by L O Addison
Relief crashed into Lio. “You were able to make contact?”
Beck nodded. “Our comm system came back online about an hour ago. I was able to radio for help and send our coordinates.”
Two men strode inside the barn behind Beck, both of them wearing the dark grey uniform of the Resistance. They nodded a curt greeting to Lio and then turned to Beck, speaking quietly in heavily-accented English. Judging by the way one of the men gave Beck a friendly clap on the shoulder, they were familiar with each other. But their expressions stayed somber, and Lio was able to pick out one word said multiple times: “Cate.”
Beck cringed every time it was spoken, and Lio felt a wave of pity for the man. Lio hadn’t seen Cate get shot. He hadn’t even noticed she was missing until Jamison began shouting her name.
Somehow, that made it worse. One moment, she’d been at his side on the battlefield, helping to guide him away from the downed ship. The next, she’d been sprawled on the ground, her head a mangled mess of red blood and gleaming white bone.
She was gone. Dead. All within a matter of seconds.
A shudder ran through him. He’d seen death before, but it had always been the natural, graceful kind. People growing old and fading away. But now he realized he’d never actually understood death, not until that moment he’d looked back and seen Cate’s corpse.
Lio shook away the memory and looked over at Marin. She was carefully examining the two new Resistance soldiers, her eyes scanning them for any sign of threat. Her grip on her pistol slowly relaxed, but she turned to level Lio with a serious stare.
“Don’t leave my side,” she said in Rhuramenti. Her tone was harsher than he’d ever heard it, and Lio flinched slightly at the sound. Marin ignored his reaction and added, “These people have proven they can’t keep us safe. Don’t go out of my sight for even a moment.”
As she leveled him with a flat stare, Lio could tell it wasn’t just his own safety she was concerned about. Marin was worried he might try to use the Fragment again. A crushing wave of guilt swept over him. Activating the Fragment had broken one of the most vital laws of his people, and he knew Marin had every right to distrust him.
But Lio hadn’t had any other choice. As he’d stared down at Matteo writhing in agony, all he could think of was Cate’s bloody corpse. He couldn’t have just stood back and allowed the same thing to happen to Matteo.
Marin’s expression softened just slightly, and he realized his distress must have been more obvious than he wanted. “I know you had a concussion and weren’t thinking clearly when you used the Fragment,” Marin said quietly. “You weren’t in your right mind last night. I’ll make sure to put that in my report for the Council. As long as that’s made clear, I don’t think you’ll be prosecuted.”
Lio nodded once, struggling to wrap his mind around what Marin was saying. He hadn’t even had time to think about the legal consequences of using the Fragment. The threat of the Ascendancy being alerted to the Fragment seemed far, far more terrifying than any legal repercussions. If they found his Fragment, they could easily use it to track down the Virtue of War, and if that happened...
A shudder ran through him, and he rubbed his hands over his face. He glanced over at the stall in the far corner, where Kaylin was carefully helping Matteo to his feet. Lio knew he should regret using the Fragment, but as he locked eyes with the soldier, he couldn’t bring himself to feel remorse for saving the man’s life.
Matteo eyed him suspiciously from across the barn, and Lio realized it was probably the first time the soldier had ever met a friendly alien. Lio raised his hand and gave an Earthen greeting, waving at the soldier. Matteo hesitated for a long moment. Then he raised his cuffed hands, waving back.
Beck cleared his throat, bringing Lio’s attention back to him. “We’re ready to leave,” the lieutenant said, gesturing to the door.
Lio nodded in response and allowed Marin to help him to his feet. His pain and injuries were gone, but using the Fragment had exhausted him, and his limbs felt like they were weighted down with lead. Marin wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and he was surprised by how gentle her touch was.
She looked over and offered him a small, taut smile, as if sensing his surprise. The message was clear: he may have been a lawbreaker, and he may have disappointed her beyond belief, but he was still her friend.
