27. Chapter 27
Elias
Ireached the Middle Covenant Bureau of Information just as several large SUVs pulled up.
I stumbled out of the car, my throat burning, and covered my mouth against the acrid taste of thick black smoke.
Around me, men shouted, rushing forward, tugging hoses.
A wall of scorching red cut off any escape for the souls trapped inside.
“Mother above,” I breathed, taking an unsteady step forward.
Someone bumped my shoulder as he ran past, darting into the flames. I watched in horror as he disappeared from view.
Do something, my fuzzy mind commanded, but I was frozen. How could I help?
Two more men leaped through the flames, and I jolted into action, racing for the door.
Rough fingers dug into my arm, yanking me back, and I spun around, prepared to demand release when cold hazel eyes met mine.
“Not you, Heir. You’re here for the cameras.”
Felix Cross, Father’s top advisor and his most decorated general, released my arm.
“People could die.”
“People are already dead.” He touched his tablet, bringing up a live feed from inside the building.
I squinted in the haze, trying to make sense of what I saw.
The fire was already contained in parts of the building; charred bits of furniture and bubbled, blistered walls were all that was visible through the gray smoke.
The camera turned a corner, and my stomach lurched. Several bodies, blackened beyond recognition, were piled atop one another against a door. As though they hadn’t died immediately.
I looked up in time to see two men clearing the fire, flame-retardant blankets wrapped around them. They dragged a man with them, laying him down outside before turning to go back in.
I fell to my knees beside him, searching his ravaged face. His chest rose and fell slowly, a rasping gurgle slipping from his bloody lips.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
A man in brown sank beside me, leaning over the body. His elbow knocked me aside as he pressed his head down, and I sat back, running a hand through my hair.
I was of no help to anyone here.
***
The smell of burned flesh and images of all those people hadn’t left me by the time I took my seat at the table.
Felix tapped his tablet, and images exploded onto the wall, bringing me back to the present: aerial footage of the explosion at the Middle Bureau long after the fire had been suffocated.
Calden’s words surfaced without warning.
“It must chafe that you can’t watch them at home any day other than Monday.”
That rule didn’t apply to Father’s generals. We were gathered in Covenant Security Headquarters, fully transformed after the night of the ball, watching on a Saturday. Men like my father and Felix were exempt from such rules.
“Twenty-three bodies in total,” Felix said, flipping through images that were somehow worse than they had been in the moment.
“We know the rebels allowed themselves to be detained.” He brought up footage of what was left of the room where the bomb had detonated.
“Guards carried him in without even bothering to check for weapons.”
He slammed a hand down on the table. “Sloppy work that led to countless unnecessary deaths.”
To my right, Dathan Cannon, his third in command, cleared his throat.
“We will increase our presence outside the wall,” Felix went on, ignoring him. “We will not cower from the rebels.”
His clipped tone was matter-of-fact. He scanned the faces gathered around the long table, lingering on the empty seat beside me.
“Third detonation this month. They’re growing more bold.”
A man at the far end knocked his knuckles against metal. “What are we doing about rooting them out?”
“Faceless bastards are like rats. Scurrying through the streets. How do you catch a rat?” Another voice, somewhere to my left.
Silence.
Felix straightened. His gaze slid to Dathan. “I’m handling it. We have another issue that requires our attention. We’ve delayed a purge long enough.” His gaze shot to me. “I know we wanted to wait for your Rite to conclude, Elias.”
He touched his tablet again, and video footage of a mass of writhing bodies gathered outside the outer wall flickered into focus.
“But the situation is growing more serious.”
Gideon Charles pushed his chair back, standing. It was the first time I’d seen him since my Rite began. He had been expected weeks ago. Where was Calden, and why was his father finally here?
“We’ll withhold footage until after the final trial. It can be overshadowed by the wedding.”
“Very good,” Felix said.
“We have other items to discuss.” Dathan stared at each of us in turn, refusing to let Felix shut him down twice. “The amended covenant regarding dissolution after five years—”
“Commander,” Felix cut him off.
