Midnight Sky (Dark Sky Book 2) (25 page)

It was too late now. Moira was dead, and Westraven’s most infamous torturer had taken Abby again.
 

“Claire!” Abby cried again, cutting through my sorrow. “Don’t do what they say! They want to–”

Davin’s open palm crashed into her face. Abby yelped in pain, would have fallen over if Ryland hadn’t been holding her. He set her back on her feet roughly, not caring how much she cried.

Just hearing that single, heart-rending cry broke me.

“Stop!” I screamed at both of them. “Leave her alone,
please!
”

Davin snorted. “Or what? You’ll try to kill me? Like you were going to kill him, right?” He tossed his thumb at Ryland. “He told me about that. Bet you’re kicking yourself now.”

I thrashed in Riley’s arms, doing anything I could to get free. I had the Volt. I could use it on Davin. I could kill him and save Abby, get her away from him once and for all.
 

“Let me go! Let me
go!
”

He didn’t. “It’s what he wants, Claire. You can’t–”

“I don’t care!
Let me go!
”

“You should listen to her, Riley,” Davin said. “Don’t want to disrespect her wishes, do you?” He grinned, showing his long, sharp teeth with pride. I was too enraged to be as scared as I should have been.

Another Hellion hissed, and a man screamed. A Hellion dragged Poacher into sight its claws embedded into his ankle. A second Hellion pulled the other pirate into view. Blood trailed from his face as it dragged along the concrete. He made no motions of protest, and I shuddered, knowing he was dead.

“Boss!” Poacher wailed. “Boss, please!”

Ryland looked at his crewmember without emotion.

“Please! I got those Hellions for you! Don’t let them kill me! Please, boss!”

His captain looked at Davin. The Hellion leader shrugged and hissed something in their grating language. The monster holding Poacher dropped his foot and sank its teeth into his leg, gnawing all the way to the bone. Poacher screamed as three Hellions pinned him. He fell silent in seconds.

That was when Gemma made her move.

I didn’t feel her behind me, didn’t know she took the flashbang from my belt until she twisted the ends and launched it at Davin. He grimaced, remembering my weapon, and turned away with one hand covering his face. White light burst when the glass tube shattered on the ground. Gunfire erupted behind me as the marauders shot at the Hellions. I started to panic, terrified they might shoot Abby by accident, but Riley refused to release me. Instead, he dragged me kicking and screaming toward the engineering bay. The white light was fading by the time he got me to the doors.
 

Four Hellions lay dead on the floor, but the other nine were worked into frenzy. Ryland and Davin were unharmed. Abby was crying and slumping in Ryland’s grip.
 

Davin barked something in Hellion-tongue, and three of the monsters charged the marauders. They turned and bolted for the bay. Riley set me down next to the Palisade, then helped the others drag tables, chairs and crates to create a makeshift barricade. Anything not bolted to the floor became stacked together in a mish-mash of wood and metal. The awkwardly locked structure covered all but the top corners of the doorway. Hellions slammed into it, making us jump. My heart thudded as they smashed into the pitiful blockade. The Hellions didn’t make it through, but how long would our luck hold out?

Another
bang
, and this time Gemma landed on her backside.
 

It wasn’t going to hold. They were gong to get through on the third try–

There was another sharp command in Hellion-tongue, and the attacks stopped. Sawyer, Riley, and Nash stood panting, waiting for the worst. Gemma got to her feet, taking out a knife and gripping it until her knuckles turned white.

“Nice job, brother. That room only has one exit, right?”

Sawyer didn’t bother to look around, but his curse was loud.
 

“Those Hellions are eager and waiting outside your little fort there. One word from me, and they’ll break it down and rip you to shreds. You just saw them do it. Can’t promise it’ll be fun for you. But I’m willing to give up some good entertainment for a deal. You give me what I want, you walk away with all your skin on your bones.”

“Remind me what you want again?” Sawyer shouted back.

Davin’s laugh sounded closer than before. He must have moved forward while the Hellions attacked the barricade. “Same thing I wanted since you wrecked the
Behemoth
, brother. Your little blonde engineer.”

“Not happening, Davin,” he shouted defiantly, though horror was etched on his face.
 

“Wait!” I cried, pushing off the floor and marching to the barricade.
 

