Tension slid through the group as they stood just out of sight of the death wall. There were a dozen bodies already strung on the wall, their arms tied behind their backs and their heads resting against their chests.

“There he is,” whispered Tobias.

Jude nodded. Heath stood in line with six other individuals, Malachi included. They were bound by the hands and feet. In front of them, two soldiers prepared rope nooses.

“They’re filming this.” Annie’s voice sounded strained. “They’ve got cameras over there.” She pointed in front of the death wall.

“Of course they have,” muttered Lincoln. “They need to show the world they’ve got one up on us. What better way to do that than show they’ve gotten our leader? Everybody knows Heath. They flash his picture around all the time.”

“They won’t succeed.” Annie’s words broke off in a sob.

“We’ll get him back.” Lincoln gave Annie’s shoulder a quick squeeze, his gaze never leaving the death wall.

“We will,” said Annie. “No one takes my man and gets away with it.”

Jude’s gaze was locked to Heath and Malachi. “There’s still no sign of Octavia.”

“You said you were separated,” said Lincoln. “Maybe they took her somewhere else?”

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” said Zane. “I bet they’re interested in how she’s been listening in to their comms. Maybe they want that information before they do anything else.”

“Like kill her,” said Jude.

“Sorry, buddy,” said Zane. “They want to do that to all of us. Octavia will not be the exception.”

“We’ll get her back as well.” Lincoln gestured for the group to move closer.

Annie stifled a sob as the soldiers grabbed the first person in the line and placed a noose around his neck. He struggled for a few seconds before seeming to give up the fight and slump forward.

A soldier stood in front of the prisoner. “In the name of the State, this traitor has been tried and found guilty of disloyalty. His punishment will be death. Everybody hear this declaration and know the same will happen to them if they disobey their rulers.”

“We can’t let them kill anyone.” Annie raised her pulse laser.

“Wait!” ordered Lincoln. “They put nooses on everybody first, tell the viewers what their crimes are, and hang them all at the same time. I’ve seen it before. They must think it’s more dramatic.”

“It shows what sick bastards they are,” muttered Tobias.

“Malachi’s next,” said Jude.

They watched in silence as Malachi jerked in the soldier’s grip. The soldier wrapped a noose round Malachi’s neck and tightened it.

“This dragon hybrid has rejected the loyalty and generosity of the State. He has rejected all attempts to be indoctrinated into our way of life. He is a disgrace to his kind. He is an aberration. Any dragon hybrid found must be reported to the State. Let this be a timely reminder that anyone sheltering a dragon hybrid will be considered a criminal. You will also be put to death if discovered.”

Malachi continued to fight until a soldier slammed a fist into his guts and shoved him against the wall.

“Now it’s Heath.” Annie took a step forward.

Jude caught hold of her arm. “We’ll get him.”

“Sorry. I just...” She gestured to the wall, a helpless look on her face.

“I know. I get it. We won’t let anything happen to him,” said Jude.

“When they’re putting the noose around the last prisoner’s neck,” said Lincoln, “we attack. I’ll aim for the two nooses on the right. Everyone else pick a noose and fire. Don’t stop firing until the rope around their neck is broken.”

They all lined up, focusing in on a noose each.

Lincoln was the best shot out of all of them. He would take out his targets with no trouble. Jude knew he was a decent enough shot. Tobias was the same as him, and Zane was an ace with a pulse laser. Annie had experience in the shooting range, but she rarely came out on missions. They were taking a gamble, but had to do it. They needed to save everyone.

“I don’t see any more soldiers,” said Tobias.

“It looks like just these two,” said Zane.

“Backup won’t be far off,” said Lincoln. “Since this is being broadcast live, they will know something is wrong the second we start shooting. We’ll have a couple of minutes at most to get everyone away from the wall and back to the Cobra.”

“Then we’ll take it.” Jude watched as the final prisoner was dragged forward and his back placed against the wall. “Is everybody ready?”

They all nodded.

“Wait for it,” said Lincoln. “Wait until the soldiers’ backs are turned.”

Jude held in a breath as he watched the final noose slip around the prisoner’s neck.

“Any second now.” Lincoln’s weapon was raised, along with everyone else’s.

Jude’s finger twitched on the trigger of his weapon.

“Now!” said Lincoln.

Everyone fired.

