Reckoning

by Sonya Weiss

  Rick divided us into teams before placing another rope on the opposite end of the rappelling wall. “If your opponent makes it to the top of the wall before you do, you lose.” He called Nixie and a large Supernatural boy up to the front.

  “He’s twice her size,” Adler protested.

  “You think your enemy will care if you’re small?” Agent Davis asked and motioned for the two of them to begin.

  Nixie reached for the rope. The Supernatural swung out with his fist and punched her in the shoulder, knocking her to the ground. He pulled himself over the top of the wall. When he came around the side, Adler jumped him, pummeling the boy’s face repeatedly.

  I ran to check on Nixie and make sure she was okay, thankful Adler was taking care of the boy so I wouldn’t have to. With my emotions running high, I might end up doing more damage than I intended.

  Two soldiers pulled Adler backward by his arms, lifting him off the boy.

  Rick helped the boy up, examined his face, and told him to go to the hospital to get his nose set.

  “Juliet,” Agent Davis called, then pointed to a massive looking boy. “You.”

  My opponent was a boy who looked like he ate buildings for breakfast. He was big boned with eyebrows as thick as thumbs. The side of his lips curled into a sneer as he reached for the rope on the other end of the wall.

  Wary after seeing what the other boy had done to Nixie, I made a mental note to stay out of range of this guy’s hands.

  “Go!” Rick called.

  I gripped the rope and pulled myself up, careful to keep an eye on my opponent. He swung over and kicked me hard in the back of my still healing leg. I choked off a scream of pain. He made the mistake of not moving away from me. Grabbing the back of his jacket, I pulled as hard as I could until he fell off the rope.

  Breathing hard, I rested for a second, then slowly pulled myself up, having to use my good leg for balance. When I reached the top, I swung over, dangling my legs, then landed, letting one leg take all my weight. I face planted in the sand, then got up to limp back around to the front, proud that I’d fought back against my opponent and hadn’t given in to the weakness of my body.

  Riley smacked the boy in the back of the head as he walked past him. The boy whirled around with a glare, but when he saw who hit him, he hung his head and shuffled off.

  “Next wall,” Rick said.

  The group moved to a wall twice as high as the one we’d finished.

  “This time, you’ll go up using team work. Two of you stand in front of the wall. The others will step into your hands, you’ll give them a lift until everyone is over. Once the last person in line has gone, your team members will reach over the wall to hoist up the last two people. Any questions?”

  Riley was the first to stand in front of the wall and Adler was second. The rest of us lined up and moved forward until it was my turn. I made a face when I saw how high the wall was and who I had to work with.

  “I’m not the one who can’t be trusted,” Riley snapped at my hesitation.

  “Is it too much to ask you to remember all we’ve shared and to give me the benefit of the doubt?” I put my hand on his arm and he flinched away.

  Riley cupped his hands. The muscles in his arms tightened at the same time my stomach did. He looked ready to chew nails. “Yeah, it is too much to ask. Giving you the benefit of the doubt could cost me my life.”

  “Some things shouldn’t be spoken of,” I said, hoping he’d understand that I couldn’t open up to him.

  He didn’t get it. “Why do you have the dagger?” he asked.

  “I needed to peel an apple.”

  Riley raised his eyebrows at my sarcasm.

  When the agent blew the whistle and told me to move it, I put one foot in Adler’s hands and the other in Riley’s. They lifted me high enough for me to grab the top of the wall and hoist myself up. Once I was over, I leaned back and held out my hand for Riley.

  He stepped into Adler’s hands and with me pulling, raised himself slowly to the top. When he was close enough, I grabbed his leg and helped him swing it over. Then he turned and together, we reached back for Adler.

  “Excellent teamwork,” Rick called out. “Next obstacle.” He led the way across a sandy area to a series of posts driven into the ground. Metal bars of varying heights stretched between them.

  “Go under, then over. Quickly.”

