The Outerlands - Sedition

by Aleigh Schuster

  Graff shifted in his chair and I turned away, pretending sleep. When he stretched out, I opened my eyes.

  “Hey…how are you feeling?” he asked, voice raspy.

  I tried to sit up and Graff reached over from his seat to help me.

  “Careful now.” He touched my shoulders and I felt that all too familiar spark between us. My cheeks heated and I directed my eyes to the window across the room. The light forming in the sky told me it was almost dawn.

  “Did you stay here all night?” I squeaked out.

  “Yeah…” he cleared his throat, “I did.” His fingers brushed my cheek before tilting my chin up so I had no choice but to meet his eyes. “I was worried about you. So can you answer my question?” He raised an eyebrow.

  Slowly sitting back to break the contact between us, I went over yesterday’s injuries in my head. “Hmm…actually my shoulder barely hurts at all,” I whispered. “And except for my throat and a bit of a headache, I feel pretty good.” I rubbed the gash on my head, finding a bandage covering it. “Ugh…well that’s still a little tender.”

  Graff stared at me, a funny look on his face.

  “What?” I asked, running my fingers through my hair to calm my bedhead, thinking that might be the reason.

  He studied me a moment longer. “Well, Marta injected you with the antibiotic, and while that would fight off any infection, it really doesn’t explain how fast your body’s healing.”

  Graff moved closer and gently pressed his hand against my left shoulder, looking to me for confirmation that I really wasn’t in any pain. “The Gunari are known to heal faster than normal humans, but this is completely off the charts…even for us.” Instead of removing his hand, he brought up the other one and placed it on my opposite shoulder. I instantly felt his warmth but also noticed the spark wasn’t as strong this time.

  “Do you think you can stand? Maybe walk a bit?” he asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

  “Sure…” I hesitated, not wanting to tell him no but wondering if maybe I should wait for Marta’s approval before doing anything major. Still, when he offered his hand, I scooted to the edge of the bed and let him help me to my feet.

  Graff wrapped his arm around my waist and I took a few steps within his grasp before moving to walk to the end of the infirmary alone, turning around when I reached the wall.

  “Holy Mother…” I whispered. “I honestly can’t believe I’m walking around like this after the whupping I took yesterday.” When there was no response from Graff, I looked up to find him staring at me like I had grown two heads. Of course at that moment, my stomach made the loudest gurgling sound ever. To hide my embarrassment, I added, “Actually, I think the worst I’m feeling right now are hunger pangs.”

  He cleared his throat. “Yeah, okay, sure. There’s some broth from last night.”

  “Broth sounds good,” I agreed, smiling.

  “Why don’t you sit down at the desk there and I’ll bring it over to you,” he suggested.

  On the desk was a clean pair of clothes with a small note from Marta on top. While Graff heated the broth, I stepped behind a partition in the corner and changed. The pants slid on easily, and I only felt slight discomfort in my shoulder and ribs as I slid my arms through the top. I emerged just as Graff set the cup of broth on the desk.

  “Mmm…this is really good. Thank you,” I said, sipping the broth. A few minutes later, I set down the empty cup, frowning because I was still hungry.

  Graff burst out laughing. “I think you might need something with a little more substance but it’s still a few hours before the mess hall opens. If you’re up for it, I can walk you to your cabin and get something for you there. I’m sure you’re ready to get out of here anyway, and it’ll quiet Dera down as well. She’s been pestering Marta just about every other hour to see how you’re doing.”

  “That sounds like her.” I smiled, getting to my feet and following him out of the infirmary.

  * * *

  We walked back to the cabin in silence. Although I stole a few glances of Graff in an attempt to decipher what he was thinking, it wasn’t at all awkward. When we reached my front porch, he stopped and leaned against the railing. He gently pulled me to him by the elbow. “Henley,” he whispered, staring into my eyes, “I’m gonna need you to do something for me.”

