“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Frey says, setting the bottle down.
“How do you know?”
“Because it’s what both sides would do, Garrett. You’ve been so hung up on believing everything the Patrician have fed to you that you think they’re incapable of that kind of cruelty. Lok has made you think the Keepers are the enemy, but he’s wrong.”
“Where is Lok?” I ask.
“No idea. The Keepers scattered us, so the Dead Mark unit could be anywhere.”
Dead Mark and Rapid are the only units we haven’t come across yet. Where could they be?
“How many do you think are out there?” Brink asks.
“Not many,” I reply.
“Who all have you found?” Frey asks me.
“Addie’s group, the blue group, and the red group from round two, you, and the two other Loopers.”
“That’s not a lot,” Frey says.
“No, it’s not. And since the Patrician have an army, we’re greatly out-numbered,” Garrett adds.
“What do you mean they have an army? How is that possible?” Frey asks.
“Maybe they recruited people like the Dracken did,” Brink says.
I think back to round two, particularly to Van’s sister. She had the Patrician mark on her wrist. So was she part of the army? How did she get onto the battle floor? Did the Keepers transport her from Icarian so that Van could see what his sister had become? But that would only work if the army was made up of the winners who were sent to Icarian. Didn’t someone tell me that all previous winners had been Patrician favorites who somehow modified The Litarian Battles and won?
I get up from the table and head towards one of the lifts. Garrett rushes up behind me. I catch Frey glaring at the two of us before the lift door closes and we descend.
“What’s on your mind?” Garrett asks when we pass floor thirty.
“Where are the Patrician getting their so-called army?”
I hit the emergency stop button when we get to the sixth floor, and we come to such a jarring stop that we almost fall off our feet. I take my Kopis and try to pry the doors open, but they won’t budge.
“Don’t do it,” Garrett says. “You could wind up looping into something.”
“I have to try.”
I go into the void and think about what the other side of the door looks like, then project myself there. The room is filled with light cascading through the large windows that line the walls. The tiles on the floor resemble those from the battle floor, right down to the blue light lining each. The entire space is empty with the exception of four thin, white pedestals positioned in the center of the room. I cautiously walk up to one. A thin display sits atop the pedestal. I tap the screen and it comes to life, displaying a menu of options. I carefully review them before choosing the one marked “Cities”.
Large panels slowly descend over the windows, throwing the room into darkness. A few seconds later, each panel shows what look to be ancient cities, many destroyed beyond repair. I have to walk around the room to view them all. At least twenty cities lay in waste before me. Among the destruction, I can still make out pieces of buildings, homes, statues, and roadways. When I get close to one panel, the image flies over the area and I feel like I’m actually soaring above it. Three panels behind me show the Outer Limits, Tarsus, and another location I’ve never seen before. The Outer Limits is burning. I catch glimpses of people scrambling to safety as buildings collapse. Tears pour down my eyes when I recognize the orphanage, or at least its outer shell. It’s the only truly recognizable piece of the structure. I put my hand to my mouth as Aedox parade up and down the ash-covered streets shooting at anyone they find.
The flashy signs that hang from Tarsus’s buildings still glitter in the waning daylight. It looks like Thrace Tower was the only building affected by the raid. Aedox are stationed at every intersection around the building. Citizens pass by them without a second look. Life appears to be normal in Tarsus. Nothing burning, everyone walking about the streets, carriages swinging around corners full of passengers, and no signs of war.
The third city I don’t recognize, but it’s full of young people all wearing player-style uniforms. I squint my eyes and notice they all have a laurel tattoo on the side of their wrists.
“Where is this?” I say to myself out loud.
Icarian flashes across the screen. I’m startled by the response.
“The Patrician army?” I ask, wondering how much information I will be given.
Yes appears.
“Former battle winners?”
Yes.
“How?”
Go to the seventh floor.
I hesitate, but comply with the request. I loop back into the lift, take off the emergency stop, and bring us up one floor. Garrett doesn’t ask any questions when I reapply the brakes. I loop again and I’m immediately stuck between the outer door of the lift and a security gate. Red lights spin overhead, but I don’t hear an alarm. The room is poorly lit with only glows from the monitors that hang down from the ceiling every three feet giving off any kind of brightness.
I touch the handle of the gate, but it won’t turn. The suit begins to glow a soft yellow, which radiates to the metal. The door swings open and the red lights shut off, but no additional lights turn on. I step into the room, the gate closes behind me, and feel the temperature drop ever so slightly. Square metallic pillars break up the open space. Between each are steel-plated walls that only come up waist-high, and with openings into another workspace. I walk around the center, glancing at each monitor I pass. Different views of the exterior of the building appear. Computer banks hum in the corners of the vast room. Large windows line the walls, but the tint of the glass is darker
