Aspen could hardly bring herself to believe what the old man was saying. “You’re responsible for putting the other Myriads in stasis?”
Felix nodded, reluctantly meeting her gaze. “I was young and afraid to die when the government captured me all those years ago. Doing what they asked to save my own skin was the worst mistake of my life—one I can never atone for.”
“I don’t understand,” she said, still trying to wrap her mind around what he’d just shared. “Why don’t you just use your gift to fight against them?”
He lifted his trouser cuff to reveal a black electronic device hooked snugly around his ankle. Green dots lit up and danced in a continuous circle around the top of the anklet. “This inhibits the use of my power against them. Everyone I come into contact with here is equipped with something similar. It renders my power ineffective against anyone who’s wearing it.”
“Can you use your power on someone who’s not wearing the anklet?”
“Yes, but I made a vow to myself that I’d never use it again, regardless of the circumstances.”
After what he’d done, she could certainly understand why. “Can you shapeshift with that thing on?”
“No.”
“Then we’ll need to get it off.”
“Impossible. Vickers has the only key.”
“Okay. Then we’ll need to come up with another plan—one that doesn’t involve you shifting or using your power.”
“You said everyone else escaped unscathed, including you?”
“Right, but—”
He met her gaze, resolute. “Then that is the plan we stick to.”
She shook her head. “Just give me a minute, and I’ll come up with—”
“I’ve been waiting too long for a chance to make things right. I won’t put these Myriads at risk again to save myself.”
“I know I can find a way to save everyone. Just give me some time.”
“Time we can’t afford.” Felix took her by the shoulders. “I’m ready to make this sacrifice, Aspen. Let me.”
* * *
Tora watched as the wolves led the way to chamber one. Tony brought up the rear, still in human form.
“You’re bringing the soldiers here? To chamber one?” Hank asked, looking more than a little concerned.
“They’ll remain in the tunnels, just outside the door.”
“You sure everything in here is airtight? Properly sealed?”
Tora set a hand on Hank’s shoulder and nodded. “I’m sure.”
Oscar finally looked away from the screen long enough to meet her gaze. “What’s the plan, Doc?”
“Hope,” she answered, peering down at the white tiger cub. “She can make a protective shield around those canisters.”
“But you heard what he said, right?” Hank asked. “The canisters will go off if the soldiers try to remove them.”
Mrs. B pushed her glasses up with one finger. “And if Hope creates a bubble around the canisters, the soldiers will be inside that bubble. They’ll all die.”
Skye stepped forward. “Maybe we should let them die.”
Tora’s momentary shock was quickly replaced by awe over the girl’s genius solution. “You’ve never revived more than one person at a time. Do you think you can do this?”
Skye frowned and looked down at the floor. “I don’t know.” After several tense moments, she met Tora’s gaze, her bright green eyes filled with the focus and determination of a born leader. “I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”
* * *
For the first time since they’d met, Aspen looked at the old man—really looked at him. The government had captured him over a century ago. Living inside an organization that was actively killing off Shrouds, waking each morning with the knowledge that he’d sacrificed his fellow Myriads to save himself, not being allowed to shapeshift or use his gift to help his people—all of it had worn him down. He was tired. She suspected Felix’s will to live had been extinguished long ago. “Is there anything you want me to tell the Myriads?” she asked.
The old man smiled sadly. “Just tell them I’m sorry.” He held up the cane. “This is the only way to undo what I’ve done. Tapping each Myriad with this cane will release them from stasis. The only problem is, it can’t be me.”
“You’ve been carrying that thing around all this time, knowing you couldn’t use it, just hoping for a miracle?”
“And my miracle came along in the form of a mouse.” He smiled—the first genuine smile she’d seen from him. “It only took a hundred and something years. I guess patience really does pay off.”
There was a soft knock at the door. “Everything okay in there, sir?”
The old man didn’t skip a beat. “The simplest tasks take much longer when you’re my age, Prestwick.” He flushed the toilet to maintain his cover.
“Just wanted to give you a heads-up, sir. We’re leaving in thirty minutes for your visit down below.”
