“Why do you think that?” Eli didn’t care about Gabriele’s beliefs, but he had to keep her talking until backup arrived. He crept forward a few centimetres.

  “Of course, you wouldn’t see it. You’re in too deep. Like them, you have accepted it.”

  “What are you talking about? The Echoes?”

  “Yes. The Echoes. They live on the surface in the fresh air and sunshine while we toil away down here, slaves to their industry and ambitions. Huh. Until now, I’ve never thought to ask. Why Echoes?

  Because they’re echoes of what humans once were. Like when you shout across the canyon and hear back your voice. It is not the same voice but a copy.”

  Eli clicked his radio three times. Hurry the hell up.

  “Some say they have no soul,” Gabriele said. She smirked again and threw the knife away.

  Eli desperately wanted to dive for the child in her arms. He crept another few centimetres forwards. “Something like that.”

  “Are you religious, Watcher Miller?”

  “No.”

  “Then surely you have no soul either.”

  “What’s that got to do with anything?”

  “Humour me.” Gabriele tugged a black device out from inside her jacket. She wiggled it and held it aloft. “I’m sure you know what this is. Talk to me, Watcher, or else I press it.”

  The small rectangle in her hand sent a shiver up his spine. Only a select few had those. They controlled the gates surrounding Lincoln. One press of that button and Gabriele could allow the stone worms or giant mole rats in. Eli clicked his radio in morse code.

  Alert Falcon Legion. High priority.

  “Your soul, Watcher. Tell me.”

  “Having a soul is nothing to do with religion. It’s about spirituality,” Eli said. “I’m not religious in the sense that I don’t follow a doctrine or dogma. Whatever it’s called. But I believe in the human spirit and an essence. A soul, in other words.”

  Eli caressed the trigger of his taser. Perhaps his words would appeal to Gabriele’s humanity. In truth, he had been brought up Christian and still followed the principles.

  “Bullshit.” Gabriele stepped right to the edge of the abyss and peered over.

  “Please, Gabriele. Every citizen of Lincoln is needed. You, the child, everyone.”

  She smirked at him again and untied the sling holding the infant to her chest. Nox growled at the motion. Eli stilled the dog with a whistle and held his hands up, palms facing out.

  “I’m disappointed at you, Watcher, not recognising your own niece.” She turned the child around and Eli felt his world collapse. His heart seemed to sink into the pit of his stomach, which churned with every anxiety and fear he had ever dreamt up. Chloe cooed when she spotted him, snot bubbles blowing from her nostrils. Chloe had completed his family. The first grandchild for his parents. The fact that his brother, Lucas had fathered a child had filled him with a joy and love he hadn’t thought was possible to feel for another human being.

  “No, don’t!” was all he could mutter. Activating his comms, he said, “Child is Chloe Miller.”

  “No way,” Colter said. “I’ve lost camera footage from my drones.”

  “Get it back.”

  “Cabal are everywhere,” Ley said. “One click out.”

  The solid bedrock above their heads rumbled and vibrated.

  “Can you hear them, Watcher? My friends.” Gabriele jiggled the remote again. “Shall I release them?”

  “Gabriele! That is enough!” a distorted voice shouted from behind Eli.

  Eli spun to face the newcomer, raising his taser. Nox let out a powerful bark, warning the approaching figure to stay back. The newcomer stepped out of the shadows and held up his hands. He was dressed in black and wore a red and white Kabuki mask.

  “Stay back, citizen. Lincoln Watcher Service.” Eli flashed his badge and whistled for Nox to stay to heel. Eli clicked his comms in the get-your-arses-here signal. He just needed a bit more time.

  “Gabriele,” Kabuki said, “you’ve made your point. Give the child to the Watcher and come with me.”

  “Only the unknown can free us. You said that, Simon.”

  “I did. However, you have failed to grasp the context. Your journey is not complete. If you come with me, we can finish it together.”

  Eli had no idea who Simon was, but he let him speak. His goal was the same: save the child.

  “And you, Simon, have failed to grasp your own teachings. Nine gates we must pass through to complete our journey to salvation. The ninth is to face the unknown with that which is most sacred. Well, here I am, with the most sacred and the unknown.”

