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At least five men shuffled into the door, guns cocked and pointed at me.
They stepped to the side, and Commander Moord stood in front of them, facing me. “Haina…”
I bared my teeth. I knew he’d be wearing night-vision goggles. I wasn’t an idiot. I’d scoured that training room for some myself, but the cabinet where they were normally kept was empty. I should have taken that as the first clue to abort the plan. But tonight was the night. Neffers was waiting for me on the boat tonight. I couldn’t abandon the plan and leave him vulnerable.
“This is foolish and you know it, Haina,” Moord said, his tone patronizing and manipulative. “Even as strong and trained as you are, do you really think you’re a match for … all this?”
I didn’t say anything. Silence was power.
“Haina …” Now he was scolding me like I was a child. “If you’re going to meet Neffers, you won’t find him.”
I sucked in a breath.
How did he know?
Neffers and I had been so careful. We’d been planning my escape for months. How did Moord know?
“I know everything that happens in my compound, Haina. And Neffers was a traitor.”
Was?
“He betrayed the true cause by helping you escape. He was a domestic terrorist, and you will be too if you continue down this foolish path.”
No.Neffers was supporting the cause. The RIGHT cause. The cause for freedom and restoring democracy to this messed-up, tyrannically run country.
“To helpme,”I said, hating the crack in my voice as my throat grew tight. My friend. My one and only friend was gone. Killed by the evil monster in front of me. And probably not swiftly or painlessly either.
Had Moord tortured Neffers until he gave up the plan? Did Moord know about the survival pack? About the boat? Did he know what I planned to do when I finally got where I needed to go? When did they catch Neffers? None of this made any sense.
“He’s still alive,” Moord said. “But it’s up to you whether he dies painfully or not. Give up this ridiculous idea of leaving, and Neffers won’t feel a thing. Fight us, and we will make you watch every minute, every hour of his slow, painful death.”
My chin trembled but only for a second. I squeezed my molars together and swallowed.
Moord held out his hand. “Haina, come.”
I reached for the knife at my thigh and was about to throw it into the mass of soldiers in front of me, knowing I’d hit at least one in the throat, when an explosion and then another and another shook the entire compound.
I reached out to the wall for support, and as I did, I heard gunshots out in the corridor and men falling. Fighting. Fists collided with faces. Bones crunched. Men wailed and gasped in surprise as they realized that would be the last breath they took. The meaty and coppery scent of freshly drawn blood permeated the darkness, mixing with the smoke to create a pungent and choking aroma.
What was happening?
Nobody had even touched me. Nobody had fired in my direction.
The alarm was wailing again.
“Fire!” someone shouted.
Another series of explosions rocked the compound, and the ceiling above me and the wall behind me crumbled.
What the hell was going on? This was not the plan Neffers and I had meticulously laid out. We weren’t going to blow up the entire compound … though, now that I thought about it, it wasn’t such a terrible idea.
I knew Moord was still standing in front of me. But he also knew better than to just run straight at me. The man might be my commander. He might have trained me since I learned how to walk, but he also knew I hated him and wouldn’t hesitate to slit his throat.
In fact, he probably knew I’d relish it. We were told that all commanders were Verians, and that Moord was enhanced with my blood, but a part of me always suspected that he was actually Amlin, he just trained hard to have strength and agility like super soldiers. I was kept in the dark about a lot of things, and lied to even more.
More gunshots. More blades to bellies and then the delicious sound of Commander Moord’s gasp—even through the wailing siren—followed by the metallic scent of his blood as someone sliced his throat.
I held my ground, blinking and coughing through the debris and smoke. I still couldn’t see anything despite the blown-off wall and ceiling.
