The Uprising (The Julianna Rae Chronicles) (15 page)

The guilt eased when his hand curl
ed around her shoulder. The summit was two nights away. It gave them enough time to prepare. It gave them two days at the safe house. It gave her two days to come clean about Taris, and it gave him two days to forgive her. For now, she enjoyed his embrace.

‘We hit Central Command the day of the Summit.’

That’s suicide.
She needed to sleep.

‘We hit
them hard, we hit them fast,’ his half-hearted smile broadened. ‘We blow that place to freaking hell and send in a suicide team into the Summit at the same time.’

They’d done what they could for the night.

‘Yes,’ he whispered with unwavering agreement to himself. ‘Tomorrow we abandon grief for our plans.’

But for now her head ached, and though she didn’t mean for it, a whimper escaped.

He stroked her forehead. ‘I can’t take this pain away, but I can make you sleep through it.’ He nodded, convincing her; compelling her to nod with him as the pain dug its claws deep within her mind. ‘Trust me,’ he whispered.

She nodded again.

‘Close your eyes,’ he whispered.

His fingers stroked her forehead slowly and with each touch the pain lessened and her eyes grew heavy.

‘Find a place where you feel safe,’ she travelled with his voice. ‘And when you do I want you to stay there until I call.’

His sweet, soft voice.

‘Stay in your sleep, little one.’

She felt his kiss on her forehead.

‘I’m watching over you.’ He pressed his palm against her cheek. It slid tenderly down until she leaned into its warmth. He led her into a darkness that she never knew existed. Her eyes flickered beneath their lids, searching for traces of light, and found there was none; the blindness was comforting.

‘Sleep safe,’ he promised.

Julianna edged into his embrace of calm silence as it slowly immersed her entire body, grasping and stroking her skin until it preyed on her soul.

‘Sleep deeply,’ he whispered.

She exhaled slowly and listened for her watcher’s voice, in case he called her name. She needed to listen closely.

Closely...close
—

She didn’t want to miss his call.

‘It’s time now...let yourself go.’

5th May, 2018, 1400 hours.

The Safe House, Sector #3

The safe house basement was of the large expansive kind, with an area covering enough space to fit in a small army, if needed. It was damp, dark and always cold, but in summer it was a place of refuge from the searing heat that
grew more powerful each year. It was also the area where the weapons were stored, locker after locker, row upon row.

Julianna knew the basement well; it
was a place where she had slept when she had needed a place to crash, without anyone else knowing. So when she wandered down the stairs after being pointed in the direction for her commander, she was surprised to see him backing out of a grate in the wall, with a large bag of weapons trailing behind him. She didn’t remember ever seeing it before.

He brushed himself down, more out of habit. His clothes were filthy, it was a pointless task.

‘Devo,’ he called. ‘You okay in there?’

A grunt echoed back and he turned around, startled in his stance to see Julianna. He grabbed the large black bag, slung it over his shoulder and walked toward the storage lockers in the caged area, beneath the staircase.

Julianna peered into the grate and offered her hand to drag a commando crawling Devo through the last of the confined area.

Julianna
peered into it. ‘Where’s it go?’

Caden finished the combination on the locks of the gates. They opened with a protesting groan and Julianna thought about the times she’d used her knife to break in
to them. It was a deterrent to the more honest in the group, not the traitors, and every time she took the comms down to show Isis the situation, he grunted in his response.

‘The tunnels,’ he peered back, frowning. ‘I told everyone to leave you alone. Who woke you?’

‘Me.’ Julianna began her crawl into the space. Caden muttered sarcasm about her abilities and grasped his hands around her ankles. He dragged her out and she landed with a
thud
on the hard floor, left to stare up at his frown.

‘It’s a maze in there. Not without me, okay?’

Julianna pressed her back into the wall as she stood. Without its support, she didn’t wholly trust her shaky legs. They’d betrayed her on the way to the basement twice, and the bruises stung from the bounce down the stairs. 

‘
Last thing I want is you finding more trouble.’ He returned to the lockers where Devo unzipped the last bag.

‘I’ve been jumping the roofs of buildings for twelve months, and the whole time I could’ve been going underneath the Militia. Why’d no one tell me?’

‘Not everyone knows about them,’ he said. ‘My little secret. I decide who I tell.’ 