“Very well. I hope to be done by then.” He gestured at Aspen to keep quiet with a finger over his lips as he held his pocket open.
Taking her cue, she shifted into a brown field mouse once again.
* * *
Tora wondered if her expectations of Skye and Hope were too high. They’d had no time to practice or prepare for this at all. She realized she was putting everyone here at risk to save these soldiers. Including the precious newborns.
Skye took a seat on the floor beside Hope and draped an arm around the white tiger cub’s shoulders. The pair gazed into one another’s eyes. Tora watched, amazed, as Hope’s eyes grew momentarily brighter before returning to their usual golden hue.
Skye looked up at Tora. “I think our powers are stronger when Hope and I are together. I should go out there with her.”
Oscar stepped forward. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, kiddo.”
Tora’s gaze lingered on Skye. Putting the girl in harm’s way made her feel sick to her stomach. Despite her best efforts, she had already grown quite attached to Skye.
Skye looked from Tora to Oscar. “I’m pretty sure we’ll be okay, as long as we’re together,” she assured him.
Pretty sure wouldn’t cut it with Aspen when it came to the girl’s safety. Tora knew Aspen would never forgive her if something happened to Skye. Worse, she’d never forgive herself. She suddenly found herself in a dilemma. Her instincts were doing battle with her rational mind. In the past, logic always won out—hands down, no exceptions. But today, her instincts were compelling her to trust the girl’s judgment and move forward with this plan.
Tora despised three things in life: taking risks, asking for help, and flying by the seat of her pants. She almost laughed out loud as she realized she was about to do all three. Looked like Aspen was starting to rub off on her.
She glanced at the television screen as the wolves approached. Tony and the soldiers jogged to a stop. All of them were now just outside the door to chamber one.
Sarge checked his watch. “Twenty-two minutes remaining,” he announced.
“What now, Doc?” Tony asked, looking up at the camera.
As Tora spoke through the earbud, the wolves returned to human form and listened in.
Tony ran a hand over his face, silent as he processed her plan. He turned to address the soldiers. “Some weird shit is about to go down. I don’t have time to explain everything, so just go with it.”
Sarge set his hands on his hips. “What the hell does that mean?”
“I’m saying, you’ll just have to trust us.”
“While you and your dog friends go inside where it’s safe?”
Tony took a long moment to answer. “The pack will go inside, yes. My people need them to help defend this sanctuary from humans. But I’m staying here. With you.”
Sarge narrowed his eyes. “So if things go south—”
“They will go south,” Tony admitted. “That’s kind of the plan. We’re all going to die. But there’s a very special Shroud inside there”—he pointed to the chamber’s steel door—“who can bring us back to life.”
All four soldiers looked stunned.
“I know it’s a lot to take in, but this is the only way.”
“You’re really not going to leave?” Sarge asked. “You’d die with us?”
Tony nodded. “Can’t say I’m especially excited about it, but, yeah, we’ll take this leap of faith together.”
“Are you insane?” Sarge shook his head. “We came here to kill you, man. That was our mission—to destroy every living thing down here.”
“I know that.”
“Then why the hell are you doing this?”
Tony shrugged and cast his eyes to the floor. “Because Lattimore needs to see his kid again, and Steiner should be there to meet his baby.” He looked up. “But mostly because I don’t want Grubbs to die a total loser.”
The tension finally broken, everyone laughed.
Even Grubbs couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Thanks, guys. Once again, I appreciate the support.”
Sarge extended his hand. “What’s your name, man?”
“Tony,” he said, reaching back. “Tony Carrillo.”
“Good to meet you, Tony Carrillo. Name’s Bartholomew Antonius DeAndre Bergedorff-Schumacher.”
“That’s a mouthful.”
“Everyone just calls me Sarge.”
Tora watched them, keenly aware how fast their clock was ticking but also aware that what was happening between them was important. This was the first stepping stone toward building a relationship with humans.
* * *
Snug in the old man’s pocket, Aspen listened intently as he joined Prestwick and, presumably, the other guards in the corridor. She heard multiple shoes tapping on the floor, but she couldn’t tell how many guards were accompanying Felix. The only one who talked to him was Prestwick.
