I look up again and see Asher watching me with horrified eyes. “What happened down there, Gavin? And don’t you dare bullshit me. I don’t care what you think of me. I just want to help.”
Glancing back down at Evie, I brush a strand of hair from her face and then sigh when she murmurs something about Timothy. “More than you could ever believe,” I say. “Much more than you could ever believe.”
* * *
Even though I wasn’t going to tell Asher the whole messy story, when I sit back down by the fire it all slips out. I don’t know why, but once I start I can’t stop. It’s like reliving it all over again, but seeing it from someone else’s perspective. My whole body feels separated from itself. I don’t feel any of the terror I experienced the first time. I tell him about finding the tunnel in the cave, and the long trip down that ended with my hunting partner and I stumbling into Elysium, and the turret, which detected unregistered DNA, that claimed his life. Evie finding me, protecting me from Mother’s wrath, and how she gave up everything to help me escape. How, because of me, she found out she’d been brainwashed to be an assassin for Mother, then later turned into breeding stock because of Mother’s whims. The whole story of her being an Enforcer, and what it does to her.
When I finish, Asher is just staring at me, his eyes wide. He glances down at Evie and shakes his head. “Maybe it’s better that she doesn’t remember any of it.”
“I thought that at first, too, but now she’s got these damn nightmares every night. And flashes of memories when she least expects it. Sometimes, I barely recognize her anymore. Not to mention these strange episodes. I’m not sure if that’s any better.”
Asher goes back to staring into the fire. After a minute, he looks up at me again. “Why didn’t you ever tell anyone?”
I frown. “Tell anyone what?”
“About me? You’re so set that I ruined your life. Yet you know something about me that could destroy me, yet you haven’t ever told anyone.”
I blink. It takes me a minute to realize what he’s talking about. I shake my head and roll my eyes. “One, because it’s not any of my business, or anyone else’s for that matter. And two, I’m not like you. When someone tells me something in secret, I don’t share it with anyone for any reason.”
He narrows his eyes at the fire, as if he’s trying to puzzle that out. I decide that I’d rather be lying next to Evie than sitting out here with him. To make sure she can’t sneak out of the tent without me knowing, I slide into the sleeping bag with her. Before long I find myself falling in and out of sleep, waking several times throughout the night to soothe Evie back to sleep when she has another of her fits.
When she wakes me for what feels like the thousandth time with a sharp kick in the shin and screaming incoherently again, I know I’ll need to talk to Asher first thing in the morning and go over the map with him to come up with a better, faster route to the city. Evie needs help and she needs it quickly.
* * *
The birds singing in the trees wake me. I groan as I sit up. The little bit of sleep I’ve been getting is only a giant tease that makes my muscles sore. My joints pop when I stand and stretch.
To my surprise, Asher is already awake and poring over the map.
Trying to rub the sleep away, I run a hand over my face. “What’cha doin’?”
He startles, but moves over so I can sit next to him. “Trying to come up with a faster route.”
I don’t know why it annoys me that he had the same thought as me. I would have had to ask for his help anyway, since he’s gone back and forth from the city much more than I have. At least this way it isn’t a favor. So I nod and glance down at the map. “What do you think?”
“The fastest route is this way, through this town.” He slides his finger over a black dot. “If we go that way, it will shave off at least three days from our trip. With any luck we could be in that town tonight and then another day, maybe two, and we’d be in Rushlake.”
“Why didn’t we go this way in the first place?”
“No one does.” He won’t look at me.
“Why?”
He hesitates, before finally saying, “I don’t know. But my father was adamant that we never go that way.”
Well, that’s ominous. I think about it, weighing the risks. It’s not smart to ignore that kind of warning in the Outlands. But with Evie getting worse and worse …
“Let’s do it,” I say.
We don’t waste any more time; we both head back to camp and start tearing it down.
“We’d move faster if we don’t carry anything that isn’t necessary.” Asher folds up his tent.
