Shadows of Glass (26 page)

“Read me the numbers,” Levi instructs. I realize that those are the coordinates he
mentioned earlier. I do and he fiddles with the sextant, first looking at the sky,
and then through the tube. He moves the lenses, trying one, then the other, until
he finally settles on one. “Got it,” he says and puts the sextant away. I hand him
the message and he sticks it back inside his jacket as he gets off the cycle. He digs
in one of the bags on the side of the cycle and takes out a thin metal stake as long
as his arm with a red triangle on the end. He sticks it in the ground beside the tree
with the pointed end of the triangle to our left.

“How far behind us do you think the others are?” I ask.

“Thirty minutes, maybe more.”

“Should we wait?”

“Do you think we should?”

“No.”

“Good. Neither do I.” Levi starts the cycle again and it clatters loudly for a moment,
during which I feel as if every rover in the country can hear us, before it settles
into its quieter rhythm and we set off, this time to the north. We ride across a field
of grass, which is much bumpier than the road we just left. The cycle pitches and
rocks, and I wrap my arms tighter around Levi’s rock-hard body. I feel so vulnerable,
riding as we are, because there is no place for us to hide and we are such an obvious
target. It must be because I am so used to being closed in. I cringe until we once
more reach the shelter of the trees.

“Will they be able to follow us?”

“They will see our tracks. I’ll plant another marker if we have to change direction.”
He no more than finishes when we hear the loud report of gunfire in the distance.
Levi stops the cycle and we sit and listen.

“That’s an older rifle,” he says. “Like the rovers carry.” Suddenly we hear a barrage
of shots. “That would be Lyon,” Levi adds. “We should go on foot from here. You lead
and let me know the instant you see anything.”

Levi quickly checks his weapons. He takes the two rifles from the back of the cycle
and puts one over each shoulder. He also picks up his crossbow and hands me my bow
and the quiver of arrows. I feel awkward as I sling the quiver strap across my chest
and put the bow on my arm. Before we go, Levi turns the cycle around so it is facing
the way we came. “For a quick getaway, if we need it,” he says.

Now I am terrified. We hear more shots and I jump. “That way,” Levi says, pointing
to the northeast. “As soon as you see something stop and tell me what it is.”

I nod and set off in the direction that he indicated. Even though the goggles Levi
gave me are clear, I still push them up on top of my head. I don’t want anything to
block my vision. I search the forest, looking left then right as I carefully place
one foot in front of the other. We are not on a trail. Frothy leaves part with each
footstep and twigs snap beneath my weight. We go down a slight incline and then back
up again. Another shot rings out just as we reach the summit and Levi tugs on the
hem of my jacket to pull me down into a crouch.

“See anything?” he asks.

My heart pounds so hard that my ears hurt. I look into the distance where I think
the shot came from and I see a silhouette. It is on another small rise. Lyon, Pace,
and the others must be below him.

“There.” I point at a fallen tree with a man crouched on our side of it. “It looks
like a man with a gun. He’s aiming it.”

Levi squints as if that will make him be able to see better. “We have to get closer,”
he says. “Find us a route that keeps us hidden.”

I take off again, this time in a crouch, and Levi stays right behind me, moving with
me like a shadow. I move at an angle instead of straight down so the rover won’t have
the high ground against us if he sees us.

“Stop,” Levi whispers when we get to the bottom of the small gulley. “I can see him
now.” Levi eases in front of me. “Get your bow ready.”

I pull my bow from my shoulder. My hands shake as I pull an arrow from the bundle
wrapped in twine that I carry slung over my back.

Levi notices my shaking and puts his hand over mine as I try to notch the arrow. “Wren,
I just need you to watch my back. And do what I say without question. Okay?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know what
okay
means.”

Levi’s grin flashes in the darkness. “It’s Choctaw. That’s another Indian tribe. It
means ‘it is so.’”

I smile back at him and shake my head in agreement. “Okay.”

Levi starts forward and I follow him, looking side to side to make sure there are
no rovers coming up on us. He moves so silently that I take care with my steps too.
Luckily there is a breeze that rustles the leaves around us and masks any sounds I
make. Levi stops within ten feet of the rover who is still looking down the opposite
side of the rise. He slowly takes his rifles off each shoulder and sits them against
a tree. He turns to me and puts a finger to his mouth and then points to the rifles.
He wants me to watch them, so I nod my agreement. Then he silently pulls one of his
knives from the sheath on his back. I watch as Levi creeps up behind the rover. He
grabs him from behind by placing his hand over his mouth and in one quick motion he
slices his throat. I watch as blood gushes out and Levi lowers him to the ground.

