by Nina Walker
Yes.
I wasn’t here to back down. Whatever the Resistance asked, I would do it. I had to. Too many people were counting on me. It was time to be brave.
The first thing I needed to do was pocket a knife. That was easy enough, considering the dining hall had all manner of utensils available. A steak knife would be messy and wasn’t my first choice. I’d have to get my hands on something smaller and cleaner, and soon. Especially if I was going to start using red alchemy on a regular basis. I took a deep breath and rubbed at my temples, squeezing my eyes shut. My magic could be the difference between the Resistance succeeding or failing, I reminded myself. My magic could be the difference between never seeing my family again!
I began pacing the room, building the resolve deep in my belly.
I wouldn’t use red alchemy on any one person more than a couple of times. A little gray blood was harmless. Lacey, Reed, and that officer girl in training had all forgotten what had happened to them because I’d made it so. But they’d all been fine. They hadn’t turned out like Queen Natasha, who’d been abused for years with the magic.
I sat on my bed, anxiously waiting for the time to pass. When ten o’clock finally rolled around, I shuddered. I reread the note for what felt like the millionth time before flushing it down the toilet. Then I headed out to find a knife before I could talk myself out of it.
The note was right. This late into the night, there weren’t any officers in the area. Not when I’d gone to pocket a knife. And not when I went to open the door to their office. It was locked. The guard at the end of the hall gave me a suspicious once over, shaking his head.
“It’s locked,” he said.
Duh…Well, now what am I supposed to do?
As luck would have it, a man rounded the corner. An officer. As he marched closer, I noticed he was probably in his early thirties. He eyed me warily. He was broad-shouldered and strong, with wiry, blond hair pulled back into a small ponytail. His dark eyes flashed as he realized I wasn’t moving out of his way.
“Jessa,” he said, stopping just feet away. “What are you doing here?”
So he knew my name. That wasn’t a good sign.
“I came to report something. A crime.”
His jaw ticked. “I was just grabbing my slatebook. I left it inside. Why don’t I go in and call Faulk.” It wasn’t a question. “Stay here,” he added, before swiping some kind of identification into the lock and walking through the double doors.
I peered back at the guard, who seemed to be distracted by a group of alchemists laughing as they staggered down the adjoining hallway. The sound of the polished floors tapped under their shoes. Now was my chance. I slipped through the door behind the officer, hoping to grab him before he got to his slatebook.
“What’s your name?” I asked, gaining his attention.
He didn’t slow. “Officer Wallace. You’re not supposed to be in here.”
My pulse quickened. “I know,” I said. “I just needed to talk to someone right away.” My hands shook as I gripped the head of the knife. I’d slid it into my pocket, but since it was a little big, I had to keep one hand on it at all times. Not suspicious whatsoever… right. I inhaled a steadying breath and relaxed my face; I could do this.
“I’ll call Faulk for you.”
“Actually, Faulk and I don’t always see eye to eye, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
He turned then, a sly grin on his face. “I think everyone’s noticed.” He seemed stressed, but that grin transformed his features from ordinary to kind. For a moment, I didn’t want to hurt him. I didn’t want to do this, not to this man who seemed like he could probably be a friend.
I gripped the hilt of the knife a little tighter. What was I thinking? No way he was kind, not if he worked for Faulk.
“Yeah, well, would it be okay if I talked to you? Told you about the…crime that I saw. And then you can decide if we have to call Faulk.”
“I really should just call her. And you really shouldn’t be in here.”
I followed him to his desk, a typical office cubicle at the back of the large room. All the monitors were off, the desks clean and locked up for the day. A quick glance up the open staircase to Faulk’s large windowed office showed that it was also dark. We were alone.
“Please, I don’t want to get yelled at again. Maybe what I saw wasn’t a big deal. Last thing I need to do is drag Faulk away from whatever she’s doing in her off time. You know what I mean? The woman doesn’t like me as it is. I don’t want to get in trouble.” I poured as much trepidation and fear into my voice as possible. He frowned and studied me. With a slight nod, he pulled over a rolling chair from the cubical opposite.
“Sit,” he said, gesturing to it. Then he settled into his own chair.
I sat, a few feet away, but still not quite close enough. I felt for the knife again, adjusting my position nervously to keep it from view. I peered around the space, double-checking we were alone. I also quickly assessed his person. He wasn’t carrying a weapon.
“It happened yesterday,” I said, catching his eye. “I saw some alchemists do something that I’m pretty sure is illegal.”
“And what was that?” He held my gaze.
I tried to ignore the beads of sweat collected on my forehead. My story was a complete fabrication. Apparently, I hadn’t thought this through. I dug my heels into the floor and rolled the chair closer to Officer Wallace, so our knees were almost touching. I leaned in as if to whisper my secret.
“You can tell me,” he said, expression earnest.
“I wanted to say—” I shifted closer. “That I’m sorry about this.”
I ripped the knife from my pocket and slammed it into his hand. Blood immediately squirted from the point of contact. The knife skittered to the ground. I winced at the sight, but determination ignited inside.
