Dark Matter - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 2

Chapter Twenty Five - Dissent

Leah woke to yelling the next morning. Deep, furious yelling that sliced through the walls. She jerked upright, disoriented and groggy, and found her room dappled in the grey haze of first light. Another round of shouting came and she jumped out of bed, grabbing her gun and stumbling out the door, her hair in disarray and eyes blurry.

Soldiers were running down the corridor past her, their faces white and hard, as they banged on doors, yelling for people to wake up and pack their things.

Leah blinked after them for several moments before slipping past and darting back the way they'd come, trepidation settling into her stomach. There was only one person she knew that was capable of causing this kind of chaos, and the fact that the racket was coming from the direction of his room was not reassuring.

Sure enough, when she rounded the corner, she found Andrew and Tai in front of Jared's door.

Andrew was screaming at a guilty-looking Tai, his words lost in his anger, but Leah caught enough to understand the general gist.

Jared was gone.

Leah's blood ran cold and before she could think it through she darted forward, reaching Tai's side.

"What's happened?" Leah demanded, glancing into Jared's empty room to confirm her suspicion.

"Tai let Jared go, that's what's happened," Andrew said, his voice shaking and rumbling with warning.

That froze Leah for a moment and blood ran to her head, tinting her vision.

"You did?" Leah asked, glancing at Tai incredulously.

"Yeah." Tai grimaced, but his face was set with determination. "You were right, he wasn't going to tell us anything he didn't want to. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Well, it wasn't," Andrew snapped. "He could be sending an army of rebels down on our heads as we speak. Both of you pack your things. We're leaving."

Andrew turned to go, but Leah grabbed his arm before he could, her mind whirling.

"Wait, just think about this for a second," she rushed out. "If Jared wanted to hurt us he would've done it already. He would've killed Tai the moment he was free instead of waiting for him to raise the alarm and tell everyone what happened."

Andrew wrenched his arm out of her grasp and glared at her.

"I don't have time for any more of your theories and predictions," he snapped. "You're the reason Tai let him go in the first place, and now, because of both of your idiocy, one of the most dangerous men in the entire world is running around somewhere."

"Dad –" Tai began.

"Do not say another word!" Andrew interrupted.

"If we just wait for another –"

"No!"

Andrew rounded on Tai, his face distorted with a rage that made Leah flinch back.

"You've put our entire world in danger, Tai," Andrew said, his voice dangerously low. "This is unforgivable."

Tai's face went white and Leah's hand slipped instinctively into his, trying to offer some comfort.

"Dad, please, if we just –"

"No," Andrew snapped. "Neither you, nor Leah, are going to be making any decisions anytime soon. Have I made myself clear?"

"Perfectly," a voice drawled behind them. "Which is unfortunate, because they're the only reason I came back."