Escapement (The Neumarian Chronicles)

by Ciara Knight

  Escapement

  Book I

  The Neumarian Chronicles

  Escapement

  Book I

  The Neumarian Chronicles

  Copyright ©2013 by Ciara Knight

  All rights reserved.

  Kindle Edition

  First edition published February 2013

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover art ©2012 by Jeannie Ruesch

  Edited by Cora Artz

  Dedication

  To those that have suffered under an iron fist.

  Be bold.

  Be brave.

  Be free.

  Acknowledgements

  This novel would not be possible without the endless dedication of so many. A special thank you to: LJ DeLeon and Savannah J. Foley, my critique partners, Bart Leahy, my resource and technology consultant, the best beta reader, Kurt Bennett, and my Family for all their love and support.

  Escapement

  Ten years after the great war of 2185 the queen's reign is threatened by uprisings and fear. In celebration of my sixteenth birthday it is my duty as princess to sacrifice a slave to be initiated into the ruling council, solidifying my mother's empire. When my own erratic powers surface I'm captured and tried for treason. Slaves hate me, my mother wants me executed, and my only chance of survival rests in the hands of a young man, Ryder Arteres, whose sister I sentenced to death.

  Chapter One

  The airship jolted, but my eyes remained on the scene outside the porthole. Blood-orange streaks shot across the lifeless sky and the land below remained barren. Nothing had survived in this desolate, sand-covered region since the Great War of 2185.

  Wrapping my arms around my middle, I dreamt of returning to an earlier life. One filled with the childish pleasures of swimming in a crystal-blue lake, or sunning on the beach, running over soft dirt and climbing tall trees.

  Of freedom.

  Clank.

  My breath caught as I waited for the thump of Mother’s boot to follow the clank of her artificial leg.

  Pivoting, my heel caught on the hem of my skirt and I stumbled, catching myself on the back of a tall chair before my knees slammed against the hard floor.

  Blasted dress.

  I clutched the yards of crimson and black fabric and shuffled forward. Even after four years, I couldn’t manage to walk properly in fashionable royal clothes.

  I peered out my open door and scanned the hall, then exhaled.

  No sign of Mother. Instead I found stubby fingers jutting through an air vent halfway down the wall, curling over metal slats. The large vent plate thrust out and short arms pulled the silver cover sideways into the opening. A moment later two small feet dangled, followed by a pudgy man who dropped to the floor on his rear with a thud. Pulling his legs beneath him, he stood.

  At seeing his friendly face, my heart soared, especially today. “Bendar. I’d hoped to see you.”

  “Princess Semara Valderak.” He bent, retrieved the screws, and replaced the vent. “You ready for day of glory?”

  The familiar sting of tears begged for release, but I turned my head and steadied my nerves. No crying, not today, not for myself. “I’d love some company.”

  “Face sad today. Fate not what you think.”

  I flashed a warm smile and nodded as if I understood his ramblings. Many of the worker’s brains had been scrambled by the uranium-filled engine room. “Thanks, my friend.”

  Friend.

  A word I hadn’t said aloud since I’d carried out the death warrant on Raeth Arteres four years ago. She’d been so brave, never breaking under interrogation. Even in the end, she didn’t confess what powers she possessed that threatened Mother.

  If only I had been that brave.

  I’d never be able to forget how I’d betrayed her. I glanced down at Bendar’s morose brown eyes. How could he still bear to look at me? Did he worry that I would turn against him, too?

  I tugged uncomfortably at the constricting corset and yanked down the ties hiking up the overcoat.

  If only we could’ve done more to save her.

  Clank…thump…clank…thump.

  My heart raced faster than a power burst from Mother’s ship at takeoff.

  Bendar spun on his heels. “Bendar go or Queen toss me out as waste.”

  His tiny feet pattered down a different hall, away from Mother’s approaching steps. Hearing the clang of the air vent closing I knew Bendar was safely in his world—the belly of the ship.

