The Children of The Resistance (The Mir Chronicles Book 2)

by Leisa Wallace

  “Thank you, Gideon,” she said into his chest.

  He rested his chin on her head and held her close until her tears stopped. Gently pulling away, he reached for her face, brushing back the hair matted against her forehead.

  “What made you change your mind?” she asked.

  “Suki.” He dropped his arms and stepped away. “She tells it like it is. And after talking—well more like listening— to her, I realized I was wrong. I didn’t see the whole picture.”

  “The whole picture?” Lena asked.

  Gideon cleared his throat and looked at the ground. He shifted uneasily and took a deep breath. “I need you,” he raised his eyes to meet hers. “I’ve always needed you, Eves. I can’t send you away. And I can’t leave you here by yourself. Suki made me realize it’s going to take both of us to undo what my mother has done. I couldn’t possibly leave you to do it by yourself.”

  Lena felt the tears fill up her eyes all over again. Her heart fluttered under Gideon’s gaze. His eyes swam with compassion. Swallowing, she calmed herself enough to talk. “You’re going to stay with me?” she asked.

  “I promised myself I would keep you safe from my mother,” he answered. “And I’m not going to break my promise by leaving you to stop her alone. I’m with you. By your side. Always.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Lena sat on the edge of the sofa while Gideon stood on the balcony staring at the lights of The Port. She fidgeted with her fingernails, picking at the thin clear coat of polish, hoping to calm her anxiety. A pounding at the door caused Lena to jump up.

  Gideon jolted across the room. He opened the door a crack, then stepped back.

  Azara pushed her way past Gideon without saying a word. Not looking at Lena, she crossed in front of her and sat in the armchair adjacent to the sofa. The one Tarek had been sitting in before he went to find them something to eat. She still wore her lavender gown, and as she crossed her legs, it revealed a high slit. Azara watched as Gideon closed the door and came to stand opposite her.

  “Azara,” Gideon said.

  “Don’t Azara me,” she said jumping to her feet. “What were you thinking Gideon. Do you know what kind of trouble I’m going to be in when they put us together? And were you even thinking before dragging Tarek into your war?”

  “I don’t need to hear this right now, Azara. If you’re only here to yell at me, you can leave.”

  Azara bristled. The muscles in her face flexed as she set her lips in a tight line. Gideon set his own jaw. Lena looked between the two and scooted back into the couch wanting to melt into the background. Suki looked entertained and propped herself up even higher.

  After what seemed like an eternity, Azara spoke. “You’re not planning on leaving Mir, are you?” She stared at Gideon as if trying to read his thoughts.

  Gideon didn’t answer her.

  “What is going to happen when the Priestess finds you and kills you all without blinking an eye?”

  “She won’t find us, Azara,” Gideon replied. “She will be looking for a transport ship on its way to Genosee.”

  “You’re acting crazy, Gideon,” Azara responded. She put both of her hands on her hips and stared him down.

  “Azara, Birdee is Lena’s friend and my responsibility. As are all those kids who were captured while in defense training. I’m no longer going to stand silently until it benefits my position to act,” Gideon said.

  “Like you think I’m doing?” Azara snapped.

  "This isn't about you, Azara."

  "But you still think it's true," Azara said.

  Gideon took a deep breath. Lena knew he was having a hard time controlling his temper “I know you didn’t show any real interest in me until you found out who my mother was. Before that, I was only your brother’s friend.”

  “You are being ridiculous.”

  “I know what you’ve always wanted in life, Azara.”

  “And what’s that Gideon?”

  “Power,” Gideon answered.

  Lena turned to see Azara’s reaction, but there was nothing to see. Azara stared calmly at Gideon.

  Gideon continued. “Well, think of this. The Priestess is falling. Worlds are teaming up against her. She thinks she holds power over the interplanetary treaties. But if she can’t control her own world, no other planet would dare let her lead the treaty ceremonies.”

