Nadya was shocked.
Hell, she was struck dumb when Dasan returned with the news. She was being released. Someone is looking out for you. That was obvious. How had Diamond secured her release? That was the least of her worries. She was told she’d be traveling with Fursay and a group of Reapers meant for her protection. Today was all kinds of fucked up. Fursay was just as tall as his father, if not taller. He had an odd color about him, and his eyes weren’t pink, but rather a strange brown and yellow mixture in one eye, and completely colorless in the other. She would have asked if he was blind, but she could tell he wasn’t by the way he zeroed in on her face.
He was dressed to go topside. Another oddity, as most Sub-dwellers preferred to remain below. Lindy was the only exception she knew of. Fursay’s pants were brown leather, molded tightly to his thighs. His shirt was made of some sort of metal with very tiny holes. Over the top of his shirt, he wore a vest that held at least six daggers, and carried a long wooden staff with three metal hooks sticking out of its ends.
“Here, you can have these back.”
Fursay gave her the weapons they’d taken from her. With her hair shorter, she had to admit, carrying the extra gear was not an issue. She felt lighter, more agile. Nadya pulled her hair into a tight ponytail. Fursay gave her a wrap made of black metal she used to cover half her face. They walked down a tunnel moist with water and reeking with the smell of rotting flesh.
“The Reapers will follow my orders, but you still need to remain close. I don’t want any of them mistaking you for a snack. Or as theirs. Watch for their urine. They like to spray it when they feel like mating. If they spray you, there is nothing I can do.”
Great.
Horny Reapers.
That was all she needed.
“Got it. Steer clear of Reaper piss and stick by your side. Anything else?”
“Don’t try and escape or I’ll toss this on you, and then you’re dead either way.”
Fursay held up a vial containing some kind of liquid.
“What is that?”
“Reaper seed. If there is even a drop of this on you, it will turn them into mindless beasts. They will attack, rape, and then devour. Father used this once on one of the mothers. It wasn’t pretty.”
Dasan was a sadistic bastard. No matter how calm his voice sounded, his eyes would never lie. She and Fursay came to an opening, and all around them, perched on rocks or hanging above, were Reapers. Their eyeless heads turned in awkward poses, their mouths dripping saliva. Fursay said something she didn’t understand, and the group of them got into a line and began to follow them out of the tunnel.
Nadya made sure to stay as close to Fursay as she could. Never directly behind him, and never ahead of him, but she kept pace with him. Even when the tunnel became smaller to where they had to sandwich themselves together and walk sideways. Fursay was okay with it, if the soft rumbling from his chest were anything to go by. The sound sounded almost like a purr. A strange scent wafted into her nostrils. He was throwing it out heavily, making her head hurt.
They came to a larger opening, and Fursay took hold of her hand. “Stay with me. This part is tricky. The echo in here will set them off. We’re getting closer to Central.”
Nadya nodded her head. Fursay’s hand tightened around hers. Nadya didn’t try to pull away. It was probably more for her benefit than his. The Reapers behind them were getting agitated.
There was light ahead, and she blinked until her eyes adjusted. They were in an inline double tunnel. Like the ones in the abandoned subway yard by the marshes. The Reapers were going crazy as the sounds from above echoed through the tunnels. They were literally climbing the walls. Their claws scraping against the concrete as they scurried behind them. Some were on the ceilings as they made their way to a platform that was marked Grand Central.
The ceramic tiles on the walls were cracked from vegetation growth. The deadly vines and moss graced the walls, but it didn’t seem to bother the Reapers as they continued moving forward. Fursay lifted her onto the platform and was quick to hop up himself. He said something else to the Reapers, and they followed.
“My father said we are to meet Diamond and his men at the Quarry. Should we have interference with Attia and her group on our way, we are to engage. I am going to assume by the weapons you came in with that you’re able to defend yourself?”