  I went through first, then reached the other side to wait for the others. The girl who’d gone to the hospital with a supposed insect bite rejoined us. I searched her face for any sign that something had gone wrong with Maisy’s surgery but the girl was all smiles. When she saw me looking at her, she patted her side and gave a discreet thumbs up.

  My sister was okay. I finally let myself breathe.

  Rick waved his hands to get our attention. “Lunch break for everyone but the losers. Grab your chow and meet back at the first wall. You have fifteen minutes.”

  Adler walked toward me, barely slowing as he said, “I hope you’re ready. Once they know Maisy is missing everything will hit the fan.”

  RILEY

  Some things shouldn’t be spoken of. She’d as good as admitted she was mentioned in the Untolds. I didn’t have a problem with destiny. It wasn’t something any Supernatural had any control over. What I had a problem with is that Juliet lied and we both knew it. She didn’t openly admit it, but she didn’t deny it, either. If she had known before we started our relationship that she would betray me, then why had she continued it? Why let me fall in love with her? Why’d she have to break my damn heart? I couldn’t picture the future anymore. The world was spinning out of control.

  After the exercise was over, as we walked in uncomfortable silence toward the dining barracks, a Jeep slammed to a stop in front of us. Agent Davis, along with two humans carrying weapons, jumped out. It was easy to read the fury in the agent’s body language.

  “I warned you!” he screamed at Juliet. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

  When no one moved, the humans leveled their weapons at us. “Get on the ground!”

  The humans grabbed me, locking my arms behind my back roughly, and snapped handcuffs on my wrists. They rolled me over and jerked me to my feet.

  Agent Davis was beside Juliet with his knee pressing into her back as he put the handcuffs on. He pulled her up hard, and she fell on her bad leg. The pain showed in her eyes, but she kept her face impassive. Dragging her along behind him, he shoved her into the back of the Jeep beside me before he and one of the humans got into the front.

  The second human jogged after the Jeep, keeping his gun pointed at our heads.

  Juliet’s leg pressed against mine, and I could feel her fear. I knew she wasn’t afraid for herself. She was thinking of her sister.

  Bypassing the hospital, Agent Davis directed the human to drive to a metal shipping container behind it. The gray doors were guarded by soldiers.

  The human parked the Jeep, and the agent jerked Juliet out by a cruel grip on her upper arm while the other humans took me.

  At the doors, the agent barked at the soldier to let him in. Inside, the first area was a waiting room with several chairs and a sofa. The rest of the space was made up of several rooms. Other agents milled about, and none of them looked surprised to see Agent Davis or us.

  I stumbled over a slight incline in the floor, and the human slapped me upside the head, making my ears ring. He stopped outside one room and shoved me into it. There was a lone metal chair facing a large expanse of glass.

  When the glass flooded with light from the room on the other side, I realized it was two-way glass. Agent Davis pushed Juliet into the room I could see into. Large speakers were mounted in the corners, and an oversized monitor was secured between them.

  “Sit.” The agent pointed her to the only chair in the room.

  Juliet looked around. “Why am I here?”

  He stepped from the room without answering. The click of a lock twisting on the outside of the
room was loud enough to reach me.

  The speakers crackled to life as the agent’s voice boomed. “Your kind always has to learn the hard way.”

  Juliet jumped up from the chair. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You’re supposed to cooperate. I warned you Maisy would pay. Did you think we wouldn’t be able to find where Adler hid them? Huh? You were wrong to trust the Supernaturals.”

  Seeing Juliet’s panic, knowing how evil Agent Davis was, made me fear for the lives of the children. I struggled to free myself from the handcuffs.

  The monitor in front of Juliet flickered to life, showing the agent with Maisy in another room. He touched her arm with a device and sparks danced on her arm. Maisy screamed. I couldn’t take hearing Maisy in pain and struggled harder against the handcuffs. The more I fought for my freedom, the more my anger grew. Once I was free, I would kill the agent so he’d never hurt another child.

