Rage and Ruin | 2

7 | 7

D E L P H I N I U M

My long hair whipped around my face as I fell—the wig I'd worn to conceal my identity now long gone. I kept my mouth clamped shut, determined not to make a sound. If I did, anyone hidden in the quiet forest would hear.

The impact was faster than I'd been expecting, a sharp pain bolting from my ankles up through my entire body. To absorb the momentum, I rolled to the side and crouched on the grassy ground to wait for the world to stop spinning. I half-wondered if I'd die of exhaustion.

      When I miraculously found the strength to stand and turn around, Jake was already at my side, looking unperturbed. "Where's the man you came with—the technician?"

      "They shot him and barely missed me," he told me, nodding upwards at the crumbling hole the soldiers were now gathering in. Their guns were raising, the barrels pointing at us...

      The first gunshot rang out. "No!" I held out my hands and prayed that I'd have enough strength. Then, the hole sealed itself, the fallen debris levitating off the ground below to patch the wall together again. It seemed to be sturdy enough to keep them inside until the bombs were set off, but we headed into the safety of the dark woods just in case.

When we were far enough inside to avoid any watching eyes from the fortress, I said into the earpiece to the others, "Jake and I are out. I'm not sure exactly where we are relative to you all, but we'll find you as soon as possible."

"Is it safe to evacuate the fortress now?" Finn's voice came through in low quality, but at least I could hear it. Kane had been right when he'd theorized the radios would work when we were back on ground level.

"Yes," I said. "And once you're all out, fire away."

Through the earpiece, I heard the battlecries and overall chaos of the war they'd been fighting in while waiting for us to emerge. Finn gave no details as to what the situation there was and I desperately hoped they still had enough manpower to seal the exits. If they didn't...

If they didn't, Imperium would be strong enough to hunt us all in these woods and kill us.

There was yelling over the earpiece and I knew the general of the army was calling for a retreat. The end of the fight was nearing.

I turned to Jake. "Why did you not leave with Kane and Riley?"

"Because we stole something back from them," he said, pulling a tiny computer chip out of his pocket. "The technician found the information they took from the ONNT's records and was able to download it onto this. What exactly were you doing down there?"

     "Careful, you almost sound concerned."

     His gaze turned cold. "Don't be ridiculous. You were jeopardizing my plan."

I gave a noncommittal gesture of my hand. "I was just wiping out a small army of Imperium soldiers so Kane and Riley could get out."

"Always playing the hero."

My smile turned feline, knowing he wouldn't like what I was about to say. "You stole Imperium's information at the risk of your own life. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're a hero now too."

"Good thing you know better."

"I don't know, you've been doing a bit too much good lately for me to be completely certain..."

"If word of this gets out to the others, I'll freeze you solid."

My smile widened. "Now, why don't I believe you?" He gave me a look that told me he was considering making his threat come true.