Wallace sprang into action, jumping away and up against his desk. His eyes darted to either side of me; he was about to make a run for it. I wasn’t a complete idiot. But he wasn’t an idiot either. He knew what I was capable of. I couldn’t let him get away. My life depended on it. Just as he dodged to my left, I reached out and fumbled for his bloody arm.
“Stop,” I said when I made contact. I felt the alchemy move between us. I didn’t yell. I didn’t have to. He did exactly as I asked. “Don’t say anything. Don’t move.”
His features went blank as the red magic swirled violently in the air. His blood was already beginning to drip gray. I had to act fast.
“Log onto your computer, and print everything recent regarding West America.” I figured that would be good enough. As he automatically did what I asked, I drilled him with questions.
“What can you tell me about the shadow lands and West America?”
“We’re expanding,” he said, his voice monotone. “The shadow lands are one of our best lines of defense. They keep us protected.”
“What do you mean by expanding?”
“Right now they’re mostly north and south. We’re moving west.” West? That didn’t make sense. Canada didn’t have much infrastructure anymore, nor people, and Mexico was in complete anarchy, controlled by the constantly warring gangs too busy to worry about us. But West America and New Colony had a nefarious history, and everyone knew it was best not to poke the beast.
“Going west, why? Just to keep us isolated?” I asked.
“To prepare.”
Prickles of white-hot panic spread across my body. I had to lean up against the cubical wall to catch my breath. I feared where this conversation was going. “To prepare for what?” I asked, drawing out each word.
“War.”
The mechanical sound of the printer stopped. Silence descended on the room. Thick drips of crimson fell from Wallace’s wounded hand and splattered on the concrete floor. We’d need to do something about that.
I grabbed the thick stack of papers out of the printer. I flattened them between the waistband of my pants and abdomen, then pulled my shirt over to cove
r them. It was the best I could do. If I hunched just a little, no one would be able to see I was hiding anything. I hoped.
I reached out and grasped his bleeding hand. It was warm and slick, and rather large against my own. All this power I have in my small hand. I gulped.
“Let’s go to the bathroom,” I said.
Still in his trancelike state, he led me around the darkened offices until we found the bathroom. I kept my hand on his, even though it made me squirm. I had to make sure my alchemy was still working. But I also wanted to end this quickly. As much as I disagreed with what this man did for a career, I didn’t want to permanently damage him.
We entered, and I instructed him to clean himself at the sink. I let out a sigh of relief when his separation from me didn’t change the magic. I started searching the attached supply closet, rifling through the contents. There was a small kit in my dormitory bathroom, so I hoped there’d be one here too. I located a kit on the top shelf and pulled it down. I placed it on the counter next to where Wallace still washed his hand. The water ran over it, mixing in swirls of blood in the sink. I stepped closer. It looked pretty clean. Why was he still washing it then?
Oh, that’s right. Realization hit me.
“You can stop that now,” I said, guessing he needed a little more direction from me. “You’re going to dry and bandage yourself, clean everything up, and forget this happened. If anyone asks you about me coming here to talk, you’re going to say I got spooked and never said anything. And if someone asks about your bandaged hand, you’re going to tell them you accidently sliced it on a letter opener.” Ugh, I hoped that story would be believable enough. It was the best I could think of with so little direction from the Resistance.
He just stared at me.
“Do you understand?”
He nodded, and I bit my lip. His head was drooping at an odd angle, his eyes glassy and dazed. I hoped no one found him like this or it would be obvious what had happened.
“Clean this up, then splash your face with some water, and go back to whatever you came here for tonight.”
He began, and I didn’t allow myself to hesitate. I rinsed the knife and replaced it in my pocket. Then I hurried from the bathroom and out into the offices. Luckily, the area was still deserted. I exited, light on my toes. I sucked in my stomach, the paperwork burning against my skin. I kept my head down as I passed the guard still in his same position. I felt his eyes trained on me, but I didn’t allow myself to meet them. I stalked around the corner and made it back to my room in record time.
I slid the papers under the mattress into the same place the note had been left for me. I knew that would be one of the first places Faulk and her people would look if they decided to search my room, but where else was I supposed to hide it? I certainly didn’t know any magic for hiding classified documents! Whoever was handling these items for the Resistance had better work fast.
I forced myself not to panic as I stripped off my clothes. Then I jumped in the shower to wash off any remaining blood. I’d already rinsed quickly back in the officer’s bathroom, but still, it was better to be safe than sorry. Plus, the thought of having someone else’s blood on me made my stomach turn. The feel of the warm water soothed my shaking body as the adrenaline melted away.
After finishing up, I wrapped myself in a plush towel and twisted a second around my dripping mop of hair. I padded out into my bedroom to grab some pajamas. I stopped. A vulnerable sense of knowing pricked at my senses. Someone had just been in my room. Was anything out of place? The bed was still immaculately made, the items on the desk untouched, the door locked. I lifted the mattress.
The papers were gone.
