped my arms beneath him and lifted. I suspected he had a shattered femur and perhaps a pierced lung like Alana, but I wouldn’t know for sure unless I got him help. There wasn’t much time.
I flew as fast as I could. Despite my efforts to keep him awake, Kale’s head eventually lolled back. I pushed faster, driving myself on.
By habit, I headed toward the Galdoni Center. It was only when I reached Crosby that I remembered it no longer existed. I couldn’t take Kale to the hospital Dr. Ray had commanded all the Galdoni and staff be taken to; it would be the first place Blade would look. Frustration filled me at the smoke that tainted the growing sunlight. Sunrise reminded me of Skylar. I tipped my wings.
She could reach Dr. Ray. Kale would be safe with Skylar as long as it would take me to find Blade and ensure that he was no longer a threat. As long as the Galdoni threatened those I loved, I wouldn’t rest. Kale’s warning that Blade was too strong echoed in my mind. I clenched my jaw and pushed the worry aside. Nothing mattered as long as the threat he represented was real. I had to stop Blade and find the female Galdoni. Unless that was accomplished, my own safety mattered little.
I landed in Skylar’s backyard. She must have been waiting for me because the door opened as soon as my feet touched the ground. Mrs. Jamison appeared behind her. Skylar’s hand flew to her face.
“Saro, is that your blood?”
I shook my head quickly. “It’s Kale’s. He’s shot. I need you to get Dr. Ray here as soon as possible.”
I led the way into the house. Mrs. Jamison pulled the door wide to let us pass. She motioned toward the couch. “You can lay him there. I’ll get some towels.” She hurried up the stairs.
Skylar helped me ease Kale down. He moaned, but didn’t open his eyes. “You’ve got to hurry,” I told her. She nodded and ran to get her phone.
A noise in the doorway made me look up. William watched me, his blue eyes wide. I kept pressure on Kale’s wounds. “It’s alright, Will. You can come in.” I tipped my head to indicate Kale. “He’s my friend. We’re trying to save him.”
Kale coughed. His eyes opened partway. A hint of a smile showed. “Thought you didn’t have friends,” he said. He winced in pain.
I blinked back tears. “I wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for a stubborn Galdoni who refused to leave me alone.”
He closed his eyes and his smile deepened. “You were the stubborn one.”
I nodded. “You got that right. Now you’ve got to be stubborn. Remember Brie. You can’t leave her like this.”
“I’m. . .” he took a breath and winced, “not going anywhere.”
“Good.”
A motion caught my eye. I looked up and saw that William had stepped into the room. His gaze was on my chest. My heart clenched at the look on his face as he studied the scars colored by Kale’s blood.
I opened my mouth to speak; I didn’t know what I was going to say, but there was something he needed to hear.
Skylar ran back into the room followed closely by her mother. “Dr. Ray’s on his way over. He said to keep pressure on the wounds.”
I nodded at Mrs. Jamison. She pressed the towels on top of my shredded shirt, taking over my post. I dropped to my knees next to William. “You have to take care of them,” I said, wiping off the worst of the blood on a towel Skylar brought to me. “Protect your mother and sister. Keep them safe until I get back. Can you do that?”
He nodded. Determination filled his gaze. “I know where Dad kept his gun.”
I glanced up at Skylar. She gave a small nod. “I know how to shoot it. We’ll be alright.”
I stood back up and patted William’s shoulder. “Help Dr. Ray.”
“I will,” he promised.
I crossed through the living room to the backyard. Skylar followed close behind.
“Where are you going?” she asked as soon as the door shut behind us.
“I’ve got to stop Blade. He’s our key to finding the female Galdoni, and he’s a threat to Kale and all the others if he gets away.”
Tears filled Skylar’s eyes. “Look at Kale,” she said, her heartbreak in her voice. “What if you don’t make it back?”
Deep down, I knew her concern was very real. A heaviness filled me, certainty that what she said would come to pass. If Blade killed me, when Blade killed me, the voice in my mind whispered, I would never hold her again. He had to be stopped. Somehow, I knew I was the only one who could stop him. I had to do it. I owed it to Kale for all he had done for me. I owed it to the Galdoni from the Center because they deserved a chance at a real life. I owed it to the female Galdoni because they needed a life of freedom away from the craziness of the world they had been brought into.
Above it all, though, tangling around the inevitability of the situation, was the little voice reminding me that I could stay. I could fly away and pretend that none of it had happened; I could stay with Skylar and tell myself that the threat of Blade didn’t hang above those I loved. I could forget about everyone who suffered because of Blade’s existence.
I stood torn, tempted to stay with the girl I loved instead of facing an enemy who had almost killed me once and would do whatever he could to fix that mistake.
I closed my eyes, but there wasn’t really a choice; not to me, at least.
