by Amy Braun
Satisfied that they were all right, I turned to see where the other recruits were going. The five remaining members from my crew were sprinting toward the ship. I raised my pistol and fired a shot. The bullet missed them by a wide angle, but caught all of their attention. They turned, shocked that I was aiming at them. I glared at them with murder in my eyes.
“Get back here and take them back to the ship,” I yelled.
They hesitated, not wanting to run anywhere near the Hellions. I pointed the flintlock at them again.
“Do it,” I roared.
This time they listened. I hated that I had to threaten them into obeying me, but I couldn’t leave the wounded here. We had no idea how many Hellions were hiding in the village, and I wasn’t going to look for Beck without Nash and Gemma’s help. If we left the two wounded here, they would be easy prey for the Hellions.
The five crew members scurried forward, eyeing me nervously until I holstered the pistol. It was too late for secrecy now.
“Idle the Dauntless until we get back,” I told the tallest man.
“How long do we wait?” he asked.
I wanted to snap at him, but the truth was that we had no idea what we were up against. We could have to face two more Hellions, or twenty. I couldn’t ask them to wait forever. Especially not since Abby was on the ship, alone and scared.
“If we’re not back by dawn, we’re not coming back.”
The man winced, but nodded. He turned away to help the others carry the wounded.
I whirled around and marched toward Nash and Gemma. Like me, they were bruised and cut in places, but the determination in their eyes told me they were ready for the next fight. I rolled my injured shoulder, testing the pain. It stung, but I could fight through it.
“Let’s go,” I said. They fell in step behind me. “Soon as we find Beck, we get out of here. If he knows of something worth finding here, he can tell us after I throttle him.”
Neither Gemma nor Nash protested.
I listened for the sounds of a distant fight, my heart starting to jump when I couldn’t hear anything. I might not have known Beck long, but he gave me a sense of hope that I’d been missing for months. The feeling that it wasn’t us against the world. That we might have a chance.
I couldn’t let him die. No matter how badly I wanted to punch him right now.
I weaved between the alleys, my gaze snapping to every open window, around every corner, anywhere he might be hiding–
I heard a heavy thud. A body crashing into the ground. I came to a stop by one of the houses near the edge of the village, and carefully peered around the corner.
“Better luck next time, but feel free to get up and try again.”
My blood went cold. I would know that voice anywhere, no matter how much I wanted to forget it. I was barely holding onto my control, every ounce of me screaming to charge him down. I wanted to hurt him as badly as he’d hurt me and the people I loved.
He’s beaten me nearly to death. Taunted and tormented Micah. Kidnapped Abby and used her against us. And Claire… I had no idea what he’d done to Claire.
Red clouded my vision. I became so furious, so intent on harming my perverse older brother, that I almost didn’t see the huge circle of Hellions watching the scene with hungry eyes, or Beck lying on the ground at Davin’s feet.
The former Sky Guard rolled onto his stomach and pushed to his hands and knees. He pressed a hand against his temple. I could only see half of his face, but what I saw wasn’t good. A massive bruise circled his left eye. It was starting to swell over. Blood lined his cheek from where he’d been clawed. More fell from his lips in a string of bloody saliva.
Beck pushed again, trying to force his body to obey him. Davin stomped on his back and shoved him into the dry grass. He kept the man pinned, tilted his head, and smiled.
“Sorry, friend. Beating you to a pulp made me tired. You don’t mind if I rest, do you?”
“Stop toying with him, Davin.”
Another chill racked my body. I shouldn’t have been surprised they were together, but after what he’d done, nothing about Riley surprised me anymore.
When he came into view, I noticed he was dressed impeccably in a black jumpsuit close to what the Hellions wore. His cheeks were sunken in, there were dark circles around his eyes, and his hair was flat and lifeless. He looked like a ghost of the man I used to know.
I still couldn’t feel any pity for him.
“I’m trying to make a friend here,” Davin remarked, grinding his heel into Beck’s back. The soldier grimaced in pain.
“We do not have time for this.” Riley sounded bored. “We must get back before she causes trouble. You can deal with your brother later.”
I took a sharp breath. She. They must have meant Claire, but she wouldn’t be here with them.
Would she?
I turned and looked at Nash and Gemma. They were close enough to hear everything I had, and were eagerly waiting for my orders.
“I’ll draw them out,” I said. “You get Beck back to the ship.”
“No,” Nash said immediately. “There are too many of them to fight.”
I smirked. “Who said I was going to fight them?”
Nash narrowed his eyes. He saw right through me. Most times, he would have caught me in a lie.
