The Genesis: The Coalition, #3

CHAPTER 1

Shai

It had been months since Shai had seen the dark lord, Samael, and she thought she was finally free of him. But with his sudden arrival in the Outerlands, Shai found herself torn between wishing for what was and scared spitless of what is.

Truthfully, Shai didn’t really wish to return to the way things were. Life in Lael had been dull and gray and ruled by mind-altering pendants. The small community of orphans had been at the mercy of other sectors for food, water and even the weather. And the Outerlands hadn’t been much better when she first arrived here. She wasn’t herself. Literally. She had been locked inside someone else’s body and mind—disguised—so that she could eradicate the Outerlands of its latest evil. Evil with the name Ava, who had long dark hair and exquisite green eyes.

Now that Ava was dead, everyone should have been able to get on with their lives. But with Samael prowling around now, that was impossible. Shai had come to the Outerlands to protect the Laelite children—humanity’s remnant—after everything outside the Outerlands was wiped out by Hunters. The Camp Complex, a seven-story steel structure erected inside the high walls of the Outerlands, was built to be impenetrable. No access in or out unless you used a portal. So when Ava showed up, possessed by the murderous presence of the Hunters, the only way to secure humanity’s safety was to kill her. The problem was, Ava wasn’t the first person Shai had killed. And she didn’t want anyone to know.

Especially Kael.

The pressure of Kael’s hand on the small of Shai’s back should have been comforting as they walked down the corridor towards the Food Bar, but his touch had started to feel like a terrible reckoning. Kael said he didn’t blame Shai for his sister’s death. He said he knew she had to kill Ava, but regret chased guilt every time Shai was with him. And his attempts to console her felt hollow.

For three months she’d been trying to convince herself that she’d had no option but to kill Ava. Her job—her reason for existence—was to protect the Laelites, and Ava had been their biggest threat. Now Kael’s presence didn’t feel like comfort, it felt like an achy echo of his sister. A constant reminder.

How many Hunters are in the complex? Kael asked Shai as they turned a corner on their way to the center of the square-shaped building where the Food Bar was located.

Just two.

Two’s enough. We don’t need any more children killed, Kael said, referring to the death of a boy the day before.

Not killed, taken.

Isn’t that the same thing? Kael looked sideways at her. It wasn’t the first time they’d had this discussion.

No. Hunters enter a host, take its soul, and leave the body behind.

Same effect.

Shai shrugged.

I’m leaving tomorrow, Kael said when they entered a quieter corridor.

Shai couldn’t look at him. She knew this day would come, but his timing couldn’t be worse. Where will you go?

To Lael. I heard there are survivors from other sectors there.

She froze. There were no survivors in Lael. She had personally made sure of that, something that had haunted her ever since. If he went there, he’d find out what she had done.

Why Lael? You hate that place.

His expression remained neutral, but his voice wavered when he answered, My little brother might be there. Someone told me they saw him. I can’t just... He sighed. I have to at least find out if he’s alive.

How will you get there? Even if Elchai hadn’t closed all the portals and sealed us in here, I can’t imagine you using one. She bit the inside of her lip.

I have to find out if Arlie’s out there, Shai. Besides, the portals can’t all be closed. How did Samael get here?

She shrugged.

Even if they are, you have the keys, right? I’m sure you can trust me with one of them, he said. All three keys were in Shai’s possession. They were meant for the Coalition only and could open a portal anywhere. Giving a key to someone, even Kael, was a risk she didn’t want to take. Open portals meant the complex was less secure. And it was next to impossible to control access to portals.

The lights above them suddenly flickered and went out, leaving the corridor in dusky half-light with just the perimeter lights embedded in the floor. Shai’s skin prickled like someone was watching them. When her eyes adjusted to the dimness, she could make out a figure leaning against the wall.

Samael. His bulk filled the narrow corridor and made it impossible for her and Kael to pass without touching him.

Kael made a noise in his throat—a cross between a growl and a curse.

Samael adjusted his cloak and ran a hand through his hair—Aliah’s habit. It was reminders like this that made it hard to let Aliah go. To grieve the loss of the second member of the Coalition whom she loved. And harder to forget that it was Samael who had killed him.

Samael looked Shai up and down with a smirk.

You have exactly ten seconds to get out of our way, she told him.

