Badlands: Next Generation Collection, page 50
But if he were the brains behind these factions, how bad did that make Amo?
The Quaker arena was shaped like a football: massive, but fortunately only one story. Its sign had rusted nearly all the way through. Tall weeds were sprouting through every small crack there was in the parking lot’s asphalt.
I bit my lip and rubbed my palms on the tulle of my skirt, mentally preparing myself for what was about to happen.
“Hey.” Cam reached over and took firm hold of my hand. “We aren’t going to let anyone hurt you.”
I gave him a small smile. We hadn’t had any time to talk or simply hang out since the day in his room, but I was glad things weren’t weird between us.
The bond felt wholesome and natural. Cam was special, anyone with a brain could see that. I was more than happy to have his friendship.
“I know... That isn’t what I’m worried about.”
“Well, no matter what happens, you’ve got us.”
He gave my hand a squeeze and then joined everyone else in getting out. Luce came around and opened the door, grabbing my hips to lower me. His solid body kept me sandwiched between him and the car, the open door partially blocking us from view.
“I could have gotten out on my own.”
“Yeah, all five feet of you would have jumped.”
I laughed, and some of my new apprehension faded.
“You ready?” he asked, looking towards the building.
“As I’ll ever be.”
He cupped my chin and angled my head up to so that I was seeing his face entirely.
“You’re going to come back to me.” It was a statement, maybe even a command, but never a question.
I placed my hands on his upper shoulders. “I will always come back. I chose this.”
“Technically…”
“Don’t ruin this moment.” I rose on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his.
“You two almost done?” Bella called from the front of the truck.
“Go ahead, just focus on what’s in front of you. I can’t walk in there beside you right now, but know I’m watching to make sure you’re safe.”
I nodded and went to join Bella. Together, she and I set off across the parking lot, two acolytes flanking us.
She was donning the same get-up I always saw her in, minus a shirt around her waist. The gleam of a blade was evident in the holster taking its place.
“You going to be okay?” I asked, genuinely concerned.
“I’m fine,” she chirped. “Luce and Cam spent hours talking with me before we left. Ice last night. I can do this. Right now, I’m more worried about you.”
“You don’t need to be,” I reassured her as we weaved around a rusted-out shell of a car.
“Well, I’m going to be anyways.”
Unsure what to add, I scanned the parking lot for any sign of Amo or this Samael guy.
“They’ll already be inside,” Bella replied to my unspoken thought.
“There are no cars here but ours.”
“Yeah, that. I have no idea how they get around so fast, but believe me, they’re stashed somewhere. Maybe behind the building.”
We reached the entry doors and both paused, sharing a look.
“Let’s get this over with,” I sighed, pulling one open as she grabbed another.
If you’d walked up as we had and simply stared through the windows, you would think the place was empty. When we stepped in, a quick glance to my left and right revealed one person in each corner.
Both had on large skull masks with antlers protruding from the sides.
Bella and I kept our reactions neutral, proceeding forward together. The air within the building was hot and stagnant, old trash and debris littering the ground. With the whole roof being nearly glass, the orange glow of the sun shone right through.
There was a large U-shaped counter straight ahead, double doors on either side. Left and right would lead to a concession stand or bathrooms.
“Through there,” Bella said, going to the right.
I peered through one square window and she looked through the other, taking a small breath before pushing the doors open.
The floor changed from stone to hardwood as we entered a large gym.
I was instantly aware of how many other people were in the room. Some had on the Stag mask and nothing else. Others had on both that and a robe, like the acolytes.
In the center stood one man and one woman. Without needing to see his face, I knew this was Amo, my brother. I felt it in my gut. I wanted to glance at Bella and make sure she was okay, but now wasn’t the time for that.
Silence reigned as we walked further into the room. From my peripheral, I spotted Claire in the bleachers amongst the others. She didn’t look hurt or unwell. A Stag mask rested on her lap. Obviously, she’d chosen a side.
We reached the couple and stopped a few feet away, the acolytes staying a slight distance further to keep watch over us.
Amo’s head turned, regarding Bella first. “Princess. I’ve missed having you around.”
She ignored him entirely, focusing her attention on the woman. He stepped past both to stand in front of me. I couldn’t see his face, but I felt his eyes. He’d filled out, now blatantly toned. He was much taller than I was too, only an inch or so shorter than my three guys.
“Star,” he stated, the affection in his voice throwing me off guard. Even Bella blinked in surprise. “You look just like our mother.”
I couldn’t comment on what he looked like, because he’d hidden his face. “I’m glad you’re alive,” I replied genuinely.
He released a throaty laugh. “You and I both. There’s a lot I could say, but there isn’t much you won’t hear about me as time goes on.
“I would ask if you’re coming with me, but let’s not waste any time. I already know you’re not. You’ve secured a future fitting for who you are.”
My mind whirled from his words. How did he know any of that? A sound from the back of the gym had everyone looking towards the rear double-doors.
Luce, Cam, Ice, and more acolytes than I remembered being with us walked in, their gaits confident and leisurely.
