34. Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter thirty-four
B ile rises in my throat as Holland stares at me, knife in hand. His pale eyes flick between the fire and me. The flames illuminate part of his bearded face and plunge the rest into darkness, making his expression hard to read. He takes two steps into the room and closes the door.
My feet won’t move.
I scream at myself to move. To respond. To do something. Say something.
My head pounds in time with my heart as he lifts his blade and points it at me.
‘I can only hope you have a fucking good explanation for this,’ he says.
He blocks the door and I know I have no hope of getting past him that way. The window Blossom and I have snuck in before is behind me. I can’t see how many paces without looking away from him, but it feels like an eternity away. My leg throbs harder at the thought of trying to make it even that far.
Smoke fills my next breath and I cough, the crackling of the flames getting louder.
With a last look at the fire to make sure it’s as caught as I can get it to be, I spin and make for the window.
It’s too far.
But I dodge around the corner of the desk anyway, my thigh barking in protest.
Holland curses and I hear him move the same time I’m tackled to the ground, my head slamming into the floor. The room turns around me and Holland crushes me with his weight.
I try to buck my hips, to drive my elbows backwards, to dislodge him in any way, but I don’t make contact. Drawing a deep breath to scream, my lungs fill with smoke and I cough, choking on the thick greyness that’s now pouring through my chest. My eyes stream with tears and I let my head drop to the floor. A defeated sob wracks through me. I won’t be able to get him off.
Cortane will make the others leave without me.
As she should.
‘If you’re finished,’ he says roughly, ‘we need to get the fuck out. And I’d suggest the garden underneath that window – where the rest of my crew are gathering for the search for the missing Vanan prisoners – is not where you want to go.’
I can only cough in response. But a tiny sliver of relief creeps in.
‘I’m going to get up now,’ he rasps through muffled coughs. ‘Don’t scream.’
The heat in the room builds and soon the smoke will be billowing out the window and door. Instead of standing, he rolls off me onto all fours.
‘Stay low,’ he says, ‘and follow me.’
Following him is the last thing I want to do. But if he’s telling the truth about the Hunters, my options are limited – and I don’t want to burn alive today either. The office is getting darker as I drag myself after Holland, my ribs and thigh aching. Every breath sends a sharp pain spinning around my sides and back.
Reaching the door, he runs his hand up the timber, reaching for the handle.
‘Get out as quick as you can – the smoke will raise the alarm in the hallway,’ he says. ‘We’ll need the few extra minutes to get away.’
He opens the door and the flames surge higher, the heat intensifying against my skin. We scramble into the hallway and he slams the door. I stare at him a moment, pulling myself into a crouch. Pushing aside the pain in my body and preparing to run.
‘Holland!’ a voice calls and another Hunter races down the hallway to us. ‘What’s going on?’ he asks when he reaches us, eyes flicking to the door.
‘We need to get out,’ Holland says, ‘it’s time.’ He nods at me. ‘Help her – she’s got an injured leg and possibly some busted ribs.’
I stare at them. Time for what?
My eyes still sting from the smoke, but I have no choice but to let the second Hunter help me stand.
‘I’m fine,’ I say, pushing him away when I’m on my feet.
‘You have a lot of explaining to do, Hol,’ he says.
‘I’m not the only one,’ Holland replies and we take off back down the stone hallway.
I flounder at the end, unsure which way to go. I can’t stay here, but I can’t fight them off either. And I certainly can’t lead them to the others. I just need to stall them long enough for Cortane to insist the others leave.
I flinch as the high pitched scream of the fire alarm ricochets through the prison, bouncing off the stone. The flames have now devoured much of the door to the office and lick the stone, leaving dark marks in their wake.
‘That stone won’t catch,’ the second Hunter says, ‘but it’s going to spread through the rooms. What’s the plan?’
As he talks, smoke starts to billow out from the other doors that dot the hallway.
‘I think we’re in Luka’s hands right now,’ Holland says, dark brown eyes fixed on me.
My heart squeezes.
Trust me , his face seems to say, but I can’t rely on that. I took a chance with Janly but I’ve known her a lot longer than I’ve known this man.
