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Back Seven Devils
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. 1.
  4. 2.
  5. 3.
  6. 4.
  7. 5.
  8. 6.
  9. 7.
  10. 8.
  11. 9.
  12. 10.
  13. 11.
  14. 12.
  15. 13.
  16. 14.
  17. 15.
  18. 16.
  19. 17.
  20. 18.
  21. 19.
  22. 20.
  23. 21.
  24. 22.
  25. 23.
  26. 24.
  27. 25.
  28. 26.
  29. 27.
  30. 28.
  31. 29.
  32. 30.
  33. 31.
  34. 32.
  35. 33.
  36. 34.
  37. 35.
  38. 36.
  39. 37.
  40. 38.
  41. 39.
  42. 40.
  43. 41.
  44. 42.
  45. 43.
  46. 44.
  47. 45.
  48. 46.
  49. 47.
  50. 48.
  51. 49.
  52. 50.
  53. 51.
  54. 52.
  55. 53.
  56. 54.
  57. 55.
  58. 56.
  59. 57.
  60. EPILOGUE
  61. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  62. ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Ariadne shushed her. “Nothing like that. Analysis has remnants of a record about something, but it’s been almost completely wiped. The truncated entry shows that there are teeeeny tiny pockets that hold more endospores. But if those were identified and catalogued, that information was removed with the deleted log. The rest shows that this thing is extremely dense and hard. Very, very. You all saw how much the Mors struggled.”

Nyx leaned in and gave a low whistle at the results. “Could they make it into a high-density blast?”

“That’s a possibility.”

“How possible?” Eris asked into the mic.

Ariadne gave it a thought. “Welllll, if—theoretically, of course—we were discussing another battle against the Evoli, I’d say that their armor has become extremely effective against Mors weaponry. And that—theoretically—this could puncture it.” She put a finger up. “But, conversely, this brings me to my second thing: it could make some very, very pretty armor.”

“Hmm,” Eris said into the mic. “All right, put the damn rock into one of those canisters, get cleaned up, and meet us in the rec room down the hall.”

Ariadne slid the glowing rock into the lead-lined canister and sealed it up tight.

She felt the loss of that sunlit glow. It had been that beautiful.

18.

ARIADNE

Present day

“All clean.” Ariadne breezed into the mess hall. “Josephine is back in her lead home.”

“Good riddance,” Clo muttered from where she stood at the cupboards. “You’re not both sick, are you? No liquefied organs? No hemorrhaging? No bleeding from your eyes?” Her words were flippant, but underneath, Ariadne thought—hoped—that there was some genuine concern.

“I’m about to make you bleed from one of your eyes if you don’t shut up.” Nyx gestured to the plate Clo held. “What’s that?”

“The Legate’s rations,” Clo said with a wicked grin. “No vat slop for us. Not immediately, anyway. Have a seat.”

The room was filled with long, low gray tables, meant to be filled with soldiers, laughter, and jokes. Ariadne didn’t like how big the ship was. She was used to small spaces. Zelus was meant for a hundred people instead of six, one of whom was responsible for the deaths of all on board.

Ariadne tried not to think about those deaths. She knew, though, that when she closed her eyes to sleep, she’d see them there. She wished she were strong like Nyx. She wondered if the other woman dreamed of everyone she had ever killed, if that impersonal way she handled the corpses of the soldiers and the Legate was all an act.

For Ariadne, she would always remember Nyx ordering her to close her eyes and cover her ears, because some things couldn’t be unseen or unheard. But, still, Ariadne should have done more. She should have helped.