I lift an eyebrow. “You want to dump it?”
He shakes his head. “Starshine can carry it. This will be nothing for her. And then we’ll have both hands free if we need them.”
I nod. “Yeah, okay, let’s get it all together.”
We spend the next few minutes packing everything up and only when I have to, do I wake Evie. She’s groggy and her eyes are still glazed with sleep, but she’s lucid and able to walk and talk.
It worries me how flushed her skin is, but I can’t think about it right now. There’s nothing I can do about it. The only way to help her is to hurry our asses up and get her to the city.
Asher helps Evie onto the horse, while I break down our tent and then start securing our supplies to Starshine. I’ve just about tied the last supply, when I realize it’s gotten really quiet. Too quiet. I look around, trying to figure out what has my instincts humming. The only sounds are Asher and Evie talking quietly. He’s got her laughing again, with that stupid fake Southern gentleman charm he likes to use. Reluctantly, I have to admit I’m grateful. He’s taking her mind off what happened last night. And considering how far it is to the city, and my increasing fears she won’t make it all the way there without having another issue, making her happy needs to be a priority. Even though she’s smiling and laughing, I can’t help but hear how tired she sounds.
I glance around again, reassured that Evie is safe.
All of a sudden a scream tears through the silence. The three of us share a startled look and fear makes my nerves vibrate. I don’t know what’s screaming, but whatever it is, that’s a sound of terror and pain. I’ve heard it before in the Outlands and it never leads to good things. The worst part is, it doesn’t sound very far, and it’s growing closer.
“What is that?” Evie’s voice is shaky, and she’s watching me with equal parts fear and trust and that scares me to death because I have no idea what to tell her. But I know we have to get out of here.
“You don’t want to know,” I finally say. “But we have to move. Now!” I fumble trying to tie the last item to Starshine, because the screaming is now so close I know whatever it is, is going to break into the clearing any second. My heart is beating so fast, it practically hurts and I can feel it pound in my head.
Then my worst fears come true: the animal—a deer, I think—bursts into the clearing. It’s hard to tell exactly what it is because chunks of its skin are shredded off, claw marks mar the parts that aren’t torn off, and blood covers the rest of it. One ear is completely gone and its mouth is open in its scream. And surrounding it, trailing behind it, is a whole flock of birds.
They’re huge. At least three times larger than any bird I’ve ever seen. I curse under my breath. I’ve never heard of them being this close to the village. And I’ve never personally seen one, even considering I’ve been hunting in these woods since I was a kid. It makes me nervous that they’re here. Not just for us, but for what it means for the village.
I can only stare in shocked horror as two of the birds grab the deer on each end of its body, lifting it into the air. I want to close my eyes. I know what’s going to happen. I want to run to Evie and block her from seeing this, but I can’t move. I’m petrified, stuck exactly as I am, forced to watch the deer’s grizzly end as the rest of the flock latches on to it.
Horrible ripping and shredding sound
s mix with the flapping racket. The deer’s screams get louder and tear into my heart for only a second before it’s abruptly cut off. And in just another second I see why. The flock breaks into three, flying into the trees with three different parts of the deer.
My stomach lurches as I glance at Evie and Asher. If it were just me, I probably wouldn’t even be worried. I can protect myself, but I can’t protect all of them and Evie has to be my top priority. I have to get out of here. I have to get Evie out of here.
“What are those things?” Evie asks. She doesn’t look as nervous as I know she should be.
“Vulture-hawks,” I say, trying to keep the fear from my voice. “They usually don’t bother humans, but they’re mean.”
“I can see that,” Asher says, staring up into the trees.
“We should get out of here. Now.” I glance around for my gun so we can get going and my heart sinks when I see it. Oh God. It’s still lying where I left it when I went to help load up Starshine. Just a few feet from where the birds disappeared into the trees.
I’m not willing to leave it behind. We’ll need it. I’m sure of it.
I race toward it, hoping the birds will ignore me for their kill.
