Saven Deception

by Siobhan Davis

  I stop slurping long enough to probe him further. “So there’s no class divide?”

  “Nope. We are all created equal and deemed equal in the eyes of the law. Apart from royalty, of course. We’re all kinds of special.” He doesn’t attempt to hide his sarcasm.

  I stare off into the distance. “That must be nice.”

  “Not with everyone killing each other.” His tone is terse.

  I flinch. “That was insensitive of me. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. It has to be seen to be believed. Do you do this when you’re at home?” He works hard to sound breezy and I appreciate the effort.

  “Only once. My dad had this commemoration ceremony at work, and we went to a local restaurant to celebrate. Actually, there wasn’t much to celebrate for him or me.” I go quiet as the memory resurfaces in vivid detail. I drop my eyes to the table.

  “Why not?” Logan reaches for my hand.

  “Dad was melancholy all day. Looking back on it now, I think it highlighted all the things he hadn’t achieved more so than the things he had. My mom spent the whole time complaining about the expense, and she freaked out when I spilled a drink on my new dress. I think she added a few new insults to her usual catalog that day.”

  Distancing myself from the memory, I squeeze his hand and smile. Caging the nasty thought in the furthest part of my mind, I deploy my other regular strategy. Deflect and distract. “What about your family? Do you do this sort of thing?”

  He laughs as if the idea is absurd. “Dinners are usually a stiff formal affair with members of the Royal Advisory Council and some of the Elders in attendance.” He sighs and I wish I hadn’t deflected. Now he looks as miserable as I feel.

  “I did sneak out a few times with Evana though.” A nostalgic smile lights up his whole face.

  “Evana?” I inquire, as the waitress nervously places hot plates in front of us. Where once she may have ogled Logan for his stunning good looks, now she shies away in fear. He thanks her with a wide smile, and she cowers as if he’s about to devour her for dessert. I roll my eyes. Honestly.

  “Evana?” I prompt.

  “You met her,” he says in between mouthfuls.

  I hold my fork mid-air and rack my mind.

  “At the gala event. You remember?”

  Now I place her. She was the red-haired lady Logan was escorting when he saw through my disguise. “Yes. You two are close.” I say it as a statement of fact because I remember how attentive he was and the tender look in his eyes when he introduced us. “Who is she?”

  “She was a leading psychologist in your country before my father abducted her.”

  My fork drops to the table with a noisy prang. “She’s human?” I lower my voice. “And she was taken against her will?”

  “Yes. My father targeted her specifically based on expert research she was undertaking on human cognitive behavior. She had a son around the same age, and I think that’s why she took special interest in me. We grew much closer after my mom died. She’s … very important to me.” His eyes well up.

  “I didn’t know you’d lost your mom. I’m so sorry.”

  “Thanks. It was a long time ago. I would’ve been lost without Evana.”

  “You love her.” Again, not a question I need to ask.

  He smiles as he nods.

  “What exactly did your father need her for?”

  “She was charged with training us how to think, act, speak, and look as human as possible. She’d spent years studying human behavior so she was best placed to help us emulate humans. I think she did a stellar job, don’t you?”

  There’s an acidic edge to his tone I can’t quite decipher. A cold chill creeps over me. “Are you saying you’re … acting?” I hold my breath as I wait for his reply.

  “Essentially, yes. We’re accomplished actors. Excepting times of extreme emotion where it’s hard to contain our true natures, we are all skilled at feigning how to act in certain situations. Otherwise, there’d be no way we could have integrated into your society. The difference would have been far too pronounced. As you’ve seen with Dante.”

  Parking that for the moment, I ask the burning question. “Do you … act around me?”

  He winces. “Not anymore.”

  I look away, not trusting myself to keep the tears at bay. Brutal pain splinters my heart.

  “Sadie, look at me.”

  I shake my head and stare at the wall.

  “Please.”

  I slowly face him, keeping my eyes downcast.