I wrapped Skylar in my arms. “No matter what happens, I love you. My heart, my soul, my everything is yours and always will be.” I stared down into her light blue eyes that sparkled with tears. My chest filled with so many different emotions that I wanted to laugh and cry and kiss her over and over again. I tried to put what I felt into words. “You taught me what it meant to really live, Sky. You filled my life with so much light it chased away all the darkness. You are my sun, my moon, and my stars. You are my guiding light, and I will follow you home.”
“I love you, Saro,” she replied, holding me tight.
The words I had never heard before filled me with such joy it was almost painful. The fact that I had to face Blade made it bittersweet. I took a shuddering breath and kissed the top of Skylar’s head. “I’ve got to go.”
She nodded and stepped back.
“I need you to do one thing for me.”
“Anything,” she said.
“Call Officer Donaldson; ask him to bring every officer he has.” I gave her the location and lifted my wings.
Chapter Twenty-nine
I met Officer Donaldson just south of the building. The rising sun lit the place in yellow and orange. It looked far too beautiful from the outside for what had happened inside to be true. Officer Donaldson handed me an earpiece. When I slipped it in my ear, he said, “You know what to do.”
I nodded and flew to the upper floor.
“Take care of yourself, Saro,” h
e said into the earpiece.
“You, too,” I replied.
I landed on the floor I had left. My heart turned over at the sight of Varo laying again a wall, his head at an unnatural angle to match his broken wing. I bit back a growl of frustration. Blade was gone. I had failed.
“Saro, is it?”
I turned at the dark chuckle.
“Sad name for a pitiful Galdoni.” Blade chuckled again, pushing off from the wall he leaned against. “Fitting, really.”
The sight of him set my heart pounding. “Tell me about the female Galdoni, Blade,” I replied.
He cocked his head to one side. “I thought you already had your own female Galdoni, Saro,” he taunted. He pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Although I heard from several of the Galdoni we tortured here that you had a new female you were fond of. Someone named Skylar.”
My heart clenched. I willed my face to remain expressionless.
“Keep him focused,” Officer Donaldson said into my earpiece. “I’ve sent officers to Skylar’s house. She’ll be safe.”
I took a shuddering breath. “You’re sidestepping the subject, Blade. Tell me what I want to know.”
He circled to the right, keeping himself in silhouette from the sunlight that filtered through the broken windows at his back. “What’s it to you? You’re just as dead as he is.” He gestured toward Varo.
“You take so much joy in killing,” I said.
He gave a little half-bow. “Why thank you.”
“That’s not a compliment.”
He shrugged. “Guess it’s how you take it. Galdoni were meant to kill, you know.”
I followed his circle, carefully to keep my back protected by the wall. “We can change our ways.”
He shook his head. “Old dog, new tricks. Doesn’t work out that way.”
I dove at him, hoping to catch him off guard. He turned at the last minute and grabbed me by the throat, shoving me against the wall. “Have you heard the saying, ‘Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness.’?” When I struggled to get free of his grip, he held my throat tighter. “Alejandro Jodorowsky, smart fellow. Proves there may be hope for the human race yet.”
He stepped slightly to the side. His face that had been hidden by shadow was revealed. I stared at the blood that marked his cheeks and his forehead. It traced down the bridge of his nose in dots, and ran along the edge of his jaw. I wondered if it was Varo’s blood, or if he had used his own.
My struggling slowed. Craziness lent its own form of strength. In the Academy we had been taught that when an enemy suffered from crazed thoughts, he could be stronger than he would normally be because his body was no longer inhibited by the natural survival instincts inborn to the Galdoni. He would fight like an animal because that was all that remained. He was the enemy not to be trifled with.
“Where are the female Galdoni, Blade?” I asked, keeping my tone light.
“In the basement,” he answered flippantly. He blinked as though remembering something. “They’re under lock and key, the lock being, well, the lock, and the key being the bombs that are going to go off probably sometime in the near future.” He chuckled. “The key frees them, get it? When they die, they’re free to fly away. Birds in a cage no longer. It’s a beautiful thing, really.” He smirked. “We don’t need them watering down our race any more than we need those Advantage Corp suits doing the watering, if you know what I mean.”
“On our way to the basement,” Officer Donaldson said into my earpiece. “We don’t know if there’s a detonator or a timer. Stall him in case he can blow the place.”
“You’re not going to get away with this,” I said.
Blade’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully, a bone-chilling look with the bloody patterns on his face. “Don’t you want your revenge on Jake?”
I shook my head, even though my instincts surged at the thought of taken down the man who had betrayed me. “I want to kill you.”
He grinned. “I don’t believe you, Saro. You don’t have it in you to kill; you should have finished me at the Academy when you took your revenge with the sword. You don’t have what it takes to be a murderer, but I do, and I also know where Jake is.” He brought me closer to his face. His teeth were red with blood. “He’s dead.”
Something protested deep inside of me. He had to be lying. I needed the chance to avenge the way I had been treated. He couldn’t take that from me. “You’re lying.”