  I’d heard the servants speak of how the little people’s size was a curse, but I envied him.

  If only I could hide, too.

  I took a deep breath. At least Bendar and our secret were both safely sealed away.

  Clank…thump…clank…thump.

  Mother rounded the corner and marched into my room. Hair the color of flames danced above her sheet-white face.

  A tremor raced from my shoulders to my fingertips, fear threatening to consume my body, paralyzing me into mute stillness.

  The smell of bleaching serum and the tangy scent of metal fought for dominance as Mother’s one eyebrow rose. “Daughter!”

  Her mechanically enhanced, muted gold eye with its glass iris reflected my hideous upswept hair wrapped in a cornucopia of flowers. I hated the thick face paint Mother forced me to wear, along with the flowers adorning each twist and turn of the golden-dyed curls piled high on top of my head.

  As servants scurried into the room close behind Mother, I relaxed a fraction. With a witness present, even a slave, Mother’s corporal punishment might be held in check.

  She grabbed my arm with her clinically bleached white hand, while the copper plated, mechanical one tugged my corset back down. “Your destiny awaits.”

  I struggled to control my desire to flee, and steadied my nerves. Running would do no good. After the fourth beating since my arrival on her ship, I learned there were no good places to hide.

  “Today, you become a ruling member of the council and sit by my side.” Mother stood even straighter, towering over me, pushing my shoulders back before she placed the tamer device on the table—the black opal of death I’d use to subdue a Neumarian in the upcoming ceremony.

  I sucked in a quick breath and averted my gaze.

  A servant shuffled around me, fluffing my skirt and spraying my hair until Mother shooed her to the corner of the room. “When we land, you’ll choose your parasite for sacrifice. The guards will take it to the holding area until the ritual can be performed. Once it’s over, you’ll officially be a ruling member of the council.”

  It. Raeth hadn’t been an it. I choked down the rising lump in my throat. My stomach constricted even tighter than the corset cinched around it. “Mother, I-I don’t know if I’m ready for—”

  Her palm slammed against my right cheek.

  I stumbled backward, my feet catching in the tangle of fabric and gravity tugged me toward the floor. My head hit the table, sending the black opal of death skidding across the floor as lights flickered in my vision.

  I licked at the trickle of blood on my lip. Everything around me tasted like this blasted ship, even my blood. Scraping my tongue through my teeth, I attempted to rid myself of the horrid taste.

  Bright red locks of hair arched over Mother’s lineless forehead. “You dare question me?”

  I rubbed my face, forcing back the tears. Crying would only prompt another slap.

  “You’re heir to the throne. Act like it.” Mother’s perfect features
never changed. Only the dark pupils expanded and contracted with each heated word, even the right eye, which stuttered with its mechanical movement, half a beat off the natural one.

  I pushed off the floor and concentrated on steadying my nerves. If I showed weakness, it would only fuel Mother’s fire. “I did not mean—”

  “Of course you didn’t, dear.” Mother pivoted and marched to the doorway, then paused and looked to the servant in the corner of the room. “Clean her up.” Her nose crinkled, the only thing on her face still able to twitch. “Don’t treat her wounds, just cover up the outside bruising. She needs to remember her place.”

  “Yes, my queen.” The servant scurried over to clean the blood from the floor. Swirls of red gave color to the dull white surface for a moment, only to be wiped away.

  Mother paused in the hall and gave me a creaseless smile. “I’ve chosen your enhancement for tonight.” She placed her hands on her hips. “You won’t have to worry about your pathetic sympathy for those unworthy of a princess’s attention anymore.”

  My chest tightened.

  “You’re getting an improved heart.”

  As if the ship had hit turbulence that sent it into a spiral, my world spun, the white walls, floor, and ceiling no longer distinguishable.

  Mother’s cackles echoed then faded down the hall.

