Hostage

by Rachel Manija Brown

  “Felicité.”

  Mia said earnestly, “Better have Dad look at that. Human bites are more dangerous than animal bites.”

  “You’re right,” said Jennie dryly. “She could be rabid.”

  Mia smothered a chuckle, but Yuki found nothing amusing.

  “I’ve been wondering all day,” said Mia. “How did you two know Felicité was following me?”

  “I didn’t,” Yuki said.

  “I saw her rat.” Jennie rewrapped the bandage. “Felicité was hanging around all three times you and me and Kerry were together. This morning, when I was with the Ranger candidates, I saw Wu Zetian watching me, and I knew it couldn’t be coincidence. I told Yuki, we gave Julio an excuse, and as soon as we left the Ranger field, we saw Wu Zetian streaking off, like she was going to report. And there was Felicité.”

  Wu Zetian must have been better trained than Felicité had ever let on. Yuki wondered what his own rat was doing now. Once Kerry realized how useful Kogatana was, how sweet and affectionate, she would never let her go.

  Voices outside indicated that the crowd was growing larger. Great. This day was getting better by the second.

  The jail door creaked. Mia leaped up, throwing her arms out in a wild, useless gesture. Then she collapsed back onto the bench as if she’d been shot.

  “It’s okay, Mia,” Jennie whispered. “Mr. Preston can’t attack us with these iron bars between us and him.”

  Mia giggled weakly, but her shoulders were up by her ears. Yuki’s heart hammered against his ribs—but the man who walked in wasn’t the defense chief. It was Mr. Vilas.

  Sheriff Crow glanced up from her chair. “Nice timing, Furio.”

  “Want my report in private?” he asked.

  The sheriff gave her head a shake. “Jennie and her friends have a right to know.”

  Mr. Vilas set his rifle in the rack and hitched a chair beside the sheriff. “Voske said no.”

  “No surprise there.”

  “Specifically, he said . . .“ Mr. Vilas looked upward and quoted, “‘I don’t make deals. I’m not releasing the prisoner. Tell Las Anclas to give my daughter back. If they don’t, I’ll kill everyone when I take the town. As for you, Vilas, I’m only letting you live long enough to deliver that message. Once it’s delivered, I’m coming after you.’”

  Mr. Vilas dropped his head. “So, up to you. I’m happy to stay and fight when Voske shows up with his army, but if you’re worried that he’ll send assassins, I’ll leave now. Try to draw ’em off.”

  “He already sent assassins,” Sheriff Crow said. “We took care of them.”

  “But we did give Kerry back,” Mia piped up. “She’ll get back there before he can send an army.”

  “Let’s hope that’s how it works out.” Sheriff Crow didn’t sound as if she thought it was likely.

  The door slammed open, and Mr. Preston strode in. He paused just long enough to see Mr. Vilas shake his head.

  “I knew he’d refuse.” Mr. Preston glared at Yuki and the girls through the bars. “Give me one good reason not to have the three of you shot. What you did was treason. Whether it was out of cowardice, greed, or stupidity . . .”

  He paused between breaths, giving Mia a chance to squeak, “You were going to kill her. That’s wrong.”

  Mr. Preston stepped closer, sending Mia skittering backward. “What do you know about right and wrong? You don’t understand anything unless it’s made out of metal. You may officially be an adult, but you’ve never grown up and as far as I can tell, you never will. I was a fool to have trusted you.”

  Tears were running down Mia’s face by the end of Mr. Preston’s speech.

  Anger flared in Yuki, stronger than the sick feeling of guilt. “Mia’s right. Killing Kerry would have been cold-blooded murder.”

  The rage in Mr. Preston’s face struck Yuki like a blow. “And you! How dare you endanger the town that saved your life, took you in, and treated you like one of its own? The only thing you’ve ever cared about is your precious lost ship. Will it bother you, I wonder, when Voske comes back, and the citizens who named you their brother and son lie dead at your feet?”

  Yuki forced himself to stand his ground, but he couldn’t manage a reply. It was all too easy to imagine Mom and Meredith killed in battle. He told himself that Voske had always meant to return to Las Anclas and that what Yuki had done didn’t change that. But the words stuck in his throat.