  “And what would that be?” I asked, nervously swallowing as his gaze traveled to my lips. Seconds passed and he said nothing, but I felt everything. I thought he might kiss me, but he pulled his eyes back up to mine and I could see him mentally pulling away.

  “Look,” he huffed out as he released me, “Marta is going to know you’re healing at an unprecedented speed, which means Jonas and Nessa will know…and Dera since you share a cabin with her. But it’s important that as few people as possible find out about this in order for me to keep you safe.”

  “For you to keep me safe?” I asked quietly, the somersaults in my stomach in full force again.

  “Yes…of course.” He ran a hand through his hair. “If the government found out about this, Devlyn would stop at nothing to see you captured. And the council couldn’t allow that to happen.”

  “Oh, right. That actually makes more sense I guess.” I pushed away what I’d hoped had been the real reason he wanted to protect me.

  “So for the next four or five days,” he continued, not even registering the hurt expression I knew was plastered across my face, “do you think you could pretend to still be injured—especially the left shoulder?” He produced a sling that apparently had been tucked inside his jacket.

  “Yeah, sure. Not a problem,” I said as he handed it over.

  Graff briefly looked past me to the door. “Well, I’d better get going. Do you want me to help you make something else to eat first?”

  “I’ll be fine,” I said, figuring he had better things to do.

  “All right then. I’ll see you soon,” he said, already stepping toward the trail that led to his cabin.

  I wanted to ask him about the spark between us, about whether he felt it too; whether he thought what his uncle said about us might be true. Instead, I swallowed the words and responded with, “See you around.” Then I walked to the front door, opened it, and slipped inside.

  My eyebrows went up when I spotted Dera leaning against the archway to our bedroom. “Sorry, I couldn’t sleep and I kinda overheard you two talking,” she responded to my silent question. “You really do look amazing. I mean…when I left you yesterday you looked like you were on your death bed. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. How is that possible?”

  “Hi to you, too.” I grinned. “And honestly, I don’t really know, but I feel pretty good except that I’m starving.” I tossed the arm sling on the kitchen table before sitting down.

  “Yeah? Well, after what that jerk did to you I’m surprised that you’re not in more pain,” she said, eyeing the sling on her way to the kitchen.

  Dera set a bowl of creamy chicken soup and a cup of hot tea in front of me as she sat with her favorite egg wrap she could never get enough of on her own plate.

  She watched me the entire time I sipped my soup. I could practically hear the wheels spinning in that cunning little head of hers. I kept sipping; she kept staring. When it started to feel like a showdown, I pushed my bowl aside. “I need to tell you something.”

  “Ya think?”

  “First, you have to promise not to breathe a word of this to anyone.”

  “Jeez, Henley. I would never tell anyone your secrets. You’re my friend. I thought you knew that,” she muttered, sounding offended.

  “Look, I know that, but keeping this secret comes directly from Jonas himself.” Dera gasped, but I kept going. “I’m coming into my Gunari abilities.”

  “You mean besides the fact that you heal incredibly fast and have to pretend to be hurting for the next four or five days, hence the arm sling?” she replied sarcastically.

  “And…” I paused, hoping she didn’t see me too differen
tly when I told her, “I seem to have a second ability that most Gunari don’t have. Jonas said he wants me to work on it in private training sessions because no one can know.”

  “Holy…wow! That’s incredible,” Dera said, something akin to awe in her voice. Then she added, “I swear, I won’t tell a soul.”

  “I believe you,” I replied, taking my cup and heading to the sofa.

  * * *

  After our talk, Dera left to go train.

  With nothing for me to really do, I decided a hot bath was in order. After I finished that, I went through some of the new clothes Dera had picked up for me, choosing something comfortable to wear before putting the other outfits in the closet. Then I cleaned the cabin. I’d just finished with the kitchen when Dera came back.

  “Oh, good. You’re still up.”

  “Yeah,” I replied. “I’ve been bored out of my mind, though. What time is it anyway?”