Nadya gave a sharp nod. She could do more than defend herself. If she had her chance, she’d get to Anna and her daughter. No matter the cost. She’d walked into the Quarry hoping to make a deal. Walked through the Red Door with the intention of carrying out her plans. She’d been told of its perils and gone in search of him anyway. Her steps faltered. The wayward thought so clear and the memory so vivid, she was able to hold on to it. She’d come to the city looking for her father. That much she remembered. She even remembered thinking she’d finally found him when she’d been attacked. But by whom? Another memory of a man standing over her wearing a mask made of bones surfaced. He’d stabbed her, broken her ribs, and called her weak.
Her memories were coming back so fast, Nadya almost stumbled. Her name, her real name floated through her mind. It wasn’t Nadya. It was Nadeastroya. And that really wasn’t her name either, but rather what her tribe called her, in her people’s language. Na Daestroya. The Destroyer. She was the destroyer. Nadya smiled. She remembered.
She remembered everything.
V
It was like someone had turned on the faucet, allowing heavy amounts of information to flow through. Every single memory she had was at her disposal. With that, her emotions were flipped. All the pieces were lining up in her head.
Why she'd come to the city in the first place.
Her reason for killing Bolanger.
He'd been the catalyst for her departure. Then there was her battle with the guards at the gate when she’d first arrived, followed by her subsequent capture when she’d been caught during her scouting missions to the Towers. Not her fault, of course. Although, there could easily be a good case against her judgment of others. She’d gotten into all the Towers except one. The Quarry. She’d scouted each one thoroughly, blended into the masses, making it easier to infiltrate their ranks. Her capture at the Quarry was what had led to her memory loss. It all made sense now. Even Anna had played a part. Her betrayal elaborate. Nadya’s only real question to herself now was: what role did she play? Her goals were all different now. Emotional baggage be damned. Her second visit to the Quarry was for Anna and her daughter, she’d gotten inside, catalogued what she could, but her direction was clear now. Diamond was an obsolete piece to the elaborate puzzle that was now falling into place. She’d seen the Grid on the wall, studied it, taken it to memory. He’d had it out in plain sight as a piece of art.
Nadya didn’t know what had triggered the onslaught of memories, but she was happy for it. Kept her clear of the confusion she’d been feeling for the last thirty-six months. Fuck. I’ve been here longer than intended. She’d been behind the walls for three human years. She wondered if her father was still alive. He should be. Her mother, Senna, had given him her blood. Esa had told her exactly where she could find her father. Bolanger had sold him to the Genysis Tower five years ago, when they’d started to recruit for Diamond’s program. That heart-to-heart she’d promised to give Diamond was officially written on her to-do-list. He’d been the one to order her torture. He couldn’t be bothered to do it himself, but he’d made sure the order had been carried out. She was different now, her hair was black, instead of the color of fire. She was half starved, and to save energy, she’d allowed her body to exist on the barest of food. For days she’d been held, and he had to know what she was, he had someone take blood samples from her.
V
“They haven’t showed yet. It’s been more than twenty minutes. If Dasan’s screwed us, I will personally remove his breeding balls from his sack.”
“That’s pretty graphic, Phyr.”
“And?”
“And nothing.”
Phyr watched his longtime friend Emerald as he paced the length of the hall. Attia was nowhere in sight, and neither was Nadya and the Reapers. He was supposed to be stationed at the highest point of the Quarry. That meant he needed to get to the steel eagle ledge. Maybe from that vantage point, he’d be able to see when Nadya and Dasan’s son were coming.
“I’m out of here. Going to get up on the eagle.”
“Fine. Then I don’t have to hear your incessant complaints,” Onyx commented. He and Emerald were going with Diamond, who was already on the ground, making sure his guards were stationed where he needed them. There were men stationed in all four quadrants surrounding the Quarry. But everyone knew Attia was well aware of Diamond’s fighting strategy. She’d been one of his best battle planners in the beginning when they’d first come to the city. She’d know exactly what he planned. Their only element of surprise was the Reapers.
“Can I at least get some juice so I can take the elevator to the top?”
