Zenith Rising

by Gavin Zanker

  ‘Terrence, wasn’t it?’ Aiden said to the hulking man with the stutter. ‘You don’t need to do this. You know I didn’t want to hurt you or your brothers. I even let you save—’

  ‘Shut up,’ Dillon barked, jabbing his finger towards Aiden. ‘You don’t get to talk to him.’

  Terrence looked to his brother and nodded firmly in agreement. ‘That’s right, Mr Fielding. No talking.’

  Aiden realised there was no avoiding this fight; these two were set on their revenge right here and now. ‘Are you sure you want to join your brother so soon?’ he asked, his voice calm and quiet.

  A moment passed as they stared each other down. A rivulet of water ran down Aiden’s nose, dripping off his chin. The steam continued to hiss and swirl.

  ‘I’ll tell you what,’ Dillon said, ‘you give him my regards when you get there.’

  In a blur of motion, the Venkarths rushed him. Aiden darted sideways, pulling out the dagger and slashing Dillon across the chest. He recoiled, snarling as he looked down at the line of red spreading across his chest.

  ‘You know no one wins in a knife fight,’ Aiden warned.

  ‘We’ll see about that.’

  With the two men between him and the only exit, Aiden put his back to the wall to stop himself getting surrounded. He waited, watching for his opening as the men approached again, more warily this time.

  The Bowie knife flashed out towards his face. He ducked, but as his head came back up, Terrence’s fist connected with his chin and sent him sprawling to the tiled floor. He rolled away, Dillon’s knife striking the ceramic and shattering a tile where he had just fallen. He tried to get to his feet but slipped on the wet surface. The Venkarths came at him, punching, kicking, and lashing out with the knife.

  Aiden did his best to fend off the attack, his dagger licking out in a flurry. Scrambling to his feet, he stood to find himself bleeding from multiple stab wounds across his arms and torso. Dillon was holding another slash in his side as blood seeped through his fingers.

  There was a brief pause as Aiden leaned against the wall gasping for oxygen in the drenched air, his eyes flicking between the two attackers. He would have to do something drastic to get through this. Going with surprise, he hefted his dagger by the blade and threw it with all his strength. It took Dillon in the chest, plunging between his ribs. The Venkarth staggered backwards. Terrence’s eyes bulged as Dillon toppled, the Bowie knife dropping from his grasp. The larger man screamed with rage, picking up the fallen weapon and charging.

  Aiden tried to dodge sideways, but he wasn’t quick enough. The blade sank into the flesh of his arm, slicing along the length of his bicep. It flashed down towards him again, this time burying itself in his shoulder. Terrence yanked on the handle, but it snagged on Aiden’s collarbone. Aiden screamed in pain as he lunged forward, head-butting the Venkarth and breaking his opponent’s nose with a sickening crack. Bringing his knee up into Terrence’s crotch, he twisted and slammed his elbow across the man’s face. Terrence slumped down, unconscious, or at least stunned. Dillon lay clutching the dagger still buried in his chest, his breath coming in short, wet gasps as his lungs filled with blood and steam.

  Aiden sank back against the tiled wall, taking heaving breaths as lights danced on his vision. He could feel the knife grating against bone as his ribcage rose and fell. He clenched his jaw muscles and grasped the handle with both hands.

  Then wrenched.

  The knife’s edge juddered across his collar bone before coming free, like a blunt axe dislodged from a stump. He choked on his own strained breath as fresh blood flowed down his naked torso. He dropped the Bowie knife, letting it clatter to the tiles. His head was spinning now as he tried to walk away, falling against one of the slick walls. He tried again, ignoring the bloody smear he left on the tiles as he headed back to the changing room. He achingly put his clothes on, gritting his teeth against the blaze thrumming through his body. He caught sight of a mirror as he lurched out to the reception room, barely recognising the bloody, weather-beaten reflection.

  Returning to the clerk at the makeshift desk, he handed over the ticket for his firearm. The woman’s eyes widened as she looked up from her magazine and saw his swollen face and the crimson-soaked towel he held to his shoulder. She handed over his weapon without a word. Aiden slipped it into the holster at his belt, wincing at the pain of moving his arm. He dropped an extra token onto the counter. ‘For the towel,’ he said. ‘And the mess.’

