Retribution (The Praegressus Project Book 5) Read online

  “I have felt it,” she whispered finally.

  “You have?” Liz looked up at the sharp tone of her mother’s voice. But the ancient face only offered another smile. Reaching out, she stroked Liz’s cheek. “My poor child.”

  Liz bowed her head, her eyes fluttering closed as she savoured her mother’s touch.

  “When unleashed, our rage is a terrible thing,” her mother continued, “In its grip, our true potential is released. Our power, our strength is unrivalled. But the madness consumes us. Without our minds, we become mere beasts, unrestricted by the feeble limits of humanity, yet unable to think, to plan, to truly rival our makers.”

  Swallowing, Liz looked away. “It was terrifying. I never want to feel that way again.”

  Her mother chuckled. “But you must.”

  Liz looked up at that. Her chest clenched and she found herself struggling to breathe. Her mother stared back, a soft smile on her face.

  “What do you mean?” Liz asked, her heart pounding. She glanced around, suddenly aware again where she was. The windows of the abandoned building had been boarded up, but sun streamed through the empty doorway.

  She shivered as Talisa stroked her cheek again. The soft voice called her back. “Relax, my daughter, you are safe here.”

  Turning, Liz found herself caught in the cool white eyes of her mother. A warm blanket settled over her mind. The pounding in her ears slowed. Letting out a long breath, Liz nodded. Reaching out, she took her mother’s hand, drawing reassurance from her touch.

  “The rage is only a step in a great journey, my daughter,” Talisa continued, “With time the beast inside you can be controlled, mastered, tamed. Only then will you reach your true potential. Then there will be no uncontrollable fury. It is a state of bliss, of mindfulness that allows you to move beyond the limitation of human emotion. It is a state of mind humans have sought for millennia—the enlightenment monks and pilgrims spend their entire lives seeking. It can be yours, if only you have the courage to grasp it.”

  Liz shivered, her fear cutting through the warm blanket. “It almost consumed me, mum,” she whispered.

  “You are my daughter,” Talisa pressed. “You will not succumb.”

  Pain sliced through Liz’s palm as her mother’s fingers tightened around her hand. Gasping, she tried to pull away, but her mother’s grip was like iron.

  Then a shout came from outside. The pressure vanished as they both turned to face the door. Half a second later, Chris burst inside, several Chead hot on his heels.

  “Liz!” he cried out as he stumbled. Spinning to face the Chead behind him, he spread his wings. “Liz, we need to leave.”

  Liz had sprung to her feet at Chris’s appearance, but now she paused, looking from Chris to the Chead who had followed him inside. Relief swept through her as she recognised them as Talisa’s guards. They stood in the doorway glaring at Chris, obviously annoyed at his unannounced entry, but otherwise they made no move towards him.

  Scowling, she shifted her attention to Chris. “Chris, what are you doing in here?”

  Ignoring her, Chris turned on Talisa. “You’re monsters!” He jabbed a finger at Liz’s mother. By the door, the Chead started to edge around the room, placing themselves closer to Talisa.

  Standing, Talisa waved the guards back. “Chris, what is the meaning of this intrusion?” Her voice was quiet, but laced with iron.

  “Don’t give me that,” Chris growled. His hands were shaking, and his eyes were dark with rage. “Hecate and some of your other so-called children just slaughtered an innocent family! You’re telling me you don’t know anything about that?”

  Liz frowned, taking a step closer to her mother. “Mum, what’s he talking about?”

  Talisa sighed, looking from Chris to Liz. “What would you have us do, Chris?” she asked. “Should the humans spot us, more will come. Soldiers with guns and other far more dangerous weapons. We are only a hundred—if the humans are forewarned, we could be wiped out.”

  “Then go around them!” Chris shouted back. “And they weren’t just going to kill them…” he trailed off, then swallowed, as if unable to get out the words.

  Shaking her head, Talisa wandered across the room. She stopped in front of Chris, studied his face for a moment, and then turned her back on him. Moving back across, she re-joined Liz near the couch. Lines of exhaustion stretched across her face as she reached out and gripped Liz by the shoulders.

