Description:
The first rule of
survival in the Underground: When you’re outside, keep your eyes on the
skies. Ace Harpy Hunter Piper Madden is used to danger, but the death of
her brother slams the brakes on her high-torque lifestyle and leaves
her broken and confused.
On the run from the dictating Elder Corporation, she’s eventually found in the quiet undergound city of Ichton and asked to work for the Corp on contract to quell a new and frightening Harpy threat.
Enter the discovery of horrifying Corporation secrets, Harpy attacks, and a new friendship with the strange Asher, and Piper’s days become anything but boring.
Then, a chance encounter leaves Piper privy to a dangerous secret, ad as she and Asher team up in an effort to unravel the truth, the secrets they uncover beneath the ancient walls of the dead city will spark their world into a grand-scale war.
On the run from the dictating Elder Corporation, she’s eventually found in the quiet undergound city of Ichton and asked to work for the Corp on contract to quell a new and frightening Harpy threat.
Enter the discovery of horrifying Corporation secrets, Harpy attacks, and a new friendship with the strange Asher, and Piper’s days become anything but boring.
Then, a chance encounter leaves Piper privy to a dangerous secret, ad as she and Asher team up in an effort to unravel the truth, the secrets they uncover beneath the ancient walls of the dead city will spark their world into a grand-scale war.
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When I enter the apartment a loud buzzing pervades the air. I feel around in my coat until I find a tiny, vibrating cell phone. Just like the Corp to plant a tracker on me while I was unconscious. I flip the phone open and bring it to my ear.
“Hello?” I say. I cradle the phone between my head and shoulder as I un-suit myself and kick my boots into the closet.
“Good afternoon, Piper,” a voice sounds. I recognize the gravelly tone instantly.
“Rupert,” I reply. I hear him exhale the thick smoke of his cigar, and it’s almost as if the pungent stink is permeating the phone and into my house.
“It’s good to hear your voice again,” he says dryly. I resist the urge to roll my eyes, picturing him at his desk, cigar in hand, feet raised up as he leans back in his chair.
“Well, I had a pretty good vacation,” I reply. He chuckles slightly.
“Listen, Piper. You took off after David died without even telling anybody. Half of Central thought you were dead. I’m just glad to find you alive and well. Now, tell me about your current situation. How are they treating you?”
“Fine. We’re debriefing tomorrow and running some VR modules. No weapons yet. Actually, I haven’t seen weapons on any of the other Hunters,” I muse. It’s one thing I miss about being a part of the team. My crossbow and daggers used to be like a second skin, sometimes my only companions.
“Too sentimental. What have I always told you?”
“A weapon is only a piece of metal to a sentimental warrior,” I repeat in monotone.
“Good. At least you still remember something. Just try to relax, and call me immediately if you see something that looks suspicious,” he mutters, then hangs up the phone. That’s Rupert’s trademark, deciding when any conversation is over. He took over Elder Corp a few years before I started training heavily, leaving his older brother Raul to a comfortable retirement in the clean beaches of Southern France. He’s one of the only Elder Corp presidents who actually did some time in the field, making him a valuable boss and ally, and sometimes an infuriating slave driver. I click the phone shut and toss it back in my bag, unable to shake his last words from my mind. Suspicious. What exactly is going on around here?
I let myself slide onto my couch, deciding that all of the big questions can wait until tomorrow, especially when I see a note taped onto the coffee table that reads Don’t forget about tonight. Dress cute—Shelley.
* * * *
It always starts like this. My vision starts to blur and the depth of the dirty brick walls plummets into a single plane, like I’m staring into an abyss that never ends. Pins and needles prick their way over my body and I fall backward, sinking through layers of sticky black sludge. I land with a thud and David is before me speaking urgently. His eyes are lined with confusion and anger.
“Piper, I don’t like what you’re doing. Please, for the sake of our mother and our friends, put an end to it now,” he says to me. We’re at our place in the mountains, the stars peering onto us like frail paper lanterns. I look at him seriously, my hand over my mouth, mind reeling at what he’d said.
“You don’t understand, David. I love him,” I reply, feeling tears brim my eyelids.
“… … ….” David’s lips are moving, but the noise coming out of his mouth is like raw static.
“I can’t hear you. What’s going on?” I ask. He looks like I just slapped him in the face.
“I can’t believe how selfish you are! “… … … ” He shouts, then comes the static again.
“David, I think there’s something wrong right now. I haven’t done anything!” I cry frantically, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. He brushes me off and gives me a hard stare.
“People are going to get hurt, Piper. I need you to understand that!” he shouts.
“I don’t understand, David!” I plead, “How are people going to get hurt?”
I hear more static come from his mouth, but he doesn’t seem to notice, he just keeps talking, clearly thinking he’s telling me something important. Frantically, I look around for a clue as to what is going on. When I turn back to him, David’s face starts to deteriorate and his body fades away to dust.
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