He smirked. “I thought you would say that. Advantage Corp sent me to kill him. He was a loose end, and I’m good at taking care of loose ends.” He smiled his crazed smile. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me, so I tortured him first.” He winked. “They don’t teach you that at the Academy. We only got the gritty stuff, not the fun stuff.”
I tested his grip; his fingers tightened. He was holding me against the wall with enough pressure to remind me that he could snap my neck, but he wanted to talk. I gave in. “What did you find out?”
“That there was one thing he told you whenever he dropped you off at a house, one thing that would let you know he was the one I killed.”
My chest tightened. I didn’t want to hear what he said.
His eyes bored into mine. He leaned closer and I could smell the iron scent of blood on his breath. “He said, ‘The green light will guide you home.’”
I struggled to pull in a breath. Jake was dead. He had tied me up and left me to burn in that house. I should have been relieved; yet I felt empty, torn, as if there was a hole in my chest.
“Hurts, doesn’t it?” Blade said. “How do you like your revenge taken from you? Ripped from your hands so that you’re left with nothing?” His voice rose into a yell. “You did that to me, Saro! You took Kale away before I could finish him!” He pulled me closer to his face. “He took everything away from me when he brought down the Arena. I was meant to kill; that’s all I was created for. I don’t do anything but kill!”
His grip loosened in his rage. I saw an opening. I brought both my hands down hard on his arms, bending his elbows. I drove my hands into his face, both damaged palms slamming into his chin with all the force I could summon.
He dropped me and staggered backwards. I wavered on my feet, gasping for a full breath of air.
Officer Donaldson’s voice spoke in my ear. “We found the girls and the AC employees. We’re getting them out, but we can’t disarm the bomb. It’s set to a timer and there’s not enough time to get a bomb squad here. Keep stalling.”
I gritted my teeth. “What do you want, Blade?” I ducked a punch, blocked a kick with my forearms, and tried to answer with one of my own, but he blocked my leg to the side and slammed a fist into my stomach.
He glowered at me as I stumbled backwards. “Death.”
I shook my head, forcing my lungs to suck in air. “You fight too hard to want to die.”
I dove, tackling him around the legs. He fell onto his back. I punched him twice in the face. He slugged my ribs where PF220 had already hit. I winced at the pain. He kicked, slamming me into the wall. He was up before I could get set. I tried to block his blows, but he hit my ribs and my stomach before driving a haymaker into my face. I fell back against the wall.
“The Academy was my life,” Blade yelled, wrapping his hands around my throat. “It was your life. What are you going to do? You’re a killer, a trained murderer. Now you have nothing to murder! What do you do when your hands itch to choke the air off in a throat, and there’s no more throat? What do you do when you long for the feeling of a blade through flesh? What do you do when all you want is to feel bones crush beneath your hands and see red run from the nose and mouth?” His hands tightened and he gave a maniacal laugh. “It’s a beautiful thing, Saro.”
“We’re out,” Officer Donaldson said in my earpiece.
I let my knees go. Blade wasn’t ready for the sudden weight. I dropped from his hands, then rose and drove an elbow into his stomach. He doubled over and I slammed another elbow into his back. He fell to the floor. A rum
ble shook the building. I grabbed the wall for balance.
Blade gave a pained laugh. “There goes your female Galdoni, Saro. You enjoyed talking to me too much.”
“Why kill them?” I pressed, anxious to give the officers enough time to get the Galdoni to safety before Blade realized what was happening.
He rose to his feet and wiped a hand down his face, smearing the blood he had put there. “Nobody deserves to live,” Blade replied. He threw a punch. I ducked under it. “The Galdoni need to die because it’s a circle; killers must die so they don’t kill. The humans need to die because they created us.” He gestured below. “All the Advantage Corp employees are now in little pieces, unable to play God anymore because they’re busy answering to their own.” He grinned, pleased with himself. “Poetic, isn’t it?”
He feinted to the left, then swung right. It clipped me on the ear, but I spun and slammed an elbow into his face. His nose broke beneath the blow. He ignored it and grabbed my hand. “Remember what we were taught at the Academy, Saro?”
He gripped the hand tight, sending pain shooting up my arm. I fell to my knees. He leaned close, his face inches from mine. “Weakness can be your biggest strength.” He saw the earpiece in my ear and his eyes widened. “You distracted me!”
“I used a page out of your book,” I replied, fighting to keep focused through the pain.
He let go and ran to the window. “No!” he screamed at the sight of police cars disappearing through the dawn.
The building shook. The floor began to sink.
“Get out of there, Saro,” Officer Donaldson commanded in my earpiece.
The floor dipped, then fell away. Blade grabbed me, trapping my wings. We plummeted toward the wreckage. I elbowed him in the stomach, then the face. His hold loosened. I forced my wings free. The Galdoni held my legs. I tried to land on a jutting floor. Blade grabbed a slab of cement and used our momentum to swing me into broken rebar that twisted from the wall.
