Andrei

 

I almost wished Frost would come back.

Minutes dragged on, each a silent footstep on my soul as I sat there, trying to shift, trying to plan and trying not to lose hope.

But I couldn’t shift. Nor could I come up with a plan.

And hope was harder to hold onto in the dark.

The metal in this place was an old, lead-based substance called Amaneht stone. A toxic substance found in the deep crusts of the earth in Siberia, a legend went that a warmongering king used it to tame a race of tigers to ensure his power.

Ultimately, though, the stone drove him mad. He began to hear it jabbering at him in different languages in his dreams. Demanding blood sacrifices of his people while he walked the halls of his palace. And he finally gave in, giving the stone the blood of his people.

So his people rose up and locked him away in a cell of it, as it was the only way to stop his rampage. A fitting end for a selfish man. A dark fairy tale for shifters.

Yet while the tale’s veracity was dubious, but the Amaneht stone did have a strange effect on shifters. And some fifty or so years ago, the Order had stopped using these cells. Stronger and larger cells were built so that the prisoners could live with dignity. The Shifters of Anubis were determined to be different, unlike most of the world of the inanis, with their metal cages and places of horror for their criminals. Indeed, nowadays, many of the shifters who worked in the prison were psychologists aiming to rehabilitate them.

Some, like the Valspars, were hopeless. Yet others had made good headway. Many had been released and were doing well.

Yet Lilian Frost found a way to subvert the Order’s intentions even there. Her systematic dismantling was spreading and I couldn’t help but think of the warmongering king. I remembered how Roy said she’d created updated versions of the Amaneht prisons at the Foundry.

What other dark secrets of the Order did Frost know?

My jaw clenched. I wanted Frost to stew in a cell like this, waiting for a sound. A shift in the light. A clasp of a friendly hand. A promise of a better tomorrow.

Anything to prove they weren’t alone in the bowels of the earth with no powers.

At some point, I managed to stagger upright and make my way over to a spigot sticking out of the wall just over my head. Hands shaking as I reached for the knob, I wondered if this old plumbing worked. Wouldn't they have shut it off when they closed this section down?

I twisted it and nothing came out.

With a sigh, I stared up at it and then there was a gurgle. Ice cold water blasted me in the face and I gasped, choking and spitting it out.

Then, resolutely, I let it wash over me, not caring that my clothes were now soaked through. I washed away the grime, sweat, and blood of the last day. The cuts on my face and arms stung like hell, some reopening and blood washed down the drain.

At least, I think it did. Without my gifts working properly, everything was in a strange, hazy semi-darkness.

Once done, I twisted it off and walked back to the cot. Sitting upright, my back against the wall, I now listened to the drip of water and tried to reach deep for my inner calm.

But now the face of that beautiful blonde haunted me.

Am I ever going to see Faye again?

What horrible irony that the night I’d planned on telling her how I felt – the night I’d planned to ask her to be mine – I’d wound up down here.

My fists slammed into the wall as my throat burned with bitterness.

I should have told her the moment I realized.

The thought of her never knowing was almost more than I could bear, and I got to my feet, pacing around. I could almost smell the sweetness of her hair and I stopped in front of the cage door, gripping the bars. With everything I had, I pulled on them.

They didn’t budge.

Suddenly I heard a sound and I slipped back into the shadows. Someone was coming.

A masked figure stopped in front of the door and slid a tray through the opening at the bottom. I could just make out the gleam of their eyes as they regarded me curiously. Goaded by this, I grinned at them and stalked forward.

“Many thanks, friend,” I said, nodding my head.

The agent flinched and vanished back the way they came.

And once again I was left alone in the darkness.

 

I’d no idea how much time had passed. For all I knew, it could have been weeks.

Food was sporadic and poor. Weak, watery stews and hunks of bread. It seemed to only increase my hunger rather than satisfy it. Sometimes I dozed, but never for long.

The darkness and the silence were getting to me. Once I thought I woke and saw a golden glow in the corner before it dimmed and became Faye. Panicked and elated, I'd leaped up, only to wake and see I was alone.

Every inch of this place was now known to me. All solid, save for the barred door and one crumbling corner. I’d almost sliced my hand open on it and since then had given it wide berth.

But after the fifth meal had been dropped off, I had a feeling Sunday was fast approaching.

Frost would drag me out of here, probably collared and drugged. My one chance at escape was while those doors were opened. She’d send in Rasoir and a few others, I was certain.

