The Black Tide (Outcast 3)

He frowned. “I’m not sure I—”

“No, you wouldn’t,” I cut in. “But you will, and soon. Are you going to be at the trial?”

He hesitated, confusion flickering briefly through his expression. “Yes, because I’m a witness.”

Of course he was. Aside from that video, the clothes and the guns they’d found in my apartment, they had little other real evidence against me. It was the fake evidence and the trumped-up charges that were worrying me, though. Dream—in whatever incarnation she might be wearing—would ask for the death penalty, and if current laws followed laws of old, then evidence against me had to be pretty serious for that to even be considered.

“Thank you for coming to see me, and I would indeed appreciate the chance to freshen up should it happen. But do not expect anything more than that out of me. Ever.” I paused, and grabbed hold of the anger that had come pouring out at that last word. “I hope you have a long and fruitful life, Charles, without too many regrets.”

He frowned, but obviously recognized a dismissal when he heard one. With a sharp nod, he spun around and walked out. The hallway beyond, I noted, was as fiercely bright as this cell. There were also two guards standing opposite my door—both heavily armed—but the bigger threat was the cameras themselves. I dare not wrap a light shield around me and become shadow to escape—not in this cell and certainly not when I was taken upstairs for the trial. To do either would be to reveal myself as déchet, and that was something I refused to do. If death was declared my fate, then I’d go down fighting, but I would die in human form and without the tag of monster to follow me into the afterlife.

No matter what does happen, Bear said, we will fight by your side.

I know. And I love you both for it, but I don’t want either of you to save my life at the cost of your own. I paused, and then added, If this is to be my end, then I need you both to guide my soul back to the little ones. We cannot leave them alone.

No, they agreed. Already they are scared, even though we have told them all is well and that you will be back soon.

I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the ache that ran through my soul. But one way or another, I would soon be back to them, especially if I believed Nuri’s proclamation

And I did.

More time passed. Eventually, the door opened again and three men stepped into the room. None of them said a word, and only one of them was armed. One of the unarmed men stepped forward, placed a metal collar around my neck, and then handed the long chain to the other unarmed man. The cuffs on my wrists and ankles were then unlocked and I was gruffly told to rise.

I did so. Pain slithered down my legs, but it came more from them being locked in one position for so long rather than any lingering damage from the various wounds I’d received recently.

The man holding the end of my chain turned and walked out, forcing me to follow. One of the armed guards in the overly bright corridor preceded us; the rest followed.

We reached the end of the long, somewhat soulless corridor and went through another door that bristled with all sorts of scanning equipment. No alarms sounded, so obviously both the guns and my DNA had already been taken into account.

It was a thought that had fear stirring anew. Did they take blood samples when I was under?

Yes, Bear said. Several vials of it. They also took saliva samples.

Meaning pretending to be anything other than what I really was might now be useless. When the results of the two were combined, the presence of several déchet markers in my DNA would be revealed. With that sort of information, Dream could make a viable case for my immediate destruction.

We marched down another long corridor—this one lined with doors on either side—and then reached a sort of antechamber. It was again solid concrete and circular in shape, with a seating area on the left side and six showerheads on the right. As bathing facilities went, it was as basic as you could get, but I wasn’t about to complain. Not when I smelled so bad it was turning even my stomach.

The guard motioned me toward the nearest shower. I stepped underneath it, and a mix of heated water and air instantly began to blast me. I raised my arms, turning one way and then the other—or as much as the leash would allow—to wash the grime away. After no more than a couple of minutes, the water stopped and, once the air jets had dried the remaining droplets from my skin, I was handed some clothes—a loose pair of pants that tied at the waist, a shirt, and a pair of boots.

Once I’d dressed, I was led out into another corridor—this one shorter—and then into a waiting elevator. One of the guards scanned his RFID chip, the elevator doors closed, and we were quickly whisked upward.

We entered another antechamber, but this one bristled with light panels, cameras, mobile autosentry guns, and armed guards. Dream wasn’t taking any chances on my escaping this time.

A set of heavy, intricately carved metal doors dominated the wall directly opposite the elevator; from beyond it came a single voice, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying.

Do you want me to scout the situation in the next room? Bear said.

I hesitated. It might be better not to. If Dream senses your presence, sh

e might just raise a spell to either displace you or to stop you from interfering.

Or worse.

She’ll sense our presence anyway, Cat said. Because you’re not going in there alone.

A smile tugged at my lips before I could control it. I know, and I wasn’t about to suggest that anyway. I’m hoping all her attention will be on me, so if you keep close to the roof, it’s possible she won’t sense you.

I was escorted to the doors and then told to stop. I flexed my fingers, trying to ease some of the tension flowing through me, but that slight movement had the sentry guns on either side of the door coming to life and their barrels swinging around to face me.