Sawyer grabbed my arm. “Claire–”

I shook him off and wedged myself into the left corner the barrier. The top corner was exposed, wide enough for my arm to fit through, but too high for me to see anything.
 

“How did you find us?” I shouted to Davin. “What do you want from me?”

“You want me to ruin the surprise? Where’s the fun in that? Let’s just say the Vesper needs your services. And finding you?” His snort carried through the dead silence. “Easy. Figured out you were at the ports after a month. Ryland sent up a flare and all he had to do was keep you locked up long enough for me to get the kid. Thanks for leaving her pretty much unguarded, by the way. Lost some good Hellions on those traps, but after that I just strolled in.”

I closed my eyes and swallowed the tears that were threatening to build. Moira had never stood a chance.
 

Keep it together, Claire. Think.
But all I could see was Abby trapped in the hands of a traitor and surrounded by the monsters she feared more than anything else.
 

All I could think was that I failed her again.

“Speaking of lost Hellions,” Davin’s voice sounded farther away. “What was that guy talking about? That you caught yourself some monsters?”

I still couldn’t see Ryland over the barricade, but he sounded nervous when he spoke again.

“They weren’t part of your crew,” he explained. “Found them outside the wall, dragging themselves over the wall to get into the Barren. They were bled raw, probably from the rocks, and I thought my men deserved a chance at some revenge after so many years of–”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Davin said, his tone dismissive.

“You do?” Ryland sounded confused.

“Course I do. Hellions shit in your backyard, you want to make them pay for it. I get that.”
 

I heard the faintest, relieved pause from Ryland, and then, “Good. Glad we understand each other.”

“Great minds think alike, right?” Davin jeered. “Great minds also take pay when it’s given to them. They also know better than to waste useful resources.”

We heard a scuffle and a surprised shout. Then a scream and a faded gurgle. Abby wailed with fear. Something heavy dropped onto the ground a few seconds later.

“Sorry, Ryland. You’re not a useful resource anymore.”

Abby kept screaming, and Davin was shouting at her. Telling her to get back here, shut up, stupid bitch–
 

Sawyer grabbed my hand and pulled it away from the barricade. I didn’t even realize I was trying to pull it down. All I knew was something was between me and my sister, an innocent little girl trapped in the hands of a monster.

“Don’t, Claire,” he warned me. His tawny eyes looked pained. “There are too many of them.”

“I’ll make you a deal, darling,” called Davin. “You give yourself up, I’ll let your sister go. Won’t go near her again, on my honor.” He laughed. “Wait, scratch that. How about on my word? Sound good?”

Sawyer was shaking his head at me. “He won’t do it,” he whispered to me. “He won’t let us leave here alive. He doesn’t like loose ends.”

“Is my brother putting ideas in your head? Are you listening to them? Not smart, darling. He’s trapped, and he just doesn’t want the door to be opened. Probably worried he’ll get hurt. Which you will, Sawyer.”

“Claire!” Abby cried. “Claire, don’t do it! He’ll kill you!”

“Hey now,” Davin said gruffly, “don’t tell possible lies about me. The Vesper will be here in two days. Plenty of time for you to think very, very carefully about what you want to happen here. Pretty damn generous of him, you ask me. But if you’re not out by then, all my offers go out the window. And then we take you anyway.”

Davin’s voice began to fade. “Two days, Abernathy. We’ll be hanging around the ship for a while. I don’t want to stand here for two days listening to you mope and cry. Besides,” I could almost see the sick grin on his face, “I want to make sure your darling sister is comfortable.”

The rage finally sliced through me. “Don’t you touch her!” I screamed. “Don’t you dare!”

Davin’s laugh echoed off the walls and froze my very bones. “Then you better get to work. I like to explore, but I get bored easily. Come find us when you’re ready.”

He roared in Hellion-tongue, and we listened until the wheezing monsters disappeared, taking Abby with them. When they were gone, I stepped back and shoved my hands through my hair. A flare of pain went down my shoulder from the scratch, but I barely felt it anymore. My chest tightened and it hurt to breathe. My hands were shaking.

Sawyer appeared at my side. He put his hand on the back of my neck and tried to tilt my head up. All I could seem to do was stand there and tremble.