  “Do you trust me, my daughter?” her mother asked softly.

  Liz swallowed, feeling suddenly lost. She found herself staring up into her mother’s ghostly eyes, transfixed.

  “Liz, they’re killing innocent people!” Chris said hotly. “You can’t stay here!”

  “My daughter,” her mother murmured, her hands moving up to hold Liz’s head. “Do you not see, we only do what we must. The humans were a threat. They had seen us. If we let them go, more would have come to kill us. They had to die, so we could live.”

  With her mother’s hands in her hair, Liz struggled to think. But her mind was trapped in the tangles of a hot blanket, and she could not put the pieces together. The harder she tried, the tighter the blanket became, the less sense anything made.

  Then, unbidden, an image of the woman from the alleyway rose in her mind, and she heard again the spiteful words.

  Freak.

  Tramp.

  Chead.

  Liz’s eyes watered as the final word rang through her mind. Humanity had rejected her, pushed her away when all she’d ever wanted was to help them. Yet here, amidst the monsters she had feared all her life, she had found acceptance, family. They had embraced her, despite their differences.

  And now Chris was telling her she had to leave, that her mother was evil. Shivering, Liz looked across at him, a red-hot rage sweeping through her. Teeth clenched, she stepped away from her mother. Images flashed through her mind, of Chris murdering their friend, of him kissing the vile Director. Even now, he was cowering away from the Chead, from her family.

  A low growl rumbled up from Liz’s throat as she stepped towards Chris. Red clouds swirled across her vision as she closed on him, teeth bared. In the middle of the dusty room, Chris stood his ground and watched her come. Only when she spread her wings did he waver, his foot sliding back half an inch.

  “Liz, what are you doing…?” he said, eyes grim, jaw clenched. He was alone in the centre of the room now. The other Chead had retreated to the walls, their grey eyes watching on in silence.

  Liz blinked as he said her name, as though some distant bell had sounded in her mind. Yet the red clouds continued to swirl. Blood pounded in her ears, deafening. Somewhere deep within she could hear a voice screaming, though she could not make out the words. Sucking in a breath, she struggled to control herself, to master the rush of her body.

  Finally, she looked at Chris. “Go, Chris,” she grated out the words, her voice taut with the effort it took not to tear him in two. “Get out. There’s nothing for you here.”

  “Liz, please don’t do this,” Chris begged, his eyes wide. Swallowing, he reached out a hand for her.

  Liz’s lips drew back in a snarl. Hissing, she stepped towards him. Chris yanked back his hand as though she’d bitten him, but it did nothing to stop her advance. He lingered half a moment more, eyes shimmering as he watched her come. For a moment it seemed he would remain, and offer himself up for the slaughter. Then his courage failed him, and turning on his heel, he fled through the doorway.

  Watching him go, Liz fought the waves of anger washing over her, resisting the desire to chase after him, to tear the wings from his back and watch as he plummeted from the sky. In the end, it was only her mother’s hand on her shoulder that stopped her.

  Liz shivered as the ancient Chead’s voice whispered in her ear. “Well done, my daughter.” The words curled around Liz’s consciousness, pushing her down, eating away at her. “You truly are Chead.”

  Chapter 23

  Sam crouched beneath the scrag
gly bushes and peered out into the darkness. Headlights flickered in the distance, as the convoy reached the top of the hill and started down the other side. The roar of engines carried through the night, growing louder as the trucks made their ponderous way down the metal road. Whoever was driving obviously felt no rush to reach the airbase. Either that, or they were rightfully wary of potholes in the poorly maintained road.

  Whatever the man’s excuse, Sam was tired of waiting. On the other side of the road, he could just make out Ashley’s shadow. To the ordinary eye, she would be no more than a smudge in the darkness. Only the slight glint of the moon gave her away to Sam’s enhanced eyesight.

  Between them, the herd of cows were making their slow way along the side of the road. The soft crunch of dirt beneath their hooves mingled with the whisper of the engines. The beasts did not seem to have noticed the approaching vehicles yet. Hopefully the soldiers would at least notice the cows.

