by D P Rowell
Only a few steps away, he pulled two black, shiny discs from his back pocket. He handed one to her once he reached her, “Keep in touch. Let me know how your progress is coming along.”
Kareena kept her eyes away and said nothing.
He glanced around him. Sebastian, Cameron, and Trilo stood by the carriage just past the bridge, wondering what was taking him so long. Ace looked back to Kareena, “I did what I had to do.”
“You didn’t have to do it,” Kareena said.
“She was a witch, Kareena. She aided Rio in taking the stone from me. She deserved nothing less.”
“What she deserved is not for us to decide,” Kareena finally turned to face him. “Ace, if your heart is focused on revenge, Emery knows it. Your light will weaken if you continue down this path.”
“It wasn’t revenge, Kareena. It was justice. She willingly offered her soul up to the council . . . even if we’d somehow found a cure for the curse, how could she even be freed? It was on her own will that she joined the council.”
Kareena’s eyes grew harsh. “You underestimate the power of the elyr.” She snatched one of the video discs from Ace. “If your light weakens, we’ll have a lot more to worry about than just getting the stone back.” She turned and marched away.
“Kareena!” Ace said. She stopped and turned to him. “ . . . Be safe.”
Kareena turned and continued her exit.
Trilo, Ace, Cameron, and Sebastian rode in the carriage to Gathara's entrance, and Sebastian led them to an area outside the outerwalls where the elite kept hovercrafts for the Indies to use. They spent most of the trip in silence, and before too long, the hovercraft zoomed along the desert. Ace, who sat in the passenger’s seat, became reminded of his visit to Hillrun with Rio as he glanced out the window. He wandered through what he might have done differently, had he known Rio’s true intentions. He could have reported it to the elite. Burned him with the elyr when the drake least expected it. But he missed his chance. This truth angered him. It stirred inside him and he rested his head against the window, picturing what he would finally do when he caught Rio. Only one thing he knew for sure. No mistakes this time. Next time he and Rio met, there would be no foul ups. He worried Rio wasn’t really in Naraka. But where else was he supposed to check? It was the only lead he had. He’d find him somehow. Even if he had to traverse every corner of Naraka and ask every individual in the Neutrals, he would find the drake and . . .
“Heorg is a beautiful place, huh?” Sebastian said. Ace jolted to his left, where Sebastian sat, steering.
“Oh, uh, yeah,” Ace said.
“I remember when your grandfather—”
“Let’s not talk about my grandfather right now,” Ace said.
Sebastian glanced over to Ace eerily.
Cameron leaned forward from the backseat. “Jeez, Ace. What’s with you?”
Ace shrugged and looked to the red and brown blur of desert outside. He regretted responding so hastily, but something about Sebastian unnerved him then. He hadn’t had much time to consider it, but the rapid turnaround of the elite suddenly trusting him began to eat away at him. What if he’d made another mistake? What if getting Gathara on their side was Sebastian’s plan all along and he was doomed again?
Sebastian chuckled, “Look, kid. I’m no parcel.”
Ace’s head jerked to the elite. Was he reading his thoughts? “Why would you even say that?”
Sebastian shrugged with his eyes on the road. “I can tell by your attitude. Knowing what Rio has recently done. Look, you don’t have to worry about me. You’ve persuaded me.”
“Oh, great,” Ace said. He turned around to Cameron and Trilo, “You guys hear that? It’s all good, Sebastian told us he’s not a parcel and we can trust him because parcels never lie.” He jabbed a thumbs up.
Cameron and Trilo gave Ace a blank stare.
“Woah!” Everyone said. For Sebastian had slammed the breaks. Ace flew forward and the seat belt locked and caught him within an inch of smashing into the dash.
“You wanna talk about trust, kid? How ‘bout you tell us why you picked Naraka?” Sebastian said.
Ace stared blankly at the elite and his heart sank. “What?”
“Spare me,” Sebastian replied.
Ace’s heart sank even more, remembering how Grandpa used that phrase frequently when he was around.