  “But she does have control over her world,” Azara countered. “She has control over this world and many others around her.”

  “But she won’t for long. This world has become a disaster. Its people are looking for an angel to come and save them.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about Lena,” Gideon said.

  Azara gave Lena only a passing glance before lifting her finger and rubbing her nose like she smelled something bad.

  “The people will follow her,” Gideon asserted, ignoring the silent insult.

  “Yes, but they wear rags and have no power. They won’t possibly be able to overthrow the army of the Priestess,” Azara responded.

  “They can, and they will. Especially with Lena leading them.”

  “Lena hasn’t given anyone a reason to follow her. She’s nothing put a poor orphan,” Azara responded. Her voice escalated with each word.

  “Lena shows bravery every day. In the way she talks, acts. She never thinks of herself. Or how a position will put her ahead. She thinks of her friends. She thinks of the people surrounding her. The suffering, the needy. She may have done nothing you find extraordinary, but I assure you she will. You want to be on her side, Azara. Not the Priestess’.” He pointed at Lena as he talked. His voice growing as loud as Azara’s had been.

  Lena looked back and forth between the two of them. Both of their chests were heaving in anger, neither wanting to back down from the argument. Lena wiped her hands on her gown and rose from her seat. Straightening her dress, she put both of her hands calmly in front of her and clasped them together. She felt invisible. Clearing her throat, she looked at Azara. Azara didn’t look back.

  “Azara, I know we have put you in harm’s way. Everything that has happened since you arrived on Mir is my fault. For that, I am truly sorry,” Lena said.

  Azara looked at Lena, surprised.

  “Azara, we need you. Gideon tells me you’re smart and phenomenal at making things happen. We need your skill.”

  When Azara’s stature didn’t change, Lena cleared her throat again and added. “We’ll both owe you a great favor if you can help us.”

  Azara eyed Gideon then looked back at Lena. She took a moment to process what Lena had said. “What do you want from me?” she finally asked.

  “I want you to go to the Allayan consulate and contact Myri and Druinn. They had planned to wait in the City of Arc until we made it off Mir. But things have changed and we’re needing their help.” Lena said.

  “You want me to contact them?” she said. “Why not ask Tarek?”

  “You know he’s being monitored,” Gideon said.

  “And you don’t think that as his sister I’ll be monitored as well?” Azara asked.

  “I know you have special relationships with certain employees of the consulate,” Gideon said. “And I know they’ll do anything you ask of them.”

  This was the first time Lena had seen Azara at a loss for words. Her mouth fell open as if she were going to argue. Gideon raised his eyebrows, silently asking if she wanted to challenge his implied accusation.

  Azara clamped her mouth shut and gripped her hands in front of her. “I’ll find them,” she finally said.

  “Thank you,” Gideon responded.

  Azara walked to the door with Gideon close behind her. Opening the door she turned back to Gideon. In a voice Lena could barely hear, she said, “I did like you, Gideon. For who you were. I don’t do everything just to get ahead in politics. I’ll find Myri and Druinn for you. But Gideon, after that, we’re done. I don’t want to be involved with you in any way. Ever ag
ain.” Azara didn’t give him time to respond. She only looked once at Lena before turning and walking out the door.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “My name in General Carina,” a crisp voice announced. “I’ve come to make a deal with you.” The General walked into the dark room where Lucius sat in a high-backed chair. He rubbed his side where the Priestess let her soldiers beat him. They’d broken his ribs. He hadn’t seen the consulate medic yet. He wanted to make sure Lena and her friend were no longer there.

  “I don’t make deals,” Lucius huffed.

  “And yet, here you are, sitting in a dark room, dismissed from the Priestess’ Defenses and shunned by those who worshiped your father’s position. All because of one small girl.”

