Arise (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 3) Read online

And then her eyes shifted to his wrist, where he once again wore the bracelet she had made for him all those years ago. The one he had given Xander to let her know that he had always been fighting for her, and that she had given back to him shortly after their reunion.

  As much as Deryn wanted to bond with her brother again, she felt completely lost among these people. She missed her boys. All of them. Xander, Luka, Bronson, Quigley. Over the past few months, the four of them had become her family. Her comfort. And without them she was incomplete.

  After only one bite of toast and two apple slices, Deryn was done. Her stomach was too knotted to eat. She needed Xander to be out and far away from the execution block.

  She did force herself to finish a cup of coffee though. After her mostly sleepless night, she needed it.

  “Can we do this now?” she asked as soon as she was finished.

  “Might as well,” said Neo, stuffing the last of his toast into his mouth. “No point delaying the inevitable.”

  “And what exactly is the inevitable?” asked one of the tunnelers, a woman named Izzy.

  “Getting Xander out. Love him to death but the guy can be a fucking dick,” said Neo, smiling and winking at Deryn.

  She smiled back. He wasn’t wrong.

  “I will also more than likely be punched pretty hard for disobeying his orders and letting Deryn back in. Inevitable.”

  “I’ve always quite liked you with a black eye,” said Odette, giving her husband’s cheek a stroke. “The sexiest of battle wounds.”

  Adrian was sent off to find Everett while the rest of them started their meeting. The plan was simple enough. The only part they hadn’t figured out yet was how the hell they were going to get into the president’s tower. Neo and Odette were convinced there had to be an underground entrance somewhere, so they were going to scope it out. If not, then they might very well have to bombard their way through the front door.

  “Which might be the better option, anyway,” said Nita. “If there’s an underground entrance, you can bet he expects us to try and use it.”

  “You underestimate how much he underestimates us,” said Neo. “He’ll have some S.U.R.G.E.s and maybe some guards, but no Guardians. They have to be by his side for the execution.”

  “You act like his Guardians are chosen for skill and not nepotism,” said Talon. “Plenty of guards are skilled fighters.”

  “As is everyone here,” said Odette. “We’ve all stayed alive and undetected this long for a reason, and it’s because we kick fucking ass.” She and her husband slapped hands.

  Adrian and Everett walked into the kitchen.

  “Get your men up to speed,” Neo said to Talon. “Everyone else, suit up!”

  Deryn was the first one out the door, eager to get things in motion. Nita had given her a watch the day before and as she walked she checked it.

  5:07 a.m.

  Finley had contacted them the day before. Xander’s execution was set for noon. They had six hours and fifty-three minutes to rescue him, and the majority of that time would be spent getting to the center of the city. Even with the hover-bikes Neo and Odette had on hand, it would still take them several hours to reach the unmarked territory. If they were too late ...

  No. She couldn’t even think of that as an option. They would be on time and they would rescue Xander.

  When she arrived back in her room, she strapped her holster to her hip, placed her Element on her right side and a gun Neo and Odette had given her on her left. When she came across her knife’s holster, she searched her bag for any sort of blade to place inside of it.

  She felt naked without her knife, but it was more than likely gone forever. It wasn’t like Xander would have been able to hold onto it. She just hoped it wasn’t Elvira who’d taken it. Anyone but that sadistic bitch.

  The door opened and Talon entered.

  “You don’t happen to have an extra blade, do you?” she asked.

  Talon bent down and rolled up his pant leg. He removed the knife that was strapped there and handed it to her.

  “I don’t want to take yours,” she said.

  “I never use it.”

  Deryn was skeptical, she didn’t want to unarm her brother, but the plan kept him by her side the entire time - per his request - and if it came down to it, she would protect him. So she took it and inserted it into her arm holster.

  “Deryn.”

  She turned around just in time to be smothered by Talon’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, a small whimper falling against her ear. She sighed and hugged him back.