“Yeah, I can do that,” Onyx said, tossing Phyr a piece of metal infused with C-Tech. It was a key of sorts with enough energy to power the elevator. It was also energy he could manipulate. He wasn’t about to broadcast that shit to the world. He was Bloodborne, but if the others ever figured that out, he’d be cut open and experimented on. He knew what happened in the Genysis Tower. They were experimenting on men and women, trying to make them super warriors. During the tests, there was a handful that came back with a blood anomaly. One he was very familiar with. They were his kind. Most of them were from other tribes, but two of them were from his. Phyr had made a promise to himself, and it was simple. Follow one rule, and one rule only. Don’t get involved in other people’s problems. Nadya was the only exception to the rule. He couldn’t reconcile all the reasons why, he just knew she was different.
Phyr used the C-Tech to get to the top floor and then attached it to the top of his long-range sniper. Anyone hit with a bullet would be juiced. Fried from the inside out. Not a pretty sight, but if it was a war Attia and the Ibanez brothers wanted, it’s what they’d get.
The eagle wasn’t exactly the highest point, but it was the most stable. The Quarry had once been called the Chrysler building long before the comet had passed through Earth’s atmosphere. Back before the tunnels were flooded or destroyed. He remembered the building. Had walked past it many times when he was a young male. He remembered taking a meeting here once with a businessman named Charles. Phyr looked out over the city and sighed. Those were days long forgotten. Four hundred years forgotten. He missed pizza. Missed it like crazy.
Phyr dropped to his belly, making sure he was properly secured to the building before edging his way out onto the ledge and lining up his gun. He adjusted his scope and scouted the two blocks Nadya and the others were supposed to come from. He saw them. Dasan’s son had a tight grip on Nadya’s hand as the two of them made their way toward the Quarry. The Reapers following closely behind. Phyr’s grip on the gun tightened. He didn’t agree with Diamond, but he trusted the male to make things right. Phyr pointed his rifle in the direction adjacent from the Quarry and spotted Attia and her war party.
Directly four blocks up, she was riding what looked to be a horse. It was a lot taller than any horse he’d ever seen, though. All black with a shiny mane of silver hair. Its tail braided and tucked tightly against its hind legs. Phyr adjusted his scope and reached for his comm.
“I’ve got eyes on Attia and Nadya.”
“Where should we be focused?”
“Attia’s coming in from the northeast. I got eyes on her now. And Nadya is coming from the northwest quadrant of Central. Reapers in tow. “
“Excellent. Don’t make a move until I give the signal. We have men posted in the surrounding quadrant and Thys’s archers are in place. No one fires until I give the order. Let’s see what Attia has to say.”
Jack shit.
That’s what.
Attia was all about the action. She wasn’t going to walk up to the Quarry and knock on the door to ask for a sit-down. If she wanted something, she’d try and take it. She never made a move unless she had the upper hand. In this particular case, she felt she did. Phyr was all too happy to prove her wrong.
He watched as Attia and the troops behind her drew closer. There were others on tall horses. Nine riders with the others walking behind, all armed with weapons. Attia was dressed in a short leather jacket, one arm completely exposed, showcasing her fluorescent ink, the other arm encased by a tight-fitting sleeve. The jacket closed only at the neck, leaving her chest and abdomen exposed where she wore a torn tank top. Attia had gone full warrior mode. Phyr noticed that her full breasts were now only one breast. Somehow, she’d gotten the other breast removed, and where there should have been a full mound of flesh, she was now flat-chested. Fuck. She actually did it. Strapped across her back was a long sword. The leather strap now fitting across her chest with no obstruction. Her black hair was cut short and spiky. The one leg he could see had been amputated and fitted with some kind of device that was made completely of metal. It was sharp like a blade, the end pointy. He couldn’t tell if her other leg was the same, but if he had to guess, and knowing Attia, it was. She was all about enhancements. Talked all their ears off when she’d worked with them.
Somehow, she’d gotten her hands on some C-Tech. Which meant they had a problem. Her fluorescent ink was a dead giveaway. It glowed an eerie orange. But only Bloodborne or Raema would react to C-Tech that way if the ink were infused with it. Attia was full of surprises. He’d had no clue she was Raema, but she wasn’t like Nadya, she was a full-blood Traveler. A purebred female of his kind. How had he not noticed before?
