“We have a job to do here,” Allie said. “I have to talk to you.”
“I suppose that’s something.”
“Who knows, maybe we’ll end this war today, and then I won’t have to talk to you again.”
“At least until the next war.” Livia smirked.
“You can’t say sarcasm doesn’t run in the family,” Allie muttered.
“There’s our sign,” Livia said, as the ground began to shake. An explosion of black stone darkened the sky.
“Now,” Allie said as the second guard abandoned his post at the sound of screams coming from Brecken’s castle in the distance.
Livia followed close behind. Allie ducked through an open archway into the tower, the pull of the tower flinging her to the ground once inside. The sounds of battle ceased and the stillness of the prison world weighed heavy in the air. Dusting off her hands and knees, Allie stood, taking a moment to get her bearings. A labyrinth of crumbling ruins and muddy roads sprawled out before her for miles. A dark and dreary sky loomed overhead providing little light to the world below. Allie shivered, calling forth images of warmer clothing to protect her from the freezing temperatures.
“Better than the last one,” Livia said, her voice sounding like an alarm behind Allie.
“Jeez you scared me.” Allie ran her hands over her arms.
“The last one was a fire world.” Livia updated her own clothing to keep warm.
“This is awful,” Allie murmured. A crude shed stood at the center of the ruins with a rusted tin roof to keep the prisoners sheltered from the elements. Filthy men and women wandered around aimlessly, lost in Brecken’s special brand of nightmares designed specifically for walkers. Each dragged their feet, weighed down by some unseen force. Some of these walkers had spent years trapped here, well beyond their limitations. Allie wondered if it was even possible for a dream walker to recover from that kind of crazy. Raina had spent more than two years here, and she was still struggling.
“It’s even worse for them,” Livia said. “We’ll never know what torture they’re feeling. What they’re seeing.” Allie and Livia were lucky. Their cognizance of the dreamworld protected their minds from the horrors of Brecken’s prison. They were here, but they were neither a dreamer nor a walker. Neither asleep nor awake.
“Let’s free some walkers,” Livia said, setting off down a path between crumbling walls. “Don’t get lost,” Livia called over her shoulder.
Allie set off in a different direction, keeping her back to the place where she entered the tower. She needed to exit the same way to meet Raina with the prisoners. Allie walked quickly, only stopping to spray paint markers along her path so she could find her way back.
The stench of unwashed bodies hit her first. Most of the prisoners were naked and exposed to the elements; their clothes long since rotted away. The dreamscape itself wasn’t dangerous, but each was trapped within their minds. At least fifty walkers shuffled around the shed, screaming and crying from their madness and whatever pain this prison world brought them.
“Grab them by their leads.” Livia darted ahead, taking up the leashes dragging behind the walkers. Livia had at least ten tethered behind her as she rushed back up the way she came to meet Raina. “Go, now, we don’t have much time.”
Allie raced into the midst of a crowd, gathering up as many leads as she could get her hands on. “Come on, follow me,” she called, yanking on her group of prisoners. They screamed and pulled, but they were so weak, she easily managed seven on her own. But it was slow going back to the tower exit. Allie murmured in a soothing voice, cajoling the walkers to follow her out of their prison.
Daylight nearly blinded her when she stepped through the archway, back into the dreamworld proper. “Come, follow me. Feel the warmth? That’s safety. That’s it, let’s go.”
“I’ve got them,” Navid said, coming up the path to help. “The guards are gone, and Brigs is keeping the rest occupied. We probably have about twenty minutes before they realize what’s happening.”
“I’ll be back with more in a minute.” Allie turned and raced back through the archway and into the toxic dreamscape, passing Livia with another bunch along the way.
This time Allie had to travel beyond the rusted shed, deeper into the labyrinth to collect more prisoners. The sky had grown darker, and it was harder to see. She had no control of this dreamscape, but she brought forth a lantern to light the way. The walkers seemed to respond to the light, like a beacon calling them home. “Yes, little darlings, come this way. I’ll take you home now.” She corralled five more and headed back. This was taking too long, and the remaining walkers were too far apart.