Something heavy falls to the ground just inches from my outstretched fingers. I’m certain it’s the deer, but it’s hard to tell after the work of the birds.
I don’t want to, but it’s like I have to. I look up into the branches and see them staring down at the deer—at me—with their red beady eyes. One of the birds makes its telltale caw, which sounds more like the screech of a hawk than a vulture, but has a way of making your skin crawl. Suddenly they’re all making the same screeching sound. I slam my hands against my ears in an attempt to block out the sound. They start dropping from the tree to resume their attack on the dropped carcass. Their movements would be fascinating if they weren’t so violent. I can hear the crunch of bones between their beaks.
We have to get out of here.
Then, without warning, one of the birds swoops down off its branch and flies straight toward me.
I duck and it misses, but there’s an unmistakable look in its red eyes. It’s out for blood.
“What the hell?” Asher yells at me. “I thought you said they don’t bother humans!”
“I said they usually don’t bother humans.” Without sparing Asher a glance, I grab the shotgun.
Before he can react to that, the rest of the birds descend. Evie screams out when one claws at her wounded shoulder. Her eyes turn dark blue, the haze fading from them as if someone flipped a switch. I recognize that look. That’s the one she got in Elysium whenever her “Conditioning” kicked in.
In a lightning-fast move, she snatches one of the birds from the air in front of her, but it pecks at her face, going for her eyes, and only misses because she tosses it aside. It squawks when it lands on the ground and struggles to get back up.
She immediately grabs another, but this time grabs its head and the muscles in her skinny arms bulge. A second later, the bird’s head is no longer attached to its body.
Blood sprays into her face, but she only bares her teeth in a snarl and lunges for another.
Holy hell.
I grab Asher, who’s trying his best to beat away the birds attacking her, but only getting his clothes and skin shredded in the process. There’s already a long gash across his left eyebrow.
“Get on the horse!” I yell, hissing when a claw pierces the skin on my shoulder.
“What?” he yells back. The air around us is a frenzy of beating wings and piercing screeches.
I swing the gun like a bat at another bird. “I said, get on the horse. Get Evie out of here! I’ll catch up.” It gets around my swing, but I swing again and manage to knock it away.
If he doesn’t hurry, I don’t know how much longer I can keep them back. Starshine whinnies and starts to rear, but startles back to her feet when Evie plants a foot on her neck.
She’s trying to stand, I realize, despite the horse’s restless movements.
“What about you?” Asher swings his arms around again, causing the birds to scatter for a minute.
I force a smile. “I’ve got this. No big deal.” He doesn’t look convinced and I raise my voice. “Get her the hell out of here. If you want to make up for what you did to me years ago, you’ll get on the fucking horse and get her out of here.”
He glances over at Evie, who is batting away more birds. One is tugging on her hair and she’s screaming as it threatens to pull her off the horse. Another keeps swooping at her, but missing. She can’t seem to get ahold of them anymore, and as I watch, her foot slips off Starshine’s neck, dropping her hard onto the saddle. Asher takes a step closer to her.
“Don’t you dare let anything happen to her,” I yell to Asher, dodging another bird, and rearranging my grip on the shotgun. It’s time to put this thing to use as more than a club. “Get her to the city. No matter what.”
At first he doesn’t say anything, but then he nods.
“Thank you,” I say.
“I’m not doing this for you.” He vaults onto the horse, taking the reins. A bird screeches as he knocks it away with a closed fist. The rest scatter when Starshine shakes her head violently.
Good enough. I nod and he nods back.
“She’ll be safe. I promise,” he yells back.
That gets Evie’s attention and she looks over, her eyes clearing as they meet mine. The Enforcer is gone. For now.
She shakes her head, and struggles to get down, but I only smile at her.
“I love you, Evie.” I press my fingers to my lips, then hold them out for a second, before I slap the horse on her back flank. She rears, then takes off away from the camp with a thunder of hooves.