Lincoln hit both his targets with two shots. He turned his attention to the live camera feed and slammed a blast of pulse laser into the camera. “That will buy us time.”

The two soldiers by the death wall dropped to the ground.

Jude’s laser sliced through the noose with ease. He turned his attention to the soldiers, taking one out.

Lincoln was right by his side. He fired at the same time as his brother. The final guard died as their lasers slammed him into the death wall.

“Let’s move.” Jude limped as he ran, his arm wrapped around his ribs, but he felt better already knowing Heath and Malachi were safe.

The group raced as one toward the wall. Malachi and Lincoln flanked the others, watching out for any more soldiers.

Jude reached Heath first. Relief ran through him as he saw he was uninjured, apart from a few bruises on his face.

“What took you so long?” Heath turned so Jude could untie his hands.

“Someone tried to bury me alive in a pile of bodies.”

“You’ll use any excuse.” Heath squeezed Jude’s shoulder. “Thanks for the rescue.” His gaze locked onto someone behind Jude.

He turned and saw Annie waiting there.

Jude stepped out of the way, watching as Annie flung herself into Heath’s arms.

“When I heard you’d been taken, I thought they’d kill you.” Annie clung to Heath.

“I promised I’d never leave you.” Heath’s arms encircled her and he pulled her to him. “Half-trained soldiers under the influence of the State will not change that. Not when I’ve got you to come home to.”

Jude looked away as they kissed. His heart ached for Octavia. She wasn’t at the death wall. Where was she?

Tobias untied Malachi, and the group worked to free the rest of the prisoners.

“We need to leave,” yelled Lincoln. “A drone is watching us.” He shot the drone from the sky. “It will have recorded our movements and location. Reinforcements will be on the way.”

Lincoln and Jude led everyone away from the wall. Tobias and Zane encouraged the other rescued prisoners to hurry, while Annie ran alongside Malachi and Heath.

“We’re not far,” said Jude.

“That’s good to hear,” muttered a male prisoner with a black eye. “They don’t exactly take care of us.”

“What did you do to attract their interest?”

“I asked too many questions.” The man gave Jude a curious look. “Why are you rescuing us?”

“It’s what we do,” said Lincoln, over his shoulder. “You’re welcome to join us.”

The man snorted in surprise. “I might just do that. There’s nothing for me here.”

“We’ve got plenty to keep you occupied,” said Jude.

They reached the buildings and raced past them.

Lincoln ran ahead and disengaged the Invis Tech on the Cobra.

“Where are we going?” asked a lanky, short guy with a mess of blond hair.

“Back to the bunker.” Jude looked at Heath, and he nodded.

“We’ll have to run a security check on all of you before we take you there,” said Heath. “It’s just a precaution. We have to keep the location safe.”

The rescued prisoners muttered, but no one objected.

“The State won’t find you there,” said Heath. “You can stay until you figure out what you want to do next.”

“That sounds like a fair deal.” The prisoner with the black eye looked around the group, and everyone nodded.

They all piled into the Cobra. Lincoln took the driver’s seat next to Malachi before re-engaging the Invis Tech and speeding away.

It was only then that Jude let himself relax. That was when his injuries began to protest. The dragon serum was doing its work, but he still ached like he’d been smashed into a brick wall by a bulldozer.

Annie passed around water for everyone, along with pouches of food. “Has anyone got any serious injuries that need looking at now?”

“Nothing that can’t wait,” said Heath. “The soldiers wanted to make sure we were conscious when we were strung up.” He opened a handheld fingerprint scanner and handed it around the group. “I need scans of your prints so we can check your backgrounds.”

The prisoners all obliged. Jude saw that as a good sign. They weren’t taking anyone back with them who could be considered a threat.

Annie tucked an arm into the crook of Heath’s elbow as he scanned through the readings. “I’m glad we got you in time.”

He kissed her forehead. “You’re not the only one.”

“Did you see Octavia?” asked Jude. “Was she being held in the same place as you?”

“We never saw her,” said Heath. “We got taken to some processing center, stuck in a cell, and then moved. What happened after we were taken?”

“There were more soldiers waiting for us,” said Jude. “We were returning from the air raid shelter when we lost contact with you.”

“Those damn soldiers slunk out of the shadows,” said Heath. “We tried to fight them, but there were too many.”

“It was the same with us.” Disappointment hit Jude. “I thought Octavia might be with you.”

