Once all the prisoners were out of the dome, Kailani, Corrine, Ibrahim, and Lumi were going to follow and close the tunnel behind them with magic. That left the copies behind, absently moving around, pretending to be us—enough to let our enemies think that we were still there, quiet and obedient.
A second afterward, the charges would be detonated.
I pressed the call button on my earpiece. “We’re leaving the colosseum. I repeat, we’re leaving the colosseum.”
“Roger that,” Araquiel said. He’d finally learned our lingo, it seemed, and I couldn’t help but smile. “We’re almost done here, too.”
“Amane? Amal? Where are you?” Ridan’s voice came on.
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw him running about a hundred yards behind us, keeping the prisoners in line as they rushed through the semi-darkness and followed us. Vesta had already shared her flames with the other fae, tossing sparks back for them to catch and use, lighting up the tunnel.
“We’re fine,” Amal replied, her tone clipped. “You do what you have to do. We’ll meet you on the outside!”
“I need to know how long until you can leave the colosseum!” Ridan said. “It’s about to blow! Let me talk to Amane! Quit hogging that earpiece.”
“Ridan, proceed as planned,” Amal said firmly. “We’ll be okay!”
Rose reached Ridan through the tunnel, clearly annoyed. “Cut it out!” she hissed. “They’re big girls and smart enough to take care of themselves. Trust me when I say that Amane does not want to be, nor will she ever be, a damsel in distress.”
“Toughen up, fire dragon. We need to be a model for these people we’re saving.” Dmitri chuckled.
“Shut your piehole, you little pup!” Heath growled from behind. “You’re not saving us. We’re all saving ourselves. Up until a couple of minutes ago, there was a shock collar around your neck, too. Pipe down!”
It took a lot of effort not to laugh. Jovi, however, wasn’t as restrained. His guffaw echoed through the tunnel. In the end, however, Amal and Rose were right. There was no looking back now. We knew what role each of us played, and under no circumstances could we divert from them.
All we had to do now was run as fast as our legs could take us.
And run we did. All seven hundred or so of us.
Nathaniel
The last room on our list was one of the laboratories on the ground floor—one of the artificial womb chambers. It was a weird thing to look at, for some reason. Four new Perfects were curled up in the amniotic liquid sacks, dozens of serium-powered cables connecting them to the main monitoring and feeding system. There were a couple of Faulties present, checking the Perfects’ vitals on the computer screens and taking copious notes on their glass tablets.
This was the center of life for us, I thought as I stood in the doorway, watching the Faulties casually go about their business. Heartbeats echoed from one of the computers, steady and slow, as the bodies developed in their artificial wombs. Another two, maybe three hours, and they’d be released into this world. New souls for Ta’Zan to poison and turn against the very creatures who’d made their existence possible.
We were all hybrids. The blood of many flowed through our veins—and with it, so did their collective experience. During our brief learning sessions on Calliope, Uriel, Angelica, Deena, and I had made it our mission to learn as much about our genetic sources as possible. We understood more from the fae and the vampires, the werewolves and the dragons, the witches and the Maras, and other equally extraordinary creatures, than from anything that Ta’Zan had tried to teach us.
And, as I stood there, watching and holding the last of the larger explosive charges, I knew that I was doing the right thing. I was perpetuating violence, sure, but it was for the greater good. There was no reasoning with the likes of Ta’Zan, and certainly not with a brainwashed brother or sister of mine. We had to do this.
The clock was ticking.
The Faulties finally noticed us and stilled, their eyes wide.
“Out. Both of you,” I said. “Get as far away from this place as possible.”
“What? Why?” one of them asked.
“Get out!” I shouted. “For once in your lives, don’t let this place dictate who or what you’ll be. Leave the colosseum and never look back!”
The Faulties rushed past us and out of the laboratory, leaving the five of us with the four artificial wombs. Araquiel, still invisible, proceeded to plant the last of the small charges, designed to amplify the main one in my hand.
I saw the black, square, palm-sized bombs appear as Araquiel mounted them in the four bottom corners of the room. One had to look closely to notice them. Their discreet positioning didn’t matter anymore, though.
“How long till they all leave the dome?” Angelica asked.
“I’m not sure. Judging by the size of the colosseum, the estimated width of a sustainable tunnel and the number of prisoners… I’m thinking maybe nine, ten minutes?” Uriel replied.
“We’re running out of time,” Araquiel said.
“Um, yeah, about that…” Deena murmured, pointing in the direction of his voice.
His invisibility spell was wearing off. Slowly but surely, Araquiel was revealed. The last thing we wanted was for someone to see him in here, after he’d been declared permanently dead.
Araquiel frowned, confused by our expressions. He looked down, then sighed. “Okay. Now what?”
“You take another batch,” I said. “Quickly, before anyone comes—”
“Something wrong?” A male voice shot through from behind us. It sounded familiar, and that scared me.
I breathed in, then looked over my shoulder. I recognized the two Perfects. Raziel and Gabriel. I knew them from my memories. We’d trained together. We’d learned together. We were all part of the same batch. I couldn’t help but curse under my breath, knowing how slim the odds were that we’d actually run into someone we’d personally met before. We’d drawn the short sticks, it seemed.
They were both stunned to see us.
“Nathaniel?” Raziel said, his jaw close to hitting the floor.
My muscles were tense. My joints were stiff, all of a sudden. This wasn’t going to lead anywhere good. They remembered us, and we had no way of accounting for our absence. Unless I lied through my teeth. Arwen had taught us the basics of deception, after all.
“I saw you… Deena?” Raziel continued, his voice trailing off as he recognized Deena and the others, too. “Uriel. Angelica. Sweet fate! I saw you all pierce through the atmosphere and freeze… We didn’t think we’d ever get you back!”
