Relentless Read online

  About Relentless

  Teddy needs to act fast to save Clan Ember from Link’s tyranny and protect the Underground from the City’s clutches.

  She has no choice but to trust Hunter – a stranger from outside the wall – to help her infiltrate the City Council, find her missing mother and discover the truth.

  But will the truth really set the Underground, and Teddy, free?

  Contents

  Cover

  About Relentless

  Dedication

  part/one

  one

  two

  three

  four

  five

  six

  seven

  eight

  nine

  ten

  eleven

  twelve

  thirteen

  fourteen

  fifteen

  sixteen

  seventeen

  eighteen

  nineteen

  twenty

  twenty/one

  twenty/two

  twenty/three

  twenty/four

  twenty/five

  part/two

  twenty/six

  twenty/seven

  twenty/eight

  twenty/nine

  thirty

  thirty/one

  thirty/two

  thirty/three

  thirty/four

  thirty/five

  thirty/six

  thirty/seven

  thirty/eight

  thirty/nine

  forty

  forty/one

  forty/two

  forty/three

  forty/four

  forty/five

  forty/six

  Acknowledgements

  About the author

  Also by AViVA

  Copyright page

  Dedication

  To anyone who refuses to give up on their dreams.

  part/one

  Teddy.

  Everything is worse than we thought.

  No one can go anywhere without one of Link’s goons monitoring, so I can’t meet you anymore; it will arouse too much suspicion. The Sympathisers are MIA. Your mother hasn’t been sighted in two months, not since she was last seen entering the City Council. Our insiders say the official story is that she was ‘sick’ and unable to fulfil her duties as editor. We don’t know if that’s linked to the Sympathisers’ reluctance to keep making drops but we need to get up there and speak to someone.

  Also, I mentioned in my last letter that Link is taking Outskirters. Well, now I’m pretty sure we know where they are going . . . Above ground. Link’s sending them up there – we don’t know why, but whatever he’s doing with them, we know who’ll be next once he runs out of Outskirters.

  Time to stop waiting. We need you.

  Trust yourself.

  Please.

  You need to do something.

  K x

  one

  ‘I’m not leaving till I speak with her!’

  The shout comes from the other side of my door; the voice is unfamiliar. I turn off the tap and my bare feet sink into the thick rugs in my room here in Clan Gaia. I pull the damp towel around my shoulders, rolling my tight muscles out. Three months of hard training with Michelle’s brothers has me permanently wrecked and covered in bruises, but my increased strength and new Krav Maga skills are worth it.

  The shouting continues as I pass the nightstand, piled high with letters from Kit. I duck instinctively as something smashes against the wall outside and my door flies open as Michelle, head of Clan Gaia, marches in, her golden sari billowing around her. She’s accompanied by her brothers Ricka and Carn, who are dragging a thin girl between them. She has a nasty expression plastered across her face. I look past the trio, out into the marble corridor. There’s a rag tag group of children huddled there, holding an array of homemade weapons. They’re surrounded by Michelle’s guards, who are much older and hold larger and more sinister weapons.

  Outskirters.

  ‘Teddy,’ Michelle snaps, drawing my attention back to the uninvited guest.

  ‘What the hell is this?’ I ask, gesturing to the group.

  Michelle rolls her eyes. ‘We found some urchins trying to break into my home.’ She steps closer to the girl. ‘Their little leader here is demanding to see you.’

  ‘Who is she?’ I ask.

  ‘She won’t speak, except to insist she be allowed to see you.’

  ‘So you just brought her to me?’

  ‘Why not? I thought it was a very you thing to do.’ Michelle flashes me a smile, tongue poised over one of her sharpened canines. I return the look.

  She’s right.

  I take a step closer to the girl.

  I know her. But from where?

  Michelle nods to her brothers and they put the girl down, then step back, hands on the hilts of their blades.

  She’d be a fool to test them. I rub my shoulder. I should know.

  ‘What’s your name, girl?’

  She ignores me, jutting out her chin.

  ‘Okay . . .’ I glance at Michelle. ‘You wanted to see me, so you have sixty seconds, or I’ll tell them to take you away.’

  Michelle nods, ever so slightly. Learning how to fight is just one part of the unofficial crash course in leadership I’ve been given since I escaped from Link. Three months I’ve been here, waiting and learning and biding my time. The girl looks at me fiercely, fists clenched by her sides.

  I step closer, looking down at her. She can’t be older than Michelle. ‘What do you want?’ I ask, trying to keep my voice light, but my frustration at her silence seeps into my tone. I look at Carn, and I’m about to ask him to remove her when she finally speaks.

  ‘My name is Isabel. We need to talk.’

  I wait for her to continue, but after another agonising minute of silence, it’s clear that’s all she’s going to say. She fixes me with a long look. I take in her dark blonde, almost light brown hair and her milky hazel eyes. She looks like a watered-down version of who she should be, if she wasn’t stuck, destined to be only one thing: an Outskirter.

  ‘It’s now or never, Isabel.’ I step forward, into her personal space.

  After another beat, I notice her eyes darting suspiciously towards Michelle.

