Son of Sun Read online

  Son of Sun

  Girl of Glass, Book Four

  Megan O’Russell

  Visit our website at www.MeganORussell.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  * * *

  Son of Sun

  Copyright © 2019, Megan O’Russell

  Cover Art by X Potion Designs (https://www.x-potion.net/)

  Editing by Christopher Russell

  Interior Design by Christopher Russell

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Requests for permission should be addressed to Ink Worlds Press.

  Printed in the United States of America

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  The World Continues

  The Tale of Bryant Adams: How I Magically Messed Up My Life in Four Freakin’ Days

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  About the Author

  Also by Megan O’Russell

  Dedication

  To those who dare to step beyond the glass

  Son of Sun

  Chapter One

  Shadows pressed in around her, snapping the thin thread of her courage. The scent of old blood and rancid rot hung heavy in the air.

  Jeremy’s silhouette moved in front of her, broken bits of concrete crunching under his feet.

  Nola followed his gaze as he squinted into the darkest corners of what had been the club at 5th and Nightland. Not so very long ago, the room would have been packed with vampires dancing as though the world weren’t ending.

  How many of them are dead?

  Jeremy reached into his pocket and pulled out a flashlight, holding the beam level with the barrel of his Guard gun.

  Nola pulled her weapon free from her belt, holding her breath as Jeremy shone his light into every crevice. Portions of the walls had caved in, whether from the fire that had destroyed the city above or from the domes’ raid on Nightland, Nola didn’t know.

  Jeremy froze as his light fell on a human form on the floor. A woman with long blue hair, half-buried under a giant chunk of fallen ceiling. A length of rebar stuck out of the woman’s head. The rodents of the city had feasted on her flesh.

  Nola bit her lips together, blinking back the tears that burned in her eyes.

  No life should end like that.

  “Which way?” Jeremy whispered.

  Nola stepped around him, heading toward the door that led to the main tunnel of Nightland.

  Jeremy held out a hand, blocking Nola’s path. “Let me stay in front.”

  “It’s that way.”

  She stayed close behind Jeremy’s shoulder as they wound through the debris toward the broken archway. The steel door that had once been heavily guarded lay on the floor to one side. Rubble had been dragged away from the passage as well, leaving a clear path to the corridor beyond.

  “Somebody put a lot of effort into clearing this,” Nola whispered.

  “Let’s just hope it’s someone we want to see,” Jeremy said.

  Nola touched his arm with her free hand. “We’ll find her, Jeremy. We’ll find Gentry.”

  “Keep close.” Jeremy stepped through the archway, sweeping his light across the hall.

  Shattered remnants of light bulbs hung uselessly from the ceiling. A section of wall had crumbled, spilling dirt into the hall. Dozens of footprints leading in both directions marked the ground.

  “Keep going forward,” Nola said. “I only know one path to Emanuel’s old house.”

  They crept down the hall, Jeremy setting a slow and deliberate pace, stopping every few feet to listen and sweep his light over the corridor behind them.

  The plan had seemed so simple aboveground. Kieran, Raina, and Julian would hide from the sun in the ruins near Nightland. Nola and Jeremy would check the tunnels to be sure the domes’ guards weren’t patrolling. The Outer Guard would kill a vampire on sight, but two people who had, until a few short weeks ago, lived in the domes might give them pause.

  Now, moving silently through the tunnel, the idea that Nola could face an Outer Guard and hope to survive became unforgivably naïve. The thought that Jeremy could fight against Gentry, his own sister, lost all reason.

  He’d do it for me. He’d fight her to protect me.

  What if I can’t protect him?

  A hollow ache gnawed at Nola’s chest.

  Ahead, another section of the tunnel had collapsed. A chest-high pile of rocks blocked their path.

  “Stay back,” Jeremy whispered.

  “No.”

  Nola stepped up next to him, aiming her Guard gun at the debris.

  Jeremy shook his head but didn’t fight Nola staying at his side as they approached the barricade.

  Her heart thudded in her ears. There could be nothing behind the mound. Or a rat. Or an Outer Guard waiting to kill them.

  Jeremy picked up a fist-sized rock and backed toward the remnants of the wall, keeping Nola pressed behind him. He tossed the rock over the mound and into the shadows beyond, where it landed with a clatter.

  Nola’s nerves zinged as she waited for vampires to spring over the barrier, werewolves to howl their rage, or guards to fire their weapons. But nothing came, not even the scurrying of frightened rats.

  Keeping his flashlight and weapon pointed toward the hall beyond, Jeremy moved closer to the barricade, sidestepping to block Nola from walking next to him.

