Steelheart (The Reckoners #1)(117)

I kept running.

“I’ll explain later,” Tia said in the type of voice that really meant “I’ll nd a better way to dodge that question later.”

There, I thought, catching a bit of light up ahead. It was dark outside, but not as pitch-black as it was in the tunnellike con nes of the stadium’s innards. The gun re was louder.

“I’m pulling us out,” Tia

continued. “Abraham, I need you to blow that explosion in the ground when I say. Cody … have you found David yet? Be warned,

Nightwielder might be on your back.”

She thinks I’m dead, I thought, because I haven’t been answering.

“I’m here,” I said.

“David,” Tia said, sounding relieved. “What is your status?”

“Nightwielder is down,” I said, reaching the tunnel out onto the eld, one of the ones that the teams had used when running out to play. “The UV worked. I think Fire ght is gone too. I … drove him off.”

“What? How?”

“Um … I’ll explain later.”

“Fair enough,” Tia said. “We have about two minutes until I extract. Get to Cody.”

I didn’t reply—I was taking in the

eld. Battle eld is right, I thought, stunned. The bodies of Enforcement soldiers lay scattered like discarded trash. Fires burned in several locations, sending smoke twisting up into the dark sky. Red ares blazed across the eld,

thrown by soldiers to get better light. Chunks had been blown out of the seating and the ground, and blackened scars marred the once-silver steel.

“You guys have been ghting a war,” I whispered. Then I caught sight of Steelheart.

He strode across the eld, lips parted and teeth clenched in a sneer. His glowing hand was

forward, and he blasted shot after shot toward something in front of him. Prof, running behind one of the team benches. Blast after blast nearly hit him, but he ducked and dodged between them, incredibly nimble. He pushed through a wall in the side of the stadium, his tensors vaporizing an opening for him.

Steelheart

bellowed

in

aggravation, ring blasts into the hole. Prof appeared a moment later, breaking out of another wall, steel dust pouring down around him. He whipped his hand forward, throwing a series of crude daggers toward Steelheart; they had likely been cut from the steel itself. They just bounced off the High Epic.

Prof looked frustrated, as if he were annoyed he couldn’t hurt Steelheart. For my part, I was amazed. “Has he been doing this the whole time?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Cody said. “Like I said, man’s a machine.”

I scanned the eld to my right and picked out Cody behind some rubble. He was leaning forward on his ri e and tracking a group of Enforcement soldiers in the rst-level seats. They had set up a large machine gun behind some blast shields, and Cody looked pinned down, which explained why he hadn’t been able to come nd me. I stu ed my handgun into its holster and unwrapped the ashlight from the stock of my rifle.

“I’m almost there, gentlemen,”

Tia said. “No more attempts to kill Steelheart. All phases aborted. We need to take this chance and leave while we can.”

“I don’t think Prof is going to go,” Abraham said.

“I’ll deal with Prof,” Tia said.

“Fine,” Abraham answered.

“Where are you going to—”

“Guys,” I cut in. “Be careful what you say in the general link. I think our lines may be hacked.”

“Impossible,” Tia said. “Mobile networks are secure.”

“Not if you have access to an authorized mobile,” I answered.

“And Steelheart might have

recovered Megan’s.”

There was silence on the line.

“Sparks,” Tia said. “I’m an idiot.”

“Ah, nally something makes

sense,” Cody said, ring a shot at the soldiers. “That mobile—”

Something moved in the opening

to the building behind Cody. I cursed, raising my ri e—but

without the stock it was very hard to aim properly. I pulled the trigger as an armed Enforcement soldier leaped out. I missed. He fired a staccato burst.

There was no sound from Cody, but I could see the blood spray. No, no, NO! I thought, taking o at a run. I red again, this time clipping the soldier on the

shoulder. It didn’t get past his armor, but he turned from Cody, sighting on me.

He red. I raised my left hand, the one with the tensor. I did it almost by instinct. It was tougher to make the song this time, and I didn’t know why.

But I made it work. I let the song out.

I felt something thump against my palm, and a pu of steel dust sprayed o my hand. It smarted something incredible, and the tensor started sparking. A moment later a series of gunshots sounded, and the soldier dropped. Abraham came around the corner behind the man.

Gun re from above. I dashed

and skidded against the ground, sliding behind Cody’s cover. He was there, gasping, eyes wide. He’d been hit several times, three in the leg, one in the gut.

“Cover us,” Abraham said in his calm voice, whipping out a bandage. He tied it around Cody’s leg. “Tia, Cody is hit badly.”