They were fearless, completely unbothered by the fact that we were still surrounded. I found that admirable.
“I was wondering when you’d get here,” Amo said, speaking loud enough for his voice to echo. “So glad to see you recovered, Cam.”
“Thought you’d want to have a moment with Star,” Luce replied, coming to stand right beside me.
The Stags and Lazarus all stood from the bleachers as the acolytes spread out.
“We don’t need a moment. This meet was called for two reasons: so I could make sure my sister was safe and alive with my own two eyes, and to handle a mutual issue of ours.”
“The issue being the A.R.C?”
“Oh, look. You are intelligent.”
“Why the fuck would we work with you when we could easily wipe them out ourselves?”
“Because I want it done tonight.”
“Why tonight?” This was from Ice.
“Because unlike the Savages, I prefer to eliminate future issues quickly and efficiently,” he replied.
“They’ll do whatever they need to get her back, and if they were to discover the alliance they thought we had has already fallen through, I reckon they’ll be mighty desperate for some leverage. That’s no way to start her reign.”
Luce chuckled; the sound dipped in darkness. “You could have taken them out yourself. What’s the catch?”
“The catch is that none of us want to cause a bloodbath where our family is involved. Lazarus and Stag have no issue with the Savages, we’ve got other things to focus on,” the woman spoke for the first time.
“I’m sorry, who the fuck are you again?” Cam asked.
She reached up and removed her Stag mask, revealing a face that was nearly identical to his with hair to match.
“You mean you don’t know? I heard you’ve been trying to figure it out. I’m your sister. Half, if you want to be exact.” She smiled, showing off two rows of white teeth.
“Cobra has no idea I exist, for the record. I’m supposed to be dead, so he refused to believe I wasn’t. Not for my lack of trying. It’s a long story, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” She beamed at us again, creepily.
“You’re Rory?” Cam asked, his voice flat and devoid of any emotion.
“Aurora, officially.”
“So, where is Lilith? His actual sister?” Bella questioned, still ignoring Amo’s presence. I wondered what happened between the two of them.
“I am his ‘actual’ sister,” Aurora ground out with a small laugh. “One of the two, anyways.”
“And you came from where?”
“Technically speaking, the gutter. Cobra and Romero would know all about that. You should ask them about it.”
“We’re more interested in where my sister is,” Cam countered, making a point not to claim her.
Aurora looked from him to Bella with an amused expression. “Oh, you guys have got to let that go. Lilith is never coming back, and that is a good thing.”
“She deserves to be free,” Bella snapped.
“If he lets her go, he’ll do so only after he carves the girl into pieces. If she isn’t, she will be as soon as he tracks down.”
Cam gave her a look that could freeze hell itself.
“Don’t go there,” Aurora chastised.
“She isn’t hurt, she isn’t being mistreated. Whether you want to live in denial or not, she is my sister too. I won’t let anything harm her so long as she’s with us. That’s the most I can promise.” Her tone was jovial and flippant, but I didn’t trust this girl. At all. Something was off about the whole situation.
“Why isn’t Samael here, telling us this himself?”
“I’m his proxy.”
If this were true, the rumors had been partially right. Cam’s sister was by Samael’s side, just not the one they’d all been thinking of.
“And I should just take your word for it? We don’t know you. I don’t know you,” Cam retorted.
“True,” she agreed with a nod. “But you are my brother. We just have to get to know each other.”
“You keep saying that,” Bella cut in. “Blood isn’t how we determine who’s important to us.”
Rory frowned and tilted her head. “That’s quite sad. Now I know why you keep getting betrayed by your actual family.”
What a bitch. If looks could kill, Bella’s glare would have decimated Aurora.
“I don’t want to be the one to break up an overdue family reunion, but you don’t have to know her,” Amo interrupted. “She’s your blood, like Star is mine. That may not mean anything to the Savages, but we aren’t you.”
“Clearly,” Bella muttered.
“Back to task, are we doing this or not?” Amo questioned. “I have other things I could be doing otherwise.”
Luce smirked coolly. “Do you even have a plan, or are you just rushing in and slaughtering shit?”
“If you want a plan, get it from my sister. Star knows the layout even better than I do and deserves to decide what happens to the majority of them.”
At that, I felt every eye in the room shift to me. “What about the girls?” I asked, since Amo was clearly not concerned about them.
“I only want a few and some bodies to carve up. Help yourselves to the leftovers”
Well, I didn’t know where to begin with that callous statement. He’d said my name with genuine affection, but he was coldly detached about everything else. My brother was healthy and alive, but he was a total stranger to me now.
There wasn’t anything I could about that, though.
I didn’t see us sitting down to play catch up anytime soon. It was a miracle the room hadn’t become a bloodbath yet. The tension between these factions was stifling.
Cam and Rory were staring at one another with equal amounts of interest and hostility. Bella had diverted her attention to something on the other side of the room, still refusing to pay any to Amo. I felt caught right in the middle, but I knew exactly which side I would stand on if all hell broke loose.