“What’s he talking about, Ace?” Trilo said.
Ace looked behind, then to Sebastian. “I—I don’t know.”
Sebastian turned behind. “He thinks Rio might be in Naraka. He’s not trying to build the Israh, he’s trying to nab the parcel.”
Ace looked eerily toward Sebastian. “What? Wh—why—but—"
“Ace! Are you trying to get us killed?” Trilo said.
“No,” Cameron said, “He’s trying to get our family back.” Ace looked to his older brother, who seemed fond of the plan.
Everyone stared at each other wordlessly a moment. Ace wanted to break the awkward silence, but he knew not what to say. Sebastian must have looked at the cellar cameras and seen him interrogating Keele. Ace had thought of trying to loop the footage, but he didn’t want to raise suspicions and figured no one would check unless they had reason. What gave Sebastian reason?
“We’re not ready to take on Rio yet,” Trilo said, finally disrupting the quiet.
“Maybe not,” Sebastian said, “But that doesn’t necessarily mean we can’t get your cousins back.”
Trilo shook his head. “I’m sorry about your cousins, guys. But we need to focus on the bigger picture.”
“This is the bigger picture,” Sebastian said. “Ace’s cousins are Halder blood. We don’t really know what Rio’s intentions are, and he has the stone. To me, it doesn’t seem like anything is more important than this.”
Cameron sat quietly, his face lighting up.
Ace turned to Sebastian with dead eyes. “What are you doing, Sebastian?”
Sebastian returned the glare. “What are you talking about?”
“You think you can just earn our trust this way? Trying to help me get my family back? Sounds like something a parcel would to do be honest with you,” Ace said.
Sebastian held his arms before Ace. “Touch me with the elyr, see if I burn. Go ahead.”
Ace squinted. “You never seemed convinced throughout dinner. Ihana and George were completely turned against me. Then, you just magically changed your mind after that meeting? What’s your catch? What’re you getting at?” Ace’s fist squeezed tighter and tighter.
“I have no catch . . .” Sebastian said quietly. “I’m just tired of not knowing who to trust. And—I don’t know—for some reason, I just know I can trust you.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No. I don’t expect you to do anything.”
Another moment of quiet passed.
Ace calmed himself. “What do you mean you just know it’s me?”
Sebastian turned to face the road again. “I don’t know, really. I can’t explain it. I’ve just had this horrid creeping suspicion following me everywhere that I can’t trust anyone during this war. I never know what to do. And I’m tired of it. But ever since we captured you that night. I’ve just had this strange feeling I can’t explain. Call it a gut feeling. I don’t know. Once George, Ihana, and I went to discuss what decision to make, something just kept tugging at me. I felt I just knew what the right decision was. And I haven’t felt that way since . . .”
Cameron finally leaned forward and spoke. “Since what?”
“Since Marty Halder found me when I was a lad and took me in.”
Ace chuckled. “You sound a lot like Rio when he was taking us to Gathara.”
“My brother makes a good point,” Cameron said.
Sebastian chuckled. “Look, I’ve told you to touch me with the elyr. I don’t know what else you want from me.”
“I trust him,” Trilo said.
Cameron and Ace looked at the fae.
&
nbsp; “Because I have that same feeling,” Trilo said. “Once you saved me from the witches, Ace. I just knew you were the leader to take back Yutara.”
Ace looked back to Sebastian. He crossed his arms and leaned back. After a minute of silent staring, Ace spoke up. “You help us get our cousins back, then, maybe, I’ll trust you.”
“Ditto,” Cameron said.
Sebastian half smiled at Ace. “Then what are we waiting for?” He stepped on the gas once more and took off along the desert road.
Ace woke to a dark morning. He stretched his neck on all sides, attempting to relieve the soreness of sleeping on it the wrong way. It didn’t work. Behind him, Cameron and Trilo still slept like a log. But Sebastian leaned against the driver’s door, looking at the blackness outside. A bright, green light shone from the dash, with black letters reading Autopilot.
Ace rubbed his neck. “When did you first meet Grandpa Marty?”
