Reckoning

by Sonya Weiss

  “No, there’s no one around the prison sector.” He bowed his head and stared at his shoes.

  “Come on, Stone. Stop playing and help me.”

  He raised his head. “I love you and I’m your friend. You know that. But I can’t let you stop Riley.”

  I gripped the bars, struggling not to panic, not to blurt out what I wasn’t free to share. “No, no, Stone. Listen to me. I have to get to the president.” I stared at him, willing him to nod his head. “I have to.”

  He didn’t budge. “Tell me why.”

  “I can’t.”

  He covered my hands with his. “I swear nothing will happen to Maisy or the other children. I’ll give my life before I’ll let that happen.”

  I pulled my fingers out from under his and snaked my hand through the bars to grab his arm. Jerking hard, I pulled his face into the bars. “Don’t do this. I need you to trust me.”

  With ease, Stone freed himself from my grasp. “I need you to trust me.”

  I searched frantically for a way I could clue Stone in without breaking the silence I was ordered to keep by the Untolds. “Not everything is as it seems. You can’t trust what you think you know to be the truth.”

  “You’re here because of me,” he said. “I’m the one who inserted Maisy into the virtual game. I knew you would think the agent did it. I wanted you locked up here for your own protection.” His jaw clenched and he dropped his gaze to the floor.

  “Stone.” I smacked the bars. “Take the damn pellet out, now.”

  He took two steps back. “Juliet—”

  A piercing alarm shrieked across the base.

  Voices yelling and gunfire could be heard through the walls of the barracks.

  “We must have invaded the base early,” Stone said as he turned to leave.

  “Stone! You can’t leave me.” I trembled and gasped for air, on the verge of hyperventilating.

  He ran toward the door.

  “Get back here!” I clung to the bars, clung to the hope he’d return and help me escape.

  He didn’t. I sank to the floor. First Riley and now Stone. I looked up at the ceiling. Now what? Riley hated me. Stone left me locked up. Defenseless. I balled my hands into fists. “You’re a cruel one, destiny. Take, take, take. You’re good at that. When do you ever give?” I dropped my head into my hands, hating that all I could do was wait.

  The door opened and someone ran toward me. I got up. Stone had changed his mind. He hadn’t left me. I smiled, eager to see him, but my smile quickly disappeared when Agent Davis came into view.

  “You finally have the perfect opportunity to kill me while I’m defenseless. Coward.” I turned my back to him. “Go ahead. Shoot me in the back.”

  A key turned in the lock, and the cell door swung open. I spun around to face him.

  “Make no mistake about it, Juliet. I despise you. But I know what this world needs, what my people need. Turn around so I can take out the pellet.”

  When I gaped at him, he took out his gun and handed it to me. “Would I give you this if I was lying?”

  I checked it to see if it was loaded. It was.

  Something sharp sliced into me. I hissed as my back turned slick with blood.

  “Almost got it. There.”

  I turned around to see him holding up the pellet. He looked at me over the tip of it. “We may hate each other, but we’re on the same side.”

  I smiled at him and when he turned around, I hit him in the back of the head with the butt of the gun. “Same side, huh? Not a chance in hell.” I dragged his body into the cell, dropped the gun into his lap, and locked the cell.

  The humans had suspected an attack on the base was coming, but they’d thought it would come at night under the cover of darkness. It’s what I would have done, but not Riley. Like his father, he knew how to win at war.

  I ran for the door. I had to grab Nixie and get to the White House.

  RILEY

  Strategizing about war and the best way to do away with the humans was one thing when seeing it spread out across a hologram battlefield. My father had color-coded the battle scenes with yellow representing the humans. “Yellow for cowardice,” he’d said with a smile. Blue for the royals. He should have added red, the color of the blood humans and Supernaturals alike shed when injured or dying.

  I hadn’t started the Great Extinction. Hadn’t wanted to be part of passing out death to humans like it was a party favor. I’d given orders to capture and not to kill. Easier said than done. The humans had no intention of peacefully cooperating.

