Page 40 of Swords of Soul and Shadow (Gate Chronicles #3)

A DOOMSDAY NOVEL

Kase

BY THE TIME KASE FOUND a copse of trees to hide the Cerl hover in and made a plan, night had fallen.

Kase’s breath puffed out in front of him, and Firstmoon hung in the sky like a lost king of old.

Its glow laced the rubble and debris and sank into the shadowed alleyways.

Oddly, Kase still hadn’t seen any bodies.

Not that he was complaining, but an attack on this scale would’ve been catastrophic.

There should have been casualties. An attack that left the city inhabited by ghosts should’ve left more than just scattered refuse.

Instead, it reminded him of Stoneset with its empty lanes and clean, crooked byways.

He turned to Stowe and whispered, “What happened to the bodies of those you lost in the Stoneset attack?”

Stowe took in the scene warily. He scratched his bearded chin. “Burned.”

“You burned them?” That was incredibly risky. If the Cerls had seen the smoke—

Stowe shook his head. “The Cerls did. We just cleaned up the rubble left behind.”

Fury rose within him…mixed with curiosity. Why go out of the way to take care of the enemy bodies? To give them a proper send-off, more or less? He didn’t know if it was a kindness or some kind of additional insult. He suspected the latter.

Stowe hesitated a moment before saying, “A few of our scouts noted that the Cerls in charge of the burnings said rites over the pyres.”

“Interesting.” Kase tugged his jacket collar higher. It was nice to be back in his old leather even if it hung a little strange with the rip in the back. He would figure out how to mend it later. “I can’t imagine how long that would’ve taken here if they did the same.”

He didn’t know if his anger bled into his words, but Hallie’s father didn’t say anything about it. He probably felt the same. Kase couldn’t allow even a little respect to enter his mind where the Cerls were concerned. Besides, the rites could’ve very well been curses.

But at least Kase didn’t have to step over bodies to climb the steps of the Jayde Center.

With only Firstmoon to light their trek, Kase kept the Cerl pistol cocked and ready in his grip. The frostbitten tingle in his fingers was a comfort; even with no electricity, this weapon would work.

The night itself was beautiful without all the electric lights.

Kase could see the stars for what they were, sparkling gems sewn into an inky tapestry.

It reminded him of the nights spent out on the Eudora mission or with Hallie on their way to Stoneset.

Both times had been times of trial and stress, but the night sky had been a constant companion through it all.

Tonight, the stars watched with bated breath. They judged him. Each sparkle condemned him, reminded him of his wrongs.

Stowe held his silence as they entered the building proper. The door sat heavy and ominous, no one there to deny or grant them entry. Kase never thought he’d wish someone was there to stand in his way.

Truthfully, Kase wasn’t the biggest fan of the government. Sure, he’d fly a hover into battle against their enemies, but it wasn’t out of blind devotion. At best, he’d been neutral about the buildings in which the government had been housed.

Until that exact moment.

The Jayde Center’s atrium had been pristine the last time Kase had graced its threshold.

The marble floors had been polished, the Jaydian emblems hung with pride.

Government workers and aides had crawled through the corridors and traversed up and down the stairs, light streaming through the glass dome, drawing rainbows on the walls.

Now it was a scene from a doomsday novel.

Moonlight stretched through the gaping hole where the glass dome had sat upon the central tower, lording the wealth and engineering prowess of its makers over the city. Now it chilled him like the sight of any corpse would, its remains only highlighting the destruction before him.

No matter how high you climbed, how strong you were, how prepared you were for the inevitable…you could still fall.

If Kase had thought the destruction at the Manor had been bad, it was nothing compared to the Jayde Center.

There might not have been bodies lying in disarray or in varying states of decay like he’d expected, but uneven bulbous brown splotches and streams now marred the once-polished marble floors.

The banners that had proudly displayed the Jaydian emblem lay shredded or burned, trampled and thrown in corners.

The ground glittered with pulverized glass, shimmering like the sneering stars outside.

Funny, how he hadn’t quite believed the city conquered until that moment. He’d seen his razed childhood home, taken in the general destruction of the city, and watched as they bombed the airfields. But to see its heart torn out and destroyed like this…

There was no more Jayde.

And he hadn’t been there. He hadn’t been home to defend it, to make sure his mother got out safely. All that was left of them was an empty Manor, a marred portrait, broken glass, and Kase’s ripped leather jacket.