He cocked an eyebrow and played with a smile.

She tried not to look at that familiar mouth, which always invited the memory of Aliah’s last kiss.

Don’t you want to know why I’m here?

No, said Kael, and Shai could almost hear his teeth grinding on the word. You heard her. Move.

Samael walked past them; his arm brushed Shai’s as he leaned close to her. I know what you did, he whispered. He tapped the bridge of her nose with his finger, and something on his hand caught her eye. A ring with a thick band and a large stone. He saw her glance at it, and his smiled broadened. She turned her face away, and Kael shot her a look that said, I’ll kill him now if you want.

She shook her head. Kael took her elbow and steered her away as Samael’s voice floated after them. She’ll break your heart eventually, Kael. You know it’s not you she loves. At least not now. Maybe when you’re dead. Like Aliah. If you need assistance with that...

Kael stiffened, then suddenly spun around and launched himself at Samael. They crashed against the wall with a bone-crunching slam, then fell to the floor. The sounds of flesh pounding flesh made Shai shiver, and the rusty-nail smell of blood filled her nose.

Kael! Stop!

From around the bend, a few guys, including Nathan, rushed in to intercede. When the chaos finally cleared, she saw Samael lying on the ground with his eyes closed. His mottled face was already beginning to swell. Where was Kael?

Hey. Someone gripped her shoulder.

She turned around to see Kael, blood streaming from his nose but wearing a satisfied smile.

Meet me in a few minutes in the Sun Room? I’m going to clean up. He wiped his nose on his sleeve, then turned and sprinted down the corridor.

Shai gave orders to have Samael taken to the underground cell, then took her time walking to the Sun Room, a place designed for relaxing in the artificial sun. By the time she entered the room, Kael was already there, legs dangling over the arm of the overstuffed blue chair Aliah used to sit in. Why did he have to sit there? She took the chair opposite, leaned forward, and lowered her head a little to force Kael to look her in the eye.

That was a little extreme, wasn’t it? She clasped her hands together in between her knees so he wouldn’t see them shaking.

I thought you’d be happy.

She shook her head. We can’t just beat people up whenever—

I know. Kael swung his feet to the ground, then dragged a hand down his face. The satisfied grin had disappeared and left his face lonely for it. He looked thin and tired.

I’m supposed to protect these Laelites. Lead by example. Jumping Samael doesn’t help.

He’s an ass. What did he say to you anyway?

Nothing. It doesn’t matter.

Kael’s eyes narrowed. Which is it? Nothing? Or it doesn’t matter?

She looked at the ground. There was nothing to tell. Samael didn’t really know anything. He was a manipulator.

Shai, look. I know you’re upset that I reacted, but I don’t care what anyone here thinks. I’m not the one who has to prove anything. I thought by staying in the Outerlands I could protect you, but it’s obvious you don’t need me. You’re a guardian now, right? Was that sarcasm or genuine disappointment in his voice?

He stood. I think it’s time to get what I came for and leave.

Leave? Not now.

She swallowed her objections and looked up at him. The Book? His obsession. The reason they had met. She wanted to remind him that he’d told her he didn’t come all the way to the Outerlands just for the Book. But the look on his face stopped her cold.

They stood with a mere handsbreadth between them, but it felt like a chasm. Kael’s eyes darkened to the color of moss in twilight. Yeah. The Book.

Fine. You have things to do and so do I, she said and stood too, forcing the stiff back into her spine as she pushed past him. I need to deal with Samael.

She was almost to the door when Kael said, If he’s dead, you won’t have to deal with him.

She turned around. Kael had that weird triumphant look on his face again. Smug. A look better suited to Samael.

What did he do? Not only was Kael capable of killing Samael, she could tell he wanted to. And that scared her.

She agreed he was better off dead, especially if Samael really knew her secret, but her duty was to eliminate the Hunters from the Outerlands before any more children were taken. And she needed Samael for that. The Hunters belonged to him, after all.

Did...you kill him? she asked.

Kael shook his head. I wish.

CHAPTER 2

Shai

Shai waited until everyone was asleep that night before she went to see Samael. At the bottom of the basement steps, she paused, ears tuned. Labored breathing. He was alive. Relieved, she walked slowly, not in any hurry to see the face of one she loved on her enemy. Especially not after what Kael had likely done to it.