  We needed these humans contained, needed them shut down to prevent them from flanking us as we fought our way into the White House. This was the closest military base, the point where the humans would rally and continue to fight if we didn’t take it down.

  The battles my father had fought on Shimea Prime had been small skirmishes. Little uprisings quickly quelled and the instigators publicly executed at the foot of the blue mountain that had risen above the castle on our home planet. Gaining a taste for battle had caused him to spend days plotting out the most ruthless, the most effective method for invoking surrender. I would do the same.

  While the majority of the Supernaturals secured the base, Adler and I would take one of the Jeeps to the White House. As if my thoughts had been brought to life, Adler pulled up in the Jeep, grinning from ear to ear.

  “The backup team is on the way to the White House to wait for our arrival, sir. I’ve destroyed the remaining transportation.”

  “Well done.” I moved around to get into the passenger side when Adler held his hand out toward me, palm side out. For a split second, I thought I’d trusted the wrong Supernatural, and he was trying to kill me, but then he screamed, “Duck!”

  I ducked and a volley of Supernatural fire shot harmlessly over my head. What the hell? I turned around and came face to face with Juliet.

  “Don’t,” she said when she caught me slowly lifting my hand.

  Dr. Death moved stealthily forward, her eyes glimmering, her focus on Juliet. A smirk spread across her lips and her eyes turned feverish. Her arms reached out as if in eager anticipation.

  “Juliet!” Nixie warned.

  Juliet used enough power to blow the woman in half. My body tensed, and I jerked my head back, gaping at the sight of Dr. Death’s intestines flying through the air and splattering on the ground. I glanced at Adler. Nixie shoved a pellet gun into the side of his neck and squeezed the trigger. He let out a yelp and clawed at his neck.

  She motioned with the tip of the gun. “Get out and stand beside Riley.”

  “Do you know what you’ve done?” Adler asked her.

  “Yes,” she said and fired again, this time, hitting him in the chest.

  I moved forward and Juliet fired at me, her power hitting me in the arm. Not strong enough to kill or even injure but strong enough to let me know she wasn’t playing. After what I’d seen her do, I wasn’t about to take a chance and end up with my own body inside out.

  “Walk backward away from the Jeep,” she ordered.

  Nixie pointed the gun at me.

  Adler and I exchanged glances.

  A Supernatural ran up behind Nixie, his hand out, his meaning clear.

  Juliet whipped her hand up and fired at him, blowing off his hand. How cold-blooded. How… I blinked. She ducked her head to hide tears and said gruffly, “Nixie, get in the Jeep.”

  The second the Jeep was out of sight, Adler dug the pellets out of his body, and then together, we went to help the Supernatural Juliet had injured.

  Chapter 24

  JULIET

  Nixie was hyperventilating. “I threatened the king. My head is going on the chopping block. What have I done?”

  “Calm down and drive. Focus. Tell me where we meet afterward?”

  She drew in a deep breath and gripped the steering wheel. “Um…the White House pool cabana.”

  “Good and where will I be with the president until then?”

 
; “The family theater.”

  I shook my head and flustered, she said, “No. The Situation Room.”

  “Right. Where’s the diversion to draw the attention of the other Supernaturals?”

  “The China Room. Make them think we’re in there.”

  “Did you bring—”

  “The taser and phone.” She passed me the phone. “You have the dagger, and Henry will meet you in the Situation Room.” She exhaled. “This will work. It has to.” She flexed her fingers on the steering wheel. “When it’s all over will you tell me why you couldn’t stand with Riley?”

  No. I couldn’t, but I lied and said, “If we survive.”

  She made a noise that was a mixture between a groan and a laugh. “Not funny.”

  On a road near the White House, she pulled over. “I’ll see you inside,” she said as I climbed out.

