Extracted (20 page)

I don’t know what time it is, but it must be late. The corridor lights have dimmed for the evening and the false windows are dark as I walk past them. No one is wandering the halls, and except for the occasional hiss of steam or sputter of oil from the gas lamps, the Institute is quiet. When I get to Ethan’s room I pause, running my fingers over the cool brass door. I can almost feel him inside. My heart stutters in my chest as I drop my hand and keep walking.

Down three flights of spiral stairs from the Dormitory Floor is Tesla’s lab. I stand at the door, wondering how I’m going to open it. Do I knock? Taking a deep breath, I raise my hand to do just that when I hear the gears inside click into place and the whole thing opens just a crack.

He knows I’m here.

Of course he does. Tesla sees everything in this place. Pulling the door open, I slip inside, and then close it behind me. As the locks click back into place, a cold spike shoots down the back of my neck. Should have left it open, I think before remembering that it’s computer-automated. Tesla would have just closed it himself, anyway. Behind me, the lights flick on to a full glow. As I make my way slowly through the workstations, I ball up my fists then relax them, over and over. My hands are cold and shaking.

When I get to the main terminal, Tesla’s hologram is already there, his flat eyes staring at me.

Part of me wants to sprint back to my room and hide under the covers. But some other part of me, a stronger, braver part, wants answers.

“I have questions,” I say, my voice barely a whisper.

Tesla folds his hands in front of him but says nothing. He’s so pale. I wonder if he was that pale in life. His pallor and his hovering image make him look like a ghost. Maybe that’s what he is really—just a ghost in a machine.

“Flynn told me that my life before the Tesla Institute is a Fixed Point. Is that true?”

The grainy computer voice responds, just a second out of sync with the image’s moving lips. “That is true.”

“Is it common? I was led to believe Fixed Points are rare.”

“Five Fixed Points have been discovered in the time stream, including the one you created during your Trial.” His tone is flat, but I feel accusation in the words. “That does not mean they are rare. It means they have not been discovered yet.”

“How do you find them?”

“There is no way, at this time, to locate Fixed Points other than to accidentally stumble upon them.”

“How many Fixed Points have you created?” I ask, not sure where the question came from.

“One. It was by accident that one of my first Rifters created a Fixed Point. Once we realized what she’d done, we were able to study and record the phenomenon.”

I swallow, not sure how long he will continue to tolerate my questions.

“Why me? I mean, why did you choose me?” I ask, my voice cracking.

For a second there’s no response and I’m sure he’s going to shut down. But he finally answers. “You were chosen because of your pedigree.”

I shake my head. “I mean, why me? Not my mother or my sisters. Alexei and me. Why us?”

“A Fixed Point cannot be altered. It is a universal constant.”

“I don’t understand why,” I say, throwing my hands in the air as I pace past him.

Tesla’s image rotates in the fog, following my direction as I walk by. “Imagine, if you will, a fraying rope. To prevent the rope from falling apart, one can tie a knot in it. This is what a Fixed Point does. Should a Fixed Point be untied, for lack of a proper analogy, the time stream would unravel and be destroyed.”

“But you said a Fixed Point can’t be altered. It can’t be untied.”

“True. The alteration of a Fixed Point is not in our abilities. I only use this description so you understand how fragile time is and why it creates the Fixed Points. It is protecting itself, as any living organism does.”

I lean against the nearest wall, letting that sink in. “Tesla, why are you answering my questions? Why haven’t you just mind-wiped me again and sent me on my way?” I ask, dreading the answer. “Not that I’m ungrateful,” I add quickly.

“You are valuable to us.” His voice crackles through the overhead speakers.

That sounds like a lie, I realize. Even with no emotion on his face, no inflection in his voice, I don’t believe him.

“Why am I valuable suddenly? You’ve wiped my mind before. You sent me on my Trial. I could have died at any point before now.”

“Alexei Romanov is alive, and he will come for you,” the voice responds.

The blood in my veins turns to ice as I realize what he’s saying.

My brother will come for me, and when he does, Tesla will either take him, or kill him.

I’m only of value as bait.

* * *

I’ve been formulating a plan in my head. I haven’t spoken a word of it to anyone, but I’m sure Ethan knows what’s coming. He knows me too well not to suspect something. Outwardly I’ve been cool, if not a little detached. I overheard Flynn whispering to Mistress Catherine, something about post-traumatic stress.

