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I SLID DOWN THE ALLEYWAY behind the entrance to Shoreside Park, undetected. As I made my way among the shadows, a small burst of pride settled inside of me; it had been years, after all, since I had to go hunting for supernatural trouble, and the fact that I had lost little, if any, of my original talent, made me very happy indeed. Even if my knees had cracked a few more times than I wanted to admit.
Upon further reflection of the reasons why I was there in the first place, I snuffed out the pride inside of me. There was nothing to be happy about in this case—nothing at all.
I was glad it was dark, and not just any dark—the cloudy overcast hugged me close, keeping a cloak of protection around me. If I had been a normal human being, I might have been afraid. But I’d never been normal, and I was especially nothing close to it.
Even if I had tried to be normal for most of the last several years now.
Darkness had somehow become more comfortable to me. It became a place where my true self could hide, comfortably, and no one around me was any wiser.
As I walked into the park, I could easily make out the outlines of all the familiar places of my childhood and my teen years. Even in the fog, I could see the rounded roof of Lakeview Observatory, which had been a home of the meteorite that had crashed into the city, destroying my life, and leading it down a path of further destruction.
Behind me, I could see the new extension of the park, where the old Rosemont Academy once stood.
Further over and beyond the trees, I could see the marina, and on the other side I knew Rachel’s Café remained, even if it was now closed and boarded up.
For me, this place was a graveyard of sorts.
I was glad when I reached the marina, even if there were more lights around.
“There you are.”
I heard Dante’s voice before I saw him. He came out of the fog and shadows, and for a moment I wondered if he had been following me.
“I was beginning to think you wouldn’t come,” he said.
“I said I would come,” I grumbled. “Besides, you have your part of the bargain to uphold, too.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Dante replied.
“Okay then. Just tell me the plan so I can get out of here,” I said.
“We’re here,” he said. He nodded toward Lake Erie.
“There’s a black site under the lake?” I asked. “Is that even allowed? I mean, wouldn’t the government object to that because of the EPA or something?”
“It might surprise you—or not—to know that various governments besides Apollo City have hired SWORD before. This is part of our pay, unfortunately. Rather than money, we are given space and anonymity.”
“I guess people will always want land,” I murmured, thinking of a movie I’d seen a long time ago.
“Exactly.” He nodded. “You know, you’re lucky SWORD didn’t try to get you to join when everything happened here all those years ago.”
“I wouldn’t call it luck.”
He nodded. “I guess I can understand. Sometimes I think about how my life would be different if I hadn’t been hired.”
“Mikey’s life would’ve been better.”
“No one can say that for sure,” Dante said with a shrug.
I narrowed my gaze, allowing myself to see his emotions. It took longer than it normally did, but after a moment I saw them. The little wisps of color flared off him, saturated with regret and self-loathing.
Appropriate.
“At least you wouldn’t have had to deal with me,” I told him.
“You’re Mikey’s friend, and Mark’s son. Our paths would have crossed eventually, though likely not to the same end or degree.”
I sighed. “I don’t really care. Let’s just move on, okay? How are we going to get inside?”
“All SWORD members have a secret code that allows them access to the site,” Dante explained.
“Alright then. Let’s go find the entrance and get going.” I grimaced. “I really, really don’t want to be here.”
“Then I suspect this will make it worse.”
Before I could react, lightning lashed through my body. I yelled as I fell over, stunned by the pain and the betrayal. “What are you doing?” I hissed.
“Capturing you, of course.” Dante’s brown eyes gleamed as he brought a Taser down on me once more.
Though it had been years since I’d felt it, my body reared in agony and determination to get away.
“I’ve forgotten how fun it is to shock you,” Dante admitted. “You were always a punk kid.”
“Why are you doing this to me?” I whimpered.
“Gotta make it look convincing, you know.” He grinned. “And I’ll admit some of this is for punching me earlier. I’m not a man who forgives easily, Hamilton.”
“I’m not either,” I muttered back, before he brought the weapon down on my head. I fell limp as the world darkened once more.
*☼*
I didn’t know how much time had passed when I woke up, but I had a feeling it hadn’t been long.
I could hear the whispering of small waves above my head. Without opening my eyes, I tried to get an idea of where I was.
The first thing I noticed was that I was moving. I was being carried on a stretcher. There were four people, two in the front and two at the back, and they were all walking forward. I didn’t know who they were specifically, but I made a vow to specifically go out and find Dante when this was all over and pay him back for his treachery.