It all happened so fast that I find it hard to believe it actually did happen. Yet
there is the body lying on the ground and Levi waving me up to his position. I pick
up his rifles and scramble up the hill. My bow slips over my shoulder and I nearly
trip. I give the dead rover a wide berth before I crouch down next to Levi behind
the fallen log.

“What do you see?” he asks.

I look down below. The three steam cycles form a triangle. One lies on its side. Lyon,
Pace, Dr. Stewart, and one of Lyon’s men are crouched behind them with their rifles
pointing outward. I count five bodies lying around the cycles. One wears the uniform
of Lyon’s guards; the others wear the ragged clothing of the rovers. I am so relieved
to see that Pace is not hurt, at least not that I can tell. I want nothing more than
to run down to him and throw my arms around his neck.

“Look beyond our friends, Wren,” Levi whispers. “Look in the likely hiding places
for more rovers. I need to know how many there are.”

I search the high ground around them. Now I know what to look for. And it scares me.
I see one, then another, then another. They are well hidden, well enough that they
blend into the undergrowth of the forest. If not for my ability to see in the dark
I would not know they were there. But they are. I count eleven and two are fairly
close, one on each side of us. The only thing that has saved our friends is their
superior weaponry. The rovers’ guns are not as reliable, nor do they have the range.

“There’s eleven,” I whisper. “I think they are waiting them out.”

“Or waiting for reinforcements,” Levi replies. “We’ve got to get them out before that
happens.”

“What do we do?’

“We open up an escape route. Show me where the closest ones are.” I do and Levi nods
when he has their position. “Ready your bow,” he says. “And shoot anyone you don’t
recognize. This fallen log is your base. Defend it at all costs.”

“Okay.” My voice shakes with nerves.

Levi crouches in front of me. “You can do this, Wren.” My eyes dart to the body that
lies behind him and the pool of blood that stains the ground. I have killed before,
but not with the casualness that Levi just showed. “You have to do this. This is the
escape route. If we don’t get out of there before their reinforcements arrive we will
all be dead. We have to get out of here now.”

His brown eyes search mine for something I am not sure I can give. But I have to,
to save Pace’s life, to save all our lives. “Okay,” I say with a firmer voice.

“I never doubted you for a minute,” Levi says with a reassuring smile. He touches
his finger to his eyebrow in salute and creeps off into the brush. I watch him go.
He moves silently, yet I flinch at every pop of a twig or creak of a branch that I
hear around me.

I hear a whistle that reminds me of the call the men use in the tunnels. It is not
the same, and I search the area around me warily for the source. Could it be Adam
and Alcide? If it is I need to warm them, unfortunately I never learned how to whistle
like them. I check on Levi’s progress. His victim is still unaware of his approach.
I take a moment to look the other way and panic fills me when I realize that I can
no longer see the rover on my left. I suddenly realize that the moonlight is shining
down on me and I am visible to anyone who looks my way.

Slowly and as silently as possible I stand and move into the shadows. I pull my bowstring
taut and take a deep breath as I keep the arrow pointed to the ground. My heart pounds
in my chest and it loudly rings in my ears. I turn my ears past it and listen to the
wind caressing the leaves of the trees as it finds its way around the trunks and branches
that gently sway around me. I hear a slight sound below me and I slowly turn my head
in that direction. Two rovers stand behind a clump of trees. They think I cannot see
them because of the darkness. I turn my head slightly behind them as if I am looking
for them. They are both dressed in a combination of hides and clothes and both wear
long beards and long hair. One has strange markings on his face that look as if they
were done in ink. He nudges the other and they move on, coming my way. Do they know
Levi is here too or do they think I am part of the group trapped below? I have a feeling
I will not get a chance to ask them.

My mind tells me to run, that I cannot handle this, but Levi’s urgings to defend my
position at any cost ring true. This way lays escape for everyone trapped below. The
two rovers are closer and I can see the intent in their eyes. They still don’t know
I can see them as they sneak from tree to tree. I chance a look at Levi. He is almost
upon his prey, who is still unaware of his coming. Levi doesn’t realize that I am
in trouble as he is concentrating on moving quietly through the woods.

