Cipher, p.23
Cipher, page 23
I stood against the wall as the men moved past, cutting in the center to grab Emma’s hand. The zing of power was painful for the first second, but I relaxed, letting it flow through me. “You’ve gotta get control, Emma. I need both hands.”
Her face turned a nice shade of pink. “You say that like it’s easy. I’m doing my best.”
If I didn’t have skin contact, she really would’ve been glowing. I had to stay calm. Collected. Like always. “Don’t get upset. Breathe deep. You can do this.”
She nodded sharply once. Her breathing became slow and steady as we walked up the stairs, and my bones finally stopped aching.
“That’s good,” I said.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.” I wouldn’t tell her that I had so much energy that I was suddenly exhausted. I could handle this.
Cold sweat rolled down my spine. This was either going to be a really good idea or a fucking bad one.
The top of the tower was surrounded with large glass windows. Busted com consoles ran along the edges, where air traffic controllers used to work. Two long tables with equipment took up the center of the room. I pushed Emma into one of the chairs. “I’ll be right back.” Leaving her without skin contact was bad, but she was holding it together so far.
“Okay.”
I stared at her for a second, waiting to see if she could hold it together. Her skin seemed her normal white with a dusting of freckles. “Okay,” I said as I strode to Dex. “How’s it looking?”
“Four Black Helix teams are on the ground and closing in fast. There’s an enemy chopper heading our way and Seligo plane en route, but if the Lady’s gets here in the next eighteen, we’ll miss it. We need to take off again as soon as the jet lands.”
“Got it.” I looked out the window. Trucks were already rolling in from the east side of the tower. “We’re up high. We’ve got the advantage.”
Men in all black hopped out of the vehicles, weapons ready.
Predictable.
But I wasn’t expecting the rocket launcher.
“They won’t use it. Emma’s here.”
I said that a second too late. As the rocket flew from the barrel, I raced to Emma, throwing my body over hers.
Shards of glass rained down on us.
Something slammed into my head.
Chapter Twenty-Three
CIPHER
My ears were ringing and Knight slumped on top of me. “Knight?”
He didn’t respond.
“Knight?”
I rocked my body, trying to get out from under him. “Knight!”
Oh God. He wasn’t answering. I slid out from under him. Blood dripped down his face. I pushed until he was on his back. “Hunter.” I whispered. “Wake up.” I slapped his face lightly. I didn’t want to hurt him more, but panic gripped my heart in a fist. “Hunter. Please wake up.” I shook him.
A fire spread over one of the com consoles. Water rained down from the few of the old sprinkler heads that still worked. The windows were completely shattered and half the roof was gone. Blown to bits. They’d aimed a little high, which had probably saved our lives.
I felt Hunter’s pulse. Weak, but there. He was breathing, but he wasn’t waking up.
A few of the guys stirred. Dex sat up, shaking his body.
“Dex,” I said. “He’s not waking up. He’s not waking up!”
He knelt beside Knight, feeling for a pulse. “Give him a minute. Looks like he took a hit to the head. I’m sure he’ll be okay.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Do what?”
“Cover me like that. Why would he do that?”
Dex gave me a look that was perilously close to pity. “Because he loves you.”
Bullets pinged against the wall, and Dex pushed me under one of the console desks. “Stay here with him. Let us take care of this.”
As I watched, one of the guys I didn’t even know took a hit in the neck.
The others scrambled. Dex yelled orders to the group, but I couldn’t hear them. The wind was too loud.
A chopper shined a light down into the half-missing roof. “Emma,” Jack called. “Time for you to do what you promised. We’ll leave all these boys alone if you walk out of that tower now.”
My vision was blurring. I heard someone yell at me to calm down, but I couldn’t. There was too much going on. I looked down at Knight, as he lay there prone on the floor.
A muffled scream burst as another Raven was hit.
I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t sit here and do nothing. I stood and the room spun.
Shaking off the dizziness, I focused. I had to get outside. Risking any more of these guys wasn’t an option. I took off, running down the stairs two at a time. The guys shouted behind me, but I ignored them.
The metal stairs sizzled as I jumped down the last three steps.
The first Black Helix came at me, gun raised. I lifted my hand.
“Slowly step this way,” he said.
He thought I was surrendering. Not going to happen. I’d burn myself out before I’d surrender.
But I wasn’t going to hurt the guys in the tower either.
I stepped further away from the metal structure, letting the Black Helixes surround me. They stood shoulder to shoulder, each one pointing a gun at me.
“No one touch her. She can’t hurt you unless you touch her,” Jack said.
That was entirely inaccurate. I focused on gathering all the electricity I could reach. It built in me until my skin tingled as it raced through my body and my hands glowed.
“Get down on the ground,” one of the Blacks yelled as he stepped forward.
I knelt down, and pictured a ball of energy forming around me. I let it grow. Fed it with my fear. With my anger.
When the guy stepped toward me again, I let the ball explode outward in a deafening crackle. I was dizzy for a second as the energy flew out of me and I squeezed my eyes tight. I didn’t need to see to know that every single one of the Blacks was now on the ground.