  He tips my chin up until our eyes are level. “I’ve been the most truthful to myself in your company because I wanted you to see the real me. But there were occasions where I deliberately had to shield my true nature, either to protect my identity or to keep you safe. Since we properly got together I’ve been totally honest with you.” His fingers brush my cheek. “I’ve never wanted to hide from you, but it was necessary at first. I have no reason to hide anymore. Please say you believe me.”

  The look of vulnerability on his face helps dispel the ache in my heart. The logic makes sense but it still hurts. As I look into his eyes, I know he’s telling the truth. “I believe you.” And I do, but no matter how much we’ve moved on, it’s still difficult to eradicate all doubt.

  He pulls me into his arms and his warmth soothes me. I’m keen to understand more. “Did the others train with Evana too?”

  “Yes. We all trained under her guidance; however, I was the closest to her.”

  The seeds on an idea form in my mind. “What about Dante?” My stomach churns acridly at the mere mention of his name. He nods, and my fledgling theory crumples, yet I don’t think it’s a coincidence Logan appears the most humane of all of them. I decide to share that thought. “I think you’re the most compassionate because you spent additional time with Evana, and because you love her.”

  He pushes his half-eaten plate away. His eyes burn with excitement. “That’s exactly what Evana and I think! I’m proof that there is another way.”

  “She knows about the conscience transfer and what’s planned?”

  “She’s completely opposed to it, but father won’t listen. And I don’t want her to labor the point in case he reneges on his deal.” I question him with my eyes. “He promised her that once she led us to this point, he’d return her home to her family. It’s the only thing she’s been clinging to all these years. I don’t want her to risk that.”

  “Will that be possible? I mean, how many years has it been?” A loud rumble emits from my stomach and Logan eyeballs my plate in an unspoken command. I scoop up a forkful of rice and stuff it in my mouth.

  “It’s been a while,” he admits somberly, “but there are other races who know how to manipulate time. Provided my father can strike a deal, he can arrange to send her back to the night she was abducted. At least I hope he can. It’ll destroy her otherwise.”

  Food churns unpleasantly in my gut. “To be ripped from your life like that is awful.”

  “I know.” Guilt seeps out of his pores.

  “It wasn’t your decision to do that, and it sounds like you were of great comfort to her. She was lucky to have you.”

  “Are you?”

  I don’t need to think about it. “Yes. In more ways than one.” I mean every word.

  Moisture glistens in his eyes, and I’m awash with powerful emotion. We stare at each other, so much unspoken in our gaze. Words are redundant because every caress of his eyes tells me all I need to know. Tell him. Say it. You know you want to. But the words stubbornly refuse to leave my mouth.

  The moment passes and we finish eating in companionable silence.

  I want to say something as he steers me up the road, but I’m afraid of making it worse. I don’t know if my aversion to saying those three words is all tied up with my dysfunctional upbringing or something more deep-rooted.

  Suddenly, every hair on my body stands to attention as uninhibited panic threatens to suffocate me. I stop abruptly, tugging on h
is hand. Pivoting around, I scream. A thin red line is slicing through the air, weaving a path toward us. No! Not toward us, toward Logan! It advances so fast Logan barely has time to acknowledge it. As it draws closer, it looks like a red streak of flaming fire. Whatever it is, I know instantly that it has the power to destroy him.

  I act on instinct, adrenaline pulsing through my veins. “Watch out!” I shriek, pushing him down. He groans as we crash to the ground, landing awkwardly on his front. My arms and legs snake out protectively as I attempt to cover his larger body with my smaller frame. Squeezing my eyes shut, I ready myself in preparation for burning pain.

  “Sadie? What’s going on?”

  “Don’t move. Stay down!”

  Ignoring my plea, he twists underneath me, and with amazing skill maneuvers my back to his front. We face skyward as he half-sits up with me nestled in his lap.

  We gasp in unison. The red beam hovers inches from my chest, not moving in either direction, poised menacingly. “What is it?”

  “A fire beam. In your movies they call them laser beams.”

  “If it touches us, it’ll be bad, right?”

  “Really bad,” he admits in a hushed tone.

  The recurring thought in my head is that I need to protect him. To save him. It’s more than a thought. More than a desire. It’s like life itself. A million strands of infinite truths flex and bend within me, weaving their way into every part of my body and mind, screaming something I know to be true, but can’t quite comprehend. But it’s enough to propel me into action.

