Half Black Soul (29 page)

We hadn't discussed whether or not we were going to kill the guards we came across or just incapacitate them. I think we both understood that we would do whatever was necessary. At the moment, we were treading water only ten feet from where the guard was supposed to be at the edge of the slope. But, there was no guard.

Where is he? I whispered, spitting salt water out of my mouth. I didn't like sitting in the water like this. As stupid as it may have been, I kept worrying about sharks.

Just wait, Kayden whispered.

We waited, and I learned how exhausting treading water can be, and the way the sea was bobbing me was starting to make me nauseated. I guessed this stupid island didn't believe in a shoreline, because this close I should have been able to stand in the water. Kayden would have to haul himself out quickly. I hoped there would at least be a ledge when we got closer. But, fifteen minutes went by before we were rewarded for our patience, and I swear it felt like thirty.

Kayden had been right, the guy was huge, and it took me a moment before I realized that all the prison's guards must be the King's personal Warriors. I thought back to the last time I'd seen them; that day that seemed like so long ago right now, when I'd been forced to fight Kayden. Seeing this guard walking stiffly down the dead-drag slope, with his hulking shoulders, massive arms, towering height, and features shadowed by the dark night & intimidated me, much as I hate to admit it.

The bigger they are &.

The harder they hit, I finished.

So don't get hit. Lesson number one, girl.

The warrior guard stopped about five feet from the water's edge, scanning the scene in silent observation. I held my breath, even though there was no way he could see us out in the dark water. I needed to concentrate, and inner dialogue was not productive. Ahead of me, the warrior pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his teeth. He began patting down his clothing for what I assumed was a lighter. I looked to my right at Kayden. He wasn't there.

I looked all around me, panicking at his sudden disappearance, not knowing what I should do. My first instinct was to call out Kayden's name, but luckily, my monster stopped that impulse in its tracks.

Don't you dare! Just wait.

I looked back to where the guard was standing, digging in his back pocket now for his lighter. He found what he was looking for, and struck the blaze. That's when Kayden all but exploded out of the water. I guess there was a ledge.

He moved fast, but the element of surprise was Kayden's key here. He flew up onto the shore and wrapped his arms around the warrior's knees, throwing his body forward in a football tackle. The guard never saw it coming. His legs were swept out from under him, and his body came crashing down with incredible force. The back of his skull hit the rock with a teeth-clenching thud. Kayden was already on his feet.

His head whipped toward me, and he gestured me forward. I swam to the island, learning that the ledge was just a medium-sized jutting rock, about three feet below the water. I stepped onto it, and Kayden grabbed me under the arms and hauled me out of the water. Uh, thanks, I whispered.

I stood watching up the slope while Kayden stripped the guard of his uniform and put it on. He worked quickly, but the seconds seemed like hours to me. If someone came down the slope and saw us, this mission would end before it had even begun.

Finally, Kayden tapped my shoulder. He was ready to go in, the guard's gun clutched firmly in his hand. I nodded my head and gritted my teeth, wondering if this was the last time I would see him. I drank in his features, willing his image to be burned into my memory. He offered a half smile, as if he could read my thoughts, then turned, and began making his way up the slope. I slipped back into the water, stepping over the unconscious guard, noticing that a little blood was leaking from the back of his head and his mouth hung open. I rested my knees against the ledge and hunkered down so that only my head was above the water. The state of the guard gave me no pause.

If someone came down here to check on him, it was up to me to make sure they didn't get word out. I would also have to deal with him if he came to, though I doubted he would. After a few anxious minutes, I tried to relax a little. My walkie-talkie was clutched tight in my hand where I held it up by my face. I had the sound turned down, but a small red light would flash on the front of it if Kayden radioed me. I had only to wait.

Kayden

I crept my way up the slope. The backdoor to the prison had a camera positioned right above it, so I'd need to shoot out the generator box without being seen by the camera. I clutched the guard's handgun in my right hand. Above me, lightening streaked out across the night sky and thunder cried out. It was time.

I peeked around the corner of the wall that ran parallel to the slope I was standing on. The high stone wall of the prison sat there, with a small landing, a single steel door, and the camera positioned above it. I looked up, there was the generator box.

I crouched, aimed, and fired. The box exploded with a loud crack. I smiled. It looked like lightening had hit it. A small hum, a buzz I hadn't realized was there before, died out. The red light on the camera above the door went out. I had ten minutes to get to the surveillance room.

I made my way over to the door, and using the key I'd stolen from the guard, turned the lock and pushed my way inside. It was pitch black. A ringing alarm was sounding, and a recorded voice announced: Lockdown Lockdown Lockdown. I picked up my pace.

I only made it around the first corner before running smack into another guard. He shined his flashlight on my face, and my body went tense and ready.

What's going on, warrior? he asked me.

It took me a moment to realize that he thought I was one of his comrades. I cleared my throat. Lightening struck the generator, I said. Power's out.

No shit, he replied. Move to your station. We're on lockdown until the backup kicks on.

No shit, I thought, and nodded stiffly. The guard moved past me. I released a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding, and began moving again. I had to get to that camera room. I was grateful that over the alarm and the sound of my heart beating out of my chest, I had little time to form my own thoughts. I hadn't realized that anything other than Alexa could make me so nervous. I knew where to go, though, and every minute counted.

Moving down the corridor, I picked up into a jog when several other guards came jogging past in opposite directions. Most of them seemed to be moving toward the back door. Alexa was out there. I clenched my teeth. I had to trust that she could handle herself, and focus on the task at hand, but I couldn't help but feel as though there was a fire ablaze in my trousers.