“How much time do we have now?” she asked Navid when she handed off her prisoners.
“Minutes, we need to move faster. The fight is coming to us. How many are left?”
“Not quite half.”
Navid nodded. “Do what you can on this trip back but that’s it; we’ll have to leave the others for another time.”
But there wouldn’t be another time. Brecken wouldn’t let them have a second chance to save these people. They had one more chance to get the rest.
“Make this one count,” Livia called, as she trotted past with her last group of prisoners, her smallest yet.
Allie darted back into the dreamscape, searching for the remaining walkers. With all the commotion, they were shuffling back toward the center, but they were still too far apart. Allie needed to get them to come to her. The lantern worked before—maybe she just needed a brighter light with a little warmth. It was so cold in here and they shivered violently.
Allie focused on a mental image of a bonfire burning tall and bright. It took her longer than usual, but fire wasn’t always easy. “That’s right,” she screamed, “come to the warmth.” These walkers emerged from the deepest part of the labyrinth. Dirty and battered, they resembled concentration camp survivors. There was no way she would leave any of them behind. The ground shook again. Brigs and the other walkers were busy battling Brecken’s forces, but the fight was drawing closer and closer. She had to finish her part and get back to the keep with the others.
“Let’s go, my littler walkers,” she crooned softly, trying to set them at ease, grasping their leads as they wandered closer to the fire. As she headed toward the edge of the labyrinth, the walkers began to tug on the lines. They didn’t want to leave the fire.
“Come on, it’s warm and sunny where we’re going.” She tugged harder, digging her heels into the mud and slop at her feet. “We have clothes. Lots of clothes. A warm fireplace and food. Yes, that’s it, keep moving with me guys. We’re almost there.” As she grasped the last tether, Allie turned to make her way out. If any remained, she couldn’t help them now. “Want to go home, guys? We’re going to wake you up and get you back to your families real soon, just keep following the sound of my voice.” She didn’t know if it was helping, but they slowly made their way out of the tower.
“Move it, Allie,” Quinn shouted, his horse rearing back. The battle was here, and she had to get out of the way. She wasn’t an asset in a walker battle.
The ground exploded at her feet, spraying a cloud of dust and rock around her. “Come on.” She tugged on the lines. “We’re going home.” Allie charged through the forest, moving faster now that her walkers were away from the nightmare of the dreamscape.
“I’ve got them,” Raina cried, wrenching the leads from her grasp and whisking them away to safety.
“That’s it,” Allie shouted over the din of the battle. “What now?”
“Where is Dad?” Livia asked, her eyes growing wide.
Allie glanced around, turning in circles. “He has to be with Quinn. They were handling the guards. I just saw him on the trail.”
Allie and Livia charged back through the forest, searching for Navid. They moved fast, running to avoid the walkers locked in battle, their forms and weapons changing so fast, Allie and Livia couldn’t even comprehend how the battle was playing
out.
“You don’t think he’s … in there?” Livia asked, as they arrived back at the black tower.
“Oh God, no.”
Allie and Livia sprinted for the archway.
“Navid!” Allie screamed as she ran into the labyrinth.
“Dad!” Livia shrieked.
“There.” Allie spotted him roaming the nightmare world with eyes locked on some horrific scene.
Allie and her sister ran together, focused on their father.
“No,” Livia cried as the labyrinth began to fade and crumble around them. The sky lightened and the ruins vanished. The mud dried around their feet, leaving Livia and Allie standing in an empty space where the tower once stood.
“Dad!” Both women screamed for their father, but he disappeared with a whisper of Brecken’s voice.
“He’s mine now.”
“No!” Allie ran to where she’d seen her father last.
“I will end you,” Livia screamed, falling in the dust on her knees, her wails echoing through the silent forest. “I will tear this world apart until I find you, Brecken!”
“No.” Allie shook her head, fighting off the tears stinging her eyes. “No.” Her voice faded to a choked whisper. Why did she always lose the ones she loved? But no. Navid is safe in the waking world back in the underground. “We have to go, Livia.” Allie marched across the dusty clearing, the sounds of battle fading in the distance. Brecken was retreating, along with Navid as his newest captive.