  I jump up and launch myself at the beam. Logan screams behind me. A wave of inner peace washes over me as I prepare to welcome the pain.

  But nothing happens.

  “Oh the stars,” Logan says.

  My eyes flit open. The beam has moved back a few inches, although it still hovers in front of me. I step off the sidewalk as Logan curses. I take several steps and the beam follows me. “Don’t move,” I caution him, taking another step to the left. The beam swings back the other way but my reactions are equally as quick. I jump in front of Logan before the beam reaches him.

  I glower at the beam as if it’s a living thing. “You will not get near him. Do you hear me? Leave. Him. Alone.”

  My breath rattles in my chest and I’m trembling on the inside, but I hold firm. Logan moves behind me, and I reach around and grip his wrist. “Don’t you dare move!”

  We face-off for another couple of minutes, and then the most miraculous thing happens. The beam retracts. Slowly, at first, and then it rescinds quicker than the eye can track until it’s disappeared completely. “Do you think it’s properly gone?”

  His arms wrap around me and he buries his head in my hair. “It’s gone.”

  His body shudders as my own latent stress transforms my limbs to Jell-O. “Oh my God.” Air puffs frantically out of my mouth. “What was that?”

  Gently, he turns me around. Words cannot describe the look on his face. Unfettered emotion paints his face until it’s virtually unrecognizable. His eyes shine with love. “You saved me. You saved me.” He hauls me into his arms. I grip his waist, needing his mass to ground me. I think I’m in shock. “I love you. I love you so much, Sadie.”

  A sharp, keening sound jolts us both and we break apart. Instinctually, I look up and scream. Layers and layers of red beams crisscross and interlace above our fake sky. Sparks illuminate the previously invisible protective layer of the city and the domelike structure shudders and bends inward as the beams start to rip through the outer casing.

  People spill out into the street from nearby cafés and restaurants. Frightened cries mix with incredulous looks as everyone stares at the sky. “We need to go right now.” Logan grabs my hand. “Can you run?”

  “Yes.” I grip his hand fiercely as he pulls me back up the street. The noise of our feet slapping the asphalt matches the pounding in my chest. “Where are we going?”

  “To the RT station. Neve and Haydn will meet us there. I’ve notified my father and he’ll send transportation for us.”

  “How?” I start to ask but stop myself in time. Telekinetic communication. Got it. “I need to warn Jarod and Fern!”

  An ear-shattering screeching sound pierces the center of my eardrums and my head throbs painfully. We both stop, clutching our heads in our hands. “Here,” Logan says, passing his comm-clip to me. “Tell them to get to the main terminal. Subvees will start to evacuate people.” I clip it on my ear. “Tell them to go now. Leave everything. If the city collapses, not everyone will get out in time. They need to get to the station as quick as they can.”

  Logan keeps hold of my hand as we run, and I make the calls, screaming out orders to Jarod and Fern. Another piercing screech rings out and then it’s raining. The droplets start light but quickly turn heavy, and water pelts our clothes and skin with blistering intensity. “Run faster.” Logan’s tone is laced with desperate urgency.

  My small legs already feel like they’re stretched to the breaking point. “I’m running as fast as I can, Logan,” I reluctantly admit. I hate acknowledging any weakness.

  “Hop up,” he says. Or at least I think he says. The water is pouring on top of us, pelting off the ground in angry rivers, flooding the streets in noisy outbursts. Logan crouches down, and I fling myself onto his back, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. My dress is plastered to my body and my hair hangs limply, in soaking wet strands, around my face. Logan urges his legs to move faster and faster.

  “Bet you wish you had some of Thor’s super strength now, eh?” I joke in his ear.

  “Damn straight. I must talk to my father about that!”

  Another round of vomit-inducing squealing resonates throughout the city, and Logan hunches over, his breathing heavy and pronounced. “Let me down. It’s too much.”

  “Are you kidding? You barely weigh anything. I’m only getting tired because we’ve been running for miles. We’re close now.” He grips my legs with renewed vigor.

