Inescapable (Talented Saga #7) (23 page)

“
I can’t let you go with
me, Anya,” I insisted. “You’ve done more than enough already. Stay.
Treat the guards. Say that when you got here, Konterra and Les were
already on the ground, and I was already gone.”

“
No.” Anya shook her head
firmly. “You can’t escape without me. You won’t make it off of
Level Five, let alone off of Vault. This place is a fortress. Each
floor is a maze within a maze, designed to confuse people. You need
me. I’ve already mapped out our route, and I uploaded the
blueprints to my communicator. You need me,” she repeated for
emphasis. “Besides, I promised Erik I would get you out of here, as
repayment for saving me from the Poachers. Don’t make me break that
promise.”

Erik? Anya and Erik had been talking? How
long were they in touch? The thought made my roiling stomach churn
even faster.

It doesn’t matter,
I told myself.
Right
now, you need to focus. You just shot two guards full of
tranquilizers. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. No, concentrate on the
future. You have to get off of this damned island prison, nothing
else matters.

“
You said you have a route
mapped out?” I asked, resigned to letting Anya help me.

Sure, I could have compelled her to stay
behind. But the fierce determination in her jewel-toned eyes tugged
at my heartstrings. Not to mention, I had a feeling I did need her.
If she and Erik had been planning for something like this, then
Anya was my best chance of survival.

And I was hers. I didn’t know how she’d
delayed the wranglers, but she made it sound as though the
distraction was traceable back to her. Once the connection was
made, Anya would no longer be a doctor on Vault. She’d be a
prisoner. I couldn’t have that on my conscience. It was already too
stained.

“
Yes, and a backup or two,
just in case,” Anya confirmed.

“
Lead the way,” I
declared.

Time for a jailbreak.

The Privileged

Besançon, France

Three Days Before the Vote

Natalia Lyons. The name
had been rolling around in Cressa’s head all morning. She’d heard
it before, many times. The UNITED agent was as famous as the front
man for the
Righteous
Renegades
, Linc Leopold. Maybe even more
so. Ever since she’d led an attack on that TOXIC prison to free her
boyfriend—totally romantic, in Cressa’s opinion—Natalia Lyons had
been headline news.

Candid images of the Lyons
girl appeared everywhere—the world was obsessed. Her name in the
title of an I-article was guaranteed to draw in an enormous
audience, even if just discussing her clothes or reporting an
alleged sighting. Once it came out that Natalia Lyons was infected
with the creation drug, the mainstream media dubbed her
The Lethal Lilac
. With
that, the Talented teenager’s star had soared to all new
heights.

Of course, not everyone loved her. Cressa’s
parents believed Natalia Lyons a traitor, for not immediately
rallying to the Dame’s side. They’d forbidden Cressa from adding
her pictures to the collage of stars on her bedroom walls, or even
to speak her name. Nonetheless, their feelings hadn’t deterred her
from reading everything she could find about Natalia; Cressa just
kept her hero-worship a secret.

In truth, Natalia Lyons was the main reason
Cressa had been so excited when she finally received her acceptance
to the Institute. Once she graduated and became one of the
Privileged, Cressa would be just as powerful—and probably just as
famous—as her idol.

“
Cadet Karmine, is there
somewhere else you would rather be right now?” Gracia
snapped.

“
Huh?” Cressa was so
wrapped up in her thoughts that she’d totally missed whatever
Gracia had been saying.

“‘
Huh?’” the older girl
parroted. She made a ridiculous, dopey expression that was
evidently supposed to be an imitation of Cressa. “Is that how you
were taught to address your betters? No, I think not. Your father
is CEO of Karmine Pharmaceuticals and your mother is the daughter
of a former U.S. president, so I know you were raised with manners.
Act like it.”

When do I start
invisibility training?
Cressa wondered,
humiliated beyond belief.

Across the classroom, Daphne gave her a
sympathetic smile. Cressa returned the gesture gratefully. Since
she would never become Natalia Lyons’ equal if she didn’t get
through her training, Cressa vowed to focus.

Privilege is for the
Worthy,
she reminded herself.

She sat up straighter in
her chair and squared her shoulders, locking her gaze on Gracia.
The older girl was an unpleasant witch, but she wasn’t wrong about
Cressa’s lineage. Her mother’s side actually counted
two
former presidents,
and a mayor of Manhattan who’d been a presidential candidate until
a scandalous affair had ultimately cost her the election. On the
other side, Karmine Pharmaceuticals was among the oldest
enterprises in the world, and one of the few non-tech companies
that always managed to operate in the black. All told, she had a
lot to live up to.

“
I apologize, ma’am,”
Cressa began, meeting and holding Gracia’s alarming violet gaze. “I
am very excited about the demonstration.”

Gracia sniffed, mollified by the apology.
“As you should be. This is a rare treat. 2P peons do not usually
get to witness the testing. Lucky for you all, I have pull with the
Dame. She agreed to let you to observe today, as a personal favor
to me.”

By Cressa’s count, this was the tenth
reference Gracia had made to the Dame and their alleged bestie
status since breakfast. Gracia’s air of superiority had grown
exponentially since returning from her morning meeting with the
Dame. Her smugness led Cressa and the others to conclude that their
captain had been chosen as Natalia Lyons’ clone. None of them were
excited about this development; Gracia didn’t need any additional
kindling for her roaring ego.

The door at the back of the classroom opened
and Leslie Abbot stepped inside, followed by an older boy Cressa
had never seen. The newcomer was dressed in black pants and a
matching high-collared black jacket. His attire was a sure sign
that he wasn’t a cadet, but either an instructor or possibly even
an Institute administrator.