Manny had told me that the camera room was located in the central area of the prison, on the third floor. A staircase should be up ahead and around the next corner. More guards came rushing past, and each time my heart skipped a beat. I was getting close. Just a little bit further.

I passed by multiple cells. None of the prisoners called out to me. I found this odd, because I knew instinctively that most of them were occupied. I rounded the corner. More cells. And, at the end of the corridor was the door that led to the stairway, a guard standing in front of it. I moved toward him.

In an attempt to look natural I swept my flashlight to the side and it illuminated one of the cells I was passing. I wished I hadn t, and I jerked the light ahead of me again immediately after. These cells were indeed occupied, and the one that I'd looked into held a sight that was too awful for words. I knew immediately that these prisoners were being milked of their blood, and from the look of the emaciated man I'd just glimpsed, that was probably the kindest of the tortures that took place here. The plan to meet Alexa at the docks seemed impossible now, and I cursed in my head. If her mother was in the same shape as these prisoners, there was no way Alexa would be able to defend herself against the guards. Not while she was carrying her mother.

When I reached the guard, he shined his flashlight in my face as well, and I had to grit my teeth so as not to growl at him. Where's your station, warrior? he barked, over the blare of the alarms.

My brain stalled. I couldn't seem to think of a good answer. The guard reached down to his belt, for his sword or his radio, I'll never know. I slammed my fist into face. His nose made a distinct crunching sound, and he crumpled to the floor. I looked around. Time was short, but if I just left his body here, and someone stumbled across it, they would know that there had been a breach. I grabbed him under the arms, pushed through the door, and stashed him under the stairwell. That would have to do. I checked my watch. Four minutes left.

Racing up the stairs, I finally reached the third floor. I was glad that I wasn't winded, and for the first time in my life, I understood the mindset of the trainers at the Brocken school. My least favorite exercise when I was in school had been the stair runs. I'd done my best to keep up my stamina after graduating, but the stair runs were one thing I'd thought were overkill. I would be rethinking that belief if I made it out of here.

Another door blocked access to the third floor, and I knew that another guard waited on the other side of it. Taking a deep breath, I flung it open. Another flashlight lit up my face. This time, I didn't let the guy get a word out. There was no time to waste. I snapped his neck in one clean motion. He slumped to the ground. A little excitement welled up in me. The guilt would come later. Two minutes left.

The surveillance room should be right around the next corner, on the right. Shutting off my flashlight, I put my head down and raced forward in the darkness. I skidded to a stop when I thought I'd reached the end of the hallway, flipping the flashlight back on. Two guards stood outside of the room I needed to get into. When they saw me, they rushed forward, the light from their flashlights bouncing off the floors and the walls. I tensed and waited, adopting the fighter's stance that was first nature to me.

It crossed my mind that I could just shoot both of them, but that would certainly send more guards running to see what the commotion was. As far as I knew, all of them were positioned at their stations , and I wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. Swords were clutched in their hands, and they dropped their flashlights to the floor, spilling light across its cold surface. They moved incredibly fast.

I ducked just before the first one's blade swept through the spot where my torso had been only a heartbeat earlier, sending my fist right into his stomach after his sword passed overhead, and popping up to crash the back of my elbow into the back of his head. The second one swung with his blade, and if my sidestep had been any slower, my head would have been removed from my shoulders. I sent a low roundhouse to the side of his left knee, grabbed the back of his neck, and slammed my knee into his face. The sword fell from his hand. I retrieved it. And, less than seconds later, both guards lay dead at my feet. Running the back of my hand across my wet forehead, I pushed through the door to the surveillance room. The backup generator kicked on.

Alexa

I rushed over to him, shock seizing my mind and soul. The worst possible thoughts raced through my head, and I found that my legs were shaking uncontrollably. This was not happening. This justcould not be happening.

I pulled Kayden off of the wheel, my hands trembling and struggling with his weight. He fell to the floor of the boat and his eyelids fluttered. I had the right mind to stop the engine, but my movements were clumsy and panicked. The boat rocked with the current of the water, and I kneeled beside my Libra.

Ripping open his shirt front, I found that a bullet must have passed through his shoulder blade and exited through his chest. Red blood bloomed from the hole, and I decided that I'd been wrong. This was not a color that I wanted to see on him. Not ever.

No words came to me. I just laid my head against his chest and listened carefully for a beating that I could only pray would be there. It took a moment, but over the rain and the thunder and my own heart pounding in my ears, I could just barely make out a heartbeat. The sigh I released was shuddered and relieved. I bit into my wrist without giving it a second thought, and pressed it to his mouth, letting my blood trickle into it.

Ten seconds went by. Then, twenty. Kayden didn't stir; didn't move. Greif, raw and vicious slowly began to settle over me, when at last, I felt his teeth latch weakly into my skin and begin to slowly take the blood that he needed so badly.

He drank and drank, and by the time his eyelids finally peeled apart, and those golden, sunrise eyes found my face, I was lightheaded with the blood loss. He was still hurt. I could see the thinly veiled pain written on his face, but a small smile pulled up his lips. Tears and sobs began to pour out of me.

Drive the boat, Warrior, he mumbled. I'm fine. Get us out of here.

I leaned down and kissed him once on the lips, my soul seeming to shatter inside of me. He wouldn't be hurt like this if it weren't for me. This was undeniably all my fault.

Blame yourself later. He's right, we need to get out of here.

I started the engine and took to the wheel, grateful beyond words when I saw that the fancy boat we'd stolen held its own GPS device. Leave it to the King to buy the best of everything. Good thing too, because that despicable man was running up a serious debt with me, and I was going to see to it that it got paid.