  Thirty minutes later, I was over the fence, the secret service agents nowhere in sight. I knew that by now, all the alarms were disabled, the communication among the agents disrupted. I ran across the South Lawn. I would gain entrance by going through the West Colonnade and into the West Wing. The unfolding events were leading me closer to the worst moment of my life. In minutes Riley’s blood would be on my hands. My chest hurt. I couldn’t get enough air. My breathing was too fast and I was getting lightheaded. “Stop and focus,” I scolded myself. Don’t think about Riley. Get inside the White House.

  Before I could gain entrance, someone grabbed my arm and jerked me off my feet. “The Supernaturals have already invaded. They’re in the West Wing Lobby,” Agent Davis said. He rose and fired a gun containing the pellets behind us. Two Supernaturals retreated.

  Suspicious, I said, “You’re on my side?”

  He glared at me. “Not a snowball’s chance in hell. But you’re my best bet at saving my people. However, I wouldn’t advise knocking me out again.”

  We started forward when bullets slammed into the ground around us. Pinned down, we couldn’t even lift our heads to see who was shooting at us. When there was a pause in the volley, I peeked up, wondering how many Supernaturals…wait…

  “Humans are shooting at…you?”

  He reached up and removed a pair of contacts, and that’s when I saw the reptilian pupils. Oh my God. I shrank away, then froze in fear, unable to keep moving. “You’re a Ragespawn.”

  I was lying in the grass face to face with my greatest enemy. No wonder he’d treated me the way he had. And Maisy. Had he scratched us? Broken the skin?

  He fired a round of bullets at the humans, driving them away. I tried to back up.

  “Stop,” he ordered. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

  “Your kind killed….”

  “Yeah, yeah, and your kind killed. Listen to me. We only have seconds. The president lied to my people too. She wanted us here to kill the Tazavorn. ‘There are only a few of them,’” he mimicked in a high voice. “It was supposed to be weeks and we’ve been here for years.”

  “So why haven’t you killed me?”

  “I’d like that, but I’ve read your scrolls. I’ve seen the Untolds. If you die, we all die.”

  “What do you want?”

  “To go home. I have family there. A mate and two children I haven’t seen since we fell for the president’s lies. She hid our spaceship and demanded we kill all the Tazavorn before we could leave. That’s why my people started killing humans too.” He ducked and fired off another round as a human advanced on us. “As soon as she brought the Tazavorn to Earth, your leaders stood up to her. Refused to be governed, and that made her realize your people were a powder keg.”

  “I don’t trust you.”

  “I’ve had plenty of chances to kill you. I could have bitten you, scratched you, and my poison would have driven you as crazy as a rabid animal, but I didn’t. Even when you attacked me, I made sure none of my blood got on you.”

  “If you blame the president for being stuck here, then why are you fighting to protect her?”

  Honesty shone from his reptilian eyes. “I have my own reasons for making sure the president is safe.”

  “Where’s Rick?”

  “I haven’t seen him since the Supernaturals attacked the base.”

  “You hurt my sister,” I said.

  “I did what I had to do. You can react to that and attempt to kill me now or you can save your sister.”

  I didn’t hide my hatred of him. “My sister.”

  He reached into a small black duffel bag. “Here.” He passed me a pellet gun and a handful of pellets. “I’ll keep the Supernaturals and the humans off your back. You get to the president.”

  “Okay…” I moved away from him, not turning my back on him. I’d sensed something off about him every time I was near him. I’d thought he was simply an evil human. I shuddered and forced myself to concentrate on the task.

  Getting to the Situation Room wouldn’t be easy. Getting in wouldn’t be any easier. According to Henry, humans were in the room twenty-four-seven. They practically lived there to keep an eye on world intelligence. The room offered a secure way for the president to be able to communicate with world leaders.

  I burst into the room, taking note of the long wood table and black leather executive chairs lined up around it. It could easily become an obstacle or a shield if I needed it.

  The president stood beside the table, and when the secret service agents went for their weapons, she told them to stop. She was a slender woman with blond hair cut short. Her dark eyes were no-nonsense, and though she projected bravery, she was clearly afraid. “There’s no need to shoot. Juliet is here to protect me.” Her statement ended on a high note, as if she was asking and not stating.

