The Liberator (A Dante Walker Novel) (Entangled Teen) (24 page)

34

My Reason

The siren—not much older than me—takes Annabelle’s head in his hands. His voice comes out rough, like the sound a truck makes driving over pebbles. “I’m going to snap her neck. And you’re going to watch.”

Charlie comes alive in an instant. The blood is forgotten. The body she left behind—gone. Now there’s only Annabelle. She shoves Blue from behind, and he’s so startled, he tumbles to the ground. “I know what you want,” she says, her head held up high. “I’ll go with you.”

The siren smiles, and the sight raises goose bumps across my skin.

“Charlie, don’t move,” I say, slinking toward her. “Don’t take another step.”

But she’s not listening. She wants this. She’s waited for a moment when she could protect those she cares about instead of the other way around. And now she won’t be denied. Charlie moves closer, and the siren’s grin widens.

“Rector is going to be so pleased,” he says, licking his lips.

My pulse pounds at my temples at the name. Rector. The head collector. The same collector who got too close to my mom, who forced Charlie to forfeit her soul, who
accidentally
killed Blue.

“Get back,” Annabelle mumbles to Charlie, barely conscious. It’s the first time I’ve heard her speak, and her words, the life in them, fill me with courage.

I’m almost to Charlie when the siren says, “You’re all Rector wants, so I guess it doesn’t matter what I do with this one.”

He means Annabelle.

He’s going to kill Annabelle even though Charlie is within his reach.

But in a flash, the siren is airborne.

He’s flying through the air, and Kraven is standing in front of Annabelle like a wild dog. His wings spread out, and he roars with unbridled fury. He turns once and takes Annabelle’s face in his hands. His eyes search hers.

Then he’s soaring toward the siren, his wings brightening the night sky.

The siren screams so loudly, my ears ring. I don’t know what Kraven is doing to him, and I don’t care. There’s a quick snapping sound, and the screams stop. Seconds later, Kraven is touching down in front of Annabelle. He glances around, searching for any other source of danger, but there’s nothing to see.

Except for the blood covering Charlie’s body.

Annabelle’s knees buckle, and Kraven sweeps her into his arms. He leans his head down and presses his cheek against hers. And then, as if he remembers we’re watching, he pulls away.

Valery, Max, and Aspen come rushing around the corner of the Hive. Max gets to us first. “Is everyone all right?” He sees Charlie. “Holy crap.”

I seek out Aspen and find she’s staring at me. She nods. “We can’t wait any longer,” I tell Kraven, my gaze still on Aspen. “So if you have any secrets to share, now’s the time.”

Kraven moves toward Blue and passes Annabelle into his arms. Then he grabs my shoulders and jerks my chest against his. “I’m going to take her.”

“Dude, back off.” My muscles clench. “What are you doing?”

Kraven holds me in place. “Have you not liberated a soul recently? You can’t take it with you down
there
. Now hurry up; more sirens will be here any moment.” He glances around like he can’t believe they aren’t here already, like this may be some sort of trap.

A wave of understanding washes over me. Grams. Kraven wants me to give him her soul so he can turn it in to Big Guy. Makes sense. The fact that I’d forgotten this detail makes my face burn. I close my eyes and try to pass the soul into him, but I can’t.

“Stop trying to give it to me,” he barks. “I have to take it from you. That’s the only way it works.”

How am I supposed to know this crap? I was never taught how to steal souls, though that didn’t stop Rector from figuring it out. I quit trying to do anything, and when I do, I feel a slight tickle along my chest. I’m not sure if that means anything. When Rector took Charlie’s soul from me, I didn’t sense much of anything. If I had, maybe I would have known what had occurred. “Did it happen? Do you have it?”

“What’s going on?” Charlie asks from beside me. She’s still dazed but seems to be doing better. She and everyone else are staring at Kraven’s wings. Even the people who’d already seen them once before are speechless.

Kraven doesn’t answer either of us. He just darts toward Blue and takes Annabelle back. Guess I’ll take that as a
yes, I took her soul
. “Go now, Dante. Quickly. I have to get them inside.”