Breathe. Just breathe.

He took a breath in, counting to three, and let it out in four beats. He repeated the rhythm with three successive breaths. He pressed his feet into the ground below.

He couldn’t change what had already happened. He could only move forward.

A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts. “There will be survivors. They would’ve prepared for something like this. We just have to find them.”

Kase cleared his throat. “Yes, the bunker. I’m certain there’s an entrance we can get to. They had one at the airfields, but…well…there should be one here. Probably check my father’s office.”

“Lead the way, then.”

If Stowe felt anything at all, he was hiding it well. But then, this hadn’t been his home.

Kase could barely keep his thoughts straight. All he was good for was flying hovers—not collapsed governments and tracking down survivors. Maybe he should just leave, run for Tev Rubika—or heck, even Myrrai. He could meet up with Hallie.

His heart leapt. With the Cerl hover’s speed, he could make it there in record time. He wouldn’t need to deal with the Bay of Storms or any of the other dangers they’d faced in the autumn.

“Son?”

Kase blinked away the daydream. “Right. Sorry. This way.”

He couldn’t entertain that option until he’d exhausted all possibilities to find his family. He couldn’t run again. He’d run before, and look what had happened.

He’d known that turning Eravin down and fleeing would cause issues. He’d known that his father would have to deal with the fallout. Kase just wasn’t sure if that fallout was what had collapsed Jayde’s defenses.

The corridor was so dark he couldn’t see where he was walking, the only light shining from the end of the narrow hallway. Stowe paused beside him.

“There’s light coming from the door at the end,” Stowe whispered close to Kase’s ear.

For the third time that evening, Kase had to be pulled from his thoughts. He needed to do so much, but he wanted to be anywhere else.

He took another moment to get his thoughts and breathing under control.

A great crash echoed from the corridor behind them. Both Kase and Stowe somehow caught themselves on the wall beside them. Kase slid down the wall and covered his head. Stowe followed.

As quickly as the quake came upon them, it ceased. A dust cloud met them, and Kase pulled his shirt over his mouth.

Once the dust settled, Kase peeked up. He kept his mouth and nose covered, which muffled his voice. “What was that?”

“Felt like a mine collapse, but there are no mines here, are there?” Stowe kept his own shirt over his mouth and nose and stood shakily. He looked back the way they’d come. “Guessing our way back is blocked.”

Kase swallowed the fear vying for his attention. “It might’ve been another bombing run. Close, too.”

But why were they targeting an empty city?

Unless they knew about the bunkers.

The thought chilled Kase to the core.

With his racing thoughts under control for the moment, Kase nodded to Stowe, and they continued down the corridor.

He kept the lower part of his face covered and the pistol gripped in his hand.

He headed toward the light. It was probably just an open window allowing the moonlight to seep underneath the door, but it might be a survivor.

A stupid one, if they were using a light, which would only serve as a beacon for anyone looking up at the Jayde Center—especially with the rest of the city blanketed in darkness—but one that might at least be able to give him a hint about his family’s whereabouts.

As they crept closer, Kase heard low voices coming from beyond the door; he stopped and cocked his pistol, Stowe nearly stepping on the backs of his boots.

Kase pulled his pistol closer to his body and pointed the barrel skyward, his muscles tense. He nodded at Stowe before creeping closer.

The nondescript door bore a simple plaque—some secretary’s office. His father’s was just around the corner, if he remembered correctly. It’d been a while since he’d visited him at the Jayde Center.

He didn’t press his ear to the wood, but he put it so close to the crack that he could hear the muffled argument within. The first man spoke with the elongated ‘s’ sounds of a Cerl.

Kase gripped his pistol tighter and prepared to swerve aside, aiming for his father’s office instead. If Cerl soldiers were here, he’d rather avoid a fight. He could take them, but he was more worried about Stowe.

But then another man spoke. A voice as familiar to Kase as his own.

I know where to find that pretty redhead you stumble around after, that voice had said one of the last times he’d heard it.

Fire caught in Kase’s blood. Without thinking much further than his rage, he kicked in the door. It slammed against the wall, the plaque clattering to the floor.

Both men inside looked up, hands flying to pistols at their sides. The Cerl drew his faster, aiming the barrel at Kase’s head.