trees caught my attention, then voices. I lost track of Penelope in the woods, but shifted towards this new target.
A group of men were gathered around the engines, carrying a large crate and tools that glinted in the torchlight. One of them turned, and I gasped when I recognized him. I didn’t know his name, but I was sure I’d seen him before, in Havoc.
One of the rebels. I crept closer. There were about ten figures, stocky men, a handful from Sezomp, given their clothing and appearance. The rest could have been from anywhere. I wondered how they’d gotten in, and whether the mayor knew the rebels were already here, inside his gates. Maybe that’s why they hadn’t wanted to let us in at first. Maybe the mayor’s invitation and the story he told us had all just been a distraction, to keep us occupied.
But what were the rebels doing way out here, in the middle of the night? I realized the answer when they started pulling wired devices out of the large box and setting them up around the purring machines, which were so loud I couldn’t hear anything they were saying. But I knew their agenda. They were going to follow through with Jacob’s plan, and destroy the engines.
My heart caught in my throat. The villagers would wake up tomorrow drowning in ash. They’d be quarantined to their homes. It could take weeks, or months, before engineers from the citadel could rebuild. I looked around desperately for Penelope, but didn’t see her. There was nobody else to stop them.
No one but me.
I reached into my coat pocket, pulling out the half-empty vial of elixir. I took a sip, waiting until the monitor on my bracelet read 5%, before I came out of hiding with my hands raised. Two of the men spun when twigs snapped under my bare feet, training their rifles on me.
“That’s far enough,” one of the men growled, searching into the woods behind me with a flashlight.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said. “If you destroy the machines, the ash will kill everyone in the village. And whoever is left, the elite won’t take kindly on.”
“At least the elite will finally take us seriously,” one of the men grumbled.
“You’re working with Jacob, right?” I said. “I just spoke to him before leaving Havoc. We’re on the same side. We have a plan, just give us a few more days to find what we’re looking for. Then you’ll have a real weapon. If there’s going to be a war, wouldn’t you rather be prepared with something that can put the elite on equal footing? All this will cause is more violence, worst of all for the human compounds.”
The man I recognized from Havoc spat on the ground. His eyes seemed too far apart, and his thin lips pursed together in a scowl.
“She’s lying,” he said. “She’s working for the elite. I saw her free the one we had taken captive. Now they’re traveling together. You should just finish her off, or she’ll tell everyone, now that she’s seen our faces.”
“I’ve got a better idea boys,” another said. “Don’t you recognize this one? Look at the marks on her hands. Prince Hartman’s own chosen, but she ran after the trials. She’s the one who destroyed the wedding. There’s a huge reward for her head.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Blow the engines and blame it on her. The reward didn’t specify alive or dead. We can make it look like she died in the accident. Clear our names at least. Just make it quiet. Shut her up, for good.”
The first man grinned, sending chills down my spine. He raised his gun to fire, but I was too fast. I slid beneath it and grabbed the weapon, smashing it into his jaw.
Someone grabbed me from behind, and I struggled against his grip as another came towards me with a knife. The elixir flared in my blood as he approached, mixing with the adrenaline in my veins. I snapped my head back, breaking someone’s nose, then spun out of reach. I planted a kick into one man’s stomach, sending him soaring back against the machine.
He hit hard and sank to the ground, blood streaming from his nose. A knife flashed to my left, skimming my neck. I punched my attacker’s wrist, knocking the knife out of his grip, then followed up with a jab to the chin that sent him reeling.
I caught the knife in midair, then tossed it into a