by Seven Steps
“You alright there, sister?”
“Stop calling me sister!”
“What would you prefer?”
Eva was silent, not giving him the satisfaction of the reply that pulled at her tongue: Empress.
Cobb looked at her warily, “Don’t get all quiet on me now. You’re the best conversation I’ve had in a long while.”
“I’m fine,” Eva said. “Let’s just keep moving.”
They approached a roaring lumber mill. Eva stopped to look at the strange contraptions inside. If her memory served her correctly, three types of trees were grown in this forest, oak, pine and maple. Alder and Red Cedar were grown in a separate, hotter enclosure on the other side of the Habitat. Today, pine was being transported into the mill by large drones. They carried at least ten trees in their massive claws. They dropped the trees, barks, leaves and all, into glass tubes. The tubes then closed, forcing each tree into a different groove. The pine was then stripped, and broken down into flat sheets of wood that would someday become furniture, building material, paper, and anything else the Venians needed. The trees served their purpose, becoming part of the great air filtration system and providing the inhabitants with the raw material to both stay alive and continue to grow.
Eva moved on, following Cobb, who hadn’t bothered to stop when she did. Pine needles pooled under their feet. A gentle mist floated down, making the soil below soft. Green moss covered stones, slippery to the touch, were scattered through the forest.
She envisioned the Founding Mothers coming on massive ships, full of enough supplies to start over on this new world.
How long did they have to wait until they could walk through this forest? How did they find the strength to build an entire world? Do I have that strength? Am I that hearty?
She wondered what the Founding Mother’s would think of her if they knew that she was walking through their carefully built forest looking for her slave with a free man?
And what about mother? She’s probably worried sick. She’s probably commed the Enforcers back by now and learned what I’ve told them. She must feel ashamed. I’ve shamed my mother.
Hot guilt pumped through her, threatening tears.
I wish I didn’t have to, but I had no choice.
She sighed, quickened her pace in the quiet forest. She thought of what she and Lex had done only a few hours ago and blushed.
We shouldn’t have done that, but by Venus if I don’t want to do it again.
She looked behind her, wondered how many miles she had before she reached the edge of the Habitat.
“Stop,” Cobb commanded. He pulled her to a nearby wide tree.
“Why are we stopping?”
He shushed her, flattening himself against the bark.
Eva listened carefully, hearing only mist.
“Did you hear that?” Cobb asked her.
“No.”
“I thought I heard something.”
He stayed hidden for a few minutes more, before continuing their journey.
“What could possibly be out here?” Eva asked.
“Enforcers. Spies. Take your pick.”
“Spies?”
“Yup. Men who try to find out where Mahala is so that they can report back to their master’s. They would ruin us all for a pat on the head.”
“I didn’t know there were such men.”
“You’d be surprised, sister.”
The lights of the Habitat began to dim.
“Don’t you need a map or something? It’s getting dark. What if you get lost?”
“You’ll never get lost if you know where home is,” he replied.
Home? Is that what I’ll be calling Mahala now? Home?
“Do you think that I’ll fit in there?” She asked.
“I think you’ll do just fine. Now if only you could control that mouth of yours.”
She smiled, looked up to the top of the dome.
What is that?
A dim light reflected off of the top of the door. It glittered, signaling her to the left. The trees began to clear.
Voices.
Chapter 34
Marie swooped into the cell and had her arms around Nadira before her child had fully awakened.
“Mother?” Nadira asked. “Mother, what are you doing here?”
“I came as soon as I heard. Oh, Nadira, what have you done?”
“I haven’t done the things they accuse me of. Well, I did do one of them, but I didn’t try to kill Arees.”
Nadira told her mother about her findings.
Marie listened closely, a frown on her face.
“You have to get those feeds to the news, mother. You have to tell the world what Arees is doing.”
Marie placed a hand on Nadira’s cheek. “Arees will be dealt with, but we only have a few minutes and I have something to tell you. Nadira, I am sorry. I am sorry that I failed you as a mother, as a friend, as a teacher. I should have been better for you, more open.”
“Mother, you were perfect. I’m the one who kept messing up.”
Marie shook her head. “No. There are things that I have to tell you. Things that you have to know and I don’t have much time.” She released her daughter, rubbed her thumb over the bean shaped locket. “Nadira, you have to get to Zenith.”
“How? I’m stuck in this cell.”
“I know. I will find a way to get you out, and when you do, you have to get to Zenith and away from this place. I had a mission, to take two children to see the Magistrate. That mission is yours now. You have to leave Venus. You have to be free.”
“Mother, what are you talking about?”
“Our time is almost up. I’ll be back tonight.”
Marie stood, walked quickly to the doors.
“Mother wait!” Nadira called.
Marie turned.
“Have you seen Kiln?” Nadira asked.
Marie nodded.
“How is he?”
“He misses you,” she said. Marie opened the door.
“Mother?”
“Yes, Nadira.”
“I love you.”
Marie raced back to Nadira’s arms.