“He’s gone.” Livia wiped the tears from her face. “We have to get him out of there.” She lunged toward Brecken’s castle.
“We will.” Allie tugged Livia back. “We have to wake him up.”
“Let’s go.” Livia was screaming for Santi to wake her up before Allie finished speaking.
“Darius, pull me back!” She hated this helpless feeling. “Get me out of here and wake Navid,” she begged and in the next breath, Allie’s eyes snapped open and she lunged for her father.
“Navid,” she cried.
Livia was already trying to wake him with a rough slap of her palm across his face, but he remained locked in the dreamworld.
“We have to get back there,” Livia demanded. “Take us now.” But the walkers were all still fighting in the dreamworld.
“Send someone after him,” Allie begged Santi. “Call Raina. Where’s Raina?”
“She isn’t here, Allie. You’re confused.” Santi took a step toward her. “Raina is at the keep in the dreamworld, but her body is in the city with Brigs and the others.”
“Allie?” Quinn’s eyes flew open. “What happened?”
“Navid,” Livia sobbed. “He’s in the prison world.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes I’m sure. We saw him. Get me back there, now.” Livia’s eyes were wild with fury and fear.
“Please, take us back. We’re wasting time,” Allie said, grasping her sister’s hand.
“I can’t, Allie. I’m so sorry,” Quinn said. “I love and respect Navid more than you could ever know. That man saved my life, but I cannot send my walkers after him. Brecken has retreated with his remaining few supporters. He’s moved his fortress. The tower, too. We will have to search the dreamworld to find him again.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Aidan
Milan, Italy, April
Rowan must have taken lessons from Livia. She was just as bad as all the horror stories Aidan had heard from Quinn and Santi. Possibly worse. Some unseen force inspired her like a demon on her back, driving her to be as ruthless as she could possibly be. She was cold and clinical, showing no emotion despite the awful things she and her Syntrophos did to Aidan and his students since their arrival just weeks ago.
“Can I call in sick?” Ezra’s pale face revealed how terrified he was. It was his turn in the spotlight today.
“Let’s just get this done,” Wes said, draping his arm around his Syntrophos. “You can do this.”
“I don’t think I can.” Ezra shook his head, near tears.
Ezra was a strong kid. He’d been through a lot, but when it came to Wes, there was nothing he wouldn’t do. Which meant Rowan would use that against him, as she had with all the other Syntrophos she’d tested so far in her brief time at the Milan Initiative.
“We’ll be right there with you.” Aidan gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.
“I wish you wouldn’t insist on standing with us when she does this. It’s bad enough I’m going to hurt Wes, but I don’t want you to feel it, too.”
“I can’t sit back here like a coward and let her do this to you or any of the others. I’m with you because we are family. Don’t worry about me, kid. I’ve been through this before. I may feel Wes’s pain through my healing gift, but I have a high tolerance. I can take it.”
“I wish you wouldn’t be such a hero,” Naomi said, her arms crossed over her chest. “Has it ever occurred to you that standing beside you while you’re in that kind of pain kills me?”
“I’m sorry, Naomi, but I have to be there. You are free to stay behind.”
“I guess I’m a damned hero, too, then because I’m not letting you go through that alone.”
“Come on, guys, lets do this,” Wes said. “I’m good to go. We know what she’s likely going to do, and it’s going to be way worse on Ezra than on me. I can take a little physical pain. But Spencer’s going to up the anti with the emotional pain.”
“Wes is right. Standing here talking about it is just making it worse,” Neela said. “Just let the twisted sisters do what they do, and we’ll get on about our day.”
Aidan nodded and Naomi opened the garage doors. The twisted sisters were already waiting for them on the dais as they jogged out to the center of the field. The grass was still wet with early morning dew, and the sun just faintly painted the sky a rosy blush. It was a beautiful Italian dawn, but it was about to get ugly.
