• • •
“What?” Cali dug her hands into the front of Jente’s shirt. “Where’s the arena? Where is he being held?”
Felix wouldn’t last in a cage match. Not if Vander Diverted enough of his energy.
Jente very calmly pulled her hands from him. He didn’t drop them right away but held on a fraction longer than necessary. “He’s probably being transferred to the arena as we speak. The next match is in … ” He pulled out his cell. “Soon.” There was a soft bing from his phone, signaling a message. Jente frowned as he read it. He pocketed his phone. “I’ll take you there.”
Cali went instantly wary. “Why?”
Something flashed in his eyes too fast for her to read then his face went carefully blank. “Do you want to wander around aimlessly yourself and get caught or be led without disturbances?”
She didn’t really have a choice.
“Fine. Take me.”
There was a brief flare of lust in his expression.
Cali could have smacked herself in the forehead. Better censor your phrasing, Crazar.
Jente led her without incident to where the halls opened up wide. The arena was close by, the sound of people and cheering rumbling through the cement halls like distant thunder.
“In here.” Jente motioned to a pair of opened double doors.
Inside the arena, the sound was nearly deafening. The layout resembled a baseball stadium. The seats angled downward until they dead-ended into the edge of the cage that sprouted up out of the bottom to reach to the ceiling.
Cali whirled on Jente. “Why the hell did you bring me up here? I need to be down there.” She pointed to the bottom level.
Jente blocked her way. “I’m sorry, Cali, but I’ve told you before, orders are orders. Vander wants you here.”
She tried to get past him but he was strong. He propelled her down the stairs. Attendees watched as he forced her down the aisle. They were all dressed in fancy clothing as if they attended nothing more than an opera. Five rows up from the bottom the seats were half empty.
“In there,” Jente directed.
She wanted to hit him. She should have run as soon as she saw him. Instead she’d let herself believe he’d help her again. She’d been an idiot. The message he’d read on his phone had to have been Vander’s orders for her to be taken to the arena. He was going to make her watch.
Her stomach knotted.
Felix.
She took her seat and scanned the packed crowd. She thought she recognized other famous CEOs but she couldn’t be sure. She didn’t have time to watch the news or the money to afford cable.
Across the way, in an elevated booth, Vander sat like a king on a throne.
He was staring right at her. There was no tenderness in his gaze. Nothing but raw malice. She tilted her head to spot Jente out of the corner of her eye. He was seated next to her but he was the only one. She might cringe at the idea of having to hurt Jente, but he’d made his choice.
Through the speakers an announcement of the next fight came.
The crowd cheered with blood lust. Below, through the bars of the cage, Cali watched as Felix was thrust into the center. A few seconds later another man of equal size and height was pushed out.
A bell sounded without preamble. Felix’s opponent lunged for him.
The floor of the ring was roughly twenty feet in circumference and was covered in some kind of gravel. Once or twice Felix slipped when he moved too quickly.
Cali’s fingers dug into the armrests. Jente’s hand weighed heavy on her shoulder. A constant reminder that she wasn’t to move.
Where the hell were Sydney and Joel?
Felix caught a punch along the jaw that sent him staggering into the bars. People roared with appreciation. Cali willed him to bounce back but she could tell from here, could feel it within her, that Felix wasn’t up to full strength.
Her eyes sought Vander across the way. His black gaze watched her intently. At her look he offered up a smug smile.
He’d weakened Felix. On purpose.
“Jente,” she said very carefully. “You can’t let this happen. Vander fixes the matches. Felix doesn’t even stand a chance down there.”
He didn’t say anything.
The crowd cheered again. Cali turned to the fight to see a spray of blood. Felix’s blood.
He couldn’t take much more of this. She had to do something. Anything.
Jente’s fingers tightened on her shoulder. She didn’t give him any warning. She whirled in her chair, fist flying. There was a satisfying crunch as she connected with his nose. Blood poured. Jente cried out, but it was drowned out in the sounds of the crowd. People were on their feet now, scenting the end of the match.
Cali pushed through the rows as Jente tried to follow after her.
“Out of my way.” Cali shoved patrons to get through. People cried foul as she elbowed her way to the front where a crowd was already gathered to see the outcome of the fight below. Cali wormed her way in.
Felix blocked a kick to the gut, but he was on the floor. He looked sickly, weak. Cali felt her throat tighten.
As if he sensed her, Felix’s eyes lifted and locked with hers.
She pressed her hand futilely against the bars. Felix held her gaze as his opponent wound up for the final blow. Felix dropped his head in defeat.
Cali railed against the bars. “No!”
Felix’s hand moved.
His opponent vanished.
Chapter 27
Cali’s heart caught in her throat. The crowd around her shot to their feet in outrage. Chaos exploded. Someone pulled her back from the cluster of people. Jente’s face was filled with rage. “You fucking broke my nose.” He sounded nasally.
Cali opened her mouth to retort when a bright blonde head of hair caught in the corner of her eye.
Sydney.
They’d come.
Relief and hope sprang from her, and she smiled sweetly at Jente. “I’m sorry,” she apologized without remorse. “Does it hurt?” She slammed the heel of her hand into the damaged bone. Jente fell back with a curse.
