Chaos (7 page)

I cried out as my shoulder popped back into place, then sagged as the burst of pain gave way to instant relief, leaving me aching but able to move my arm without agony. When I opened my eyes, Takeshi was smiling. “Well done,” he said. “Now lie down.”

I sank into the surprisingly soft goatskin pallet. My shoulder was okay, but the rest of me still felt pulled out of joint. “Just for a little while.”

“Only a few hours,” he agreed. “I need to rest, too, and then we’ll move toward the center of the city. The Mazikin would keep Malachi in the square. That’s where we’ll go.”

“Why do you think he’s there?” I asked.

His eyes were steady on me. “To be an example.”

My stomach dropped.

“Do you think he might have escaped?” Ana asked, joining Takeshi in the center of the room. His fingers drifted across her cheek, but he was frowning.

Then he caught me watching him and flashed me a reassuring grin. “If anyone could, it would be Malachi.”

He turned away, but not before I saw his smile fade. He whispered something in Ana’s ear, and her eyes flicked over to me. “Try to sleep, okay? We’ll be on our way again before long.”

I knew they weren’t telling me everything, but I was too thrashed to demand that information right then. I turned to the wall and wrapped my sore arms around me, drawing my knees to my chest as the lightbulb clicked off. My thoughts swarming with a million plans and unknowns, my mind racing with countless what-ifs, I lay in the dark and counted the seconds and minutes, forcing my breathing into a long, slow rhythm, hoping my body would rest even though my brain couldn’t.

And then, deep within the dark, I heard sounds that burned me in a million different ways.

The soft sighs, the sharp intake of breath, the swish of fabric as it fell to the floor, the quiet shudder of surrender. Ana and Takeshi. Together, finally, after so many years apart. I let the tears roll down, wishing I was anywhere but right there, having to bear witness to something so private and intimate. My chest felt like it was caving in with every uneven breath, every whispered word in languages I couldn’t understand but had no trouble translating.
I love you. I never stopped loving you. You are the home for my soul.
I flattened my hands over my ears and sank deep into my own head, the only way to escape.

Malachi was waiting for me there. The way he pressed my hand to his chest and told me his heart beat for me. The burning look in his eyes as he watched me, how he kissed me like he could never get enough, how his hands shook as they slid over my body. All those images of him, all those sensations, washed over me, leaving me hungry and aching and grieving. Inside of them I drifted, reaching for him, never quite able to catch hold of his sleeve, never quite able to touch his face or make him hear me.

Someday,
I promised.
Someday it will be you and me, face-to-face, and I will tell you how I feel.

I lay there, hurting inside and out, thinking
someday
couldn’t possibly arrive soon enough.

SEVEN

S
OMEONE PRODDED MY ACHING
shoulder, and I lurched awake from a dream of slow dancing with Malachi in an abandoned warehouse as it collapsed around us.

“Takeshi went up to scout. It’ll be sundown soon. We’re packing up to head out,” Ana said softly. Her hair was freshly braided, and she looked happier than I’d ever seen her. The sling for the grenades was on the floor next to her thigh sheaths, laid out so she could arm herself.

I directed my gaze at the wall. “All right. Hey, did he tell you how he found us so quickly? This city seems pretty huge.”

“The explosions against the dome got everyone’s attention,” she said, sliding a knife into a sheath. “He was following the enforcement squad to try to find out why. Apparently, Ibram commands them, and he’s close to the Queen. And Tak loves to make their lives more difficult.”

“Does Takeshi seem the same to you, Ana? Is he the person he was before he was taken?”

She raised her head and stared at me. “Are you implying something?”

I shook my head. “It just seems like this place would change a person.” Into what, I didn’t know.

Her fingers curled around the hilt of the knife. “He is still Takeshi.”

I looked away from her predatory glare, hearing footsteps on the stairs. I sat up as Takeshi descended into the safe chamber. A single lightbulb hung from a twisted wire that threaded its way along the ceiling, nearly brushing the top of his head as he joined us. “How’s the shoulder?”

I moved it gingerly. “Achy. But all things considered, pretty good.” It hurt like a bitch, but there was no way I was going to complain.

“You’re lucky,” he said, watching me swing it in a slow arc, testing my range of motion. “People in the city heal quickly but badly. It’s hard to die here, but it’s also hard to stay whole. Like everything works to increase the suffering.”

He turned to Ana. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to the sling.

Ana let out a dry laugh. “Grenades. Michael came up with them after you were gone. They explode ten seconds after you push the button.”

Takeshi knelt next to her and picked up the belt. Carefully, he lifted a flap on one of the little pouches and peeked inside. “Amazing. They’re so tiny. How powerful?”

“Really powerful,” Ana said in a choked voice, and I had no doubt she was remembering the blast that had taken her out.

Takeshi brushed a few tendrils of hair away from her cheek, but then returned to examining the grenades. “These are very valuable. There is no one in the city who wouldn’t want them.”

“What are you talking about?” I suddenly wanted to take the sling out of his hands.

He seemed to sense that, because he set it down next to Ana. “There is no currency here. It’s a barter system. And with those, even one of those, you could have nearly anything you wanted.”