  Nola barely caught the quick movement as Jeremy bent his knees and dove over the fallen rocks, landing on the far side with barely a sound. His flashlight’s beam darted around the tunnel before he beckoned Nola across. She bent her knees, trying to judge the height and distance of the obstacle in front of her and the amount of space she had between the barrier and the low ceiling.

  A few short weeks ago, such a leap would have been completely impossible. But she wasn’t human anymore. Graylock had changed her, granting her the ability to survive the contamination outside the glass and giving her body unnatural strength.

  “Are you all right?” Jeremy barely voiced the words, yet she could hear him perfectly.

  Nola bent her knees and dove over the pile of rubble. As she cleared the mound of dirt and rock, the floor on the far side became horribly real. She pulled her legs forward, trying to get her feet under her. The ground came too quickly, and she stumbled, landing on her knees.

  “Are you okay?” Jeremy glanced at her, his eyes quickly flicking back to the dark corridor ahead.

  “I’ve never tried that kind of jump before.” Nola stood, shaking the pain from her legs.

  “You did great.” A hint of a smile touched the corners of
Jeremy’s eyes before vanishing. “Let’s keep moving.”

  The stillness of the corridor devoured the muffled noise of their footfalls as they moved farther down the hall. Away from light and fresh air. Away from escape.

  A door came into view, hanging off its bottom hinges.

  “There,” Nola said. “Through that door.”

  She had run through it before. Fled from her own people and locked the door behind her. But the door couldn’t be locked now. There would be no hope of blocking danger with something as simple as a door.

  Shadows from a different life drifted across the doorjamb. Faint shapes moving as though Nightland had found a way to survive the dome-made massacre in the city.

  “Turn off the flashlight,” Nola said.

  Jeremy flicked it off without question.

  Shadows moved across the doorway, cast by a light source Nola couldn’t see.

  She stilled her heart, listening to the sounds around her. Whispers filtered through the doorway.

  Jeremy leaned close to Nola’s ear. “Stay here.”

  “No.” Nola met Jeremy’s gaze, willing him to understand that she would no more let him walk through that door alone than he would let her.

  Jeremy’s neck tensed with unsaid words, but he nodded and didn’t try to block Nola as she followed him toward the door.

  The light from the tunnel beyond flickered, like someone had lit torches or lanterns. The whispered voices grew stronger, as though the speakers waited just out of sight.

  “I don’t want to be a meal,” a male voice said. “I didn’t spend this long fighting for survival to become a meal for a Vamper or wolf.”

  “I don’t know what else you want me to do,” a female spoke. “We’re out of the weather. We’ve got some water and a bit of food.”

  “No enough to last,” a second female said. “We’re going to need help. There has to be someone in this nightmare who has food to spare.”

  “And what kind of angel would swoop in to save us?” the man said. “There is no help. No one is coming to save us. You’ve got to understand that.”

  A sniffle of stifled tears tugged on Nola’s heart.

  Nightland’s home in the mountain had food, water, and solid walls.

  The rats will sink the ship. Raina’s words echoed through her mind.

  “We need weapons,” the man said. “If we can fight, we might be able to take what we need.”

  “I never thought stealing would sound like a good idea,” the first female said.

  Jeremy crept closer to the door. The nearer they got to the entry, the clearer the shadows became. One of the people sat in front of the light source, while the other two stood near the wall.

  Two against three isn’t bad.

  Jeremy leaned against the wall right next to the door, keeping his eyes focused on the shadows.

  “Stay out of sight,” Jeremy mouthed.

  Nola shook her head.

  “I don’t want to play our whole hand.” Jeremy pressed her against the wall.

  She wanted to refuse. To insist on walking through the door by his side. Danger for him should mean danger for them both. But Jeremy had been training as an Outer Guard when he abandoned the domes, had been raised by the head of the Outer Guard.

  I was trained in growing food, not fighting.

  Nola nodded, hoping she was right to trust Jeremy’s instincts.

  Squaring his shoulders, he stepped in front of the door, leveling his weapon at the corridor beyond. He took a step forward, moving through the door and out of sight.

  Her heart rocketed into her throat. She strained her ears, trying to hear the sound of his footsteps.

  “I don’t want to be sitting ducks when the Vampers come for a meal,” the first woman said.

  “What the—”

  A terrible shriek of metal against stone cut through Jeremy’s words.

  “Jeremy!” Nola leapt forward as a sheet of steel crashed down, blocking the doorway.

  Chapter Two

  “Nola, run!” The metal barrier muffled Jeremy’s shout.

  “Jeremy.” Nola stumbled in the pitch black of the hall, falling into the steel door that separated them. “Jeremy!” She pounded on the metal.

  “Get out, Nola!”

