Ascended Trilogy - Book 1

Chapter 1

- Mikhael -

I stand frozen in the blackness, each thump of my heart sending a surge of terror through my system. My senses scream at me to run, every muscle in my body rigid with the effort of keeping myself from bolting out of the narrow alley where I've wedged my lanky frame. The fiendish shouts of the soldiers pursuing me echo off the tight walls, making it seem as if they're everywhere at once. The ominous sounds nearly crowd me out of my hiding place, but I clutch my brother's infochip hard until the sharp edges cut into my sweaty palm, the pain coaxing me back into reason.

Barely three blinks later, a horde of B.C.A.F. soldiers flashes past my hiding place, golden armor flaring beneath the beam of the hoverglobes. They disappear onto a sidepath a dozen buildings down from my alley, and a brief thrill of triumph courses through me. I dart from the shadows and head in the opposite direction, ghosting along the walkpath that runs parallel to the Levway.

A LevTram flies past me in a white-gray blur, bringing a wind that leaves my clothes fluttering about my torso. I shove the infochip deep into my pocket and duck my head, my longish wavy hair falling into my eyes and tickling my forehead. I make no move to push it away, instead welcoming the half-disguise it offers me. A sudden yell makes me spin, and my heart plummets to the ground as I see a soldier pointing in my direction and wildly gesturing.

Where on Eryth did he come from?

My stomach leaps and twists itself into a series of knots as a flood of at least a dozen soldiers pours out of a building and joins the pointing soldier who's got his gaze locked on me. I hunch my shoulders and continue walking, straining to keep myself from taking off sprinting as fast as I can down the walkpath. Risking a glance over my shoulder, I curse as I see the whole group begin to run in my direction.

I shoot forward like a bolt of lightning, adrenaline making my legs pump faster and faster until I feel as though I'm about to lift right off the ground. The enraged cries of my hunters power me forward, even as I suck in desperate breaths that make my chest catch fire. I turn my head for a split second and realize that the soldiers are gaining ground. I curse and continue barreling forward as fast as I can.

Glowing signs and and the glint of glass blur in the corners of my vision as I stretch my legs further with every stride. I know if they catch me, it's over.

There's no way I can push my body to go any faster, and I'm beginning to tire out. The soldiers are close enough now for me to hear the pounding of their boots against the inkstone pavement. Despair sinks ice-cold claws into my insides, and I struggle forward, trying to put as much distance between myself and the Collection Hall as possible before they catch me.

I trip suddenly on a break in the walkpath and hurtle forward, my palms and knees skidding across the ground as I slide to a halt. My image in the smooth semi-reflective inkstone stares back at me with hollow eyes, defeat evident in every line of my face.

I'm going to die.

The soldiers catch up with me, surrounding me with practiced ease. Hostility radiates off them in invisible waves, and two seize me roughly and haul me to my feet. I hang limp between them, knowing it's futile to attempt escaping.