Radiant's Honor (Founders Series Book 2) Page 9

  Maddox pointed to herself. “I can do it.”

  “But how would that help you?”

  “I’ll be on the ground floor, I guess. From the sounds of it, I’ll need to wander the sewers like your father. I might have more luck than him since I can imbue the stone faster than a Glass.”

  Vic jumped and squeezed her in a hug. Maddox patted her back. “I’ll do my best to keep you from the vital ceremony.”

  “Don’t make any promises you can’t keep.” She gazed out the window, her voice distant. “The trouble with being on the ground floor of a rebellion is that you might be the first in line to get sacrificed. If I can help your group against GicCorp, maybe it will help me. But can you tell me why Nyx Order is in trouble?” Maddox slumped slightly. Vic thought she wanted to know so she wouldn’t feel out of the loop. If she was doing this much to help them, there was no reason not to share with her.

  Vic explained what had happened and how Tristan wanted them to keep turning people into mogs. “Not everyone at our Order knows.”

  “Got it.”

  “Let’s go tell Kai about the doors, and you can work with Bomrosy on the latches.”

  Vic guided her friend to the workroom. “Thank you, Mads.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’ll think of a large present you can give me later. You might have to throw it over the wall to Haven, but you’ll still owe me.”

  “We will stop this.”

  “What if it can’t be stopped?”

  The question hung in the air as they walked. Vic feared that they would need to give up magic if they wanted to stop sending vitals. If using magic caused the blight, they might all need to give in to the radiant way of life. The founders wouldn’t want to give up their comforts. This had been the way of life for centuries. They’d never had to fear turning into a mog due to their position. The founders didn’t care about anyone else who lived in their world.

  “We’re going to try to vote out the Nordics, then figure out what the relic does in Haven. Right now, we’re basing everything off a feeling. We might be wrong about Haven but not about the Nordics. We have to hope there’s a better way.”

  “Ah, hope.” Maddox grew silent as they reached Kai’s office.

  Vic knocked.

  “Come in.”

  They entered the office, and Kai sat at his desk with a stack of ledgers.

  Maddox tugged at her sleeve and whispered, “Okay, you can throw him over the wall as my present.”

  Kai looked up. He took in the two women and stood. “Who did you bring?”

  “This is my friend, Maddox Stone.”

  His brow quirked at the last name. “A founder?”

  Vic nodded. “She said she can help make the gates.” Vic explained how the doors would be seamlessly built into the sewers and barely visible. “We’ll need to remember to open them before we leave the sewers in the morning.”

  His face brightened at Maddox, and she blushed. “Really? That’s great.” He quickly shoved some papers aside. “If you’re still free, I’d love for you to meet Bomrosy and get to work. I think it would be safest for you to do this during the day with a reaper, in case a mog appears.”

  “Would you be one of the reapers?” Maddox twirled her hair and batted her eyes at him.

  Kai coughed, and Vic elbowed her.

  “Did you get something in your eye?” Vic whispered at her flirty friend.

  Kai pulled a file out of his drawer and piled in more papers. Ignoring her friend’s antics, he said, “If I didn’t have an endless pile of paperwork.”

  Maddox beamed at him, and Vic glared at her friend. Maddox’s eyes traveled between them. “Oh, are you two an item?”

  Were they? “Um, well …”

  A knock on the door interrupted Vic.

  Landon came in without waiting for Kai to answer, and Vic’s heart dropped when she saw Tristan behind him.

  “I guess he’s here for your founder meeting.” Landon glared at Vic, then left the room, slamming the door.

  “You have founder meetings, commander?” Tristan asked. He noticed Maddox.

  Maddox paled.

  “There isn’t a meeting. Maddox came to visit me,” Vic replied.

  “And she also came to visit Kai?”

  “How is that any of your business?” Vic did her best not to let her hands shake. She was starting to become a threat. Would he kill her? He’d already said it once.