  He stepped outside, and as the cold air hit his lungs, he collapsed. He tried to lift his cheek from the cold metal grating of the walkway, but his limbs wouldn’t respond. Two pairs of dark boots stepped into his field of view.

  Then everything turned to light.

  CHAPTER 49

  LEIGH LEANED BACK against the bunk frame, an empty plate beside her on the floor of her quarters. The meal had been one of her favourites: baked potatoes and crispy roast chicken with plenty of salt. After she had wolfed it down, sharing with Hitch as usual, the rich smell of the meal lingered in the room, making her feel drowsy. She tried sketching out another picture of the dog as he lay asleep at her feet. She still couldn’t get his markings quite right. She scrubbed at the paper with an eraser, almost tearing it, before trying again with the eyeliner pencil.

  As her fingers moved across the page, she wondered about Aiden. If anyone could take care of that psycho Samuel it was him, but she still worried, worried so much it made her insides feel all twisted and wrong. He had been so distant lately, always off doing his own thing. She tried not to resent him for it; she knew he had no choice, there were forces driving him that were a part of his life long before they had even met.

  She sighed and held up her finished picture for Hitch to see. ‘What do you think of this one?’ she asked. The border collie barely managed to open an eye before drifting back into sleep. ‘Well I think it’s good,’ she said sullenly.

  ‘I do too.’

  Leigh jumped. She swivelled to see Zachary standing in the doorway. ‘Oh, it’s just you,’ she said. ‘You scared me.’

  Zachary’s face creased up in what he probably thought was a smile, but there was no joy there. Leigh had learnt a long time ago that people smiled with their eyes and not their mouths; it seemed no one had told Zachary.

  ‘Well?’ she demanded. ‘What do you want?’

  He continued to smile silently at her, and she started to feel uncomfortable. She put her sketch aside and stood up, giving him one of her best scowls. ‘I’m not afraid of you, you know,’ she said, but even she could hear the waver in her voice.

  ‘But you just said that I scared you.’

  ‘That’s not what I meant, and you know it.’ She stuck her chin out, still not sure why he bothered her so much.

  ‘You’re a busy little girl, aren’t you? Always sneaking around the place, poking into corners. No one else sees you. But I see you.’ Zachary’s smile faded a little, but his teeth still showed. ‘I know you’ve been inside my quarters.’

  ‘I don’t know what you mean.’ Leigh said, her heart kicking into overdrive. She nudged her bare foot against Hitch, his familiar warmth reassuring her.

  ‘Yes you do. You’re a terrible liar.’ Zachary sneered at her. ‘A liar and a thief.’

  ‘You’d better watch what you say!’

  ‘Or what?’ Zachary stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. ‘What will you do?’

  Leigh recoiled, pulling out of her pocket the pen knife Aiden had given her. She flicked the blade out with her thumb. ‘I’ll hurt you if I have to,’ she warned.

  ‘I don’t think you could hurt anyone,’ Zachary said. ‘You haven’t got it in you.’

  Images of spurting blood flashed into Leigh’s mind as she imagined sticking the knife into his belly. She willed her arm to move, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. ‘Hitch!’ she yelled, needing him. The dog didn’t respond, he just stretched out on his back and continued sleeping.

  ‘The mutt cert
ainly enjoyed his dinner, didn’t he?’ Zachary said, a gleam in his eye as he took another step forward. ‘He scoffed that chicken right down.’

  Leigh gasped, her gaze flicking back to the motionless animal. ‘You poisoned him?’

  ‘Only a little,’ Zachary said holding up his thumb and forefinger.

  ‘You’re a terrible person,’ Leigh said, moving towards Hitch to check on him. Zachary blocked her path. She froze, swaying slightly, and it occurred to her that she had eaten the chicken as well. ‘You drugged me,’ she said, as the world started to spin out. She tried to scream for help, but her voice sounded muffled, as if coming from a distant room.

  ‘Hand over the knife now,’ Zachary said, taking the blade from her weak grasp and tossing it on the floor. ‘I think it’s time you and I went for a little walk.’

