Hotbloods 6: Allies

His expression darkened suddenly. “I’d forgotten about the notebook.”

“I tried to keep hold of it, but Kaido’s serum temporarily took me out of action,” I replied, my tone apologetic. I knew it wasn’t entirely my fault, but it didn’t make the truth any easier. Had I not blacked out, Ezra wouldn’t have gotten his hands on it. That was hard to stomach.

“You couldn’t have done any more than you did, Riley. I’m already in awe of your bravery, taking him on like that, on your own. I only wish I could have helped you,” he said softly, leaning up to kiss me on the lips. “Anyway, it just means we need to speed up our timeline. Now, more than ever, the rebels need to be destroyed, and sooner rather than later. Who knows, maybe the notebook won’t help them—maybe it’s a false hope that they’ve all been running after.”

“That’s a comforting thought.” I smiled, though I didn’t believe a word. There was a reason everyone wanted that notebook. Someone might find success within the trials and failures of one of Queen Brisha’s best alchemists.

“So, what plan have you got in mind with Stone?” Navan asked. “Lauren gave me the vague details of your deal, but the big picture was a bit sketchy. Sorry I couldn’t be there to help.”

“I figured we could use Stone’s freezing powers to immobilize the rebel base. It’ll mean we can take the majority of them out from afar, with us standing behind Stone’s line of sight to avoid being frozen. Either that, or we ask him not to freeze us, though I’m not sure how it works on that scale—maybe there’ll be too many people for him to focus on avoiding a few individuals. So, it might be better if we just hang back,” I mused, speaking my thoughts aloud. In truth, I hadn’t ironed out every detail just yet, but I would get around to it. “We can use long-range weapons to destroy them, or round them up. Whichever is easier.”

Navan stroked my thighs reassuringly, holding my gaze. “That sounds like a good plan to get started with. I’m sure things will unfold as we get closer to combat.” He looked as concerned about Earth’s safety as I felt. After all, if Orion and the rebels caught wind of what we were planning, they could retaliate against Earth itself. Or, if Stone’s powers couldn’t stretch that far and hold all the rebels in one go, that would leave us in a precarious situation.

“You really think it’s a good idea?”

He smiled. “I think it’s the best one we’ve got. My only concern is, what do we do about the rebels’ new allies?”

“What do you mean?”

“You saw Ezra with the president of the United States. If Orion has humans working for him, that leaves us in a sticky predicament,” he explained. “We’ll have no choice but to take them out, too, even if that means involving the American government as a whole.”

“What if everyone’s in on it?” I gasped, the thought a horrifying one.

Navan pulled a doubtful face. “Knowing hierarchies the way I do, I’m fairly sure nobody has any idea that the president is in cahoots with Orion. He’ll have taken the advice of a few close confidantes, and perhaps informed some of his military personnel, but that’s a secret he’ll be keeping to himself. If it got leaked to any other country that the US president was making deals and taking meetings with alien rebels, they’d strike him down before you could even say ‘little green men.’”

“Provided Orion hasn’t already gotten to those world leaders, too. What if Orion has made the same deals with other countries, swearing them to secrecy so nobody knows other leaders are involved?” I wondered, knowing it could be a very real possibility.

Navan sighed. “That might be the case, but it’s something we’ll have to tackle when we come to it—or rather, if we come to it.”

“I mean, if they aren’t involved, we could use that to our advantage,” I said, trying to shed a flicker of hope on the ever-increasing mountain of crap we were up against.

“That’s another possibility, but we won’t know until we make our move. I think we have to resign ourselves to the fact that we’re dealing with a lot of unknowns, which won’t become any clearer for a while.”

I grimaced. “Is it wrong that I just want this to be over?”

“Hey, I second that!” Bashrik chimed in. “I’m still looking forward to my beach vacation. It’s the only thing keeping me going!”

I laughed, the tension broken. “Remind us all to join you.”

“No way. Get your own tropical islands. I want nothing but sea, sand, and solitude.”

“I’m sure Angie will be delighted to know that,” I teased.

Bashrik lifted his finger to his lips. “What she doesn’t know can’t hurt her. I may even indulge in a second vacation and invite her along.”

“Instead of daydreaming about vacations that may never happen, with girlfriends who may well have left you by then, shouldn’t you be getting us out of here?” Navan asked, laughing heartily.

Just then, Mort strode into the cockpit, his fleshy feet slapping on the floor. He yawned loudly, stretching up his arms, the skin dangling down like two huge hammocks. I stared at him suspiciously, trying to recall what had happened in the midst of the battle with Ezra. I couldn’t remember seeing him when the throng dispersed, though I’d spotted the others branching off.

“Having trouble turning the engine on, Bashy-Boy?” Mort mocked. “I imagine it’s a problem you have a lot.”

Bashrik flashed him a withering look. “I’m charting a course. I happen to know my way around things, unlike you.”

Mort gaped at him dramatically. “Was that… a comeback?”

“Get used to them,” Bashrik retorted, turning his attention back to the control panel.

“I thought we’d be rid of this place by now. I’m getting sick of seeing junk,” Mort muttered, wandering over to one of the chairs at the side of the room and plonking himself down. He proceeded to yawn again, stretching out his limbs.

“Tired, are you?” I asked coldly.

He grinned at me. “Exhausted, thanks for asking.”

“Yeah, I’m sure running away and hiding from a fight is really exhausting.”

His expression darkened. “Do you have something you want to say, sweet cheeks?”

“What happened to you out there? While the rest of us were busting our asses trying to fight Stone and Ezra, you were nowhere to be seen,” I said. All he’d done was run around, determined to keep out of harm’s way without doing anything to help.

Mort shrugged. “I’m here for one thing, and one thing only: I want to make Orion pay for what he’s done to my kind. I don’t care what happens to you or your little friends along the way, so long as I get to make that happen.”

“Just when I was starting to think you weren’t a lost cause,” I muttered, feeling weirdly betrayed. Throughout several disputes, he’d been the only one on my side, to the point where I didn’t mind having him around. But now he was proving that he was only in this for himself. His loyalty was hitched to the promise of getting revenge on Orion, nothing else. I had known that all along, but for some reason, I had wanted to see the good in Mort—for him to actually become a friend.

“Not my fault if you got ideas in your head, princess,” he replied bluntly. “I’m not risking this fabulous ass for anyone else.”

A prickle of annoyance bristled through me. “It’s not just your cowardly behavior, either. All you do is sponge off us like a leech, serving yourself, without offering any kind of help around the ship,” I said accusatorily, feeling my anger rise. “And don’t get me started on your secret-keeping. You knew more about Ezra than you let on, and you selfishly kept it all to yourself. You knew it might affect us all, and you said nothing!”