“Any of you able to see her now?” he said into the comm, hoping to get some sort of feedback.
“Yeah, the bitch has metal legs,” Emerald said.
“This is a problem. I don’t see anyone else in the group with metal legs, but don’t leave anything to chance. Be on alert.”
“We will be,” Diamond said back.
Phyr looked into his scope, checking to see what else they were up against. Farther back in the ranks, he was able to make out a cage. There were people inside. Phyr had no clue what Nadya’s family looked like. He had nothing to go on.
“I can confirm there are prisoners among the group. But there aren’t just two. More like ten.”
“You got eyes on Nadya and the Reapers?”
Phyr swung his rifle around and peered through its scope.
“Yeah, they’ll be rounding the block in about two minutes. Attia will be on you before they will.”
“Got it. Remember. No one fires until I give the signal,” Diamond ordered.
“What the fuck is the signal?” Amethyst said via her comm.
“You’ll know it when you see it.”
Phyr looked through his scope again. Attia and her team had stopped across the street from the Quarry. Her riders lined up directly behind her. She looked up and smiled, giving Phyr the finger.
She knew he was there. Fucking bitch.
V
The Reapers were getting restless. Nadya could see the Quarry now. It was dark, the moon casting an eerie glow on the pavement and buildings as they passed. Fursay still hadn’t let go of her hand. His thumb absently rubbing across her wrist as they walked. It was annoying.
“Enough of that”—she yanked her hand from his—“I can take care of myself.”
Adrenaline was coursing through her system, giving her bursts of energy. Her breathing was short, and her chest hurt from the strength of her heartbeat, as it pounded rapidly against her ribcage.
“I only meant…” Fursay tried to speak. The Reapers behind her became more and more agitated.
“Doesn’t matter. Let’s keep moving.”
Funny thing, she wasn’t in a hurry to rush headlong into a battle. She was concerned about settling scores. There was Diamond, Lindy, Anna, and of course Marius. She blamed him for Rory’s death. It didn’t matter that it was by her hand. She’d cared for Rory in her own way, but it was Marius who held his strings, pushed him to his death. Yeah, Marius was now added to the list of people she had beef with. Fursay would be first if he kept up with the grabby hands. A small voice claimed she still cared for the old woman and her daughter. Maybe. She’d let them live, along with Phyr and Emerald. Although, the two males would try and kill her the moment she ended Diamond. Her limbs loosened. She was ready to settle up.
A fight was brewing. She could feel it. The air was saturated with high-octane testosterone. It poured out of the males inside and around the Quarry. She and Fursay were to get to the Quarry, await instructions from Diamond, and go from there. Nadya planned to be a big fucking wrench in those plans. She had no intention of listening to anyone. She wasn’t following orders or staying quiet for anyone anymore. Right as they reached the entrance to the Quarry, Diamond, Emerald, and Onyx stepped forward. She sized all three men up. Diamond saw her first, his eyes wide as he took in her appearance. He’d never really seen her for who she really was. He saw her now. Nadya made sure of it. She grabbed Fursay’s hand as a taunt and smiled.
Diamond looked to their entwined hands and grunted.
“You may want to let her go, boy. Your father and I have an arrangement.”
“I’m well aware of the arrangement. Nadya stays with me at all times. If she moves, the Reapers will take her for their own. They’ve followed us the entire way here, they expect a reward, and right now, the lot of them have their sights set on her.”
She’d eat those fuckers for breakfast if they even thought they could piss on her. Still, she didn’t say a word. She turned and took in the female atop her horse.
Attia stared down at Nadya with searching eyes.
Nadya pulled herself and Fursay towards Attia. Her eyes searched for Anna and Dominika. She didn’t see them in the crowd.
“Where are they?” Nadya demanded.
Attia looked down at her from her mount and smiled. There was something different about the woman. Something not right. She was missing a breast. Her hair was dyed a pitch black, and instead of legs, she had what looked to be blades.
“Do you mean Anna and Dominika?”