Cali booked it for the stairs. “Sydney,” she tried to call over the building chaos. The noise was too great. No one seemed to even notice Sydney, but the guards at the doors sure as hell noticed Cali.
She took the steps two at a time and plowed through the doors into a sea of bodies as people fled. Fights had broken out among the audience. Apparently the gamblers weren’t happy with this new turn of events.
The back of her neck felt iced over. She ran blindly. “Come on, Sydney. Come looking for me.” She pressed through a group of woman and overheard the word “cops.”
Shit.
Their time was running out.
“Wherever the hell you guys are, you better hurry. The cops have been called.” She glanced behind her to see the guards still followed but at a much slower pace. She swerved through hallway after hallway until she was well and truly lost.
She plowed past the first unlocked door on her right that she found.
The sound difference was astounding. She had to be in some kind of restricted zone or medical wing. The smell was acidic, the low whine of fluorescent light bulbs the only noise.
Ahead was a pair of swinging double doors.
She exhaled. “If you’re out looking for me, Sydney — ” She spoke to no one. “ — I went through the scary double doors with biohazard stickers.”
Once through the swinging doors she steadied them so they wouldn’t give her away if anyone happened to come by. She peered through the little glass window to watch the chaos outside. No one came through the door. And why would they? It clearly wasn’t an exit.
A pair of guards stepped in. Cali hid before she could be seen and prayed they’d think she’d run for the exit like everyone else.
She stood stooped beneath the little window in the door for at least ten seconds before she realized that if they did come this way, she was screwed. She needed somewhere t
o hide in case they checked the windows.
She made a mad dash down the hall, noticing for the first time that the flooring was tile and not cement. The smell of bleach grew stronger. All the doors had little windows and key-coded doors. That wasn’t going to help her. She needed some kind of storage closet but instead found a small, pharmacy type cubbyhole. She jumped over the counter as the double doors swooshed open. Upon her landing, her foot hit a wheeled cart. The drugs that sat atop it tumbled, the clank of glass loud enough to make her cringe.
Fuck.
Light footsteps grew closer.
She balled her hands into fists, ready to catch whoever was on the other side by surprise.
“Cali?” a female voice whispered.
“Sydney?” She shot up and smashed the top of her head into the counter that hung over her. She landed back on her ass, both hands covering her head where it felt like she’d cracked her skull.
Sydney scrambled over the counter and dropped down beside her. “Are you okay?”
Cali winced as she rubbed the top of her head. “Dandy,” she said dryly. “How the hell did you find me?”
She grinned and raised one shoulder in a half shrug. “As strange as this is going to sound, I followed your voice. I could hear you, like a whisper on the breeze. When I came to this hallway I saw a pair of guards. They came in here then left cursing under their breath. I decided to follow, and when I saw the big, hospital-looking doors, I knew you’d be here because you said so. Weird, huh?”
Cali stared at her in amazement. She’d never been able to do that before. Manipulate the sound to travel to only one person. Could that be part of her strengthened powers?
She shook herself mentally. She could figure that stuff out later. “Where’s Joel?”
“He went looking for a way to bust Felix out. What happened?”
“Vander.”
“He put Felix in the arena to fight?” The green of Sydney’s eyes sparked with an anger Cali had never seen before.
“Yeah, after he drained Felix so he’d be at a disadvantage.”
“And Felix?” Sydney gripped her arm. Cali felt a twinge of jealousy and pushed it away when she realized how absurd it was. Sydney loved Felix like a brother and vice versa.
“He Erased his opponent.”
Sydney’s hands dropped. “He did?”
Cali nodded. He’d broken his one rule for her. For them. “Look,” she said after a tense moment of silence, “we need to get out of here. I overheard a group talking about the cops coming. We need to find Felix and Joel and get the hell out of here.”
“What about the others?” Sydney’s gaze was drawn to the doors that lined the far wall beyond the pharmacy.
Cali’s heart constricted. “We have to abort the mission and hope like hell no one believes them about being questioned about super powers.”
Sydney nodded but she still made her way over to the doors, like a moth drawn to the flame.
Cali followed. She could understand the need to peek inside. She’d forever remember all those hopeless faces, but hopefully this would be the end of their torment.
The lights inside were dimmed due to the late hour. Sydney stopped a few feet from the little window but Cali continued forward.
She didn’t remember the name of this wing of the basement. The containment rooms here weren’t like the others. They had more security.
Which meant that whoever was on the other side was more valuable.
Cali swallowed.
Could the cells be holding people with powers?
Sydney found her courage and came up beside Cali. They shared a glance as if they both were thinking the same thing and dreaded what they’d find behind this window. Together they glanced through the glass.
In the dead center of the room was a chair. A man sat slumped forward, head down. His arms were secured around his back and he was dressed in scrubs. An IV was attached to one of his arms. The dimmed lights cast shadows all around the room, causing the man’s inky black hair to stand out where it hung around his head. Cali squinted against the near darkness, and as if sensing their presence, he lifted his head. He had eyes like ice.