  CHAPTER 50

  AIDEN BECAME AWARE of the sharp, medicinal scent of disinfectant. He opened his eyes, causing a surge of pain to lance through his forehead. Squinting at his surroundings, he found himself lying in his bunk in the Brentford. A wave of nausea rose in his stomach; he leaned sideways and vomited over the side of the bed.

  ‘Try not to move,’ Grace said, from a seat beside him. ‘It took a lot of effort to stitch you up.’

  He tried to speak but his throat was too dry. She held a glass of water to his mouth and he sipped the cooling liquid before resting his head back on the pillow. ‘How did I get here?’ he croaked.

  ‘Julian was worried about you going out alone, so he sent a couple of men after you. They found you unconscious in the street and carried you back here. You’re lucky they found you before anyone else did.’

  ‘How long was I out?’

  ‘About half a day. What happened to you?’

  ‘The tip-off — it was a trap,’ Aiden said. ‘Samuel was never going to be there.’

  ‘What are you talking about? What tip-off?’

  Aiden rubbed his swollen face as he looked around his quarters. Hitch was sleeping soundly on the floor but there was no sign of Leigh. He saw his old pen knife on the floor and frowned; it wasn’t like her to be careless. ‘Where’s Leigh?’ he asked.

  ‘You should rest for a while.’

  Aiden caught the tone in her voice and tried to sit up. ‘Where is she?’

  Grace bit her lip. ‘We can’t find her at the moment. She disappeared a few hours ago. Don’t panic though, we have people looking for her.’

  Aiden blinked rapidly as he processed the information. Leigh was gone. But where? He remembered the paper she had tried to show him before he left. He winced as he pulled it out of his pocket and unfolded it.

  The rebels will be dealt with soon enough, and the Syndicate with them. Carson Waters is to be the real problem. Crippling trade and cementing their dependence by destroying the Hermes will open up an opportunity. Accomplish this and consider your loyalty proven.

  It took Aiden a moment to wrap his muddled thoughts around the note. ‘Where’s Zachary?’ he asked, a slow dread inching over his skin.

  ‘We’re not sure.’ Grace fidgeted in her seat. ‘A few Syndicate guards are unaccounted for as well.’

  ‘It was him. It was Zachary.’ Aiden’s words tumbled out in a breathy panic. ‘He’s taken her. He lied about Samuel to try and kill me, and now he’s taken her.’

  ‘Stay calm,’ Grace said, putting a hand on his chest to keep him still. ‘Just keep breathing. Julian has already sent out men to look for her.’

  Aiden felt like someone was sitting on his chest. ‘How did he get to her? How did he get past Hitch?’

  ‘We think he was drugged. He’s been sleeping for hours now and I can’t seem to wake him.’

  ‘Is he okay?’ Aiden said, trying again to brush her hand away and sit up. ‘I have to make sure he’s okay. I have to get Leigh back.’

  Grace pushed him back down, gently but firmly. ‘If I can stop you getting up, what use will you be out there? Listen to me: you need to rest.’

  Aiden slammed the side of his fist against the wall and let out a strangled cry; it was a sound of unchecked despair and frustration. How could he have been so blind? Leigh had tried to tell him something important and he hadn’t listened. He had been too caught up in his own problems. Now she was in danger, and it was all his fault. He slumped back onto the bed, his eyes starting to water as air caught in his throat. He cursed his weakness; his selfishness.

  He had to find her — he had to find her before something terrible happened.

  CHAPTER 51

  LEIGH PACED AROUND the circular, glass-walled room, weaving between the thick, stone pillars that disappeared up into the high ceiling. She couldn’t remember how she had arrived here, or even where here was exactly. With no natural light she didn’t even know what time it was. Having woken up a few hours ago and finding the doors at each end of the room locked, she had spent the time counting the strange-looking metal loops set into rivulets in the floor. Without her knife or pistol, she had tried kicking at the glass walls, but they felt stronger than brick. Beyond them were rows of seats facing the centre, as though the room she was trapped in was a theatre. Though there we no dancing poles in this chill, harshly-lit room.

  Frustrated and tired of pacing, she started stamping around on the tiled floor. One of the tiles had a hair-line crack running through it; she imagined it was Zachary’s face as she stamped on it. She brought her heel down extra hard and the tile cracked, causing a shard of ceramic to chip away. She picked it up and ran her finger over the sharp edge.