Intrigued, Julianna went into the storage area and pulled back the edge of the bag that had his attention. Auto weapons fille
d her sight, including the new sniper rifle. She lifted it up in both hands to admire its craft.

‘Impressive. Anyone would think we’re at war with someone.’

Caden smiled at her comment and took the rifle back. It was the first real smile he’d offered since the lake incident. Julianna called it the
incident
; anything else would complicate things.

A curiosity with each other,
she thought.
Nothing more, move on.

‘You seem at one with the situation, right now,’ she waited for a response and got nothing.

Caden stacked the rifles into the locker. Taking note of everything as he went, counting to himself, storing the information. She started counting random numbers to herself and he gave her another smile.

‘Just lost track,’ Caden rolled his
eyes and chastised her. ‘C’mon, stop it J Rae.’

‘Don’t listen to my thoughts
then.’
He’s a different man this morning.
She watched him recount in silence. He finished the first and opened another locker to repeat the process; stacking, counting, checking.

‘You need me for anything else, Commander?’

Julianna thought Devo looked as though she hadn’t slept for a week, or had been crying just as long. Caden must have told her, she thought. Katherine was her safety net, then Bas, and now they’re both gone.

‘Thanks Sarah, go grab something to eat, rest up. We move out at zero four-hundred.’

Devo nodded. Julianna watched until her feet disappeared where the wall met with the staircase.

‘I was under the impression Devo was staying here with the gang.’

‘You try telling little Miss that, she has as much right as I to fight for Bas. I’m not about to dictate to the grieving what they can and can’t do – even if it is Sarah Deveaux – and 
you
should be resting,’ Caden said.

‘Feel fine.’
Liar, feel like crap.
Stop giving me that look.
‘The sleep helped. Zero four-hundred?’
He’s planning the attack without me.

‘Bullshit. Every watcher goes through it, me included. We all know the transformation knocks us about.’ Caden slammed the locker door shut. The bag was empty. ‘You should be initiated. Without it, your body will just fight the process.’

Now he’s ignoring me.

Julianna turned for the stairs. Devo’s footsteps were on the level
above them.

‘Julianna
Elizbeth Rae, come on back now.’

‘I’m not a watcher!
I’m certainly not a damned Seer – whatever the hell that means, and I’m positively not going through whatever the
transformation
is – and if you mention initiation one more time Caden Madison, Taris will be the least of your worries when I have my hands around your balls and my knife handy.’

He was amused. ‘You wanna’ see these tunnels or not?’

She hung her head in frustration on the first rise of the steps and took the few back past the wall and into the basement again. Caden padlocked the gates.

‘Are you going all Council on my ass?’

‘I wouldn’t dare on the eve of battle, my girl.’ He fastened the gates with a bolt lock and the last padlock. ‘Your temper scares me far too much.’

Now he’s mocking me.
‘No more talk about it?’

He nodded in silent agreement.
‘I like my balls where they are.’

Julianna
hit the uneven ground of the basement and her knees buckled again. Her hands shot in front, searching to grab some support, ending up with a hand full of his shirt and Caden staring down at her.

‘You’re always there to catch me.’ She pouted at his frown. ‘Lighten up, C Mads.’

He raised a thick eyebrow. ‘This way then.’ He moved her hands from his shirt and ambled to the large metal grate resting against the wall.

She followed
the few steps to the crawl space and peered down into its darkness from her haunches, eager to go forward. Its long, narrow area was barely enough space for her to crawl into.

Caden gestured for her to continue into the tunnel first.

How the hell does he fit in there?
She figured he struggles.
But he’s a shape shifter.
She looked at him waiting.
Yeah, I remember, and he’s still listening.

‘Can I have some privacy with my thoughts?’

‘Habit, sorry.’

She slipped onto her belly to pull herself along. Low light stretched from the other end, offering its guidance that she followed
, with Caden close behind her heels.

‘When you get out, the ground’s rough, easy to slip
on.’

His voice bounced along the narrow rock surrounding
them. From their damp touch under her hands, she sensed their age. The smell of stagnated water pushed into her face on a breeze, forcing her to turn from the stench. When it stopped she continued her belly crawl towards the light. Julianna’s eyes widened, when her arms hung over the edge of the tunnel. 

