Dorian’s redbill dove toward the chopper on the ground. I felt a nervous twitch inside me. I was terrified of what was happening, but his return both chilled and warmed me. He had let his small band leave without him when he should have been leading them.
I hated to see his life endangered, but I couldn’t help feeling glad that he hadn’t left us behind.
Chapter Five
I leaned into Bravi, hiding from the wind. The air was crisp at this height, and I sighed in relief as the nervous sweat on my face cooled.
“Where are we going?” I asked her, practically yelling in her ear.
She smirked, then barked over the sound of the wind, “Humans aren’t in the know on this one, just to be on the safe side. You’ll see when we get there.”
I nodded, too tired to pry information from her. My body was exhausted after the events of the last two days, and the adventure wasn’t over yet. How had it come to this?
I threaded my hands through the bill’s feathers, trying not to pull too hard in my nervousness. “Thank you.”
She surveyed the landscape below before glancing back at me over her shoulder. “Hell of a day, right?” she said.
It was a struggle to repress the urge to cry in my wearied state. That was the understatement of the century. “Yeah. My uncle has officially betrayed me, and the military I pledged my life to wants to forcibly take me back for who knows what.”
“Yeah,” Bravi replied. “Being hunted by well-armed military organizations when you know you’re only doing what you know is right really sucks, huh?”
The smirk stayed on her face, but it was one of shared dark humor. I felt a twinge of guilt followed by intense gratitude that I was with Bravi. Our various moments of escape the past few days had bonded us without me realizing it.
Bravi’s breath hitched, and her body stiffened. I followed her gaze, and we watched with bated breath while Dorian’s redbill struck the grounded Bureau chopper, evading gunfire. After a successful swipe that took off a rotor blade, he and the bill rocketed into the sky. He caught up with us quickly as Bravi’s redbill led us from the canyon. Bravi and I had mirrored each other for that tense and watchful moment then relaxed at the same time.
“You’re glad he’s okay?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said, her tone oddly casual compared to her initial reaction. “He’s kind of important to our survival on this insane plane. But I trust Dorian to take care of himself. He’s capable.”
Despite her brushing off her concern for him, I smiled to myself. It was evident we both cared about Dorian’s safety. I wondered about her history with him. Part of me was a little jealous. She had known him much longer than I had and likely knew all the small details of his life I wanted to learn.
“Has he always been like this?” I asked her.
“Reckless with his life because he can bet on his strength and wits to get him through another day?” She snorted with amusement, which quickly faded. “Not to this extent. The events after the plane’s breaching changed him. It changed all of us. I used to be pretty lighthearted and easygoing if you can imagine such a thing.”
I pressed for more, sensing I’d caught her in a rare talkative mood. “Did you grow up with him?”
“Since we were children,” she said, glancing over to where Dorian’s redbill soared just below us. “I know him well. It’s why I’m okay with following him. I’ve seen him prove himself. He doesn’t let his pride get in the way of his leadership.”
“You’re extremely loyal.” It was obvious from the way she spoke about him that she respected him immensely.
She shrugged. “Most vampires are loyal. Or we used to be before our virtual extinction led us to this. Lately, all we seem to do is fight amongst ourselves.” She shook her head, dismayed.
I understood completely. If we weren’t fighting the Bureau, we were fighting within our own ranks.
“It can’t be easy. Humans haven’t exactly been kind to you guys,” I said and let out a weary sigh. Her plight reminded me of my own frustrations with Roxy’s team. “It seems like our mixed group is unprecedented in terms of vampires and humans working together.”
She stiffened slightly. “That’s true… but Dorian was right. We had to try something. We couldn’t just hide in caves for the rest of our lives.”
“And your other comrades back there?” I ventured. My stomach twisted. I wanted to talk to Dorian.
“Everyone made off on their redbills. Most will likely come with us; others will take their chances and run off to hide somewhere else.”
“I’m sorry you’re in this situation,” I said, and my voice nearly broke from strain as the wind whipped past us. “If only I’d found the Bureau’s plans sooner.”
“They’re good at what they do. Look how fast they found us.”
Comfort sounded strange, coming from Bravi. As if she wasn’t used to it. I wondered what her life had been like in the Immortal Plane. What had happened to her during the tear?
“I wish I’d been able to convince my teammates to come,” I confessed to her. Louise’s last-minute change of heart had allowed us to leave. Guilt wracked my body as I wondered what the consequences of that would be for her. I shivered in the chill of the air. “I think I’m a loyal person too. It’s been hard to separate myself from the organization that used to feel like home… from my uncle.”
She grunted in response, but I could tell she was listening intently.
“I don’t know how much of my life was a lie. I think that’s what hurts the most.” My throat was tight with pain. I hadn’t realized how much the last two days had taken from me. While I believed everything I’d said about honor, was it a moral code I should still trust if it had been instilled in me in part by a man willing to commit genocide?
“You know the truth now,” she pointed out, somber. “We can’t change the past.”
Her distant expression made me wonder if she was thinking about her old home, before the destruction caused by the tear. I didn’t press for more information, but the mood had changed, somehow pulling us closer. We traveled on. The sun had begun to set in the sky before Bravi tilted the bird into a slight decline.
“We’re close,” she told me.
I grew skeptical as we approached. Our new location appeared to be the ruined remains of an abandoned ski resort on a mountain capped with snow. At first, I assumed the lodge was our destination, but Bravi’s bill banked right, passing it by.
When she saw me craning my head for a better look, Bravi pointed ahead of us. “Mines.”
Just below the resort was the entrance to a tunnel, well-hidden even from an aerial perspective. Bravi must’ve been here before.
My stomach churned at the sight of the unfriendly-looking tunnel. Now that the birds flew close together into the mouth of the tunnel, I could tell Gina was skeptical too. I could see Zach draped in her arms, fastened to her with one of the straps of her gear bag. A nervous chill ran through me. He looked worse than he had earlier. Not that it could be helped, given our current conditions.
When she saw me, Gina gave a weary smile, pointed to my brother, then gave a thumbs-up. He was okay. My fear abated a little for the moment.