“She wasn’t,” said Malachi. “We didn’t see her.”

“Where the hell have they taken her?” Frustration grew inside Jude. He had to know she was okay.

“They’ll most likely process her and send her to a State prison to await trial,” said Heath. “Listen to the comms channels for information about prisoner transport in this area. Maybe we can intercept.”

“I’m worried they might figure out who she is.” Jude took the earbud Heath handed him. “If they find out Octavia is behind Flame radio, they won’t treat her well.”

“She’ll keep quiet about that,” said Heath.

“She needs to keep quiet, period. Anyone would know her from that voice of hers,” said Lincoln.

“That’s what I’m worried about,” said Jude. “If any of those soldiers listen to Flame, they’ll know who she is.”

“Your woman has skills,” said Lincoln. “She will take care of herself.”

“She can’t do it alone,” snapped Jude.

“Octavia will reach us if she can,” said Annie. “And we will help. We won’t leave her behind, will we?” Her gaze went to each person in the Cobra.

“We’ll get her back,” said Heath. “First off, we need to get to base. We’ve got everything we need there to help.”

Jude could do nothing but sit in the back of the Cobra and count down the minutes until the journey ended. He listened to the radio chatter as they traveled, but heard nothing useful about Octavia.

By the time they reached the bunker, his nerves were jangling. Octavia had skills, but she wasn’t invincible. The longer they left her in the hands of the State, the more the risk grew.

As the Cobra stopped in the vehicle bay, Danni was waiting for them. She watched as the prisoners got out. “Have they all passed the security check?”

“All clear,” said Heath.

Danni nodded. “Annie, take those who need it to the medical bay. I need to speak to Jude.”

Jude’s spine straightened. He recognized that serious tone. “What’s wrong?”

Danni fixed her unwavering gaze on him. “The State have issued an offer.”

“What’s the offer?”

“It came through a secure link. They haven’t broadcast it publicly.”

Jude’s mouth felt dry. “What are they after?”

“They want our surrender,” said Danni.

“No way,” said Lincoln. “That will never happen.”

“In exchange for our surrender they will return Octavia,” said Danni.

“We can’t trust them to do that,” said Lincoln.

“We can’t leave her,” said Jude. “They’ll kill her.”

“I’m more concerned with how they will make use of her enviable skills in comms tracking,” said Danni. “She knows this base. She can track us. That puts this entire operation at risk.”

“Octavia would never betray us.”

Heath rested a hand on Jude’s shoulder. “She might not have a choice.”

“They want to meet,” said Danni.

“So we meet them,” said Jude. “We get her back.”

“It’s a trap,” said Heath. “I understand you need Octavia safe, but if we go through with this, it will only make things worse.”

“For who? Octavia has helped too many times for us to abandon her.”

“He’s right,” said Tobias. “Octavia has saved our butts countless times. We need to return the favor.”

Danni nodded. “I agree. She’s a valuable member of our team. If she is turned by the State, she will become a lethal enemy.”

Jude looked around the group. “We have to cause a diversion. Mess with the State. Make it so they lose control.”

“You have something in mind?” asked Danni.

“We should reveal to the population what they really are.”

The group was silent for a few seconds.

“It could work,” said Heath. “Even if the population doesn’t believe the messages, the State will have to focus on dealing with that. They won’t want any of those messages going out.”

“And we will keep sending them,” said Jude. “We’ll create a dozen different messages across communication routes. We can bounce the signals off different satellites, use a remote location so they’re hard to track and disable. They’ll be so busy concentrating on that, they won’t care about Octavia.”

“They will still care. It’s a big risk,” said Danni.

“Not if we’re careful. We arrange to meet them. That way, we know where she’ll be,” said Jude. “I’m not leaving her behind. Even if I have to do this alone, it’s happening.”

Lincoln slung an arm around Jude’s shoulders. “You’re not doing this alone. Your idea could work.”

“Let’s reply to their offer,” said Danni. “I’ll arrange a meeting. In the meantime, get to work on revealing who the State are to the rest of the population.”

Jude nodded, his brain alive with possibilities. This had to work. He had to get Octavia back.

***

OCTAVIA OPENED HER eyes. She was face down on a concrete floor. She was back in her cell. Slowly, she raised her hands to her head and grimaced as she felt a prickle of hair on her scalp. It hadn’t been a nightmare. Her head had been shaved.

