The Sowing

I grip his arm and pull him away from her. “Leander. Lay. Off. Her.” My voice is steady, in control. “It doesn’t matter how or why we got here. It’s going to take all of us to get out.”

Dahlia shoves him with her shoulder. “You’re forgetting what they did to Rod-Man… what they did to…” She closes her eyes for a moment and grits her teeth. “What they’ve done to all of us.”

Leander’s demeanor flicks like a switch. He backs away. “Sorry, D. Just trying to wrap my head around this whole…” He runs a palm over his buzzed hair.

She shakes her head. “There aren’t any rebels, any Imps anymore. Only those who are getting away. And those who are going to die.”

Arrah steps forward and touches Dahlia’s shoulder, caressing it, trying to quell the fire. “I agree that we’re all in this together—rebel and trainee alike. But Tristin does have a point. The Recruits are victims just as much as we are.” Her eyes find mine and I can see the desperation there. Of course she’s worried about Drusilla. Just like I worried about Digory once.

“Dahlia and Tristin both have good points,” I say. “I’ve taken the Recruits into account. I’ll fill you in on all the deets later. But the short version is, we’re outta here before the next trial. During our escape, we’ll set off explosive charges. I’ve already planted them throughout the ducts. That ought to keep the Imps busy and provide a diversion. The chaos will give the Recruits a chance to make a break for it.”

The furnace doors squeal as I slam them shut. I turn to face the others. “I don’t know about you, but I’d rather go out on my terms. What do you say?”

They move in, until we form a circle. Arrah nods. “I’m in.” She holds out her hand and I reach out to clasp it.

“So am I,” Tristin murmurs. Her own hand touches ours.

Dahlia adds her grasp to the mix. “As long as we get to kill them.”

Leander smiles at me. “For Rod-Man.” His grip is firm.

A smaller hand reaches out. Corin’s. His fingers feel cool as they rub against my own. “Let’s kick their asses,” he whispers.

Someone’s coming down the corridor, and we separate.

“What do we have here?” Styles marches up to us, along with a couple other Imposers, hands on their holsters. I shift into a slouch.

He sneers at the bodiless carts, then back at us. “If the garbage has already been taken care of, what the hell are you sorry lot doing just standing around? Move it back to your cells unless you want to join the rest of the trash in the smoke box.”

His companions snicker alongside him as they herd us from the crematorium back through the corridors. I have to try to control the fresh spring in my gait. Whatever happens, this will be the last time we’ll have to burn bodies and walk down this path.

Instead of leading us to the showers first, Styles and his crew lead us right back to our cells. “Inside,” he snarls. Using the butt of their weapons, they prod us inside.

I stare him down. “Is that our punishment? No showers? I wouldn’t think you’d miss a chance to see us naked.”

He smirks at me. “Soon. But unfortunately, there’s no time.”

It feels like vermin are gnawing at my gut from the inside. “No time? What are you talking about?”

He leans in real close and leers. “Timetable’s been moved up. The fourth trial is about to start.”

TWENTY-TWO

We’re taken from our cells and deposited on top of a circular field of sand, which is shaped like a giant ant hill with spiral pathways etched into the sloping sides. Our half-naked bodies are shackled together at the wrists by a long length of chain that’s embedded in a stone pillar at the top of the mound. Metal bands, containing a thin slot and a blinking red light, have been clamped around each of our necks. The lump in my throat is not solely due to the tightness of the band digging into my neck.

Directly ahead, on the far side of the field, Drusilla, Cage, Crowley, and Boaz emerge—in the flesh this time. They’re standing on a circular platform that rose up from beneath the sand, the hole sealing behind them with a serpent’s hiss as they step off. Just like us, they’re barely clothed.

Welcome Recruits, and congratulations on making it to round four of the Trials.

In spite of Cassius’s greeting, the four of them look anything but thrilled.