There’s only one way to find out. I’ve lost track of the time I’ve been in here. Now, I will either make it with their help. Or, I’ll be able to create such a distraction with the Hunters that the others will go on.
I try to run, but it’s more of a fast hobble between my left leg and my ribs, but the two Hunters stay just behind me, letting me lead. Taking us along the stone hallway, past the internal courtyard, I catch a glimpse of a group of concierges heading towards the kitchens and my heart sings. They know there’s an exit back there. Janly – or Emeris – got to them in time.
Turning away from them, I lead the Hunters back towards the concierge gardens where I need to meet Janly. Downstairs, where the rest of the Hunters are said to be gathering.
I hope I’m not running headfirst into my own stay in Vana.
Holland grips my elbow as we reach the wide, timber door that will take us straight out onto the lawns.
‘Sure you want to do this?’ he whispers fiercely.
‘I need to cross the garden,’ I say, pulling my arm from his grasp. ‘This is the fastest way.’
‘And the deadliest,’ the second one mutters. ‘Damn it, Holland – a little warning would have been good.’
I leave them to their glares and inch open the door, slipping into the dark garden. In the corner, under the balcony, a large group of Hunters is gathered. The lights from that part of the building illuminate the tops of their heads. Glancing up, closer to where I stand, I can see the burning office, flames spewing from the window almost in time with the blaring alarm.
Most of the Hunters are turned away from us, making a semi-circle around a Hunter that points and shouts directions.
My veins hum with urgency.
The distance between here and the hedge where I hope to find Janly, and then hopefully Cortane still waiting with the others beyond, stretches in my mind. An impossible distance to cover in time. The seconds feel like they scratch my skin as they leave. I take a steadying breath and yelp from the pain it produces in my side.
Cursing myself, I push off the wall and turn to the two Hunters behind me.
Holland’s gaze flicks between me and the group of Hunters at the end of the building. At any moment they could turn their attention to us.
Holland’s companion just stares, dumbfounded at the two of us. ‘I’m not really following what’s happening here,’ he says. ‘But I’m going to go out on a limb and say you don’t want to be noticed by that crew.’ He jerks his head towards the dark-uniformed men.
I nod.
‘I don’t want to get you in any unnecessary trouble,’ I say. ‘But if you could not follow me, that would be greatly appreciated.’
Holland laughs softly.
‘You’ve got balls, that’s for sure,’ he says.
‘I don’t need them.’
His brows lift in surprise and a slow smile splits his red beard.
‘Noted,’ he says.
My time is either out, or almost up, and the Hunters start to move towards the far corner of the prison. Around which the kitchen exit will come into view. I skim my hand over my thigh, fingering the fabric Quillian tied there. One last run, I tell myself, then I’ll work it out from there. If I make it, I know Quillian and the others will take care of these two on my tail. They haven’t killed me yet, I can only hope they won’t do so before I make it.
But I know with a surety I haven’t felt in a long time, I’d rather die trying to get there than stand here and give in.
I don’t bother looking at Holland and the other Hunter again before I take off across the garden, my nose filling with the soft scent of burning jasmine, to where I will scream at Janly to move – if she’s still there. The grass is damp and it licks up my feet where my sandals sink into it, my ruined dress streaming behind me. Sharp, shooting pain in my side darkens my vision but I push on, over the gently lit grass and towards the hedge. Towards—
‘Hey!’ a male voice shouts from somewhere to my right.
I keep moving. I just need to get close enough to Jan to make her move. Or be sure she’s not there waiting.
‘Luka!’ the voice calls and I almost hesitate. Until I remember most of the Hunters are likely to know my name now.
My hobbled running slows.
‘Are you okay?’ he asks again, a voice I don’t recognise.
The hedge is filling my vision now – I’m almost close enough to touch it. My thigh groans as I land too heavily on that side. Flinging myself at the gap in the hedge, thin branches whipping at my hair and face, I start to softly call to Janly.
‘Go,’ I say. ‘Go, go, go.’
But instead of Janly, Zenaton stands before me, grinning. The last time I saw him was in the grandroom, when Davorous was sharing a story. Just after Blossom had been attacked. The blood in my veins turns to ice and my body comes to a stop, my jagged breath still sending pain radiating around my torso.