  “Almost dinner, and I’m starving,” she said. “Give me a minute to clean up and we can go eat.” She ran to her bedroom and closed the door so I pulled on my fake arm sling and waited.

  * * *

  The Mess Hall was almost full when we arrived, but my eyes found Graff right away. He was sitting at a table between Rafe and Cali; on the opposite side sat Quinn and a guy I’d never met. I looked away before they noticed me. Cali looked great, of course, and a twinge of jealousy hit me. But seriously, didn’t she have any girlfriends?

  We reached the counter and I grabbed a tray, remembering at the last minute to only use my good arm. Choosing the chicken soup again while Dera loaded up on roast beef and vegetables, I turned to find a table just as Drew came out from the kitchen carrying a platter. He stopped and stared at me, jaw clenched tight, anger overtaking his features.

  Dera wondered why I wasn’t moving and followed my line of sight. She started to say something, but Rafe appeared in front of Drew. Out of nowhere, Ford came to stand between them. I could tell from Ford’s expression that the conversation was heated. It lasted only a moment, but whatever they said, when Rafe turned around to walk off, Drew was no longer there. Ford stood alone, staring at the floor. Then his eyes found mine and he gave me an apologetic look before returning to his friends across the room.

  “Come on, Dera,” I whispered loud enough for only her to hear, “let’s go find a table.”

  “There’s room at Graff’s table now,” she said in a hopeful voice, making me wonder if she wanted to sit with Rafe. But I couldn’t go over there. Not while I still saw images of Drew’s angry face and definitely not with Cali looking so cozy beside Graff.

  “No. Can we just sit here?” I asked, indicating the first available table and sitting down before she could respond. Shaking a little, I picked up my spoon.

  Dera sat across from me and immediately took a bite of her vegetables. “Drew blames you for getting KP duty.” She and took another bite, waving her fork in the air. “But did you see how Rafe handled that weasel?”

  “Yeah, but it’s so noisy in here I couldn’t hear what he said.” I took a deep breath to calm down.

  “I wonder if Jake is in here,” she said, and turned in her seat to look around. “Oh. There he is sitting between Ford and Tommy. Ooh, and look who’s just joined their table.”

  Following where her attention was directed, I found Rafe seated next to Ford. From their expressions, it was easy to guess they were still discussing whatever they had been a few moments ago. Ford nodded in agreement and both he and Rafe looked to Jake. The younger boy nodded once, bending his head downward as if embarrassed.

  “I wish I could hear what Rafe is saying. You’re right, this place is so noisy. What good does it do to have special abilities if they don’t work when you need them?” Dera asked, frustrated.

  Laughing, I glanced over at Graff’s table. Cali looked up from her meal to stare at the door. I followed her gaze and saw Gunner had stepped inside. Cali jumped up and ran over, launching herself at him. He grabbed her and swung her around. Just as he set her down, they kissed.

  My jaw dropped and Dera said, “Well now, isn’t that interesting.”

  Not taking my eyes off Cali and Gunner, I replied, “Isn’t it just.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Dera and I sat on the front porch watching the sunrise. It had been three days since the incident in the Mess Hall, after which Drew and Jake apparently skipped town. It had also been three days since Graff, Rafe, and Cali left the sector—again—evidently on another secret mission. Graff never even said goodbye. Not that he owed me one, but still.

  “Penny for your thoughts,” Dera said, breaking me out of my useless brooding.

  “I think I might have too much time on my hands,” I replied, not mentioning that what I really needed was something to take my mind off Graff. “I’m just so bored with pretending to be hurt, hanging around watching you practice HTH.”

  “Well cheer up. Today we finally get to show them what we can do with knives and the bow. I can’t believe they made me wait till you were able,” she said with a laugh. A second later, she rubbed her temples, frowning. “Actually, now that I think about it…that might have more to do with the instructor.” Dera schooled her features, awaiting my response.