  “We’re going to be fine, Talon.”

  “I know but ... just in case.”

  She nodded and squeezed a little tighter. “Just in case.”

  “I know you said you’ve been training, and I’m sure you’re great, but you need to make sure you’re always on guard, okay?”

  Deryn chuckled. With a flick of her wrist, she unsheathed her knife and touched the tip of it to Talon’s neck. The jugular vein. It was the very first thing Xander had taught her and something she would never forget.

  “You make sure you’re always on guard, brother. I fought my way out of Utopia and proved I’m not afraid to kill those who get in my way. I thought when it came down to it that I wouldn’t be able to take anyone’s life but ...” She gulped. “It was so easy. Because I was fighting to save more than just myself.” She lowered her knife and pulled away from her brother. “Have you killed a lot of people, Talon?”

  Talon thought and shook his head. “Not a lot. But I’ve killed. Sometimes you really don’t have a choice.”

  Deryn nodded. “Kill or be killed,” she said. “Our numbers are going to go up today, aren’t they?”

  “Probably,” he said honestly. “They’re the enemy.”

  “But for years I thought Xander was the enemy and he turned out to be the bravest, most loyal person I know. Not that I know very many people,” she added with a faint laugh.

  “This is war, Deryn. Aim to kill.”

  Deryn’s mind instantly flashed back to the day this all began. When she ran into Xander in that hallway and she had stunned the guard attacking them. He’d said the same thing to her. Aim to kill.

  “You’re right,” she admitted. But she hated that he was right.

  The door opened and Nita entered. “Are you ready?” she asked as she strapped her holster around her waist and slipped on a pair of gloves.

  “As ready as I’m going to be,” said Deryn, putting on her coat and pulling up the hood.

  Nita smiled. “Good. Because it’s go time.”

  The three of them exited the room, their hearts already racing. Whether they succeeded or failed that day, the Resistance was sending President Saevus a message. The real war had begun.

  CHAPTER 4

  Deryn and Talon were the first to arrive on their hover-bike. They had all separated since it would be hard to escape S.U.R.G.E.s attention with multiple bikes zooming about, but one would be simple enough. Deryn had been in charge of the gun with the cone-shaped barrel - which she now knew was called a Repeller gun - that would send the small black robots with fluttering silver wings in the opposite direction, while Talon drove them through the maze that was the underground.

  As soon as they stopped, Deryn jumped off the bike and immediately went to work on setting up several shields that Neo and Odette had given her. Talon took it upon himself to update the others on their progress through the two-way earpiece they all wore in their right ears.

  The shields Deryn installed were small and box-shaped, but when she pressed a button on their side a cone emerged, much like the ones on Repeller guns. The press of another button sent out a signal that would make S.U.R.G.E.s within a twenty-foot radius turn in the opposite direction. Deryn positioned them to create a complete, protective circle. By the time she was finished, everyone else had arrived. Odette double-checked her work, which mildly offended Deryn, but when everything came up perfect the offence quickly
melted into arrogance.

  “Team Eve, it’s time for a costume change,” said Neo, tossing Evangeline and Everett his and Odette’s stolen guard uniforms, which they often used as disguises.

  Being part of Nita’s team, which was one of the most active and recognizable teams in the Resistance, put Team Eve at a bit of a risk, but as long as they kept their caps on and spoke to no one it wouldn’t be a huge problem. Everyone had agreed that with their darker hair and eyes, and fair skin, they would blend in the best. Most Outsiders were quite tan, but Evangeline especially had only ever been burned by the sun.

  “Curse the fair skin of my ancestors!” said Evangeline while shaking her fist at the ceiling. She was trying to lighten the dark mood, but it didn’t do much good. Only Everett laughed and it was forced. She lowered her fist, cleared her throat and held out her hand. “I believe you have something for us.”

  Neo and Odette exchanged a look. This was perhaps the most important part of their plan, but it was damn risky and they didn’t like that it wasn’t them taking part in it. But, alas, they were needed elsewhere.