“Emma. Don’t make me shoot you. I’m here to help,” Jack said from above. He was in the chopper, waiting to see if I’d surrender.
“You’re not here to help me. You never were. As soon as you found out I was a Red, you murdered my parents. Your own sister. How could you? Are you that fucking selfish? You want to be a Seligo that badly?”
“You’re dangerous. Look what you’ve done here!”
He was right. Thirty men lay on the ground because of me, but I was done blaming myself. If not for Jack’s obsession, none of this would’ve happened.
That was the worst part. All of this could have been avoided.
I didn’t realize that I was gathering so much power until I blinked. The energy flooding me was so bright, making my skin glow a swirling blue and white. It was almost as if night were turning to day and I was the sun.
“You’ve got to the count of three to turn it off, and then I’m firing.”
“Three,” I said as I released everything I’d been holding inside. I focused it toward the helicopter overhead.
The energy burst from me so fast that I slammed down on my knees. I wanted to cover my ears to block the roar of the explosion, but my body wouldn’t move. I was dead weight, my limbs suddenly too heavy for my body. Pieces of metal crashed into the ground, and I closed my eyes. I didn’t have any energy left for me. Not even enough to roll myself out of the way.
Heat licked along my skin as the chopper burned out, and I knew that Jack was dead.
For the first time in a long time, I smiled. Really smiled.
He was gone. I didn’t have to worry anymore.
A pair of hands ran down my face, but I couldn’t open my eyes. I didn’t need to. I knew it was Knight.
“Emma!” His voice rang out. “Princess. Open your eyes for me.”
I managed a moan. “Tired.”
Something wet plopped on my face. “Okay. Sleep. I’ve got you.”
I felt weightless. Like I was floating. It soothed me, and my mind shut off.
***
When I woke next, the sheets were soft against my skin, without the stink of mold and mildew. The shake of turbulence had me sitting up and the world went cattywompus. I was in a tiny room with a tiny bed. A curtain made up one wall. I peeked out the window and saw clouds.
I was on the Ravens’ jet.
“Whoa.” I steadied myself before trying to move again. I walked slowly out of the room.
Knight jumped up from his chair. “How’re you feeling?”
“Honestly, really weak. I hate it.”
He laughed. “You need food. You’ve been sleeping for the last three hours.”
“Holy shit,” I said, using Mona’s favorite phrase. It was the only thing that fit. “What happened?”
Knight backed me into a plush leather chair and then reached into the mini-fridge along the wall. “You took out the whole Black Helix team by yourself, and then blew up your uncle’s helicopter with him in it.”
“I remember that bit.” I took the sandwich he gave me and took a bite. “What about the rest?”
“We took off. You burned out the power for all of the Western Voids. They’re still working on power getting restored. We’re about an hour away from the Lady’s compound.” He pushed an electrolyte drink at me. “Have some.”
I rolled my eyes, but took a long drink. “What happens when we get to the compound? Is Mona there?”
“Yes, Mona is there. I’m sure she’s dying to see you, but first we’ll get you checked out. I’m still worried about whatever they pumped you full of. You’re not glowing anymore, so I think it got all burned out of your system, but we’re not fucking around with that. The Lady will do a full scan of you and your DNA.”
“Hmm.” I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that, but I didn’t have much choice. I wasn’t feeling well, and the only person who could help was the Lady. And I’d get to see Mona. So, there was that.
I ran my finger over a bandage on Knight’s head. “You okay?”
He smiled. “Thank God I have a hard head.”
I started to laugh, but stopped. “Don’t do that again.”
“What?”
“Put your life in front of mine. What were you thinking throwing yourself over me like that?”
“Not a chance. I will always put you first. It’s my job. My privilege to protect you.”
“Privilege. Bullshit. That’s dumb.”
He reclined in his seat. “Not dumb. Smart.”
I didn’t have the energy or brainpower to do anything else, so I finished off my sandwich.
“Better?”
“I feel off.” I blew out a breath. “Might just be tired, but don’t know how that’s possible because I slept.”
“Give yourself a break. You harnessed an amazing amount of electricity with that awful cocktail running through your body.” Knight stood up and pulled me with him. “Want to go back to bed? Or we could watch a vid?”
“A vid would be good.” I looked around as we moved back to the room I’d been sleeping in. “Where’s Dex?” I lay down on the bed and Knight slid in behind me.
“Taking a nap up front. He’s been out since we got on board.” Knight pulled out a screen from the wall beside the bed, and started scrolling through the list of movies. “What do you what to watch?”
“Anything.” My eyes were getting heavy again.
Knight ran his fingers through my hair and kissed my forehead. “Relax. I’ve got you.”
The funny thing was, I knew he did.
Jack was gone. Knight was safe. I was maybe a little sick, but I didn’t care.
The movie started and I let the steady noise lull me into the first deep, dreamless sleep I’d had in years.
***
It wasn’t until the next day that we got to the Lady’s compound. The jet had to land in a special hidden airstrip and we switched to a med-v for the last leg of the trip.