  Lucius held in a gasp. How had she known about his dismissal from the Defenses? He hadn’t even told his Uncle Aldebaran that the Priestess had dismissed him after the bombing of the training facility. His pride wouldn’t let him. He thought he’d be able to regain the Priestess’ trust. And he almost had outside in the courtyard. But after Aldebaran granted Lena sanctuary, she’d quietly ordered Lucius to be beaten. He’d failed her twice. He knew he was lucky to be alive—even if he was broken.

  “What do you want?” he snapped.

  “We want Captain Gideon and Evangeline. And we want you to get them for us,” General Carina said, in a straightforward, matter of fact way.

  “And what makes you think I would want to get them for you?”

  “Let’s just say, we now have a common goal.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Power,” General Carina replied. “If you get us Gideon and Evangeline, we will have power over the Priestess—the very one who cast you aside. And, if you succeed, we will give you a place of prominence over the Cimmerian armies.”

  Lucius scoffed. “Nobody has power over the Priestess.”

  “You are wrong. Everyone has a weakness, Lucius. You out of everyone knows that.”

  “You’re out of your mind.”

  “Well if you won’t help us, we’ll find someone more suited to our needs.” She started walking towards the doorway.

  “Wait,” Lucius said.

  General Carina paused and looked over her shoulder at him.

  “What position will I hold?” he asked.

  “You already have leadership training. We would like you to lead as one of our captains.”

  Lucius smiled. He liked the thought of being the leader. Telling people what they could or couldn’t do. If the Priestess were to lose control of Mir, this would work out nicely for him. “What do you want me to do?”

  The General smiled and turned back towards Lucius. “You know how to manipulate people. I suggest you use your strengths in finding a way to bring us the two we seek.”

  “And if I fail?”

  “Do you think you will fail?”

  “No,” answered Lucius.

  “Good,” General Carina said. “It’s an honor to have you on our team. This is how you can contact us.” The General motioned to a man Lucius hadn’t noticed standing silently on the fringes of the room. He walked forward, pulled out an injection gun, and shot something into Lucius' arm. “We’ll be monitoring you. We’ll come when you have what we want. The Captain has less than forty-eight hours to come up with a plan to leave here. I suggest you figure it out.” General Carina gave Lucius one more look over. “I also advise you to hurry.”

  ***

  Lena stood outside the ship Druinn had flown inside the Zoons’ club. Azara had been the one to arrange the meeting outside the Port. Lena had to admit it was smarter than sneaking Druinn and Myri into The Port with their ship. Lena looked at the time. Her heart pulsed in anxiety as she looked at her watch. It had been almost twenty-nine hours since she’d been granted sanctuary.

  Aldebaran offered them the ship to leave Mir just as he promised. Gideon and Lena had spent the day filling it with supplies they both knew they were never going to use. With the help of Evren, they programmed the Genosee ship to leave The Port at two in the morning without anybody on board. Evren would control it remotely from where he was. They hoped any Defense ship watching would follow the ship to Genosee leaving their path to Ebon clear.

  Shaking out her hands, she started pacing around the ship, looking for what she could do to help get ready. Seeing Myri and Druinn she started to walk over to them and then stopped herself. Their heads rested on each other in what looked like an intimate conversation. Druinn put his hand to the side of Myri’s face and brushed her cheek with his thumb.

  Tarek walked up next to Lena. He watched his two friends and smiled. Lena wondered why were they so loyal to Tarek and Gideon. These two didn’t train with them at the I.M.A, yet here they stood, risking their lives for both.

  “Tarek, what is Druinn and Myri’s story?” Lena asked Tarek.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, why are they here. Why are they helping us?”

  Tarek motioned Lena to walk around the ship with him. “Druinn’s father was our hired help when I was a child. Myri, our neighbor’s daughter. They fell in love. Her parents wouldn’t allow it, Druinn had no way of supporting her to the lifestyle they wanted.”

  “You helped Druinn become a pilot.”

  “My father did. He and Myri eloped right after he graduated. Her family disowned her, my father gave him a job right away. He’s mostly been my and Azara’s pilot since, though my father is the one who actually pays him.”

  “They’re so happy together.”