Nadya sharply nodded her head. “If you have them, release them to me.”
Attia threw back her head and laughed.
“You think I want them? It’s you I want.”
“I know this already.”
“You do?” Attia asked as she dismounted her horse.”
“Yes?”
“You agree to come with me?” Now it was Nadya’s turn to laugh. She wasn’t going with anybody.
Attia watched her closely. Her eyes a mixture of confusion and uncertainty.
“Lavarious. You have no idea what’s going on here. You and your men should leave this matter to me and the girl.”
“He stays,” Nadya said.
“What she said.” Diamond took a step in her direction. He had no clue what was going on. But he still thought he had the upper hand.
“Nadya, you are coming with me.” Attia said. Her confidence was almost offensive.
“I know you think that, but going with you was never an option.”
“How do you figure?”
“Because I know.”
“Know what?”
“Bring the old woman and her daughter or things will get ugly.”
“We’ve only started getting ugly, Nadya.”
“That’s not my name. But you knew that already. Didn’t you, Senna. Or should I call you Mother?”
Attia stepped back. Diamond cursed, as did his other men.
“How did you—?“
“How do I know? I’ve seen your picture a million times. Esa showed me. I know exactly who you are.”
Fursay, the dumbshit tried to reach for her hand again. Nadya turned and yanked her arm away from him.
“You don’t want to do that,” Fursay growled.
Nadya ignored him. The Reapers made clicking sounds at her back. Nadya took a step towards the woman who’d given birth to her. The woman who, by all accounts, should be dead.
“You’re very unfeeling, Nadya.”
“I mastered Locking a long time ago.” It had taken her years to learn to Lock her emotions away; she’d even hidden her ability from Esa. Back then, she was still a novice, but she’d been able to Lock her feelings away in short bursts. Too afraid of what it would mean if they knew she could Lock any part of herself away. After all, she shouldn’t have been able to do it as a half-breed.
Diamond interrupted their reunion.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
“Family reunion. Senna, my mother, who you know as Attia, is trying to figure out how I learned to Lock my emotions away.”
“Who the fuck cares.”
“You should,” Nadya sneered.
Killing Diamond now would be to her advantage. She owed him. If it weren’t for him and his men, she’d have never gotten into the mess she was in now. She’d be drawing out the Grid, mapping out her next. Move. Memory loss was a bitch and a half. It was Diamond who’d thwarted her original plans. Taken years from her.
“Bring the old woman, Anna, forward,” Attia said to one of her riders. Nadya’s mother turned back in their direction. “If you’d accepted my offer, things would have had a different outcome,” Attia explained.
“Doubtful. As it is now, things are right where they need to be. I came to the city for a reason. Diamond and his band of idiots fucked that up for me. Long before you came into the picture.”
Anna was ushered to the front, her frail body sagging as she stood looking at Nadya with wide eyes.
“Nadya,” Anna’s voice was weak.
The memory of being attacked and captured by Diamond’s men sailed to the front of her mind. It had been Anna who’d pointed her out to one of the guards at the Quarry. Anna herself was there for trade. She’d been there to offer her daughter into Diamond’s services, but had been turned away because Nika was too young. Nadya was there on the pretense that she was a member of the Quarry’s guard. Anna made a comment in passing about having her daughter put into his guard if he was now allowing women. That hadn’t gone over too well with Diamond’s men. She’d been taken in for questioning. The body of the guard she’d killed was found, and Diamond was too busy to see her, so her torture was left up to the skull-wearing male she still hadn’t placed. But the torture, that she remembered.
Bones were broken, her chest caved in, and her head busted open with a bat. She’d been tossed out into the streets and left for dead. It was Anna who found her. Anna who’d nursed her back to health. But none of that mattered now. Her feelings for the woman were so dull now, she felt next to nothing.
“Save it,” Nadya spat. “I just wanted to see your face. Wanted to look at your frailty and see if I felt anything for you.” She walked towards Anna, her hands on her hips. “You know something, not caring is a lot easier.”