A small spark of warmth ignited in his chest, far more welcome than the unnatural heat of the Fragment. “Thank you,” he murmured in Rhuramenti.
Marin merely nodded and led him toward the barn doors. Beck strode beside them and said, “Our base at Nice is secure again, and the Wardens have no hope of launching another attack anytime soon. So we’re going to take you there, just like we’d originally planned.”
Lio nodded, a small trickle of relief flowing through him. The base was extremely close, which meant he wouldn’t have to travel far in the transport craft. After the crash, he didn’t think he could handle another long trip in a human ship.
Beck continued out the door, heading toward the idling transport craft that was parked right outside the barn. It was a medium-sized craft that hovered just a few feet off the ground, its thrusters humming loudly as they blew against the scrub grass. To Lio’s relief, the craft was in far better shape than the ship they’d wrecked.
Marin suddenly halted, pulling Lio to the side. She bit her lip, hesitating, but then quietly said in Rhuramenti, “Lio, they know what your pendant is now.”
He nodded gravely.
“We need to take every precaution to guard it,” Marin said, her voice low and urgent. “The power of a Fragment is something most humans would kill for. I don’t care how safe they claim this base is. Trust no one.”
“You don’t need to warn me,” he said. “The only person I trust on this planet is you.”
“Good,” she said. But then her eyes narrowed slightly, and she said, “Keep it that way. Allies are resources, not friends. Don’t let them trick you into thinking differently.”
“I know,” Lio said, nodding.
“You don’t,” Marin said, her blunt tone leaving no room for argument. “You’ve been on five missions as a Collector, all of them peaceful. You’re practically still a child.”
Lio opened his mouth to protest, but Marin held up a hand to stop him.
“I don’t mean that as an insult,” she said. “We all started in your place. It’s only natural. I only say it to remind you to follow the principles developed by the Council. Don’t go making your own judgement calls, because no matter how clever it may seem at the time, I can guarantee you it will only cause trouble.”
Shame burned in Lio’s chest, but he swallowed it back and nodded. “I understand.”
“I’m glad,” Marin said. Then she reached into her supply pack and pulled out a tiny, concealable pistol. Before Lio could protest, she pressed it into his hand.
“If anyone tries to take your Fragment, you must stop them,” she said. “No matter what the cost.”
He shook his head. “I still have the sellio canister you gave me. I don’t need a weapon that can kill.”
“You do,” Marin insisted. “Sellio gas might not be enough to stop someone who wants your pendant.”
Nausea twisted his gut. All he could think of was Cate’s ruined corpse, her blood seeping from her skull. He didn’t ever want to inflict that sort of damage on a living creature. He couldn’t.
But Marin took his hand in hers, bending his fingers and closing them around the pistol.
“Your duty is to shield the universe from the power of the Virtues,” she reminded him, her voice suddenly stern. “No matter what the cost.”
Lio took a shuddering breath and swallowed hard. Then he nodded and tucked the pistol into his belt, silently praying he never had to draw it again.
18
Beck
“What the hell is going on?”
Beck stared across the desk at Aleron Duval, the commander of the Nice base. Beck had worked with him befo
re, and he’d always appreciated the man’s no-nonsense, logical approach to issues. But now that the aging commander was staring him down with a piercing gaze, Beck suddenly understood why some people were terrified of Duval.
“I honestly don’t know what’s going on,” Beck admitted, shaking his head. “This whole thing has turned into a mess.”
It was probably the truest thing he’d ever said. Beck let out a sigh and rubbed his hands over his face. He needed sleep. Badly. But for now, he was trapped in Duval’s private office, trying to explain the situation to the base commander.
Duval cursed and shook his head. Then he jabbed a finger at Beck. “I lost five men today,” he said, his French accent sounding thicker than usual as he angrily spat the words. “I haven’t lost that many people in one day since the Syndicate War. I want answers. Now. Why are the Wardens attacking my base, how the hell did they jam all our communication channels, and who’s this alien bastard you’re transporting around?”