“He can’t go now,” Valery says. “He promised you three more days. Doesn’t he need that to learn—?”

“Red, this can’t wait,” I say. “You know it can’t.”

“What is everyone talking about?” Blue says. “And why are we doing it out here?”

“Max, will you lead us?” I say.

“No!” Valery barks. “You don’t need him.”

Max steps to my side. “Of course, man. If you insist on being an idiot, I won’t let you do it alone.”

“He can’t go back there,” Valery insists. She’s talking to me but grabbing onto Max’s shirt. Tears fill her eyes, and her cheeks bloom red.

“Blue, take Charlie inside right now,” Kraven demands. Though Blue’s face is filled with confusion, he does what Kraven asks. At first Charlie holds tight to my waist, shaking her head
no
. But as Blue begins to pull her away and I begin to push, she starts shouting. I know Charlie doesn’t know exactly what’s happening. But she knows enough. She knows I’m going somewhere and that it can’t be some place good.

“No, no!” she cries. “You can’t go. Not after what happened. Not after what I did.”

“Charlie, it’s okay.” A lump forms in my throat. “They’ll watch after you.”

“But where are you going?”

I glance over my shoulder at the cliff and the ocean beyond it. Blue’s right, we can’t stay out here much longer, but I’m afraid if I go back inside, I’ll never leave. “Charlie, you have to trust me. Go back inside the Hive before the other sirens—”

“I won’t go until you tell me where you’re going,” she snarls. Charlie is slowly becoming hysterical. Blood drips from her shirt onto the ground, and her eyes are wide with fear. “Tell me. Tell me!”

I pry her fingers from my shirt as tears sting my eyes. Charlie’s bottom lip trembles.

My heart.

It may never beat again.

Aspen comes to stand beside me. “Are you ready?” I ask her in a whisper. She pulls in a deep breath and takes my hand. Her glove feels slick against my palm.

Seeing this, Charlie goes apeshit. Blue wraps his arms around her waist as Charlie throws herself toward me. “Her? You’re taking
her
?”

As Charlie writhes against Blue, I can’t help but be amazed. I can’t believe she ever thought I’d want her to change. This beautiful, peaceful girl. Look at her go. She’s thrashing like a rabid beast. Fighting for what she wants.

No, I never wanted her to change.

But she has.

“I lost my Grams,” Charlie says. “I won’t lose you, too.” Her face is twisted with misery. It’s only been a few days since Grams passed away. Each night, I see it in the way Charlie sleeps—broken and filled with nightmares. But during the day she pushes it down so we won’t know, so we won’t feel sorry for her. Not now, though. Now the pain is right there, raw. So close it’s like I could reach out and grab it.

Her words sting, but I won’t stay. Because I love her—
I love her
—but this is about saving her life. And it’s about saving the lives of others, too. I don’t want to care about other people, those humans whose faces I’ve never seen and whose names I’ve never learned. But I do. I care because Charlie taught me how to care. And now I have to do what’s right.

Even if it means leaving her.

Even if it means I may never return.

I release Aspen’s hand and take Charlie Cooper’s face in my hands. My chest breaks open. “My sweet angel,” I whisper. “You are my pain. You are my reason. I love you. I love you.”

Our lips connect. I taste the salt of her tears, the tang of siren blood on her mouth. I kiss her as if it might be the last time.

And then I let go and turn away.

I start walking.

Max and Aspen follow, and Charlie starts to sob.

“You love me?” she cries. “You
love
me! You said forever, Dante. Forever means you can’t leave. You can’t. You said forever!”

I can still hear her screaming as she’s dragged inside the Hive. With every step I take, my body burns hotter. My hands shake, and I clench my teeth. I want to run to her, to dry her tears. But I just keep walking. I must.

Forever.

35

Good-bye, Friend

Twelve hours later, after a grueling flight, little sleep, and bad food, Max, Aspen, and I wait on a private runway for our car. We may have left the Hive without a dime between us, but Max had his phone. And though Valery is none too pleased that Max came along, she did agree to make us accommodations once he explained what we needed.