“Oh Naddie, I love you too. More then you’ll ever know. More than life. I’ll be back tonight my darling.”
With tears in her eyes, Marie left the cell.
When she arrived back at the desk, a new Enforcer waited for her.
“Hello Marie,” Bragnia said. “Here to see your fugitive daughter and her slave?”
“Not now, Bragnia.”
“I understand. What mother would want to know that her daughter and her slave are set to be executed tonight for their crimes?”
Marie turned from her.
“Perhaps if you spent more time teaching your daughter about self control, and less time lying for her, she would not be here right now.”
“Is that all, Bragnia?”
“No. You should know that all of this is your fault. You were too easy on her. All of you women in the Ring are too easy on your girls. But don’t worry. Once Arees is elected as the Head of Council, the Enforcers will be sure that the Ring no longer has those problems.”
“Just because your mother sent you off to be an Enforcer, does not mean that we all should have done the same. I wanted more for my child.”
“And look at where it’s gotten you. My mother made sure that I would always be an example, that I would be honorable.”
“Is that what you call conspiring with Czarina Arees to murder innocent people? Is that honorable?”
Marie’s eyes shifted nervously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m sure you don’t. I know every one of your dirty little secrets. How soon until the Head Enforcer is murdered before you take her seat? Tomorrow?”
“You’re crazy.”
“Am I, Bragnia?”
Bragnia glared, “Say goodbye to your daughter and that slave of hers. Tonight, they’ll both be executed, and I will be the one holding th
e Blaster. And then tomorrow, we’re coming for you. And don’t even think about trying to go off-world or leaveing the Habitat. Your ship has permanently been grounded. Goodbye, Marie.”
Marie turned from the Enforcer and left, her hand going to the necklace.
Maxwell met her in the hovercraft hanger behind the Hall of Judgment. “Empress, the ship has been locked.”
“I know. Bragnia told me as much. It looks like we’ll need the other ship.”
“The other ship is all the way back in the Ring.”
“We’ll find Vechulla Di. She’ll give us a ride.” She looked up at the Hall of Judgment, standing tall over her. “One way or another, I will get Nadira and Kiln out of this place. One way or another.”
*****
Nadira put her head in her hands and wondered how she had ended up in this place. Just a few short days ago, her and Kiln were in their own home, living the life that they’d dreamed of.
Now I’m sitting in a holding cell, waiting to be executed. And after everything I’ve done, all of the evidence I’ve gathered, Arees will still win the election. Unless Baleen makes it tonight. Oh please Mother Goddess, please protect Baleen. Help her to make it to the elections. Help her to beat Arees. Please, don’t let Arees win.
Footsteps to her right shook her from her prayer. Someone was coming down the hall.
Another prisoner?
She stood up and walked to the door.
Head high, and proud, Baleen marched to the cell across from Nadira, two Enforcers flanking her.
Nadira stumbled back, her head spinning as Baleen’s cell door was opened, then slammed shut again.
They exchanged looks, neither knowing what to do now that they were both captured.
Nadira laid down on her cot and stared at the ceiling.
Baleen was imprisoned.
All hope was lost.
Chapter 35
A tall, wooden gate – nearly impossible to tell apart from the trees around it – rose in front of Eva and Cobb. It had no discernible doors or windows. Voices and odd smells rose from beyond it. Above, flickering fire reflected on the ceiling of the dome.
“Is this it?” Eva whispered. “Is this Mahala?”
“The one and only,” Cobb answered, approaching the gate. He knocked three times on no particular spot and waited.
“What happens now?” Eva asked.
Suddenly, an unmistakable whizzing of a Venian Blaster booting up from behind them.
“Has the sun found you?” a gruff voice asked.
“Standing on the shore,” Cobb replied, turning around to face the man with a grin.
“Who’s the girl?”
Eva turned to see a plump man, his sweat glistening on his tanned skin.
“An unplanned pick up.”
“Is she safe?”
Cobb nodded. “She knew the code word. She’s looking for a slave named Lex.”
“The red head?”
“Yes,” Eva said, stepping between the two men. “He has red hair and a red beard. Is he here?”
The man looked from Eva to Cobb.
Cobb waved him on, crossed his arms across his chest.
“Yes, he arrived not too long ago. He told us a woman might try to find him here. I’ll take you to his hut.”
“His what?”
But the man was already walking away, disappearing through a newly opened arch in the side of the fence.
Eva and Cobb followed him in.
More blasters booted up as they walked by, with more than twenty men on guard at the gate.
“In case you aren’t who you say you are,” Cobb said aloud.
Eva didn’t reply, and continued to follow the sweaty man into the heart of the colony.
Hundreds of round topped, wooden huts circled a roaring fire. Colorfully dressed men, women and children walked among the huts, talking, holding hands, and in some cases, openly kissing each other.
Eva felt faint.
Women and men touch each other in public and no one blinks an eye? No one is shamed? Maybe all of these people were born here. There’s no way any women raised in the Habitats would ever tolerate a man touching her in public, even by mistake.
