Dark Horizons (The Red Sector Chronicles) Read Free Page A

to film, and I’m sure catching a soldier rough- handling a civilian won’t do us any favors in calming the protests.”
    I instantly let go of her, nodding. How could I have been so stupid?
    “Ow!” The girl rubbed her wrist, gawking at me. Her mouth dropped at least another inch when she spied Aden. “Captain Knight, too? Oh. My. God.” She turned to her cameraman. “Get this,” she hissed, then wheeled about and jammed her microphone in Aden’s face. “Word has it you’re the one who shot the e mperor. Are you scared of going before the Coun cil and possibly incurring the death p enalty?”
    I thought my blood would literally start boiling. Snatching the microphone away from her, I snarled, “He’s not the one who shot him – I did.”
    She must have turned up the volume in the microphone, because my voice boomed over the shouts and cries of the enraged crowd. The air went silent in a heartbeat, and every pair of eyes turned to gape at me.

CHAPTER 2
     
    I stood perfectly still, as if in doin g so I would disappear. In the sudden quiet , m y heartbeat sounded twice as loud in my ears.
    Not even daring to breathe, I glanced at Aden, who looked as nervous as I was.
    “She shot Nero!” someone cried, and that’s when all hell broke loose.
    “Run!” Aden grabbed me and we bolted for the barrier . I scurried after him as he parted the crowd like butter, still clutching the microphone and using it to bat away people’s hands as they tried to grab me.
    One of the soldiers was fra ntically yelling in his walkie-talkie. A s we neared , I heard Rook, Aden’s second-in-command and one of my oldest friends, yell over the radio , “Let them through!”
    Two of the soldiers stepped aside , creating an opening just wid e enough for us to dive through. Once we’d cleared, the soldiers slammed together again as the frenzied crowd pushed against them. My face flushed as I heard every obscenity under the sun directed at me, but all my guilt died the instant I laid eyes on Aden’s now significantly paled face.
    Two soldiers were already moving to help him, but I hurried past them, beating them there . “Here.” I draped his arm across my shoulder and lifted him up. “Can you walk?”
    He was panting hard. Sweat dribbled into his eyes , and he blinked several times to clear his vision. “Sloane, really, I’m all right.” He took a step and swayed.
    “Like hell you are,” I mumbled, steadying him. “Come on.”
    “This way, Sergeant McAllister,” one of the soldiers said, his voice sounding alien through the mask. He walked toward the doors, leading the way as the noise grew behind us. A few seconds later, I heard the grunt of the soldiers as the crowd pressed against the shields, fighting to get through. My face started to flame, then I glanced at Aden, at the pain in his eyes, and any shame I might have felt at shooting my own brother vanished, replaced by a dead, hollow feeling that threatened to eat out my heart.
    The escort punched in a code and the metallic doors swung open. I recognized the place immediately. It was the same lobby I had almost broken out of a few mont hs ago, when I first learned I had been turned. It looked pretty much like any other lobby, only not quite so nice, with fake potted plants nestled between some old- looking chairs and coffee tables. A clock hung on th e wall behind the main desk, it s hands telling me it was nearly 1:30 a.m .
    My shoes squeaked on the freshly swept tiled floor as we made our way to the front desk, where a mousy girl with blonde hair sat furiously working her way through a stack of papers. She also wore a white mask similar to Aden’s. When she looked up, her face instantly paled.
    I bit my lip, looking away and feeling sheepish. Last time I met her, I had held her hostage and threatened to rip her throat out with my teeth, which I never would have done, but I was desperate. I couldn’t blame her for being a little nervous.
    “Page Dr. De Lange