Wrath of the Forgotten: Descendants of the Fall Book II by Hodges, Aaron (good english books to read .txt) 📗

How could he not have seen it sooner?

Grinding his teeth, Lukys forced his mind to the task at hand. Sophia’s betrayal would have to wait—now he needed to concentrate on escaping the city. Ahead, the others had slowed as they approached a corner. Beyond, lanterns lit the main avenue across the city. So far they had kept to backroads, avoiding the whispers of Tangata and humans heading through the city, making for the basilica. Guilt touched Lukys as he thought of his fellow humans, prisoner to their Tangatan partners, being led to their deaths. There was nothing he could do for those poor souls.

But he might yet save his friends.

If they’d reached the main avenue, they must be near the bridge. He slunk forward, ignoring Sophia as he passed her and coming to a stop just before the corner where Travis stood waiting.

“Guards,” the recruit hissed.

Lukys cursed. They were at the southern edge of the city. He’d thought they might outthink the Tangata’s new leader by taking the least likely escape route, but apparently the Old One was taking no chances in letting anyone out of the city. He leaned out for a glimpse of his own and spotted the two guards watching the entrance to the bridge.

There was no way their group of thirty-odd humans and Tangata were leaving unnoticed. They might have fought their way past, but the noise would attract attention and point their eventual pursuers in the direction they’d taken. They needed to escape without anyone knowing which way they had gone.

Dozens of eyes watched him as he glanced back, some frightened, others simply confused. The Perfugian recruits had gathered what food and clothing they could from the compound and now carried them in bundles they’d made of sheets from their apartments. With spring beginning, Lukys hoped they could scavenge more on the road, or perhaps bring down a deer with one of their spears, but first they had to escape.

His gaze switched to the unreadable eyes of the Tangata. A shudder ran down his spine and he wondered how he could have ever come to trust these creatures. He didn’t want them with him, but there’d been no choice, not with the others still convinced of their love for their Tangatan partners.

“What now?” Dale asked, creeping forward.

He held his spear tight in one hand. Most of the recruits were similarly armed, and Lukys was momentarily tempted to cast caution aside and rush the bridge. Night was passing quickly and it was only a matter of time before Adonis’s body was found. Then the pursuit would begin in earnest. They needed to be a long way from New Nihelm by then.

Lukys pushed down the temptation to attack. The others were looking at him to save them. How quickly he had become their leader again. He couldn’t let them down now.

There were only two ways out of the city, two bridges. If there were guards here, there would be others at the northern bridge. There had to be another way.

Could they swim? The river was broad and the current swift, but coming from an island nation, Perfugians were decent swimmers—and used to the cold. It would be dangerous in the darkness. He eyed the others, wondering if anyone had ideas to offer. Instead, he glimpsed Sophia moving towards him.

“We swim,” he said quickly. He looked at Travis but the recruit only raised an eyebrow. Lukys sighed. “We need somewhere we can enter the water without being seen.”

Travis only raised an eyebrow.

“Trust me,” Lukys said.

I know a place, Sophia offered, coming to a stop beside them.

A bolt of rage struck Lukys as he looked at her. Their dance, their kiss…they seemed a million years ago already, a lifetime. Silently he pushed his anger down. At least she could be trusted to help them escape. After Adonis’s death, none of these Tangata had a place in New Nihelm any longer. He gave her a curt nod.

There was no missing the hurt in Sophia’s eyes as she looked at him. Lukys still hadn’t told her he knew. How would she react? Would she try to control him again, to manipulate him, to wash away his doubts with her power?

“Show us,” he said shortly.

Sophia’s jaw tightened and without a word she turned away, striding back the way they had come. Lukys gestured for his friends to follow her, even as he felt a flare of distrust. He pushed it down. She and the others had tried to fight Adonis; they could at least be trusted this far. Couldn’t they?

They retreated several blocks before cutting into an alleyway leading back towards the river. Lukys frowned as he realised they were upriver of the bridge. There was no way they could fight the current. That meant they would be washed straight back to where the guards were waiting…

…except the guards weren’t watching the water. An idea started to form in his head.

The place Sophia knew turned out to have been an old waterfront restaurant. By the polished mahogany furnishings and crystal chandeliers, Lukys thought it had probably been an expensive place to eat once, frequented by the wealthy of Calafe society. Apparently, the Tangata hadn’t been so easily impressed, for a thick layer of dust now covered every surface.

Sophia led them through a room stacked with dining tables waiting for patrons that would never return, to where a small jetty stretched out into the river. Lukys was relieved to see the nearby buildings were dark, leaving the river to reflect the faint glint of moonlight.

Boards creaked as Dale stepped onto the jetty. He froze, but no movement came from the surrounding buildings, and they were a good quarter mile upriver from the bridge now. Not even Tangatan guards would hear the noise from such a distance.

Beneath the planks, the dark waters of the Shelman River swept past, shimmering in the starlight. Lukys glanced back at the others, wondering how they would cope with such a crossing. There was no