  “Where’s my sister?” I demanded.

  She glanced at the national security advisor, and he nodded his head.

  “She’s somewhere secure,” he said.

  “If my sister—”

  The door opened and Agent Davis escorted Henry in. “He’s with Juliet,” he explained when the agents bristled.

  Henry hurried to my side. I looked at the agents and pointed to Henry. “This man cannot be harmed. You have to protect him or everything will go to hell. Understand?”

  The agents looked at the president, and she nodded at them.

  “I’ll save Riley,” Henry whispered in my ear.

  “Provided I don’t damage his life force,” I said, feeling again the enormity of what I was about to do. I had to stop Riley’s heart, but not injure his life force. Henry could bring him back if I was careful.

  As if sensing my inner turmoil, Henry put his hand over mine. “It’s the only way.”

  The door burst open and two Supernaturals spilled into the room. The secret service agents raised their guns to fire, but the Supernaturals took them down before any of the agents could get off a shot. Agent Davis fell and I couldn’t tell if he’d been hit in the exchange or even if he was breathing.

  I whipped up the gun with the pellets and fired, hitting both Supernaturals, hoping they’d retreat, but they didn’t. They advanced toward the president who ran to get behind me.

  “I don’t want to kill you!” I shouted at them.

  “Juliet Sawyer, traitor to the kingdom,” one of them said. “It will be a pleasure to watch you die.”

  I opened my hand and sent a burst of power at their feet. They jumped but didn’t stop. I dropped the gun and raised my other hand, hitting them both simultaneously in the center of their life force.

  Nixie ran into the room, her small face filled with fear. She was breathing fast from exertion. “I found the children, but I couldn’t get into the room. I couldn’t get in because Riley and Adler are—”

  “Right behind her,” Riley said.

  RILEY

  There were times in my life when I’d experience an event and it wouldn’t make sense. This was one of those times. Standing in front of the girl I loved and seeing her cry but still fire her power at me wasn’t something I could understand.


  Getting hit by a purposeful burst of her energy hurt like getting struck by lightning. It made all my nerve endings tingle, and it hurt like hell. I’d barely had time to register that fact before she fired at me again. Not playing, not holding back. Her intent was to kill me and the last sliver of hope I’d held on to vanished.

  I fired back at her, but she launched herself to the right, hit the floor, and rolled, coming up on the side of me. Know your enemy’s weak areas and hit him there. Hadn’t I taught her that very thing? She knew my body was still recovering from the beating my father and the leaders had given me and she aimed for my bruised, still-aching ribs.

  I ducked and fired as I moved, hitting her on the arm. She gasped and planted herself beside Henry. When I saw him, the hurt of betrayal deepened.

  She blocked the hit I sent Henry’s way, and he gave me a reproachful look. Like I should know something I didn’t.

  Adler sent a burst of his power at the president, and Juliet counteracted with hers.

  “Don’t kill her. We need the president alive,” I told Adler.

  Nixie cowered in a corner, covering her head with her hands.

  “Juliet, get down!” Agent Rick Simon yelled from the doorway as he fired a round of bullets at a Supernatural who’d sprung into the room. The Supernatural fell face first.

  Adler fired a round of pellets at Juliet. I heard the soft thump as they embedded in her body. She immediately went to work trying to dig them out.

  The president looked stunned as she stared at Adler. “You shot the Supernatural who’s protecting me. You were supposed to be on my side.”

  “I lied. My loyalties have always been with the crown.” Adler held his hand, palm side out at Rick. “Move over there.”

  Rick moved toward the national security advisor and closer to where Agent Davis had fallen. He knelt beside his colleague and checked for a pulse, then helped him sit up.

  The clock was ticking, and I didn’t doubt that if I were as much as one second late, Ide would release the NoG. I moved to take the president. Like an idiot, I took my eyes off Juliet. She hit me with a round of pellets, then charged me, her body slamming into mine with the force of a linebacker’s tackle.