  She heard a key clinking in one of the doors and quickly pocketed the shard as Zachary entered. ‘How are you doing?’ he asked as he strolled over to her, smiling that creepy mannequin smile.

  She didn’t reply, just scowled at him.

  ‘Well I figured you might be bored,’ Zachary continued, ‘and I noticed back at the Brentford that you like to draw. So I brought you these.’ He held up a couple of coloured markers and some paper.

  Leigh eyed the markers suspiciously as he handed them to her. ‘Why?’ she asked.

  ‘Why what?’

  ‘Why are you giving me these?’

  ‘I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable. I’m really not as bad as you think. Maybe we can be friends. You know, friends who do favours for each other.’

  ‘You want me to give you pens?’

  ‘No,’ Zachary said, his eyes creasing into almost genuine amusement for once. ‘I was thinking something a little more… personal.’

  Leigh wrinkled up her nose as she realised what he meant. She tossed the markers at his feet and backed away. ‘You’re sick! You stay away from me!’

  ‘Sick?’ Zachary sounded offended. ‘You’re a pretty girl. You think I didn’t notice you staring at the guards back at the Brentford?’

  ‘I wouldn’t touch you if you begged me,’ she spat, folding her arms, suddenly conscious of her growing chest.

  Zachary looked disappointed before shrugging. ‘You’ll come around. We have plenty of time to get to know each other yet.’

  ‘Is that why you kidnapped me?’ she demanded. ‘No woman will touch you so you have to force yourself on a kid?’

  ‘I thought you weren’t a kid,’ Zachary said, his eyes dancing as he used her words against her.

  She scowled at him again. She usually enjoyed scowling, but it didn’t make her feel any better this time. Unable to remember the last time she had felt this alone, she wished Aiden and Hitch were here.

  ‘You’re thinking about Aiden, aren’t you?’ Zachary asked. ‘You’ll forget him soon enough. He needed to be brought down a peg or two; always going around thinking he’s better than everyone else.’

  ‘You know he’ll come for me.’ Leigh wasn’t sure if she believed it herself after the way she had treated him. She was such an idiot, why did she have to throw a tantrum right before he left?

  ‘I don’t think so. Your arrogant boyfriend has no idea where we are for one.’

  ‘He’s not my boyfrie
nd. And he’s not arrogant. He’s just smart, that’s all. Smarter than you.’

  ‘Oh, but he can’t be that smart, can he?’ Zachary said, polishing his nail on his cuff distractedly. ‘He fell for the trap I set for him after all. Like a fool, he actually rushed off, believing Samuel would go to a dirty bath house in the city. I’m two moves ahead of him, and he doesn’t even realise it.’

  ‘What did you do to him?’ she demanded, balling her fists. ‘If you’ve hurt him, I’ll kill you!’

  ‘I didn’t do anything. Honestly, I have no idea what happened to him. I’d wager he’ll probably have trouble breathing after those Venkarth boys are through with him though.’

  Leigh slipped a hand into her pocket, grasping the broken tile and feeling the edge bite into her palm. ‘Why did you betray him? Why did you betray everyone?’

  Zachary clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. ‘Betrayal is just a word losers use to make themselves feel better. Don’t worry though, you’re on the winning side of history now. And believe me when I tell you that the Dawnists are going to win this thing. You have no idea how powerful these people are.’ Zachary tilted his head and took a step closer, his voice softening. ‘Aiden doesn’t care about you, you know that right? You’re just baggage to him.’

  ‘Stop talking,’ Leigh warned.

  ‘Did you notice how he stopped taking you with him? He kept disappearing off on adventures and leaving you behind. That must’ve hurt.’

  ‘I mean it.’ Leigh’s voice started to tremble.

  ‘It’s best he’s gone. You can be with me instead. I’ll look after you. I’m a powerful, respected man now. The Dawnists reward those who are loyal. Unlike the Syndicate, too busy squabbling between themselves over scraps to wield any real power.’ He tried on another smile and reached a manicured hand towards her. ‘No, it’ll just be me and you from here on out.’