by Julian North
The drone flew up against the glass, its mechanical eyes peering inside, feeding all it saw back to its master in California.
“Nythan Royce, our savior,” Alexander declared as he struggled to his feet.
I ran to where Rhett lay; the right side of his body from his chest down was soaked in blood. But his eyes were open, his face twisted in agony.
“Alexander, grab Jaxon’s medical kit!” I shouted, my voice quivering.
Rhett somehow fixed an eye upon me. “Finally… got to take one.”
“Shut up,” I commanded. “I thought you were a better shot than that.”
Alexander arrived with the med kit. He lifted Rhett’s shirt. I bit my lip to keep my emotions in check. Alexander sprayed the wound with sealant and jabbed Rhett with a painkiller. But Alexander and I both knew it wasn’t enough. A chunk of Rhett’s side was simply missing.
Alexander said what we were both thinking. “We need to send for emergency medical services.”
Even then, I doubted it would be enough. But without a hospital, I knew Rhett would certainly die.
There was agony in my gut. This was my fault. My plan. I was the one who couldn’t trust anyone.
Betray the betrayers first. I thought myself so clever. Nythan and I and our secret plans.
I had left myself with an unspeakable choice.
The painkiller had taken the worst of Rhett’s suffering, for now. He did his best to eye both of us from the floor.
“How bad, Daniela?”
My voice caught on something as my mind raced. “Bad enough.”
His gaze met mine. Somehow there was still an ease to on his face that belied the gravity of the situation. My mind raced trying to think of another way. But there wasn’t one. In an instant, Rhett knew the terrible choice I was wrestling with.
“Calling for help means the mission fails. Virginia wins if you save me.”
Alexander gaped. “Don’t be ridiculous, of course we’re sending for a doctor.” He stared at me, his eyes wide. Alexander raised his visered hand. I reached out, locking my hand around Alexander’s arm and holding it in place.
“Daniela, are you mad?”
I couldn’t speak. A tear escaped as I stared at Rhett. I shook my head. That was all I could do. I didn’t have any words. None were adequate.
Rhett tried to put that easy grin on his face but didn’t quite succeed. I knew he was doing it for me, to make this easier. I would rather have had a knife in my heart. It was what I deserved.
“Give me another dose of that pain juice,” Rhett said. “Then move me into one of the bedrooms. You better clean this place up. I doubt they’ll notice that tiny hole the drone made in the glass, but the blood and bodies will be a sure giveaway. You don’t have much time left.”
I kept staring at him. I didn’t know for how long. When I couldn’t stand it anymore, I found my voice again. “He’s right.”
Alexander gave him the shot. I couldn’t look at either one of them. I couldn’t face the judgment. Alexander would’ve called for help. I didn’t. Just like Jalen wouldn’t have. Just like Kristolan or Virginia. I was like them. We did what was necessary.
“Hang in there, Rhett,” Alexander said. “This isn’t over.”
Alexander and I carried him into Michael’s room, laying him carefully on the bed. He was leaking blood, even with the first aid sealant.
Alexander stood beside the bed and grasped Rhett’s hand. “Do not stop fighting, my friend.”
“Nor you, Alexander.” Rhett swallowed hard. He was in pain, despite the drugs. “Make this worth it.”
Alexander nodded. I came up beside him.
“I’ll take care of the clean-up,” Alexander said to me. He gazed a last time at Rhett, approval in his eyes. Alexander might not agree with my decision, but he respected sacrifice and honor. He bowed his head deeply, then he left me alone with Rhett.
“Make sure Jeffery is awake and you’re ready to catch your ride,” he said.
“Stop trying to make this easy for me.”
Rhett let some of the pain he felt show on his face. “I told you I wasn’t going to get back to that pond. At least not in this life.”
I wiped another tear. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Leaders don’t need to say. They just need to lead.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to lead.”
