Shadow Fall (The Shadow Saga) Read Online Free Page A

fighting for the other side, I certainly wouldn’t approach you , now would I?” McCall retorted. “Not to mention the valuable time I would already have wasted in conversation, seeing as I could certainly have bested you in a duel by now.”
    After a moment of consideration, Derek dropped his battle stance, “I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Admiral. I’ve never actually seen you in action.”
    “I daresay you’ll get your chance soon enough,” McCall glanced at the door. “Where is the Specter Captain?”
    “I don’t know. I’ve been trying to reach him by phone, but he hasn’t—”
    “Break it down,” McCall ordered. “Now.”
    Derek cut a hole around the door’s magnetic lock and kicked the metal slab hard, knocking it loose so that it slammed into the floor. He leapt over the threshold with Exusia in hand, “Specter Captain? Are you here?”
    He rushed to the bedroom and found 301 lying still upon the bed as though asleep. “Captain!” he yelled, drawing nearer. “Captain, wake up!” And then, considering that the alarms had not roused him, Derek concluded that his partner must not be able to wake. He checked the side of his head and found a fresh welt that confirmed that theory. His chest still rose and fell, however, so he wasn’t dead.
    Derek came alongside the bed and shook 301 violently, “Captain, wake up. Wake up!”
    301 stirred and let out an anguished groan. His hand shot up to his injured temple and he barely opened his eyes, “Derek? Why are you here?”
    “What happened, 301?” Derek asked. “Who did this to you?”
    “It was Liz,” he said groggily, shaking his head in disbelief. “I woke up and found her over me, about to stab me with my own knife. Then, everything went dark. She must have knocked me out.” At that moment he distinguished the alarms and motioned to the ceiling, “I suppose that’s her?”
    “Yes and no,” Derek said. “She’s part of it, I think, but whatever is happening, it’s all over the city.”
    “It doesn’t make sense,” 301 sat up. “Why would she try to kill me?”
    Derek pulled the knife from where it had been stuck in the side table, “Orders, I presume. Orders that it appears she didn’t follow.” He paused and handed the knife to 301. “Now hurry up and get dressed. The admiral is waiting for us.”
    301 nodded and with Derek’s help rose to his feet. He threw on his uniform with surprising speed, despite the occasional stumble from lingering dizziness.
    “After this is over, Captain,” Derek said with a smile. “You and I are going to have a long talk about your taste in women.”

3
    301 TAPPED HIS FOOT impatiently as the elevator rose toward the docking bay, mulling over every moment he had spent with Liz since her return to Alexandria. How long had she been working for Sullivan? How much of their relationship had been just a part of the job? Was any of it real?
    He had suspected a deeper connection between her and Sullivan after she went to him in the wake of their conspiracy to free Grace—but nothing like this.
    “All Specters have been accounted for,” McCall said dryly over the hum of the elevator. “Except for Aurora and Tyrell. Considering that the alarm was triggered in the bay, we can assume they are attempting to escape—if they haven’t already. Central Command reports a massive Halo exodus from the city, but as of yet they can’t tell where they are headed.”
    “Have they sent ships in pursuit?” Derek asked.
    “Yes,” McCall nodded. “But once they get about ten miles from shore they just vanish—no communications, no radar, nothing. Whatever’s going on, Aurora’s objective must be to reach that blackout zone and make contact with her allies. Our job, Specters, is to stop her.”
    “We must assume at this point that Tyrell is involved as well,” Derek said. “He is her partner.”
    “You’re right,” McCall’s Spectral Gladius came to life. “Best be prepared.”
    Derek and 301