Praetorian Rising, стр. 78
Standing with him as he moved, they crept toward the greenhouse at the end of the hall. Without questioning her instinct, Camille abruptly halted, her nose twitching with the incoming scent. "Theo," she said, her heart hammering in her chest. "Do you smell that?"
"I do," he whispered as they reached the cracked open door of the greenhouse. "Gunpowder."
Their time was running out; the Royal Air Fleet had arrived.
Chapter Fifteen
The Traitor
Theo didn't just smell gunpowder; there was something else. It was sweet and difficult to identify, but as his mind focused on the varying notes his nose picked up, he couldn't seem to concentrate on anything past the horrid stench of the Chimera. Rotten and musky, like a dead fish after months of sunbathing: there was nothing else like it.
They moved as one unit down the empty hall, their steps silent across the stone.
As Theo opened his mouth to ask Camille if she smelled it also, a rush of warmth whooshed down the hall toward them, rumbling the ground with a jolting shake. The fleet had arrived, and, as Theo expected, Romeo wouldn't hold up for long beneath the pressure of constant cannon fire. They would need to find Acher and escape quickly before the crumbling weight of the compound crushed their only exit.
Neeko remained perched just outside the greenhouse waiting for Theo and Camille. His sleek form was a mere silhouette in the bright shaft of moonlight emitting from the cracked door. The greenhouse was a vast cave used initially for access to the underground river, but in the past eight years a man-made dam was built to enable a slower flow of water and promote the growth of crops. Several angled mirrors kept the room lit naturally, sending a tinge of brilliant light through the dappled layers of trees, vegetable crops, and wheat.
Acher was there, Theo could smell his presence through the open door, but he wasn't sure yet where he was. The greenhouse wasn't small by any means, and it left many locations to hide amongst the growing crops. Sounds of battle filtering through the open airways at the top of the cave were unmistakable: they were running out of time.
Theo readied himself and Camille before nudging the door open with the toe of his boot. The heavy metal door swung silently on its hinges, revealing a quaint picture of blue-tinted trees and silver strands of wheat swaying in the swirling breeze. A moonlit cobbled path led them from one garden block to the next, with wheat rows laid out in perfect lines to their right and vegetable patches to their left almost naked by comparison, the treasures having been picked during the harvest several weeks prior.
Heavy sounds of artillery and cannon fire boomed from above. In the secluded confinement of the greenhouse, Theo almost felt safe—or would have if not for the red glowing eyes of Chimera lurking near the river edge.
"I know you're down here, Acher! Come out and surrender and I won't be forced to harm you," Theo bellowed out, no longer caring about a surprise attack. They needed to grab Acher and head up top before the entire compound went up in flames. He didn't have time to be delicate or sly. Right now, he just wanted to be above ground, and he wasn't going to let Acher get in his way of escaping. It was tempting to forgo the plan entirely and just run for cover, but Theo wasn't one to back down or turn tail, even if the task at hand seemed utterly ludicrous. He would give the traitor one chance to surrender, and if he didn't come quietly, he'd move on to plan two: punch said traitor in the face and run like hell out of Romeo Village. The idea of hearing the pop and crunch of cartilage under his knuckles as he connected his fist to Acher's face made him smile, filling his entire body with a calm sense of determination.
The Lieutenant materialized from behind a tree, his jacket removed, and his sleeves yanked up haphazardly past his elbows. His hands were covered in dirt, his knees equally as dirty. To Theo's surprise, he appeared unperturbed and slightly drunk with self-imposed importance. His chin snapped upward, giving his head a slightly backward tilt, forcing him to glare down his nose at them as they moved toward him.
"Didn't realize that you were such an avid gardener," Theo said with an impish grin.
Acher snarled in response, his face slick with sweat. "Where is it? I know it's down here; tell me where it is!"
Theo sidestepped in front of Camille, his heart blasting out a rapid pace against the confines of his chest as four Chimera assembled behind Acher like trained dogs. It was something he'd never seen before; the beasts had always been wild and unteachable. It struck him not only as strange but intriguing—in a very worrisome way.
"I don't think I can tell you," Theo replied in a smooth, confident tone. He'd never liked Acher, but it was possible he could be wrong about the man. Despite Theo's ability to read people, he tried to not assume personality defects until he saw them in action. Acher was a seeker of power and glory; nothing more.
A fire raged above them, Theo could smell the sharpness of pine and singed wood wafting down the open airway with an alarming heat. The plan of securing Acher and getting out of the compound alive was becoming less of a viable outcome as the seconds ticked by.
"Figures Vesyon would tuck her away down here, with her watch dog no less," Acher said, taking another step toward them, his eyes darting back and forth around them as though the plant he was desperately seeking would appear suddenly. Neeko lurched out in front of Camille, hissing and spitting wildly