Conner’s stomach dropped.
* * *
The aftermath of Conner’s stunt was immediate. First, he had to face his family. They’d paid him a visit to his cell that night. As if feeling shamed in their presence wasn’t enough, the guilt he felt toward his mother stung him. Not only had he let her down by not accepting Lilith, now he had a record.
Since he was still considered a child, the Union had spared his life. For the three days he was jailed, he’d been terrified they’d kill him anyway. Instead, they’d forced him into a month’s hard labor, assisting the loggers who were tearing down the forest far beyond the town. Day after day of sweat, splinters, sawdust, and ravaging thirst tried to beat Conner down into his rightful place. But he refused to allow that to happen. Every single day, he thought of nothing but his inability to save those lives. How he’d clammed up in the thick of it. How Leo had abandoned them in that truck instead of helping. They’d both been cowards.
Conner vowed to himself, as he hauled lumber under the sweltering sun, that he’d never fail again.
CHAPTER 5
THE RETURN
One winter morning, when Detrick was seventeen, he was awakened by the muffled voices of his parents and Kellis coming from downstairs. He crept over to his door and cracked it open slowly, hoping to catch a few words.
“And the sooner you all make it back to Edgewood, the better. The Grand Magistrate would really like to get a jump on this project,” Kellis said.
Whoa. What? Had he heard that correctly? Detrick leaned further out from his door.
“So what’s the project?” Detrick’s dad asked.
“Well,” Kellis began, taking a deep breath. “Do you remember the town Cleric, James Morley? He’s strayed far from Lilith and is going around preaching against the Union. We’ve also recently come into some intelligence that suggests he and his wife are forming some sort of…group.”
“What kind of group?” Detrick’s mother questioned.
“The Coalition for a Liberated Aeos,” Kellis responded. “At least, that’s how he worded it in a letter we intercepted that was addressed to his brother down in Mayside.”
“I see. And what of Cleric Morley’s brother? Was he involved as well?” his dad asked.
“It appears that way. But he’ll have to be dealt with by Mayside’s Grand Magistrate. Getting back to the point…the goal with this is to force James into going public, to confess to what he’s done. In making a spectacle of this—of showing Briar and Aeos as a whole that we’ve uncovered such a plot—we hope to inspire some unity among the country. We’ve found that nationalism tends to swell to greater heights when it’s challenged. And so you all will resume your former positions as Loyalists.”
“Understood,” his dad said.
“You’ll receive further instructions after your move back to Edgewood is complete. So for now, let’s just concentrate on that.”
This was a lot to process. But…moving back to Edgewood? There was no way that could be true. Instead of continuing to listen, he swung his door open and jogged downstairs to meet the trio, who seemed caught off guard by his sudden appearance. “We’re moving?”
“Yes,” Kellis answered. “The three of you will be moving back to Edgewood for at least the next year, maybe longer. Back into your old house, as a matter of fact.”
“What about my work? I can’t leave! This has to be a joke.” Had all his hard work been for nothing?
“Well, it’s not a joke. We need your family in Edgewood right now. This isn’t up for debate.”
“The Grand Magistrate hasn’t said a word to me about any of this! I’m not leaving. I’m needed here.”
“We’ll manage.”
* * *
Feeling too betrayed to go to work that day, Detrick stayed home and pondered his upcoming departure back to Edgewood. He found it hard to even leave his bed. Everything he’d worked for these past several years was being thrown away. He silently blamed his parents, knowing that if it weren’t for them, he could probably remain at the Citadel. What was possibly going to occupy all his free time in Edgewood? Was he supposed to just be a farmer the rest of his life, falling in line with all the other ordinary people? He was meant for bigger things. He had to be.
