The Nemesis by S. J. Kincaid

Author:S. J. Kincaid
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781534409972
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: 2020-08-25T00:00:00+00:00

28

“WAKE UP!”

My shout jolted Gladdic out of sleep. I tore the sheet from his body and dragged him off the bed.

“QUICKLY!” I bellowed, waving with my pulse rifle. “Get up and run!”

Bleary-eyed and confused, he reached for his robe—and froze as he belatedly noticed the two unconscious Partisans sprawled on the floor nearby.

“What—what’s going on?” His voice was thready with fear.

I took his arm again and hauled him with me into the corridor. Overhead, the track lighting pulsed red, issuing a silent alarm. “The Partisans have turned on us. We have to flee.”

“What? Wait.” He came to a stop, shoving hair out of his face. “Why?”

“Neveni doesn’t trust me. She’s turned on us!” I shoved him back into motion down the hallway. “Anguish is waiting by the escape pods—”

A pair of Partisans tore about the corridor, shouting at the sight of us. I yanked Gladdic behind me and took them both down with shots to their legs. “Run!” I screamed to Gladdic, and burst into a sprint.

His footsteps pounded behind me as we ran. “But I don’t understand,” came his ragged protest. “What happened? What did you say?”

“Me? Neveni is mad, that’s what happened!” I roared back at him.

I nearly collided with Anguish as he barreled around a turn. He quickly lowered his weapon. “Come,” he snarled, breathing hard. But his eyes danced with enjoyment. “This way is clear.”

“Can’t we talk to them?” Gladdic panted as we raced onward.

“Shut up and run!”

At the turn in the hallway leading to the escape pods, Anguish abruptly drew up short, showing us his palm. I caught hold of Gladdic just as a half-dozen Partisans appeared. Laser pistols sliced the air, and Anguish gave a shout as he charged at them, heedless of the deadly rays.

I shoved Gladdic behind me to put the corner between the Partisans and ourselves. I gave Anguish a few moments to battle and then shot forward to deliver weapon’s fire that strayed over the heads of the Partisans. A glimpse of Anguish told me he was handling the battle well enough, exchanging a vigorous series of blows. I retreated and turned back to Gladdic, huddling against the wall, out of sight of them. Harshly I told him, “We can’t work with these people. They’re bent on revenge against Tyrus, against me—though stars know we’ve tried! She’s irrational. She blames me for Lumina—”

“That’s absurd,” gasped Gladdic, shrinking into himself as the weapon fire briefly intensified.

Anguish’s sudden, guttural bellow was my cue to step away from Gladdic and bolt back around the corner—to find myself face-to-face with Neveni, my weapon aimed between her eyes, her laser pistol aimed at Anguish’s head, the floor around her littered with Partisans.

“Put down your weapon,” she said icily. “I swear to you, I will blast his head open.”

Anguish’s weapon lay across the corridor. His muscles were bunched with tension.

I became aware of Gladdic creeping out behind me, and silently cursed his inability to stay put. “Neveni, please. You’ve misunderstood. We—”

“Oh, I understood from the first,” Neveni cut in, her vindictive gaze glittering.

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