‘Go where, pray tell?’ he asks.
I keep my mouth shut.
He makes a show of looking over his shoulder, in the direction I so desperately want to go. ‘I wouldn’t go that way, if I were you. Rumour has it the Hunters are just about to apprehend some escaped prisoners from the other side. Dangerous people.’
‘Dangerous to who?’ I ask.
His gaze narrows a little as he slowly takes me in. My torn, bloody dress, the limp. The way I’m trying to carry my side. He glances behind me and his face drops in admonishment.
‘The prison is on fire, Luka,’ he says. ‘Shouldn’t you be helping us – your guests ? Not out here … running?’
He takes a step towards me, a hand reaching for my arm as Janly bursts from the bushes and crashes a rock into his temple. Zenaton drops to his knees, head in his hands, and cries out. Janly drops the rock, a touch of blood on its corner, to the ground.
‘Run,’ she says, true fear trembling in her voice. As I lift my eyes from Zenaton, I find she’s not looking at me, but over my shoulder. Spinning, Holland and the second Hunter move through the hedge, Holland’s gaze landing on the moaning, bleeding, prisoner.
‘Go,’ I say, turning back to Janly. ‘I won’t be fast enough.’
She doesn’t have time to respond before I shove her. ‘Run.’ Janly turns away and stumbles into the forest as I sink into the dirt. ‘Tell Blossom I’m sorry,’ I whisper.
‘None of that,’ Holland says, lifting me to my feet. I wince as I sag against him. Too tired, too overwhelmed, to fight him. Knowing the longer I keep them here, the more chance Janly has to make it to the others is the only ray of light I have. And so I use it to warm me from the inside. They’ll get off the island. They have to.
Zenaton groans from the ground and glares up at me.
‘You’ll pay for that, you bitch,’ he grinds out. ‘I’m so sick of concierges that think they’re better than us.’
A scream builds in my chest and I curl my lip at him.
‘And what are we, Zenaton?’ I grind out, moving to stand over him. ‘Tools to be used? Toys to be played with and discarded? Or just vessels to be fucked and destroyed at your whim?’
Something flashes across his face, but it’s not regret.
He grabs my ankle and I go down – hard – cursing myself for not learning my lesson from Davorous. Don’t get too close to dangerous men.
A sharp whisper slices the air behind me as Zenaton rolls to the left and a sword pierces his side. Blood oozes from the wound as I follow the blade to its handler. The second Hunter looks back at me. We stand there, looking at each other, for a long moment as Zenaton gasps shallow breaths on the ground beneath us. Dimly I notice the Hunter has a large gun of some sort as well as his sword. But there seems to be nothing either of us can say about what’s unfolding.
‘Where were you headed?’ Holland asks as if they drive blades into guests every day.
I bite my lip as he collects me from the ground once more, and I can’t stop the whimper that escapes my throat. I look between them again, the second one sliding his sword back into the holder at his side.
I glance back at Zenaton, who seems to be losing consciousness.
‘Leave him,’ Holland says gently, wrapping an arm around my waist. ‘It won’t be long anyway.’
Throwing what could only be described as a prayer to the sky, I let him take some of my weight.
‘This way,’ I say.
The walk through the forest is quiet, only the sound of our footsteps and my breathing marking the space. But behind me is the scream of the fire alarm, the loud pop of flames as they engulf half the building, and the cries and screams I can only hope are of the people watching, and no one trapped inside.
A weight grows in my stomach the closer we get to where I will find an empty patch of land – or, rather, no land if Blossom’s idea was successful. Is it better to get to say goodbye or not? There was so much potential in what I shared with Quillian, something I’m definitely not ready to let go of. But it’s the hurt on Blossom’s face when I deviated from our plan that will haunt me.
The second Hunter realises we’re getting close the same time I do and he draws his sword as we slowly make our way through the thinning trees.
In an instant, we’re surrounded. Five swords pointed in our direction.
Holland pulls me closer to his side and Quillian’s eyes flare. He stalks forward, blade out, and I gently push myself off the Hunter. Beside me, he raises his hands slowly, taking in the group before us.
‘Careful, Quillian,’ Nix says, not unkindly. ‘Your possession is showing.’