“I’m going to lead them on a hunt,” I explained. “They’ll be looking for me, not you. That’ll give you enough time to get Beck back to the Dauntless. Get her ready to sail. I’ll come back just before nightfall, and we’ll take off.”
Hopefully with Claire.
Neither of my friends looked happy about my answer. They didn’t want to abandon me to over a dozen hungry Hellions, my brother, and the Vesper’s lapdog.
But there was no way we could rescue Beck and get him back to the ship with the amount of weapons we had. Dragging another person with us would take too much time. We didn’t have any to spare.
“This is the only way and you know it,” I told them.
“It’s probably not,” Gemma argued, managing to keep the aggression and worry from her voice. “But this is the only thing we have time for.”
Nash shared a look with her, something unspoken passing between them. I knew to give them time to accept my decision rather than start a fight, but I was itching to run into the fray.
After a resigned sigh, Nash looked at me. “How are you going to lure the Hellions away?”
I gave him a wicked grin. “I’m sure I’ll make some kind of ruckus.”
Trusting them to wait for my signal, I checked the bullets in my pistol and tightened my grip on my sword. I could still feel the throbbing from my bruises, but the pain was manageable. My legs were still strong enough to run with.
Something I was sure I’d be doing a lot of soon.
Taking one more deep breath, I spun out from around the corner and fired at the Hellions. The bullet exploded from the gun and struck the knee of the farthest creature. Blood exploded from the ruined joint, which flailed at a wild angle as it was shattered. The monster crumpled and scampered around the ground, trying to regain its footing. All of the Hellions screamed at once and charged me. I fired two more bullets into the nearest ones. They weren’t kill shots, but they got the attention of the creatures.
Davin barked something sharp in Hellion-tongue. The monsters pulled to a halt and glared at their master. Clearly they wanted to rip me to shreds, but they knew who the alpha male was. Riley stared at me with hollow eyes. I wondered if he even recognized me.
My older brother walked toward me, stepping hard on Beck’s back in the process. Another groan escaped his lips, muffled by the dirt and grass.
“Well, look who it is,” Davin grinned, showing me his pointed, dagger teeth. “I thought I smelled coward in the air.” He kicked back, his heel crashing into Beck’s ribs, drawing a painful grunt from him. “Thought it was him.”
I shrugged. “Couldn’t help but overhear you whining to the free-standing mannequin there
,” I nodded at Riley, before giving him a look that promised blood. “Sounded like you were waiting to deal with me.” I opened my arms, making no effort to hide the weapons I held at my side. An evil smile curved my lips. “Here I am.”
Davin matched my grin, though his made mine look more mischievous than sinister. “I don’t usually like having surprises pulled on me, but I can make an exception for this.” He cocked his head. “You here looking for your pretty engineer? Sweet, tasty, little Claire?”
A shiver went down my spine at the thought of him touching her. Taking her blood. Being in the same room with her. I had to maintain control here, and focus on getting attention away from Beck.
“You’ve never tasted her, have you?” he went on. “I can tell you she’s like–”
I lifted my gun and shot Davin in the chest.
There was little I’d done in my life that felt as good as that did. Nothing looked as nice as seeing the blood burst from his chest in a sharp red spray. I even grinned.
Finally. It was Davin’s turn to bleed.
The shock of it all caught the other Hellions off guard. Only Riley looked at me with unblinking eyes. I could almost see the Vesper lurking behind them. He was my next target. I threw my arm to the left, aiming at his head. My next shot was meant to be a direct affront to the Vesper himself.
Too bad it missed.
Riley moved too quickly, ducking and racing out of the line of fire. I felt a little better when I saw the bullet enter the skull of the Hellion behind him, taking away another threat. But any other consolation died when all of the Hellions charged toward me.
I pivoted and sprinted to the narrow corridors between the buildings on my left, taking the threats far away from my friends. I shimmied through the alley as fast as I could. I chose a tight squeeze and it slowed me down, but the Hellions couldn’t get through. They slammed into the sides of the buildings, hissing and spitting and clawing at the wood. They piled against each other, the pressure causing the structure to groan. They even started climbing on top of one another.
I kept shuffling, switching weapon hands to hold the flintlock in my right. I fired another shot at the cluster of Hellions scrambling to get to me. The center-most one dropped when the bullet shot through its cheek and out the back of its skull. The other Hellions stepped right over it.
I was nearly out the other side when the wood beam in front of me erupted in a shower of splinters. I grimaced and covered my eyes with my arm, feeling lucky that the bullet had missed my head.