  “They are,” Tarek replied. His eyes moved towards the center of the room. “With hope, all of us can one day find that same happiness.”

  Lena pushed her hair away from her face and followed Tarek’s gaze. He was looking at Suki.

  Suki hovered in the middle of the club, all her weight on her good leg. Knowing that the Priestess would research her, she had decided for safety reasons to send the Zoons away from Arc for a while. Lena knew it was her fault they were being displaced. Suki looked up and glided over to where Lena and Tarek stood.

  “Suki, I am so so sorry,” Lena said. Even battered and wounded, Suki found a way to make herself look stylish. She wore the bandage on her leg as an accessory to the long boots and shorts she modeled. The lights in her prosthetic arm pulsed bright green now. Lena wondered how she got it to change colors.

  “Evangeline, this isn’t your fault,” Suki responded, looking across the abandoned club. “This is the Priestess’. And at least this time, I got proper medical care. Whatever the doctor at the consulate did, he said I’d be healed in a few days. It hardly hurts at all.”

  “But the Gazebo, your home. Where will they all go?”

  Suki laughed out loud. “You don’t think that’s our only command center, do you?” Suki said. Lena’s shocked looked caused Suki to continue. “Lena, we have safe houses everywhere. In every big city on Mir, we have a house just like we do inside The Port. Everyone has a home they can go to. And while none of them are quite as large as The Gazebo, the Zoons will be taken care of.”

  Lena stared at Suki. “You have houses all over Mir?”

  “Yes,” Suki smiled. “When we’re in Arc, we have to play the part of the poor orphan. But you had to to’ve seen at the port house that we do quite well for ourselves. You don’t need to be worrying about the Zoons,” Suki said. “In fact, I’m sending them to all the cities where the Priestess has the most influence to gather information. Things are changing on Mir— and people will pay for that information.”

  Lena shook her head. “You truly are amazing Suki.”

  ***

  Two o’clock came and went just like clockwork. Gideon took Lena, Suki and Tarek to watch as the decoy ship left for Genosee. They were right. As soon as it left the atmosphere, Defense ships swarmed it. Lena knew Evren replaced the ship’s autopilot with one he could control from Mir. Still, she wondered how long it would take the Defenses to board the ship and find it empty.

  Gideon didn’t giv
e them any chance to find out. Wrapping an arm around Lena’s shoulders he led her back into the underground hanger. “Let’s go get Birdee,” he said.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Lena peered out from behind the dead trees. Ebon lay miles in the distance, a dark shadow on the otherwise empty terrain. The sun would rise soon. It had taken them only three hours to fly to Ebon. Lena’s stomach had clenched in knots the whole time they were flying. She was certain the Defenses would find them and shoot them out of the sky before they could save Birdee. But it didn’t happen. They’d seen no sign that the Priestess knew what was happening inside the Genosee Airship.

  Evren communicated with Suki that the ship was still on course towards Genosee, flanked by Defense ships. He hypothesized that the Priestess was waiting until just outside the Genosee atmosphere to either board the ship or destroy it. Evren promised to send the ship into such desperate maneuvers, it would give the Defenses a run for their money.

  Tern walked up beside her on one side and Gideon on the other. Suki leaned against a tree, adjusting the front of her black leather jacket. Suki had outfitted them all in black. Not only did it provide camouflage in the darkness, but Suki also explained black was the color worn in Ebon. It was the Priestess’ colors. Black, red and gold. Lena wore a black jacket she’d gotten at The Port along with black pants that hugged her legs and landed stylishly above her ankles. Suki had given her the shirt from her closet. It’s shiny gold sparkled under the night sky. Lena buttoned her jacket over it.

  “Jus’ follow my movements and I’ll get us inside of the walls of the city without bein’ seen,” Tern said.

  “I’ll lead you to the Zoons’ safe house from there,” Suki added. Opening her jacket, she adjusted her gun holster, checked her firearm for ammunition, and holstered it again.