Between Burning Worlds (System Divine #2) - Jessica Brody Page 0,213

ominous sentinels, and the rows and rows of windows, black and glassy, shone like a battalion of unblinking eyes.

“The service entrance in the back is your best option,” Marcellus continued, fighting off a shudder at the sight of that building. “Most of the employees who use that entrance leave at 19.00. You can sneak in through the door as someone is leaving.”

“Right.” Cerise opened a drawer, pulled out two bundles of fabric, and handed one to Alouette. “This will be our cover.”

Alouette unfurled the material to find a simple black pair of pants and a short-sleeved blue shirt with a crisp black collar, simple black buttons, and two deep pockets sewn at the waist.

“Cleaner’s uniform,” explained Cerise. Then, upon Alouette’s questioning look, she added, “Let’s just say this is not the first time I’ve had to sneak into the Ministère.”

“Have you figured out how to get into the server room yet?” Marcellus asked Cerise.

“I can disable the security feeds, because they’re on an accessible network, but I can’t hack a biometric lock. At least not without raising a lot of alarms.” She turned expectantly to Alouette, as though they’d already come to a decision.

“I’m going to disable the lock on the server room door,” Alouette said.

Chatine and Marcellus both stared at her with wide, unblinking eyes. “You can do that?” Marcellus asked.

Alouette nodded. “Sister Denise taught me how to disassemble my first Ministère lock when I was eight. Now I know why.”

Once all the disguises had been distributed, Cerise directed them to private bathrooms to shower and change clothes. The steaming hot water raining down on Marcellus, washing away the dirt and ash and lingering chill of the Terrain Perdu, felt so good. For a moment, he nearly forgot what they had all gathered here to do. But then, as he reached to shut off the faucet, Marcellus’s gaze snagged on a window set high in the bathroom wall where, slicing through the darkening TéléSky outside, he could make out a soaring, glinting antenna.

Even from way out here, among the manoirs of Ledôme, the Paresse Tower was visible. Marcellus still couldn’t believe what Brigitte had told them. A kill switch for the Skins? Hidden right in front of him—in front of everyone—this whole time? Looking up at it now, Marcellus felt like the tower was taunting him. Reminding him of everything that was at stake tonight.

He stood naked and shivering, running through the plan in his mind, thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong. There were no real Sols to pray to inside Ledôme, and he wasn’t about to trust the fake ones. Which meant he had no choice but to rely on himself and the people he now called his friends.

Hastily, he grabbed for a towel and dried himself off before pulling on his borrowed tuxedo. It wasn’t as scratchy and stiff as his officer uniform, but the touch of the fabric still made him cringe.

He was just knotting the tie when his TéléCom lit up on the bathroom counter.

“Incoming AirLink request pending from Jolras Epernay,” a voice said in his audio patch.

Marcellus froze as his gaze traveled down to the screen and the now all-too-familiar face of Maximilienne’s brother. He was AirLinking Marcellus again? What could that Red Scar monster possibly want with him?

There was a rap at the door and Cerise called out, “Almost ready?”

Marcellus blinked down at the screen again, where Jolras’s face was still waiting.

“Yes!” he shouted back through the door as he hastily swiped at the screen, declining the request. Tonight, he only had the time and energy to think about one threat to Laterre. And that was his grandfather.

When he emerged from the bathroom, he found Cerise was the only one waiting for him.

“Where is everyone else?” he asked.

“Still getting ready,” she said, and Marcellus noticed a dark shadow descend over her face. “I thought we could do this last part alone.”

Marcellus nodded grimly and followed behind her as they walked in silence down the long hallway of the second floor. With each step, Marcellus felt his breath grow shallower and his heart grow heavier. He thought back to that early morning when he’d darted around the abandoned copper exploit, looking for Mabelle and feeling like a traitor. At that moment, he’d wanted nothing more than to join the Vangarde, avenge his father’s wrongful incarceration and death, and stop General Bonnefaçon from destroying a planet.

Little did he know, those fateful steps that morning would lead to these ones.

Would lead him here.

Cerise entered