  “What? Who’s the instructor?”

  “Well, I just found out when I was eating dinner with the other trainees last night. I was going to tell you when I got home but you were already asleep. I missed you by the way…” she said, obviously stalling. I gave her a pointed look so she would continue. “It’s Cali. They got back last night. She and Graff came into the mess hall a few minutes before I left.”

  “You have got to be kidding me.” For a quick second I wasn’t sure if I was angrier at the fact that Cali would be my instructor or that I missed an opportunity to see Graff because I had decided to eat dinner alone in the cabin, tucked safely away from all the questioning that had come with Drew and Jake leaving. Choosing to direct my anger toward Cali, I rose off the bench and paced the small porch. “What a freaking nightmare…I mean…she’s crazy. That girl is the bane of my existence.”

  Dera wisely let me wind down before speaking. “Henley, I um…understand she likes to get under your skin, and she did kind of make us think she was Graff’s girlfriend even though she is obviously with Gunner. But according to gossip, they’ve been together for almost three years. So I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

  “Three years? I don’t see how Gunner puts up with her.” I dropped back down on the bench.

  “Look, I get that Cali likes to provoke you but this is your opportunity to put her in her place; prove her wrong about you.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked because clearly I was not following her train of thought.

  “By kicking butt in training today, of course.”

  A smile formed on my face as recognition dawned on me. “Oh, Dera. You’re brilliant.”

  “Let’s skip the Mess Hall this morning and eat the leftovers I brought back last night. Besides, someone dropped your new uniform off earlier. We should go see if it fits.” Dera grinned mischievously before heading back into the cabin without me.

  * * *

  After trying on my new training uniform, I realized that Dera might have had a hand in choosing my size. It consisted of an extremely tight-fitting pair of black shorts with an equally tight-fitting black ribbed tank. There was also a silky blue band she’d slipped on my wrist, for when I needed to tie my hair back.

  Approaching the training site, we immediately noticed Quinn and Cali standing by the far fence. A table was set up directly in front of them; its top covered with knives in sets of six. As we walked over, Quinn swept his hand above the table. “Lady’s choice,” he told us, grinning.

  Ignoring Cali, who remained silent, we each studied the knives. At first glance they all looked the same, but the handles were slightly different in size. Dera and I both immediately picked up the sets with slender handles. Girls on average had smaller hands than
guys, so a knife like this was easier to grip. Quinn looked impressed. Cali looked bored.

  While we waited for the last guy to finish throwing, I analyzed the area. There were twelve wood posts driven into the ground and strategically set apart. The closest one to us was marked with the number 10, the next post 20, and so on, with the last post marked with the number 100.

  The trainee that was currently up finished and walked over to retrieve his knives. He’d hit five out of six and his best shot was sixty feet away.

  “Okay, Henley. You’re up,” Cali announced with a smirk. She obviously thought this was going to be as bad as my HTH.

  Taking the blue band off my wrist, I tied my hair in a knot, picked up my knives, and stepped up to my mark. Deciding just to go for it, I raised my right hand, turned my head, and smiled at Dera while I threw my first knife. Turning back toward my target, it appeared I’d hit the 60 post dead center.

  Quinn halted the proceedings. “Hold on, Henley,” he said. Cali was still standing next to him, hands on her hips and a blank expression on her face.

  He jogged up to the 100 mark post, took something from his back pocket, and nailed it to the wood post before walking back to me. “Can you see the face on that flyer?”

  Concentrating on the paper attached to the post, I said, “I see a man with long hair and eerie eyes. Why?”

  He gave me a curious expression. “That, my dear, is Devlyn.” At his words, my whole body tensed. “Now show me what else you can do.”

  Remembering how Keegan and I always practiced, I cleared my mind of everything else. Five knives were left and a crowd was beginning to form around us. Not liking the attention and just wanting to get this done, I adjusted my stance and launched one knife after another, aiming for the man responsible for my plight.