A Dome of Blood Read online

  Raphael and I whizzed past the last handful of Perfects still standing by the northern exit, with Amane, Amal, and Isda firmly in our grip. As soon as we made it out and shot through the jungle like rebellious arrows, all hell broke loose behind us.

  Thundering booms erupted. Glass and diamond shattered. Thousands of Perfects were torn to shreds or crushed, as the entire colosseum moaned from the chain of constant explosions. The small charges had gone off first. The big ones destroyed a lot in their path. Where they broke through, flowers of amber fire and black smoke blossomed all around the colosseum.

  “I warned most of the Faulties to get to safety before we got to you,” Isda croaked, her arms wrapped around my waist. “But the message didn’t get to all of them, I think…”

  “I’m sorry, Isda,” I murmured, occasionally looking over my shoulder.

  The giant diamond structure broke down. As expected, parts of it didn’t collapse, but most of it crumbled like a sand castle. Orange blazes and clouds of black smoke burst and spread out, where the bombs hit fuel tanks and chemical supplies by the hangars. Whatever ships Ta’Zan had been rebuilding in there, they were now gone.

  Once more, his work had been destroyed.

  His home, his palace, the beacon of oppressive Perfects… it was coming down, diamond chunk by diamond chunk. And the sound of that disaster was the wind beneath my wings as Raphael and I kept flying.

  The pulse of the explosions caught up with us. We were fast, but not faster than the shockwave of such a detonation. We’d left the colosseum late…

  It smacked us all from behind. I wound up crashing through trees and shrubs. I heard Isda scream.

  Raphael grunted. I yelped from a sharp pain in my side, then rolled into the bushes. My wings broke before I could withdraw them and gather myself into a ball for a forced landing. I was thrown against something hard and cold. Maybe a rock.

  Everything went black.

  Somewhere in the background, leaves rustled. Bodies hit the ground. Bones broke. And explosions continued to tear through the colosseum, like drums beating in the distance in a solid rhythm. All I could think of was Dmitri as I faded from consciousness.

  Did he make it out?

  Elonora

  Thoroughly creeped out by the moving, walking, and breathing copies of us left upstairs, I made my way through the tunnel, accompanied by Nevis and Varga. Ahead, Vesta was forging the rest of the tunnel. I wasn’t sure if it was just her awesome fae power or whether she had help from the Hermessi without even knowing it, but I had to give the girl credit—she could practically dig a tunnel with her bare hands.

  When the explosions were set off, the ground shook. Beneath us. Around us. Above us.

  “It’s begun,” Nevis said.

  I looked back, using my True Sight to see all the way to the diamond dome tunnel end. I cackled with pure, unadulterated joy when I saw Kailani jump in, with Corrine, Ibrahim, and Lumi. They were the last four in our massive crew. In front of them, most of the founders stayed together. Farther ahead were Jax and Hansa, the nine wards, and Hunter, who was constantly glancing over his shoulder, making sure he could still see Kailani.

  Hundreds of our GASP people were in-between, while Zeriel was right behind us, keeping an eye on Vesta ahead. Sprinkled among us were the fae, who did their parts as we kept moving through the tunnel.

  Some held the tunnel together. Others passed flames around to keep every section well-lit as they advanced. Fire was provided by the dragons. A few of the air-proficient fae made sure the currents flowed from one end to another, giving us a constant supply of fresh air, which they pulled from the diamond dome. This was a team effort of extraordinary proportions, and I had to admit, I was genuinely impressed.

  I was also beaming with pride. These were the kind of people I was ready to fight for.

  Without the shock collars, they could all use their abilities and remind us of why they were a fit for the GASP alliance, in the first place. They were all ambitious and fearless, determined and resilient. They were all warriors and survivors, and it was my duty to make sure they lived through this.

  The ground quaked, over and over, making it a bit harder for us to run without tumbling down. My True Sight gave me a full view of the destruction unraveling on the surface. The diamond colosseum was collapsing, consumed by bright orange-and-black clouds of fire and destruction.

  “It’s coming down,” I shouted, for everyone to hear me.