“All we want is to find Malachi and get out of here.” I didn’t like the bright look in his eyes as he stared at our most powerful weapon against the Mazikin, and I couldn’t help but remember what he’d said about looking out for himself and no one else. He’d been nothing but kind to me, and he obviously loved Ana, but I guess I’d expected someone mor
e . . .
noble?

I pushed myself to my feet and scooped my cloak from the rocky floor of the chamber. “Have you been free all these years?”

Even if he really had safe chambers all over the place, I didn’t see how it was possible for him to get around so easily without allies or friends. His face was painted on walls all over the city.

Takeshi leaned back from Ana and looked at me. “I got away from them very quickly after they brought me into the city. After that it was a matter of survival.”

“And who helped you with that?”

His eyes narrowed. “I’ve bartered or stolen what I needed. I don’t take human lives unless they threaten mine. If some have helped, the alliances are fleeting and motivated by a mutual need to survive, nothing more. There isn’t room for more, not here,” he said bitterly.

Ana frowned but remained silent.

“But you don’t think Malachi got away? You don’t think anyone would have helped him?” I watched him closely, looking for the truth. As soon as I saw the corners of his lips hitch upward in another show of fake optimism, I shook my head. “Don’t bullshit me.”

He stood up. Without his cloak, I could see that the scars on his face weren’t the only ones he’d collected. Silvery gashes laced along his honey-colored skin, descending into the neck of his shirt. “I don’t know what the truth is. But if you want my opinion, I’ll give it to you. When the Mazikin captured me in the dark city, it was luck. I was weak, and they pounced on the opportunity. When they brought me into the city, they underestimated me. They treated me like anyone else. They thought it wouldn’t take much to keep me contained, and they were wrong.” His eyes met mine, cold despite the natural warmth of their color. “But Ana told me they were waiting for Malachi, that they had planned to take him.”

I swallowed back nausea. “They set a pretty elaborate trap, made just for him. Juri was waiting to take over his body.”

Takeshi tilted his head. “They will take no chances with such a valuable prize.”

“So you think they have him,” I said, ashamed at how small and broken I sounded. From the moment I’d found out Takeshi was free, some tiny part of me had hoped Malachi had gotten away, too, that he would find me the way Takeshi had found Ana.

Takeshi nodded, slow and deliberate. “I not only think they have Malachi—I think they will guard him with every bit of cunning they possess. And I think they will show him absolutely no mercy. I think they will destroy him, over and over again.”

“Takeshi—” Ana began, but he held up his hand to silence her, never taking his eyes off me.

His voice was deadly but gentle, which made it all the more brutal. “No, Ana. She wanted to know. Didn’t you, Lela?”

“Yes,” I whispered, aching to slit the throat of any Mazikin that laid a clawed hand on Malachi. “And that’s why I’m here. Can we leave now, Captain?”

“If you’re ready,” Ana said, a shade paler after Takeshi’s blunt words.

Takeshi released her and moved across the room with a barely contained sort of energy, controlled but crackling with life. It might be difficult to stay whole in this city, but it seemed like Takeshi was in his element. He swung the satchel onto his back and took Ana’s hand. “When we go topside, I’m going to wear the mask,” he said to her. “And I want you two to wear disguises, too. Few humans walk these streets independently, and as you saw, there are traps to capture those who do. Nearly every person in this city is a slave, every creature a master.”

Ana wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. That Mazikin skin stinks. I don’t want to wear one of tho—”

“You don’t have to,” Takeshi said, arching an eyebrow. He reached into his satchel and pulled out a studded collar, connected to a long black leather leash. “You can wear this.”

The sun hung low and menacing at the rooftops when we left our underground haven. It was still hot, but no longer unbearable. “The Mazikin will be emerging from their dens soon,” Takeshi told us. “Fortunately, the crowds and the darkness will help us more than they hurt. Unless we’re caught. Keep your heads covered and follow my lead.”

He smiled and yanked playfully on Ana’s leash. Anyone else would have had one of Ana’s knives rammed into his soft spots, but Ana rewarded Takeshi with a look hot enough to make me blush.

I pulled my cloak around me and tucked the end of my now-braided hair under my tunic, fighting the urge to tug at the stiff collar around my neck. “Where are we going?”

Takeshi led us over to one of the doorways. “The square, the central meeting place. It’s just south of the Bone Palace, and it’s where they hold the lotteries an
d . . .
other events they want the public to witness.”

“The lotteries?” Ana asked, making sure her own hair was fully concealed beneath the hood of her cloak.

“It’s how they decide which of them gets to go through the portal. The favorites of the Queen may go at her command, but the rest go by lottery. They enter their names and vie for the chance to possess a human body—to escape. The drawings take place every night. Even Mazikin need hope.” His jaw flexed with tension. “It will take us a few hours to walk.”

With my head bowed, I followed him onto the road, Ana trudging next to me, her powerful stride reined in. I flinched as a growling, distorted voice rang out over some kind of public announcement system, echoing above the din of the street. Takeshi stopped dead, listening, and then continued on. Ana cursed under her breath.

“What is it?”

