Rush of Blood Read online

  Rush of Blood

  Heather Shahan

  All Rights Reserved

  Copyright © 2018 by Heather Shahan

  Cover art copyright © 2018 by Heather Shahan

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

  ISBN 978-1723234286

  Also by Heather Shahan

  Trinity Chronicles

  Burn the Ashes

  Rush of Blood

  1

  Peony

  We reach the old highways as the sun sets behind us, but we cannot stop for fear of being caught. Eli looks back and motions to our right. We turn, following the line south towards the ruins.

  Burned out metal husks dot the arch line and often the grassy areas in between. Supposedly they carried people long distances like horses, but were able to hold more than two people at a time. I’ve heard that they often packed these concrete paths, people traveling great distances daily. Sometimes I wonder why there weren’t many out when the solar flare happened, but right now there’s too many other things crowding my mind. I might as well be one of them.

  I focus on my steps, still dizzied by the events that led here since yesterday. Solar created an explosion that set us all free and almost killed himself in the process—it would have if I hadn’t used my element to heal him. That depleted all of my energy, both physical and emotional. I need rest. I need to reset, but we cannot stop. I feel adrift, mechanical.

  The heat is oppressive, even after dark. The Aer keep a breeze drifting, but I’m still covered in sweat and grime. I even find myself dreaming of the big shower at the entrance of The Compound. I’d laugh at the absurdity if I had the emotion left for it.

  Weapons line the backs of all Aer and Ignis. The Terra were split into two groups, one at the front as guides and scouts and the second in the back covering our tracks. We Aqua—it feels strange to be included again—save that energy to ease sore muscles and replenish the others so that we can continue on as long as possible. Though, if I’m being honest, I haven’t been able to contribute at all.

  I walk next to Solar and Anza, but there’s no connection. I feel empty. Part of me wants to brush it aside as the result of everything, but I know there’s more. Things changed when he gave up on himself and walked away. I could use his warmth right now and I’ve wanted to reach out and hold his hand, but I can’t. I find myself digging my thumbnails into my fingers instead, slicing away like a dull knife in a rhythm. It calms me.

  -

  We stop for good on the third day when the arch line we have been following intersects another. Standing in the center of the basin, I look up at the crisscrossing arches. Foliage hangs from each one, seemingly creating a roof above our heads.

  “Welcome home!” Eli shouts.

  Eli and Anza direct everyone, sending them in all directions. The weapons are placed in the center and a few begin to sort them. Some are sent three arches up on guard duty. Groups are directed towards the ruins to scavenge; we need bedding, wood, food, and other resources.

  I stand at the edge, frozen and watching it all. Then Solar stands in front of me and I realize I never saw him approach. I can feel him studying me, but I cannot make myself move. I cannot acknowledge him.

  “Are you alright?” he asks, sincere.

  Am I alright? I’m not sure. I don’t know what I am right now. I exist, somehow, and not much more.

  I want to answer him—I know I am supposed to—but nothing I could say feels accurate. I close my eyes and shake my head, then I turn and walk away from him. I climb the small incline under the first arch, hiding away in the smallest, darkest crevice. I pull my legs up to my chest and wrap my arms as tight around them as I can as though it were possible to close myself off from the world.

  I cannot speak, but I can make a sort of groaning hum. I let it out, small but constant until I have nothing left, and then I sleep.

  2

  Gray

  I open my eyes to darkness and grunt. Leanna opens the curtains early every morning, but I’ve come to expect it over the last week. I roll over onto my right side, only wincing momentarily, and try to will myself back to sleep. My mind is floating, peaceful, when I hear the door open and her soft footsteps.

  I have to admit, I remind myself, it is better than the Compound guards yelling us awake for roll call. I throw my legs over the edge of the bed and sit up.

  “Not so fast, Gray,” she calls out. “You’re still on the mend.” She appears at my side and tries to guide my legs back into bed.

  “I’m fine. Really,” I insist.

  “Good,” I hear from the doorway. “Then we can go for a walk.” I study the girl for a minute before I recognize her, so out of place within these walls—though, if she is, I am too.

  I remember glancing over at her face as the noose was thrown around her sister’s neck. Eli was too caught up in his own grief, so I pulled her into my arms and shielded her eyes so that she wouldn’t have to see Beth die.

  I nod and force myself to stand. “I’ll be alright, Leanna. Thank you.” The older nurse purses her lips, but doesn’t seem willing to intercede.

  Eliza loops her arm through mine and nods to Leanna with a friendly smile that isn’t returned. We walk out of the room in silence. It takes effort, but it feels good to be up and moving again.

  “How are you really doing?” she asks when we’ve made it halfway down the hall. I want to answer, but none of this is making sense to me. How is Eliza here in a position of authority? Why isn’t she still in The Compound?

  I stop walking and turn to face her. “Why are you here?” I ask. She nods, accepting the challenge, and holds a door on the right open for me. I hesitate, but follow.

  I step into a small, grassy courtyard completely surrounded by walls. Rockwall, the capital of Trinity, consists of one large building. Windows are abundant because they rely on the sun to light up the rooms. To ensure that there are no fully enclosed rooms—that I am aware of—they built these little courtyards in between wings of the building. Eliza easily sits in the grass, waiting for me to choose to join her.

