Adamant (15 page)

I had to kill it.

I switched the stunner to my left hand and used my right to pull the dagger, flicking out the blade. It was much more streamlined and smoother than the ones used in drills at the Academy, my hand fitting the handle like it was meant to be there. As the monster bucked and tried to throw me off again, I lunged for its weak point. The blade went right in, and shadows flowed out instead of blood. Its knees buckled, and Ellen, who’d been fighting the second beast below, leaped out of the way as it fell to the ground. Carl and Aric were also dodging attacks from the second beast, which was in an even more rabid state than this one, drool hanging from its curved teeth, spittle flying.

My hand twitched on the dagger. No, I’d never killed a person—whatever that girl might have thought of Alliance guards, the Academy trained us to incapacitate, not kill—but I knew too well that that was a line easily crossed. It took more self-control than I’d expected to let Carl finish off the second monster with a stab to the back of the neck. Danger averted.

“Cethrax really needs to keep better control of their pets,” said Carl, referring to the beast’s origin world. The Cethraxians were one of many who’d been denied entry into the Alliance due to their blatant disregard for human or cross-species rights… or any kinds of rights, really. Unfortunately for a world which wanted nothing to do with the rest of the Multiverse, theirs was ridden with entrances to the lower-level Passages and generally anything monster-related could be traced back to them.

“Odd, though,” Carl said, frowning at the chalder vox’s prone form at his feet. “This is nowhere near the doors to Cethrax. They weren’t heading our way, either.”

I glanced at the other monster’s body and the tunnel it had come from. Wait…

Though it had been months since I’d looked at the map, it was imprinted on my memory. And now I thought about it, this particular tunnel wasn’t covered by the Alliance’s patrols. It supposedly dead-ended.

So where was that light coming from? A faint stream of gold light, not at all like the blue radiating from the Passage walls. Like a staircase…

“That tunnel.” I jerked my head in that direction. “Is that to the lower levels?” But that didn’t fit right with the map I had in my head. “Because there’s light coming from somewhere down there.”

Carl skirted around the monster’s body and came to stand in the tunnel entrance. “Damn. You’re right.”

There was a pause. Then a high-pitched screech sounded, reverberating through the Passages.

“Shit,” said Aric. “That was a wyvern!”

“Oh, hell,” said Ellen. “Sounded like it came from that way.” She pointed ahead, to where the corridor divided.

“That’s off our route,” said Carl. “We’d never get there before it got through…shit.” He tapped the screen of his communicator. “We need backup. We suspect there’s a wyvern on L1, around the junction of Doors 12B-F.”

A buzz of assent from the other end, and then silence. Carl indicated we follow him, leaving the tunnel with the strange light behind.

“We’re going to do a full search of this area,” he said. “Sounds echo, so it could be anywhere in this sector. We can’t afford to risk it breaking through one of the doors.”

No one dared argue, even Aric. He just nodded, serious for once. And no one spoke as we followed Carl.

I ignored the magic, though it was stronger than ever, like a live current running through my veins. There was definitely more of it in the Passages than before. That must be what attracted the wyverns. But it didn’t happen of its own accord.

The Balance must be tipping. Towards Earth.

***

“Well, that was a waste of time,” said Ellen, as soon as Carl was out of earshot. We stood in the Alliance’s entrance hall following our report to the head of the guards—two hours combing the Passages and not so much as a wyvern claw to show for it. The sound had been unmistakable, but nothing appeared.

“You’re telling me,” I said. “There’s not normally this level of activity in the Passages, is there?” And wyverns were the rarest monsters of all, even on the lower levels.

Ellen shook her head. “I forgot you’re new here.” Her eyes flicked up to meet mine, a smile playing on her lips. I couldn’t help noticing she’d somehow avoided getting any dirt in her hair. Skill.

“Yeah. Hell of a week.” I smiled back.

“It’s not always this exciting. You were
amazing
against that chalder vox, by the way.”

And I totally wasn’t checking her out in that tight faux leather uniform despite it being way below the line of ‘professional behaviour’. If I wasn’t mistaken, she’d been doing the same to me. “I don’t suppose you have plans later…?”

She looked startled, but flushed. “Not that I know of. Wow, that makes a change.”

“Sure does.” I laughed softly. I needed a distraction. “How about a drink? I’m not familiar with the local scene—only moved here a week ago.”

“I’ll show you around. Give me time to get ready. I’m covered in tunnel dust and God, do I want a shower. I’ll call you, okay… Kay?” She laughed.

“You’ve no idea how many times I’ve heard that one,” I said.

“I can guess. See you later.”

Today wasn’t a complete bust after all. No reason to dwell on prisoners and murders and hidden Passages…

I spotted Carl coming out of the guard office, and strode over to him. “Did you tell them about that light?” I asked. “Because I know that place backwards, and that tunnel’s supposed to dead-end.”

“How do you… ah. You’re sure about that?”

“Of course. I have a copy of my grandfather’s map, I memorised it.”

Technically, it was my father’s, and I’d stolen it before he’d left five years ago. But Carl didn’t need to know that.

“Right. I’ll pass that onto the others.”

That was one thing taken care of, at least. I was done with it. None of my business.

As I left the building, my communicator vibrated in my pocket. Incoming call from the New York Alliance branch. I crossed the car park to my vehicle, and hit the touch screen to accept the call.

“Who is it? It’s the ever-elusive Kay Walker.”

“Simon,” I said, leaning against my car. It figured my old friend from the Academy would want to know the details. Damn, had it really only been less than two weeks since graduation? “Guess you heard?”

“Heard things went apeshit at Central? The whole
world
knows. Haven’t you seen the news?”

“Dude, I’ve been
living
it. I arrested the suspect.”

