Extracted

FOURTEEN

EMBER

In a matter of minutes, we are standing outside the door to the vault. I’ve never actually been inside but I know there must be something inside that room the Hollows want badly if they’re willing to risk their lives for it. That alone means they should never get their hands on it. Every piece of Tesla’s experimental tech is behind those doors. For a moment, I’m curious what they might be after. All the weapons that work are in the armory, after all. Maybe it’s something else. At the end of the day, though, none of that really matters. What matters is that these traitors broke into my home and are stealing from my family, and they’re going to try to kill us once we open this door.

Flynn and Catherine flank the door with Kara behind them, and Ethan and I on the other side. Tactically, going through this door is a mistake. My training tells me that much. Funneling us through a doorway will only make it easier to take us out. As Catherine reaches for the door pad, I stop her.

“Wait. Why don’t Ethan and I drop in from the air vents? We can draw their fire away from the door long enough for you to come in safely.”

Flynn pauses, considering the idea. Finally, he nods.

“You have two minutes until we breach this door,” he says firmly.

“No problem.” I motion to Ethan, and we back around the corner and down the hall to the vent duct. He carefully pulls off the cover and we crawl inside. The space is tight but maneuverable. My blood is singing in my ears. I’ve never felt so on edge, so ready for a fight. Maybe it’s all the pent-up tension, or maybe I’m just having some kind of aftereffects from the branding. I flush, remembering how I let my nerves get the best of me. I made a total fool out of myself in front of everyone. I’m so tired of being the weakest link.

It only takes a few seconds before I can hear the Hollows beneath us. We slide onto our butts and hold our feet over the large square grate. Ethan uses his fingers to count us down from three. In unison we stomp down on the grate and fall into the middle of the vault. I land, roll to my feet, and lunge forward.

There’s a giant standing there, facing me. He’s not much older than me, if at all, but his sheer size makes me feel like a toddler. He has a belt of what looks like explosives hanging across his chest, and his face is caught in a moment of surprise at my appearance. The anger and fear mix inside my head like a chemical reaction and I lash out, kicking him in the knee so hard he drops to the ground. I kick him again, this time just under the chin, and send him flying backward into a metal file cabinet.

I hear Ethan behind me, but I don’t turn. A wiry, redheaded girl in black goggles comes flying at me. I grab her by the arm and spin so her back is pressed against my chest. Wrapping an arm around her neck, I squeeze until I feel her go limp and let her crumple to my feet. Ethan’s lash cracks and I turn. He’s fighting off a boy with a mechanical arm and a face that’s scarred and covered in tech.

A pair of arms grabs me from behind and lifts me off the ground.

From behind me a voice yells, “Drop her, Nobel. Now!”

I freeze. The voice tugs at something in the frayed edges of my mind.

“Why? She’s one of them,” the boy holding me yells back.

“Because—she’s my sister.”

My breath leaves my body in a rush as I collide with the floor. In that second I hear the door whoosh open. The others flood in, immediately joining the fray. My eyes are watering as I roll to my feet and look up into a familiar face.