Sebastian turned to Ace, surprised to see the boy awake.
“Oh—when I was about sixteen years old.”
“Where?”
Sebastian half smiled. “Adamsville.”
Ace shook his head. “Odd how you and Rio seem to have similar stories.”
“Well,” Sebastian said, “We were both introduced to Marty around the same time, actually.”
Ace eyed him in a way that said, elaborate, please.
Sebastian sighed. “I was born and raised in Adamsville. Both my parents worked for President Kar’s administration. They’d been beside him since he ran for Mayor in Cains in Northeeves.”
Ace remembered the Simulation Room. The man at Angus Kar’s table . . . the one who looked familiar . . . that’s why he looked familiar! He looked like Sebastian, because he was Sebastian’s dad!
“Your father was a parcel, wasn’t he?” Ace said.
Sebastian nodded. “And my mom, his slave.”
Ace’s heart hardened. This conversation reminded him too much of he and Rio’s when the drake told him how he met Grandpa Marty. Ace wasn’t about to let his guard down.
“How’d you find out? I thought the Indies have never caught a parcel before,” Ace said.
“You’ve never heard of the Heorg War?”
Ace nodded. “Just from school.”
Sebastian chuckled. “Ah, lemme guess. They taught you about Kar’s bravery, huh? His willingness to save Yutara from the wretched Indies and free their minds?”
“Well, they never mentioned the Indies in school. In fact, I was never taught much about the Heorg War. Only that President Kar stopped the spread of an empire.”
“Pfft . . . he supported an empire. The council. When your grandfather started the Indies, they spread through Heorg quickly. In the meantime, Dodger Girdleg was trying to settle a border dispute that Sam Radar began. Your grandfather took advantage of their distraction and founded Gathara. Word of his new philosophy quickly spread throughout Yutara and the council took notice. They really upped their game. They found their way into the schools first, to make sure children weren’t educated about the Indies' teachings. Then, they used their influence in business and government to sway the minds of the people against the Indies. Before Marty even knew it, every nation saw Heorg as a target. Witches scattered throughout every single country. And if a citizen wasn’t a witch, they believed the lies the witches told. President Kar was elected on his stance against the Indies. He promised to take them down.”
“What happened?” Ace said.
“He started sending armies into Heorg, forcing the cities surrounding Gathara to turn against the Indies. Many of his armies were run by witches and parcels, who enslaved many of the jags as witches. Your grandfather didn’t take too well to this. He fought back and won pretty handily. Once he started nabbing the witches from Kar’s armies, the jags of Heorg saw the validity in Marty’s claims of the real threat of witches. And so did I.”
Ace squinted. “You were one of Kar’s soldiers?”
Sebastian nodded. “My parents forced me to join. Said it was my duty as an Evelander. One day your grandfather and his armies ambushed us. I saw him capture the witches in our fleet and he spared me. When I went back to Adamsville alive, my eyes had been opened to the evil of our country. I started asking around town, looking for anyone with details on the Indies or witches. I heard enough stories to convince me of the truth. It didn’t take long to figure out my parents were in on it.
“One day, Marty Halder showed up in Adamsville. He walked straight into Kar’s office and met with him. The doors were shut, and no one knew what went on in that meeting. Only thing everyone knows for sure is that the next day, Kar officially announced a peace treaty with Heorg. He would pull back his armies and leave Heorg alone. And Marty agreed he would stop the spread of the Indies and keep their beliefs in Gathara. The world celebrated. Everyone saw this as a resolve. There were two groups of people who were against this treaty. Those who wanted the Indies destroyed completely, like my parents, and those who wanted Kar destroyed completely, like Rio.”
Ace found himself leaning towards Sebastian. His mind focused on nothing else. He was tunnel visioned. “Rio had tried to get rid of Kar since the beginning, right?”
“Oh yeah,” Sebastian said, “he was part of an anarchist gang. They sought to destroy the leaders in every country . . . And they were about to get half their wish in Adamsville.”
“What do you mean?” Ace said.
