“I’ve hit a nerve. Kiana, you’re way too caring for others. No one will miss a few of them. We have plenty more below.”
I wasn’t sure of Lamont’s reply because my thoughts reeled over Karla calling the doctor, Kiana. But I was sure there had tobe more than one person named Kiana in the upper levels. The lower levels had a number of scrubs with the same name. Plus the coincidence would be too great.
Of course the clues all added up. The doctor’s queasy expression when I named the spy during the first Force of Sheep meeting. Her pointed glance with Riley’s father. The fact she was a friend of Jacob’s from their training days. But the odds I would be the one climbing around the pipes and getting involved in the search for Gateway and I would find Riley were huge. Unless…
It wasn’t a coincidence. Domotor had sought me out, claiming my reputation as Queen of the Pipes drew his notice. It had been a set up from the start.
I had lost track of Karla and the doctor. The room remained quiet and I risked a peek. No one. I waited and soon enough Lamont entered. Her flushed face and tight grimace softened once she saw me.
“Karla and her cops are gone. How long have you’ve been awake?”
I pulled the mask from my mouth and sat. “Long enough,Kiana. Were you going to rat us all out at once or wait until I’d healed enough for Vinco to have fresh skin to gouge?” Wrapping the sheet around me, I tried to slide from the table.
She blocked my way, pushing me back. “Oh no, you don’t.”
“You can’t stop me.” I struggled to sit up.
Kiana jabbed me with a needle. “Yes, Icanstop you.”
Liquid fire coursed through my veins, erasing all desire to fight. I wilted and dropped into oblivion.
I knew I hated examination tables for a reason. When I woke from my drug-induced sleep, I was strapped to the table andunable to move. A few of the cuts on my body pulsed with pain, but otherwise I was all right. For now.
Voices murmured in the infirmary, and I wondered if I should call for help. Knowing my luck, it would be Karla and Vinco so I kept my mouth shut.
I turned my head at the sound of footsteps and was shocked by Riley’s arrival. He looked ill at ease, tugging his shirt and glancing everywhere but at me. I closed my eyes to keep from crying. How many times have I been wrong? You would think I’d cease to be surprised.
“Ella, are you all right?” he asked.
“My name is Trella. My friends…” I swallowed. Yes, I had friends, damn it. “Call me Trell. How long have you been planning this?”
“Ah… She just contacted us. Doctor Lamont said she needed us to help you understand. Understand what?” he asked.
I opened my eyes and gaped at him.
He gasped. “Is it about your eyes?”
“What’s wrong with my eyes?”
“They’re blue.”
Alarmed, I asked, “What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know!”
“He is owed an explanation, too,” Jacob said as he entered the room with Doctor…Kiana following.
“So why isn’t he strapped to a table?” Sarcasm rendered my voice sharp.
“Because he isn’t full of new stitches,” she said.
“What did you do to my eyes?” I demanded.
“I returned them to their original color to help disguise you. Riley said you might be an upper sibling. Since the reversal drops worked, you must be.”
“Why would you bother? Is it going to make you feel better when you betray us?” I asked.
“Dad, what’s going on?”