But he supposed there were a few things he liked about the place, the most notable being the surrounding landscape. It was the subject of many of Aeos’ most famous paintings and sketches, one of which was hanging in Victoria’s chambers. The town was surrounded by rich, coniferous forests on three sides and a steep cliff face on the northern side. On the east side, the high coastline slowly tapered off to level ground, where it was largely dominated by boulders and pebbled beaches. A view of Edgewood from below bestowed a commanding presence, as its quaintness gave way to superiority.
Detrick descended to the kitchen to make himself lunch. His parents were seated at the table, discussing the move. As he threw an apple and some cheese onto a plate, a few other things ran through his mind. There was Conner, who Detrick hadn’t thought of in years. He recalled how angry he’d been at his parents for making him leave Edgewood in the first place. If only I’d known how much better it would become. He wondered what Conner had been up to all these years, or if they would recognize each other. Would Conner even want to be friends again? It had been five years since they’d seen each other, after all.
After a few weeks of packing and making their arrangements, they were on their way back.
* * *
Adjusting to small-town life was not only boring, it was insulting to Detrick. He felt like all he’d done to advance his education and future career was deemed irrelevant by the Union. If he’d done things differently, if he’d worked harder, maybe he could’ve stayed back at the Citadel by himself.
Detrick had traded his promising future and a prestigious internship for pruning shears, hard labor, and sore muscles. They hadn’t received their mission yet, so all there was to do was to tend to the orchards. The trees had grown thicker and a little taller in the last five years. The cattle rancher who’d tended to it for them had certainly done a great job.
After a few weeks though, farm life began growing on him. It was relaxing to be out in the apple trees, inhaling the sweet perfume of the new spring blossoms, pruning the branches, meeting the occasional rabbit. He found that his mind was on the Union less and less.
One late March morning, he’d ventured into town to spend time alone in the Temple. On his way out, he cast a glance to his right, down the street where he knew Conner’s house was. He’d passed it a couple of times but had never worked up the courage to go say hi. It would just seem too awkward and forced.
Just as he was turning his head, he caught a glimpse of someone a few yards away, emerging from a pub with a few other people. Someone with shaggy, dark-blond hair. Yes, it was him. Detrick’s stomach did a flip. Conner looked really good. He wasn’t as tall as Detrick would have expected. Especially since Detrick was pushing six feet. But it was unmistakably him. Should he approach him? Would Conner even recognize him?
No. Conner was too busy with other friends right now. What in Aeos was he thinking? Conner wouldn’t be interested in renewing some archaic childhood friendship. Detrick returned home, disappointed with himself.
He opened the door to his house and was soon greeted by his dad.
“You’re just in time, Det,” said his dad, emerging from the kitchen, wiping his hands with a towel. “We’re scheduled for a radio conference in about fifteen minutes.”
Soon the Lismores were gathered in the living room, a large radio perched on a table against the wall. It seemed an ordinary AM/FM radio, but it had a secret function: two-way communication directly with Victoria’s office.
Finally, and with a paladin in attendance at the Lismore house to assure no outside parties were present, Victoria and Kellis’ voices greeted them through the radio. “Hello, Lismores.”
All greeted in return, and Detrick felt a pang of jealousy knowing t
hat Victoria and Kellis were probably in her chambers right now. There was a bout of homesickness coming on as he recalled all the days spent in there, working, reading, or just passing the time.
Maybe Detrick hadn’t adjusted as well as he thought he had.
“I hope you all are doing well this afternoon,” Victoria spoke again, but before anyone could answer, she continued. “To get right down to it: you three will be given the ultimate test of loyalty to the Union. If you succeed in this, you’ll be greatly rewarded. In fact, if you wish to move back to the Citadel, I’m sure we could find a place for you here.”
Detrick felt she was speaking directly to him. “What?” he exclaimed, sitting up straight in his chair. “What do we need to do?” He could faintly hear Kellis chuckling, presumably at his enthusiasm. His parents sat in alert silence.