Good.

Let them think that. The truth is since my chat with Tesla, I’ve never felt more focused. Every sense is on hyper-alert. I can hear footsteps as they pass outside my door. I can smell the meals being served in the cafeteria, even from my room three floors up. Of my group, only Kara seems unchanged by the attack. She’s been told about my brother, that I know. But she hasn’t said anything. I can feel her pulling away even as I do the same.

Ethan and I are playing a game of chess at my desk while Kara is painting my toenails a brilliant, crimson red. No one is talking. Kara finishes, twisting the top back on the contraband bottle of paint when I finally decide to speak up.

“Hey, Ethan, can you go do that voodoo that you do?” I ask, jerking my head toward the computer terminal next to the door.

Without a word, he gets up and walks to the panel. Pulling a pocketknife from his pants, he pops off the plate and starts fiddling with the wires inside. It sparks brightly before Ethan turns back to me with a nod.

“I need to go.”

Kara looks at me hopefully. “What? Like to the bathroom?”

I shake my head but it’s Ethan that speaks up. “To get her brother.”

His voice is calm, amused as he walks back over to the table. Like he can’t believe it’s taken me so long to say something. Kara frowns. She’s clearly disappointed, but not surprised.

“Okay. Here’s the plan. We know the Peacekeepers can locate the Hollows because of the Contra, right? Well, I’ve managed to get my hands on a couple. We’re going to use them to track your brother down. I’m thinking smash-and-grab. We go in heavy, disable their defenses, grab Alexei and—”

I cut him off. “I’m not coming back here, Ethan.” I can’t. I have no idea why Tesla wants Alexei or what he intends to do to him. We’ll have to hide, but I’ve come to accept this. We will run and hide somewhere, and Tesla will never be able to find us. We might have to run forever.

That must surprise him because he pauses, but only for a second. “Fine. Then we land someplace else. The plan is still fundamentally the same.”

Kara throws her legs over the bed and stands up. “Forget it. I have no desire to leave my home and go searching for some sketchy, drug-addled Hollow. Even if he is Ember’s brother.”

“What is your problem, Kara?” Ethan asks, his eyebrows raised.

Kara gets to her feet, lifting up the side of her shirt high enough to expose a long jagged scar across the front of her ribs.

“Your precious little brother did this to me. Let’s just say my first time out ended with a three-week stay in the hospital wing.” She drops her shirt and points at me. “He would have killed me, Ember. And he still would if he had the chance.” She hurls a bottle of nail polish so hard that it shatters, sending red liquid down my wall. “He’s our enemy and always will be, so get that through your thick skull and quit trying to plan a family reunion.”

I reach out to her but she jerks back. She’s hurt, I can see it on her face. But she must understand.

“Kara, you know I love you like a sister. I do. But Alexei is my blood. I have to find him before something terrible happens to him. He’s my responsibility.”

“Then we will help you,” Ethan offers, ignoring the nasty look Kara shoots his direction.

I hold my hands up. “No, I have to go alone. It isn’t that I don’t want you with me,” my eyes flicker to Ethan, who looks stunned and a little sad, “but I don’t know where I’m going to go or even when we are going to go once I get him out. I can’t ask you guys to risk that with me. I won’t.”

Ethan rolls his eyes. “Ember—”

I don’t let him finish. “When Tesla realizes what I’ve done, he will hunt me down. I’m going to have to run far and fast.” He opens his mouth to say something else, so I add, “It will be easier to hide out if it’s just me and my brother.”

Ethan snaps his mouth closed. I can tell he wants to argue, but he can’t find the right words. I know how he feels. I don’t want to go without him, either. There’s a pain in my chest and I really think it might be my heart breaking.

“Kara,” he whispers after a moment, “you owe me.”

I don’t know what he’s talking about, but a look crosses between them and she rolls her eyes.

“Fine. If you’re determined to do this, I’ll at least get you out of here,” Kara says, tapping her chin. “I think I can create a suitable distraction.”

“If anyone can be distracting, it’s you,” Ethan says, only half-joking.