  She ran her fingers along the steel, searching for a handle or lock. Dents and scratches marked the barrier, as though it had slid into place many times before.

  “I can’t find a way to move the door.” Nola’s hands trembled as she reached up to the corners of the doorjamb.

  “It’s a trap. The voices came through a speaker,” Jeremy said. “Nola, get out. Go back to the others.”

  “I’m not leaving you.” Nola kicked the door.

  “Nola you have—”

  “I said I’m not leaving you!” Nola kicked the door again.

  “I think there’s gas in here,” Jeremy coughed.

  “Make the other people help you look for a way out.” Nola knelt, digging her fingers into the dirt under the metal door.

  “There are no other people,” Jeremy said. “They’re dead. They’re all dead.”

  Her fingertips found the edge of the metal. Gritting her teeth, she lifted with all her might. A scream of rage and fear escaped her.

  “Nola,” Jeremy’s voice rasped.

  “Cover your face,” Nola said. “I’m going to get you out.”

  “I love you.”

  Panic and outrage sliced into Nola’s chest, stealing the strength from her limbs. “You’re going to be okay.” She pushed herself to her feet. “You promised you wouldn’t leave me. Don’t you dare break your promise, Jeremy Ridgeway.”

  She needed a light and a crowbar. Or explosives to blast away the door. A hundred impossible ideas raced through her mind.

  She tore her fingers through her curls.

  Jeremy trapped with dead people. Jeremy dying.

  “Stop panicking, Nola Kent. You can’t help him if you’re panicking.”

  The people who built the door wanted her to panic, wanted Jeremy to die. What kind of monster would be evil enough to build such a trap?

  The domes.

  “Jeremy, the other people, are they just dead on the floor?” Nola leaned against the metal.

  “No, staged like they’re alive.” Jeremy’s words slurred. “Ropes. Puppets.”

  “Then they had to open the door.” Nola pushed away from the metal, fumbling toward the wall beside it. Starting at the base of the wall, she ran her hands across the packed dirt and stone. “Please,” Nola begged the darkness. “Please, please. I will not lose him.”

  She moved to the other side of the steel, feeling the outline of the broken door that hung off its hinges, her heart racing faster with every second that passed. The tips of her fingers caught on a ridge in the wall, a metal square packed with loose dirt.

  “I found something,” Nola shouted through the door. “Jeremy? Jeremy!”

  “I’m here.” His voice barely carried through the door.

  “Hang on.” She dug into the loose dirt. Her fingers found something hard and metallic. A lever packed in with the dirt. She tried to push the handle up, but it wouldn’t budge. “Come on.” She shoved the metal down, but again the lever stayed firmly in place. “Open, dammit.” She planted both feet on the wall and pulled backward with every ounce of strength Graylock had granted her. The handle moved a fraction of an inch.

  A slit of light appeared at the bottom of the door.

  “Move!” Nola yanked harder, ignoring the pain in her hand as a bone cracked under the strain.

  The door slid up farther. Fingers appeared, reaching through the gap.

  Nola screamed as another bone snapped. The door raised a foot.

  Jeremy dragged himself through the gap and lay gasping on the tunnel floor.

  Nola let go of the handle and ran to his side. The door snapped shut, leaving them in darkness.

  “Jeremy.” Nola fumbled blindly for him, not caring about the pain in he
r hands as she felt his chest rise and fall.

  “I’m okay.” Jeremy’s voice came out as a rasp. “I can heal, I’ll be okay.”

  “The shot of Graylock, you need it.” Nola reached for his belt, for the case that held the one dose of the medicine they carried.

  “No.” Jeremy rolled over, moving the case out of her reach. “I just need a minute, I’ll be okay.”

  Nola felt his face. Sweat slicked his clammy skin. She leaned down, pressing her lips to his. His breath tasted of chemicals.

  “What was the gas?” Nola said.

  “I don’t know.” Jeremy clicked on his flashlight.

  Deep purple patches mottled the skin on his face and hands. Bright red veins marked the whites of his eyes.

  Nola swallowed her tears. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

  “I can breathe better already.” He pressed Nola’s palm to his lips.

  “Why would the domes build something like that?” Nola asked.

  A part of her expected Jeremy to argue. To say the domes would never build something so terrible. But they’d seen the city burn, run into the flames that killed thousands. People who were willing to slaughter an entire city could build a trap to kill underground.

  “Trying to round up vampires, I expect.” Jeremy pushed himself to sit up.

  Nola wrapped an arm around him, steadying him as he swayed.

  “Lure blood drinkers in with the promise of a good meal then trap them.” Jeremy’s voice came out stronger than it had moments before. “There was solid metal on the other side, too.”