“What do you think?” Luce asked.
It took effort to hide the shock over him seriously asking me to choose.
Amo was right, I did know A.R.C. I grew up there. The girls were my main concern. Not all of them would survive this world, but at least this was giving them a chance to try.
As for the A.R.C itself…
I looked over at Luce. “I want to burn it down.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Sometimes silence has a way of explaining what words can’t.
I don’t think anyone was ready to discuss what had just happened. They’d just had a few bombs dropped on them all at once. Cam looked lost in his own head. I’m sure he was trying to process that he had a new sibling, and the added death threat leveled against Lilith.
Bella was staring out the window.
I’m sure she was more than likely thinking about her friend and whatever had occurred between her and Amo.
Luce was Luce. Ahead of the rest of us, mapping out exactly what was going to go down.
It was growing dark, and we were approaching the wooded area that would take us to A.R.C. The Stags and Lazarus may go running in without any kind of plan, but I knew that wasn’t how the Savages typically did things. Which was why they were at the top and no one else was.
When Ice reached where we would have to continue by foot, he switched the car off and cut the headlights. The acolytes followed his lead. I peered through the break in the trees, the darkening woods seeming larger than I remembered.
I had never gone towards the A.R.C. I’d always wanted to run away from it.
“Amo and Aurora will go through the back,” Luce said suddenly.
“How do you know that?”
“Because when you study someone long enough, they begin to show a pattern.”
That was disconcerting. I’d already caught him doing that to me a handful of times.
“That will take them past the pods. The guerillas sleep there,” I explained.
“Then that’s where they’ll start.”
Cam now snapped out of the daze he was in and gently nudged my side. “Where’s your Cardinal?”
“He’ll be in the church. All the Exarchs sleep there too.”
“What does he look like?” Luce asked.
I shrugged, “I’ve only seen him once. He never shows himself to anyone outside the church.” I left out that the one time I came face to face with this man was when he made the tape Addy had asked me about.
It was to prove I was a virgin. Different Exarchs took over the task over the years, recording each examination. It wasn’t something I ever wanted to speak about or acknowledge, a rarity for me, but I would prefer it be burned from my mind forever.
The next lapse of silence was shattered by multiple gunshots ringing through the air.
“I believe that’s our unofficial cue,” Ice mused.
“Let’s go,” Luce said, popping open his door.
We all piled out of the car, the acolytes behind us doing the same.
Luce was giving rapid fire orders, causing some to immediately slip away into the trees. I stood between Ice and Cam, watching him in his element.
“If you start drooling over how turned on you are with him right now,” Ice started.
“I wouldn’t do that,” I objected, fighting the urge to wipe my mouth. “You guys will be okay, right?”
Cam wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Of course, queenie. Who wouldn’t come back, knowing you’d be here waiting?”
“This isn’t our first time going to shake things up,” Ice commented, bumping my hip with his. The growing darkness served as a backdrop to all the shades of blue that made up his crazily gorgeous eyes.
“You two.” Luce walked over and indicated me and Bella.
“Stay put for twenty minutes, then go start finding any spare girls.”
“What do we do with them?” Bella asked.
“Send the ones that can be rehabilitated into the woods. Tell them to stay put until the sun comes up. That’ll give Mom time to get ready for them,” Luce.
“Your mom?” I parroted. “How did you get a hold of her so fast?”
“It was my dad who looped her into it once I put my acolytes to use.”
“That’s amazing.”
He tugged me from beneath Cam’s arm and slipped his around my waist. “I like to take my time, but I can get the job done fast and efficiently if need be.”
That was loaded with a double entendre. My cheeks melted, resulting in a cocky smirk from Luce.
“Right now? Really?” Bella drawled. “Can you stop for five seconds and tell us what we do with the girls that can’t be rehabilitated?”
“Simple. Kill them, or leave them to suffer and die on their own.”
“Luce!”
He placed a quick kiss on my lips, patting my ass before he retrieved his blade from some secret place. “Take this. I’ll find you soon.”
“What? No. Then what will you have? They’ve got guns!”
“Baby, I can kill a man with my bare hands just as well as I can with a weapon.” He pulled away, and, like a shadow, vanished into the trees, Cam, Ice, and six acolytes following them.
Gunshots were still going off every few minutes, but now screams of pain and distress had joined them.
“Ready?” Bella asked me, nearly jumping up and down.
“It hasn’t been two minutes, let alone twenty,” I pointed out, adjusting my hold on Luce’s heavy knife. The curved blade looked lethal and sharp.
“Screw that! He never lets me in on the fun. Let’s go!” She called over her shoulder to the remaining acolytes.
“Bella!”
She ignored me, taking off into the trees, going the same way Luce had. I gritted my teeth and broke into a jog, hating the dress I had on that much more.
It was growing darker by the minute, but finding my way through the woods wasn’t too hard. I followed the smell of smoke and rising volume of screams.
There were still two acolytes with me. I knew this was Luce’s doing, as I wasn’t officially a Savage yet.