I’m still thinking about the things Charlie said when a black sedan pulls up. I hope she knows I’m doing this for her.

Inside the car, Aspen shifts in the leather seat, bringing me out of my head. She works her necklace between her fingers and watches me. She’s waiting for some kind of direction, but I have nothing to give her.

“So,” she says. “Alaska.”

I shrug.

“I thought it’d be somewhere hot.” Aspen glances at Max, hoping she’ll have more luck digging information out of him. But he doesn’t look at her. He’s lost in thought, and I don’t have to guess who he’s thinking about. Or what color her hair is.

I don’t want to talk. I just want to let my stomach eat itself. But Aspen has done something phenomenal. She’s volunteered to go on this soul-stealing mission whether it’s a good idea or not, and I feel like I owe her my attention.

“We’ll be there in a couple of hours,” I say. “It takes time to drive in this kind of weather.”

Aspen looks outside the window. Snow flurries lash by us in a strange war dance. The road is barely two lanes wide, and I can only really see the tracks where other tires have driven. Before long, that’ll be gone, too. Then we’ll be on snowmobiles.

“I would have thought we’d be somewhere hot,” Aspen repeats.

Exactly
, I think.
That’s why we’re here instead
.

Before long, the driver stops the car. He gets out and pops the trunk. Then he gets back in and hands us thermal wear and heavy jackets. As he tosses a red beanie to me, I wonder how much he knows about what we’re doing out here.

Next to nothing.

They never know anything. But then again, that’s the luxury money affords you. Pay someone enough, and they won’t ask questions. Sometimes I see a familiar face, but the end result is always the same: car, snowmobiles, no questions.

When Max and I step outside, the snow bites at my exposed skin. There isn’t much of it considering I’m wearing two layers of heavy-duty winter clothing, snow goggles, a stocking cap, and gloves. Aspen finishes changing in the car and steps outside. Though the wind howls, I can still hear her gasp from the sudden change in temperature.

“It won’t be for long,” I yell. Then I nod toward the three red-and-black snowmobiles. Max shakes hands with one of the snowmobile drivers. Aspen and I stomp over as the guys pass us and jump inside the sedan, the chains on the snow tires clinking as the car pulls away. I give Aspen a quick rundown of how to work the snowmobile. She nods her head and hugs her arms around her waist.

Max checks something in the storage area behind the seat and gives me a thumbs-up. I know what he was checking for, but I don’t want to think about it. Not yet.

I glance at Aspen and cock my head forward. She gets on her snowmobile and tugs on a helmet. I can see her body shaking, but I’m not sure whether it’s from the cold or something else.

After pulling on my own helmet, my right thumb squeezes the throttle, and we’re off.

I lean into turns and barely notice the numbness snaking over my body. I don’t have to ask for directions. Neither does Max. We’d know the way with closed eyes and frostbitten balls. Every time I catch Aspen driving in my peripheral vision, my stomach flutters.
This was a mistake
, I can’t help thinking.
She shouldn’t be here
.

But then I remember what she said at the Hive, about this being the reason I was assigned to her, the reason she’s so important to Big Guy. So I focus on that. And I think about Charlie. I try to keep them both suspended in my mind. It helps.

At least until I see it—

The entrance to hell.

Max and I turn our snowmobiles to the right and ease off the throttle. Then we dismount and head into the forest with Aspen at our heels. The first time I had to find the tree, the white spruce among all the others, I imagined I’d never make my way back to it. There are no distinguishing marks. Nothing that says,
I am the one to take you there
. But trust me when I say once you know it’s the one, it’s hard to unknow it.

Snow climbs to just beneath our knees, and we’re breathing hard by the time we arrive. With tall trees coated in frothy white powder and the ground glittering beneath our feet, it really does feel like Christmas. Guess it’s high time to spread a little holiday cheer in hell.

“Is this some kind of joke?” Aspen shouts over the wind. “Are you guys going to bury me out here?”

I toss a smile her way even though I’m not feeling it. I remember the first time I returned to this place on my own. It was like having a dentist appointment that you know would be painful and going, anyway. It’s like that times a million.