Beck sat back, knocked off balance by the question. “You don’t know who the ambassador is? Or why he’s here?”
“No.”
“But you offered to house him at your base.”
Duval scoffed. “‘Offered’ my ass. I was commanded by our top leaders to shelter him while he visited France. They didn’t tell me who he was or why I’m supposed to be guarding him, and they sure as hell didn’t warn me to expect an attack from the Wardens.”
“Trust me, the attack was entirely unexpected,” Beck said. “No one was supposed to know the ambassador was coming here.”
Duval held up his hands in an innocent gesture. “The leak didn’t come from my end. I was ordered to keep silent about the alien taking shelter here. I told a few of my top people to expect some high-security visitors, but that was it.”
Beck nodded. “If the Wardens were able to knock our communication system offline, they probably were also able to tap into it. I imagine that's how they figured out the ambassador was coming here.”
“And you think that prompted the attack?”
Beck considered this a moment and then nodded. “They bombed your tarmac, didn’t they?”
“The tarmac, the hangar, and the building we usually host visitors in," Duval said. "Plus they were targeting the ships flying into the base, as you well know.”
“They wanted the ambassador dead,” Beck said grimly. “Somehow they must have known when he was due to arrive.”
Duval cursed in French and rubbed a hand over his short gray beard. “I need details, Beck,” he said. “Tell me exactly what’s going on with this ambassador.”
Beck hesitated. "I'm not sure I'm permitted to. I'd have to get permission from Nathan Hayes."
Duval nodded stiffly and pushed a digital tablet across the desk toward Beck. He pointed to the screen, where a message was displayed.
Beck let out a sigh of relief as he read it. The message was from Nathan, and it simply said, "Have Beck Wright fill you in. I can't send details if comms might still be compromised."
"I want to know everything," Duval said, staring Beck straight in the eye.
Beck took a deep breath and then began rattling off all the facts he knew. Duval listened in silence, his expression growing grimmer as Beck told him everything. Why Lio had come to earth, the Virtue he was after, how an alliance with the Rhuramenti hung in the balance. When Beck finally finished the story, Duval slowly shook his head.
“So all this over some sort of holy trinket,” he said. “What a waste.”
Beck hesitated. Then he carefully said, “I don’t think the Virtue of War is just a relic from Rhuramenti mythology. That’s what the Rhuramenti claimed it was, but…”
Duval raised his eyebrows. “But what?”
“You can’t repeat what I’m about to tell you,” Beck said. “I need you to promise me that.”
Duval hesitated only a moment before nodding. “I’m getting damned tired of secrets, but I trust your judgement. If you think this is something that shouldn’t be repeated, I’ll keep it between us.”
Beck nodded in thanks and then said, “The ambassador has some sort of pendant that’s made from a piece of a broken Virtue. He called it a Fragment, I think. It’s… Honestly, I don’t even know how to describe it. But it’s some sort of technology that can heal people instantaneously. It saved the life of the Warden deserter we found.”
Duval tilted his head, an uncertain frown creasing his lips. “So you think that might be why the ambassador is after the Virtue? It’s some sort of advanced healing technology?”
“No,” Beck said, shaking his head. “The Fragment he had was from a Virtue of Healing. But the Virtue he’s after is called a Virtue of War.”
“Do you know what it does?”
“I’m not sure,” Beck said. “Lio wouldn’t give us much information. But judging by the way he talks about it, it’s dangerous. And if his Fragment is anything to judge by, it’s also powerful. More powerful than any sort of technology I’ve ever seen.”
Duval sat back in his chair, crossing his arms as he considered this. “So you think this Virtue the ambassador is chasing after is some sort of weapon of mass destruction?”
“I suspect so,” Beck said.
“And right now the Wardens have this weapon in their base?”
