World on Fire | J. Saltzman - Legacies [4]

F I F T E E N

"I guess my old code still works," Clarke says as he lets them into the hallway. When Faith had first seen the supposed fortress of Triad, she was, in a word, underwhelmed. "But that'll only get us so far. Supposedly, there's some kind of elaborate security system. We need to find a way to sneak into the records room without drawing too much attention."

"Don't draw attention," Hope shrugs. "Got it." With a nudge, Hope motions to the wall.

Faith blinks before leaning over and pulling the fire alarm with a coy smile.

"I figured the followers of the OG Triad would have laid a trap for us," Hope drawls as she walks through the halls, ignoring the siren. "It's what I would do." A wall opens, and people begin pouring out. "Told you."

A vampire runs at Faith, and her body moves on instinct. It's almost as if her hybrid-ness has taught her self-defense because she truly does not mean to slam the heel of her boot into the vampire's crotch or to knock his head to the side with her elbow, but it feels so good.

"You know," Hope says, "instead of sneaking around, why don't we have some fun? Looks like Faith is already starting."

A werewolf emerges next, heading right for Hope. She jabs her fist into his side and climbs atop his shoulders, twisting until the crack echoes through the hallway. A smirk rests on her lips as she watches Faith, though her ears twitch when the vampire stands.

Clarke slams the hilt of his weapon against the vampire's head, knocking him out.

"Admit it," Hope turns. "You're enjoying yourself just a teensy little bit."

Faith rolls her eyes, kicking the vampire down one last time. "Great, we have an evil Clarke now? Can we keep moving?"

Hope leads them through the halls, taking out a few others before they get to a large room with stacks and stacks of information, echoed chains rattling in her ear. "This is bad," Clarke mumbles as he steps up to the railing.

"Ew," Faith groans when she sees some sort of monster stalking through the aisles.

"I'm not enjoying myself anymore," Clarkes says. "Hope, that's an Argus."

"Usually, I'd just go down there and kill it single-handedly, but I think I want to use you as my bait." Faith turns back with wide eyes. "Think of it like your final exam."

"Hope," Clarke holds out a hand.

"Time to find out which guy you are." She tosses him over the edge.

A breath of relief falls from Faith's lips. For a moment, she thought she'd have to go down, that Hope would push her over the edge. But she didn't.

"What?" Hope comes to her side as they look over the stacks. "Thought that'd be you down there?"

"Can you blame me?"

Hope goes silent for a moment. "No, but you aren't experienced enough yet to handle that. Even if Clarke dies, it won't matter. You're an investment. Not ready yet."

Faith frowns. "Investment?"

"You're useful, Faith. In more ways than one. Plus, I can tolerate you and you haven't tried to make me turn it on again. Let's go deal with Clarke, shall we?"

Hope leaps down, leaving Faith's head spinning. That word echoes in her ear as she follows down the stairs and through the cabinets, heading after the clattering of chains and Clarke's erratic heartbeat. Hope takes off on her own for a bit, joining just near the end with a leather-bound book in hand.

"Alright, got what I came here for," she says as she takes a sword from a box. "Is this still going on?

"Please," Clarke says, "it's gonna kill me."