Sydney gasped, taking a step back from the window, her eyes locked with his.
The prisoner’s gaze never wavered from Sydney but his head swayed as if drugged. Cali’s heart went out to him.
“We shouldn’t have looked,” she whispered. It was too much to see and not take action. She stepped back but Sydney seemed rooted to the ground. “Come on, Sydney. There’s nothing we can do for him. Cops are on their way — they’ll take care of him.” She tugged on Sydney’s arm. She didn’t budge. Cali tugged harder and she stumbled. Cali grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her. “Are you okay?”
Sydney blinked. Her breathing was shallow, her cheeks flushed.
What the hell?
“Sydney?”
She snapped back to attention. “I’m fine.”
Cali didn’t believe her, but she could press her for more information once they were out of there.
Sydney led the way. Cali was glad at least one of them remembered the way back to the arena.
“I saw two different entrances leading to the bottom most level. I’ll take the farthest one in case Joel and Felix go out that way. You take this closer one and we’ll meet in the middle. Got it?”
Sydney didn’t give her time to answer. She moved those short little legs of hers and disappeared down the hall. The crowds had thinned. No one was even giving her a second glance. Perfect.
The stairway was cramped, but once Cali hit the ground level it opened up to a similar layout as the top. She made her way toward the center of the arena.
There were more people down here but Cali didn’t see any sign of Felix.
She passed some kind of locker room and reached out with her powers. “Felix, where are you, you cake-baking pansy?”
A reply came from behind her. “Easy, C. All those endearments might give someone the misconception that you actually care about me.”
Felix grinned as she bulldozed into his arms, the heat in her chest nearly bursting.
She stared up at him. “C? Really? And what do I call you? F? Lix?”
His expression turned thoughtful. “Licks? I could work with that.”
She punched him in the arm. “Where’s Joel? He was supposed to be looking for you.”
The grin left his face. “I haven’t seen him. Where’s Sydney?”
“She went down the other set of stairs to try and cut you guys off. We’re supposed to meet in the middle somewhere. Come on, we’re running out of time.” She laced her fingers with his and felt whole once more.
Felix squeezed her hand and followed after her. “What do you mean we’re running out of time?”
“Someone called the cops.”
“Niella?”
That gave Cali pause. “I don’t know. What time is it?”
“No idea. My phone was confiscated.”
Cali patted her pockets. “Mine too.”
“What about the people in the cells?”
“No time.”
His hand squeezed hers again. “That’s not your fault.”
The guilt that weighed heavy on her heart lifted fractionally.
“How do we get back to the cage from here?”
Felix took the lead. “This way.” He led them around a large curve before a set of doors came into view. Cali hadn’t even realized the bottom level of the arena had seats for the matches until she stepped foot on the ground level. It was nearly deserted except for one female sitting near the cage bars.
Collette.
Had she been sitting there the entire match?
Her eyes spat gray and blue fire.
Felix went still. “Let us pass, Collette,” he said calmly. On the other side of the floor, Cali saw Joel and Sydney pass by a doorway. Shit. They needed to get to them before they went too far. Collette didn’t seem like she’d be too much of a difficulty. She
looked exhausted, but the mad gleam in her eye was a wild card.
“You weren’t supposed to win, Felix,” she said just as calmly.
Felix slid his hand slowly from Cali’s and took a step forward. “But I did. Now let it go. Vander’s company is busted. All his prisoners are going to be set free, and all the employees are going to be investigated. I’d take this time to get as far away as possible.”
“You forget I can create anything I want. You think the police will be able to pin anything on me?”
It was a sad but true fact. And suddenly it hit Cali. Just like she’d never be free of Vander, Felix would never be free of Collette.
“You, on the other hand,” Collette said, “would be held by the police for questioning, and it’d be all too easy to place the perfect evidence against you. Especially now that Vander doesn’t want you.” Her eyes bored into Cali’s.
Cali had no idea what had caused the abrupt change of heart, but she wasn’t going to knock it. Vander didn’t want her anymore? Fine by her.
“She’s right,” Felix said to her out of the corner of his mouth. “We can’t be caught here. You go right, I’ll go left.”
Cali gave the smallest of nods before they broke apart and made a run for it.
Collette sprang into action, her faceless mannequin-type bodyguards appearing out of thin air. Those faceless, featureless creatures were creepy as fuck, but Cali remembered a time when Felix had been telling her about Collette and her powers. He’d told her that the more insubstantial the Illusion the easier it was for her to hold onto it. The more details, the harder it was, and the more power and concentration was required.
Collette’s attention was divided momentarily as Cali went around the other side. But instead of splitting her men she focused all her energy on Felix. That wasn’t like her. Cali hesitated while Felix was intercepted. Collette always went after Cali, but the rage burning on her face was all for Felix. He’d done something to draw her anger.
Felix did his best to Erase everything that came his way but he was beyond exhausted, and Collette was like a mad conductor. Things flew at Felix too fast for Cali to even make out the shape. Something knocked into his stomach. The air left his lungs; he hunched in on himself, but a backhand from one of the mannequins sent him backwards.
Guild of Truth 01 - Silent as the Grave Page 26