I glanced at Dathan. Five years without a son, and now he was proposing a law that would let him walk away from his wife for it. Faithless. The contempt came easily.
“No.” Dathan stood.
My focus was stolen by the drone’s footage as it panned over what must be a thousand infected. An inhuman screech burst from a dense crowd, and a small, gnarled arm flew from the pile. My stomach churned as memories of Joe Greene surfaced.
I’d seen it before, the way the fully grown attacked the smaller defenseless infected. But usually, only the scent of blood whipped them into a frenzy.
The men continued to argue, but my thoughts drifted to Friday’s ball. To the fragile woman so afraid of heights, she wouldn’t even peek through the telescope—her one opportunity to see what was left of the ravaged world beyond the wall.
The accusation in her eyes when she asked me to send her home immediately rather than wait still lingered like an old wound that hadn’t healed.
I had planned to confront her, to demand answers. Why was that snake the person she thought of when she was alone? I’d seen them dance together. Perhaps that should have been enough to send her home, but the moment she’d said the words aloud, I knew it was the last thing I wanted.
“Elias, do you concur?”
I glanced at Felix, then around the room at all the expectant faces. “Yes.”
He dipped his chin. “The vote carries. Dathan, you have your approval.”
I swallowed. I should have paid attention.
Around the room, men stood.
Gideon Charles held out his hand. “Good to see you again.”
I took it. “I had thought it would be sooner.”
His lips turned down the way his sons did whenever I said something he didn’t like. Good.
“There was no need.” He released my hand, ushering me toward the door. “The work doesn’t truly begin until Trial Nine.”
I frowned as we exited, glancing over my shoulder at Dathan. He tapped furiously on his tablet, still seated.
In the car, I pulled out my device. Now that Gideon was here, had Charles returned to Michigan City? I’d meant to visit him sooner, to demand answers about Maryn’s video edits. But with everything else, the facility, the growing number of infected outside our walls, it almost seemed trivial.
But two things still sat heavily in my mind. As head of Centrum surveillance, Charles would know more about the facility. And… Maryn. I wanted answers, and he was the only person who could give them.
I looked up. Across from me, Micah stared out the window, his hand resting casually on the gun at his hip.
“I’m going to make a stop at Charles Media headquarters.”
He nodded.
I watched him for a moment. “You’ve been unusually quiet these past few days.”
His gaze slid to me, and I saw it then, the red rimming his eyes.
“What’s happened?”
He shook his head, glancing down.
I tapped my tablet screen, and the car pulled to a stop. “Micah?”
His fingers curled around the handle of his gun, and I stiffened. Micah had been by my side nearly every day since I was nine. Never once had I mistrusted him. Now, the hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention.
His grip relaxed. “It’s nothing. A family matter.”
His gaze returned to the view outside the window.
“Can I help?”
He shook his head again.
I stared at him, waiting, but his eyes were fixed on some distant point.
The silence was a heavy, smothering thing.
“Let me know if there’s anything…”
His brows drew down, his mouth flattening into a thin line.
I touched my device, and we rolled forward.
I had considered Micah a friend—divulged some of my deepest secrets to him—but as I stared, I realized I knew almost nothing about him. If he sensed my eyes on him, he gave no indication.
When I was thirteen, he’d saved my life for the first time and became the older brother I’d always wanted. It hurt more than I cared to admit that my feelings might have been one-sided.
We stopped outside Charles Media’s Centrum headquarters, and my hand rested on the handle. I turned back to Micah. “I hope you know I’ll help any way I can.”
He nodded, silent.
I pushed the door open and stepped out.
In the lobby, a man stood. “Good afternoon, Mr. Hale.”
“I’m here to see Calden Charles.”
“I’m sorry, sir. He hasn’t returned.”
“From where?”
“I’m not sure, sir.”
I pressed my lips together. Pulling out my tablet. He may be the son of Michigan City’s leader, but he wasn’t above me. If I demanded a meeting, he would be forced to comply. I scrolled to my messages and paused on the most recent one.
Another from Josh.
On second thought, there was someone else I could ask.