“They’re calling all citizens to the square at the black hour,” she translated.

“It’s the coldest hour of the darkness,” Takeshi said. “Think of it as midnight.”

“For the lottery?” I asked.

“No.” Ana reached for my hand, and I let her take it in hers. It seemed less like an affectionate gesture and more like an attempt to hold me in place. “The Queen is playing host to the newest resident of the city,” she said in a hollow voice.

I focused on the pressure of her fingers to keep from screaming, from flying apart. As the growling speech went on, Ana’s grip steadily tightened until she was nearly crushing my hand, but she didn’t translate any more for me. I was about to ask her when the voice cut off with a blast of screeching feedback, allowing me to hear the noises of the street, the sounds coming from the buildings around us. Since we’d arrived in the city, it had been mostly quiet, save for the distant industrial noise coming from the factories. But now, all around me, the Mazikin hooted and snarled. Engines roared. Metal rattled and clanged.

Humans screamed and moaned.

In the gray twilight, the electric lights began to wink on, just enough to show the way. Shadows danced on the black pavement, silhouettes of snouts and rounded ears, of barrel chests and clawed hands. And more human shapes, too, hunched backs, trembling shoulders. The Mazikin and their slaves.

“There are more humans in the city than Mazikin.” Takeshi patted my head as he spoke, as if I were his mute and devoted dog. “About twice as many.”

“If they outnumber the Mazikin, why are they slaves?”

“I’d start with the fact that nearly all of them came from the dark city,” said Ana. “It’s not as if they were in fighting form when they got here. They were already hopeless enough to have taken their own lives.”

“And those who fight are punished in terrible ways,” added Takeshi. “In a place where there can be no escape, where you go on and on, and so does your suffering, that’s a terrifying prospect.”

“But not all of them have given up,” I said, thinking of that woman in the cart, chained and on the way to the meat factory, looking at me like I might save her. I hadn’t come here for that woman, and she wasn’t part of my mission, but I couldn’t help wanting to be worthy of that hope in her eyes.

Takeshi assessed me coolly and tugged my leash as we crossed the street. I shivered as chilled air crept under my cloak; now that the sun had fallen below the skyline, the temperature was dropping as rapidly as it had risen. I pulled my gloves from my waistband and slipped them on.

From behind us came a grunt, and Takeshi responded with a fierce growl and a wave of his clawed hand. The streets were growing crowded as the Mazikin came out to play. The pungent musk of their fur and the deeper scent of human misery—sweat and blood—wafted over me as I bumped shoulders with other leashed slaves and shied meekly away from the cloaked Mazikin who strode down the middle of the sidewalk. I could almost tell which ones had occupied human bodies. Some of them bounded up the street on all fours while others walked upright. Some wore jewelry and had styled the tufts of hair on their furry heads, and others wore no adornment at all—but all of them wore some kind of clothing. And with their humanlike hands and ability to speak, with the eerily intelligent gleam in their eyes, there was no mistaking them for ordinary animals.

“Aren’t there Mazikin cubs somewhere?” Ana asked. We hadn’t seen a single one since we’d entered the city. “Do they keep them underground or something?”

Takeshi made a disgusted noise. “No, the cubs are kept in a single nursery until they’re released into the city.” He barked and lunged at a Mazikin who came up to sniff at Ana, and the creature yelped and scurried away. “Now’s the time to be quiet,” he muttered. “Too crowded here.”

As we hiked north, Takeshi played his part with authority, stepping aside for no one. His cloak concealed most of his face, but his mask was arranged in a vicious snarl that made him seem like a bad choice if someone was looking for a fight. Which was good—because others weren’t so lucky. Scuffles broke out every few blocks. We passed by one Mazikin lying in a heap against the wall, holding a torn leash and bleeding from a gash across its chest. Its rapid, shallow breaths puffed in red-tinged clouds. Someone had wanted its slave and had taken the human by force, leaving the loser to drown in its own blood. Takeshi shortened the lead on our leashes, and through the collar I felt his tension vibrating.

Mechanized carts, trucks, and cars, their enormous clunky engines exposed and sputtering, their exhaust pipes belching oily black fumes, rumbled up and down the potholed roads, occasionally scraping against each other as they tried to pass on the rocky, crumbling terrain. The technology in the city looked to be about a hundred years behind Rhode Island, nothing sleek, nothing quiet. It was all clamor and stink, loud and brutal. Exactly like the Mazikin themselves. There didn’t seem to be any separation between public and private. More than once, we passed by pairs or groups of Mazikin, up against cars or walls or lying on the sidewalk, engaging in acts that turned my stomach. Sex. Death. Pain. Pleasure. All right there, all hideous.

These were the creatures holding Malachi prisoner.

And somewhere, in all of this, they had a few of my classmates, too, the ones unlucky enough to cross the paths of the Mazikin who had invaded my hometown. Somewhere out there, Aden the baseball star and Evan the drug dealer were enslaved and suffering. Some of the people I had met in the homeless camp in Providence were here, too. And, somewhere in this seething hell, my mother was lost and in pain. Even if I freed Malachi and completed this mission, what would it be like to escape the city knowing they were still trapped?