“So, about James Morley,” Victoria began. There was a shuffling of papers through the radio. “Let’s see here. There’s James, of course, his wife Rebecca, and a young daughter, Adrianne. I believe Kellis enlightened you on some of the basics. To reiterate, we’ve been observing Mr. Morley and his wife for several months now, after rumors that they’d been secretly spreading anti-Union rhetoric. We’ve since confirmed the rumors and have decided this must be put to an end. And I believe Kellis mentioned the letter we intercepted about this ‘Coalition’. Naturally, we can’t have people in a position of authority and respect spreading such hateful propaganda.”
Detrick murmured in agreement, but still his parents said nothing.
“And so,” Victoria continued, “you’re to confront James, educate him on what we know, and convince him to accept full responsibility and confess to his congregation what he’s done. In exchange for this, we’ll spare Rebecca, and their daughter will retain one of her parents. We hope to inspire allegiance in the people of Aeos at the death of such a traitor, especially one as respected and well-known as him. Think about it! A town Cleric behind an underground rebellion. People will be ecstatic at his death.” There was an excitement in her voice that made Detrick wince. “But getting back to the point. You’ll largely be acting alone in this process. Owen, you’ll serve as the primary liaison between James Morley and the Union. Without a doubt it’ll be easier for us to have someone facilitate this project who lives there in town. This will give you the opportunity to showcase just how devoted you are to us. What questions do any of you have so far?”
Detrick’s dad was the first to speak. “First, Grand Magistrate, how do you expect me to convince this man that I’m working for the Union?”
“I’ll have Kellis and a few paladins accompany you to your first meeting with him. But the rest is up to you, Mr. Lismore, as I assume Evangela will largely be staying uninvolved, which is fine with me. As long as you get the facts straight, I’m choosing to place my trust in you. So don’t squander this opportunity. Are there any other questions?”
“Yes,” Detrick piped in. “Since we’ve only recently moved back, we haven’t heard much of this rhetoric. What kinds of things has he been saying?”
Victoria heaved a loud sigh. “I don’t want to get into details, but a lot of it has involved accusing individual members of the Union, and the Citadel as a whole, of being…how did he so eloquently word it…? ‘Dirty crooks and apostates.’”
Suddenly Detrick wasn’t so sure he wanted to meet this man. At least his dad would be the one doing most of the visits.
The discussion continued for a bit longer, with Detrick asking most of the questions. He was hoping for more involvement than Victoria seemed to be giving him. Perhaps this was a test more for Detrick’s sake than for his parents. Was she testing his response to being overlooked? Or had she decided Detrick was no help after all, despite all the effort he’d made trying to impress her? Time would tell.
“Well, that’s all I’ve got for now,” Victoria said. “More details will follow later. For the time being, why don’t you start mulling around what we’ve talked about, and I’ll check in with you next week to set up the first meeting with the Morleys. Goodbye for now.”
Everyone said their goodbyes, offered Lilith’s blessing, and Detrick’s dad switched off the radio, leaving the three to fully absorb everything that had just transpired.
“Mother above,” Detrick said to nobody in particular, still staring at the radio.
His mom stood up from the couch and, without a word, disappeared into the kitchen. His dad stayed seated for a good while before sighing loudly, rising, and following his wife into the kitchen. Detrick stayed put, and all was quiet until he heard shouting. Before he could go inspect, his mom burst back into the living room and went straight outside. As she rushed past Detrick, not meeting his eyes, he could see that she was crying.
So this was what the move back to Edgewood had all been for, to have someone killed? Yes, the man had been speaking against the Union, but in private. At night church he was still teaching Lilith’s gospel as earnestly as any other Cleric. Was this punishment befitting his crime? Detrick needed to clear his head, so he decided to head to the beach.