  Odette grunted softly before taking a small box out of her pocket and handing it to Evangeline. “Be very careful,” she said. “If that thing goes off in your pocket -”

  “We know. Kaboom!” exclaimed Everett.

  “Yes, that,” said Neo. “But it isn’t just your lives at stake here. Our escape depends heavily on that distraction. And we’ll be escaping with an extremely recognizable traitor who isn’t exactly in the best physical health at the moment, so we need this done perfectly.”

  “Well, lucky for you, I don’t make mistakes,” said Evangeline, very carefully placing the small box in the pouch attached to her hip. “We’ve got this, so you can go ahead and focus your worry on getting inside Saevus’s tower.”

  “It sounds like a fairytale when you say it like that,” said the tunneler Izzy. “We’re the white knights, breaking into the tower guarded by the dragon and his trolls to save the trapped princess.”

  Odette, Neo and Deryn all burst out laughing.

  “When we get Xander out please call him a princess again!” said Neo through his chuckles.

  “Izzy isn’t so far off about the dragon though,” said Deryn, pointing to Saevus’s crest on Evangeline’s guard uniform. That stupid dragon shaped like an ‘S’ with the words ‘In Saevus We Trust’ in a half-circle around the top, representing the ‘protective’ shield around the city.

  “Sadly, I don’t think we’ll be slaying the dragon today,” said Odette. “But soon, maybe.” She crossed her fingers.

  “Okay, off with you two,” said Neo, shuffling Evangeline and Everett over to a very tall ladder nearby. It would take them into Middle City, just outside the gate leading to Inner City, which they would then enter using the wristbands Deryn had spent the previous day perfecting for them. Nothing further would happen until they got the okay that Team Eve was through.

  It was a very long ten-minute wait, filled with a tense silence as everyone listened for the click in their earpieces that signaled someone else tuning in.

  And then, they clicked.

  “We’re in,” said the quiet voice of Evangeline. “Good luck.”

  There was another click signally her departure and everyone still in the underground locked eyes.

  “Let’s get moving,” said Neo.

  Everyone broke into their groups: Neo and Odette, Nita and Adrian, and Deryn and Talon. The tunnelers, Rees and Lincoln would be going solo. It was their job to keep any guards that made an appearance at bay while the others searched for a way into Saevus’s tower.

  They were keeping their shields around the clearing running so it could be their rendezvous point when this was all over. Izzy was staying behind to protect it from any guards who happened to wander by until her special skillset was needed.

  Talon and Nita shared a kiss before everyone branched off in different directions. Lincoln would start off with Deryn and Talon while Rees would be with Nita and Adrian. Neo and Odette would be on their own, which they were fine with.

  “How did you learn to make working wristbands like that?” asked Talon as he and Deryn walked carefully through the tunnels of the underground.

  Lincoln was behind them, updating their route on one of the Resistance’s electronic maps. It was connected to all of them so when one of the groups found a way in, they could all get there.

  “I don’t know. I just taught myself,” she said, staring curiously at the domed ceilings. The last time she’d been down there she hadn’t had the time to appreciate the architecture. Not that there was much to appreciate. She completely understood why their ancestors were so eager to build up. “Xander bought me some books on engineering and I made things to kill the time. If you recall, I was supposed to work in the Government Lab after guard training.”

  “Yes, and I also recall that you were excited about that.”

  “It beat the alternative,” she said, her eyes misting as she thought of what might have been had her father not come to Eagle Center to rescue her. While her life would not have been great, it would have at least been easier. Less damaging. But it would also have been a life without Xander, and that was enough to push the thought far, far away.

  While having Xander in her life certainly did not make up for everything she’d gone through before finding him, it at least made it bearable. She had been to hell and back, and somehow managed to found a small piece of happiness in this crazy, cruel world. And that happiness was worth fighting for. To the very end.