  Gabriele looked away from Eli, Simon and Nox, and stared down into the inky darkness. A breeze blew up from the void, bringing with it a mustiness laced with death.

  “The unknown is metaphorical. It means your own self-doubts, Gabriele. Not this place.”

  “You’re wrong.” Gabriele held up the remote and pressed the button before shutting her eyes.

  Nox growled and bolted forwards. Time seemed to slow down. Eli lunged, diving forwards horizontally like some comic book hero. Simon screamed something unintelligible as Nox sank his teeth into Gabriele’s pants. The thin fabric tore, leaving only strips between Nox’s jaws. Eli reached for Chloe’s romper in desperation as Gabriele and Chloe toppled backwards. His heart and mind screamed in agony as he grasped thin air. His chest smashed into the hard rock, knocking the wind out of his lungs, as Gabriele and his niece fell into the chasm, followed by his anguished scream.

  As Gabriele and Chloe dropped into the darkness, several klaxons wailed, drowning out thoughts and emotions. Eli pushed aside his grief and anger. Protecting Lincoln came first. Falcon Legion were on their way.

  Eli always got a sense of pride when he saw the soldiers in action. Highly trained, only the best of the best were accepted into the elite battalion. They came from the upper levels, dispersing from their elevator capsules as dozens of stone-eating worms, tearing into the city through the open gates, shrieked.

  “Eli. You okay?” Colter asked.

  “No, but alive. Sitrep?”

  “In the square.”

  “Form up now! Man the pumps and hoses,” Ley shouted to someone. “See you after, Miller. Don’t die on me.”

  “Same.” Eli switched off his radio and unslung his crossbow.

  All quarrels, all deals, were off. Simon sprinted back onto the bridge, gesturing at the Cabal gangsters to join him at the pump stations. Three muscular gangsters reached the first two and switched them on while others uncurled the hoses.

  “They’re not working!” one shouted. Simon shoved him away from the pump housing and fiddled with the on/off switch. He shook his head and ran to the next pump, then the next. It was the same story.

  “We do this the old way!” Simon shouted. Crossbows and bolts were tossed between the men. Eli accepted a couple of magazines and shoved them inside his combat vest.

  Nox crossed in front of Eli. He growled and bared his teeth as the stone worms smashed into the city. Hundreds of the citizens fought back. Crossbow bolts rained down a lethal fire, thumping into every part of the worms’ exposed bodies. Their segmented white flesh was so tough, the bolts hardly penetrated.

  Eli glanced left, watching a dozen worms as they shrieked along the canal towards the bridge.

  “Listen up, men,” Simon said. “This is our bridge. Not theirs. We don’t let them past. Do you understand?”

  “Sir,” they chanted back.

  “Some of you may bleed but it will not be in vain. Lincoln must live. We are free!”

  “We are free!” Eli mumbled the response.

  The worms barrelled onto the bridge with the abandon only the angriest have. Blowing out a long breath, Eli locked on to the lead worm. He waited until it opened its massive jaws and showed him the rows of flat teeth before releasing his first bolt, then another two. The three bolts lodged in the roof of the stone worm’s mouth, and it stopped, shrieking. It careened sideways and slammed into another worm. The two beasts hit the metal struts of the bridge, then tumbled down into the river below. They shrieked in agony when they hit the water.

  Eli didn’t have time to savour his victory. The bridge swarmed with the creatures. One Cabal member screamed as a worm latched onto his head. Instead of biting, the worm sucked and tugged. The man screamed once more as his skin was sucked off his body, along with most of the muscles. His skeleton, with bits of tissue, sinew and frayed nerves still attached, stood still for a second, then toppled over with a wet thunk.

  Eli swung left and used the support structure of the bridge as a shield. Nox ducked out and nipped at any creature that got too close.

  Again and again, Eli fired. Before long, he was down to his final magazine. Still the worms came, dozens of them, tearing through the streets and killing anyone they could latch on to while they avoided the gushing water being directed at them by the citizens.