Simon sucked in a breath. “Well, shit. I can’t say I’m surprised, but damn, Kay. You’ve been there what, three days?”

“You won’t believe it,” I said, “but Aric’s here, too.”

“Thought he was transferring to the States,” said Simon. “Shit. Isn’t Tara…?” He cut himself off, too late. “Sorry, man. Too soon?”

“It’s been two years, Simon,” I said, but my hand strayed to the scar on my left arm just the same. Simon usually knew better than to go poking at the past with a rusty nail. Of the three people who knew what had really gone down at the Academy, he was the only one I was on friendly speaking terms with. Though seeing as the other two were my ex and Aric, that wasn’t saying a whole lot.

“Two years. Jesus. Aric’s still being a conceited dickhead, then?”

“Yeah. He has zero professionalism. I
know
there must have been bribery involved for him to get in here—but there’s too much going on at the moment for anyone to pay attention. I’m hoping he gets himself fired before…”

Before anything happens like two years ago.
Simon could fill in the gaps easily enough. He cleared his throat. “How’s Central, anyway? Apart from all the craziness? They working you as hard as at the Academy? Because no shit, I don’t think I’ve had more than four straight hours of sleep since I transferred here.”

“Yep. Same here. It’s all paperwork and questionings, and occasionally kicking monsters around.”

“You got to fight already? Not fair. Just don’t go tangling with any more wyverns.”

“There was one in the Passages the other day, actually, but it got taken care of.”

“Damn.” Simon whistled. “You do have a knack for getting yourself knee deep in crap, don’t you?”

“You’re telling me.”

“Three days and you’ve got the place in chaos. Well done.”

“What, you’ve not brought a plague of swamp rats down on New York yet?”

“Watch it, you. Anyway. Is Central as swanky inside as outside? What’re the other employees like?”

“All right, I guess.” I glanced up at the building, which gleamed against the surroundings like a particularly potent middle finger.

“Yeah, it’s weird after five years knowing all the same people. Still, the girls here are drooling over my accent. Kind of awesome.”

“Bet it is.”

“What about you? It’s been three days, so I’m predicting you have at least one admirer.”

I rolled my eyes, even though of course he couldn’t see. “Yeah, right.”

“Anyone caught your eye, then? I know you, Kay. Don’t dodge the question.”

“Okay. Maybe.” I meant Ellen, but another face kept intruding. A pretty, stubborn redheaded prisoner, who intrigued me more than I wanted to admit to myself. The way she’d glared at me when she’d asked if I’d murdered anyone… she genuinely thought the Alliance were cold-blooded killers. That
I
was one. And it bothered me more than it should have.

Quit that.
I rested my forehead on my knuckles, holding my communicator with the other hand.

“Well, that’s something,” said Simon. “Man, this place couldn’t be more different from Central. Did you know they have a Passage door right in the middle of the city which is open to the public? Seriously. I mean, it’s a bit dull because there aren’t any monsters, but instead you get to meet people coming in from offworld. It’s pretty cool. They run, like, shelters for people escaping from their homeworlds for whatever reason. London doesn’t have any of those.”

“Yeah, Central needs to get on that,” I said. With Central being Earth’s first Alliance headquarters, they were neck deep in bureaucracy when it came to offworlders wanting to settle on Earth. Some of the other Alliance branches worldwide were more lenient.

“Pity I can’t come back and visit until I get my permit. I already figured out how to get to London’s Passage door from this side. A two-hour walk’s quicker than a flight.”

“True,” I said. The Passages were arranged in such a way that using them as a shortcut across Earth wasn’t usually possible unless you wanted to navigate through ten layers of different worlds’ security, or trek through the lower levels and risk getting eaten by one of Cethrax’s monsters. Flying was definitely a safer bet. “London’s under lockdown at the moment, anyway.”

“Crap, I suppose it is. They barred all the Passages?”

“Yeah, otherwise I’d have used my own permit by now. It’s only open to patrols.”

“You be careful. Wait, you’re not going to listen, are you?”

“I can give it a try.”

“Talk to you later, you lunatic.”

“Sure, asshole,” I said, and clicked off the phone icon. I looked up at Central, where a crowd of people had gathered outside. Guards, mostly, but also office workers.

Damn.
I crossed the car park quickly, in time to see a pale-looking supervisor raise his communicator and project his voice across the crowd.

“There’s been another murder, this one in the elevator from the fourth floor. Alan Gregory from Office Fourteen.”

ADA

I hardly dared breathe as I ran my hand over the device, searching out the button that would put me on speakerphone with Jeth. Even though the guards had left, it was risky. He’d be at work right now, and there was no guarantee he’d have the Chameleon on him. Did he carry it everywhere? I’d never asked. But I had to try.

Now the cuffs were off, I could move around my room. I peered out the door and couldn’t see any guards, but I knew they’d be there somewhere. I drew in a deep breath, and went back over to the bed, the part of the room furthest from the door. Then I flicked the switch.

“Jeth,” I whispered, loudly as I dared. “Can you hear me?”

Silence. I waited, counting to sixty, then flicked the call button again. “Jeth, please. It’s me, Ada.”

Nothing. I tried again, every five minutes. At least it helped me keep time. Though I had to stop and sit back innocuously when the guards brought me food, and then there was another bathroom break. By what must have been late evening, I was starting to give up hope.

“Jeth. Please answer me. It’s Ada.”

Finally, there was a sharp intake of breath.
“Ada.
Is it really you?”

“Course it is, you idiot,” I said, relief seeping through me. “I’m at Central. The Alliance caught and arrested me.” All the panic and fear bubbled up in my throat again. “They think I’m a murderer, Jeth.”

“Holy shit, Ada.” He paused. “Okay. If the Alliance is on full alert we won’t be able to walk in there and get you out. I’ll think of something.”