The last thing she remembered was Commander West’s fist slamming into her face. From the ache in her cheekbone, that had also been more than a bad dream.

She let out a sigh. Her memories were intact. They hadn’t mind wiped her. Maybe after her disobedient behavior with Commander West, he decided he didn’t want her as his pet. She could only hope that was true. The thought of having that creepy, sadistic asshole being anywhere near her made her stomach turn.

Octavia felt frozen to the core, her bones aching with cold and bruises. She eased onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She had no idea how long she’d been out for. It must be night—maybe a whole day had passed.

She looked around and realized she wasn’t in the original cell. This was a different room. A camera watched her from one corner.

She stared at the camera for a moment. If it was active, there would be wires. There would be power, and she could use that to her advantage.

Easing into a sitting position, Octavia gingerly touched her cheek. The flesh was puffy and sore. She didn’t think the bone was broken, but the impact of Commander West’s fist meant she could barely see out of her right eye.

She’d make sure he paid for that the next time they met.

Thoughts of Jude crammed into Octavia’s head. He was alive, he had to be, despite what Commander West had said. If he was safe and free, she didn’t want him to come back for her. She didn’t want him to listen to any offer Commander West might make to trade for her. It was too much of a risk.

She stood and walked to the door. It was the same design as before; the metal grille and electronic lock.

Sliding along the wall, she stopped underneath the camera. Standing on tiptoes, Octavia felt around the base of the camera. It was attached to the wall by screws. She gave it an experimental yank. It held fast. She’d need all of her strength to pull it from the wall and expose the wires.

Octavia worked a fingernail into one of the screws and felt it give. After breaking several nails, one screw was partially out. She twisted and tugged until the whole thing gave way, taking a piece of plaster with it.

She grabbed hold of the camera and jumped, swinging her weight on it.

The camera twisted and snapped off in her hand. It exposed a bunch of wires behind it.

Anyone watching the camera feed would know something was wrong. She wouldn’t have much time to make this work.

Octavia selected the wires she needed and then hurried to the door. The electronic locking mechanism was hidden behind a metal panel. She grabbed the discarded screw and used it as a makeshift tool to loosen the panel. She forced down the metal, exposing the wires that operated the door. Using some wires from the camera feed, she bypassed the circuitry and the door unlocked.

She hesitated, expecting to find a guard outside the door.

The corridor she stepped into was empty, simply a row of closed doors and the faint stench of human waste. She checked both ways in the corridor before turning right and heading toward a door at the end.

She reached the door and ducked back against the wall. Through the glass panel, she’d spotted a guard approaching.

A small smile curved her lips. He was just what she needed. He would be her way out.

The door lock clicked as the guard unlocked it.

As he pushed the door open, Octavia launched herself at him. She slammed her elbow into his mouth, and her knee found his groin.

The guard staggered back, his hands grabbing his groin. She was on him in an instant. Octavia yanked the weapon from his holster, jammed it into his guts, and fired.

Dropping to her knees, Octavia grabbed the comms device from the guard’s lifeless wrist. She opened a link to Jude’s message box and sent a second message.

I’m alive. I’m in a holding facility. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.

She let out a sigh as the message went through. At least he now knew she was okay.

Checking the corridor was still empty and no one had heard the muffled blast of the pulse laser, Octavia grabbed the guard’s body and dragged him to her cell. She slung him in and shut the door.

She headed back along the corridor, the guard’s pass card in one hand and his pulse laser in the other.

The place was a frickin’ maze. She turned down several corridors, hoping to find a way out, but there was nothing to give her any clue that she was heading in the right direction.

She eased open a door, checked the room was empty, and slid through. Octavia’s eyes widened as she saw where she was. In front of her was a bank of computers alongside an enormous mainframe server.

“Holy dragons,” she whispered. It was like all of her birthdays had come at once.

Octavia pulled out a chair and sat. If she couldn’t get out of here, the least she could do was help finish what she’d started. She could monitor the States comms from here, see what they were sending out, and maybe even decipher the rest of their language. She could also find out what happened to Jude and the others.

Her fingers skimmed over the keyboard as she opened a private dark website and scanned for messages about them.

She’d find Jude, and find out where he was. Octavia didn’t believe he was dead. He was out there. She could feel it. If she couldn’t get herself free, she’d make sure he had everything he needed to stop the State.