“Nadya,” Anna sobbed, reaching forward to hug her. Nadya let her. She didn’t reciprocate. She felt numb. The older woman was the reason for her torture and capture. Once it was clear she didn’t belong at the Quarry, Nadya had been subdued by a group of males. When she’d woken in the streets days later, memory gone, it had been the old woman and her daughter there caring for her. Misplaced trust. She didn’t need a recap of what had happened to her, she remembered it all, and she wasn’t going to re-live it. Nadya pushed the old woman from her and stepped back.
“Please,” Anna whispered. “Don’t do this.”
“Do what? Reveal your nasty truth? Hate you? Kill you? You were the one who jumpstarted this entire ordeal. I should have suspected, but with my memory gone, I was weak. Not anymore. Not ever again.”
Nadya lunged forward, pulling her blade out and aiming for Attia’s chest. But she was thwarted when the other woman leapt back and kicked out, cutting Nadya’s arm with her bladed foot. Nadya almost dropped her sword, her arm going numb from the poison she knew now coursed through her system. There was momentary discomfort before she only felt a twinge of pain.
Diamond stepped forward with Emerald and Onyx at his side.
“I wouldn’t try that again. Next time, it will be your entire arm and not just a cut.” Attia looked to Anna, who sat on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. “Get up, Anna,” Attia yelled.
“Don’t cry, Anna, it will be okay,” Nadya crooned. Her voice low and purposely inflected with malice.
“Esa was foolish to send you,” Attia sneered.
“She didn’t send me to do anything. I came on my own. I wanted to see for myself.”
“What? What did you want to see?”
Nadya didn’t respond.
“Where is the other girl?” Diamond asked.
Amazing, he still didn’t know who she was, but then again, he’d been too busy to give her an audience that first time.
“Around,” Attia said.
“You coming with me or not, Nadya?” Attia demanded.
Her mother was relentless.
“Not.”
“Adya,” Diamond growled. As if she would respond to his nickname.
“Sorry, Lavarious,” she said in a sweet voice. “Not going with you either.”
“You bitch.” Her emotions were Locked, but her keen senses weren’t. Nadya moved before Diamond’s arm reached out to grab her by the hair. Spinning, she pulled her dagger and stabbed him in his left palm.
No one moved.
Not Diamond, his men, or Attia.
“Don’t fucking come near me! You make me sick. Did you really think you had me under control? The moment I realized who and what you were to me, you became nothing more than a check on my to-do-list. I can check you off now, or later. Your choice.”
“Why are you doing this?” Emerald asked, speaking for the first time. He’d been silent and on guard. She kept him in her sights—there was no telling what the giant male was capable of.
“Because I can.” Nadya looked at Onyx. For the first time ever, he wasn’t wearing his trademark shades. There was something vaguely familiar about his eyes. Where do I know you from?
“Hand over your weapons,” Onyx said, pointing his gun at Emerald.
Attia had a smug look on her face. It was then that Nadya realized two things at once. Onyx was working with Attia, and he must have been the one to give the female bomber the information on the camera locations inside the Quarry. It had to be how she dodged security check.
“Motherfucker! I will kill you,” Diamond yelled, his left hand dripping blood onto the concrete.
“I’m tired of licking your ass. You turned this city into a shithole with your greed,” Onyx bellowed. His anger clear for all to see. She didn’t take him for a person who cared about the city, or its inhabitants. But then, she didn’t really know him. But those eyes. They were so familiar, but at the same time, not familiar. She just couldn’t place him.
“Traitorous bastard, I will end you,” Diamond spat.
Nadya whistled, getting both males’ attention. She was going to use everything she had to her advantage. Onyx playing for Attia’s side was just the in she needed.
“You two can kill each other later. Right now, I want everyone to hand over their weapons.”
Emerald didn’t move.
“I really liked you, kōtiro.”
“Yeah? I still like you. Want to stay breathing, you stop talking.”
“I knew you’d come around.” Attia smiled in her direction, but Nadya didn’t reciprocate. She wanted Attia to think she’d won.
