We were done for. Some of us might have been willing to fight, but we didn’t stand the slightest chance.
Then, within the next blink of my eye, people started dropping from the sky.
People clad in black, with masks over their faces.
The same people who’d made a surprise appearance, not forty-eight hours ago.
“Zion, you know these people?” I gasped in shock. “Alexy?’
But there was no answer, and I didn’t ask again. I became too busy staring at how the black-clad men had started fighting.
They had guns this time, as well as large black shields, and were flipping and cartwheeling through the air just as they had before—shooting right into the mass of Authority soldiers, who were firing back. The men in black must have come equipped with bulletproof suits on top of those shields, because though they staggered back at the gunshots, none of them went down.
Instead, they started moving more quickly.
They spun and jerked, avoiding the shots from the Authority soldiers, and several of them actually threw their guns to the side and yanked knives out of holsters at their waists. The blades were long, curved, and vicious, and unlike anything I’d ever seen.
The Authority soldiers wore bulletproof armor, but as the knife—sword?—wielding men charged into the fray and started spinning and slashing, expertly using their shields to avoid bullets, it became clear that the armor wasn’t designed for close combat. And especially not for blades of this kind. Their armor had weak spots, and several soldiers dropped within the span of a few seconds.
The battle instantly became more frenzied, the soldiers doubling down on getting into formation and intensifying their fire, and Jace and I pressed farther back against the wall, trying to get as far from the flying bullets as possible.
I felt his hand squeezing harder against mine, and I opened my mouth, utterly stunned by the scene playing out before us, but then closed it again when three men in black suddenly dropped right into the midst of our group.
“Get out of the trees!” the one closest to us shouted. “Out here in the open, now!”
And, without thinking, we obeyed. We rushed to the left, racing through the trees, every single one of us, as if these men had been our friends for ages and we’d just been waiting for them to show up. Then again, they had just saved our lives. And looked as if they were going to be our ticket out of here.
It wasn’t a gift any of us were going to pass up.
When we reached the end of the small copse, we found a larger group of black-clad men waiting for us.
Moments later, a number of lines were descending from the sky, and I gazed up to find an enormous airship hovering just over us, its engines completely silent.
“Holy crap,” I breathed, shocked at the size of the thing.
I pulled my mask up and off of my head, anxious to have a better view of it, and noticed my friends doing the same thing, all of our eyes staring straight up into the sky.
Then someone yanked me forward, strapped a harness around me, and jerked one of the lines down. They attached it to the harness I was now wearing, and I had about ten seconds to look around and see that everyone else was getting the same treatment before I was hauled quickly up into the air. A second later I was flying—right toward the enormous airship.
I flew up and up, and then right through the door of the aircraft, where hands grabbed me, steadied me, and undid the harness, then passed me to other hands, which ushered me to the floor.
I sank down against the wall, my eyes still on the door, and managed to get my wits together enough to count my friends as they came in. Jace. Ant, and Abe with him. Jackie. Nelson. But then they were coming too quickly for me to count them all, some of them supported by men in black, who had strapped my friends to themselves and pulled them up. When the last set had come through the doors, they were slammed shut, and then we were lifting up into the air, the engines suddenly thrumming with power.
I stared up at the men in black—all of whom wore masks—in shock.
What had just happened?
“Who are you, and what’s going on?” Jace asked from right next to me.
One of the masked men turned toward him and held up a hand in peace. “We’re your friends,” he said quietly. “For now, that’s all you need to know.”
Then, without warning, he dropped a gas bomb at his feet, and green fog rapidly surrounded us. I tried not to breathe in until I got my mask back up over my face, but it seemed it wasn’t the kind of gas you had to breathe in. Having my skin exposed was enough.
I looked at Jace, horrified, and then couldn’t see anything anymore.
37
When I woke up, I was lying in a field of the deepest green, the warmth of the sun caressing my skin. There were yellow buttercups all around me—yellow buttercups and butterflies. Overhead, I saw a bright blue sky and a flock of geese. I took a breath, and it smelled sweet—and clean. Sweet and clean like the clearing around my house smelled. Like nature always smelled.
Then there was a whiff of engine fuel, which completely ruined the effect.
I turned quickly to my right to see an airship that I recognized.
Our airship. It was lowering gently to the ground.
I frowned, trying to remember how I’d come here and what had happened, and then the memories came flooding back.
The airship. Of course. And the raid. The raid that had gone so horribly, and that we’d had to be rescued from.
I jolted upright, afraid at the sudden thought that I was here by myself, but then saw Jace directly to my left. I ran my eyes quickly over the entire field, searching, and yes, there were the others. Ant, and Abe, and Jackie, and Nelson… I didn’t recognize many of them, but everyone seemed to be here. But the men in black were gone… as well as the two strangers we’d rescued.
Our rescuers had left us all in this meadow? And evidently told Julia and Marco where to find us. It was…
“What was that?” I breathed.
Jace, who had sat up as well, shook his head, his curly dark hair a tangled mess. I could only imagine what mine looked like.
“Damned if I know,” he replied, his voice deep and rough. “But if they’re allies… we need to find out. After that stunt we just pulled, the government is going to be after us.”
“I know,” a voice suddenly said in my ear, and I jumped, then slapped a hand to my throat in confusion.