  There would be no escape. I’d have to use the tamer or face more beatings and torture. I wanted to crumple to the floor and dream of the days when I lived with Father.

  I would have to take the life of a Neumarian or die myself—or worse, be transformed into a completely new enhanced being. I shuddered at the thought of steel mounted as a permanent organ—a heart as cold and hard as Mother’s.

  The gruesome ritual of implanting a device to be a member of the ruling council was not something I understood, nor did I want to.

  I retrieved the tamer. My fingers clutched the bronze outer ring of the black opal. Its intricate gold-lace patterns wrapping around the dark, shiny sphere appeared harmless. I knew better. Its unassuming beauty masked its ability to electrocute a person into submission.

  The ceremony was pointless. I didn’t need an implant to prove I was worthy to rule the people. Mother was an original Kantian, it was obvious I possessed the gift of a supreme mind. No human or Neumarian could handle an implant, which was why Raeth had been so ill after the interrogator experimented on her. Of course, Mother gave the order. She always looked to improve technology at any cost, and Neumarian’s were usually her test subjects.

  A zing of electricity shot from my center, through my shoulder, and down my arm to my fingertips. The outer shell of the tamer shook and cracked.

  Shocked, my fingers unfurled and the tamer clanged against the floor. The solid surface rippled like waves on the lake back home in the Resort Territory.

  Behind me, the human servant gasped.

  “Speak of this to no one or I’ll sacrifice you to the innards of the ship.” The harsh tone of my voice resembled the queen’s. Maybe I’m a princess after all.

  The servant fled from the room, sealing the door behind her. I lifted the device. Black oozed over the melted latticework of the ring. Should Mother notice its altered state, she’d be suspicious. How would I explain it had just changed in my hand?

  That was something a Neumarian did, and I didn’t want to face being accused of committing a Neumarian crime. Not to mention the torture that went with such an accusation.

  I crossed the room and dropped it down the waste containment chute.

  Gnawing my lower lip, I paced the floor, one word beating like a drum in my head.

  Escape. Escape. Escape.

  A second later, the door swished and Mother’s general stood before me in all his self-proclaimed glory. Medals marched down his long, blood-red sash. Disgust radiated through me as I fought the desire to rip out the small sprouts of implanted hair dotting his false widow’s peak.

  He gave a mock bow and licked his lips. “Good morning, Princess Semara.”

  My morning meal churned in my stomach. Acid inched up my throat. The memory of the last time his rancid breath and slobber had covered my mouth assailed me.

  “One more year and you’re mine.” His meaty hands grasped my shoulders and he pushed me against the wall. “I told you…I always get what I want.”

  “But not now, for now it’s forbidden.” I pushed hard against the metal chest plate hidden under his adorned coat, ignoring the throbbing pain in my head. “I must remain pure until my wedding night. It’s the queen’s orders.”

  I prayed my words were enough to keep him at a distance.

  He pulled away, wiping his sweaty brow with his sash. “Yes, I’m aware of the queen’s command.”

  The door slid open. He glanced back at the vacant doorway. Then, with a smile, he grabbed the back of my neck. His nails pierced my skin. “Someday you’ll know your place. No one speaks to me like that.”

  “I just did.”

  His face turned crimson and his jaw clenched tight.

  “Go ahead, hit me.” I knew he wouldn’t leave evidence. But somehow, some way, I’d convince Mother not to force me to marry him. I’d never let him touch me.

  Once again, the doors swished open and shut, and I knew Bendar was watching out for me.

  This time the general backed away. “I’ll do a lot more than hit you on our wedding night.” He marched from the room.

  My legs shook beneath me. I palmed the wall, fighting to stay upright. I took a deep breath and straightened. In less than an hour I’d be forced to murder an innocent person, just because he or she was a Neumarian.

  No. I couldn’t think that way. They weren’t innocent—just because Raeth had seemed nice—Neumarians had killed millions of humans. They had taken Mother’s arm, leg and eye during the war. If it hadn’t been for Mother, humans and council alike would be extinct.