I wasn’t surprised, but a gasp escaped anyway. Part of me was relieved it was over and the incriminating classified documents were no longer in my possession. But another part was freaked out that someone had been in my room while I was in the shower. I mean, seriously, I was naked in my bathroom and they’d broken into my locked room. Logically, I knew it had to be done. But that didn’t erase the worst part: I had no idea who had accessed my room. I felt violated by that truth, the lack of privacy in this place yet again setting me on edge.
“I think it’s time you joined the other alchemists for classes,” Jasmine said. Over the last week, since my confession to the king, she’d completely taken over my training. Jasmine had become my constant companion in magic. The more I got to know her, the more I liked her.
I groaned. “Why would I want to do that?”
“It’s not about what you want to do, it’s about what you should do.”
“And you think being around people who hate me is going to help me?”
“I think it’s time you at least tried to make some friends.”
Oh no, I’d been afraid that this was coming.
As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. Since coming to the palace, I’d purposely separated myself from the other alchemists. And they’d done the same thing. At first it was because I didn’t want to be one of them. And then it was because I wasn’t sure whom I could trust. Jasmine was older, the strongest healer in the palace, and a teacher. I’d always felt comfortable with her. But I hadn’t trained with any other teachers, and it didn’t help that the one guardian I had befriended had turned out to be a terrible friend after all. I was still so mad at Reed for trying to persuade me to give up my secrets, but I had to let it go if I wanted to get anywhere with these people.
Still, even if I decided to play nice, it didn’t mean they would.
“Okay fine,” I conceded. I would try. But that didn’t mean I’d have to like it.
“Let’s start now, shall we?” Jasmine motioned for me to follow her from her office. I glanced back longingly at the space, with its clean modern finishes and attached greenhouse. Leaving the cocoon of this safe haven in the GC wing was not my idea of a good time. But, it was now or never. My heart kicked up a notch, unwelcome anxiety bursting to life.
As we walked down the hallway, Jasmine spoke, “We don’t know when your last three tests are going to be. You could be done in a week, or you could be done in several months. You’re being tested off schedule, so it’s really just up to Faulk. As you know, everyone is tested in the five main colors. You have to pass three.”
“And I’m currently one and one,” I said, grumbling at my failure with blue. Even though that failure probably saved my life, it still bothered me that I’d had to do it. Stupid tests.
“Yes. And we have to assume Richard will want to do something with red as well,” Jasmine continued, “but that will likely come after your initiation. Of course, we won’t know until it happens.”
I swallowed hard, rubbing a hand through my tangle of hair. I was naïve if I thought that wouldn’t come soon. But it still scared me to think about it. Every time I used red, it got easier. Or maybe I was just getting better.
“So what does this have to do with training with the other alchemists?”
“Everything. You need to make allies here. You need to better learn the other colors. I can help you, of course, but there are other teachers. It would only be expected that you would start working with those teachers as well.”
She didn’t say more, but I could read between the lines: Jasmine wanted several things from me. She wanted me to pass my initiation so I could get closer to the king. If the Resistance was going to use me against him, I needed to be a full-blown Guardian of Color. I also realized, if I made friends here, I might be able to build some alliances and bring more people into the Resistance. It would be dangerous, but in the end, if we succeeded, if we brought down the monarchy and allowed people to be free again, it would be worth it. I thought about my family in hiding, about all the families torn apart by this kingdom and its many laws, and strengthened my resolve.
“Okay, where do I start?”
I should’ve known better. Cowering awkwardly at the entrance of the large training gym, I nibbled my bottom lip. At the far end were weight machines and treadmi
lls, but most of the area was open for sparring. And all around me, people were doing just that. The smell of sweat and grunts of combat saturated the gym. It was like there was an extra layer of testosterone in here. Wonderful.
“But you don’t fight,” I muttered to Jasmine.
“Why would you think a silly thing like that?” The old woman winked at me and then strode in like she owned the place. Well, okay then…
The gym was filled with both officers and alchemists. Apparently this was one space in which the two groups mixed well. Obviously, the alchemists would have the advantage in a fight, but the officers were strong, lethal even, and there were five of them for every one of us. Plus, many carried weapons.
I followed Jasmine to a beast of a man calling off positions to a couple of younger boys who were, for all intents and purposes, beating the ever-living hell out of each other. One landed a punch with a sickening crack. Blood flew across the mat. They both had light amber necklaces tied around their necks. Yellow. It made sense. The one who’d been hit barely noticed the impact. He jumped up and pummeled the other.
I turned away, shielding myself from the sight.
“All right, that’s enough,” the man called out after a couple more minutes of brutality. The boys instantly stopped fighting. One helped the other off the mat, where only seconds before he’d been punching him repeatedly in the face. They both acted as if nothing had happened as they limped to a door at the back of the gym. I briefly wondered where they were going.
“Are they all right?” I asked, unable to stop myself from asking the question. Fighting wasn’t something that was tolerated by New Colony citizens. Violence of any nature was quickly quelled. Even the typical stuff that happened at school could end up in revoked privileges. Fighting was just not part of everyday life in New Colony. To see it so openly accepted, celebrated even, made me want to hide in a corner.