Slowly, an idea began to piece itself together. While in here, they would be subject to the same effects as the Amaneht as I was currently experiencing.

Tearing off my shirt, I ripped off part of it, then wrapped it around my nose and mouth.

Moving to that crumbling corner, with the spoon, I began to chip away at the wall until I had several good-sized chunks. One was sharp enough to pierce flesh. 

The others, I wrapped inside of my shirt and began to work at grinding into dust. I added more and more until the shirt was bursting.

Immediately after, I went to the spigot and scrubbed the dust off of me. What I was doing was insanely risky, but in the back of my head, I was hoping Kesari and Roy could put me right worst-case scenario. Either way, I wasn’t going down without a fight

Then, I sat and waited, one hand gripping the shirt full of Amaneht dust, the other the piece of wall. I went over my plan over and over in my head.

Simple, direct, and ruthless.

In between those hours, when my mind slipped into an exhausted space and I had to stop, I thought about Faye. I dreamed about a life with her. I saw her in white coming down an aisle. A house with loveable corners. Children. Pets. A garden.

Peaceful and boring days, filled with happiness.

Her face drove back the exhaustion and my veins would burn with energy again.

I will have it. I will not bow to the likes of Frost and the TLO.

Suddenly a scraping sound came in the distance. Sitting up straighter, I listened as boots came down the hall, along with a slithering sound. Electi.

But they weren’t close, it sounded like they were waiting at the end of the hall.

Huh, the Amaneht must affect them as well, I realized.

Sure enough, Rasoir’s tones bounced off the hall and then I heard Ivan’s guttural laugh. Slumping over, I let my arms hang loose as though I’d fallen asleep waiting for them.

“Mm, barely five days in the hole and see how the mighty crumble,” I heard Rasoir joke as the door slid open. “Wake up, Zima, we have a surprise for you…”

I counted the boots as they entered. Rasoir, Ivan, five other shifters. Two waited outside and Electi at the ends of the hall. For a fallen soldier, they weren't taking any chances.

Ivan came over, as I knew he would and laughed. “Pathetic.” I heard the clink of metal in his hands and I knew he was carrying a collar. Rage burned my throat as I kept still.

His boot swung towards me and I caught his foot, then lashed out, sinking the shard into his calf muscle. Ivan let out a howling scream, stumbling back and crashing into one of the guards.

Into the melee, I leaped up, my eyes shut and mouth and nose covered. Rasoir was closing in, razors flashing in his fingers and I flung some of the dust into his face.

Wheezing and coughing, I heard Rasoir gurgling as he fell to the floor, choking on the dust. The other shifters were moving in, three of them leery and two angry. Easily, I knocked down the two angry ones, then flung dust at the other three, who were foolishly unmasked.

At the door, I heard the other two shuffling unsure, as Rasoir gasped and tried to give orders. Charging out, using my limited sense of smell alone, I hit one in the neck and the other one ran. He didn’t get far, as I risked opening my eyes into the dust to whip the other guard’s bolas at him. The ropes with metal balls on the end whistled through the air and knocked him down.

Reaching behind me, I slammed the gated door shut and heard the satisfying click of a lock as Rasoir’s hand landed on the bars. Then his eyes rolled up in his head as he passed out.

Inside, Ivan was still swearing and crying now, begging me to get him a healer. With a savage satisfaction, I ignored him and removed several more weapons from the belt of the unconscious shifter.

Glancing left, I saw the heaving, snarling mass of shadows as the Electi moved to block both exits. I’d never be able to get past it without shifting and I had no idea if I could.

Turning, I saw the other one, a strange creature with limbs dragging on the ground, a hornlike protuberance on its face and a sleepy demeanor. After a second of deliberation, I ran towards that one, weighing the bag of dust in my hand. Less than half left.

It blinked at me, then I saw red flash into its eyes and the fire of intelligence there. One long limb snaked out and slapped the bag free. Closing my eyes, I leaped blindly and slashed with the shard, digging it into the creature’s shoulder.

It let out a roar of pain and I landed on the other side, stumbling, then running off.

This deep in HQ, I’d no idea where I was going and wished I’d taken the time, as I was sure Piper Weslark would have, to memorize the older levels.

