Ash (33 page)

Thom gave me a wand and small disc and the four of us charged down the hall together. I made a beeline toward my brother, Madden hot on my heels. Link was lying on his bed, bleary eyed when I got there. “Dax?” he said. “What are you doing here?” He rose from the bed as Madden joined me. “Madden?” He sounded even more confused.

“We’re breaking you out,” I said.

“What?” he said, horrified. He jumped up from his bed to stand just on the other side of the cell. “Do you two have a death wish? Get out of here.”

“No time to argue,” I said.

“Dax, seriously,” he said. “You have to leave.” He was growing frantic. “Both of you. Now. This is a wasted trip. I’m not coming with you.”

I had a feeling he was going to say something like that, but I wasn’t about to give him a say in the matter. From behind me I could hear the sizzle of Oena and Thom’s laser wands. I saw Madden look in their direction, her mouth settling into an O. “We need to get Link out. Fast,” I told her, hoping it would keep her from doing anything to interfere with the others. I didn’t wait for her response. I activated my wand. It glowed crimson at the tip. Oena had told me I just needed to trace a big enough circle over Link’s cell that he could squeeze through.

“You’re coming,” I told my brother in my best no nonsense tone. “If you don’t, Madden and I are going to climb inside of that cell and keep you company until the guard comes back.”

Link just stared at me, mouth open, stunned into silence.

I touched the tip of the wand against the glass wall. A high-pitched whine responded as I traced it over the surface.

From down the hall I heard the sound of loud pop, then the consequent shattering glass. Madden swirled toward the noise. “Dax,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief, “this wasn’t part of the plan.”

“We can’t leave the other prisoners here.”

She gave me a look that could have cut glass all by itself. “Let’s just get this over with, okay?” I said. “Oena knows them. It was the only way she’d help.”

Madden put her hands on her hips and jutted her chin out. I interrupted her before she could start the argument I knew was coming. “We don’t have time to debate. Now get out of the way if you don’t want to get cut. Both of you.”

She and Link stepped away from the circle I had formed as I placed the tiny detonator in the center. I pressed it down onto the glass and took several steps back, wishing the glasses I wore actually contained lenses. Instead, I squeezed my eyes shut until I heard the now familiar pop. The circle I had cut free shattered, leaving a hole just big enough for my brother to climb through.

“Time’s up,” Oena shouted from down the hallway. “We need to move.” She and Thom stood with Raze, the latter two speaking in hushed tones. Zane was off to one side, a little worse for wear, but his look of euphoria eclipsed any bruises. The fluorescent light ricocheted off of the glass littered at his feet, sending tiny slivers of light to dance around him. He caught me looking and nodded his head in my direction, tipping an imaginary hat. I could see why the Revenants followed him—he had a presence about him that commanded attention. But he wasn’t the only one.

My focus was drawn back to my brother, who was emerging from his cell.

“Thought I was going to have to come in there and get you,” I told him. “Glad to see you came around.”

“Someone has to make sure you and Madden get out of here safely,” he growled. “This is unbelievable. I couldn’t even get the two of you to watch a loop race together, but committing treason, no problem.”

“Guess your life is a little more important than a game,” I said.

“Come on,” Oena called again.

I grinned at my brother, relieved, exhausted, so happy I could burst. Link was out. “But fine, whatever. Link, you want me to watch a race? Okay. I already owe Madden for life. Anything you guys want.
After
we finish this whole prison break thing.”

I bolted before either could answer.

I
was so going to kill Dax, I promised myself, even as I ran after her. Glass covered the ground, and I did my best to avoid it as Link and I followed the rest of the group out. This just could not be happening. Two extra prisoners were escaping. One of whom
I
had helped capture. I could feel my resolve starting to unravel and panic began to claw at my stomach. “Keep it together, Madden,” I whispered to myself. A few extra members in the escape party didn’t change the plan.

We all regrouped in the waiting area. Sol caught my eyes, glancing toward the two unexpected prisoners, confusion plain on his face. I shrugged helplessly. This night was spiraling out of control. How could I have allowed myself to be talked into something so dangerous?

“Took you long enough,” the male prisoner they called Zane was saying, although his voice was almost exuberant. He was the one who crashed Laira’s Destiny Day and had given me the creeps when I had gone to visit Link. Now he was my co-conspirator.

“You’re lucky I came at all,” she replied, and punched him in the shoulder.

He rubbed it dramatically. “Is that any way to treat your brother?”

Brother?

“When
you’re
my brother, yeah.” Oena’s tone actually sounded warm for a moment.

This was getting overwhelming. Dax’s friend was related to this lunatic? Who were these people?

Oena swept her gaze over all of us, her typical aloofness returning at once. “We have eight minutes before the next rotation of guards. We’ll need every minute to get out of here.”

She looked around and I felt myself nodding.

“Make sure you all keep up,” Oena said and slipped out the door, followed by her brother, Thom and the third prisoner—a woman, maybe five years older than me, dirty and tattered. I cringed when she glanced my way. One of her eyes was swollen shut, but the functional one glared hard enough for both. I couldn’t believe I’d broken these people out of jail.

