quick about me being a little girl.
Definitely back to being a Citadel again.
“I’m seventeen,” I say, trying not to sound defensive or pouty. “How old are you?”
“Eighteen. Technically an adult. And last time I checked, you had to be an adult to be in the military, especially if you’re guarding something like that,” he says as he points to the huge shimmering green pool in the sky. “So again, where are we?”
“We’re in Washington, like I said.” I have to move things along now. They aren’t going to give me forever to get this guy to trust me.
“Yeah, but where exactly in Washington?” he asks—not in a cocky way, but in a way that says he’s not going to be distracted from getting an answer.
“Battle Ground,” I say.
He jerks his head up and takes a slight step away from me.
“I mean, this isn’t a battle ground—at least, not always …” I bite my lip. I’ve never done anything like this before—gone in alone and made first contact without my team. Boone is better at this kind of thing. Way better. “The name of the town we’re in is Battle Ground, though actually, technically, we’re at Camp Bonneville Military Base.”
“And why would a seventeen-year-old girl be in charge of a cosmic anomaly?” He cocks his head, almost daring me to answer.
“I’m not so into the tone you’re using when you say the word girl—just gonna put that out there,” I snap back, and he gives me a half smile.
“Sorry. Why would someone so young be guarding something so … I don’t know, what’s a synonym for terrifying, but, like, way, way more?”
Now it’s my turn to give a hint of a smile. “Have you ever heard of the Multiverse Theory?” I ask tentatively.
“Ryn!” Applebaum barks in my ear. “Enough. You do your job and let the experts do theirs for the intake. You have sixty seconds,” he warns.
“Yes, the Multiverse, heard of it, go on,” he says warily.
“Okay, so that thing is a portal to different versions of Earth. Some versions are similar to yours and mine and some are different?” It’s weird that I’m framing this as a question. Am I trying to be cute? I am not cute. Applebaum is yelling objections through my earpiece and it’s throwing me off. I need to take charge here. “I have a very particular skill set to deal with the ummm … more dangerous variations of other Earths.” I do not take charge with this statement. I sound ridiculous.
“A particular skill set?” he counters immediately with sarcasm. “Like Liam Neeson?”
“Well, no, but yes, I mean, that’s great. You have a movie star Liam Neeson on your version of Earth and so do we. We’re getting somewhere!” He frowns. I am screwing this up royally.
“Thirty seconds, Ryn,” Applebaum growls at me, “and I am not happy at all.”
I sigh and then I disable the audio. I don’t need the colonel’s disappointment buzzing in my ear. I take a step closer to the guy in front of me. I get so close that my mouth is just an inch away from his ear. He smells like the woods and something else, something spicy. I like it, but I do my best to ignore it.
“Look,” I whisper, “I don’t have time to walk you through this. I know you have no reason at all to trust me. But, if you just let me and my friends escort you away from here, to someplace safer, there will be a bunch of people who are far better equipped than I am to answer all your questions. Okay?”
He turns toward me. His eyes are like turquoise and they are boring into me, making my knees go a little weak. I make a fist and push my short nails into my palm. “What if I say no?”
“Please don’t do that,” I plead. There must have been something in the tone of my voice because he nods his head slightly. “All right,” I say softly, “my friends are going to come over here from behind that rock. Don’t be freaked out. They have guns, but it’s just standard procedure. That being said, don’t, like, make any crazy sudden moves.”
“Given that I can barely feel my arms or my legs right now, I don’t think that will be a problem,” he says, and stands perfectly still.
“Hey, guys, I think we’re ready to go back up to Base. We just need to get a reading.” Boone, Henry, and Violet pop up from behind the rock and make their way toward us, much faster than I would have liked them to. I can see him tense up beside me. But Boone, with his open face and his casual body language, immediately changes the energy among us all.
“Hey, man,” he says, extending his hand. “I’m Boone and this is Violet, Henry, and of course you’ve already met Katniss.”
Vi stifles a giggle.
“Your name is Katniss? Seriously?”
“No, it’s not. That’s Boone’s idea of a joke. My name is Ryn.” I hold my hand out and he shakes it and smiles genuinely.
“Ezra.”
“Ezra, great!” Boone says. “Okay, we’re all friends now and we’re gonna get outta here ’cause, I’m not gonna lie, this particular spot is very not safe. All I need to do before we leave is use this little machine,” he says, holding up a small silver box about the size of a phone, “to make sure you aren’t radioactive. It’s cool, right?”
Ezra gulps, and his eyes widen in alarm. “Why would I be radioactive?” Boone doesn’t answer his question, nor does he wait for permission; he just waves the machine up and down over Ezra’s body. He looks at me, wondering if Boone is kidding again. I mouth the word sorry to him and then crane my neck and look at the interface. It’s blue. Ezra is fine, which I pretty much knew, but in our line of work you can’t take anything at face value.
Even a face as gorgeous as Ezra’s.
I suppose I was distracted by what I had just done, and that being so close to Ezra threw my senses totally out of whack, because I’m a bit surprised when he points at The Rift and says, “Why is it doing that?”
I glance over, and my eyes widen: The Rift has escalated to Stage 3. We all look at each other for a moment. This is how quickly things can go wrong here. This is how stupid mistakes can get people killed. I enable my audio right away, report to Command, and I’m instantly treated to an onslaught of expletives from Applebaum.
“We need to get to cover,” Henry says calmly, but I can hear the strain in his voice. He’s pissed. I feel a pang of guilt that my rash decision to come out and meet Ezra alone has now put us all at risk. I sweep it away. I can’t afford to feel anything right now. I have to let my training take over and go back to being a soldier. The Rift doesn’t usually open up again so quickly, but of course, this would be the day it does.
“There’s no time, everyone, just hold your positions. It could be a dog for all we know. Just calm down and keep your hand on your weapon. Do not draw, though. Repeat: Do not draw your weapons,” I say with authority. “The Nests have eyes on our situation and can provide ample backup if we need it.” My team listens to me, and Ezra to his credit is also standing perfectly still. A lot of other people would have run, so his staying says something about him.
Of course, he could be doing the whole deer-trapped-in-headlights routine. That happens sometimes, too.
The Rift turns to deadly black and seven men come tumbling out. They aren’t Karekins, so at least there’s that. But they are very large. They have fair skin and long beards, and long hair, though some have pulled it back in rows of braids. They are wearing leathers and pelts. They are armed with an assortment of weapons, some axes, some broadswords. Each is holding a wooden shield with enough decoration and symbology to give me a clue. Apparently Ezra has the same idea as I do.
“Are those Vikings?” he says incredulously.
“Yes,