I nodded, biting my lip and watching as he quickly donned the lash harness. “Leo,” I said, and he looked at me, his eyes glittering. “Why are you inside my boyfriend?”
Grey’s lips parted, but it was Leo speaking, even with Grey’s voice. His tone was all wrong, words pronounced differently than Grey would say them. It was both fascinating and horrifying, and I was having difficulty understanding how helping Grey had led him to doing this.
“It was the only thing I could do to keep him from dying,” he said gently, his eyes pleading as more of the door gave way. “It’s temporary. The net… It was designed to heal things like this, but not on this scale. With me here, I can help guide the healing process so that he’ll recover all of his memory, his essence… what you might even call a soul.”
I swallowed hard, still unable to wrap my head around the fact that I was staring at Grey, even talking to him, but only Leo was there.
He reached up, his gesture tentative and uncertain, and wiped away the tear starting to slide down my cheek.
“I’m doing everything in my power to help him. It was all I could think to do. You’re my friend, and I know losing him would devastate you, so I had to do something. I promise I will do whatever I can to repair the damage to his cerebral cortex and restore his memories and personality in the process. But I can’t do that if we don’t get out of here. We have to move.”
His words reached me, easing some of the tumultuous emotions that were causing me to freeze, and I latched onto something, anything, that would help me avoid dealing with the fact that Grey was gone and Leo was there in his place. I could deal with that after we got out. We just had to get out, first, especially now. If Grey fell into their hands, then Leo went with him, and… I didn’t even want to deal with the rest of that scenario.
“What’s the plan?”
The lights will shut off, and I will take out the guards who enter, but there will be more. Go left down the hall. I’ve got your back. He transmitted his thoughts directly to my net, and while the sudden reversion to the violent buzz of the net was bone jarring, the sound of his words without Grey’s voice helped steady me by being familiar.
“Can you fight?” I asked, and I saw Leo’s confident smirk—so similar to Grey’s own—grow as he gripped two batons in his hands before the lights went out.
I’d say watch me, but you aren’t going to be able to see this part.
As he spoke, I heard the sound of movement as the people rushing into the room drew up short, and then I felt Grey move, a gentle breeze on my face marking his passing. Then the sounds of violence—sharp zzts and pops as blue bursts of electricity began to flash in the darkness, like bright lightning in the distant desert on a moonless night.
I heard the sounds of bodies falling, men and women alike crying out in pain or surprise. I was jostled once, someone falling back into me, and I managed to catch them before they fell completely on me, pushing them to one side.
Lights on in five, four, three, two, one… I shut my eyes right before the lights came on, giving myself a moment to adjust, and then yanked them open. Seven men and women lay on the floor in various states of unconsciousness, with Grey standing in the middle of them, panting heavily, the batons clutched loosely in his hands.
“The human body has so many limitations,” he panted, and I shot him a look as I climbed to my feet. More and more shouts sounded from the hallway. I grabbed Grey’s arm, hauling him out the door. Men and women were rushing up from both directions, but I focused on the left, following Leo’s orders.
I threw a lash up to the low ceiling and leaned into the swing, legs forward to meet the crowd. I slammed into the head man, hoping to knock them all back, but those behind him reacted quickly, stepping to one side. I saw it happen in time and held back detaching my lash, allowing the swing to carry me back and away, but someone reached out with a quick hand and grabbed my boot. I kicked out with my other foot, felt a satisfying crunch, and then detached, pulling my baton out from under my arm.
I reached out with one arm, zapping the person closest to me, and then ducked under an arm meant to grab me, stepping deeper into the crowd. I pulled up my hand and pressed the button on the pulse shield, using it at point blank range. The angle was off—it was between two people and not directed fully at one—but that had the added benefit of blowing them both sideways, away from each other and into a few of their comrades. I grinned as I realized the pulse shield could be fun in more ways than one.
Someone shoved me from behind, catching me by surprise, and I fell forward, tripping over a downed body and barely catching myself on the wall before I went completely down. I turned and ducked in time for the fist leveled at my face to sail overhead and strike the wall with a sharp crunch.
The heel of my hand was already driving toward my assailant’s knee, and I felt it hit the side of it. I followed through, shoving my arm as if I were driving my shoulder through the leg, and I felt something give as a masculine voice bellowed in agony overhead.
I dove through the gap it created and turned, expending another blast from the pulse shield. The four people still standing were flung back, their limbs flailing, and I watched as Grey barely missed getting hit by rolling under them, rising to his feet after they were past and waving for me to keep moving forward instead of waiting for him.
I turned and began to run, my arms and legs pumping. I shot a glance over my shoulder to see Grey a few feet away, and the shifting walls between patient rooms shooting up behind us to block any attempt at pursuit. I wasn’t sure, but it seemed that Leo was somehow still controlling the system even though he was outside of it.
“We’re not out of the woods yet!” Grey shouted as he sprinted past me. He rounded a corner, and I used my lashes to keep up, his speed breakneck.
He led us through the halls and to an elevator, and before I could tell him it was in lockdown—the entire Medica was, by now—a platform appeared, welcoming us. We shot up quickly, both of us panting—him more than I—and I looked at him.
“Where are we—”
He held up a finger, and I looked up in time to see the end of the tube rapidly approaching, dead-ending in a big red circle with a white slash through it. I realized then that we were moving much faster than a normal elevator should, and instinctively moved closer to him, reaching for his hand.