  Distraction might help. “What would Will Smith do if he was here?”

  “Well, if he was in Hancock guise, he’d just grab you into his arms and fly the hell outta here.”

  “That would be damn handy right about now,” I muse, looking at the deluge of water pummeling us from all angles.

  “Maybe, maybe not.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re doubting the mighty Will’s mad skills?” I tease, planting a light kiss on his cheek.

  “Hancock was a bit of a train wreck at times. I’m not convinced that he wouldn’t fly you smack into the dome and break your neck or something.” His arms hold me tighter.

  “I thought Will was the eternal savior of the world. I’m more than a little upset with him right now.” I snort in mock-disgust. “Though, if he was in Agent J guise he could just use that flash thingamajig to get us out of here.” It’s hard to speak clearly in these conditions. My voice sounds like a cross between a strangled cat and a pre-pubescent teenage boy, and Logan nearly collapses under the weight of his laughter. I join in and if anyone were looking at us now they’d easily mistake us for a couple of loonies.

  “Sadie, enough,” Logan pleads, coming to a stop. “My stomach is sore from laughing. Anyway, we’re here.” He bends over and I slink down his back. He pulls me up against him, kissing me fiercely.

  Shooting darts of luminous light whip over our heads as we break the kiss and stare ominously at the sky. I cry out as a large spurt of water pummels my back like a thousand sledgehammers all at once. The overhead fireworks show zips the length and breadth of the dome in dizzying fashion. Red beams cut through the dome with razor-sharp precision, slicing cleanly through buildings, trees, and pavements, leaving a wake of destruction in their path. Terrorized screams and cries fill the air, and I don’t want to think about the catastrophic loss of life.

  Buildings crumple inward, toppling to the ground explosively, sending billows of smoke and dust rising into the sky. A large hole has opened up in th
e dome, and a deluge of water gushes into the city. Logan propels me forward without a word.

  Racing into the station, I spot Neve, Haydn, Dante, and an unfamiliar blond-haired guy waiting at the edge of an outbuilding. A large group is clustered behind them. “What’s he doing here?” I pant, pointing at our arch-nemesis.

  “He’s the king’s son,” Logan reminds me through chattering teeth. “Please don’t start anything. We need to get to safety. That’s all that matters.”

  I’d nod if I had the energy. Instead, my chilled fingers squeeze his frozen hand.

  Haydn runs to meet us. “ETA in three minutes.”

  We walk toward the waiting group. Neve rushes to hug me. “Jeez, Sadie, you’re shivering.”

  “The city is flooded in case you hadn’t noticed.” My lip trembles and my teeth chatter as a powerful shiver rocks my whole body.

  “Cute outfit,” Dante says. “Nice undies, too.” He licks his lips suggestively and I’m revolted.

  Glancing down self-consciously, I feel practically naked. My light summer dress offers no protection from predators of the Dante kind. Unfortunately, he’s correct and my underwear is clearly visible through the thin material. My cheeks redden as I cross my arms over my bust.

  “Here,” Neve says, peeling her wet sweater off. “Put this on.”

  “Thanks.” I accept it graciously, attempting to pull it on over my head, but my fingers are like solid blocks of ice and I’m trembling too much. With extreme tenderness, Logan plucks it from me and helps me into it.

  “Call me anytime you need help getting dressed,” Dante says, winking.

  Logan drags me into his chest. Tension drips off him in layers and his muscles are stretched tight underneath me. “Knock it off, bonehead.”

  People run in all directions toward the station in all manner of distress. “What fools,” Dante says and my arm itches to swing for him.

  “Ignore him, Sadie.”

  “I don’t know how you do it.”

  “I’ve had a lifetime’s practice.”

  “Oh, oh,” Haydn says, visibly flinching as he looks over Logan’s shoulder.

  Logan spins us around and I scream at the swirling, tumultuous torrent of water heading our way. Huge chunks break off the dome in sporadic places, crashing to the ground with an almighty roar. A cacophony of screams rises above the pounding water funneling toward us. Logan reacts fast, flinging me onto his back. “Hold on tight.” I grip his body like a spider monkey.