‘Get a move on, J Rae, I’m suffocating back here!’ His voice fell on deaf ears.

A large, open cavern stared upon her. It was beyond massive, and her eyes widened to take in its stature. From the open area, a network of tunnels stretched in every direction from its main channel. Water trickled down the walls, from the storm waters on street level, and more crashed somewhere into a distant pool. The direction it came from was impossible to tell.

She stared at the largeness of it all. The height, the abundance
– it was a chasm of its own right. An under city of chambers and streets, spilling in every direction.  She couldn’t see where its height ended beneath the city, or its length moving into the dark tunnels ahead. There was no end in sight for every which way she glanced.

‘Freaking move it, girlfriend!’ his voice boomed along t
he tunnels until it disappeared into the vastness before her.

Julianna edged out of the tunnel and found her feet on the cobbled ground. It was uneven, as he warned, and she almost landed in the thin layer of water covering it.

He propped on the edge, watching her move into the center of the chambers. Her footsteps echoed and splashed as she circled in one spot to comprehend the greatness of the ancient structure.

‘They go from Sector One to the countryside,’ he said.

‘Why didn’t Isis tell me any of this existed?’ she felt the anger rise. ‘All the times I went to the Club with patrols on my ass. The times I was shot at, chased—’

Caden stood. ‘Doesn’t matter now, you won’t be dancing anymore.’

Julianna stood, dumbfounded. He ignored her
why the hell not
expression, walking along a wall to a tunnel instead.

She inched forward, stepping over the network of drains channeled into the ground that cupped the flowing water. She wondered where it all went, for a city short of fresh water.

He pointed. ‘You’ll find the countryside down there. Behind you, Sector One.’ He pointed to a chip in the wall above him. ‘Use this to guide you.’

She looked over her shoulder. Something ominous lurked in his voice. When she returned to him, his gaze was sharp and meaningful. He pout
ed.

‘Spill it,’ she said.

‘Everyone agrees that the best place for you right now, is the safe house. I’m showing you these tunnels in case you need a quick escape, when we’re not here.’

She stood in silence.

‘You’re not going to Sector One with us in the morning,’ he paused, ‘
I
don’t want you to.’

‘I’m part of the Rebellion. I’m one of the best you have.’

‘Don’t go getting all pragmatic on me. You know what I’m talking about – and it’s not the Rebellion,’ he started to finger point.

‘Of course I’ll be pragmatic about it. You have no right.’ she snapped.
‘How dare you
.
’

The finger pointing was well on its way towards a slap. ‘I have every right in the world. You’re staying here and you’ve no choice in the matter.
We’ve already discussed it. You don’t understand half of what you’re about and the other half is too arrogant to accept explanation!’

‘You talk about being pragmatic and you say things like that?’ she shook her head. ‘I
’m scared to death about this. None of it makes sense; no one offers any explanation when I ask…’

He calmed down and leaned against the wall. Water ran down his back and he swore
as he dodged more of it.

She pushed past him near tears. ‘So don’t fucking yell at me!’

There was a silence. He took in her words and watched her walk down the tunnel that led to the countryside.

‘Someone has too,’ he yelled.

Julianna tipped her head to his approaching footsteps. His large hands rested firmly on her shoulders, forcing her to turn around as though she were an impertinent child. His face was calm but he looked through her with his dark brooding eyes and his arched brow.

‘If I need to yell at you, I’ll yell at you,’ he extended a hand to raise her chin. ‘You’ve always gone in your own direction, even as a child. Problem is you tend to get lost. I’ve never met anyone so damned lost and I’m not going to ignore it any longer. This fight isn’t your fight, Jay,’ he dropped his hand. ‘You’re not going, and that’s the end of it.’

She blinked away the tears. ‘Who else will cover your backside when you see Bastiaan? You have other sharp shooters with my skill? Anyone else that can call your attention when you’re about to do something stupid?’

‘I’m not discussing this. The decision’s made.’ He turned toward the exit in the wall. She moved with him, taking the bold move to block his path.

‘How can you stand there and say that you know me?’

‘You’re not the big mystery to me that you’d so like to think,’ Caden shook his head. The disagreement was clear. ‘Isis is about to promote you to Commander. It’s high time you grew up and led from example.’

‘What are you talking about?’