Beck nodded.
Duval cursed and muttered something under his breath in French. Then he looked up at Beck and said, “We need to get that Virtue back from the Wardens. As quickly as possible.”
“I know,” Beck said.
“I’m giving you two days,” Duval said.
Beck frowned. “What do you mean?”
"I know Hayes wanted to keep your mission small and discreet, but I'm not convinced that's the best option." He nodded to Beck. "You and your team have two days to find the Virtue and safely retrieve it. If you're not successful by then, I'll be escalating this to a more… forceful mission."
Beck raised his eyebrows. "You want to attack the Wardens’ base?"
"I want that Virtue out of their hands," Duval said. "No matter what it takes."
Beck shook his head. "Their base is well-guarded. If you try infiltrating it with a large force, a lot of people are going to die."
"I know," Duval said grimly. "But if your team can’t get that Virtue back within the next forty-eight hours, it’s going to be our only choice.”
19
Kaylin
Kaylin managed to stay awake long enough to land at the Resistance base, get food for both Red and herself, and collapse in the locked sleeping quarters that Beck escorted her to. Then she slept.
She had no idea how long she was out, because there was no clock in sight. The sleeping quarters had been stripped of all electrical devices, leaving her with no chance of devising a makeshift tool to help her escape. Beck’s idea, she was sure. He’d always been annoyingly thorough.
But Kaylin was too grateful for the sleep to be angry about being locked up again. At least they’d given her an actual bedroom this time, instead of a concrete prison cell.
She peered around the dim room as she woke. There were no windows in sight, and the door was still firmly shut, sealing off the only possible escape route. Red was curled up at her side, his snout resting on her shoulder and the tip of his tail wrapped around her hand. His eyes blinked open as Kaylin began to stir, and she stared into their silver depths.
Red’s eyes looked just like they always had—loving, sweet, attentive. But not intelligent. They lacked that bright spark she saw in the eyes of humans and other related species. It only confirmed what she’d always assumed about Red—he was a little smarter than the average dog, but not on par with a human, or even close.
“How the hell did you know to unblock that door?” she whispered, running her fingers gently down the scales of his neck. The more she thought about their escape from the wrecked ship, the more bizarre it seemed. But she couldn’t think of a single rational explanation for it.
A knock sounded a
t the door, and Kaylin scrambled upright. Red grumbled in protest as she moved away from him, but she shushed him.
The door slid open, and Kaylin leaped to her feet, clenching her hands. She relaxed as soon as she got a look at the figure silhouetted in the door. Beck. He nodded in greeting as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, making sure to lock it.
“Feeling better?” he asked, reaching over to flip on the light.
Kaylin cringed away from the sudden burst of fluorescent light and rubbed at her eyes. But she nodded, forcing herself to focus and clear her mind of sleep. “Much better,” she replied. After hardly sleeping for two days, resting in an actual bed felt like a luxury.
A chill brushed over her skin, reminding her that she only had a borrowed t-shirt and sweatpants to shield her from the cold air of the base. And from Beck’s eyes. He was staring at her with an intense expression she couldn’t quite read, something between confusion and anxiety. She crossed her arms over her chest, struggling to look composed as she faced Beck in the makeshift pajamas.
“How’s Matteo?” she asked.
“Fine,” Beck said. “The base doctors cleared him. They say he’s perfectly healthy.”
“What are you going to do with him?” Kaylin asked.
He shook his head. “I’m not sure. Commander Duval runs this base, so it’ll be up to him to decide.”
Kaylin bit her lip. “I think he was telling the truth. He really doesn’t want anything to do with the Wardens anymore.”
“I told Duval the same thing, and he hardly seemed surprised,” Beck said. “The Wardens scooped up hundreds of orphaned teens after the Syndicate invasion. They don’t really even count as Warden recruits, just desperate kids.”
“So you’ll let Matteo go?” Kaylin asked hesitantly.
