Page 48 of A Sky of Storms
“Where’s all the stuff?” a guy remarked, scratching his head.
“Oh my gods,” another girl said, looking around in horror. “The med kit, the food rations, even some of the weapons, they’re all gone!”
Something stomped towards them, and I soon realised Kayden, whose face kinda looked like a storm cloud waiting to erupt, was the cause of it. “What now?” he snapped, and I felt a little sorry for his minions as they shrank before him.
“I-I-I think someone has stolen our stuff,” the guy said timidly.
“What!? I’m gone for two minutes and you dipshits can’t even protect our shit?”
“Err … But you told us to go after the blond guy,” he replied, looking at his feet.
Kayden’s face went bright red, and he stormed toward him, grabbing his jumpsuit and lifting so he dangled in the air. “You’re telling me this is my fault?”
“N-no! I just—”
The guy never got to finish his sentence, because Kayden tossed him across the clearing like he was competing in a javelin tournament. Then Kayden roared, exploding into a huge boulder and rolling around the camp, taking out anyone in his way.
I burst out laughing, hefting my sack over my shoulder and feeling incredibly happy about my findings.
Yup. Payback’s a bitch, Kayden, and we’ve only just begun.
I crept away, laughing to the sounds of Kayden’s continued roars and the panicked screams of his people as they were forced to deal with his wrath. We wouldn’t be robbing them blind again anytime soon, but it was well worth the effort.
I hurried back towards the cabin, hoping Zane had managed to escape whatever stragglers hadn’t yet returned to their camp. An excited shiver ran through me at what had transpired between us before. Zane was sexy and so much fun, and it’s not like we hadn’t crossed some boundaries already.
So, maybe I was fighting a losing battle when it came to him. But it was like we were drawn together. He was my friend now, I knew that, but was it wise to cross that line together?
And yet … it’s just sex, Fallon, it’s not like you’re committing to the man.
I rolled my eyes, chastising my inner monster, who just wanted to get laid right fucking now because damn it, I’d nearly been eaten by a bat and it was going to be a long, rough, month. So what if I fooled around with him? Zane was the perfect candidate for some casual fun, because yes, now that he’d suggested it…
Yeah, I really freaking wanted to ride that wave. Ride it all the way next time.
I grinned deviously.
But maybe I could make him wait a little longer before I did.
“Weneedtopickup the pace,” one of Mark’s lackeys grumbled.
Wading through hip-deep water, I followed behind silently, stalking Mark’s lackeys through the marsh. It was getting dark, the mist looking eerie as the sun set. Picturesque, if you were into horror movies, which I wasn’t. I didn’t let it bother me though. My mind was on the assholes in front of me as they rounded up those who had yet to find cover. From the outside it may have looked like they were well-meaning people with good intentions, but I’d been following them for a couple hours and listening in on their conversation to know better. They were rounding up those who either couldn’t defend themselves or were too injured to try, letting their map and compass lead them.
The one who’d spoken put his hands on his hips as they stopped to hurry along one of their captives who was dragging their feet. He was tall with a bulbous nose that he stuck in the air as though he was better than everyone else. By the way he ordered the others around, he’d taken up leadership in Mark’s absence. “Mark said the delivery is to be made at sunrise on day twenty-one.”
I crouched low in the reeds, water lapping around my thighs as something swam around me. I ignored the fish. At least … I hoped it was a fish, my attention fixed on those shivering in the mud. I had no idea where Mark was, but I was banking on these people leading me to him. Screeching suddenly echoed around me and I ducked lower. Judging by the sound of it, the giant bat things weren’t close, but I wasn’t taking chances. I felt bad for whoever was in their line of sight though.
When I’d woken up in the sky, I’d had to scramble to work my parachute whilst my head attempted to clear. It had been the scariest experience of my life falling to the ground. I fucking hated heights, but the terror had turned to anger when Mark had appeared in the air beside me with a taunting smirk on his ugly face. He’d manoeuvred his parachute and I’d lost him by the time I’d landed in the marsh. The guy was always up to something, that I knew for sure, which is how I’d found myself in my current situation.
The group started up again and I crept along behind, being as quiet as I could in the water and trying not to make a splash. Seeing Mark’s lackeys rounding people up was either a confirmation that his family were trafficking people to powerful clients, or they were going to use these Potentials as protection and slaves during this trial. I’d seen no sign of anything else, but that didn’t mean Mark wasn’t off organising that whilst his lackeys were doing some other job for him.
Despite spending nights following Mark around the House of Ascension while camouflaged, I hadn’t found out any more of what he was up to or who he was meeting with beyond the mention of Stormcrest City’s most powerful house. It was frustrating not being able to see the full picture. Were these Potentials the delivery House Jupiter was receiving or was it something else? House Jupiter may have been receiving a delivery during the trial, but it didn’t mean they were the only buyers.
I couldn’t discount anything that I was seeing, and as we trekked, I thought through my options.
I needed to catch Mark in the act to confirm his illegal activities and find out who the middleman was between him, Jupiter, and whichever other houses were buying illegal shit from him. He wasn’t the mastermind behind the operation, so I needed the identity of the hooded guy. Mark was far from a genius, and he was also a cocky asshole who would have said something if there wasn’t someone more powerful keeping him in line. I would make sure he would be punished once I’d gathered my evidence. Nobody treated the people of Verdant Plateau as a commodity or stole our precious resources and got away with it. And once I had Mark, then I would go after the head of this whole exploitation scheme and bring them down.
After reaching a dry patch of land, the leader barked orders and the group stopped to rest. One of the captives fell to the ground, exhausted by the hours of walking, only to be dragged into the huddle with the rest.
“Why do we need to babysit these people now?” one man whined, trying to steadily kick a rock along the ground. Instead, his boot pushed it further into the soft ground with each pass and he was getting angrier at it with each second. “Stupid rock.”
