“They found it, but didn’t know what it was,” Gideon said. “They had it sitting on a desk in the control room. I grabbed it as I walked by. Even with my hands cuffed, nobody noticed.”
Lena shook her head in amazement. She didn’t know much about the Cimmerians, but what she knew didn’t impress her.
“What will you do with me?” Jonah asked.
“We’ll take you to The Port with us. We’ll try to get word to Thora to change her hiding place. You can decide what to do from there,” Gideon said.
“What do you mean?” Jonah said. “I can still hurt you. I know things.”
Gideon shrugged his shoulders. “Go ahead. Contact the Cimmerians. Or the Priestess for that matter. I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear from you. They’d love to hear how you helped Lena escape the Defense Facility when the Priestess came for her. Or how you withheld information from the Cimmerians about Thora’s location and then didn’t keep Lena from escaping.”
Jonah paled and slumped his shoulders even further.
Lena laid down on the cave floor. Using emergency pack as a pillow, she tried to rest.
Gideon grabbed the gun. “Just so there is no question, I will kill you if you try to hurt Lena in any way. Ever again,” Gideon said. “Are we clear?”
Jonah mumbled under his breath and nodded his head. Lena rolled away from him, unable to contain the smile that formed on her lips at Gideon’s words.
Chapter Nine
“Let’s get going,” Gideon commanded, tossing Lena her pack. Lena looked at his eye. The cream seemed to have helped. The swelling was gone, and only a faint yellowing of the skin was left. She rubbed her jawline. She hadn’t looked in the mirror this morning, but her face didn’t hurt as much to touch as it did yesterday. There was only a tender ache when she pushed on it. Jonah knelt then stood, his arms still cuffed behind his back. Lena didn’t look at him as she followed Gideon out of the cave.
“Are there any patrols near?” Gideon asked.
Lena opened her insignia. The screen was blank. “I think we lost the signal,” Lena said. Gideon gave a curt nod and pulled out the tracking device that had led Tarek to them days before.
“We’ll continue to be cautious,” he said, turning it on.
Gideon led them up the mountainside. She fought against the exhaustion and forced herself to keep moving. At this height, only a few trees grew. After an hour of uphill climbing, the path evened out. Lena wanted to shout with relief, but kept it in. Cliffs formed to their right side. Lena looked down. From where she stood, the cliff dropped about twenty-five feet before widening back into the sloping mountainside. A few bushes grew but were sharp and dry looking. The dirt left footprints, but Gideon didn’t seem inclined to cover them. He kept looking at the tracking device, its red light blinking as it beckoned for Druinn's ship.
“Tell me again why the Priestess isn’t going to lock onto that signal?” Jonah asked. He rolled his shoulders as he walked, trying to stretch them with his hands still cuffed.
“This technology isn’t from Mir, and is strictly controlled. The Priestess doesn’t have access to it,” Gideon replied. “But I already told you that the day you betrayed us.”
“Then how did you get it?”
“The pilot works for the General of the Interplanetary Military Academy,” Gideon said. “There are some advantages.”
“Gideon, you don’t need to talk to him,” Lena said. “Who knows, it might also be part of his job to be taken prisoner to glean information.”
“It’s information he already has,” Gideon stated, stepping up a small ledge. He held out his hand to Lena and helped her step up. They both ignored Jonah, who had to sit on the edge before swinging his legs up to stand.
“If you’re sure they’re looking for you, why are we hiking?” Jonah asked.
“I’m not sure, which is why we’re making our way to The Port,” Gideon said back. He led them in a descent now, taking animal paths that wound across the cliff’s edges.
Lena’s legs cramped with fatigue. She was about to ask Gideon if they could rest when she heard in the distance the roaring of water. She looked at Gideon who’d also stopped and was straining his hearing in the same direction as Lena. The sound gave Lena a jolt of energy, and she pushed ahead of the two. Coming around a bend, the small path she’d taken widened out. Lena looked at a pool of water in front of her surrounded by boulders. The roar she heard was a small river falling over the cliffs above them landing in the pool of water, before falling again over another cliff into an already formed river below.