  He calmly stepped to the side. “It isn’t, but you offered the information. It’s called polite conversation, Victoria.” He held out his hand to Maddox, and he kissed her proffered hand. “I’m seeing your father this afternoon. Would you like me to see you home after I’m done here?”

  From the tension in her posture, Maddox wanted to say no, but she wasn’t new to the founder game of politeness. “That would be lovely.” She plastered on a happy expression that didn’t touch her blank eyes. She moved to leave the room.

  “Wait a minute. This isn’t important enough for you to leave.” Tristan surveyed the room like he had plans to remodel it as his own.

  Kai frowned. “Then why bother coming?”

  “Sometimes, messages are better presented in person.”

  “I didn’t know the GicCorp heir was a delivery boy,” Vic muttered.

  “You know very little about being a proper heir, so it’s best if you stay quiet.” A tinge of ice laced his words.

  Vic tensed, and before she could reply, Kai spoke. “What do you want? Say it, then leave.” He folded his arms over his chest and sat back in his chair.

  Tristan sat and rested his hands on the arms of the chair. He leaned back as if he owned the piece of furniture. His ability to make any room seem as though it belonged to him was annoying. “I want to make sure you understand that the gates to the swamp entrance are not to be touched. It’s for the safety of the city. We try to minimize how many mogs can get into the sewers from the outside.” He tried to look concerned. The sincerity didn’t reach his eyes. “I know you’re struggling as an Order, but that’s no reason to put people in danger. If you do this, I’ll need to protect the city with force.”

  Kai’s face didn’t even twitch. “I think your sources have misinformed you. We’d never put the city at risk. As you know.”

  “Delightful. I’m happy to hear it.” He smoothly stood. “Maddox, dear, let’s go see your father.”

  Vic stepped forward, but Maddox shook her head behind Tristan’s back. When Tristan faced her, she put her hand on his arm. “Thank you.”

  Vic watched them leave, and when the doors closed behind them, her shoulders slumped. “I already put her at risk.” The larger her circle, the more people Vic needed to protect.

  “She knew the risks. I hope she’s still willing to help.”

  “Yes, I’m sure she is, if that’s all you care about. She has no reason to help us since we have nothing on our side.”

  “We’re building a base.”

  “Not fast enough.”

  Kai pushed himself up. “How fast do we need to be? For every person we can trust, there are twenty we can’t,” His voice rose. “We haven’t even put our plan into action, and Tristan knows about it. What does that tell you, Vic?” He slapped his hand on the desk. “GicCorp is always ahead of us. That was the entire purpose of his visit. He wants us to know that he’ll always be ahead of any plan we make. While we’re worried about feeding people, he can make actual plans to stop any founder rebellion that your father wants to have.”

  “Are you giving up already?” Vic’s squared her shoulders. The fact that he’d said her name worried her. It felt like weeks had passed since he’d called her Sparks. An ache filled her.

  “I didn’t say that. Don’t assume my meaning. But you feel it too. You said we weren’t fast enough. How can we fight a giant?” He kicked his chair, and it slid back and hit the wall.

  “You can fight it. Cut it off at the knees.” Vic’s body grew rigid.

  Kai’s expression darkened. “If you
can’t find the knees, it’s pointless.”

  “Then for blight’s sake, stab it in the toes until we piss it off enough for it to make a mistake!” Vic curled her fingers. He couldn’t give up. He was strong, and he cared about his family and the reapers. If he fell, the entire Order would fall. She hadn’t meant for her worry for her friend to drag him down. A bitter taste formed in her mouth. She’d been so careful to support him, and her few comments had derailed him. It was her fault.

  They glared at each other from across the room.

  Vic took a shaky breath. “We can continue with the plan, as long as we’re careful. We’ll keep the reapers afloat to fight the actual battles.” She pushed her doubt aside. They needed to believe they could make something work.

  “Don’t you mean me?” He crossed his arms, making his muscles bulge.

  “What?” Was he actually mad at her? This whole time, she’d tried to make his life easier. Her throat dried out as she thought of how to respond.