  Deryn sighed. “It’s not like it matters. The war would’ve happened anyway and I still would’ve been stuck on the inside. Probably you too.”

  “Maybe that would have been better,” said Talon with a sigh.

  “No, it wouldn’t. They only need one of us alive to hold over Dad. Now the question is, which one?” she said with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood.

  “I’d slit my wrists before I let them choose.”

  Her smile instantly faded. “I’d slit my wrists before I ever became a slave again.”

  The two of them went silent.

  They hit their first fork in the road.

  “That way,” said Lincoln, catching up to them and pointing to the left, “is possibly connected to a heavily guarded entrance into Inner City. I’ll be heading that way to investigate. If we don’t meet up again before you get in, good luck.” He sounded quite brave for someone who didn’t know anything about the person they were rescuing and was only there to help. Lincoln hadn’t talked much the last couple of days, but Deryn got the impression he had gone through something very tragic before becoming a tunneler. They were all running from something. That was why they had chosen the tunnels over the outside. Because the Outsiders were running toward something, not away from it.

  “If we never see you again, thank you for doing this,” said Deryn, her voice soft as she caught the man’s eyes.

  He smiled. “We’ll see each other again. And I can’t wait to meet this Xander, who apparently is worth all our necks.”

  “I don’t know about that, but he’s worth something.” Deryn instinctively stroked the small blackbird tattoo on her right middle finger.

  Once Lincoln was gone, Talon took out his electronic map and continued updating their route. As they walked straight, a whistling came from up ahead. They both knew the sound and Deryn held up her Repeller gun, waiting until the S.U.R.G.E. came into view before firing out waves that sent it flying in the opposite direction.

  “It would be nice if we could send it to the left or something,” said Deryn. “Now it’s just heading in the direction we need to go.”

  “How long until it turns back again?” asked Talon.

  She crinkled her brow. “I have no idea.” She clicked the button on her earpiece that allowed her to speak to the others. “Quick question. How long does the S.U.R.G.E. head in the opposite direction after you use a Repeller gun?”

  Click.
r />   “Until it hits a wall,” answered the voice of Odette.

  “Or a guard sends it back,” added Neo. “They more than likely have access today since all Guardians are required to be at the execution.”

  “Lovely,” said Deryn to Talon.

  They followed the S.U.R.G.E. for a good long while. The passageway they were in seemed to go on forever, far longer than any the Resistance had explored before. Hopefully that meant it led somewhere.

  Deryn kept checking the map and, sure enough, they were underneath President Saevus’s tower. In fact, they were almost to the dead center of it.

  “Was it really necessary to build a tower that’s almost half a mile wide?” she asked quietly, always listening to make sure the S.U.R.G.E. was still buzzing up ahead. “And a hundred floors. What could he possibly be doing with all that space?”

  “I’m sure a lot of the floors are just for show,” said Talon. “But he does have a courtyard on floor twenty or so, and everything above that begins to narrow.”

  “Are you really justifying this thing right now?”

  Talon paused and thought. “You’re right. bad move on my part. Clearly the Saevus’s were overcompensating.”

  That actually made a lot of sense.

  “It’s back already? Higgins, check the time?”

  The siblings froze as a voice emerged from not too far ahead. There seemed to be a brighter light up there and an opening much larger than the passageway they were standing in.

  “It’s back five minutes early,” said the voice of Higgins, presumably.

  “You three, get down there,” ordered the first voice. “Those Resistance bastards have a machine that sends our robots back the way they came. It could be them down there.”

  “It’s not even ours,” Talon whispered harshly. “There are other rebel groups, you idiots.”

  Deryn slapped a hand over his mouth before pulling him back down the passageway, making her steps as quick and quiet as she could. They searched the walls for some sort of exit, but all they found was a small pocket in one of the walls. As the footsteps grew closer, they had no choice but to hide in the pocket, Talon covering the light of his map by pressing it against his stomach.