I was sitting in the passenger seat again. This time with Knight driving. I’d gone full-on pathetic. I didn’t like being apart from him at all. I sat across the seat, with my feet resting against his legs. When he wasn’t using both hands to drive, he lazily rubbed up and down my calf.
The dizziness and weakness were slowly fading away. I didn’t feel like I needed to sleep twenty-four seven anymore. I wasn’t back to my normal self, but I was getting there. Knight was definitely helping.
I’d never realized what happy was. I’d probably been as happy as a kid on the run could be when my parents were alive. They’d tried their best to shelter me, but life was stressful. We’d always been looking behind, wondering if we’d tipped ourselves off in any way.
After their deaths, I’d lived a half-life. I got by. But barely.
As I watched Knight’s profile, the weight lifted. The burden of being who I was—what I was—seemed infinitely lighter. Although it wasn’t all good. The Ravens we’d lost still hung over my head. I didn’t think I’d ever feel like my life was worth theirs. The sacrifice…it didn’t sit well with me. But I couldn’t change the past. I had to focus on the future. Even though I still had questions about the Shadow Ravens, I wanted to try helping. For myself but also for the other Reds out there and for the guys who’d given their lives trying to help me.
I was going to figure out how to really control my powers, and Lady Eva was going to help with that.
Knight glanced my way and winked.
I nudged him twice with my foot. “Watch the road.”
“Then stop distracting me.” He pinched my calf. “We’re here.”
I spun in my chair. All I saw were trees. And mountains. There was nothing on this random dirt road. “Am I missing something? Because I thought you said we were here…”
He pulled off to the side, and parked the med-v. Dex exited behind us. We walked toward the tree line, and then it was like a door opened in the forest. I gasped. “Holy shit. It’s an illusion.”
“Yup,” Knight said. “One of the best.”
Beyond the square, I could see people walking around. Cars driving. Buildings. But around the square, it still looked like a forest.
I was so blown away by the Lady’s compound that I didn’t even notice who opened the gate.
“Bitch. You coming in or what?”
I spun to see Mona standing against the gate, one hip cocked to the side.
“Holy shit. You’re here!” I said. I closed the distance between us and hugged her before I could think twice of it.
“Holy shit. She hugged me?”
I stepped back and Knight pulled me to his side.
“I take it this is your doing?” Mona said to Knight.
He looked down at me with a grin. “I think so?”
Mona held out her fist and he bumped it with a laugh. “I’m so glad you’re here. It’s been boring without you guys.”
“What? Oliver hasn’t been keeping you busy?” Mona laughed, and that made me smile. It was good seeing her so happy. I’d been worried that I’d ruined her life, but maybe not so much. “I’m glad to be here. Told you it wouldn’t be forever.”
Oliver stepped through the doorway, and Mona grinned as he pulled her to his side.
Inside the compound was amazing. It was like a whole city hidden in the forest. Three- and four-story buildings were sprinkled among small one-story ones. A playground stood off to the left of the entrance. Kids filled the space, yelling and playing without paying attention to anything else.
“Come on, Emma,” Knight said. “Let’s go see the Lady. Get you checked out. We’ll both feel better once we know that junk is working its way out of your system. And then we can relax.”
“Relax?”
He nodded.
That sounded amazing. Knight tugged my hand until I fell in step beside him. As he led me through the buildings, it occurred to me that I didn’t know where I was going. For the first time, I didn’t have an escape plan. I wasn’t thinking about how I’d run. How to get away. As long as I was with Knight, I had a feeling it would be okay.
It was nice not being alone.
Knight looked down at me as we walked. “Everything okay?”
I squeezed our linked hands. “Yeah. Everything’s great.”
For the first time in as long as I could remember, I actually meant it.
The Shadow Ravens Saga continues with Quanta by Lola Dodge.
Out October 13, 2015.
Click here to pre-order now.
For more information on the series, go to:
http://inkmonster.net/books/alpha-girl-series
For the Readers
Thank you to everyone who read this book. The Shadow Ravens has been in Ink Monster collaboration from the start. Christina Bauer, Lola Dodge, and myself came up with the world and then each of our superheroines. I hope you liked the first installment!
Each of us is telling our superheroines’ stories:
Out October 13, 2015: Quanta by Lola Dodge.
Out October 11, 2016: Maker by Christina Bauer.
Out October 10, 2017, The Shadow Ravens by Aileen Erin, Christina Bauer, and Lola Dodge, featuring all three Reds!
But don’t worry! If you want more of Cipher, there will be novellas and short stories between now and her return in The Shadow Ravens! So keep a watch on Twitter, Facebook, and our blog!
Also by Aileen Erin, The Alpha Girl Series.
Click here for book one: Becoming Alpha.
Also available, Avoiding Alpha, Alpha Divided, and for preorder, Alpha Unleashed.
For more information and updates about the series, go to:
http://inkmonster.net/books/alpha-girl-series
Acknowledgments
I’m big on writing with lots of feedback from my editors and beta-readers, but this one was really a team effort. It’s the first Ink Monster collaboration and took a lot of coordinating between writers to get the world-building figured out. It was a feat, but with Christina Bauer and Lola Dodge on my side, we got it done! Huzzah, ladies!