I should’ve known.
I should’ve known this was coming.
The old disappointment, the blindsiding power of betrayal, bit into me, deeply and bitterly.
How was it possible that in seven years, I’d gotten stupider when it came to trusting SWORD? I hadn’t been that smart about it to begin with, true. I could chalk that up to teenage naivety. But this ...
This was after years of working in law, too. It was even worse, because of the majority of people I knew who worked in law tended to be among the most paranoid about trust and commitment.
I can’t believe I thought he would help me. Immediately, I decided that I would break out of here, destroy this place and everyone in it, and then I would find a way to get Lyra and Lucas back to their parents, no matter how long it took. Getting Dante out of the picture was key. Keeping him out, one way or another, was the goal.
Before I could imagine wringing his neck, one of my escorts spoke up. “Agent Salyards said he needed to be treated before we took him to the Matriarch.”
The Matriarch? Huh?
Another one of the guards grunted in reply. “We’ll take him to the medical ward on level three—”
An alarm started blaring. Sirens went off, and even though I hadn’t yet opened my eyes, I could see the emergency lights flaring all around us.
“Code Security Alpha,” a voice called.
The escorts started running. Before I knew it, I was dropped off, carelessly, and they began to scurry away.
I tentatively opened my one eye. The lights were still flickering, and with the headache, and the aches and pains from Dante, I was more than ready to break a few of them just to get them to stop.
“You’re awake?”
A woman came up behind me; I assumed she was an agent, but I still felt a little bad when I grabbed her.
“What’s going on? Tell me,” I demanded.
She paused. “We’re under attack,” she finally said. I could barely hear her voice over the sirens.
“From who? Who even knows you’re down here?” I yelled over the alarms.
“It’s an inside attack,” she called back. “All the sections are shutting down. Now let me go. I have to get to my post!”
I watched as she headed for an opening, one that led down a hallway. She keyed in a number on a lock and a door began to slowly close downward.
As soon as I realized what was happening, I knew I was trapped.
Dante’s going to die. I’ll kill him for this.
If I survive, I added silently to myself.
I swore under my breath and peeled myself off the floor. I needed to finish the job I came here to do.
“Why did I ever agree to this?” I muttered to myself, ducking around another corner as a number of guards ran past me in the opposite direction.
Fortunately, none of them seemed interested in stopping me. I took this as a good sign, and I took that as a sign I was crazy.
“You there!” a voice called out to me. “This way!”
Up ahead of me, I saw another troop of guards. From where I was, the guy didn’t realize I wasn’t one of them. He probably thought I was just another agent. “What is it?” I called back.
“Break in the med ward. Something’s going on in the freezer,” he called. “We need to get down level and stop them before they dismantle the entire morgue.”
Freezer? Like, where they keep the dead people’s bodies? I frowned. Was it possible someone else was here to steal Raiya’s body, too?
“Which way?” I called back to the guard.
He turned and made his way over to me. “You’re not one of us!”
“No, but you will be hearing from my lawyer,” I promised, giving him a swift roundhouse kick. He doubled over and I tried to get away.
He managed to grab my ankle, and I went flying fast into the floor.
I wriggled my foot free of his grasp and then kicked him hard, hoping that the blow to the face would be enough to knock him out. “Let me go,” I yelled.
My wish was granted as I heard his unconscious groan.
I felt his hands fall off me, and I managed to claw myself back up to a standing position.
“Deep breath,” I told myself.
I could honestly say I hadn’t had a workout like this in years—you know, one where I had to really, actually fear for my life.
It took me more than a few deep breaths before I was ready to go on.
Steady once more, I headed off.
Some of the guard’s companions turned to face me just as I reached them.
“Stop,” one of them said as he made a grab for me.
I twisted away and then wondered if I could bluff my way out of fighting them. They outnumbered me by more than my karate and kickboxing classes at the college had prepared me for, no question.
“I’m here to help,” I said, trying not to have a panic attack or giggle nervously or give myself away. “Stand down!”
“Are you an agent?” one of them asked.
“Uh, yeah,” I said. “I’m new. Just signed on. What’s happening?”
“This is the emergency protocol for a Code Security Alpha,” one of the other guards said. She pointed down another hall, where, if I could just clear out the sirens, I could hear a whisper of small explosions. “We’re here to wait, until we’re called to battle or we’re called to evacuate. The last group just went in moments ago.”
