The Gender War (The Gender Game #4)(96)

Cad and my uncle looked at each other in confusion for a second, then opened their mouths—presumably to scream at me—when the cords tightened and began lifting them off the ground. They clung on tightly as Amber, invisible at the head of the ship, hoisted them up with the automatic winch while the ship ascended higher into the sky.

I watched them go from behind a half-broken tree trunk, and then turned back toward the northern wall, just in time to see Tabitha climb out of a pile of rubble, her face streaked with gray dust and red blood.

She staggered up, her back to me, and I had only a moment to consider my next move before she whipped around and her eyes found me, swollen with hatred. She straightened, and I watched her crack her neck before stalking slowly toward me, quivering with anger, her eyes filled with dark promise.

As the roar of the heloship engines faded, I became aware of panicked shouts coming from one of the palace’s gateways just to my left. I glanced through, saw that the entryway itself was clear, and began running toward it, keeping a wary eye on Tabitha.

A man in a warden’s uniform charged up behind Tabitha, and I heard him beginning to ask her if she was okay when his eyes locked in on mine. He brought up his rifle and fired, and I dropped into a crouch, scuffling backwards and holding the egg in front of me like a shield.

“NO!” Tabitha growled. “She’s mine!”

The man ignored her, firing another burst at me. I cringed as concrete and plaster rained down on me, tiny chips and white dust joining the courtyard dirt that had settled on my skin. I dove back toward the column, hoping that it would give me some cover. Tabitha gave an indignant howl, and I risked another glance in time to see her grab the man’s arm. In the time it took him to throw her a horrified look, she had planted one foot on his hip and yanked.

There was an awful, wet, squelching sound, followed by an ear-splitting scream, followed by a wet suction pop. I felt my jaw drop as Tabitha threw the man’s arm carelessly over her shoulder, blood flying from it, the gun clattering away with it. The man sank to his knees, his face contorted in horror as he pawed at the gaping, bloody wound where his limb had been.

Tabitha turned back to me, rapt pleasure lighting up her face. I realized I hadn’t moved for precious seconds, transfixed by the violence before me. Her gaze settled on mine, and she cocked her head at me before baring her teeth in yet another twisted semblance of a smile.

She took a halting step forward. And then another. And another. As though she had all the time in the world.

I turned and ran deeper into the palace.





36





Viggo





Smoke billowed from the heart of King Maxen’s palace in thick black plumes, blotting out the sky and casting the massive, fortified structure in an eerie orange shadow. I couldn’t help but gape at it, at the scorch marks marring the outer walls around the entry arch and the front-facing windows. It was a significant amount of damage.

There’d been so many times, as I went about the business of being a non-voluntary, unpaid warden of Patrus, that I’d half-jokingly wished this place and all of its occupants had burned to the ground. But seeing the destruction now brought me no pleasure. Just a smoldering anger and a cold fear.

I gunned the car’s engine as we came down the final hill between us and our destination, its efficient purr rumbling under my hands. Once we’d hit the highway, I’d been driving at top speed, zipping past the few other cars that we had passed. My concentration on the road was furious, and we’d made amazing time.

“What’s the plan?” asked Owen from the passenger’s seat, his eyes widening just a little as we entered the road that ran over Crescent River. He was looking at the mouth of the arching tunnel that breached the first wall. “Viggo?” He shot a mildly alarmed look at me, his hand reaching up to grab the handle over his door. I knew we should have talked about this sooner, but what was there to say? We knew nothing about what was happening in the palace, or whether their defense systems were up, or even what they were. I had never had much to do with inner palace security systems when I was a warden of the city, but at least I knew the grounds. When Violet and Tabitha were in the same space, surely chaos would follow. And we would follow the chaos.

“Simple,” I said, keeping my foot pressed against the accelerator, hurtling toward the tunnel at full speed. “We get in there, we see what’s happening, we find Violet and the crew, and we get them all out.”

“That’s not a plan,” Owen wheezed, his hips coming off the seat as if he were preparing to leap out.

I ignored him as the tunnel swallowed us up.

“Truck!” Owen shouted, raising his arm to point out the vehicle sitting in front of the first courtyard’s entrance, partially blocking the tunnel through the arch. I cut the wheel sharply, aiming for the small gap of space on the right side.

We clipped the truck hard, and the wheel jerked under my hand, the tires fighting to go in any direction but the one I wanted. They squealed and shuddered beneath us as I lost control and we spun out.

I slammed on the brakes, my legs jerking, barely able to see the courtyard we’d entered flying by. For a dizzying second, I was convinced the little car was going to tip over—two of the wheels lifting off the ground and throwing us sideways as we spun. Then they slammed down, bouncing once, and the vehicle skidded to a complete stop. The engine backfired and then died with a shuddering cough.