Gideon came up behind her and stopped. Looking up at the waterfall, he then walked his way around the pool’s edge to the ridge where it fell into the river below. The river then flowed alongside the cliff until it made a sharp turn into a dark forest. Lena thought of Birdee and the woods. Her sweet, funny friend who the Priestess captured. Sadness swept over her, and she wished she had been able to save Birdee from being captured.
“I’m ready for a break,” Lena said. She walked to the pool of water. Finding a boulder, she sat down and took her boots off. She put her feet into the icy coldness and forced them to stay in its depth. Her aching feet soon started to feel the relief that comes from the numbness of cold water. She put her hands on the rock behind her and reclined into the warmth of the sun peeking through the clouds. Gideon sat next to her. She heard him rustle with the emergency bag he had carried. She felt him staring at her and turned to look at him. He held out a bar of food for her and smiled as she took it out of his hands.
Jonah cleared his throat to the side of them. “Yeah, it would be really nice if you fed your prisoner,” he called.
Gideon stood and unwrapped a bar. He approached Jonah and shoved it in his mouth. “Don’t talk,” Gideon said.
Lena pulled her feet from the cold water. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she rested her chin on her knees and let her feet drip dry on the rock. The mist from the waterfall made Lena feel damp. She shivered and looked down at her dirt encrusted nails. Dirt was smeared all over her. She looked back towards the waterfall.
“I’m going to wash up,” she called. Putting her boots back on, she slipped from the rock and walked to the waterfall above them. She put her hands under the falls. The water pounded against them as she splashed it on her face and neck. She adjusted her hair into a ponytail. She wet down the frizziness, pushing it towards the back of her head.
Lena heard the yelling first, then the sound of boots shuffling on the cliffs above her. She felt her chest clenching as she looked up. Defense soldiers stepped into view from the cliff’s edge. Lena spun towards Gideon. “Gid!” she yelled.
He stood frozen as if in shock, his gaze fixed on the cliff above them. His hands and jaw were clenched. She swallowed and slowly turned to see why he didn’t respond. Zeke Merak, Gideon’s father, stood in the center of the soldiers, his gun pointed directly at her. Lena raised her hands in the air.
“Evangeline,” General Merak said. He walked to a hovering device that a soldier had placed just off the cliff’s edge. It lowered him down the side of the cliff until he landed a few steps in front of Lena. He stepped off the device. “You’ve grown up.” He stood stiff with an icy glare. He reached towards her and grabbed the sides of her face with his free hand. His fingers crisscrossed her already bruised face making it sting. He tightened his grip as if he knew it would cause more pain. “You look like your father,” he said. Releasing her face, he slapped her, causing Lena’s head to jerk to the side. She rubbed her jaw trying to ease the pain, then raised her head to meet the General’s gaze.
“Zeke,” Lena said, forcing out the word. “It’s been a long time.” She tried not to show how scared she was, but the tightness in her chest made it hard for her to relax. She was afraid. This was the man who had stabbed her dad and shot her mom at point blank range. All in the name of the Priestess. This was the man of her nightmares.
“I’ve spent a lot of time looking for you,” Zeke said
. His eyes flashed with fire, a fire so unfamiliar with the Zeke she grew up knowing. Lena stood there looking at him, remembering the man of her childhood. He didn’t look like himself. She studied Zeke’s face some more. It was so full of anger and malice. His posture, while it always had been commanding, was now rigid. He held his head at a higher angle than he used to, as if he looked down on everyone—like all things were below him. The Zeke she remembered wasn’t like that.
“If it wasn’t for our common enemy, the Cimmerians, I might have never found you,” Zeke said. Lena looked over her shoulder to Jonah, then Gideon. They stood steps away from the edge of the second cliff. Gideon’s arms were lifted in the air as he stared at his father. Jonah stood cuffed but his eyes darted looking for an escape. Anxiety poured into every part of her chest. Three soldiers had climbed down the cliffside and were forming a triangle around them. Lena saw four more defense soldiers standing on the cliff above them, all of their guns pointed at them. They wore the black uniforms of Defense Soldiers. The blood red circles of the Priestess’ insignia gleamed from their chest. Utility belts draped around their waists held a more weapons and round canisters. Lena had never seen these types of canisters before. Zeke surveyed her with his keen eyes. Lena took a step away from him to stand between Gideon and Jonah. “Dorrijan and Toralei couldn’t hide you forever!”