It was a short walk through the forest, with the rocky shore greeting him on the other side. The crashing waves manifested his rising panic and confusion. As he paced up and down the beach, he understood very clearly: this was their life now. A family of victims creating new victims, as his mother had said as she’d rushed from the house. Maybe she was right. But it was all Detrick could do to try and prove himself. If this was what the Union needed him to do, he’d have to try to understand it. He decided that during the next year or so he’d have to prove to the Union that sending him back here was a mistake. He’d complete this assignment. Then they’d know. They’d know that his life would be better served among them, not in Edgewood. He was nothing like his parents. Detrick wasn’t blind; he knew his mom and dad hated serving the Union.
Maybe his initial hunch was right—this was some sort of test. A final test to see how much they could trust Detrick before they let him work in the Citadel permanently.
Detrick casually threw a rock toward a tree and watched as it bounced off helplessly and fell to the ground. He threw another, and then another. He ended up throwing so many that his shoulder became sore. But no matter how many rocks a tree has thrown at it, it’ll continue to stand tall, unaware of the attempt to topple it.
No, they’d need an ax for that.
CHAPTER 6
THE CONTRACT
For the next few days, the Lismores discussed the best course of action for revealing to the Morleys their grim fate.
And then, finally, the night came.
Detrick and his parents had come to learn a lot more about the Morleys via the documents delivered to them shortly after their radio meeting with Victoria. Apparently, this wasn’t going to be the Morleys’ first such meeting with Union officials. But they hadn’t had any contact since their daughter had been born two years ago. James Morley’s wife, Rebecca, was a homemaker, and Adrianne was their miracle child. After two miscarriages, Rebecca had finally given birth to a daughter. All was not well, though. Adrianne had been born with severe birth defects that would have cost her her life had the Union’s doctors not offered to step in.
Victoria had been gracious enough to allow Detrick to tag along tonight. He hoped to acquire a deeper knowledge of the processes and inner workings of the Union. If he did actually want to gain a position in the high courts one day, he couldn’t let his absence from the city extinguish those dreams.
Detrick was anxious to see how the Morleys were going to react to tonight’s revelations. Would they become hostile? Or would they feel they owed the Union some kind of debt for saving their daughter’s life?
Detrick and his dad joined Kellis and two paladins at their home before setting off for the Morley’s house. His mother stayed home, but Detrick knew she wouldn’t have wanted to be there anyway.
All took seats in the Morleys’ living room except for the paladins, who stood on either side of the front door. They
weren’t donning their metal helmets this evening, but their black leather uniforms still portrayed a sinister presence.
Kellis clapped his hands together. He appeared almost excited to be here. “Shall we pray to Lilith to open this meeting? Owen, why don’t you do the honors?”
Detrick’s dad nodded his head and uttered a short prayer to Lilith, asking Her to watch over their meeting and that She might guide the Morleys to make the right choices in the days and months to come. At this, Detrick heard James and Rebecca shift in their seats.
The prayer was completed, and the group sat in a tense silence until James finally spoke.
“So. Are we going to learn why you’re here tonight?” he asked coldly, more demanding than curious. Even sitting down, Detrick could tell that he was short of stature. Rebecca was easily several inches taller than him.
“The time has come for you to own up to your transgressions, Morley family,” Kellis replied.
The Morleys looked at each other, confused at first. Rebecca pursed her lips and took to twisting her curly black hair between her fingers. James rubbed his face. They seemed to understand.
“Oh, yes,” said Kellis. “The Union knows all about your little rebellion.”
Who was Detrick kidding? Of course they wouldn’t want to pay back the debt they owed. What person, in their right mind, would willingly agree to be put to death, especially for something they believed was right? Detrick sank further back into the chair, suddenly wanting to be anywhere else.
“Owen,” Kellis said shortly, indicating it was his turn to speak.
“Right. Listen,” Detrick’s dad rose to his feet, perhaps to appear more confident, but Detrick could tell there wasn’t a trace of confidence in his entire body. “The Union has learned of your heretical actions. They know all about the Coalition for a Liberated Aeos you’ve been discussing with your brother. They know about the rhetoric you’ve been spreading in secret. And, as I’m sure you know, this is among the most serious of crimes in the country.
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