“The day after the treaty was signed, Kar disappeared,” Sebastian said. “And someone took his place, Gerald Yvonne.”
Ace’s eyes widened. He fidgeted in his seat as the epiphany hit him like a truck, “Wow! How did I never see it before? Gerald is your dad! Your dad is the president of Eveland!”
Sebastian continued, ignoring the boy's epiphany. “It was when this happened, I was truly convinced my parents were involved in this evil Marty claimed to be fighting. I’d seen it with my own two eyes in Heorg.
“Anyway, at this point, the Indies were upset with Marty. They saw him signing the treaty as an act of cowardice. Backing down just as the Indies movement was starting to grow. But he wasn’t a coward. He was preparing something. None of them knew what—to be honest, I still don’t know for sure—but this is when Rio and I were recruited. This is when Marty formed the elite. I’d already decided to leave home, knowing the evil my parents were mixed up in, and Marty recruited me at just the right time. Then he had me help him break Rio out of prison and recruit him.”
“Rio was in prison?” Ace said.
“Yes. For attempting to assassinate President Kar,” Sebastian replied.
Ace leaned back in his chair and observed the multiple colors of city lights twinkling on the horizon. His fascination with Sebastian’s history lesson tempted him to soften his heart. But he caught himself quick enough. For all he knew, Sebastian was lying just a cleverly as his school teachers had been.
“Crazy timing,” Sebastian said.
Ace turned to him. “What?”
“Your grandfather showing up when he did and recruiting me. It’s almost like he knew I’d accept. I mean, think about it, why didn’t he try to recruit me in Heorg when I was a soldier? It’s like he just knew I had to be sent back to Adamsville and watch everything unfold before I’d accept. Same with Rio.”
“If my grandfather had so much insight, why’d he pick Rio?” Ace said. Of course, Ace didn’t doubt his grandfather’s insight, he just doubted Sebastian.
Sebastian shrugged. “I don’t know, tyke. But I do know one thing. Everything your grandfather did had purpose. Even if I didn’t know what it was. If he picked you . . . then I’m following you.”
Ace looked away and faced the city lights again, now much bigger and brighter. Naraka was straight ahead.
“Rise and shine!” Ace shouted. Cameron and Trilo moaned from the backseat. “Looks like we’ve made it to the Neutrals”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Carnival Square
Sebastian switched to manual an
d drove them through the vibrant sea of skyscrapers towering at dizzying heights. On the ground, multitudes of all races swarmed the streets like bees in their hive. The streets were some kind of glass material, the marks on the road lit up beneath the hovercrafts. The sidewalks glittered with bright, golden lights, hung from the beams on either side of the roads. Street signs, billboards, banners, and holograms covered the skyline, adding every color of the spectrum to the already shimmering gold beneath. This city brought the night alive. Ace found himself so lost in its brilliance, he hardly noticed the fact they’d been stopped in traffic for a half hour.
Once traffic started again, the rest of the drive didn’t last much longer. Sebastian found the closest inn and paid for a double bed. It was on the twenty-first floor. Luckily, the elevators there were smooth as glass and lightning fast. Once they arrived, Ace stared out the large window overlooking the Neutral City. The people were specs. The city was a
color wheel of lights and hovercrafts. And somewhere, hiding down there, was Rio and the Peppercorns. Ace’s target. He grinded his teeth and folded his arms. His insides seethed.
“I’ll find you Julie and Tamara,” Ace said softly, “I’ll make up for what I did.”
They woke the next morning and gathered all their things. Just as everyone had finished making themselves ready for the day, Sebastian spoke firmly, “Alright, guys. I say we split up.”
“So, you’re making the rules now?” Ace said.
Sebastian lowered an eyebrow at him. “Just throwing my thoughts out there. We can cover more of the city this way.”
Trilo stood from sitting on one of the beds. “I agree with Sebastian. But I also want to note, we’re not just here to save Ace’s cousins. I realize that’s the main reason we’re here, but growing the Light is crucial to winning this war right now. I saw we recruit and look at the same time.”