“I…I don’t know who you’re talking about.” Lena gulped as she realized he was talking about Thora and Dorry.”
“They will suffer for hiding you,” Zeke continued.
“Only if you find them first,” Lena said bravely.
Zeke pursed his lips. “They’ll be found—just like you. And they will die—just like you,” Zeke said. “Someone will provide us with their location. Just like the Cimmerians provided us with yours.” Zeke turned to Jonah and smiled. She snapped her head towards Jonah who stared at Zeke with a look of disbelief.
Chapter Ten
“You see, the Cimmerians contacted us as they were running away,” Zeke said, his eyes shifting to Jonah. “They suspected their agent was keeping vital information from them, so they put a tracking device on him. They gave us access to his location in return we stopped pursuing them.” Zeke reached for Jonah, causing him to flinch. Lifting the collar of Jonah’s jacket, Zeke pulled off a small device that looked like a button. He held it up for the three of them to see. Jonah looked furious. He bit his lower lip in rage and his eyes bore into the General’s. “There is no one I can’t control.” Zeke started laughing, a high shrill laugh. It was haughty and condescending. A laugh that did not belong to Zeke Merak.
Lena’s eyes went wide as everything clicked into place inside her mind. She knew why everything seemed off about Zeke. It wasn’t him looking or talking to them at all. It was the Priestess. They were talking to Selene. Lena’s heart started pounding. It all made sense. It was Selene’s posture that Zeke walked with. It was Selene’s icy eyes that sent fear into her soul. Dorry had told her he created a device that took away a person’s agency. Dorry said it was used the day Everleigh was attacked. She remembered how Zeke had acted so differently. Selene used the device on Zeke that day.
“I’m done chasing you,” Zeke said. Lena turned her head towards Gideon. He looked furious. His muscles flexed as he leaned slightly forward the same way he always did before attacking someone. The guards surrounding them twitched in anticipation, their fingers already on the triggers of their guns. This wouldn’t end well.
“Stop,” Lena said putting one hand in front of her in a stopping motion. The other hand she placed on Gideon’s chest holding him back. She stared deep into Zeke’s eyes. “Stop, Selene.”
Zeke’s eyes widened in surprise, then relaxed as he smirked. “You think you’re special. But you’re nobody.”
“You’ve spent a whole lot of time and technology on someone who’s a ‘nobody,’ Selene.” Lena kept her eyes steady on his as she spoke. “You forced Zeke to kill my parents. His best friends.” She tried to say the words so that Gideon would understand so he’d have some clue as to what was going on with his father. “Dorry told me about the device that controls a person’s actions.”
Zeke pointed his gun at Lena’s chest. “I’m going to kill you and your friends for defying me.”
“Dad!” Gideon screamed. He stepped in front of Lena, the gun touching his chest as he did so. “Dad!” Gideon yelled again. Zeke jerked. “Look at me.”
Zeke faltered.
“Dad, it’s Gideon. Your son,” Gideon pleaded.
Zeke blinked his eyes. His head shook slightly as if he was clearing it from a fog. He looked at the gun pointed at Gideon’s chest. His hand started shaking.
“We are not your enemy, Dad,” Gideon called to him.
Zeke trembled as he pulled his gaze from the gun back towards Gideon. Gideon calmly placed his hands on the barrel of the weapon and started lowering it. Zeke let him.
“Gideon.” Zeke’s voice sounded scratchy and strained. He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head to clear it. He opened his eyes, his arm holding the gun started shaking again as it rose to point at Gideon’s chest. He was visibly at war with himself. Sweat formed on his brow.
Gideon stepped back from his father. He beckoned for the gun. His eyes only focused on Zeke. The soldiers surrounding them looked back and forth between their General and the people they were trying to capture. They still pointed guns at the group but looked uncertain as to what to do.
“Dad, give me the gun,” Gideon said, continuing to hold out his hand.
Zeke’s veins in his hands bulged. “Stop her,” Zeke croaked. He jerked again and shut his eyes. When they opened again, Selene’s fire was behind them. He sneered. Holding the gun steady now, he pointed it at Gideon.