  “Get the bloody gates shut!” Eli shouted into his comms.

  “They’re trying, boss. Something is jamming them,” Colter said.

  Falcon Legion joined the melee, taking up defensive positions around the city. Round after round of high velocity bolts took out the worms. At last, the onslaught began to push them back.

  “On the right!” Simon warned.

  Five beasts had slithered onto the far end of the bridge, their bodies curling through the dead humans and worms.

  “Ammo?” Simon asked.

  “Last mag,” Eli said, “and this.” Eli gestured at his Watcher-issued taser.

  The worms paused a quarter of the way across the bridge. Were they hesitating? Something had them spooked.

  An idea flashed in Eli’s mind, brought on by his visit to the elementary school earlier. Of course! The fire sprinklers.

  The beasts shrieked, cutting off further thought, and attacked as one, charging Eli, Simon and the last two Cabal members.

  Eli scored a direct hit on the nearest worm. The creature’s momentum carried it forwards, and it slammed him against a metal strut. He blinked and tried to stand. Simon, to his right, fought off the worms with precision shots. More shrieks came as more worms poured through the gates.

  It was obvious to Eli. Lincoln would repel the attack, but at a great loss.

  “The fire alarm!” Eli gestured wildly at the red metal box screwed to the bridge ten metres away.

  “You go. I’ll keep the beasts busy,” Simon said.

  Nox growled, nipping out at some worms that had latched on to one of the Cabal members.

  Eli fired the rest of his magazine at a worm, then ducked under its swinging tail and dived for the alarm. One tug of the lever and the sprinklers would soak the city in seconds. As the worm lunged, he pulled the lever.

  New klaxons wailed, followed by a downpour. The worms shrieked and instantly curled into balls, twisting themselves into knots.

  Simon got to his feet and spun. He glanced up at the showering water, rain trickling down his Kabuki mask. “Smart,” he said.

  While Simon and the remaining two Cabal members dispatched the curled-up worms with precise stabs between the head and neck segments, Nox limped over to Eli and nuzzled his hand. Eli rubbed the Alsatian’s ears as he lifted his head, enjoying the sensation of the falling water. He imagined this was what it felt like when it rained on the surface. Water falling randomly must be an amazing feeling.

  Throughout the city, the citizens were corralling the beasts back beyond the gates with powerful hoses. Some of the worms curled in balls. Some slithered away, shrieking. At length, the gates shut with a boom that reverberated around the massive cavern.

  “Ley. Colter. You copy?”

  “Five by five,” Colter said.

  “That was intense!” Ley whooped. Eli should have guessed she would enjoy it. Ley had made it to the final round in Legion admissions, only to miss out at the endurance training.

  Eli was trying to think of a reply when Simon hauled him to his feet and pressed a taser to his throat.

  Nox sounded out a warning bark before lunging at the man in the Kabuki mask. Simon viciously kicked the Alsatian and fired a taser bolt at him. Eli growled in anger and tried to wrestle Simon away, but the man was strong. Really strong.

  Simon strengthened his grip and glared. “Take him. Quickly,” he said, his voice distorted by the mask. The gangsters shoved a hood over Eli’s head.

  CHAPTER 2

  Someone once told Eli that you couldn’t drown from being waterboarded. That it was all psychological. A technique used to extract information. One just had to overcome it with the mind. He hadn’t fully understood what they meant and, in truth, didn’t believe it. Especially now.

  For a start, he wasn’t being asked any questions.

  He was bound to a flat board with his head angled down. His arms and legs were secured in tight shackles. A cloth had been placed over his face and water was being poured over his nose and mouth at irritating intervals. Sure as shit seemed like he was drowning.

  That someone had obviously never been waterboarded. Never felt like their lungs were going to explode from their chest. Or that their brain was swimming through thick mud. Their wrists and ankles rubbed raw from trying to break free.

  Idiot.

  Eli wished some people would just shut up. Unless they had something intelligent to say. Don’t speak.