I take a step backward, placing a large tree between me and the rovers, who are now
coming straight up the rise, not bothering to hide any longer. My arm aches from holding
the bowstring taut. My heart kicks up a notch, pounding harder, and sweat dampens
my brow. They keep coming, not a bit intimidated by me or my bow. I take a deep breath,
count to three, and step from behind the tree. I raise my bow, take aim, and shoot.

I miss. The arrow flies wide and crashes into the brush. The two rovers take one moment
to look at where the arrow landed, then as one they come at me at a full run. I fumble
for the arrows slung over my shoulder. I can’t move fast enough. I am unfamiliar with
the weapon. They are almost upon me and I can tell by the evil leer on their faces
that they have other plans for me besides death.

A vision of Jon’s friend from inside being led by the rovers by a rope around her
neck fills my mind, along with the face of the filcher who tried to rape me inside
the dome. I will not go down without a fight. I swing the bow with all my might at
the first one to reach me. I hit him in the side of his face and dance away, twisting
the bow so that it comes around his neck. I yank backwards on it, making sure I keep
the rover between his friend and me. I twist the bow so that it tightens around his
neck and he claws at it. I keep pulling back and he stumbles as I pull, clawing and
gagging while the other rover tries to get to me. The one I am choking isn’t helping
himself or his friend at all as he keeps flailing about. Suddenly he falls and nearly
takes me with him. I have no idea if he is dead or merely unconscious. I drop the
bow and stagger backwards, my eyes casting about for a weapon. I know the rover with
the strange markings can shoot me, but if he kills me then I won’t be of further use
to him and the look on his face clearly states what he has in mind.

If only Levi had left me another weapon. I know he didn’t think I would be involved
in any combat. He also vastly overestimated my ability to use the bow. If I scream
it will only bring more rovers down on us and destroy any element of surprise Levi
has. It is up to me to somehow survive this on my own.

To my surprise the rover slowly leans his rifle against the tree, while keeping an
eye on me. I watch him just as carefully as he watches me.

“What’s ah-wrong with your ah-eyes?” he says.

“Not a thing,” I reply. I resist the urge to ask him what’s wrong with his face. I
don’t think it will endear me to him in any way.

“You’re one of them that can ah-see in the dark. Too bad you can’t ah-shoot as well
as you can ah-see.”

“I didn’t need to shoot well to take out your friend,” I say. I back away and he advances,
not closing the distance between us, studying me as carefully as I study him. I can’t
take him on brute strength; he is twice my size, and intelligence flares in his eyes.
I know without him telling me that I already took out the dumb one and it really doesn’t
bother him that I have.

“What are you ah-after?” he asks.

“We’re not after anything,” I say. “We just want to be left alone to live our lives.”

“Then you shouldn’t of come ah-snoopin’ around.” I back up against a tree and he takes
advantage of the moment to close the distance between us. “You should of ah-stayed
inside.”

I twist around the tree and manage to extend the space between us. I move in Levi’s
direction in hopes that he realizes I’m in trouble. “Why do you hate us so much? Why
can’t you just leave us be?”

“There’s not enough out ah-here for all of us,” he says. “We aim to keep what’s ours.
Don’t need none of you ah-snooping around.”

“Then you shouldn’t have come after our goats,” I say.

“When I’m ah-done with you, a goat will be the least of your ah-troubles.” He’s done
talking. I can see it in his eyes. The time has come for me to defend myself, and
I have nothing to do it with except for my fists and my wits. I can only hope to delay
the inevitable so I turn to run in the direction Levi went. I take no more than three
steps when I go down. The rover tackles me and I crash to the ground. My breath leaves
my body and my world goes black for a moment. When comprehension comes back to me
I am on my back and the rover is sitting astride me. My jacket and shirt are open
and his hands squeeze my breasts through the silk camisole I still have on. He leers
at me, his eyes brilliant against the dark symbols that cover his face. I gag at the
stench of him and immediately claw, strike, and swing at his head. I am no match for
him. He is twice my size and the weight of him sitting on my stomach keeps me from
drawing a full breath.