We stop in front of the tree. It’s easily eighty feet tall and reminds me of a Christmas tree every time I see it. I’m sure Lucille finds this wildly amusing. Aspen gazes upward and runs her hand over the sharp needles. Her fingers extend out from orange gloves.

Did she sleep with them on last night?

I think about telling her she should take my gloves so she doesn’t get frostbite. But she won’t need the warmth for much longer.

Max reaches into the back of his pants and pulls out a short blade. It’s what he was checking for on the snowmobile. Valery remembered everything Max asked for. Though I bet this part of the instructions made her particularly nervous.

My best friend hands the knife to me. Just like the tree, it isn’t anything special—a four-inch blade with a wood handle.

Blood surges through my veins as I angle the knife toward my inner arm. Aspen gasps.

“Wait,” Max says. “How are you going to do it?”

I let the knife drop to my side and put a hand on his shoulder. “You and I, we know every corner. It’ll be easier than you think because no one would ever dare try what I’m going to do. Lucille’s arrogance is his Achilles heel.”

Max knows this is true but doesn’t want to let it go. He pulls me into a hug so quickly I almost stab him in the leg. I throw my free arm around him, and my chest aches. My best friend has done so much for me. He’s risked his cuff to leave the collectors and be with me and Red, and he’s risked it again by coming here. I wish I’d made more time to hang out with him over the last few days. I only hope I can show him how much I care about our friendship when I get back.
If
I get back. I may talk a big game, but I know I may never see this part of earth again. And that includes Max.

“Get off me, leech,” I tell him, wiping a hand across my eyes. “Just wait with the snowmobiles. We’ll be back before you know it.”

Max studies the snow beneath his boots.

When I bring the knife to my arm this time, I don’t hesitate. I drag the blade across my inner left forearm until a dark trail of blood rises up. Turning my arm over, I let the blood drip onto the base of the tree. Then I hand the knife to Aspen.

“Left arm,” I tell her. Even this part I want to protect her from. But I know I have to let her do this without help, because it’ll only get worse from here on out.

Aspen closes her eyes, grits her teeth, and copies what I did. Then she turns her arm over. Her blood sprinkles across the snow, staining it red. Max backs up and holds my gaze.

Beneath the tree, the ground splits apart.

There’s a loud rumbling as a black hole spreads out from the roots. It swallows the blood-stained snow as a flesh offering and yawns open. I rush to Aspen’s side and pull her away from the black void. She’s holding her chin high, but I see the way her hands clench into fists.

“You can stay,” I tell her. “Max can take you back.”

“No,” she says. “I’m doing this.” I don’t know where her resolve stems from, but I accept her answer and move away. Aspen peers over the lip of the opening and sees the descending stairs. “It’s an actual place,” she says. “Hell is here on earth.”

“Of course.” I ease myself down onto the first step and turn toward her. “Last chance, Aspen. You don’t have to do this.”

Her gaze shifts to Max before landing back on me. Determination rages in her eyes, so I offer my hand, and she steps down beside me.

Max moves closer. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this,” he says unexpectedly. “I can’t be a collector while she’s a liberator. At some point I’m going to have to take a risk like you guys are.”

I don’t know why he’s telling me this now. But it’s almost like he wants me to know on the off chance that I don’t come back. I glance at his cuff. He means he wants to remove it. He wants to break off the dargon and see if Big Guy accepts him so that he can be with Valery.

“Not yet, champ,” I say. “Wait until I get back. Then we can do it together.”

The line between his eyes relaxes. He smiles.

I lift my hand in a wave.

He flips me off, and I laugh.

Then he turns and heads back toward the snowmobiles. There are so many unsaid things between us. He, more than anyone, knows what Aspen and I are about to face. I watch him walk away, bringing his knees up high to avoid stumbling in the snow.

Aspen squeezes my arm, and I turn my attention to the stairs.

“Are you ready?” I ask.

Aspen lets go of me and begins the descent. I follow after her. The ground closes over our heads. Snow drops down as the earth seals tight, sizzling against the ground.

When I hear the first moan of agony, I know it’s real.

I’ve come home to hell.