Somehow, Rhett managed to get that damn grin on his face. “Too late.” He coughed. Some blood leaked out of his mouth. He wiped it with his hand and stared at the crimson for a moment. He looked up at me. “Make this place… better.”
“I will. I swear it.”
I don’t know if he heard me.
I stayed with him even after he closed his eyes. I watched his chest move up and down, his breathing growing more labored. I wanted to leave, but I didn’t. I stayed until Alexander came to fetch me.
“The v-copter is almost here. You have to go, Daniela.”
I managed to nod, staring only at the floor as I did so.
“I’ll stay with him. Maybe he’ll hang on long enough…”
“Just stay with him, till the end.”
I walked out of the room.
I was going to kill Virginia Timber-Night.
Chapter 31
Jeffery Titan-Wind boarded a United States government v-copter adorned with a bright American flag on the fuselage that had touched down in the fading afternoon light. I walked beside him onto the waiting aircraft—the new ambassador and his perfect daughter. No one knew about the hole inside of me. Or the smoldering anger. Vengeance wouldn’t bring Rhett back, but it was a start.
Our fingerprints were checked against the appropriate database and our retinas scanned with a portable security device. The handheld device was a stroke of luck—it was less accurate than the larger, stationary models. The tiny interrogation patch Ansel had prepared for me to use against Virginia was secure inits hiding place on my thigh. It was tiny, skin-colored, and practically invisible.
A steward outfitted in an impeccably pressed uniform of blue and red showed us to our spacious leather seats on the v-copter. “Welcome aboard, Mr. Titan-Wind, Ms. Titan-Wind. I am truly sorry to hear the rest of your family has fallen so suddenly ill. I’ve passed word back to the estate. Please inform me if there is anything the president might be able to do, and I’ll get word to her chief of staff.”
“Not necessary,” Jeffery assured him. “I would have contacted my good friend Elias myself if there was anything we needed.”
The steward’s stiff smile remained frozen on his face. He was a man accustomed to service in the face of snobbery. “Very good. The flight will be less than twenty minutes, but please let me know if you should need anything.”
“Do you happen to know when the president will be arriving?” I asked, hoping I sounded excited rather than anxious.
“I only know that dinner is set to begin at six o’clock, ma’am. However, many distinguished guests such as yourselves are arriving early to enjoy the estate.”
That timing conformed with California’s intelligence reports. What we didn’t know was when the president would actually arrive. That was out of my control, but the longer I had to linger at some highborn party, the greater the chance that someone would get suspicious that I wasn’t the person I claimed to be. There was also the matter of getting Virginia Timber-Night to go where I needed her. I chewed my lip, but stopped abruptly when I caught Jeffery staring at me with disapproving eyes. I didn’t envy Anise.
We flew over ocean waves and beneath a cloud-topped sky. I knew that somewhere out of sight lurked California's stealth aircraft, but their supposed presence gave me little comfort. The attack planes were necessary, but also almost as potentially dangerous to me as the president’s guards. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the floor plan of Alexander’s old estate. He had restored it exactly as it had been prior to the fire. Virginia hadn’t had possession long enough to make any real changes. Everything should stil
l be laid out just as Alexander had described. Still, with Virginia, there would always be surprises. I had a viser, but there was no realistic way to safely communicate with California or anyone else once we landed. The country’s best electronic monitoring systems would be deployed at the estate. I was on my own.
The v-copter set down less than a hundred yards from the main house. I looked out the window. A giant bluekent drone was parked beside us. There was also a scanning arch—the largest one I had ever seen. Beside the glowing portal were two men in military fatigues with optical helmets and long scanning wands. I frowned. There was no way Ansel’s drug was getting by those security precautions. As Jeffery walked to the aisle to disembark, I turned toward my seat as if looking for something, then I reached inside my dress and knocked the interrogation patch to the floor. As I turned back, I kicked it under the seat.
I was going to have to do this the hard way.