  “I will keep them afloat!” Kai shouted. “I’m the one who has to battle them and Tristan. The reapers don’t understand why we can’t beg GicCorp for help again. They don’t understand why our people are missing. Our district is dark at night. People are scared to leave their homes. While you’re running around with your father, the radiant, and messing about with Landon, I’m here holding Nyx together! Don’t pretend you care more about the reapers than your sister. The reapers are supposed to be your family, but you’d trade them in at the first opportunity.”

  The last words stabbed into Vic. Her voice lowered as she asked, “I can’t care about both? This is coming from the person who always puts his family first? I’ve done my best to support you while you’ve left me in the dust. Messing around with Landon?” Vic let out a sound of disbelief. “Even though he tortures me and calls me names, I put up with it so I won’t bother the commander with my petty problems. I’ve almost died twice in the sewers, and I go back for more. You may care about the reapers, but it’s obvious you don’t care about me as much as I thought.”

  Vic spun and left Kai behind in his office. She didn’t slam the door but closed it quietly. She rubbed her eyes, annoyed with how they itched.

  8

  Vic

  “All I’m saying is we keep what we earn.”

  When Vic stepped out onto the training ground, reapers surrounded Landon. His lean body was in a wide stance, and his weak chin was held high, almost like he thought he was the new commander.

  “Some of us pull in enough mogs and credits not to be rationed. Why do we have to feed everyone? Since we lost all the money from GicCorp, there’s been no return on the credits we give the Order.”

  Vic swallowed at the nodding heads around him. Landon grew bolder by the day.

  “Until the day GicCorp forgives Nyx, we can survive comfortably.”

  Vic snorted, and they all turned to face her. “Who gets to decide which reapers get the more populated mog routes?”

  Landon smirked. “Those who’ve been here the longest.”

  “Shouldn’t it be a rotation?”

  “You’ve been getting plenty of mogs, sewer girl. Don’t worry about it.” He turned back to his crowd. “Does she think she’s important enough to have a voice?”

  They all laughed with him.

  “I think she’s right,” a deep, gravelly voice said. Everyone had to lift their heads to look at Freddie. “We rotate.” He flexed his muscles. His eyes glowered down at the group of reapers, and his head turned side to side, but they didn’t meet his gaze.

  Everyone decided they needed to train. Landon glared at Freddie for all of two seconds before he too looked away.

  Vic closed the distance between them, and she scuffed her boots in the dirt. She tipped her head back to look at her teammate. “Thanks.”

  Freddie paused and spoke again. “I know you can fight your own battles, so I stayed quiet. But you can rely on us too.”

  He turned to spar with another reaper. Even though Landon was the second, everyone knew Freddie could beat him. He didn’t enjoy talking to people, so he’d declined the position. Vic loved that Freddie could shut Landon down. He would have stepped in earlier if she hadn’t stubbornly insisted that she was okay and could handle him.

  Vic picked out a training staff. Hollowness had been eating at her since she’d come down from Kai’s office. They only cared that GicCorp had all the power. She could see it in the ragtag group of people. She’d always wanted to trust others in the Order and her team, but she wanted to do everything on her own. If they could help each other, they might make it out of this alive.

  For some reason that might start with the letter F, Landon left her alone during training, but her team still got assigned to the sewers.

  Ivy tucked her hair under her hood. “Honestly, we get more mogs down there, so he is helping us get credits.” She passed Vic the peppermint oil. “We’ll stick together tonight. No need for the masked weirdos to attack you.”

  “That would be good.” Last time, they’d pinned her down. Vic shuddered.

  “Do you know when we’ll be using the entrance from our Order?” Ivy pulled back the metal cover, and their team entered the sewers first.

  No matter how many nights Vic had spent down here, the smell still overwhelmed her. The peppermint didn’t combat the sewage smell as much tonight. The heat of the day had only made the stench worse down here. She tightened her face mask. “Once the gates are in, we can focus on that tunnel, I believe.”