Instead, on blind instinct, I ran, trying to shift and failing every time. I tried not to panic every time it didn’t work, telling myself it was nothing to worry about…

Abruptly, I found a staircase and sprinted towards it. Behind me, I suddenly heard a scrabbling noise and turned to see the horn-faced Electi had found me.

Legs and lungs burning, I pounded up the stairs, thinking of Faye.

Two levels up, I’d managed to stay ahead of the creature, but it was gaining fast. And the stairs had ended, forcing me back into the twisting maze of hallways. This was no longer the sublevel, but HQ was empty as I’d never seen it empty. Now I was panicking.

Dizzy, I tried to get my bearings, but pain and nausea were creeping up, making it hard to think. At random, I took a hallway and began to look for a way out. In the woods, I was sure I could lose the–

WHAM!

Something missed me by inches and I hastily threw myself backward as the mass of shadows came snarling at me. But then I froze, hearing the tell-tale footsteps of the other Electi behind me. For a moment, I glanced between them, palm sweaty on the rock shard.

And once again, I tried to shift to no avail.

Both of them came at me, the shadow creature hitting me first. It landed a blow on my side that had me seeing stars as I crumpled. The other one’s long, bony fingers latched around my throat.

I tried to slash at its arm, but it pinned down one arm, while the shadow creature crushed the other one. If I’d been able to, I would be screaming in pain.

As it was, my eyes were rolling back as my throat was crushed, my brain screaming for oxygen and darkness was filtering into the corner of my eyes.

No… I have to tell Faye… I have to stop this…

The light was winking out and I was no longer struggling. An ache of sadness went through me, but a deeper feeling, one of peace and calm was beginning to rise. There was a brief flash of panic as I realized I was dying, I had seconds…

Andrei!

Gasping, I choked on the air as the pressure released from my throat and I saw a blur of gold from behind my eyes. Coughing, I realized someone was dragging me backward and there were sounds of fighting again, but it sounded like the Electi were being driven back.

Opening my eyes, I saw a massive lion attacking the shadows, aided by a black jaguar, while a triple-striped cheetah drove back the horned creature.

“Stay here,” said a familiar voice and a snow leopard leaped over me, going to help the cheetah. Struggling to sit up, getting my breath back, I watched as the Electi fought hard, keeping the four occupied. The Shifters of Anubis were not losing, but they were not winning either.

I tried to get up, but a hand landed on my shoulder. Twisting, I saw Isla, her blue-green eyes steady on mine and then she nodded. Standing up, she coolly fired off a gun, tranquilizer darts landing in the horned Electi. It stumbled back and keeled over, tongue lolling out. I blinked in surprise as she leveled it at the shadow one, who oozed and avoided every dart.

The four shifters converged, trying to drive it into a corner, but it was too fast. Then it let out a keening cry and seemed to cave in on itself. The red eyes closed and it slumped to the floor.

Behind it stood Kesari, her short hair wild and a cut along her cheek.

Next, to me, Isla let out a sigh of relief.

Kesari briefly touched Roy’s shoulder as she passed him, as Balt shifted back from a lion, Dez from the cheetah and Kai from the jaguar. Kesari’s eyes were on me and I struggled to hide my pain as she kneeled by my side.

“We were on our way to rescue you, you know,” Kesari said mildly as her cool hands landed on my injured arm and began to work miracles.

“This is fine,” I said, breathing hard as the pain seemed to shudder and vanish from my arm. Without meaning to, I blurted out, “Where is Faye?”

Kesari’s gaze darted to Isla and I struggled to stand up.

“Do not move,” Kesari ordered me, her expression the fiercest I’d seen it.

“Tell me what is happening – where’s everyone else?”

“We don’t know,” Kai said grimly.

I looked up to see not a glimmer of a smile on his face. He was standing next to Isla, sweeping his eyes over her to make sure she was okay. Like Kesari, he was beaten up and his hair, usually wild, was wilder than usual. A bruise bloomed over his left eye.

Clenching my jaw as Kesari touched the back of my head, which was still concussed from the other day, I ignored the grind of agony that shot through it. I needed her to heal me as fast as possible and if I showed pain, she’d slow down.

Looking up, I saw the same look in Dez and Balt’s eyes. Fury and fear. My heart sank.

Kai continued, when no one else spoke up, “HQ was evacuated this morning. Drax, Piper, Soraya, your sister, and Faye were coming to get you.”

“You knew…?” I asked, wincing.