“Where’s the boss?” another guard asked.
“He, uh, got hit with something back there,” I said. “Totally knocked out. Where is the med ward?”
“It’s down that hall,” the lady guard said. “It’s been attacked.”
“Where’s the freezer?”
She frowned at me. “Why do you want to know?” she asked.
“So I can help.”
“Everyone here helps.”
“I want to help more,” I clarified, hoping she wouldn’t think she was stupid. “You know, see if I have any beginner’s luck.”
She looked at me quizzically and then shrugged. “The freezer’s down a level,” she said. “It’s only accessible from the ward.”
“Got it.”
A grumble came out of the hallway from behind us. “Hey!”
Uh-oh. Looks like the boss guy woke up!
I managed to grab one of the guards’ Taser guns and slip away, then I hurried off down the hallway. They were momentarily too confused to stop me and, fortunately for me, too well trained in following orders to follow me. They had to wait, and wait they would, it looked like.
As for me, I wasn’t thinking out any specific plan. I was just trying to survive, first of all, and then, second of all, do my job.
As I got closer to the med ward, it was clear I would have to focus on the first part more than the second.
There were bodies, bodies I didn’t know if they were dead or unconscious or just mangled, but they were lying all around. I didn’t stop to take a look, and I didn’t want to. I hurried forward and kept my eyes alert for any unexpected movement or attack.
The doors to the med ward, or what I assumed used to be the med ward, had been blown away so hard I could see indents in the walls across the hall. They were under burn marks and a layer of dusty debris.
I stepped inside the room, preparing for the worst. I was only comforted by the fact that at least the alarms were more muffled here, and I had enough space left in my mind to hear myself think.
“What happened in here?” I awed at the damage. “It looks like something exploded ... ”
Dante had mentioned that the leader of SWORD—who I guess was the one known as the Matriarch—had killed off her Star employees. Was it possible she’d missed one?
Out of all the room, only one bed stood still intact. I made my way over to it, still cautious.
There were papers, all scattered and burning. Two IV bags of medicine were there, torn open and leaking. I picked them up and smoothed out the plastic.
“Versed?” I read aloud from the one package. I looked at the other one. “Propofol?”
Sometimes I wished I had some of Mark’s medical training.
Before I could lament my situation further, I heard another loud banging, followed by a frustrated scream, coming from below me.
Catching sight of the doorway, I sped toward it, the borrowed weapon, which I had no real clue how to use, held in front of me as a last-resort type of defense.
Another round of banging made me flinch as I approached the door.
“Morgue.” The word was swinging loose, now half-hanging above the door, where it had probably been anchored securely only a few moments before. This was the freezer that my earlier escorts had mentioned.
Another scream came from the room, and I saw a flash of brilliant light bomb out.
“Well,” I muttered, “that answers one question.” I was, in fact, dealing with a Star.
There were more sounds now, ones I could make out despite the continuing muffled sirens—metal crashing, glass shattering ... and a woman, weeping.
The banging stopped, the crashing halted, and the smashing ceased. But the crying continued.
Maybe she’s out of power. And any other weapons, I thought.
Either way, I didn’t have a lot of time before the rest of the black site caught on and found us.
I eased into the room.
It was a mess. Two desks were toppled over. A myriad of morgue doors were smashed in; several had been opened, and their contents remained. I could still see shadows inside others, and instinctively I cringed.
My heart ached. How was I ever going to find Raiya’s body now?
The weeping continued. And then I heard the broken whisper all the way across the room.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”
My heart jolted, reeling from shock. I had trouble breathing as a new sense of numbness took over me. Music, music that I hadn’t heard in years, came sailing back, sweeping me away from the rest of the world.
I felt my stolen weapon slip out of my hand; I barely heard it clatter to the ground.
I watched, transfixed, as a shadow detached itself from the corner of the room when it stood up and faced me. When her eyes—the same violet eyes that had haunted my memory for the last several years—turned to rest on me, all or any doubt I had left in my mind fled from me. I felt my eyes tear up, as though I’d been slapped in the face.
At that moment, mountains crumbled, thunder broke through the heavens, and a wave of warmth tore through the walls of ice inside my heart, breaking the spell of loneliness cast on me all those long years.
That was when I knew she was real.
“Raiya.”
☼8☼