He was still for a moment, and then his fingers squeezed mine. We came to a quick stop—so quick that it left my heart pounding—and then Grey was pulling me forward. I followed him, and then paused when I realized we were back in the shell. Somehow, Grey had managed to override the Medica’s computers and bypass the elevator security controls.
No. Leo had done that. Grey was just unknowingly carrying him around.
I dropped his hand like it had burned me and took a step back.
“Liana?” Leo asked, his concern etched in such a hauntingly familiar way that it unnerved me. “Are you okay?”
“Gonna need a few seconds here, Leo,” I said, sucking in a deep breath in an effort to calm the squeamishness of my stomach.
There was a rustling sound, indicating he had moved, followed by, “I’m sorry, Liana. This is making you uncomfortable, isn’t it?”
“A little bit,” I admitted. It was more than a little bit, if I was honest with myself, because I couldn’t look at Leo and not see Grey. I had no idea how Grey felt—if he felt, if he was even aware. “Can Grey hear me?”
“Not at the moment,” Leo replied, his voice contrite. “And not for a while, I’m afraid.”
“H-How long do you think it will take before he gets better?” I asked.
There was a pause, long enough to cause me to turn around and meet his gaze. “I don’t know. This… No one’s ever attempted this before. The net wasn’t designed to repair this much damage, and it’s delicate work. I’m still assessing how much damage there is. It’s hard since the wound is new, but I hope that within a few weeks, you’ll start to see some of Grey’s personality retu
rn. But I… I really can’t say.”
I nodded, trying to keep the rising tide of panic at bay. A few weeks was going to be really hard with Leo inside of Grey. I was grateful to Leo, yes, because I knew in my heart that he was trying to help Grey. But that didn’t change the fact that he wasn’t Grey.
I just really wanted him to be right that Grey was going to be okay. That he was going to remember me when he woke up. That he would wake up. And that I wouldn’t lose him forever and have to see Leo in his body for the rest of his life.
How will he feel waking up and finding Leo in his body? a dark voice whispered in my mind, and I felt sickened, recalling when I had undergone Medica treatment to improve my rank. I had lost an entire week, and when I woke up, it was like waking up to the life of a stranger. I had felt violated, and that had just been with Prim, a more Tower-friendly version of myself. This was a fully realized AI—he was basically another person.
My heart shuddered at the thought, and I turned away from Leo. This wasn’t the time: Leo was trying to help Grey the only way he could. And that was the only way I could look at this if I wanted to be able to function with him for the next few weeks.
“We have to go,” I said, suddenly very tired.
“I agree. It’s only a matter of time before they…” Leo trailed off, cocking Grey’s head as he looked up. “Several people are approaching us very quickly,” he announced, spinning around. I whirled too, in time to see several dark-clad figures wearing hoods and masks appear. My mind immediately recognized them as Inquisition agents, and I charged, my hand extending.
One of them darted forward, something long and dark coming from their hand and stretching out toward me. It looked a lot like a lash, but was thicker and less flexible. It struck me across the chest, landing with a thud. I had a moment to register the crackle of electricity before I was thrown backwards, slamming into something hard and then hitting the ground.
I had blacked out, and when I woke up, it was to darkness and muffled breathing. I jerked my head around, trying to find some sort of light. Something scraped over my face. A bag was over my head.
My hands were bound behind my back, and as I jerked around, I realized that I was hanging from something. And moving. I opened my mouth to scream, and realized that whoever had attacked us had placed some sort of adhesive over my mouth, muffling the sound.
I still tried, struggling violently, attempting to break free, to get as far away as possible. The people I realized had me dangling between them held fast, though, tightening their grips.
“Who are you?” I demanded, managing to make myself heard through the bag despite the adhesive.
“Relax,” chuckled a voice that was alarmingly familiar.
“L-Lacey?” I gasped, twisting my neck back and forth, trying to pinpoint where the Lead Engineer was standing based on the sound of her husky voice.
“In the flesh. And might I congratulate you on your fast work with Devon? I mean, I knew you were going to do it, but that is some turnaround.”
“What are you doing? Where’s Le—” I caught myself just in time. “Grey? Where are you taking me?!”
“Relax, Liana. We’re just upholding our end of the deal. Now shut up, all right? We got a long way to go, and nobody can know we have you.”
Ready for the next part of Liana’s story?
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading The Girl Who Dared to Stand. I hope you enjoyed it!
The next book in the series, The Girl Who Dared to Descend, Book 3, releases November 6th, 2017.
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I’m thrilled to continue this journey with you!
See you on November 6th, back in the Tower…
Love,
Bella x
P.S. If you’re new to my books or haven’t yet read my Gender Game series, I suggest you check it out. It is where the Tower’s story began and is set in the same world as The Girl Who Dared series—the two storylines complement each other.
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Read More by Bella Forrest
THE GIRL WHO DARED TO THINK
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 GENDER GAME (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)
A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES
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)
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
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
Beautiful Monster 1
Beautiful Monster 2
DETECTIVE ERIN BOND (Adult thriller/mystery)
Lights, Camera, GONE
Write, Edit, KILL
For an updated list of Bella’s books, please visit her website: www.bellaforrest.net
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Bella Forrest, The Girl Who Dared to Stand
(Series: The Girl Who Dared # 2)
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