“We saw,” Kesari said tersely. “You put a hell of a fight, Andrei.”

“We were meant to clear the halls – we were the lookout and the distraction for the Electi," Roy explained. “Isla and Kesari were standing by with Enele and Talori in case you were in bad shape. But then the girls and Drax never met them, so Kesari contacted me…” My cousin shook his head and then sighed. “Then they were ambushed. Enele and Talori got separated from these two.”

“But then we heard a commotion and came running,” Isla explained.

“Yes, in exactly the opposite direction you should have,” Kai, sounding furious and proud at the same time. “Thank you for your quick firing, Isla.”

“Of course,” she replied softly.

“Good thing we did, Andrei is in bad shape,” Kesari said. “I’ve patched you up for now, but after all this, you’re going to need to take a nice, long healer-induced sleep.”

“So, Drax and the girls are missing?” I asked as Kesari and Roy helped me up. “No one came to my cell except for Rasoir, Ivan, and some goons.”

“There!” I heard a shout and we all tensed. But it was only Enele and Talori, both of whom gave me tight smiles. “Listen,” Enele said. “I know where they are. They went to Bear Springs.”

Curses, exclamations, and groans.

I shook my head, confused. “Why?”

“Because that’s where Lilian Frost is,” Enele said grimly. “She’s been holed up there since Friday night, with several kidnapped family members of Shifter of Anubis agents. Mostly inanis and children.” My brain buzzed as I opened my mouth in horror. “The girls overheard someone talking about a prisoner transfer to Bear Springs as ‘proof’ the Order was dead. Faye knew it was you and insisted they go there to stop them…”

“The burn order…?” I asked, shaking my head and wishing I could shake Faye.

“We altered it, but many families didn’t evacuate fast enough,” Talori said gravely. “When Frost realized what happened, she sent out her minions and traitors to lure and kidnap them.” Her eyes suddenly filled with tears. “They-they got Keon…”

“What?” I snarled and Talori nodded. Putting a hand to my throbbing head, I listened as Balt questioned Enele about what else his sister had said. But all she’d told him was that.

“We’ve tried to recruit clean agents, but we have no idea if they’ve listened to the message,” Balt explained grimly. “Everything has been chaotic since Friday – no one knows who to trust. We have no idea who has fled and who hasn’t… Some of the Heads are missing, too. Lhambo, Stalissa…”

“What about Mirois?” I demanded.

“No one has seen her,” Talori spoke up.

“What was the plan after you got me?” I asked.

Balt and Dez exchanged a look. “Retreat for now, with Drax. Come up with a plan,” Balt said. “Piper was sure they were going to use you to get to the Zimas and we couldn't let that happen. Your family is a stronghold of shifters in Eastern Europe.”

I shook my head, almost inclined to laugh. “She was right they wanted to use me, but it’s not what you think. Frost is going to deal a blow to Anubis right here, throwing everything we stand for in our face. She must have enough of an audience at Bear Springs to do so…” I trailed off. “Mirois didn’t send me to kill Faye only to silence her, but as an example of our inherent corruption through me and my blind obedience to the order. A perfect soldier who would rather murder an innocent than question a Head.”

There was a shocked moment of silence.

“That’s sick,” Kai said, revolted and he shook his head. “But it failed.” He gave me his familiar, trademark smile. We could have been out on the ocean catching waves. “You managed to destroy it before it could come to fruition.”

“Yes,” I said, both wanting to take credit and also terrified. “But if someone sees Faye from the TLO side, they will make sure to kill her and blame me. We have to find them, now!”

Enele made a frustrated sound. “They’re not answering on the coms. Must be out of range.”

“Or being blocked,” Talori said. “There’s plenty of static everywhere.”

Balt looked around. “I’d ask the three of you to stay behind,” he said to Talori, Kesari, and Isla. “but I know I would be wasting my breath.” Even Kai and Roy looked resigned as Isla’s eyes flashed and Kesari lifted her chin. Talori merely gave him a smile. “Let's go.”

I took a deep breath and looked around at them. “Thank you for coming to get me. You saved my life. But know this – today this war with the TLO ends.” I looked at Roy. “If I don’t make it, tell Faye that I’m sorry, but I couldn’t allow this organization to exist any longer.” I paused and looked at the ceiling, picturing her. I could feel everyone’s curious gazes on me. “And that I loved her more than I ever knew you could love someone.”

With that, I shifted and took off running.