As I stepped onto the leaf-strewn winter lawn, I took note of the government aircraft patrolling overhead: two razorFish. That was one more than we had expected. Jeffery and I passed through the arch, then submitted to another scan by the military minders. Once we were cleared, our welcoming party was a pair of copper-haired women with skin bleached to a paler shade than Nythan’s. Behind them were hulky men in tuxedos who undoubtedly carried guns beneath their dark coats. The identity checks that had been performed on board the v-copter were re-verified, then we were led toward the house by the metal-haired ladies. No names were asked for or offered. These women were too far beneath us in the world inhabited by the likes of Virginia Timber-Night and Jeffery Titan-Wind for such pleasantries to be proper.
A large canopy had been erected on the lawn immediately adjacent to the house to handle the overflow of guests. I hoped that didn’t mean that access to the house itself would be restricted.
A stocky man with reptilian eyes and glittering golden hair greeted us effusively at the perimeter of the party, just outside the flap of the canopy.
“Dearest Jeffery, so glad you could make it.”
“Elias, you know I would not miss it. I believe you have met my daughter, Anise?”
I smiled my best Anise smile, then joined in the highborn style of head bobbing without opening my mouth. I guessed this Elias was Virginia’s chief of staff. It sounded as if he had only met Anise on one prior occasion, but I remained cautious about speaking unnecessarily.
“I’m so sorry to hear about the rest of your family getting sick. Hopefully, they will be able to join everyone for a victory celebration when the damn rebels finally realize they have been whipped.”
“Of course they will be there for such an occasion,” Jeffery assured him.
“Oh, Anise, I would like to pass on that Arik Titan-Wind was asking about your arrival time.”
My throat clenched. I forgot all about keeping my mouth shut. “Arik’s here already?”
“Yes, yes. The president had important matters to attend to at the White House—she should be joining us in thirty minutes or so, but Arik flew out this morning to make sure everything was in order. I understand that Tuck has all of next week off, so he was planning to stay out at the estate for a while.”
I forced a smile even as my heart pounded on the inside of my chest. Deuces. Arik would know I wasn’t Anise, particularly if they were as close as Alissa had claimed. I had to keep away from him until Virginia arrived. I needed it to be crowded inside the canopy.
Elias ushered us inside the tent. There was another portable weapon scanner above the entrance, but I had brought nothing with me except my viser. Inside, the air was too warm, and it was not nearly packed enough to suit my needs. I estimated there were two dozen impeccably dressed guests, each sparkling with adornments including their glittering golden visers. I reminded myself that Anise fit right in here. Serving staff were everywhere. Mercifully, I didn’t see Arik. I slinked away from Jeffery and Elias to a corner bar where several guests had clustered. I ordered sparkling water and sipped it innocuously in the corner, studying the situation.
There were two exits from the canopy: the one I had just passed through to enter and a second that led into the main house. A tuxedo-clad minder kept vigil at the portal, but he didn’t appear to be stopping people from passing freely in and out of the residence. There were probably guards inside restricting access to the private rooms upstairs, but I didn’t need to go up, just down.
I sucked in an anxious breath and headed for the house, forcing myself to take normal, even strides. I caught sight of the towering form of Mona Lisa Reves-Wyatt from out of the corner of my eye. Her father was high up in one of the netcasting companies and apparently important enough to the new order to merit an invitation. Anise had probably been sucking up to her as well, given the grand new order of things. I was sure Mona Lisa would smoke me out easily. I pretended not to see her and quickened my step. She kept heading toward me. I held my head high and straight as I walked by a presidential security guard into a living room where more distinguished guests had gathered.
There were fewer people inside, most seated on comfortable couches, enjoying hors d’oeuvres and sipping cocktails. They were effusive and smiling, as if the world belonged to them—which it practically did. I turned to my left, heading to the kitchen, where I thought I’d be safe from Mona Lisa’s pursuit. Instead, I ran straight into Arik Timber-Night.