“No!” Lena yelled. “Don’t shoot him.” She pulled on Gideon’s arm, trying to put him behind her but only succeeded in moving to his side.
Zeke moved his gun so it was now pointed at Lena.
“Dad, no!” Gideon screamed. A blast shot from the gun at the same time Gideon tackled Zeke.
Something hit Lena’s back knocking her off balance. Lena turned her head to see Jonah leaning limply against her. She wondered how he had gotten there? Jonah’s eye opened wide as he slid to the ground. Blood gushed from his stomach. Lena heard herself scream as she dropped beside him. Jonah’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. Lena pressed her hands into Jonah’s abdomen to stop the gush of blood.
“Jonah,” she said. His eyes rolled forward and focused on Lena. She looked to Gideon for help. He knelt next to his father who was also on the ground. Zeke held his head in his hands. His fingers tugging at his hair. The gun lay beside him. She looked to the other soldiers. “Help him,” Lena demanded. None of them dared moved. A few looked pale as they stared at the body on the ground.
She felt Jonah touch her arm. “You can stop her, Lena,” Jonah said.
Lena sniffed and wiped her eyes against her shoulder. “Stop, Jonah. Please don’t…” She pressed her hands harder into his wound. The blood bubbled through her fingers. She knew she was mad at him—angry that he lied to her and used her—but all she could focus on was saving him. He was dying, and she needed to stop it from happening.
“Help!” she screamed. “Somebody help.” She looked to each soldier, pleading for one of them to move. The soldiers stood in place, petrified.They looked between the general, now on his knees, and their captive dying on the ground.
Jonah squeezed her arm. “I’ve read the prophecy,” Jonah said, his words barely above a rough whisper. “At the ship, I read it. You have to stop her. She’s working with the Viceret.” Jonah’s words rattled from the back of his throat. He closed his eyes.
“The Viceret?” Lena asked shaking her head. “What does that mean? Jonah, I don’t understand.”
His lips moved, but no sound came out. He turned his head to the side and coughed, gasping for air. Jonah’s eyes peeled open. He licked his lips and took a rattled breath. “I’m sorry,” Jonah
mouthed. His eyes bore into hers. She put her hand softly on his cheek. Jonah exhaled. Blood gurgled from his mouth as his head rolled to the side. He was still.
Lena looked to Gideon. Her hands still pressed into Jonah’s stomach. She didn’t know what to do. Tears poured down her face. “Gideon,” she said softly. She knew he couldn’t hear her. Gideon still knelt by his father. She couldn’t hear the words they spoke to each other. As if sensing Lena watching them, they both looked at her.
Through gritted teeth, Zeke spoke to Gideon. “Go.”
Gideon’s eyes narrowed and he shook his head no. Zeke’s hands clenched, and he trembled. “Go,” he said again, stronger this time. “We can’t save her if you don’t go now!”
Gideon locked eyes with his father and nodded. Moving faster than Lena thought possible, Gideon grabbed a canister from the belt of the nearest soldier. He knocked the soldier to the ground and ran to Lena. He wrapped his arms around her and hurled the canister at his father. Lena heard the explosion as Gideon held her tight and jumped off the cliff.
***
The water felt like concrete before it gave way and consumed their bodies. Gideon’s arms slipped from around her. Which way was up? She didn’t know at this point. She just kicked and searched for Gideon. Something touched the top of her head. Lena felt Gideon’s arms wrap around her once more. He pulled her close and kicked upwards. Breaking the surface, Lena gasped for air. The current pushed them away from the falls.
She looked at the cliff above them. Dark red smoke filled the cliffside. It was so dark she couldn’t see the soldiers in its depths. Gideon floated on his back while pulling her closer to his chest. The river flowed into a forest where the current slowed. Gideon pulled her to the bank and helped her out of the river.
“Stay where ya are,” a deep voice called from the trees above them.
Lena raised her hands in the air as she turned her head in a half circle, looking for the concealed person. Water dripped down her arms and off her elbow. The cold air on her wet skin made shiver uncontrollably.
The Children of The Resistance (The Mir Chronicles Book 2) Page 5