  Glancing around, Sam checked on the distant glow of the Kirtland Airforce Base. Lying some ten miles outside of Albuquerque, its presence was the only industry left keeping the war-torn city afloat. The once prosperous city had formed the frontline of the American war, changing hands half a dozen times before finally coming under the umbrella of the Western Allied States. Unfortunately, by that time there wasn’t much left of the city’s 500,000 inhabitants. Today, the shadow of a city housed maybe a tenth of that number.

  Of course, the Kirtland Airforce Base was an entirely different matter.

  Sam and Ashley had spent the last two days staking out the base from the nearby mountains. Their observations had quickly confirmed Harry’s warning—there would be no winning in an all-out assault. A ten-foot chain-link fence surrounded the fifty-thousand-acre base. It would provide little barrier to a winged assault, but for the manned guard towers stationed every two hundred yards around the fence. Their mounted machine guns would have little trouble picking the two of them out of the sky if they were seen.

  Then, of course, there were the five hundred soldiers they’d counted on the parade ground yesterday. Admittedly, that was far less than Harry had predicted, but it was still beyond their ability to match. Unfortunately, even genetically engineered mutants had their limits.

  Within the walls, buildings sprawled across the base, a massive maze of iron and concrete that would be almost impossible to navigate. Half of the base seemed to consist of giant aircraft hangers. Over the last two days, they had watched a steady stream of jet-fighters, helicopters and transport aircraft come and go. Some buildings sported a bewildering array of radar dishes, while others simply appeared to be military barracks. In the very centre of the base, a sleek steel and glass building rose several stories above the others. Guards manned its doors at all times. It could only be the base’s headquarters. If they were going to find the President anywhere, it would be there.

  It had only taken them a few hours to rule out a frontal assault, but it had been another two days before a way in finally revealed itself. During that time, their hunger had steadily grown, until no amount of scavenging could fill the holes in their stomachs. By the time the midnight convoy had rumbled through last night, Sam had barely dared to open his mouth around Ashley, least he risk getting his head bitten off.

  Not that Sam’s temper was much better. He was looking forward to taking out his hunger pangs on a few of the President’s unsuspecting guards.

  Hoping another convoy would appear tonight, they’d managed to wrangle half a dozen cows from a nearby paddock out onto the road. Now, they just had to hope the convoy would stop long enough for them to sneak aboard one of the trucks.

  Sam had to admit, it wasn’t a great plan. But starving stomachs didn’t tend to offer the best ideas, and they were growing desperate.

  The rumble of engines grew to a roar as the first of the trucks topped the rise above them. The gleam of headlights swept across the road, catching on the wide eyes of the waiting cows. Brakes screeched as the leading truck slammed to a stop. More screeches followed, and a sharp bang as someone in the convoy reacted too slowly. Red lights lit up the road behind the convoy.

  Sam cursed under his breath. The trucks were still a dozen yards down the road—they’d stopped too soon. If he and Ashley were to slip onboard, they would have to move, and hope the soldiers didn’t spot them.

  He was just lifting himself off the ground when the crack of a gunshot tore through the night. Sam threw himself flat against the earth, covering his head and folding his wings tight against the back. Heart pounding, he stared through the bushes, desperate to see if Ashley was okay.

  In the road, a cow screamed, the harsh sound rending the darkness. Another gunshot followed, and then the thunder of fleeing hooves. Lifting his head a fraction, Sam watched the cows stamped down the road away from the convoy. Two of the beasts lay on the ground. Stone crunched and Sam ducked back down as several soldiers stalked past, rifles pointed at the fallen beasts as though they might leap up and attack them. An awful cry came from one of the cows as it tried to stand.

  A third gunshot rang out, and the beast’s cries ceased.

  Laughing, the soldiers fired a couple more shots after the fleeing herd. Sam gritted his teeth as he listened to the terrified screams of the beasts. He’d thought the men would just chase them off the road—it would have been easy enough. Instead they’d decided to do some target practice.

