Divided: The Alliance Series Book Four (18 page)

CHAPTER TEN

KAY

The next morning found me near Central with a plan—kind of. Simon had promised to come up with a plausible alibi for yesterday if I needed one. I sat in the far corner of a local coffee shop with my old laptop, using the shitty Wi-Fi connection to access my Alliance network account and attempt to find anything relevant in the files.

Obviously, the Alliance didn’t have anything useful open to the public, but it was worth a shot, and stopped me going insane. When I’d almost run into a patrol twice in the Passages last night, I’d gone back home and attempted to recuperate. I was still riding on panic, adrenaline and caffeine, making it impossible to sleep, focus, or otherwise act like a rational human being.

As soon as Central opened, I’d go to the archives. What Nell had said yesterday reminded me that Cethrax’s files occupied a whole section of the upstairs floor, and contained files on every single time a person from Earth had interacted with the swamp world—which was a lot. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Paranoia had sunk its claws into me, and I had no idea if the patterns and connections I was making were far-fetched or inevitable. Certain worlds were closely linked. If anything might give me a clue as to where she was, I’d take it. I had the earpiece on so Jeth could contact me if he heard anything from Ada. For now, I’d see if I could talk Carl into getting me another communicator.

I also needed that freaking probation lifted, but that wasn’t likely given how I’d been AWOL for a full day.
What a mess.
To think of all the times Ms Weston had chosen to believe my version of the truth, however outlandish, she just had to put her foot down now, when Ada’s life was at stake.

What would happen if the signal didn’t work? Or if her communicator was lost, or broken like mine? If…

Quit it.
I rubbed my temples, irritated with myself. A few people at the tables nearby gave me wary looks. Maybe I’d been muttering to myself without realising. I checked the time and returned my laptop to its case, leaving the barista a tip for the food and coffee.

Central’s first patrols would be leaving now. Perhaps I’d be able to leave them a message. I wore my guard uniform just in case I got a free moment to sneak into the Passages again.

Like I’ll be that lucky.

Through Central’s wrought-iron front gates, I saw an unusual number of guards gathering.
Did something else happen?

I passed through the gates and spotted Carl amongst them, giving orders. Throwing all caution out the window, I approached the group.

“What’s going on?”

“There’s been something odd in the Passages,” said Carl. “An anomaly. It doesn’t seem harmful, but we’re gathering a team… where in God’s name have you been?”

“Simon,” I said, remembering the rehearsed story. “He noticed something odd, too, wanted to talk to me about it. Simon Anders—he works for New York’s Alliance,” I added. “We both went to the Academy.”

“Yes,” said Carl. “I was under the impression you were indefinitely suspended from travelling offworld. Including to our own world.”

“He called me yesterday,” I said, not missing a beat. “Said there were noises coming from down in the hidden Passage, and he followed it. It looked like a doorway somewhere else, actually, but it closed before he could get a closer look.”

Carl blinked. As senior guard he’d be well-practised at reading people, and I was far off my game. Not to mention he thought I was unstable.

“You can ask him,” I said, silently thanking the universe we’d agreed on a cover story last night. “He’s reporting to the senior staff at New York’s Alliance branch, as far as I know.”

“Later,” said Carl. “Right. We need to move. Kay, your boss is looking for you, and she’s none too happy. You don’t have a working communicator? Again?”

In answer, I took the smashed remains from my pocket. Carl stared. “What happened to that?”

“The creatures that took Ada.” I turned towards Central. “Do you need my help?”

“You’re on probation, Kay.”

Of course I was. And I fully intended on going into the Passages later. But still…

Shouts rang out from the street alongside Central. More guards ran towards the open back gate, shouting. “Carl, we need backup! There’s an unregistered doorway, and Cethrax is using it!”

A heartbeat’s pause. Then: “All right,” said Carl. “Kay, you can come, but you’re to stay where I can see you at all times.”

I hadn’t intended my next trip into the Passages to involve an entire guard patrol, but if it meant I was one step closer to being taken seriously, I’d fight any number of Cethrax’s monsters. Our small group crossed the threshold, in formation, and my eyes were instantly drawn to the little-used doorway to Valeria, now ajar and level with the skyline. It opened several hundred feet above the city, near the platform several metres away where I’d used magic to jump from the Passages when Ada had been kidnapped by the Campbells. But that wasn’t where the screaming came from.

“That shouldn’t be open,” I said quietly to Carl, who’d already moved to close it. “Who’s using it?”

“Routine checks,” he said in a low voice. “After those invisible ravegens.” He stopped speaking at the guards’ reaction to the words
invisible ravegens.
I bloody hoped
that
wasn’t the cause of the trouble again.

We headed past the doorway, armed. At least Carl had trusted me with a stunner, but didn’t seem to have noticed I had two daggers I shouldn’t have. Probably because the novices were giving him grief again. Two had made excuses to get out of patrol. For once, I was glad of their idiocy, because it had given me the chance to get back in here and do something useful.

At least, until we turned a corner and the screeching cries turned into something familiar.
Really, universe? A wyvern?
These cries were quieter than the usual ear-shattering screams of Cethrax’s most vicious predator, but it wasn’t like I’d forget in a hurry. Must mean they were further away.
Yeah, I take back what I said about the goblins.

Wait. Wyverns were drawn to magic. Had I drawn their attention myself, when I’d been using the world-key in here? No, there was enough magic flying around the place already. I readied my stunner as the noise grew louder, and the sounds of shouting and footsteps surrounded us.

