The Liberator

But now the guy behind me is up again. He heads toward Blue like he’s done with our fight. I’m about to stop his advance when Bruised Balls grabs me again. Now Blue is stuck defending himself against two sirens.

As I deflect an attack from Bruised Balls, something causes me to pause.

Where is Kraven?

We’ve only been fighting the sirens for a few seconds, but he should have been here. A thought fires through my mind. I shuffle back from the siren who faces me and hold up my hand. He hesitates, his brow creased with confusion. Glancing at Blue, I notice the two sirens take turns attacking and restraining him. But neither inflicts much damage to the liberator.

“Stop,” I say.

Bruised Balls sneers and circles closer, like he’s not about to listen.

“No, really. All of you can just stop. I get it,” I say. “This is our test.”

The sirens stop and look toward the back of the room. Kraven stands watching, his arms crossed over his chest. I expect him to start clapping or some crap. But he doesn’t. He just opens his mouth and says, “Thank you for your assistance, liberators.”

The sirens—err, liberators—slap one another on the back and head toward the dining table, laughing like old friends. They pick over our dessert as Charlie, Aspen, and Annabelle burst into the room. Charlie’s eyes are wide and frantic, as if she’s expecting a bloodbath.

She rushes toward me and lifts her hands to my face. “Are you okay? What happened?”

I pull away because I’m angry, though not with her. I should have sensed the liberators’ cuffs when they entered the room. I should have been paying attention. But that’s the loophole with the cuffs. We can sense them, but only by concentrating all the time. It’s a bit like listening for a bird outside your window in the middle of the night; at some point you get tired and fall sleep. “What happened is this was a test to see if we’d mastered the self-defense sector.”

“The hell?” Annabelle says. “That’s a pretty shoddy tactic.”

I’m certain her words are targeted toward Kraven, but that’s not who responds. Instead, one of the liberators in disguise turns around. “Damn, Kraven. No wonder you’ve got the human without a cause hidden away. Girl’s hot. I’d like to get my hands—”

“Enough!” Kraven yells.

We all stop and stare at Kraven, who I somehow doubt has ever shouted. Not like this. He seems to realize his mistake, but it doesn’t stop him from glaring at the liberator who wants himself a piece of Annabelle. Kraven’s face is so red, it rivals the severity of Anna’s dress. He looks away from the liberator and toward Annabelle. Then he strides from the room.

Annabelle’s breath rushes out in a gasp right as Valery and Max reappear.

“Oh, it’s over?” Valery says.

“You knew this was a test?” Aspen accuses.

Red waves her hand. “’Course.”

Max stares at her in awe. “You amaze me, woman. I’m not sure whether to be impressed or afraid of how good you are at keeping secrets. Maybe just turned on.” He tries to grab for Valery, and a smile plays on her lips.

One of the liberators, the dude with the shaved head, licks his fingers, says something to a guy across the table, and heads in the same direction Kraven went.

I pull Charlie close and whisper in her ear. “I’m going to ask how I did. Will you distract them?”

She nods and whirls in a circle. “Valery. I don’t…I don’t feel so—”

She slumps to the ground. I have to march away before my grin blows her story.

Her fainting spell does the trick. Valery and everyone else in the room rushes over to see what’s wrong with Trelvator Girl. As for me, I slip across the room and spill into a wide hallway. Moving like a ghost, I catch up with Kraven and the liberator who followed him.

What I told Charlie was the truth; I want to know how Blue and I did. Especially after he threatened that my cuff was on the line, not that he’d have a prayer of taking it from me. But I also want to know if I can find out anything new. Like why Big Guy has decided we need a training pad, besides the obvious threat of collectors and sirens. But why train us to fight instead of training us how to recapture Charlie’s soul? Valery insinuated they’d help teach me how to descend into hell. But thinking back on our conversation at the graveyard, I remember she actually said, “They’ll help you.”

But help me do what?

Red said the collectors and sirens could find us anywhere, so why not go on the offense immediately? What are we buying time for? I know how she’d answer that question: to train you so you’re better prepared to face them. But with the number of secrets floating around, I want to be sure that’s all there is to it.

I take a few more steps toward the pair of liberators and listen. Right away, I recognize Kraven’s smooth, calm voice in comparison to the other guy, who speaks much quicker.

“It’s not safe yet,” Kraven says.

“But the guys are getting restless,” the other dude replies. His voice has a slight accent to it, like any second he’s going to suggest we throw another shrimp on the barbie. “We’ve been locked up in here for three weeks. We’ve completed training. Just give us a few hours to go outside and try them out.”

“Are you so eager to leave your post?” Kraven says. “Have you forgotten the commitment you made? I gave you a choice. I gave you all a choice. And you chose protection.”

The Aussie dude groans. “Wasn’t much of a choice when the alternative was to become a mute house slave.”

“But it was a choice. And they’ve only agreed to stay quiet until the words on the scroll reveal themselves.”

The guy doesn’t respond right away, giving me time to mull over what’s been said. The liberators who pretended they were sirens…they’re here to be protectors, probably for Charlie. And I guess the two women liberators chose to help around the estate instead. I wonder why.

“Listen, Neco. We have to remember what else we’re harboring here.”

The other liberator, Neco, raises his voice. “I know. That damn scroll. You only remind us every day. A lot of good it does anyone.”

“You have to believe,” Kraven replies.

“Believe what? That the words are going to magically appear? It wasn’t meant for us. I don’t know why God even gave it to you. Probably just to mess with our heads.”

“Watch your tongue,” Kraven says, his voice deepening.

Neco hesitates. “Can you at least tell me whether they’re still out there?”

“Of course they are. They haven’t gone anywhere.” Kraven sighs. “They’ve set up on the side of the cliff as if we don’t know they’re there.”

“Just another reason we should leave. Draw them out, fight them before they have a chance to attack.”

I don’t hear anything else. I’m already storming back toward Charlie. They are out there. Kraven admitted as much. Sure, Valery warned us it could happen. But there’s a difference between saying they might know we’re here, and that they’re actually parked outside.

My mind spins as I move faster. Who exactly are they? Are there sirens out there, hidden among the cliff face? Or are they collectors?

Where is Rector?

The last thought needles into my chest until I can hardly breathe. When I make it to the great room, everyone is gone. Maybe they took fainting Charlie back to her room. Good. I can talk to her in private there. But what will I say? I hate keeping secrets from her, and I remember the promise I made after the night she was taken, that I would never lie to her again. But my plan is to steal Charlie’s soul back. And she’ll never agree to that. She’ll insist I’m trading my life for hers.

And that’s exactly what I will do if I must.

But not tonight.

Tonight I’m finding that blasted scroll.