“She’s a sadistic bitch.” Naomi’s voice caught on a sob.
The look on Ezra’s face said it all. The poor kid was deathly pale. A ragged looking stray dog hopped around at his feet, her five fat little puppies waddling along behind her.
“Why did it have to be puppies?” Aidan’s gut twisted with revulsion and he couldn’t meet Ezra’s horrified gaze. I can’t watch this. His mouth went dry as his students looked to him, begging him with their eyes to stop this. He probably could. He was stronger and more powerful than Rowan but he couldn’t take on her whole team by himself. His students would only get hurt in the process and they’d be right back here tomorrow, and it would be ten times worse.
“I know what you’re thinking and now is not the time,” Pilar said. “You have to let this happen.”
“I know.” Aidan’s hands clenched into fists at his side, just the way Allie’s did when she was furious and trying not to let it show. Thinking of her gave him strength in these moments.
“Can you get through this?” Naomi whispered softly.
“I’ll have to.” Aidan couldn’t show a reaction to the pain Rowan was about to inflict on Wes. He did not want her or the Chief Justice to know the extent of his healing gift. Nor how easily it would be to inflict pain on him to manipulate his actions. They didn’t need any help in that department. “I’m just glad Sasha isn’t here. This would kill her.”
“Poor kid.” Naomi stood ramrod straight, watching Ezra absently pat the mamma dog to calm her exuberance. She thought she was here to play.
“Gemma, Ruthie.” Rowan sent her minions to grab Wes.
“Ezra, don’t pet the dogs,” Wes said, his voice stiff. “It’ll just make it worse.” He shrugged Gemma and Ruthie off, walking back with them to stand between Rowan and Spencer. “Do whatever she says. I’ll be fine.”
Shrugging his shirt off, Wes stepped up to the dais, turning his back against a rough wooden beam. He stood, his feet shoulder width apart with his arms crossed in front of him like a seasoned soldier. “Do your worst.”
Aidan was damned proud
of him.
“We need a starting point,” Rowan finally spoke after securing Wes’s arms to the beam, raising them up over his head. “A way to measure the before and after. Tell me, Ezra, when you take vitality from the living, how does it effect you?”
“I-uh,” Ezra stuttered.
Rowan drew a blade and sliced Wes’s bicep open. Wes gasped, but Aidan barely flinched. The shallow cut was all her gift needed. The letting of blood allowed Rowan access to the nerves. All she had to do now was touch Wes’s wound to cause him agony like he’d never felt before. Aidan would suffer right along with him today.
“Wait,” Ezra shrieked.
“Take a breath, Ezra,” Pilar said. “This will pass.”
“Okay, okay. When I take vitality from plants and insects, it makes me more focused. A little stronger, faster, more accurate and decisive, and it spills over to Wes, too.”
“Take a lap around the field and don’t hold back,” Rowan said. “Wes will thank you.” She clapped a hand over Wes’s bleeding arm and he screamed, his eyes rolling back in his head.
Ezra took off like a shot flying around the training field. Aidan couldn’t watch: he could only breathe through the pain shooting up his arm and squeezing around his heart and lungs.
Ezra was fast, even when he wasn’t pressured. He finished the half-mile lap in just under two minutes.
“We have a base line on speed. Now, take a shot.” Rowan gestured at the array of weapons spread across a table beside the dais. A target stood at the ready at the end of the field. Rowan waited, still not releasing Wes or Aidan from her hold.
Ezra was a terrible shot on his own. Aidan prayed he could hit the target, so they wouldn’t be here all day.
“Focus,” Naomi said.
“Quiet.” Spencer glared at her.
Ezra paced to the table, snatched up a bow and knocked an arrow. Still panting from his mad dash around the field, his hands shook.
Aidan closed his eyes, reaching out to Ezra with his healing gift. Thanks to his bond with Naomi, he no longer needed to physically touch for this kind of emotional healing. With a gentle nudge, his gift eased Ezra’s shaking, slowed his heart, and brought him a sense of comfort.
Emerge- The Betrayal Page 23
