Chapter 4
FOUR
margaret
I didn’t like to curse. Elijah—sorry, Sinner—always told me it wasn’t ladylike.
His tsking over it was truly absurd, because if he was trying to be gentlemanlike, he was failing miserably. For god’s sake, he terrified everyone the moment he met them and killed people simply for looking at him wrong!
That was his personality, though, and I loved him despite his flaws. He hadn’t always been this way, but life had hardened him. And I could always count on him. He loved me, too, for my immaculate sense of humor and great life skills.
We were a great team like that.
Anyway, back to the cursing thing.
SHIT.
What in the fucking hell was all this damn green stuff growing from the ground?
And—I cannot stress this enough—shit!
Okay, I wasn’t saying the words aloud, but the energy from them radiated through me as I tramped through the thick, prickly grass.
The greenery must have been sent by an evil monster to make us miserable. It was the only explanation. Because in what world would this much grass be necessary?
My god. I sucked in a breath. Another bug. A big one.
“I think I’m going to die,” I mumbled as I darted around it.
The rest of the group tramped forward. They were in decent spirits considering Athena and Sinner had been taken by the Ministry…again.
Katherine, Benedict, Carter, and the other people Benedict transported from the dungeons marched silently ahead with absolutely no concern for the delicate young woman hanging on by a thread in the back of the group.
They would leave me here to perish. To be eaten by huge, scary animals that were surely hunting us.
Everyone but Benedict, anyway. At least he was gentlemanlike.
“You’re not going to die.” He slowed his pace to match mine. But what did he know? “We’re almost there.”
“How do you know? It’s not like you’ve been here before.”
He stepped closer, marching over the prickly, half-dead grass easily. Meanwhile, I was over here getting sliced to death by every stick in our path.
It wasn’t fair!
After the last few horrific days out here in the wild, I was ready to succumb to the elements. Especially when the rest of the group had absolutely no problem moving ahead.
Benedict laughed lightly.
The sound only sent another round of frustration through me. How could he even be laughing in this situation? I found no humor in our current predicament!
“That doesn’t mean I don’t know where we’re going. I’m a jumper, remember? Locations and time in space are kind of my specialty.”
If he hadn’t used all his energy to get us out of those dungeons alive, I would’ve forced him to jump me there so I could avoid this hellscape.
But beneath that perky attitude of his, he was exhausted.
Defeated.
There wasn’t time to get everyone out, and he blamed himself for that. But it wasn’t his fault. There was a massive explosion, then Benedict’s powers were blocked. He couldn’t get to them. They couldn’t get out.
We were stuck in the forest with no way of knowing whether the people we left behind were alive.
No. I gritted my teeth. They were alive.
I refused to accept a reality where my brother and Athena no longer existed.
Director was too freakishly obsessed with them to kill them.
She’d save them. Take care of them like they were her disturbing little pets.
Use them for the war against the earthlies.
So, for now, we pretended like the weight of their well-being didn’t sit on our shoulders as we continued.
“Are we even sure the defiance exists? Or are we torturing ourselves for no reason?” I whined.
He eyed me. “He didn’t tell you? He told me he’d discuss this with you first.”
“Please.” I huffed. “I’m too tired to decipher what in god’s name you’re trying to say here.”
I stomped over a disturbingly large stick—it might've actually been alive—as Benedict explained. “Your brother was the one who told me that the defiance exists out here. He’s the one who told me there was hope in this forest—that we should go looking in case he didn’t make it back.”
“Sinner said that?” If that were true, why hadn’t he ever mentioned anything like that to me?
Benedict nodded. “If there really is a defiance out here, we’re close. The rumors I’ve heard all suggest they’re hidden in this forest. Somewhere close enough to keep an eye on the Ministry, but far enough away to go unseen by prying eyes.”
“So what? We just stomp though the trees until we find a massive rebel cult ready to take us in? Sounds a little too good to be true.”
“If you have a better idea, I’m all ears,” he muttered. “Until then, I’m choosing to hold on to hope.”
I would’ve defined myself as an optimist. Honestly. But Benedict was crossing the line into delusion.
Still, I didn’t have a better idea. So I smiled and tried my best to ignore the soreness in my calves. “As long as they have real beds. They better have real beds.”
We traveled for the rest of the day. Benedict eventually crept up to the front of the group where the other guys were pressing Katherine to share what she knew about her sister.