  Mr. Preston turned away from Yuki in disgust, then glared straight at Jennie. “I sent you on a straightforward mission, a mission you demanded to lead. Not only did you fail, you brought ruin upon Las Anclas. I trusted you, and you betrayed me. You sold out the entire town to protect a mutant enemy. I expect you all to be exiled or shot, but on the off chance that the council decides to go soft on you, I want you to know one thing, Jennie Riley. No matter what else happens, you are banned from the Rangers for the rest of your life.”

  Jennie got to her feet and grabbed the bars. The rage written in every line of her body was so powerful that Yuki half-expected the iron bars to tear out of the floor. Her voice, trained to project across an exercise field, rose until the entire jail seem to vibrate.

  “You want to know why I kidnapped Kerry?” Jennie pointed an accusing finger at Mr. Preston. “It was because of your order. You told that bounty hunter if we couldn’t get Ross back, he should kill Ross so Voske couldn’t use him. I had to do something to stop that. Taking Kerry was a distraction. Yes, it was the wrong thing to do! But I did it to stop you from murdering a citizen of Las Anclas.”

  Sheriff Crow’s head turned sharply. “Furio. Is this true?”

  Mr. Vilas glanced at the defense chief, then back at the sheriff. He nodded.

  Sheriff Crow faced Mr. Preston. “Did I miss the ceremony where we crowned you king?” She pointed at the door. “Out. We’ll be discussing this further, with the council.”

  Mr. Preston’s heels rang on the cement floor. The door slammed.

  “You too, Vilas.” She jerked her thumb at the door.

  Mr. Vilas gave her a slight nod—in anyone else Yuki would have said it was apologetic—and followed Mr. Preston with his usual noiseless tread.

  The door opened again. This time it was Paco. Yuki saw and heard nothing else.

  Paco walked to him in silence. The floodlights outside cast the shadows of the bars across his face, revealing a fury Yuki hadn’t even seen during the battle.

  Yuki wasn’t aware of getting up. He grabbed the bars, wanting to reach through them to Paco, but Paco stood still, arms tightly folded, out of reach.

  “How dare you.” His voice so low Yuki almost couldn’t hear it. “I can’t believe that you would betray everyone in the town—betray your own family—betray me—for the sake of an enemy.”

  Yuki thought his heart would stop. “She’s just a girl. They were going to kill her.”

  “I would have volunteered for the firing squad,” Paco retorted.

  Yuki couldn’t hold back any longer. “Paco, that’s why I did it. She’s your sister. I couldn’t let you be responsible for killing her.”

  “I have no sister.” Paco made a violent gesture of repudiation. “I have no family. My mother is dead because Voske killed her. And you think it matters that there’s some girl out there who I never knew, who shares some of my blood? If that’s what you believe, then you think of me as Voske’s son.”

  Yuki started to stammer a denial, but Paco turned his back on Yuki and walked out.

  Yuki gripped the cell bars, aware of the silence from Jennie, Mia, Sheriff Crow, the deputy over by the arms rack. Of voices outside, and somewhere, a laugh that reminded him of Henry, haw haw haw! Closer by, some guy saying cheerfully, “I can’t wait to get home. My brother will love this—he’s had a crush on Paco for years.”

  Yuki walked to the corner of the cell, sat down on the floor, and buried his face in his hands. It was the closest to privacy he could get.

  Mia said in a small voice, “I’m so s
orry, Yuki. We know you meant well.”

  Jennie began talking to Mia, which kept Yuki from having to answer. He couldn’t have answered. He felt like he’d swallowed dynamite, and it had blasted out his brains and heart. It even hurt to breathe.

  But he had to breathe, in and out. Slowly he became aware of the girls talking, wondering how far Kerry might have gotten. The jail door opened again, bringing the scents of bread, braised fish, and cinnamon.

  “Oh, wow, what’s that?” Mia interrupted herself to say.

  Jack Lowell said, “Dinner time! Deputy, can you open the door for us?”

  Yuki looked up. The sheriff was gone. Jack was followed by a crowd, filling the jail—Meredith, Ma, and Pa Riley at the head of half the Riley clan, and Grandma Lee with three more Lees.

  Meredith called, “Hey, Yuki! Mom said she’ll be along as soon as she gets off watch.”

  The deputy let Jack into the cell, to set the dinner tray on the table. “I want you all to know that this isn’t just me being nice. You have lots of supporters in town, more than just your families. I was tempted to post a note outside my kitchen saying ‘Yes, I am making the prisoners’ dinner.’”