  Out on the road, the soldiers swung their rifles over their backs and waved at the convoy. A moment later several more soldiers joined them. The group gathered in the middle of the road. Their whispers carried across to Sam.

  “Food for a week…” one was saying.

  “Can’t risk the delay,” another argued.

  In the bushes, Sam could only hold his breath and wait. With the headlights illuminating the roadside, the soldiers would spot even the slightest of movements. They needed to wait until they returned to the vehicles. Even then, if they moved the drivers might still see them.

  Finally, the soldiers seemed to decide to leave the cows where they lay. Several grumbled as they started back towards the trucks, while one turned and fired several rounds into one of the bodies. When the last man finally turned away, Sam rose to his knees and crawled after them. At any moment, he expected gunshots to ring out, and red-hot bullets to tear through his body.

  He kept his head down as he moved, and prayed Ashley was doing the same thing on the other side of the road. Up ahead, the truck waited, its headlights shining like the eyes of some dragon in the darkness. He could feel its bulk looming over him, a deadly threat he could not fight. He watched through the long grass as several soldiers piled into the cabs side door, while the rest continued around the vehicle. A steel door rattled, and the men disappeared into the back of the truck.

  Sam’s heart sank. The soldiers had just ruined their only chance of catching a ride in the convoy. They’d planned on breaking the latch and concealing themselves in the back of one of the trucks, but obviously whatever this convoy was transporting was important enough to warrant additional security. Sinking down on his stomach, Sam ground his fist into the dirt, cursing their luck.

  The rumble of engines grew as the driver put the leading truck in gear. In the bushes, Sam watched as it started off. It was still a few feet up the road from them, but it quickly closed the gap. Just before it passed, Sam caught a glimpse of Ashley as she leapt from the bushes on the other side of the road. His heart froze in his chest as she rolled across the dirt and disappeared beneath the truck.

  Sam’s jaw dropped, but there was no time to question Ashley’s plan. Scrambling to his feet, he dived onto the road. The engine roared again as the truck picked up speed, and looking up he saw the wheels racing towards him. Rolling, he was plunged into shadow as the truck rumbled over him. He scanned the underbody of the truck as it carried on. Steeling himself, he reached up and caught a metal bar as it passed by.

  The sudden jerk as his hands caught the bar almost tore his arms from their soc
kets. Instantly, he went from lying still, to being dragged over unrefined gravel by a ten-tonne truck. Within seconds the road had cut his jeans to tatters, and he swore as stones sliced deep into the flesh of his calves.

  Taking a firmer grip with his hands, Sam desperately clenched his abdomen and hauled his legs up off the ground. Hanging there, he scanned the underbody again, and managed to jam his feet into a narrow space above the wheels. Letting out a long breath, he made sure his wings were tucked securely against his back. Then he finally looked around.

  Ashley’s amber eyes glowed in the darkness as she looked back at him.

  “Not exactly my ideal ride,” Sam commented wryly.

  Ashley’s teeth flashed white as she grinned. “I improvised.”

  Chapter 24

  Liz cursed as she slipped on the steep slope. They were in the mountains again now, somewhere in eastern New Mexico she guessed—from the little she could recall of her geography classes. But here the mountains were smaller, their red peaks untouched by snow, mere children to the great beasts they had left behind in California.

  A steadying hand gripped her by the shoulder. She smiled as the Chead continued past, nodding her thanks. Somewhere in the lead, Liz knew her mother would be waiting. For just a moment, she felt a yearning to spread her wings and soar over the heads of the Chead. The thought made her tingle with excitement. Her wings lifted slightly, her feathers standing on end, before she caught herself.

  Liz bit her lip and tucked them neatly back into place. Talisa had ordered her to remain on the ground, where she couldn’t be spotted by prying eyes. In the sky she was vulnerable, isolated, alone. But down here, in the ranks of the Chead, with the sweetness of her family all around, she was safe.

  She shivered as Chris’s face flickered into her thoughts. Two days had passed since he’d left. Idly, Liz found herself wondering after him, how he had survived out here all alone. Had he fallen victim to the desert’s heat, to starvation or dehydration? Out here, all it took was a single mistake for death to find you.