She held firm, though. Good. Katherine was a bitch—I think Elijah would be okay with me cursing in this instance—but at least she was a quieter bitch.
I usually loved to talk. Especially to Athena, and Katherine reminded me of Athena in so many ways, but that didn’t mean she was pleasant.
My heart twisted in my chest. I’d give anything to trade places with Athena. Elijah, too. They’d done so much for me, and I hated that they’d had to. I was always the pawn.
First, with my father.
Now?
With Director?
If this defiance was really out here, I was going to fight like hell along with them to take Director down. Athena and Elijah deserved to live without the constant fear that she’d twist things around on them at every turn. They deserved a life of peace.
Carter, who led the group ahead, stopped walking. And thank the merciful god above for that, because my legs weren’t built for this much physical activity.
“Stop!” Carter whisper-shouted.
The group halted immediately and my heart almost exploded.
It was too quiet.
Too still.
Carter scanned the forest, eyes narrowed.
Looking for what, I didn’t know.
“What is it?” Benedict asked.
Carter didn’t reply. He was too busy searching the woods for—
A stick cracked behind us. Oh no. It was too late.
The voice came from the woods. Calm but dominant. “Take one more step and you’ll all die where you stand.”
I swore we collectively held our breath.
Yeah, this was one of those moments where Elijah would let me curse.
I zeroed in on Benedict. Was this part of your plan, buddy?
“Do as they say,” he whispered. Then, louder, “We’re mystic escapees seeking refuge. We’re looking for the defiance.”
“Shut the hell up!” Carter hissed. “How are we supposed to know these fuckers are from the defiance?”
The tip of a knife pressed against my back, making me startle and all the blood drain from my face. Didn’t love that.
A second later, our group was surrounded.
The strangers moved quickly and silently. More than a dozen of them. How had they snuck up on us so quietly? And how long had they been following us?
Once I sucked in enough breath to supply my brain with oxygen and really assessed the newcomers, I nearly squealed. It wasn’t just men surrounding us, but women too.
Lots of women.
The presence of the strong, impressively terrifying women holding knives was threat enough. Nobody moved. Not even Carter.
“You’re looking for the defiance?” one of the few men encircling us asked. “What do you want?”
“We want to fight,” Benedict answered. He gulped, but he wasn’t afraid.
I knew he wasn’t. He’d been so dang excited to meet the resistance; if there was even a shred of hope that these people knew where we could find the defiance, Benedict would follow that trail.
“We want to join them, and we have powers that could help in their fight against the Ministry. Healers. Jumpers.”
One of the women laughed. “You really think you can waltz in here and be given access to the resistance just because you’re mystic?”
“We have information that can help,” Katherine added, snagging the attention of most of them. “Information you’ll want.”
“Really?” one woman asked. “Information like what?”
“I lived with Director in her mansion for months,” Katherine explained. “I can tell you anything you want to know about the layout, the guards, and the plans for the dungeons.”
Excitement zipped through me. Dang, girl! Spill the beans!
“Trust me,” she pushed, “you’ll want our help.”
For several seconds, no one spoke and no one moved.
Crap. They were going to kill us. Yep. This was the end. I’d never live my dream of laying by the beach and eating an entire fillet of fresh fish while my clan of lovers massage my shoulders and offer plates of fresh fruit.
My chest tightened. I was too young to die! I hadn’t even had sex!
Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have been thinking about sex when I was on the verge of a slow and painful murder by the so-called “defiance”, but dang! What’s a girl to do!
Curse you, Margaret, and your high standards! You should’ve slept with that cute blond who brought you a piece of chocolate when you were a teenager!
One of the men rummaged through that cursed overgrown grass. Then there was a clang of metal. Then, to my horror—or maybe amusement?—he opened a massive steel door that led under the forest floor.
The door thudded to a halt as it reached a vertical position and our entire group gaped.
Waiting.
“Head on in,” one of the women ordered. “Guests first.”
Benedict stepped forward, but I snatched his arm back, stopping him. “Don’t do it!” I whispered. “There is NO way a creepy, metal tunnel surrounded by a bunch of jungle assassins can lead to anything good!”
He rolled his eyes like I was an idiot, but he hesitated anyway. “You’re not planning on trapping us in there and leaving us for dead, are you?” he asked the woman who’d done most of the talking.
Her fierce, scary grimace morphed into a smile. “You’ve found what you’ve been looking for, golden boy,” she said. “Welcome to the defiance.”