  The family members gathered outside the cell.

  Meredith grabbed the bars. “Hey, Yuki, you should have told me! I would have helped you.”

  Yuki indicated the cell. “And look what it would have gotten you.”

  “Yes, free crumble.” Meredith rubbed her hands. “And the chance to knock down Felicité Wolfe and lock her in a fruit shed.”

  “Look what that would have gotten you.” Jennie indicated the bite marks on her hand.

  “And an excuse to bite her back,” Meredith said cheerfully.

  Grandma Lee said, “Mia, your father is at the emergency council meeting, but he’ll come by afterward. Is there anything you’d like us to bring you?”

  Mia brightened immediately. “My tool kit. And everything on my bed.”

  “Including the engine?” Dee Riley asked.

  “Both the engines.” Mia held up two fingers.

  “We’ll put ’em in a wheelbarrow,” Aunt Sofia Lee said.

  Mr. Riley beckoned Jennie to come close. She sat cross-legged on the floor, and Mrs. Riley reached through the bars to take her hand.

  Jennie said, “I can tell you now why I did it. Why I did everything.”

  “We know why,” Mrs. Riley said.

  Mr. Riley smiled. “If you mean why you took Kerry in the first place, you were shouting loud enough for half the town to hear. They’re all outside, in case you didn’t notice.”

  Yuki winced. That had been Henry laughing.

  Mr. Riley went on, “You did the right thing. Not everything is about laws. There is a higher authority than Mr. Preston and the town council.”

  Mrs. Riley added, “And we’re glad to see you answering to it.”

  To Yuki’s surprise, Jennie’s face lit up in the most genuine smile he’d seen from her since . . . he didn’t even know when. Since before Ross was kidnapped. Since before the battle, the night Jennie and Mia and Ross walked together to the dance.

  A physical pain stabbed through his chest at the memory of Paco leaning against him the night of the dance, while they watched the rain fall. He could almost feel Paco’s warm body against his side.

  He’d never touch Paco again.

  “Come on, Yuki,” Mia said. “There’s plenty for all of us.”

  Mrs. Riley let go of Jennie’s hand. “Get something into you, dear.”

  Mr. Riley said, “Don’t let Jack’s excellent food get cold.”

  Jennie picked up her fork. But she glanced at Yuki, her expression concerned. “Come on, Yuki. You’ll feel better if you eat something.”

  He shook his head. Nothing could make him feel better. He’d abandoned Ross and then failed to rescue him. Voske was about to show up with an army, which they could never fight off. Yuki would rather stay and fight to the death than leave everyone to their fate, but Mr. Preston wouldn’t even let him do that.

  He felt more lost than he had since the day he’d woken up in the infirmary bed, surrounded by people he couldn’t communicate with, and they’d managed to convey to him that the last three people he’d known were dead. He’d realized then that his entire world was gone forever.

  Now he’d once again lost everyone he loved. Kogatana was gone for good. He’d never be allowed to return to Las Anclas, so he’d never see Mom or Meredith again. And just as he’d feared, Paco would never forgive him.

  Jennie seemed to be happy just knowing that she’d done the right thing, but for Yuki, that was no comfort at all.

  Chapter Forty-Three. Ruined City Outside Gold Point.

  Ross

  “You think everything’s too dangerous,” Santiago said. “‘The ceiling will fall down on your head. The floor will collapse. Those are venomous mice.’ There’s no such thing as venomous mice!”

  “That’s what I thought,” Ross retorted. “Until I got bitten by one. Look, you’d better trust me, or you’ll end up squashed under fifty tons of ancient concrete.”

  Ross glanced around the moss-covered structures that lined the steep road. He had to throw Santiago a bone, or he’d ignore everything Ross said, charge into the first building he saw, and fall through the floor for real.

  He surveyed the nearest buildings, trying to figure out which was least likely to contain anything Voske would find valuable. One reminded him of a collapsed house he’d explored a couple years ago, where he’d found a few pages of an ancient children’s book with bright cartoon illustrations. Now he wished he’d kept them rather than trading them for coffee and flour. He could have given them to Jennie. Ross swallowed, pushing away the memory of Jennie holding him, teaching him to dance.

  He’d let Santiago explore the ancient home. