Page 4 of The Brightest Night

“Deal.”

“Gate is on the other side of the settlement,” Gabe said.

I sidled forward, peering around the corner where four more stone buildings sat in the gloom, the orange glow of a single campfire licking at the gray walls of the structures. Three guys tended the flames, dressed in heavy winter clothes, hoods up to obscure their faces.

Gabe’s chest brushed my back, his chin resting on my head as he leaned in to take in the terrain.

“Give me a moment.” His voice vibrated through me. “Stay back.” He slipped past me, dropping into a crouch and hurrying straight toward the guys, who had their backs to us.

“Okay, that’s bold,” Drax said.

Rex chirruped and hopped up and down.

Velos moved closer to me, and I put my arm around him to share my body heat. “We’re gonna be okay.”

He nodded, teeth clenched to stop them chattering.

I scanned the other buildings, heart in my mouth, expecting more people to come striding out and spot Gabe at any moment. But the howl of the wind and the crackle and pop of the fire were the only sounds as Gabe finally reached the trio. He moved fast, disabling each one. Rex scuttled forward to join him and began pulling off the freelanders’ clothes.

It took less than a couple minutes for them to gather the supplies and re-join us.

Gabe handed out the fur-lined coats and boots. The coat covered me to mid-calf, and the boots were a size too big, but they’d do. Velos looked like he was drowning in his coat, but at least his teeth had stopped chattering.

Now to make it across the main camp to where the snowmobiles were stationed. We hurried back around the building, staying in the shadows, senses wide to any threat. The gate came into view—two thick wooden posts with a length of heavy timber lying across the top to make a door-frame structure. Wire mesh acted as a fence barrier, possibly electrified like the bars in the cell.

Another firepit blazed to the far right of the gate, bathing the snow in an angry orange glow and highlighting the stable of snowmobiles with their side carriages and stocks of supplies.

“Four freelanders at the gates. No one by the mobiles,” Drax said. “The rest must be inside their homes.”

My gaze tracked to the tower a few feet from the gate. “I bet there’s an alarm system in that tower. We need to disable it.” Rex let out a chirrup, then did a little jump before vanishing. “What the fuck?”

“He’s cloaked,” Drax said, a smile in his voice.

Well, that explained how he’d gotten to us without being spotted and why Kai had stayed back.

“He’s burning energy reserves doing that,” Gabe said.

“Probably,” Drax replied.

I couldn’t worry about that now. We’d have to fix Rex up later. Somehow.

The guys by the gate had their backs to us, standing close together, bulky shadows in their fur-lined coats and heavy boots. They didn’t notice the slight disturbance of snow behind them as Rex made his way to the tower.

My pulse quickened the longer he was gone. What if he ran out of cloaking juice and materialized? What if they sensed him?

Come on, Rex. You’ve got this.

“He’s on his way back,” Gabe said.

A gust of wind raised a flurry of snow in the air, and I squinted through the white haze, seeing no sign of the spider mech until he materialized directly in front of me, making me jump.

Fucking hell.

Chirp.

“We’re good to go,” Gabe said. “Drax and I will take down the guys at the gate. You and Rex, liberate the mobiles. Velos, go with her.”

“Steal. I’m gonna steal them.”