Tall and lean, with a crooked smile and fine
features, the older guy oozed intelligence like some people oozed
charisma. Though he wasn’t conventionally handsome, something about
him made him attractive in Cressa’s eyes.

Power
, Cressa decided. The power emanating from him was so potent;
it made Cressa’s toes tingle and a deep ache develop in her chest.
Suddenly, she felt an intense urge to be close to him.

How odd?
Cressa thought. She’d never experienced such a
strong desire in her entire life.

“
Good morning, Twos,”
Leslie Abbot said, her tone flat and features expressionless as
ever. “Allow me to introduce Sir Tate. For those of you who do not
know, Sir Tate is on the board of the Institute, and is one of the
Directors of the Privileged. He is responsible for acquiring
sources, in addition to selecting worthy candidates for
admission.”

Sir Tate waved, almost shyly, to the girls.
He cleared his throat and, after a couple false starts, greeted
them. “I-I know many of you from your applications,” he began. “It
gives me great pleasure to see that you’ve all advanced in your
studies.”

“
Sir Tate will be
observing the testing along with all of you,” Leslie added. There
was a warning note in her voice, indicating they were all to be on
their best behavior.

“
Yes, well, please pretend
as though I am not here,” Sir Tate said. “The Dame is very busy,
but likes to be up-to-date on her pupils’ accomplishments. I am
merely here as her eyes and ears today, so that I may report back
to her on how well you are all doing. She sends along her wishes
that she could pay you a visit in person, but the Dame’s duties are
vast and exceptionally time-consuming.”

Gracia clapped her hands together in a rare
display of genuine excitement. “How exciting to have you here! I
know I speak for all of my charges and the other Sevens—I’m a
Seven, not a Two—when I say we are thrilled to make your
acquaintance,” she gushed. Somehow, Gracia managed to sound both
impossibly formal, and like a schoolgirl speaking to her crush for
the first time.

Sir Tate turned to where Gracia stood in the
corner of the room with his crooked smile locked in place. He froze
the instant his gaze landed on her. Instinctively, he took a step
backward, until he was pressed against the door behind him.
Disbelief and something akin to alarm flashed in his hazel
eyes.

“
Y-y-you look…I mean, I
knew you would be…but the resemblance…” Sir Tate trailed off.
Casting his gaze at the floor, he rubbed a spot on the back of his
neck nervously, exposing several looping black lines that looked to
be part of a tattoo.

“
This is Gracia Beaumont,
captain of the Phase Two girls,” Leslie Abbot interjected quickly,
gesturing to the unsettled 7P.

An odd scent suddenly filled the room. It
was both sweet and tangy, like an orange or sugared lemon. The
aroma intensified, becoming an assault on the senses. Wrinkling her
nose, Cressa discreetly moved her hand to cover her nostrils from
the pungent odor. When she glanced at her fellow Twos, no one else
was reacting to the scent, almost as if they didn’t smell it at
all.

What the hell?
Cressa thought, wondering if she was losing it.
She prayed she wasn’t having a bad reaction to the previous night’s
injection.

Cressa watched as Sir Tate composed himself,
fascinated by the way his expression instantly evened. The effect
was like someone had taken a steamer to his face, rapidly smoothing
the frown and worry lines.

“
Right, of course you
are,” Sir Tate said hastily, his crooked smile firmly back in
place. “Your transformation is coming along nicely. I understand
you are scheduled for full facial reorg and body mod, I look
forward to seeing the final results.”

“
Ugh, that’s it then,”
Lyla Towers, who was sitting on Cressa’s left, whispered to her.
“Guess she really has been chosen.”

“
Yes, Sir. The Dame says I
am the best candidate at the Institute,” Gracia responded proudly.
“I am to have the procedures as soon as Doctor Masterson’s schedule
allows.”

Sir Tate cleared his throat. “Well, yes, I
can see that you are, structurally speaking, the best choice.”

Lyla and several other girls snickered
loudly at the backhanded compliment.

Turning the color of letters on an EXIT
sign, Gracia giggled uneasily. “The Dame has provided me with study
materials, so that I may learn her speech patterns and mannerisms.
I am taking this duty very seriously.”

“
If it is alright with
you, I will inform them we are ready for the first examinee?”
Leslie asked pointedly. She glanced quickly back and forth between
Sir Tate and Gracia, and the 2P girls, who were all engrossed in
their conversation. Clearly, she disapproved of the
discussion.

“
Please do,” Sir Tate
replied quickly, remembering himself. With one last lingering look
at Gracia, he walked to the back of the classroom and sat in a
vacant chair.

“
He’s an odd one,” Lyla
mumbled, leaning towards Cressa.

After the encounter in the bathroom the
previous night, Cressa was still unsure how she felt about the
twins. She thought she liked them, but couldn’t shake the nagging
feeling that their gossipy ways were a ploy to get Cressa to say
something inflammatory, so they could tattle on her to a
superior.

“
I think he’s just shy,”
Cressa whispered back.

The lights in the room dimmed, until Daphne
and the others sitting across the aisle were nothing more than
shadows.

The wall in front of them
was actually a two-way mirror, which grew brighter as the room
darkened. The adjacent room
matched the
classroom in width, but was not nearly as deep. A lone figure stood
in the center of the space. His arms hung by his sides, hands
balled into fists, fingers flexing and then curling back into his
palms over and over again. Beside him was a single metal bench,
approximately three feet long.

The boy looked to be around Cressa’s age,
maybe a year or two younger, though she couldn’t be certain. The
ends of his ginger hair barely brushed the collar of his green
smock-style shirt. His pants, the same shade of green, were cinched
tightly below his narrow hips and rolled at the bottom to reveal
pale, bare feet. Eyes the color of clouds just before a
thunderstorm stared straight ahead, unblinking.