Although I’m worried as hell to leave her in Asher’s hands, I’m also relieved that I know she’s getting away and safe. For now, at least.
That leaves me standing in the thick of all the birds, as they dive bomb and swirl around me, trying to grab pieces of flesh.
I pump my shotgun. “Bring it on!” I yell, and shoot.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Danger! Nuclear Materials. High Levels of Radiation Present.
—RUSTED SIGN ATTACHED TO ONE LONE SECTION OF CHAIN-LINK FENCE IN THE OUTLANDS
Evie
“No!” I yell. “Gavin!” I struggle to get away from Asher, but it’s no use. My muscles are weak and I don’t even so much as budge him. “Gavin!” But he’s gone now. I can’t see him. The birds have completely covered him.
My heart is in my throat, my stomach on the ground. I want to scream. I want to cry. I want to kick something until my toes are bloody. But none of those are going to do Gavin any good.
And as much as I want to get away from Asher and run back to Gavin, there are two birds who did not stay with Gavin. One tears at me, while the other tries to rip chunks from Asher. I bat at them with my arms, but my coordination is off and I miss every time.
My arms are more like limp noodles than muscle and bone. I don’t understand where all the strength I had just seconds ago went.
One of the birds reaches out with its claws and grabs a hunk of hair, trying to lift me from the seat. Screaming, I flail around trying to dislodge it. If it weren’t for Asher still holding me tightly around the waist, I would already be up in the air.
Holding me has left him open to the second bird, which slashes at him repeatedly. With each swipe of its talons it opens up another gash on Asher’s body. He winces every time, but doesn’t let go of me, or the reins. He just continues to press Starshine to run faster. I’m still no use. I’m just too slow. My arms don’t want to cooperate. It’s as if I’m trying to swing out underwater.
But then the bird slices across Asher’s neck with its talon and, when I see the blood run down Asher’s throat, there’s this click inside of me. Just like before.
Everything seems to disappear except that gash. My blurry vision clears. My hearing is better, and even though I can still h
ear the slash of wings against air, the thunder of the horse’s hoofbeats, and the birds’ screeching caws, I’m able to differentiate one from the other. They’re no longer just a mess of noises. But the most important change is the strength I feel in my arms and legs. I don’t feel ill anymore and my muscles are no longer spaghetti.
As if on instinct, I grab the horn in front of me and push myself up on my arms. Asher removes his arm from around my waist and I kick my legs around so I’m completely turned around in the saddle and facing Asher, who stares at me wide-eyed for the shortest of seconds before turning his attention back to the trail in front of us and hooking his arm around my waist again.
I reach out to snatch the bird that’s yanking on my hair. It wrenches out a good amount of hair and my vision swims for a minute as each strand disconnects from my head, but I don’t let go. Instead, I adjust my grip on it like I had with the bird earlier, so I’m holding it with one hand on its head and the other around its body. Then I twist and yank.
There’s a loud cracking, snapping sound and soon the bird is in two pieces. Without so much as a wince, I toss it to the ground and go for the second bird. Unfortunately, it saw what I did to the first and won’t be as easy to grab. The good part is, it’s got its full attention on me now. It dives at me instead of Asher this time.
I miss, but not because I couldn’t get my body to cooperate—it flies just close enough to strike out at me, but never close enough for me to grab it. Then, after the fifth dive, I see my opening. Right before it tries to claw at me again, I twist my body to the side and lunge forward, practically falling onto the ground, but I’ve got the bird and Asher has me.
Again I rip its head off and toss the halves over Asher’s head. Even through the horse’s hoofbeats, I can hear the parts thump onto the ground.
Satisfied, I search the air to make sure there’s no other, but it doesn’t appear that any more have followed us. That only relieves me for a minute as I glance at Asher. For an instant I have the strongest, strangest urge to … kill him. To take his head between my hands and twist so I can watch his lifeless body hit the ground with a thud.
Revelations (The Elysium Chronicles) Page 7
