Aiden Beaks's Arc

Chapter 3 of 10

Junn lay dazed on the mat behind him. Aiden knew the calm would not last. When Junn woke, he would remember the fight, then scream for the masters. They would seal the doors and trap Aiden inside with his father's drive still locked. Aiden had one chance. He had to be gone before Junn's mind cleared. He left the machines behind. He climbed down fast, past the coiled snakes, out the triangular door into open air. A towering aluminum-and-cobalt building rose across the way, gold towers on its roof, a small amusement park spinning at the top. Aiden ran toward it. Then a ragged man stepped from behind a wall of black vines threaded with red and yellow roses. The man was hunched, his back bent, his beard ashy gray. But his eyes were sharp, and something in his handsome, ruined face looked familiar. He grabbed Aiden's shoulder. "There you are," he said. "I've waited a long time for you." Aiden did not know him. But behind the man, a second boy crouched among the vines. He was small, black, with curly hair and huge brown-green eyes. He was staring at Aiden like Aiden held the key to a locked door. "You're him," the small boy said. His voice was flat, plain. "The man said if I do what you tell me, I'll be free. I ran from a place. I left two people behind. You can make it right." Aiden froze. He had never seen this boy. He had promised nothing. But the ragged man smiled and said, "My nephew helps who he chooses. Isn't that right, Aiden." Nephew. The word landed hard. This was his uncle. Aiden's father had never spoken of a brother. Yet here he stood, using Aiden's name, feeding the boy a lie. Aiden thought fast. Junn would wake soon. He needed cover, and here was a boy who would follow him anywhere. "Yes," Aiden said to the small boy. "Do exactly what I say. Stay close. We move now." The boy nodded once. "I'm Ethan," he said, and fell in beside him. But his uncle did not let go of Aiden's shoulder. The grip tightened. "Not yet," the man said, low and warm and wrong. "You'll come with me first. You have something your father sent. I've come a very long way for it." Aiden's blood went cold. His uncle knew about the drive. His uncle wanted the drive. The one man who should have been family was another hunter, closer now than any master. Behind him, the triangular house gave a shout. Junn had woken. The alarm rose thin and sharp over the vines. Aiden had escaped the trap inside. He had walked straight into a worse one. His uncle's hand closed like a lock, and Ethan waited for orders, believing Aiden could save them both.