  “That’ll make our lives easier.”

  Unless Tristan has us arrested, Vic thought. They separated from the other reapers and hunted out their tunnel. They all ran together so Vic wouldn’t be alone for her black-clad fan club to grab her. Freddie led the way, his broad back blocking most of the view.

  “Did you talk to Kai about Landon yet?”

  Vic shook her head. There was no need to talk to Kai anymore. Her chest hurt as she ran. Deep down, she knew he’d only said those things because of the pressure he was under, but he’d still said them. The whole time she’d been supporting him, he’d felt isolated. She hadn’t shared her burdens with him, but maybe in doing so she’d unintentionally isolated him. “We aren’t on good terms.”

  “Oh?” Ivy waited, but Vic didn’t say anything more.

  They reached the end of the tunnel and drifted over into Boreus territory to see if they’d placed any bait. They found one long bone with a bit of gristle hanging off it.

  Vic picked it up. “I know we have limited cattle, but they seem to have an endless supply of bones.”

  “Only the founders would know the exact number.”

  In Verrin, only cattle that stopped producing milk made it to the butcher. Did it matter if GicCorp killed more cows for Boreus? They’d have to be paying the Dairy founders a ton of credits.

  Then they had a group taking people too. Kai had stayed with a group in town to stop people from disappearing. They hadn’t found a trace of other reapers, but still people went missing. Nyx territory was slowly becoming a ghost town. What the old Dei commander had said haunted Vic. There didn’t seem to be a jump in blight collection, even though people had gone missing. What were they doing with them?

  “Blight, is that the person who attacked you?” Ivy whispered.

  Vic followed Ivy’s finger as she pointed at a figure in the shadows. They all ducked into the tunnel. The figure ambled along, their back to the group. Vic didn’t think they’d spotted them.

  “I have no clue.” None of the masked figures stood out from each other.

  “Should we follow them?” Ivy reached back to grab her scythe from her harness, and her stance widened.

  Freddie frowned at Ivy.

  She returned his look. “Oh, come on, we should find out who’s been attacking Vic.”

  “I can follow them. You two can stay here,” Vic replied.

  They glared at her, and she raised her hands. “Fine, we can all go together. I don’t want you to
get hurt.” Vic had a feeling the masked figures were after only her.

  Ivy pointed her folded scythe at Vic. “And we don’t want you to get hurt. Trust us.”

  “Point taken.” They watched as the figure turned down another tunnel, going deeper into Boreus territory.

  “Do you think Boreus reapers attacked you?” Ivy asked.

  It was possible, but why only her? They carefully followed the figure. The sound of flowing sewage covered up their footsteps. They stayed as far behind as possible. There wasn’t much for them to hide behind, especially Freddie. The figure continued to move forward with purpose, and Vic hoped they were so focused on their destination that they didn’t turn around.

  They navigated the sewers, and Vic thought they were heading toward the center of Verrin. It was hard to tell down here. They could get out by using any manhole, so Vic wasn’t worried about getting too lost. However, she still carried mog bait with her. She wished she’d put it down when they’d been by Nyx.

  Then their luck ran out. The figure halted and turned. No side tunnel was next to them. They all stood looking at each other.

  “They aren’t running,” Ivy stated.

  The figure looked beyond the group, and Vic turned to look. More masked figures were in the tunnels behind them. “They don’t need to. We’re the ones who were being followed.” Vic swore. They’d been so focused on looking forward that no one had bothered to look back.

  “Three to one,” Freddie said, meaning they’d take on the lone masked figure in front of them instead of trying to get through the mob. He pulled out his scythe and flicked it open. “Get to a manhole.”

  Vic nodded. Without giving the group behind them any time to charge them first, they rushed the lone figure. Ivy peered up and to the sides, searching for an escape.

  The figures thundered after them. Freddie pushed past the one figure, but Vic guessed they didn’t want a fight. She didn’t dare look back to see how close the large group was.