  “Araquiel, are you there?” Rose asked, pressing the main button on her earpiece. “Araquiel! Herakles! Douma! Amane!”

  “Team, come in!” Ben joined her on the line, using his earpiece to contact the general channel. We could all hear anything on it, but no answer came through.

  Rose panted as another tremor made her lose her footing. Ben was quick to catch her by the elbow. They kept moving and trying to reach out to the others. Scanning the surface above us, I couldn’t see much—I couldn’t make out who was out there.

  People were running away from the colosseum. Most of them Faulties. I spotted some Draenir, too. But I couldn’t find our team leaders. I couldn’t see Amane or Amal… Raphael or Douma… Araquiel. Nathaniel. Uriel. Angelica or Deena. Heck, Herakles was nowhere to be found, either.

  I cursed under my breath. “I can’t see them. But it’s a mess up there.”

  “Define ‘mess,’ little sister,” Varga shot back.

  “The Faulties were definitely warned,” I replied. “Isda did her part. There are lots of them up there, running from the colosseum. But I can’t see our people anywhere. I mean, it’s hard to track them while we’re down here, running as well.”

  “Keep moving!” Rose advised us. “Keep digging. Once we reach the surface and get to a safe spot, we’ll do a tally. We can’t stop now!”

  I nodded and shifted my focus back to Vesta. The earth opened up in front of us, in shades of black and brown and fragments of marble, limestone, and a multitude of colorful crystals. I felt as though I was moving through an iridescent painting of an unreal world, something imagined by an artist’s mind.

  Shimmers of diamonds and rubies and sapphires and emeralds—all of them raw and unpolished—caught my eye, both to the left and right. Occasionally, there were threads of glowing blue serium and gorgeous obsidian. Lava fissures had to be close, most likely deeper underground. We passed by ancient tree roots stretching and swirling for hundreds of feet down, buried bones, and sheets of sweet water.

  It reminded me of our Hermessi-induced tumble through the entrails of Strava, shortly after Cassiel came after us with an army of Perfects back on Merinos. I wondered how he was taking all this.

  “By the time Ta’Zan figures out what happened, it’ll be too late,” Nevis said.

  “Most of the colosseum is coming down,” I replied, frequently checking the disaster scene that we left farther behind. “Some parts will probably collapse later. The diamond dome is still standing!”

  “It’s a separate structure,” Nevis said. “It’s only linked to the colosseum through minor fixes. The structural damage is done, though. I think it looks worse than it actually is.”

  “That’s why Amal used those red, powdered chemicals for the explosive charges,” Varga reminded us. “She said they’re mostly for show, since the Perfects can’t be permanently destroyed like this, and since the entire colosseum is pure diamond.”

  “Yeah, but the charges were well placed,” I replied. “Either way—” I went quiet for a moment, hearing an unfamiliar sound. A wail of some kind, mechanical and sharp, much like the air raid sirens the humans had on Earth. “It’s coming from the surface,” I added, then looked at Varga.

  He, too, could hear them. They were getting louder, to the point where everyone was aware of them. The sound made my skin crawl.

  “Sirens,” Varga confirmed. “They’re all around the island. The Perfects are ringing their alarms, I think.”

  “Good, because we’re about to get to the surface and hopefully see
a fae shuttle come through,” Vesta said, then raised her hands slowly.

  The earth reacted to her movements, almost as fluid as water. The tunnel began to ascend, and we gradually made our way back to the surface. It split open, eventually, in the heart of the jungle, about two miles from the colosseum.

  Varga and I immediately pulled on our hoods, masks, and goggles as we made it into a small clearing. The other vampires managed to rip leafy branches along the way, which they used to shield themselves from the afternoon sun cutting through the foliage, its beams lighting up patches of wildflowers. Vesta dropped to her knees, trying to catch her breath. She’d put in an insane amount of work. She definitely needed the break.

  I gently squeezed her shoulder, while the prisoners emerged from the tunnel and occupied the clearing. When there was no more room, they spread out into the woods but stayed close to us and the founders’ crew.

  “Well done,” I said to Vesta. “That was epic, to say the least.”