They stepped inside the elevator and descended farther into the unknown depths of the building. Prestwick mentioned a football game from the night before. He and Felix debated if the star quarterback would last the season with rumors of a knee injury. It was clear to Aspen that a mutual fondness and respect existed between the two. She was glad Felix had someone like Prestwick by his side. She got the feeling Prestwick did what he could to look out for the old man.
A robotic voice announced that they’d reached subfloor eight. She heard the elevator doors slide open.
“I’ll take it from here,” Prestwick said.
“Vickers said we’re supposed to stay together at all times, sir,” one of the other guards replied.
“I’m your commanding officer,” Prestwick shot back. “Are you questioning me?”
There was a brief silence. “No, sir. We’ll wait here.”
“We’ll be back in five minutes.”
Aspen heard more walking, a badge swiped, a series of electronic beeps that she could only imagine was the sound of a code being entered on a touchpad, the swoosh of a door opening and closing, and, finally, the old man’s voice. “This is out of the ordinary, even for you Prestwick. Is everything okay?”
“We have your bathroom bugged, sir,” Prestwick whispered. “So far, I’m the only one who’s heard your conversation.”
“What are you planning to do about it?” Felix asked, his tone wary.
Aspen considered shifting at that moment to step in on the old man’s behalf. But something told her to stay put and listen.
* * *
Tora stood in front of the door to chamber one with Skye and Hope behind her. With one last look at the formidable door, she turned to address the unlikely superhero duo.
The tiger cub met her gaze with golden eyes.
Tora took a deep breath. “Remember, I’m staying inside chamber one. I’ll watch everything from over there.” She pointed to the screen in the main room. “I’ll talk you through this, step by step, over the speakers.”
“Copy that,” Skye replied. Her unnaturally bright green eyes wielded a keen intellect and a purity Tora never before had the pleasure of knowing.
She felt herself getting cold feet. What she was about to do could very well turn out to be the biggest mistake of her life. “And don’t forget, Hope must also put a shield around you.”
Skye nodded. “She will.”
Tora gathered the girl in her arms for a tight embrace and kissed her forehead. When she bent down to do the same for Hope, she was rewarded with a loud purr.
Standing, she entered the code. The heavy steel door slid smoothly aside with a whoosh, and the outer door began to crank open, inch by inch. The sound of metal scraping against rock was nearly deafening in the silence.
Tora locked eyes with the soldiers as Skye and Hope traded places with the wolf pack.
* * *
“Here,” Prestwick said. “This will unlock your ankle bracelet.”
“How did you get this?” Felix asked.
“That doesn’t matter. We don’t have much time—”
“It matters to me,” Felix insisted.
“I slipped it from Vickers’s office after I heard what Aspen said. I can’t let him kill you, sir.”
“I can’t accept this, Prestwick.”
Yes, you can! Aspen wanted to scream from Felix’s pocket.
“Without the device,” Prestwick went on, “you can shapeshift and escape with the others.”
“And what happens to you if I do that? It’ll be obvious that you’re the one who helped me escape.”
“I don’t care about that, sir.”
“Well, I do.”
There was a brief silence. Aspen sensed they were at an impasse.
“Put me in stasis,” Prestwick said. “Then it’ll look like you escaped on your own.”
“I could never—”
“Just hear me out, sir. Put me in stasis, and then come back for me. Remember the name John Gruger. He works intelligence here. He’s a sympathizer, too. He’ll help you find me and get me out.”
“Then what, Prestwick? Your life will be all but over. You couldn’t go back to your home, your friends, your family. Where would you go?”
“With you, sir. I can help you and your people win this war. I know I can.”
“I could never ask that of you, son.”
“No matter what the government has done to you, you’ve always been kind. I don’t believe the things they say about Shrouds. If your people are anything like you, then they’re good through and through. You deserve to be in this world as much as humans, if not more. After I met you, I realized I was on the wrong side of this war. I’d like to change that, if you’ll give me the chance, sir.”