Another screech, and a reptilian body pelted towards us and slammed into the group, breaking formation. Daggers swiped, stunners sparked, and a rush of deja-vu reminded me of an eerily similar scenario a few months back, on my second trip into the Passages. I shook off the thought and aimed my weapon at the small, writhing body in the midst of the group, snapping its teeth at the guards. Not a full-grown wyvern—a smaller one, more human-sized. Adolescent wyverns were ten times as bad-tempered. Another screech told me there was more than one of them. The group had scattered as three guards took down the threat, and somehow, I knew where the screech came from.

The dead-end corridor with the hidden stair to the lower levels. Of course.

Cursing the Multiverse, I made my way in that direction, stunner at the ready. A second reptilian creature shot through the corridor, screeching, leaving a trail of blood—someone had cut off its barbed tail. But it had six-inch-long claws and armour so thick, even adamantine daggers couldn’t slice through it.

The wyvern dived, and I swiped my dagger, severing three claws. A noise from behind made me spin around, cursing. Three more of the little bastards were flying at us. I hit at one with the dagger’s edge, knocking it into the wall. Spitting, eyes wild, it swiped at me with its tail. I jumped to avoid the poisonous barb and tackled it from behind. As the tail swiped again, I brought the dagger down in a fountain of blood. Then I aimed the stunner at the open wound. The wyvern writhed, screaming as the magic-sparks bit into its skin.

But the hidden stair was open. I slashed at the wyvern’s claws, severing them and sending the monster staggering back, and ran for the gap where light gleamed onto the corridor. Not natural light, but reddish-purple. It could be only one thing: magic.

Someone had drawn their attention.

And at the foot of the stairs, I found the answer.

A doorway had opened where there hadn’t been a door before, tearing a hole in the wall. Three more wyverns swooped in and out, swiping at the guards who stood guarding the entrance. Some Earth, some not. Swearing, I jumped the last few stairs to join in the attack.

Behind the door, I caught glimpses of swampland. It confirmed my guess—a doorway to Cethrax had opened. Naturally or not, I had no clue. Between us, the guards brought down two of the three wyverns, and when the third dodged and flew away down the Passage, I chased after it.

One knife through the wing brought it down, and I let the other guards finish it off, staring at the open door nearby. It one was one of the doorways I’d marked with my knife. The wyverns hadn’t come in this direction… but something made me pause all the same. With a glance at the guards, I went that way.

The code remained carved into the ground. Nothing else worth noting. But I swore something tingled against my skin… I tapped into the tracker, and for a brief moment, I sensed a magic trace.

A familiar magic trace.

It was gone in another instant. I walked past the doorway, one hand on the tracker.
Ada…

“Kay, what are you doing?”

“Checking there aren’t any more of them,” I said to Carl. “There are a lot of doorways down here. What opened that one?”

Carl shook his head. “No clue. Kay, you should leave. I appreciate the help, but we’ve more than enough here already. I don’t think you should be getting involved in these situations while you’re recovering from—”

“I’m just saying what I see with my own eyes. Is the Alliance planning to take any action against Cethrax?”

“For the wyverns? They’ll claim it’s not their responsibility.”

Yeah, but half their leaders are dead. The Stoneskins killed them, somehow.
But again, I had no freaking
proof.

“Can you at least get me a new communicator?” I said.

“I need one, too,” added one of the novices. “Bloody wyvern swiped it from my hands. And I think Gerry’s passed out over here.”

Carl sighed, glancing over his shoulder at the novices. “All right. I’ll get the communicators. Kay, you help this lot.”

Great. Dealing with a bunch of cowardly novices was obviously getting to him.

Once I’d helped carry the passed-out novice to Central’s doors and handed him over to the other guards, I slipped away. Outside, I tapped the earpiece. “Anything from Ada?” I asked in a low voice.

“Not yet,” said Jeth.

“Just checking.” It was too much to hope she might have left a message in return.

I went back inside Central. Ms Weston would have noticed the missing world-key and Chameleon, for sure, and she wasn’t stupid. She knew I’d have good reason to take both of them. I’d pretty much told her I would. Not my brightest idea. Nor was going walkabout yesterday, come to that.

And as luck would have it, the dragon was in the entrance hall, already in conversation with Carl. It was too late to turn back.

Ms Weston glanced up, then carried on speaking to Carl. “That’s all there was?”

“It’s clearly part of something,” said Carl. “Something offworld.”

Close to, I saw he held a piece of a familiar metal in hand. The same material that made up the Passages—and the world-keys. Auros.

“Hey,” I said, figuring I couldn’t possibly do any more damage than I already had. “I’ve seen that before.”

“I don’t doubt you have,” said Ms Weston.

“I also found this,” Carl added. “A Valerian-style bottle cap by the look of things. Maybe one of the guards dropped it.”

“I think this is more important,” said Ms Weston, taking the metal fragment from Carl. “You think it’s defunct?”

“I’ll need another magic-wielder to check—maybe ask Iriel, if she’s around.”

“I can check,” I said. “Was that on Cethrax, or in the Passages?”

“Just inside Cethrax’s entrance,” said Carl, with a glance at Ms Weston. Unsurprisingly, she hadn’t given me the piece of Passage. “It’s not much use without power, but it’d be able to open and close doorways.”

“Maybe someone was trying to close the door to Cethrax?” I was grasping at straws, true, but something told me the Passage fragment was important. Unless I’d imagined that second when I’d thought I sensed Ada’s trail.

“Someone?” said Carl. “This substance isn’t something the Alliance hands out to anyone. I’ve never seen it outside of storage, and we don’t have any at Central.”

“There was a slight anomaly in the stores,” said Ms Weston, without so much as a subtle look at me. Great.

“The stuff’s worthless on Earth,” said Carl. “On its own, anyway. Did you find the world-key?”

My heart beat faster.
Focus, Kay. Don’t give her a reason to accuse you until she has proof.

“No,” said Ms Weston, “thanks to that centaur’s obsessive-compulsive desire to rearrange my entire office.”