  Vesta looked at her trembling hands, turning them over once in a while. She seemed surprised by what she’d accomplished, and she gave me a weak smile. “I didn’t really feel like myself… It’s like I was in the backseat, watching the earth open up in front of me.”

  Zeriel kneeled next to her, then kissed her temple and held her close. “Maybe the Hermessi gave you a hand.”

  “See, that’s a little creepy. I’m pretty sure consent would be appropriate if they’re going to use my body like this,” Vesta grumbled.

  Taeral stepped forward and motioned for the trees in front of us to move. Like magic, the trunks moaned and creaked, but still bent under his fae influence, clearing the view for us.

  “Whoa, didn’t know you had earth manipulation abilities,” Bijarki breathed, watching in awe as the forest bent in front of us, so we could see the colosseum coming down in hot flames.

  “I didn’t know, either,” Taeral replied, his voice shaking.

  “This has to be the Hermessi’s doing,” Ben chimed in.

  “Imagine what will happen when the full moon rises and all one thousand and one fae are present on Strava,” Lumi muttered.

  Kailani scoffed. “I know I should be more excited about that, but I don’t know… My gut’s telling me we’re playing with a different kind of fire.”

  Derek and Sofia couldn’t take their eyes off the colosseum, while the rest of the founders’ crew proceeded to do a quick tally of the GASP prisoners gathered around them.

  “I wonder what Ta’Zan is doing,” Derek said. “I mean, I know this didn’t kill him. I’m just curious as to what his mindset is, right now.”

  “That aside, I sure hope he’s got Bogdana in a safe place,” Taeral grumbled, his brow furrowed and his arms crossed. “It’s bad enough we practically sacrificed her to him.”

  “He won’t kill her,” Draven replied. “Relax, young prince. I’m sure she’s okay. Once we’re in a safe place, maybe our swamp witches can help us find out how she’s doing through some kind of magic.”

  Bijarki chuckled softly. “Still, I find it endearing how attached you are to Bogdana,” he said, then gave Taeral a friendly slap on the back.

  Rose checked her earpiece again. “Douma! Amane! Herakles! Araquiel! Anyone there?”

  The comms line crackled, but Harper’s voice came through.

  “Rose, it’s Harper. Come in!”

  I was glad to hear her, but I was also a little bit disappointed. I wasn’t comfortable not knowing what our friends were doing—whether they were okay, whether they’d survived their parts of the mission.

  As if sensing my distress, Nevis discreetly took my hand and squeezed it tight, as if eager to absorb some of my emotions. Strangely enough, it did feel better.

  “Harper!” Rose replied. “Do you have eyes on Nathaniel and the others, maybe?”

  “No. The telescope tracker stopped above the general area of the colosseum,” Harper said. “Listen, we’re watching this live. When do you think is a good time to get the fae shuttle in? They’re about to miss their entry point to land in the winter-summer cluster. If they miss it, they’ll have to complete the orbit before they can come in, so as not to risk Perfects attacking it.”

  “That won’t be good, since the full moon is tomorrow night, and we need time to get to them, to secure them.” Rose sighed, rubbing the back of her neck in frustration.

  “Whoa… Check that out.” Dmitri pointed at the sky.

  As the sirens continued to wail around the island, incandescent arrows shot through the sky from multiple neighboring colosseums. Perfects. Thousands of them.

  “Arched trajectory. They’re headed for the disaster site,” Ben murmured, staring at the flashes of light.

  The sonic booms and the sirens screeching made it difficult for me to focus. I took several deep breaths, trying to keep my head in the game. We couldn’t be out here for much longer. We needed to put a few more miles between us and Ta’Zan, before they figured out that the people inside the diamond dome weren’t us.

  Looking at it now, we saw that Ta’Zan’s great palace was in shambles. Laboratories destroyed. Fuel tanks ruptured and ignited. Arches and hundreds of chambers collapsed. All his work. His research. His Creation Labs and spaceships. His creepy orchards of artificial wombs, and the learning rooms. Most of it blown to bits.