She approached Samael’s cell and found him lying on the floor, curled away from her. He knew she was there, she could tell, because he moved a little when she wrapped her fingers around the cold bars and pressed her cheek against her knuckles. She half expected him to jump up, with that twisted grin and an up-to-no-good look in his eye. But he just lay there breathing slow and shallow.

A chill spider-walked down her arms as she watched his shoulders rise and fall with each ragged-sounding breath. She squeezed the bars as if she could siphon strength from them. Nausea made her tongue thick and bitter, and she worked her mouth around questions she couldn’t quite give voice to.

You enjoy seeing me like this? Samael’s voice sounded strangled. Raw.

He struggled to face her, rolling over to hold himself up on one arm. Swelling and dark bruises marred his handsome features. His mouth curled in a grimace.

She forced her eyes to meet his—not prepared for the emotion she saw there. Sadness. Pain. Regret?

She squared her shoulders. Why did you come here?

He sat up with a soft grunt, keeping his eyes on hers. "Before she died—before you killed her—Ava told me she’d read something in the Book. About you."

Her skin turned clammy, but in spite of not wanting to hear what it was, she waited.

Something you did but deeply regret.

There are a lot of things I regret. Including not letting Kael kill you when he had the chance.

You’d never let him.

She laughed. A short humorless bark that hung in the damp air. I should’ve.

Then why didn’t you?

She gritted her teeth. No answer would satisfy him.

It would’ve been so easy to let him take me out, he said. His rage would’ve been justified because of what he’s going through, and you would’ve had vengeance too, for your beloved Aliah. He coughed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. By the way, it’s a pity Ava used Aliah to get to you. He clicked his tongue. What was it like losing him twice?

Shut up.

Answer my question. Why did you stop Kael from killing me? Your little secret would’ve died with me, so answer me.

I don’t know what secret you think you know, but you don’t deserve death. You deserve to suffer.

You think you know about suffering? His gaze cut her. Peeled back the layers of her soul, leaving her exposed. Vulnerable.

She gripped the bars harder.

You believe death brings an end to suffering. But it doesn’t work like that. Not for us.

Us. She let out a small breath and found her fear of him suddenly eclipsed by something else. Something evocative. She bit the inside of her lip. He was loathsome. A pitiable creature from Gershom who’d murdered Aliah and attempted to kill Remiel, Aliah’s brother.

But...he was familiar with the thing she was afraid of: loneliness. He understood it even.

The momentary empathy was snuffed out when he stood and walked to her, his gait unsteady and slow. She held her breath but noted—beneath the bruising and swelling—his Aliah-look-alike appearance was less disconcerting up close. She saw subtle differences in the clarity of his eyes: a bright emerald that shifted to reveal something darker, like storm clouds passing in front of a full moon. And his mouth turned up at the corners more than Aliah’s had, giving the impression of perpetual amusement.

You and I aren’t so different.

"We are nothing alike." She white-knuckled the bars and resisted the urge to spit in his face.

Are you sure? He grabbed her wrist, wrenching it as he pulled it between the bars. In spite of his injuries, he was remarkably strong. Something bit into her skin. His ring. Black onyx in a silver setting. Quietly ostentatious.

How far will you go to keep those you love from finding out what you did? His skin on hers felt feverish, but she shivered like ice had been dropped down her shirt.

She twisted out of his grip.

What if they knew you not only killed Ava, but murdered sleeping children just because they weren’t Laelite? His eyes blazed, feral. Would they applaud you? Or would they despise you?

He does know.

All the familiar justifications sprang up. It was more merciful for them to die that way. I had to. She tasted metal and realized she’d bitten her lip.

What about these Laelites here? If you could look into their eyes and see right into their little souls, could you face seeing their fear of you if they knew?

She stepped back. A strange quiver worked its way from her stomach down her legs.

Like I said, you and I aren’t so different.

She shook her head.

I can prove it, he said. What you did is recorded in the Book, Miss Eli.

She never loved the Book. Especially not after what it had cost her. Kael came because of it, and now he was leaving because of it.

I’ll never believe anything you say.

He huffed; the corners of his mouth lifted a little like he was keeping a grin in check. Actions speak louder than words. Isn’t that what they say?

She uncurled her fingers from the bars, flexing them at her side. She kept her face stony. She wouldn’t let him see how much his words