The comm. I’d switched it permanently on during the raid, and it was, surprisingly, still attached, the bud in my ear and the larger piece strapped to my neck.
“Gabby?” I said, beyond shocked. “You’re still here?”
“You think I’d actually leave?” she asked. “I was gathering information. Because you guys were knocked out, but they didn’t disable your comms. I’m not even sure they knew you were wearing them. I didn’t hear much, but I heard enough. You were saved by an organization that called themselves Little John. And it sounded to me like they’ve been watching you—watching us—for a while…”
Ready for the next part of Robin and Jace’s story?
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re by Bella Forrest
THE CHILD THIEF
The Child Thief (Book 1)
Deep Shadows (Book 2)
Thin Lines (Book 3)
THE GENDER GAME
(Action-adventure/dystopian. Completed series.)
The Gender Game (Book 1)
The Gender Secret (Book 2)
The Gender Lie (Book 3)
The Gender War (Book 4)
The Gender Fall (Book 5)
The Gender Plan (Book 6)
The Gender End (Book 7)
THE GIRL WHO DARED TO THINK
(Action-adventure/dystopian. Completed series.)
The Girl Who Dared to Think (Book 1)
The Girl Who Dared to Stand (Book 2)
The Girl Who Dared to Descend (Book 3)
The Girl Who Dared to Rise (Book 4)
The Girl Who Dared to Lead (Book 5)
The Girl Who Dared to Endure (Book 6)
The Girl Who Dared to Fight (Book 7)
HARLEY MERLIN
(New fantasy/romance/supernatural series.)
Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven (Book 1)
HOTBLOODS
(Supernatural romance)
Hotbloods (Book 1)
Coldbloods (Book 2)
Renegades (Book 3)
Venturers (Book 4)
Traitors (Book 5)
Allies (Book 6)
Invaders (Book 7)
Stargazers (Book 8)
A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES
(Supernatural romance)
Series 1: Derek & Sofia’s story
A Shade of Vampire (Book 1)
A Shade of Blood (Book 2)
A Castle of Sand (Book 3)
A Shadow of Light (Book 4)
A Blaze of Sun (Book 5)
A Gate of Night (Book 6)
A Break of Day (Book 7)
Series 2: Rose & Caleb’s story
A Shade of Novak (Book 8)
A Bond of Blood (Book 9)
A Spell of Time (Book 10)
A Chase of Prey (Book 11)
A Shade of Doubt (Book 12)
A Turn of Tides (Book 13)
A Dawn of Strength (Book 14)
A Fall of Secrets (Book 15)
An End of Night (Book 16)
Series 3: The Shade continues with a new hero…
A Wind of Change (Book 17)
A Trail of Echoes (Book 18)
A Soldier of Shadows (Book 19)
A Hero of Realms (Book 20)
A Vial of Life (Book 21)
A Fork of Paths (Book 22)
A Flight of Souls (Book 23)
A Bridge of Stars (Book 24)
Series 4: A Clan of Novaks
A Clan of Novaks (Book 25)
A World of New (Book 26)
A Web of Lies (Book 27)
A Touch of Truth (Book 28)
An Hour of Need (Book 29)
A Game of Risk (Book 30)
A Twist of Fates (Book 31)
A Day of Glory (Book 32)
Series 5: A Dawn of Guardians
A Dawn of Guardians (Book 33)
A Sword of Chance (Book 34)
A Race of Trials (Book 35)
A King of Shadow (Book 36)
An Empire of Stones (Book 37)
A Power of Old (Book 38)
A Rip of Realms (Book 39)
A Throne of Fire (Book 40)
A Tide of War (Book 41)
Series 6: A Gift of Three
A Gift of Three (Book 42)
A House of Mysteries (Book 43)
A Tangle of Hearts (Book 44)
A Meet of Tribes (Book 45)
A Ride of Peril (Book 46)
A Passage of Threats (Book 47)
A Tip of Balance (Book 48)
A Shield of Glass (Book 49)
A Clash of Storms (Book 50)
Series 7: A Call of Vampires
A Call of Vampires (Book 51)
A Valley of Darkness (Book 52)
A Hunt of Fiends (Book 53)
A Den of Tricks (Book 54)
A City of Lies (Book 55)
A League of Exiles (Book 56)
A Charge of Allies (Book 57)
A Snare of Vengeance (Book 58)
A Battle of Souls (Book 59)
Series 8: A Voyage of Founders
A Voyage of Founders (Book 60)
A Land of Perfects (Book 61)
A Citadel of Captives (Book 62)
A SHADE OF DRAGON TRILOGY
A Shade of Dragon 1
A Shade of Dragon 2
A Shade of Dragon 3
A SHADE OF KIEV TRILOGY
A Shade of Kiev 1
A Shade of Kiev 2
A Shade of Kiev 3
THE SECRET OF SPELLSHADOW MANOR
(Supernatural/Magic YA. Completed series)
The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Book 1)
The Breaker (Book 2)
The Chain (Book 3)
The Keep (Book 4)
The Test (Book 5)
The Spell (Book 6)
BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY
(Supernatural romance)
Beautiful Monster 1
Beautiful Monster 2
DETECTIVE ERIN BOND
(Adult thriller/mystery)
Lights, Camera, GONE
Write, Edit, KILL
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Bella Forrest, Deep Shadows
(Series: The Child Thief # 2)
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