I gaped upward, my eyes wide. Arik was Alexander’s ghostly reflection, their faces similar enough for the resemblance to be apparent, yet so different in every other way. Arik’s ruby-tinted irises twinkled with something resembling pleasure.
“Anise, I’m so happy you are finally here. It’s been quite a bore of a party until now, I’m afraid.” His voice was deep, powerful. His eyes conveyed strength but also the arrogance of power. I imagined him tormenting nopes at Tuck, my people. He was cut from the same cloth as his mother.
I heard footsteps on the hardwood floor behind me. Frakkin’ Mona Lisa had followed me inside. I was stuck. My mind raced as the silence became awkward.
I inched closer to Arik and reached up with my hand, slipping my fingers around his neck. I tugged him gently toward me so I could whisper in his ear. He allowed himself to be drawn in, of course. Anise was a beautiful girl.
I offered my best throaty whisper. “Let’s make it more interesting, then.” My voice might have been wrong, but Arik was too pleasantly surprised to care.
I forced a smile, mysterious and playful, sliding past him into the kitchen. I made plenty of contact with his body as I took the lead. I beckoned him with a flick of my head. Behind him, I caught sight of Mona Lisa, but she was tactful enough not to follow us. Her mind was probably filling up with all the choice rumors she could spread once school resumed.
I tried to walk the way I’d seen other girls in BC walk in these types of situations. I imagined I looked different from the real Anise from Arik’s current angle, but I kept looking back to make sure his eyes didn’t have enough time to focus on any one thing, or to wonder at the reason for his good fortune. I knew the house well enough to know there was a back staircase leading upstairs that was accessible through the other side of the kitchen. Kristolan knew the house even better. Her memories flooded through me as I led Arik along. Her knowledge, and her ruthlessness, might save me. Or doom me.
There was a guard at the staircase leading upstairs. I smiled at Arik, blushing slightly.
“It’s all right, Kal, she’s with me,” Arik said.
We walked up the stairs. I forced myself to breathe as I took each step. My eyes searched the floor, the walls, the ceiling. It was all immaculate now. I struggled to remember the fire the night we had fought Kristolan. It had been worst on the bottom floors. The top level, where the family lived, had smoke damage, but that was all. Had it been completely rebuilt or just cleaned and renovated? I didn’t remember. It wasn’t the kind of thing I cared about or discussed with Alexander. But my life might well depend on it now.
I took Arik’s h
and when we got upstairs. I needed to keep control of the situation, and of him. I needed him to continue to let himself be led to where I wanted to go. I took him to the room that had been Kristolan’s. He paused for a moment at the threshold.
“This is—”
I placed both my hands on his chest, then slipped one finger gently up to his mouth to silence him. I did my best imitation of a giggle, then tugged him again. This time he followed me inside the room, shutting the door behind us. My stomach churned with anxiety and horror. But the price to get into this house today had been incalculably high—I wasn’t going to fail.
I had never been in this room before, and it no longer resembled Kristolan’s memory. That made sense—even if it had only been smoke damage up here, all the old furniture would’ve been discarded. Kristolan’s carefully chosen antiques had been replaced with more basic, modern designs. It was a plain, drab room now. I was shaking; I couldn’t help it. My death was going to be particularly unpleasant if I had made a mistake bringing Arik here.
I had stopped paying attention to him when I’d seen that Kristolan’s room wasn’t what she remembered. He retook the initiative quickly. Large, strong hands turned me toward him. I looked up, and his mouth was on mine. I wanted to gag, but that would’ve meant throwing away everything I had worked for, letting thousands die for nothing. I forced myself to respond the way he wanted. It helped that I was wearing Anise’s face. I reminded myself this was like wearing a mask; he wasn’t touching the real me. He pushed me back toward the bed, and I let him. After we hit the cushioned surface, I ran my hands gently up his arms, urging him to roll over. I smirked as I climbed on top of him. I forced myself to kiss him again. And again. I pressed my cheek against his and whispered in his ear.
“Just one moment, please.”