  I stalked from the room, head held high, and nodded at the guard. Memories of Raeth strapped to a table invaded my mind. Saw grinding, tears, screams. I grasped the wall to steady myself. A zap of heat pricked in the center of my chest as it did a few hours ago when I melted my hairbrush, and again with the tamer.

  No, no. Not again!

  This time it shot through my entire body, exploding every nerve ending. Sweat pooled at the back of my neck. I yanked my hand away before the wall could melt under my touch.

  Shaking my head, I prayed no one noticed the less than smooth wall and followed the guard until we reached the infirmary.

  Maybe I was going mad, like the slaves I’d seen carried from the holding cells after interrogations.

  What was happening had to be a trick. Perhaps it was the general’s newest attempt to drive me insane—or worse, make Mother believe I possessed the powers of a Neumarian. Maybe a Neumarian stowaway on the ship found a way to bypass the warning alarm or hadn’t been collared, allowing him or her to play with my mind. Mother always said they were life sucking monsters that shouldn’t be trusted. Not knowing what power each Neumarian possessed made them all dangerous. They were only safe as long as the collars kept them under control.

  Yes, that had to be it. I was a princess of the queen’s empire, sole heir to the throne. No way could I possess a Neumarian ability. Besides, unlike the Neumarians, I had no desire to murder someone or craved war over peace.

  “Are you well, Princess Semara?” asked the sleek-skinned man standing in the infirmary doorway.

  “Yes, of course.” I lifted my chin and stepped inside.

  At the smell of oil and the sound of gears grinding, my body froze.

  The machines on the far wall buzzed and hissed. Two assistants dressed in white coats hustled about the room, pushing green buttons and pulling levers on various computers. Steam rose in plumes from the main unit in the back. The medic spun a box on a long arm and pointed it downward at the table in the center of the room.

  The same table on which Raeth’s leg had been amputated.

  “Please.” The med
ic gestured for me to lie on the table.

  My legs wouldn’t move.

  One of the medics guided me onto the table. Lying back, I struggled to remain still and wait for a beam to shoot at my face while it altered my appearance, just to cover a few bruises. Images of interrogations I’d witnessed when the machines severed limbs from bodies and eyes from sockets, plagued me.

  “She’s not ready yet?” demanded the voice of Esmada, Mother’s assistant. Her bony hands grasped my arms from behind and pushed me flat onto the table. “Child, your mother will have you whipped if you don’t make haste.”

  Cuffs clamped over my wrists, pinching my skin. I fought against them in vain, but they secured my arms tight.

  “Only to ensure you don’t move, Princess. You don’t want an eye where your mouth should be, do you?” Esmada’s chuckle ripped through me as if the laser had slipped and sliced my core to ribbons.

  The sting deep inside my ribcage returned. It grew and spread until thousands of pinpricks radiated from my head and shoulders. Fire surged up my spine, searing each vertebra. My insides vibrated and twitched. I bit down on my lower lip and concentrated. If it didn’t stop soon, I feared I’d melt the machine.

  It’s only a skin-alterer. It won’t harm me. Everything will be fine.

  The box overhead shuddered and a scarlet light radiated across my cheek, erasing Mother’s mark. When the exterior doors slid shut, the hum of the laser echoed in the small room. I closed my eyes tightly and dreamed of open land and walking bare foot on soft dirt instead of metal floors. Heat seared my skin. Sharp pain shot up to my temple.

  Tears slipped from my eyes.

  “Child, you’d best not smear your makeup,” Esmada snapped.

  Yet more tears fell as the laser traveled to my forehead. The smell of melted flesh made me gag, but I swallowed the cry as the pain increased.

  My chin pulled and stretched as though it would touch my hairline. The thin silver bed rattled beneath me. My teeth ground and my jaw popped. I twisted and pulled against the restraints, trying to escape my body.