  Large chunks of diamond remained, but everything else was mostly torched. They’d rebuild, I knew that, but Ta’Zan no longer had our genetic material or Amal by his side to help him. Besides, all this destruction was, in fact, a distraction. I wondered if his four Draenir specimens had survived the blast. Unfortunately, we’d not had the time or the resources to bust them out, too.

  Judging by the thousands of Perfects converging on the colosseum now, our plan was definitely working. My resolve was stronger than ever.

  “Harper, let the fae come in,” Rose said. “It’s now or never.”

  As if automatically ignited, my True Sight took hold as I looked to the western skies. Soon, a light spark would pierce it, and I’d have to track it. It was our duty to get to the shuttle before any of the Perfects spotted it. Hopefully, they would all be too busy with Ta’Zan’s crumbling capital to notice a measly ball of light with seven hundred and forty-two fae in it.

  If we succeeded with this, we had the equivalent of nuclear weapons against this enemy. We had a real shot at saving ourselves, our families, our friends, and, most importantly, the entire universe.

  Dmitri

  “We can’t stay here,” Jovi said.

  For good reason, too. The thousands of light flashes coming toward the colosseum faded, revealing a troubling number of Perfects descending upon the island. Swarms upon swarms of angry warriors with wings and abilities superior to ours, desperate to rescue their maker and to exact revenge on those responsible for the explosions.

  I pressed the comms button on my earpiece. “Douma… Douma, are you there? Are you okay? Talk to me!”

  Still, no reply came through. We didn’t know what had happened to them. We had no idea whether they’d made it, whether Amal, Amane, Herakles, or Isda had survived. We didn’t know how many rogue Faulties and Draenir had escaped the Perfects’ claws earlier by the southwest entrance of the colosseum. There was no sign from Araquiel or Nathaniel and his crew. Douma wasn’t picking up, either.

  The worst-case scenarios began to sneak through my mind, planting seeds of poison that festered and infected my heart. I was worried sick about her. I was ready to do anything to get back to her, but, at the same time, I couldn’t leave my people behind.

  Jovi was right. We couldn’t stay here much longer. Within the next hour or so, someone, if not Ta’Zan himself, would figure out what we’d left in the diamond dome pretending to be us. Search parties were going to scour the woods and the entire damn ocean to find us. This was our golden opportunity to get our people to safety, to meet with the incoming fae, and to put the next stage of our plan in motion.

  All this needed to stop.
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br />   “Look…” Lumi breathed, pointing at the sky, somewhere to the west.

  The glimmer was quick and flashy, but it faded away to a tiny point of light, barely noticeable against the burning sunset sky. That had to be the shuttle.

  “They’re in!” Harper said through the general comms line. “Headed for Merinos, more or less.”

  Just in time, too. The sky darkened above our island as the Perfects began their descent. Taeral waved his hands, forcing the trees back up, their lush crowns stretching and covering the clearing. He’d virtually redesigned this entire patch of land, making it difficult for anyone headed toward the island to spot us.

  “Time to go,” he said.

  Rose looked at Vesta, then Ben, Taeral, and the other fae. “We need another tunnel back to base camp. It’s the safest and fastest way, since there are too many of us for Corrine, Ibrahim, Taeral, and Kailani to teleport there. On top of that, only Taeral and Kale know the location. It would be too dangerous for Corrine and Ibrahim to go blind.”

  “We can pull it off,” Ben replied. “If we all work together, like we did on our way out of the dome. Right?”

  He glanced around, pleased to see the fae nodding, neither doubtful nor unwilling. They all stepped forward and gathered around Ben, Vesta, and Taeral. Lucas and Kailyn joined them, motioning for the rest of us to step back.

  “We need about ten feet of space around us,” Kailyn said. “We’ll all drop into the tunnel. Half of us will go ahead below with Vesta to build the tunnel as we go. The other half will stay at the end of the line to keep it up for everyone to pass through.”

  Lucas nodded slowly. “We’ll let it collapse behind us, to preserve our energy, I suppose.”

  “Yes, we have to. It’s about two hundred miles to base camp,” Vesta said. “And we’ll have to keep the tunnel straight. Which means we’ll be going through the ocean level, too.”

  “So, water tunnel,” Taeral replied.

  Nevis joined them. “I’ll help.”