Chapter 7B
“What about Marissa?” Ariel cringed at the question.
“What about her?” asked Cassandra, lines forming between her brows.
“Nothing.”
“No, tell me. I need to know what’s going on in your head so we can deal with it together.”
“You don’t think Marissa is working with Manny and Demetrius against me?”
“Of course not,” Cassandra said sharply, taking a right at the fork and out of the tunnel into daylight. “Marissa has been with you since day one. She’s invested so much in your Gladius career. There’s no way she’d betray you.”
Ariel’s eyes shimmered. “You’re right. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
“Whoever’s truly responsible is obviously trying to get to you. Don’t let them.” Cassandra gradually slowed the cruiser as they entered Qerata Street. The Agan Apartment complex loomed ahead, and Cassandra pulled into the lot.
“I won’t,” Ariel said, staring at nothing in particular. She wouldn’t lose control or fall into the trap being set for her. Still, she hadn’t been the same since that game. She couldn’t wait to fight her brother again.
Ariel stepped out of the cruiser, scanning the aged street littered with curious pedestrians. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been here. The air carried a strong mix of residual garbage and the disinfectant used by street sweepers. Though it was only two o’clock, the skyscrapers around them cast the street in an evening hue.
“Here,” said Cassandra, rounding the cruiser to hand Ariel a sidearm.
“But I’m not cleared to use a gun.”
Cassandra snickered. “First, it’s not lethal. Second, this is to your advantage. Trust me, you’ll be better off. We don’t know what we’ll encounter, and this doubles our chances of surviving if we face the unexpected.”
“Then should I even be here? Sounds like a Blue assignment,” Ariel remarked, referencing the color-coded danger levels of certain missions, from Violet up to Red.
“You’ll be fine,” Cassandra said, priming her own gun. “I requested you. You already know how to prime a gun; now you’ll learn to use one. It’s simple—aim and fire.” She shrugged and laughed. “It’s that simple.”
Cassandra led the way, pushing open the double doors of the apartment complex. After asking the front desk for the floor and apartment number, they took the elevator to the tenth floor, heading toward the door of the man everyone had been complaining about.
“We’ll get back to the Marissa thing,” Cassandra said. “Don’t think we’ve cleared that up yet.” She alerted Virtus Guard HQ through her com link.
Ariel nodded uncomfortably, swallowing the knot in her throat.
“Virtus Guard,” Cassandra yelled, rapping on the door. “Open up.”
A man, roughly in his late twenties, appeared, scratching his scraggly beard. Ariel tensed when a low, guttural screech sounded from inside.
“How may I help you?” the man asked, peeking out from behind the door.
Cassandra continued, “We’ve received complaints about loud noise, possibly a pet, disturbing the neighbors.”
The screech came again, slower this time, like a purr, a rumbling.
“What do you have back there, a feline?” Ariel asked, folding her arms.
The man twitched, chuckling nervously. “I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong apartment.” He giggled and tried to close the door.
“We have a warrant to search the premises.”
His laugh evaporated, his smile dropping into a straight line as he nodded.
“Holy—” Ariel didn’t get to finish her sentence as the winged creature screeched and flapped into view. It had a neck as loose as a vulture’s, with bloodshot eyes scanning the room.
“Knock it off, Eiti,” the man said to the toothless beast.
Ariel hid behind Cassandra, whose hands shook as well. “God almighty,” Ariel muttered. “What’s wrong with people?”
“She won’t bite,” said the man. “She’s friendly.”
“Dude,” Cassandra said, shaking. “That’s a dangerous animal.”
“Hey, don’t talk about Eiti like that.”
“Oh my God,” Ariel whispered, clinging to Cassandra. “You’ve got some serious problems.”
“She’s a baby. You all need to chill. Her teeth haven’t even started growing yet.”
Ariel powered up her gun, startling Eiti, who hopped to the ceiling.
“Mr.…?” Cassandra began.
“Redli,” the man said, facing the agitated creature.
“Mr. Redli, Zitrexes don’t show their teeth even when they’re fully grown. They only bring them out when it’s time to feed.” That’s when Eiti twisted her neck, gazing at them, and bared her fangs and incisors all at once.
“Ariel, take the shot!” Cassandra ordered, shutting the door behind them.
Ariel’s hands trembled, but she managed to pull the trigger four times on the Zitrex. Cassandra shot her a look of approval.
“You’re under arrest,” Cassandra announced, tightening the cuffs around Redli’s wrists.
Ariel watched the creature drop to the ground, tranquilized. She felt oddly like this beast—weak, overpowered. It looked up at her helplessly. She still felt helpless. It was Demetrius. She wanted to puke but held herself back. Three more days.
“You coming?” Cassandra asked, shoving Redli out the door.
The difference between Ariel and this beast was that Ariel could get back up. She could fight back. She could win again. She’d have to fight the right way—find patterns in Demetrius’s moves. As much as she wanted to attribute his skills to a Vex enhancement, she’d been warned of the consequences.
“Yeah, I’m coming,” Ariel said as she followed them out.
After calling animal control, they drove the man to the nearest Guard station, where senior officers took custody of him. It was creepy encounters like this that Ariel wanted to avoid. As a student aiming to join the Virtus Force, not the Guard, Ariel didn’t want to spend too much time on what would happen to Mr. Redli.
Cassandra told her that if she was needed in court, they would request her, but as a future member of the Virtus Force, Ariel knew she’d soon be dealing with bigger challenges—ones that involved more than just unsettling creatures.