Red Handed

I should wait until we were alone, or at the very least wait until this assignment was complete, but…screw the assignment. My teammate came first. “I’m sorry,” I whispered to her.

She turned away, giving me her back.

“We all have our secrets, Emma,” I said in that same quiet tone. “You’ve heard mine. I was a drug addict. What you don’t know is that I’ve spent six months in rehab before coming to this camp—and that wasn’t the first time. It was just the first time I decided to get clean.”

At first, I didn’t think I’d reached her, but then she slowly pivoted in her seat and faced me. “I used to fly, too,” she admitted softly.

My eyes widened. I’d thought I was the only one here with such a stain on her record. “I didn’t know.”

“I was stupid enough to take Onadyn while swimming and I was coming down from the high when I realized I was surrounded by a group of—” Her voice had begun shaking and she paused. “A group of Lyrosses. They were…I was…” She stopped again, but this time she didn’t start back up.

I reached over and squeezed her hand. She covered my hand with her palm. I could guess how the event came about. When she’d come to, the Outers had already been in the process of raping her. She would have been weak, dehydrated. She wouldn’t have been able to fight.

Nothing I said could comfort her, I knew that. But I said, “We’re learning how to neutralize creatures like that.”

“I will kill them.” Hate dripped from her voice. “I will.”

“And I’ll help.”

We shared a smile.

“Girls,” Mia said. “What’s so important that you’re not paying attention as ordered?”

“Teamwork,” I said. “A very wise instructor once told me that a good team worked together but a great team liked each other.”

Her lips curled into an amused, dry grin. “Good answer, but you’d better start paying attention or I’ll whip your asses. We’ve already passed two Arcadians and no one noticed.”

“Well, hell,” Kitten muttered. “I was paying attention and I didn’t see them.”

“They know how to hide, how to blend into the shadows. Look.”

I craned my neck until I peered over Emma’s shoulder. I didn’t release her hand, though, and she didn’t release mine. I studied, I observed, I scanned, really I did, but I saw only the occasional tree. The moon was a tiny sliver, muted and thin, not very helpful.

Soon we reached the edge of the city, away from the pier, and there were a few more lights. Lots more buildings. Not many people were out at this hour, but there were a few cars on the road.

Scattered throughout were hookers and druggies in need of a fix. They stumbled around, soliciting anyone who would listen. They were dirty and probably desperate. That could have been me one day, I realized. It was humbling. Shaming. But also invigorating. I’d broken the cycle. That wouldn’t be me.

From the corner of my eye, I saw movement. I shifted and sharpened my gaze into the swell of buildings. Saw nothing. I scanned the area. There! Adrenaline raced through my veins. A stooped body that was hairless and wrinkled bounded from one corner of a building to another.

“Look! A Sybilin,” I said, pointing.

Mia’s blue eyes widened and she followed the length of my arm. “Where?”

“There.”

A second later, she cursed under her breath. “Where there’s one, there’s a horde.” She ordered the car to stop. In the next instant, the tires squealed and we were thrown forward.

“Stay here,” Mia said as she withdrew a pyre-gun. “Open,” she commanded, and one of the doors instantly obeyed. She jumped outside, yelled, “Close and lock,” over her shoulder, and was off.

She disappeared down a dark alleyway. One heartbeat passed. Two. Blue beams erupted, lighting up the night. I thought I heard a scream. Thought I saw a shadow move. Then, nothing.

“I wonder what Jenn’s doing now,” I said. Wrong topic, I realized a second later. It really brought down everyone’s morale. I was happy when Kitten changed the subject.

“I bet Mia nailed him.” Grinning, Kitten clapped. “He’s probably begging for death.”

Everyone glued their noses to the right window, watching and waiting.

“I know one thing,” Lindsay said. “I never want to piss that woman off. There’s murder in her eyes.”

I agreed. Still, I couldn’t help but like and admire her. “Think she can beat up her boyfriend?”

Cara barked out a laugh. “Probably. I pity the poor fool. I bet he has to wear iron underwear to protect himself from her anger.”

I bit my lip to keep from smiling. “She’s not that bad.”

“Are you kidding me?” Lindsay’s red eyebrows winged into her equally red hairline. “My first day at camp, she knocked me on my ass for no reason.”

“Ha!” Cara wagged a finger at her. “Your first day here, you told her that you hoped she liked the taste of tile because you were going to use her face as a mop.”

“No, you did not,” I gasped out.

Emma covered her mouth to hide her grin.

Lindsay’s cheeks colored, the exact shade of her hair. “I didn’t want to become anyone’s bitch, okay,” she admitted. “And I’d always heard that the best way to send a message that you shouldn’t be messed with was to find the strongest person and knock them down.”

“But Mia?” I shook my head and tsk ed under my tongue. “That’s just asking for a beatdown.”

Mia returned a few seconds later and conversation ceased. We jumped back into our seats as she peeked her head inside the car. “Help me load him on top, girls, and then we’re heading back.” Her tone was grim, chasing away our momentary amusement. “This exercise is officially over. I didn’t see his friends, but I know they’re out there. We’ve got to warn Boss.”

14

The drive home was quiet and tension-filled.

I wished Jenn had been there; she would have said something to lighten the mood. When we returned—I don’t know how Mia found the invisible building—she entered some sort of code on a remote and the shield dropped, leaving a perfect view of the camp. Except there was only a rough-hewn doorway and a hill. That I could see, at least. The rest had to be underground.

She ushered us inside and to the Common. “Get some rest,” she said, distracted. “Classes start soon.”

Unconcerned with the Sybilins, the girls yawned and trekked off to their rooms. I remained in the doorway, too wired to sleep.

Realizing I wasn’t beside her anymore, Kitten glanced over her shoulder and stopped. Her orange, gold, and brown hair had come loose from its band and now tumbled down her back in tangles. “You coming?”