  ‘Look, kid, I’ve got things to do, and I know Michelle has even less patience than me, so how about you go home. When you’re ready to talk, come back and we’ll talk.’ I turn and walk to the vanity in the corner of my room. Bowls of hair dye and bleach cover the small wooden table beside it.

  My hand hovers over the tap. I wonder how long Michelle will allow the silence to hang.

  ‘I will meet you at the east clan outskirts. Tomorrow, at one past the middle,’ says Isabel.

  ‘See you then,’ I reply, eyeing her in the mirror. I watch as she leaves, her band of clan-less child-guards traipsing behind.

  Michelle is wearing a path over the rugs with her pacing. The brightly coloured furnishings make me homesick for the simplicity of my chambers back in Ember, something I’d have once thought impossible. The elaborate red coverlet on the bed is nothing compared to the plain grey lounge I snuggled on with Jamie the night before he –

  I feel fresh tears prick at my eyes.

  Jamie.

  Just thinking about him sends my stomach roiling. I could never have imagined how it would feel to experience so much loss. Jamie’s gone, my mother is missing and now I have no home, not on the surface and not down here.

 
It feels like I’ve been living as a guest in Clan Gaia for three years, not three months. Learning how to fight and learning how the Underground Clans operate are just distractions, my attempts to create a semblance of normality in this new life, which is devoid of anything close to it. The physical exertion each day is a relief, because at night when I close my eyes, I’m so tired I don’t see the guards holding the gun up to Jamie’s temple. I don’t hear the chanting of my clan, blaming me for his death.

  I squeeze my eyes closed against the tears. I start massaging shampoo into my hair, and the heady smell of jasmine fills the room.

  ‘I can’t believe you’re doing this,’ Michelle says, finally standing still beside me. ‘You must be mad. That’s the only explanation.’

  ‘It’s only dye. Hair grows back,’ I say as I rinse out the shampoo.

  ‘Ha! You know that is not what I’m talking about – although it takes a special kind of psycho to pull that off, too.’

  I shove her playfully as I lean forward to wrap a dry towel around my hair, then walk over to the bed.

  ‘I don’t have a lot of options. Maybe I need to think outside the box in order to face Link. I know people are starting to question his authority. You’ve read Kit’s letters. People are restless, and they don’t believe I’m dead – despite what he’s told them.’

  She sits down beside me, tapping a comb against her hand. ‘May I?’

  I nod, and she removes the towel and gently begins untangling my mess of hair.

  ‘I don’t agree with the way you handled that situation because I know how dangerous the Outskirters are,’ Michelle says. ‘They are clan-less for a reason.’ She stops combing when I twist to look at her. ‘I may be more cautious than you, but I’ve still got my clan, so I’m clearly doing something right.’

  I turn away, ignoring the jab.

  ‘They were just children. They didn’t choose to leave clans; they were born into that life.’ I sigh; we’ve had this conversation before. ‘All I’m saying is that I think there’s another way. There has to be.’

  ‘Outskirters are a different kind of dangerous, Teddy. They’re not vague threats, they’re shiv-you-while-you-sleep dangerous.’

  ‘So is Link.’ I let that percolate before I continue. ‘Kit’s last letter said Link is kidnapping Outskirters and sending them above ground. I think that’s what Isabel wants to talk to me about. If he’s hurting her people, maybe she will help me. The more of us who join forces against Link, the better.’

  ‘Kit also mentioned that Sympathisers are missing. Something doesn’t sit right. How can so many people disappear?’ She stops, and I feel her shift on the bed.

  I turn around and pull my legs up beneath me. ‘Because the City Council has always removed people it considers a threat.’

  My grandfather. My best friend Lisa.

  ‘No one here has heard from my mum. I’m sure that’s tied in with the missing Sympathisers. My guess is that it’s either self-preservation, because someone’s getting too close, or –’

  ‘Or someone already got too close.’

  The truth of her words sinks into me like a lead weight. It’s the first time I’ve let myself admit that things on the surface could be that bad. That I could be too late.

  ‘I know this is all tied back to the City Council.’ My voice drops to a whisper. ‘I just don’t know how yet.’

  ‘And if you’re not right? If Kit is lying to you?’ Michelle stands and starts gathering the towels draped across the bed and floor, hanging them up. She works silently and methodically. ‘What if Isabel’s working with Link? What if your meeting tomorrow is a trap?’

  ‘Despite what happened, you know Kit’s my best, and only, source of insider information.’

  Michelle runs her tongue across one of her canines. ‘And only is the part that makes this so risky.’

  ‘This is going to affect you too, Michelle. Everything Link is doing will affect everyone down here eventually. We are all part of one giant ecosystem, despite how separate we might seem. You rely on Ember for your supplies. I know you’re growing your own food, but what about clothing, and waste disposal? We need to start working together.’

  Abruptly she starts pacing again, her silk slippers gliding across the rugs.

  ‘Carn mentioned there’s always a different runner when he collects the letters Kit sends. She’s being watched, they all are. We all are.’ I press on. ‘I have no doubt Link knows where I am. That makes me nervous, I can’t understand what he’s waiting for.’