  Then there was the stench. Surprisingly, it wasn’t sweat, urine or faeces. And it wasn’t coming from him. It was the sickly-sweet odour of garlic mixed with sesame oil and some other spice he couldn’t figure out. Not that it mattered. It emanated from the pores of the three assholes torturing him. Anytime one of them leaned over and poured the water, he knew it was coming because the stench became stronger.

  The three assholes were obviously enjoying themselves, laughing every time Eli coughed or gasped for air. Sadistic bastards.

  More water. At least this time it stayed over his nose and give him a chance to suck a few lungfuls of air in through his mouth. Eli focused on the sickly smell and tried to think why he had been kidnapped. In truth, it could be any of a hundred reasons. Old cases. Disgruntled citizens. People he had put in prison wanting revenge. The list was extensive.

  This round of water stopped. A hand grabbed his testicles. The three assholes squealed in delight as whoever was holding his balls squeezed, extracting a scream of agony from Eli. He gulped down the intense pain that erupted up his spine. The hand squeezed again, adding a twist for good measure.

  Eli rolled his tongue around his mouth. “At least buy me dinner first.”

  “Shut up,” one of the assholes said. A punch to his gut followed.

  More water.

  This was becoming annoying. More than annoying. Vexatious. That was the word. He had heard it in a song. Thinking of music, he used the memories of his favourite live albums to block out the intense agony. He imagined the notes being played on the guitar as the musician captured the emotion and released it to the listener. Music was magical and had been with humanity since the dawn of time.

  A door banged open in the background and his torment ceased. That could only mean someone more senior had entered. The sound of the newcomer’s precise footsteps — at least, he assumed they belonged to them — bounced off the smooth concrete and polished metal.

  “Sit him up.” The voice was disguised and sounded robotic.

  The board Eli was strapped to was spun around and raised so that he was vertical. When the cloth was removed from his face, bright lights forced him to blink until he could focus.

  A hooded figure, dressed all in black and wearing a Kabuki mask, stood over him. Dark eyes like pools of obsidian stared at Eli, neither flinching nor showing any sign of emotion.

  Simon. It all came back to Eli in that moment. The chase through Lincoln. Gabriele Dillion. His niece, Chloe. Their plunge into the abyss.

  “We were just softening him up,” one of the assholes said.

  Simon dismissed him with a hateful stare — at least, Eli thought it was one. It was a bit hard to tell, as the mask wearer had all-black eyes. Eli’s abuser rushed from the room and the other two quickly followed, shutting the door as they left. It clanged and sent an odd vibration up Eli’s legs. Maybe he was still feeling the effects of his ordeal. One thing was certain: it was another episode to add to his night-time trauma playback.

  Simon turned his attention back to Eli. The red, black, and white Kabuki mask was perfectly moulded to his face, leaving Eli no chance to catch a glimpse of the person underneath.

  “Watcher Miller.” Simon checked the straps that held Eli firmly to the board. “Quite the career you’ve had. Finished middle of your class during your education but excelled in the security services. Your team has a ninety-eight per cent success rate. Impressive.”

  Simon paused. He turned to a set of drawers, opened the top one and took out a small black square. He placed it on Eli’s naked chest, directly over the sternum.

  “I have some questions for you. Answer them to my liking and you are free to go. If you are vague or lie…”

  The black device on Eli’s chest vibrated for a second, then emitted a sharp zap of electricity. Mixed with the water, the pain seemed to be amplified tenfold. Waves of agony tore through him and set his nerve endings on fire.

  “Am I understood?” Simon said.

  All Eli could do was answer with a nod.

  “Good. Let’s begin. Why didn’t you stop Gabriele?”

  Eli’s heart sank. He had feared this line of questioning. “You were there. Surely you saw?”

  “I saw you reach for the infant.”

  “Never harm a child or through inaction let a child be harmed. We all say the oath. Every Foundation Day.”

  “Indeed. Say the oath again,” Simon urged, tapping his gloved middle finger on the device.”

  “Never harm a child or through inaction let a child be harmed,” Eli repeated, though he was unsure why.

  “Every child, Watcher. Gabriele was my child and you failed to protect her.”

  “The law refers to children, not anyone you think is a child for your sick reasons.”