I felt less lucky when I heard my brother’s shouts.
“Run all you want, Sawyer! You’re not getting out of here alive!”
Adrenaline mixed with fear coursed through my veins when I saw Davin’s face at the entrance of the alley with a flintlock in his hand. Shadows were drawn across his face, only his eyes glowing red in the darkness. Behind him, the Hellions were beginning to scramble onto the rooftops. I turned away from them and threw myself out of the alley. I staggered on my feet and looked up. There was only one Hellion on the roofs right now, but it was making good time. Bullets were becoming precious and I couldn’t afford to waste them yet.
Turning again, I started for another alley, hoping to lose the Hellion before it pounced on me.
I didn’t get very far.
Just as I reached the next cluster of buildings, I heard a Hellion scream behind me. I looked back to see how close it was, pushing out my sword. The monster took a running leap and crashed into me, impaling itself on my sword. I lost my footing and fell hard onto my back. The Hellion landed on my chest and knocked the air from my lungs. It lunged for my neck. I turned my head to miss its teeth, but its skull still batted against my throat and chin. Coughing and wincing, I tried to push it off my body. The Hellion rasped in my ear and dragged its claws toward my neck.
I snapped my head into the Hellion’s. I felt the tips of its claws scrape the nape of my neck. I couldn’t move my arms. I even used my elbows to try and force the Hellion off my body. It wouldn’t budge.
Claws snagged the back of my hair and jerked my head down. My throat wasn’t impaled, but now my head was completely immobile. I struggled underneath it, until the beast punched me in the side of the head. Stars exploded behind my eyes. My limbs forgot to work. With blurred vision, I saw the Hellion open its jaws and lunge to my neck. I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for the pain.
In its place was a loud crack, and the Hellion’s body slumping over mine.
I grunted and rolled my shoulder to push the heavy body off of mine. Nash helped me. I should have known he wouldn’t be able to stay back and listen to my orders when I was doing something like this.
I looked up to grudgingly thank him, only it wasn’t brown eyes that were staring back at me.
They were green.
She pulled my cutlass from the Hellion’s body and grabbed my hand. She helped me to my feet and put my sword back into my grip.
“Come on,” Claire said. “You’re going to need that later.”
Chapter 10
Claire
My mind hadn’t processed what was happening yet. I was gripping Sawyer’s hand, leading him away from Davin, Riley, and the Hellions pursuing us. I still held the blunt edge of the torch that I used to hit the Hellion attacking him. I raced us through the alleys, searching for the building I used to hide in before I found him.
As I ran, the image of what happened replayed in my mind.
Sawyer trapped on the ground, a Hellion trapping him under its weight. His scowl as he tried to fight against the monster lunging for him. The fearful twist of his face when the Hellion lunged for his neck.
I tightened my grip on his hand and pulled him into through the back door of the house on my left. It was awkward because the space between the buildings was so small, but I got us through it. I pushed Sawyer inside and glanced out, seeing the Hellions running into the opening. None of them were looking in our direction, so I yanked the door shut. When I turned, Sawyer was stalking the room, his head moving back and forth, scanning the floor. He paused and knelt down, smoothing his hand over a wooden slat. He paused and ran his hands over that particular section of the floor multiple times. I hurried over and peered over his shoulder. He’d found a secret door so well concealed I would have missed it completely. The boards were only a quarter of an inch apart at this section. A perfect way to hide a secret basement.
Wasting no time, he slid his fingers through the slats and pulled up. He winced as he irritated his torn shoulder. I rushed to his side and helped him lift the trap door. It groaned and creaked, but it did lead into a basement with more than enough space for both of us.
Sawyer put his hand on the small of my back and guided me down the ladder, making sure that I would be the first one who was safe. I was worried that he wouldn’t come with me, but as soon as I reached the bottom, he started down the ladder, following me quickly.
He pulled the hatch down just as the main door was kicked in with a bang.
Sawyer gently shoved his cutlass through the rungs of the hatch and climbed down the ladder. With the shaft of light peeking through the slats of the trapdoor, I could see a Hellion marching toward us. The trapdoor dipped as it was stamped on, slamming to a stop against the blade of the cutlass. Sawyer stood in front of me, pushed one hand against his bloody shoulder to cover the smell of blood, and pulled his flintlock out. The trapdoor dipped and snapped up again, making the boards screech and my heart skip. I covered my mouth with my hands, holding back my scream. Sawyer stepped back slowly, away from the trap door, his back brushing my chest. He kept moving, nudging me away from the shaft of light.