A hand pressed against my back and I jumped. It was Link, pushing both me and Dax forward. “Go,” he said. “I’ll bring up the rear.”

I didn’t wait to be told twice. I yanked my long skirt up around my knees, feeling for a split second irrationally pleased with my choice of sturdy lace-up shoes, before running for all I was worth. We ran in packs. Me, Link, Sol, and Dax in the back. The others in the front with Oena and Thom in the lead. We sprinted upstairs, through the hallways, taking a left followed by a quick right. My breath was coming in deep rasps, and I promised myself that if I made it out of this unscathed I would take up something sporty. We continued on for several minutes until I saw Thom leap at something around the corner. I stopped, paralyzed. I heard a crash, and then something smashed to bits. Thom cursed before poking his head back around the corner. “Hovercams,” he said. “Come on.”

If the guards didn’t know about the escape yet, a broken hovercam would tell them something was up. We ran even faster. A few twists and turns later and Oena scrambled to a stop ahead. “Back,” she hissed. “Guards.”

We bolted back the way we came. But we couldn’t run forever, the guards were about to catch up. Dax seemed to realize that. I saw her try the handle of the closest door. It didn’t open, but the next one did. “Everyone inside,” she said, ushering us into an office. “Hide.” I couldn’t believe how calm she was. Minister-like, I realized as my stomach dropped.

Moonlight streamed in through a tiny window, enough to see everyone scattering. I wished it were big enough to squeeze through and get out of this mess. Dax and Sol ducked behind floor length curtains. Raze crouched behind a potted tree and Thom behind an overstuffed chair. I stood there, unable to move, until Link grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind the desk.

“Stay down,” he whispered. I crouched there, panting, as Link ducked down beside me. Whoever’s office we’d landed in kept a row of well-shined shoes under his desk. I wanted to scream at the mundaneness of it all, but fear kept me silent. Link kept his hand in mine and my heart swelled even as it crashed in terror of being caught. I peeked around the desk. Where were Oena and Zane?

A moment later I heard one of the guards call out, “This way.” They were close.

Link tightened his grip on my hand.

From there I heard two rapid thumps followed by a startled yell. The commotion ended with a sickening crack.

Oena flung the door open. “Come on,” she ordered.

We piled out of the room, and I almost choked when I saw the three guards crumpled on the ground. Zane knelt between them, confiscating their guns. He tossed one to Raze, but kept the other two, shoving one in the back of his pants. The third guard began to stir. He pinched the man’s neck and he immediately stilled.

“Are they… is he…” I began.

He looked up at me with eyes that seemed to dance, then turned toward the guards with smug satisfaction. I felt like throwing up. “Thom has a thing against killing people. I humor him when I can. These three will wake to nasty headaches, nothing more.” I got the sense that it disappointed him.

A man’s voice blasted through the third guard’s tracker. “Report, Officer Suresh.”

Zane grabbed the man’s limp wrist, raising it toward his mouth. “Quiet,” he said to us, then activated the audio function. “Suresh here. All clear.”

“Any sign of disturbance, Suresh?”

“No, sir. Maybe a glitch in the system.” His voice oozed confidence. Oena made a noise in the back of her throat—impatience paired with a waving of her hands. Zane gave her a wolf’s grin in return.

“Hold, Suresh. We’ve got two more troops coming to join you,” the voice replied.

“Negative,” Zane replied. “Everything is under control. No need to send backup.”

There was silence and then another voice, this time a woman’s, came through. “State your clearance code, Officer.”

Zane shrugged. “Of course. It’s tschhhhhh er come in
grktzttzztt chh chh
. Do you read me? I think something is wrong with my krsssshhhhzzzztttk interference tschhhhh.” Zane clicked the tracker off.

An alarm blazed from unseen speakers. I looked around the group, wondering if this was it. What would I say when we were caught? Would the kidnapping rouse work, or would the PAE know Sol and I were willing participants? I wouldn’t let him go down for this. If it came to it, I’d tell them that I pulled rank and forced him to take part.

“I’ll reroute the alarms,” Sol hollered over the din. A moment later the ringing could be heard faintly in the distance. “Give me your plexi,” he instructed Oena. She didn’t question him, she just handed it over. Sol held the glass to one of the officer’s trackers and started coding. “There,” he said. “Now we’ll know where the guards are, their locations are added to your maps.”

I was impressed. If Oena was too, she didn’t show it. She just ordered everyone to get a move on. Once again we raced down the corridors. I ran as fast as I could, pushing my legs even faster. A few more minutes and we’d hit the exit. Ahead of me I saw Oena and Thom slam into something and bounce backwards, both landing in a tangle on the floor. I almost tripped over my skirts trying to stop myself from crashing into them.

“Establish the perimeter,” Thom bellowed, stumbling to his feet.

“What’s happening?” I said, looking around as Thom, Oena, Zane, and Raze all scattered. Link joined them, standing between the other convicts. Half of them were pushing against the walls, others appeared to be miming against thin air.