  “Everything that I tell you is between us,” she tells me, her voice almost a whisper, when I lower myself next to her.

  She pauses before continuing. “The Compound is gone. One of the Ignis caused an explosion and most of the others escaped. Before that happened, Crow offered me a job working for him. I accepted and he brought me here.”

  “Why would you accept?” I ask, incredulous. A memory surfaces unbidden of his face watching down on me, promising to keep me safe. I shake it away.

  —I am working with Anza.

  She looks over, waiting for me to acknowledge that I got my answer.

  “Understood,” I respond. “Do you know what happened to the others? Did Eli make it out?”

  “So, how are you really doing?” she asks again, dodging my questions.

  I let out a long breath. “I think keeping me in that bed to rest is doing more harm than good,” I answer honestly. I glance up, sensing someone, and see Crow standing at the window watching us. I look back down at the grass.

  “Why does he care how I am?” I ask.

  “Honestly? I don’t know. Everyone thought he brought you back to The Infirmary to use you as a test subject before you died. Nobody knows you’re here.”

  Great.

  My family—what’s left of them—probably thinks I’m dead. The few friends I made think I’m as good as dead. I’m truly alone with nobody who gives a damn about me.

  I look back up at the window, correcting myself. Except, for some reason, for him
.

  -

  The nurses’ backs are turned away from the door when I return and they don’t seem to notice me hobbling back to my cot as they stock new medicinal supplies. I’m used to tuning out their chatter by now, but it’s obvious they’re talking about me.

  “I still can’t believe it,” Alison exclaims. “So she just came in here and took him?”

  “Mhmm,” Leanna confirms.

  “It doesn’t make sense. The man developed a serum to strip them of their mutations—he’s got a room full of test subjects—but he chooses one of them to be his assistant.”

  “Right. And she keeps her element. I fully understand letting them keep it if it helps us. Like Gray. He will go into the Guardia, will help keep ours safe, ensures we win… and, if we lose him, it isn’t a real loss,” Leanna says with a shrug.

  Ronnie, the soldier on the cot across from mine, looks at me with a pained smile, as if to show support, but he doesn’t tell them to shut up.

  Alison bobs her head back and forth as though it is a scale balancing the merits of Talist worth. “I don’t even know why they’re letting the ones next door live,” she says. “Taking their abilities won’t change their mindset. They’re already predisposed to hate us. Test on them before giving the serum to fresh sparks, then kill them. It’s a security risk.”

  Dr. Bosco walks in and the two instantly go quiet. Alison turns to follow, but he holds a hand up to stop her. He can’t know what they were just discussing, but I like him ten times more now for silencing them.

  Hell, the only reason I disliked him was because of the nurses’ rants about him. Now I know how much I can trust their opinions.

  “How are you feeling? I heard you went on a little walk.”

  I want to tell him whatever I need to so that I can get out of here, but I wince as I pull my shirt off so he can check my wound.

  “A little more sore than I expected I would be.”

  He chuckles. “We’ll see how it goes, but training is pretty intensive so let’s plan on another week.”

  I glance back over at Leanna and Alison and find them watching me carefully. Great. Another week being cared for by nurses who believe my only worth is to shield vanillas.

  3

  Eli

  I can’t sleep.

  I’m not locked inside a fence, I can lay down without bodies pressed up against me, my life is not in the hands of someone with a gun and a penchant for slaughter, but I can’t fucking sleep.

  I jump up off the ground and march off towards the moon, climbing the hill to the arch and the arch up into the sky, weaving around the ancient cars. At the top, I sit next to Cillian where the raised edge has broken away and dangle my legs over the edge.

  He glances over at me and I grunt. “Go sleep. One of us should.” He doesn’t bother to question me and disappears into the dark.

  A few hours later the sun begins to rise, sending fiery sparks to light the sky. It’s the fire inside my chest that keeps me awake, I realize, but it doesn’t belong to me. It’s Beth’s fire. She’s gone and I’m the one charged with tending it.

  I shake my head at the thought. She’s the one that should be here. She’s the one that should have survived.

  Fuck it.

  -

  When the others are up, I recruit a few for a raid team.

  Myself, Cillian, and Aeroue as Terra, for tracking and scouting.

  Solar, Rob, and Eyara as Ignis for battle.

  Arlo and Estok as Aer, in case we split into groups.

  Andari and Timber as Aqua, to keep us alive.

  While they pack supplies, I pull Anza and Stella aside.

  “I can’t just sit around and wait for this to blow over.”

  “That’s not—” Anza interjects, but I hold my hand up to stop her.

  “I’m taking nine others. We’re going to track down a Guardia patrol and get some information from them. Hopefully we’ll be able to bolster our resources here.”

  I turn to Stella, the former Terra, “I want you to be in charge of organizing and maintaining our growing arsenal. Learn to use what we have. My goal is to bring you more from this trip.”

  “Yes, sir,” she says, nodding.

