Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,292

"They say it's a bomb, but I think they're just tossing shit together like fucking evil scientists."

Kemper tossed a rogue wire at him, and I covered my mouth to laugh. "Damn, Ash. You look good," Patrick said. He strolled up and gave me a giant hug. "You ready to save Cy and Mav?" he asked.

"I'm ready to go home," I replied. I'd been granted the opportunity to see the world, meet new people, and travel to exotic places. But at the cusp of it all, I just wanted to be back in Dormas with its simple cabins and simple people.

"Me too," Kemper said while clipping a wire into place.

"I wanted to tell you all something before I go," I said while waiting for each of them to stop what they were doing to look at me. "Under no circumstance is anyone allowed to stay behind nor do something stupid. At the end of the night, I expect all my men to be in the same place at the same time. Is that understood?" I asked.

Huxley smirked at me before strolling over and placing a long kiss upon my lips. "You got it, little Walker."

Jacob's mindspeak went frazzled. "Why does her bossy voice turn me on so much? God, keep it under control, Jacob!" He didn't even look embarrassed when I gave him a look. I’d grown used to his mindspeak. I missed his honey tone but loved knowing each of his thoughts. I almost now couldn’t imagine him without it.

"Of course," Patrick and Kemper said at the same time, each looking at each other and laughing before going back to what they were doing.

I looked at them all once more before the rest of the Companions came downstairs. I knew that tonight would change everything. I just hoped I was ready.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The ride to Cavil’s tower had an excited yet ominous feel. Each of us kept quiet, thinking about all that we would be required to do. Of all of us, Jade seemed the most calm despite having a gruesome job ahead of her. “Are you nervous?” I asked her while patting Cy’s and Mav’s pills in the hem of my corset.

“I should be, right?” Jade looked around the transport while snuggling closer to Lowe. “I mean, I’m a bit nervous, but mostly I’m just excited. He killed my…” Jade swallowed then, the first true sign of emotion since we left. A glossy shine came over her eyes, and she blinked away the emotion with a frown. “My sister was a Walker in Ethros. She mostly kept to herself. Never bothered anyone. She worked in his home, and one day, he set his eyes on her. She was barely a teen. Barely knew the world was cruel. She killed herself the same night he invited her to his ivory room.”

I gasped at her story and tried not to ask too many questions. She spoke with a numbness I hadn’t expected. “She was my only family left, and he broke her. So I’m okay with murder. In fact, I’m going to enjoy it.”

When we arrived at the tower, the guards didn’t give us a second glance. They had grown relaxed with their rosy cheeks and wide grins. There was an excitement in the air; apparently Cavil wasn’t the only one who was homesick, his guards were, too. Too bad they’d never see their home again.

The gathering room was more crowded than any other time before. Cavil had invited every dignitary within a hundred mile radius. It took me a moment to find Cyler’s black hair and flirty smile in the crowd. But once I did see him, I was instantly taken aback by the pure fury in his gaze as he stormed closer to me.

“Something isn’t right. You need to leave now.”

I looked around the room for Maverick, unsure what was going on but feeling scared nevertheless. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“Oh Cyler!” Cavil’s voice said over the crowd. Trumpets started frantically playing as Cavil strolled through the room, trying to catch up with his processional. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere, Master Black.”

“You obviously haven’t been looking very hard,” Cy began. “It’s not like I can go anywhere.”

When Cavil’s beady eyes connected with mine, I just knew that something was up. It was the same calculating stare that I saw when I first met him in that abandoned home outside of the city. Cavil had something planned.

“Well, hello there, Shade,” he said. I didn’t remember telling him my name,