The guards stepped forward. Attia had them in her pocket, as well. They took the weapons from Emerald and Diamond.
“Watch them,” Attia, said to the guards as she turned to face her war party.
The Ibanez brothers stepped forward. Nadya knew them instantly. Maddox, bald except for the small patch of hair on top of his head, wore a coat with some sort of fur covering the collar. His face was covered in black paint that made his colorless eyes stand out like beams of light. Heavy chains hung around his neck with huge locks on the end. His entire chest was bare, except for the large tattoo of two axes that crossed at the handles. There were scars and knife wounds on his abdomen. His pants looked uncomfortably tight, and a knife was strapped to each thigh.
Martinez had shocking white hair like Lindy’s, only Nadya knew he wasn’t a Sub-dweller. He wore a re-breather over his face that filtered the air he breathed. It was attached to the hood of his sleeveless jacket. Nadya knew it connected to the pack at his back. He didn’t wear pants at all, but rather hakamas. They were the billowy pants that Samurai warriors wore over a thousand years ago. Martinez rounded out his outfit with metal fashioned into swords, two long blades and one short sword.
“It’s good you got your memory back,” Martinez said as he stepped closer.
“Yeah, why is that?” Nadya asked.
“Because when I kill you, you’ll know why.” Martinez removed his re-breather and Nadya realized the male had no lips.
Fuck.
She had been the cause of that particular injury. He was the guy at the Red Door three years ago who’d attempted to take her container of Wave.
“You asked for it, but if you’d like to take me on, I can add you to my list.”
“No one is killing anyone,” Attia said, taking a step towards Martinez, her metal legs clicking against the pavement.
Nadya watched him closely. His eyes drifted towards Attia before going back to her. He knew her mother was serious. The Ibanez brothers were idiots. They played at war, not understanding the repercussions or fallout it caused to others.
Time to get the party started. Diamond and Emerald had given their weapons over to the guards. Onyx had a smirk on his face that changed the way his eyes were shaped. The black squinty, and his whites non-existent. It was Onyx, she realized belatedly. Another memory surfaced of the guy in the skull mask. Onyx. He’d been the one to lead the torture session. He’d been cold and calculating the entire time. And when he’d realized his tactics didn’t have lasting effects on her, he’d stepped up his methods tenfold.
Nadya never hesitated, she pulled her saw from her thigh and lodged it in his throat, taking him down. Warm blood from his jugular misted the night air. Collateral damage and justice. All at the same time. He was the distraction she needed. In the same moment, Attia walked toward Fursay, her bladed legs clinking against the concrete as she moved. The motion she made was smooth, and no one would have thought it deadly. She bent at the knees then sprung in the air, extending a leg to slice off Fursay’s head. Two deaths, one by her hand, the other by her mother’s. Well, her leg anyway. Fursay’s head fell to the ground. Blood sprayed in all directions, splattering the front of her shirt and decorating both Ibanez brothers. Attia was completely covered, and Diamond and his men who stood closest to Fursay had blood on their garments, as well. The only sound that could be heard after the horrific display was the neighing of the horses. Their riders temporarily jostled as they tried to get their animals under control. The Reapers, who’d been stationed a few feet back, were motionless for maybe thirty seconds before they sprang into action. They scattered, effectively surrounding their group. Attia called out orders to her men just as Diamond did the same with his. Everyone was on the defensive, Nadya included. It was Attia’s distraction that threw everyone off balance.
Anna, still on her knees, looked around wide-eyed, two dead males now lying on either side of her as everyone tried to get the Reapers in their sights. The Ibanez brothers yelled loud war cries before pulling their weapons and charging forward.
It was dark, but for a Reaper, that was nothing. They didn’t have eyes, so they used their sense of smell and hearing to zero in on their prey. Attia wasn’t the only one they were locked in on. Every female, including Nadya, was now in their sights.
Dominika. Shit.
“Anna, where is Nika?”
“The cages. She’s in the cages with the others.”
Nika was the only true innocent. Nadya’s emotions were Locked, but not so tightly she wouldn’t give Nika a chance to get away. It was the least she could do.