  Sir? I glance at Anza, raising and pulling in my eyebrows.

  I turn and stalk off back to my group. I hope Stella does well. The girl is scrawny but, without her element, weaponry is her last chance at being useful.

  -

  We walk along the arch line, our backs to the rising sun. I stay with the group, my focus on the earth and any disturbances. Cillian and Aeroue scout ahead. Our assumption is that patrols will be riding horses, a luxury that will come in handy if we are correct.

  Aeroue appears at my side when the sun is directly above us. She points to our right, back towards the fallen Compound.

  “How many?”

  “Three.”

  I smirk. Only three? I motion north for the others and let her take the lead.

  We weave through the overgrown rubble of old small buildings. The few remaining signs have long since faded from the sun. I crouch down behind a hunk of rusted metal with bum wheels when I spot them. Three Guardia riding horses.

  “We didn’t bring any weapons,” Andari whispers.

  I shrug. “We’re not trained with them anyways and we’ll be able to bring more back with us this way. We can take them down with our elements.”

  As if proving my point, Estok steps forward, using his arms to draw the wind in close. I squint my eyes, trying to keep all of the flying dirt out. The horses hold their heads higher, exhaling in a wary snort.

  “Be ready to trap the soldiers. Cillian and Aeroue, help me with the horses when they bolt,” I direct.

  When I hear them squeal and the men shout, I begin to reach out to them. Come to me, I try to say. I am a friend. I will keep you safe. I open my eyes to see one of the horses staring me down. He blows air at me and I hold my hand out, palm up. He takes a step forward and nickers, accepting me. I carefully take his reins and hand them to Cillian.

  “Keep them over there while we handle the soldiers,” I tell him, motioning back the way we came. He and Aeroue nod and I step around the decayed car to face the captured soldiers, held by Arlo, Solar, and Rob.

  “Get their weapons,” I order, not taking my eyes off theirs. Which one will break? Eyara and Timber search them, tossing a collection of guns and daggers into a pile on the side.

  The first soldier stares me down, ready for a fight. I pick a gun from the pile and make eye contact with Arlo, motioning to the side with my head. He nods.

  I aim, pausing for a reaction, but he doesn’t flinch. I pull the trigger as Arlo steps to the side.

  “Do we have to kill them?” Timber gasps.

  I glare at him. “Later.”

  I turn back to the others. The one in the middle is still looking at me, but his skin has gone pale and a puddle is growing at his feet. Either this group hasn’t seen combat or they’ve never been on the losing side. The one on the right buckles, crying.

  How are these seen as the strongest Trinity has to offer? Every Talist at the Compound faced death in the eye at some point and I don’t remember even one being this weak.

  I motion for Solar to move to the side, but he scoffs. He rubs two fingers together, letting the friction create a tiny flame. He holds it to the man’s neck, letting it spread. Rob drags the crying mess to the side as the smell of burning flesh fills my nostrils. I cough, choking on the vile smell.

  “What is he thinking?” Rob yells. Eyara runs into the flame and pulls Solar off of the burned man. Rain drops pick up until the flames start to fizzle. I glance over and see Estok, face up and eyes closed, concentrated on the small rain shower.

  I pat him on his shoulder. “We’re good,” I tell him. The rains begin to taper off.

  Timber kneels next to Solar, ready to heal his burns. “Don’t bother,” I tell him. “If he has a death wish, let him suffer the consequences.”

 
; Solar looks away. “You’re the ones that pulled me out.”

  “Rob and I have this one. You all can handle Solar,” I say. Rob and I drag the third soldier, who stopped crying to watch Solar’s stupidity in action, away from the others. A few screams later, we have the locations of two armories. Rob slits his throat.

  -

  We make it to the closest armory as the sun sets the next day. We tie the horses off on the trees far enough from the coming commotion before we approach. I crouch down behind some brush and the others follow.

  Two large buildings stand in the center of the clearing, with a small stable close behind. A guard stands at the door to the one on the left. Windows line the walls of the second.

  “Cillian, go check out the one on the right.” He nods and shifts into shadow.

  I decide to clarify Timber’s earlier question while we wait. “When we leave, our safety is secured by getting away without a chase. We need to get home with as few as possible knowing we were here, where we went, or trying to find us. If we tie them up, someone will set them free. If we sneak past, they’ll notice the missing weapons. They will alert the Guardia and we will have even more hunting us down than we do now.

  “Your orders are to kill. I chose you all for the job because I felt you would be comfortable with that, would see the necessity. We need as much time to get away as possible.”

  I turn to Solar. “No fires. They will see the smoke.”

  Cillian reappears at my side. “The second building is the barracks. It looks like most are settling in for the night.”

  “How many horses?”

  “Five.”

  “Cillian and Aeroue, collect the horses. I’ll get the guard.” They nod, shift, and work their way to the stables.

  “Follow when you see me again,” I direct before shifting, melding with the shadows.

  I creep down the hill, coming up on the edge of the building. I pull a dagger from my belt as I turn the corner. I push any reservations aside—I can’t show weakness when I expect the same from my group—and slide behind the guard. I put the blade to his neck and slash down before he can react.