  Juliet whirled toward the door, running at it as hard as she could, slamming her shoulder against it to no avail. “No!” she begged. “Please!” When there was no response but the continuation of Maisy’s screams, Juliet stopped and took a step back. Lowering her head, she squeezed her eyes closed, her jaw locked. In seconds, the room she was in began to hum, softly at first, then louder. All around her, blue energy flickered, snapping around the room, seeking a way out. She yanked her hands free of the handcuffs as if they were made of paper.

  The air in the room crackled, and the walls began to shake. When she straightened her shoulders and flexed her fingers, fire danced in the center of her hands. She lifted her arms toward the ceiling and the fire twirled from her palms, circling her head like a halo, changing color from red to black. Her power enveloped her in a raging inferno, but didn’t consume her. The seven suns in her eyes radiated with laser-like brightness as she glanced at the two-way mirror. It was Juliet and yet it wasn’t.

  I’d never seen anything as beautifully dangerous as the girl before me. She was a warrior determined to kill. Holding her arms out, with her hands extended toward the walls, she let out a battle cry and the room blew apart.

  The force of the wall slammed me into the opposite side of the room. I dropped to the ground and scrambled to my feet in time to see one of the humans outside the destroyed room pull a weapon on Juliet and fire it.

  She held her hand out at him. Her power consumed him until he was nothing but ash.

  “Oh my God,” I whispered. I had no idea how strong she really was or the level of destruction she could wreak when she didn’t control her power.

  I raced out of the destroyed room. In her rage, she’d forgotten about her fail-safe. Despite what I knew about her future betrayal of me, love wasn’t something that died in an instant and I still cared for her. If she used too much of her power, she would die.

  “Juliet! Stop!”

  She didn’t break stride as she ran toward the room where her sister was held. I couldn’t let her die, leaving Maisy an orphan. It would be the last thing she’d want. If I could get her to give me two seconds and hold her fire, I could explain I’d rescue Maisy myself.

  Launching into the air, I tackled her, pinning her arms by her sides.

  She wiggled and squirmed trying to get my weight off her. “Stop moving before you hurt yourself and listen to me. If you don’t calm down, you’ll blow your fail-safe. There isn’t a backup.”

  Her body went limp and I relaxed my hold. A foolish mistake on my part. She’d gone limp to fool me. She bucked me off, then leaped to her feet and slammed her hand on my chest with her palm poised over my life force. “Henry implanted more than one fail-safe. Keep your distance or I’ll kill you to get to Maisy.” She curled her fingers inward slightly, and that simple act carried enough power to lift me off my feet. Her power snapped and sparked. The heat from it caused blisters to break out on my arms.

  She released me and turned to go. I wouldn’t follow this time. I had to get off base to the Supernaturals waiting in the woods. If this was the power Juliet was bringing to the table to protect the president, I had to rethink our strategy. Otherwise, there was no way anyone would make it out of the battle alive, except for her.

  Chapter 18

  JULIET

  I raced toward the room. Maisy’s screams became louder every step I took. Rick tried to stop me. I slashed my palm at him. He recoiled when the energy wrapped around him, holding on like the arms of an octopus. The force threw him backward, sliding him along the floor.

  The guard outside the room where Maisy was held stepped in front of me, aiming his gun at me. I grabbed the tip of the gun, melting it with my power. He dropped it and backed up. “Get out,” I said. He turned and ran.

  Agent Davis looked up when the door blew apart. The smugness on his face changed into horror, then fear. Maisy was in the corner behind him, holding her arm and whimpering.

  The agent backed away, holding his hands out in front of him. “Hold on. She’s alive.”

  “You’re not.” I fired at him, hitting him in the shoulder. He yelled and fell against the wall.

  He clutched a hand over the wound. “I wasn’t going to kill her.”

  I fired again, this time hitting him in the leg. The skin blackened and he screamed as he plastered himself against the wall. He fumbled for his gun, and I hit it with a hard shot of power, fragmenting the weapon, embedding fragments into the ceiling. I wanted this man dead, and I wanted him to die slowly and painfully.

