Page 77 of Cold-Blooded Creatures
“I thought only green band wearers could work in the Spire,” I said, situating myself on the corner of the desk so I could be closer to Kali lingering near Gedeon.
“I got the job. It cost me some things.” She gave me a once-over. “Same as it’ll cost you.”
Ezra scratched his head. “And you figured this out in a day?” He joined Sadira in an unoccupied chair on her left.
“Half.”
“So what was your plan?”
“Poison.”
“You worked as an assistant, not in the kitchen.”
She jumped on the desk beside me, her legs dangling off the edge. “No, but I traded favors with someone who worked in the kitchen.”
The favors she’d exchanged shone in scarlet letters:I sold myself. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard it, but knowingshehad to do it rattled my bones.
Even though watching her, touching her, tasting her were all I could think about, I kept my—relative—distance. The temptation was ripping me apart, but I understood why Gedeon had prohibited us from taking it further. We didn’t want her to think she had to sell herself tous.
“Poisoning the Head of Ilasall wouldn’t make a long-term impact.” I brought her uninjured hand into my lap and began massaging her palm. She gave me a questioning look but didn’t pull away. It wasn’t so much for her as to calm myself, tofeelher being here, not in Ilasall, and not in the back of a military truck. “Someone else would step up immediately.”
“Yes, but poisoning all seven Heads would.” She shrugged her sharp shoulders, the neckline of her t-shirt sliding to reveal her prominent collarbone.
“All of them? Heads of Ilasall, Welfare, Military, Education, Labor, Health, and Nutriment? You actually mean all?” Reclined in his seat, Ezra placed an ankle over a knee. “How did you plan to get close to them and not get caught?”
She bristled, her hand in my lap curling into a loose fist. “I didn’t care if I got caught. And you clearly haven’t done your research. Did the compound make your life too comfortable?”
So feisty. Did feistiness itself have a taste? If it did, it had to be exquisite.
Kali continued. “Did you know that the seven heads hold a collective meeting once a month? They all gather in a conference room at the top of the Spire. No one is allowed inside besides the personal assistants. It may so happen that one of themaccidentally spills a yellow oleander’s extract into the pots of their tea and coffee.Whoops. Turns out, it’s quite poisonous. Six to twenty hours later, it would destroy their insides. Nowthatwould give the people an opportunity to take down the rest of the government. Cut the head off the snake and it may slither for a while, but it will die eventually.” Her legs dangling off the edge of the table ceased moving as she stiffened, focused on Gedeon. “That’s what you stole from me. The chance to sever Ilasall’s artery and bleed it dry.”
“That’s smart. There is no denying it. But it would not bring down the wall. They would appoint the successors as the new Heads before news reached the city of their predecessors’ deaths.” Gedeon plucked the blueprint of Ilasall’s main structures out of the mess on his desk. “Now about the auctions. Show us.”
“I didn’t say that was my whole plan. Do you know how many favors I’ve traded over the years? The circles I’ve inserted myself in? I had four of the Assistants to the other Heads in my pocket. Well, maybe three. The one serving the Head of the Military vanished a few days before I started my new job. Add the few missing, and we would’ve ensured the broadcast of as many deaths as possible.”
Ryder’s water bottle froze midway to his mouth. Eli whistled, and even Sadira remained silent.
Pride at her way of thinking consumed me. Her strategy would’ve produced quite a show. And combined with our invading forces and contacts inside the city, it could’ve been the start of the revolution.
Only we kind of had kidnapped the Assistant to the Head of Military, so I could play with him in our underground to extract information. And his microchip.
“You should take his place.” I jerked my chin toward Gedeon.
“Or she can stand at my side.” He extended the blueprint of the city to her. “What will it be?”
“It’s not exactly my choice, is it? But still, I won’t take anything less.” She searched the map and tapped on an ordinary building away from the center of Ilasall. “Here. The information I’d collected stated this was the location of the next Matching, the auction scheduled a little over two months from now.”
“So our plan is to break up the next auction the moment we can figure out how to use the chips?” Ezra hooked his light brown hands on his nape and stretched in his seat. “Won’t bringing the participants back here raise any alarms? Ilasall has kept its distance from us for a long time, but this is bound to change things.”
“If we don’t, then why the hell doesthisexist?” Kali spread her arms wide to indicate more than just the room. “You can’t win without risks. If we can save them but choose not to, we’re the same as them. Look Eislyn and Sadira in the eyes and tell them that you’d rather see them at the auction and not here. Because they’ve been pushed through it, they know what it’s like and they know what kind of life awaits you after you get off the stage. So tell me you think it’s right to leave them there with no knowledge that a different life exists. Tell me that, and I’ll slit your throat this instant, because I won’t stand here and listen to someone who’s had an easy life.”
“Of course, I want to get them out. But have you considered the potential retaliation?” Ezra messed with the low bun resting on his nape. “And you have no idea what kind of life I’ve had. What I’ve done to survive. Do you know what they do to you in military service? They break you down and shape you into a puppet drooling in wait for your next order. If not for Gedeon’s contacts finding me beat up on the curb of a road in the city, I’d probably be another brain-dead soldier in a line of them right now.”
“Thatisan easy life,” she sneered. “Half of the people here would take that any day over what they’ve been through.”
“Enough.” Gedeon’s authoritative voice boomed. He could sigh as often as he wanted, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I adored her viciousness. “We will put a stop to the next auction. It’s not up for discussion. Sadira, Ryder, solve how to program the microchips together with other compounds. Eislyn, you and the doc figure out how to implant them in us with them remaining in a working condition. Ezra, run our teams through practice sessions in the shooting range. Eli, Zion, get Ava and organize multiple group trainings for potential scenarios. Jayla, listen for any complaints at Vice. We need to know if discontent grows.”
Everyone murmured their agreement and wandered out of the study, except for Ezra pausing by Kali. “I didn’t mean to belittle you.” He rubbed the back of his nape. “That story you shared about how you gained access and contacts… I forgot I’d been lucky enough to keep ownership of my body while others had to give it up. I’m sorry.”