She bows as if he has paid her a great compliment. “And Ethan, you can hot-wire the rift chamber. Ember just needs to steal a Tether. Can you handle that, Princess?”

“I think she can handle that,” Ethan says, looking at me. “But I’m going with you.”

He’s clenching his hand so hard his knuckles are white from the strain. I put my hand over his and squeeze. Kara glances between us, mutters something under her breath and steps out the door. As soon as she’s gone I feel the weight of Ethan’s stare.

“You can’t.” There are so many things I want to say. I want to tell him how much he means to me, how I would never risk him—not even for this. But it feels wrong to say those words when I know I’m about to leave him behind. “I need you to run the rift chamber.” It’s not the whole truth, but it’s what I’ll have to settle with for now.

After a few moments of reluctance waging war on his features, he sighs. “Fine. But the second you figure out where and when you are going to land, come get me, okay? Don’t make me come looking for you.”

I promise, wondering how I’m going to pull it off but determined to try, and Ethan heads back to the computer interface. He pulls a small copper disc from his pocket and presses it into a small slot.

“I’ve been saving this for a special occasion.” He winks at me. “Started working on it after the break-in. Just in case.”

I can’t help but be impressed at his forethought. “What is it?”

“It’s a virus. It’ll give us a few minutes off Tesla’s radar to get to the chamber while he tries to chase it down.”

I sweep a gaze across my room. Is there anything I want to take from this place? My hand moves to the cameo at my throat. It’s all I want, really. The only memory of this place not tainted with lies is hanging around my neck. Ethan grabs my rucksack and starts stuffing it full of clothes.

“Leave them,” I tell him. “I’ll get new stuff later.”

He doesn’t ask why or challenge me. He drops the sack like it’s full of toxic snakes and doesn’t look back. I take his hand and we slink into the hall. Lights behind us come on as lights in front of us fall dark. Every so often we enter a new section and the process repeats. “Keep in the dark,” Ethan says, pulling me behind him. “It’s where the virus is disabling the monitors.”

After what feels like forever, we reach the door to the tech locker. The door slides open and we slip in. Lights blaze to life, and for a moment I can’t breathe. Weapons, energy pulse guns, and dormant Peacekeepers line the walls. For a heartbeat, I think I can hear the mechanical creatures grinding to life. I strain to hear better, dropping into a defensive crouch. As soon as I realize they aren’t moving, I force myself to relax.

“Breathe, Ember,” Ethan says, his tone mocking.

I snort. “Says the guy who wasn’t almost eaten by the things.”

He reaches up and stuffs a Peacekeeper in his pocket. “Valid point. I will carry the very scary Tinkertoy.”

I’m looking for the drawer that holds the other tech. Finally, I graze the correct drawer and it glides open to reveal the rifting gear. “Do I need the Tether?” I ask, my fingers hovering above the shiny copper.

“I don’t know any other way.”

“The earbud?”

But even as I say it I know the answer. I look over at Ethan who has come to the same conclusion. “I think you have all you need. Let’s go.”

He doesn’t have to tell me twice. I push the drawer closed and we’re off to the rift chamber.

I half-expect to run into someone along the way. Flynn or Mistress Catherine. Mentally I prepare myself for a fight. Once, during our training, Mistress Catherine had warned us that we might someday have to face one of our own. And for me, today might be that day. She’d been talking about the Hollows, of course. I never could have expected I’d be the rogue. Could I do it? Attack one of them on purpose? As we turn the next corner, the answer is simple. Yes. To save my brother I could do just about anything. Ethan holds up his fist, motioning for me to stop. For a second, I feel guilty, but not for going rogue or even for breaking up my team. I have put them all in danger. My friends. They are risking themselves for me. Ethan waves and we continue forward until we are standing outside the rift chamber. The red light flashes and the door grinds open. Kara is already inside.

“Ember, stop!”

I turn just in time to see Flynn running for the door, but he’s too late. The door slams closed with Ethan, Kara, and I inside. Ethan turns back to the door and punches a string of numbers into the keypad.

“Locked for now. But it won’t take them long to get past it.”

Shoving the Peacekeeper in my pocket, Ethan moves, grabbing me by the arm.

“You’re going to have to take this. It’s the only way to track the Hollows. Use it like a bloodhound. It’ll lead you to them, or at least get you close.”