  ‘And what? You think I don’t care?’ Michelle says, throwing her arms up. ‘Of course I care, Teddy. I care about my clan and my brothers – hell, I care about me! I just can’t believe you trust that stupid pink-haired clown.’

  Michelle and Kit hadn’t exactly hit it off on their first meeting. Or their second.

  ‘You don’t trust anyone.’

  ‘That isn’t true. I don’t trust that Outskirter, Isabel, and I don’t trust Kit. She’s been fooled by Link before. Who’s to say it hasn’t happened again?’

  I don’t answer. I don’t want Michelle to know that I’ve had similar thoughts.

  Those thoughts are exactly why I haven’t already busted my way into Clan Ember to see if Kit’s alright, to find out what’s really going on in there.

  ‘I trust you,’ she says softly. Then she rolls her eyes. ‘You’re too stupid to deceive anyone. But I don’t trust your judgement.’

  ‘Gee, thanks.’

  ‘You need to learn to trust your instincts instead of trusting everyone who comes your way.’

  ‘I don’t trust Isabel,’ I say, trying not to sound defensive. ‘But I do trust my plan, and that she thinks she needs me more than I need her.’

  ‘What plan?’ Michelle asks, narrowing her eyes.

  ‘The other day you told me I needed an army. I think I have an idea how to find one.’

  Michelle shakes her head, but I continue.

  ‘The Outskirters are desperate to belong, and no clan has given them that opportunity. Tell me, honestly, how many people have left Clan Gaia to become Outskirters since you’ve been Clan Head?’

  I wait but she just shrugs dismissively.

  ‘Exactly. So why can’t I give that to them? They’re clan-less, and I have a clan!’

  ‘You have no clan and no plan. It’s not that cut and dried. Outskirters are proud. They view our clans as the enemy.’

  ‘It sounds like you’re the one who sees them as the enemy. All I saw was fear in those kids’ eyes. They’re just children putting up a front.’ I raise an eyebrow. ‘A bit like you, really.’

  She smiles dangerously, and I smile back.

  ‘Anyway, what if they do accept my offer, with open arms and no questions?’

  ‘It’s not that easy –’ Michelle starts, but I cut her off.

  ‘It is. You said so yourself. There’s not much that desperate people won’t do, and the Outskirters are desperate. They’re desperate to get their people back and they’re desperate to belong.’

  ‘You’d know about that . . . better than I do,’ she says slowly, her eyes boring into me.

  She’s right; I am desperate.

  ‘I understand what you’re saying,’ she continues. ‘Yes, it would be great to have more people in your clan, people outside of Link’s control, but is it worth the risk? You need to know that those people are going to support you. It seems premature to be making plans when you don’t actually know what that girl wants from you. If you let Outskirters into your clan, you must trust them to be on your side. Your plan hinges on the pipedream that they’ll just agree to march under your banner.’ She shakes her head. ‘They could turn on you.’

  I want to tell Michelle that she doesn’t know everything, but I don’t. She’s not wrong; but she’s not one hundred per cent right either. I know my plan is dan
cing on a knife’s edge. It could all go horribly wrong, but if I can find a way to get them onside . . .

  ‘I’m going to ask Isabel to introduce me to their leader, then I’ll offer them something to make joining Ember worth their while.’

  Michelle sighs.

  I walk over to the vanity and toss the dirty bowls into the basin, turning on the water. Immediately it starts steaming, as it always does in Gaia. One of the perks of controlling the Underground’s electricity supply. Michelle walks towards the door.

  I turn from the steamy mirror and meet her gaze. ‘I don’t have a choice,’ I say, breaking our silence. She doesn’t reply, just stares at me in cool resignation.

  Finally, she reaches for the door, then turns one last time. ‘Aren’t you worried about how she found you here?’

  She walks out of the room without waiting for an answer, closing the door hard behind her.

  I stare at my newly dyed hair in the mirror.

  I like it.

  It is yellow and bright . . . like fire.

  Like the sun.

  two

  I place my hand on the metal doorknob and twist. The door swings open effortlessly.

  I hesitate for a moment then turn, gesturing for Isabel to walk inside. She looks at me warily. I shrug and step through, sliding the stubby key into my pocket. After a long moment Isabel joins me, closing the door behind her.

  I look around the small room. Inside, it’s the same as the meeting rooms in Clan Ember; a low ceiling with a single bulb hanging over a small round table surrounded by some metal chairs. The only difference here is the delicate cut-glass shade around the light bulb.

  Trust Michelle to make sure her meeting rooms are a little bit fancy.

  The glass shade casts geometric patterns across the walls. Isabel stares at the light, sharp angles highlighting the hollowness of her features.

  ‘Have we met before?’ I ask, not expecting a confirmation.

  ‘We didn’t speak, but yes. I guess I owe my life to you.’ She looks up at me shyly. Then it hits me.

  ‘You’re the girl in the pink dress. From the dining hall.’ She nods but doesn’t smile. I notice goosebumps rise on her arms.