“We’ll get her out of this,” Sawyer promised me. “I swear it to you, Claire. Davin won’t touch Abby.”

“How do you know?” I asked thickly.
 

He was silent, as if contemplating the best way to respond. “He likes to loot first. He’ll search the whole ship for some kind of tools or sharp instrument. That way he has a toy that he…”

I was crying before Sawyer started the implication. Heavy sobs wracked my chest. Sawyer pulled me into him, curling his arms around my upper back and holding me close.
 

“I’m sorry, Claire. I’m so sorry.”

We stayed like that for a long moment–me, desperate for comfort, and him, desperate for my forgiveness. The moment ended abruptly with Riley’s uneven whisper.
 

“We should do what he says.”

Riley stood in a corner with his hands clasping his elbows. He looked sick, pale with worry. And why wouldn’t he be? The Vesper was crossing the Breach and arriving in two days.

Oh, God. The Vesper. He’s actually coming here. For me.

Dread swam from my chest to my head, dizzying me. I had to close my eyes and breathe. Everyone else exploded into anger. Sawyer slowly pulled away from me, though I could feel the heat of fury rising from his skin.

“Are you
insane?
” Gemma shouted at Riley. “Davin’s made it clear he wants our heads on his wall. He killed Moira and has Abby. Why would we even think about doing that for a second?”

“Just to trick him,” Riley reasoned. “If we let him think he’s in control, we might have a better chance to turn the tables on his plan–”

“No,” Sawyer interrupted. His fists were balled at his side, and he was rigid to the point of shaking. “We’re not giving Claire up. Davin did this. He captured Abby and killed Moira because he knew it would make us react. He wants us angry when we fight him, but he will know if we’re playing him. He’s cocky, but he’s not stupid. If we pretend to give up, he’ll figure out our lie and break it around us.” Sawyer took what sounded like a slow, calming breath. But he didn’t relax. “We’ll find a way to fix this machine, save Abby, then escape to the Breach and shut it. The Vesper won’t get near any of us.”

Riley pushed off the wall and took some fast steps to the captain. “Did you not hear Claire earlier? This could take months,
if
she can do it. I don’t doubt her skills, but this was used as a
weapon,
Sawyer. It was made to destroy. It can’t be used to fix anything.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Neither do you. None of us know if this will work. It was a gamble from the beginning. That was the only thing we knew.” He looked at me sadly. “We don’t have time, Claire.”

Understanding flashed through his eyes. He was right. Even if I knew the construction would work, two days wasn’t nearly enough time. This wasn’t like when Sawyer asked me to rebuild the engine for the
Dauntless.
At its core, that was a simple repair. What I had to do for the Palisade was nothing short of a complete reconstruction. I didn’t know anything about the machine or how it worked. My mother’s journal would give me vague ideas at best. Somehow, I doubted Davin would be so kind as to give up the plans he stole from me.

“Sawyer…” I sighed.

He turned in front of me, gripping my shoulders and ducking his head to look in my eyes, carefully avoiding the wound on my arm. He held me gently, but I bowed my head so I wouldn’t have to meet his gaze. I couldn’t. Not yet.

“You can’t give up,” he told me. “You
never
give up. You refused to stop looking for Abby. You stood up to Garnet and the Junkers. You didn’t abandon us when you could have. You saved Riley. You almost died so I could land the
Behemoth.
” He stepped closer, his forehead almost touching mine. “Don’t give up now, Firecracker. Two days is longer than you think. Work on the Palisade. If you can’t fix it by then, we’ll have another plan.” His next whispers were so quiet, I barely heard them. “Give me those two days. Please.”

My mistake was looking in his eyes. He believed everything he said. He believed in me. He thought there was a way out of this. Sawyer, who was cynical and grumpy more often than not. I don’t know what changed in him. It shouldn’t have made a difference anymore.

And yet…

I had the Volt in my pocket. My mother’s journal. Maybe I could reverse the Palisade’s design and turn it into a device that would close the Breach.

But if the Vesper was coming here, maybe I didn’t need to. I thought about the Volt, how it had affected the Stray Dogs watching the fight in the Crater.
 

Using the Palisade as a weapon again would be easier than turning it into something meant to repair. If I could use it against the Vesper and Davin, then I would have more than two days to put an end to the Hellions. The Breach could wait.