  I hit him with a burst of power to the knee and he screamed, clutching it as he rolled on the ground. I would destroy him piece by piece.

  “Juliet?” Maisy’s soft voice reached through the killing haze racing through me. “I want to go home.”

  I blinked, breathing hard. The side where one of the fail-safes was ached and I felt sick. I lowered my hands. Keeping an eye on the agent, I went to the corner and scooped Maisy up, holding her tight. “I’m sorry he hurt you.”

  She nodded and buried her face in my shoulder. I turned around to get us out of there. I was through. Whatever it took, I was getting the children off the base. The humans could perish for all I cared.

  Rick burst into the room with his gun drawn.

  “Do something,” Agent Davis screamed at Rick.

  “Juliet, stop.”

  I kept moving toward Rick, and he shot me in the arm. A stinging sensation followed as it tore into me. The end of a pellet poked halfway out of my skin, disrupting my power. Frantic to protect my sister, I lowered Maisy to her feet and grabbed at the pellet. Before I could pull it out, two humans were on me, slamming me to the floor, bruising my jaw. They kept their knees on my back and on my legs as they handcuffed me and attached shackles to my ankles.

  A female agent pushed her way into the room and held her hand out for Maisy.

  My sister was crying, looking fearfully at me. “I’m okay, go with her. She won’t hurt you. She knows what will happen to her if she does.” The agent raised her eyebrows, shot Rick a nervous glance, then escorted Maisy from the room.

  As I lay on the ground with the dirty floor against my face, I didn’t take my gaze off Agent Davis. “The second I get the chance, I’m coming for you,” I said.

  He hauled himself to his feet, dripping blood, and hobbled over to me. Putting his hand on the side of my cheek, he pressed it harder into the floor until my jawbone creaked. He put his lips against my ear. “You don’t know what the hell you’re up against.” Pulling back, he said, “Trying to rescue Maisy worked out real well for you, didn’t it?”

  Rick shoved him away. “You’re out of line.”

  Agent Davis stood. “Don’t try to pull that seniority crap on me. Have you forgotten what’s at stake?”

  “I can’t allow you to violate Article 3 of the Hostile Alien Treatment Convention.”

  “Brutality is the only language these monsters understand. I know how to control them.”

  Rick got in his face. “Yeah? Is that why she kicked your ass? Because you k
now how to control them.”

  Agent Davis looked ready to explode. Rick pushed his jacket to one side and put his hand on the butt of his gun. To the humans holding me down, he said, “Escort Agent Davis to the hospital to have his injuries taken care of.”

  One of the humans hesitated. “But sir—”

  “Go,” Rick said firmly.

  “Where is the agent taking my sister?” I asked as he helped me up.

  “She’ll be moved to a room in the White House.”

  This wasn’t good. I’d screwed up. Instead of helping, my actions pushed events into fast-forward. “Can you help me get her?”

  He reached for my arm. Twisting the pellet back and forth, he wiggled it until it popped free. “No. Too much heat.” He pressed his thumb and index finger on either side of the hole, pinching my skin to stop the bleeding.

  “He would have killed Maisy,” I said. Nausea rose within me.

  “By attacking him all you did was prove to the president Supernaturals are dangerous and need to be eradicated. Agent Davis wanted you to react so he could catch you out of control on video. You played right into his hands.”

  I could apologize for the way I’d acted, but it would be a lie. The truth was, I wasn’t sorry for going after the agent. I wanted to kill him. In any species, those who hurt children were the kind of monsters who deserved to die, and I didn’t mind being their escort to death.

  “Are you taking me to the prison sector?” I was having trouble enunciating the words.

  “For what? Protecting your sister?” He shook his head. “No and I’ll put Davis on report for what he did. Probably won’t do a whole lot of good. He comes from a long line of FAD agents. His uncle heads up the unit, so I doubt anything will be done.”

  He removed my handcuffs and the shackles.

  “What about the human I killed?”

  “There are no videos showing you killed him. It’ll be Agent Davis’s word against yours.”