The women wore dresses that touched their calves and bare feet, while the men wore a shirt and trousers.
Dresses? Why is everything here so primitive? It’s like we’re on another world.
“Not what you expected?” Cobb asked from behind her.
“No,” Eva choked out. “Not at all.”
“Cobb!” A short, blond jumped on Cobb, wrapping her legs around his waist and covering his face with kisses.
Eva’s eyes went wide, holding back the sharp words that her Venian tongue longed to say.
They were lost in each other’s kisses before Cobb noticed Eva’s horrified stares. His face went red with embarrassment, and he put down the woman, whose head only came up to his chest.
“Eva,” he pulled the woman close, his hand tight around her waist. “This is Star. She’s my wife.”
The two women stared at each other.
“Empress Star of Beta?” Eva asked. “You’re mother serves with me on High Council.”
“She does.” Star clutched onto Cobb’s hand, looking back at Eva without shame.
“How long have you been here?”
“Over a year now,” she said.
“You followed a slave here?”
“No. I followed my heart here. I knew what my mother did, knew what she wanted me to do. I just couldn’t go through with it. So I left home, and I’ve been here every since.”
“You’re mother told everyone that you’d gone missing. We all thought you were dead. They searched for weeks.”
“My mother knows exactly where I am,” Star replied.
“How? High Council has been trying to determine if Mahala exists for years. They’ve done numerous searches of Beta, questioned slaves.”
“And found nothing. Why do you think that is?” Star let the question sink in, then pressed on. “Beta protects Mahala. They have since it began.”
“But why protect a colony of fugitives?”
“For what we represent. Beta keeps Mahala protected, and Mahala provides Venus with the genes for new generations.”
Eva felt her chest constrict.
“You never know Eva. Someone here may just be your father.”
No. It can’t be true. I don’t have a father. Mother created me. There is only mother.
“I think I need to sit down.” Eva’s palms went to her head. “I just... I need to sit down.”
“Maybe you should give her a minute,” Cobb whispered. “It’s a lot to take in.”
“I’m sorry Eva,” Star placed a hand on Eva’s back. “I find the best thing to do now is to embrace it. Everything that you’ve been told about life is wrong.”
“Star, that’s enough.”
She stood up straight, her hands clasping in front of her.
“I’ll go check on Mina,” she said before walking away.
Cobb kneeled down next to Eva, his hand replacing Star’s.
“I’m sorry about that. My wife can be a bit blunt. Usually we give the new women weeks to learn about things.”
“I just want to see Lex. I need to see Lex.”
“Okay. I’ll take you to him, don’t you worry.”
He helped her up, and they continued through the colony, Eva feeling weaker with each step.
A greenhouse was set towards the rear, as well as a small reservoir. A row of hovercrafts was stationed on landing pads between the huts and the wall.
They passed by a fire, the source of an odd smell that, all at once, made Eva’s mouth water and her stomach lurch.
“What is that awful smell?” she asked.
“Meat. You’ll get used to it.”
“Meat?”
“Animals. We get our animals from the Hollow Trade, kill them, cook them, and eat them.”
She swallowed down bile, and leaned against C
obb, depending on him to keep her upright.
They spotted the sweaty man near a hut.
“There’s Mitt,” Cobb said.
Mitt nodded, a small smile on his face. “He’s waiting for you.”
Cobb handed Eva passed the curtain, to the man who waited for her inside.
“Lex!” Eva screamed, running into his arms. “Oh Lex, I’m so glad that you’re safe.”
His musky scent teased her nostrils, calming her. She felt her body immediately heat at his nearness. The longing that she felt for him washed over her, thick and sweet.
This is real. Not the lies that they tell women out there. This is real.
“I can’t believe you came,” he whispered into her hair.
“This place is absolutely dreadful. There’s strange smells and Star told me all of these horrible things. I don’t know what to believe anymore. I only know one thing,” she pulled back, looked into his eyes. “I want us to be together. I don’t want to be without you.”
Lex’s eyes searched hers. “Then stay.”
He moved his lips over hers, his kiss awakening familiar passion. Taking her hand, he put it up to his chest. She felt his heart thump hard. He pulled away, and led her to a blanket-covered cot. They sat on the unforgiving wooden bed.
This is awful.
“Eva, I know that it’s not the best accommodations, but what matters is that we’ll be together, right?”
He sat next to her, placed a hand behind her neck, rubbing it in small circles.
Heat blossomed through her at his touch.
She stopped breathing, closed her eyes.
“I love when you do that,” he whispered.
“Do what?”
“Surrender.”
He pulled her close, kissed her hungrily, and she was lost in him again.
Lost in the fire that burned in her at his nearness, lost to the smell of him, the feel of him. Lost in the way he put her needs before his own. With him she felt safe, alive.
He touched her with the highest reverence, as if she were glass, and he her maker, heating her to exhaustion until she formed something beautiful.
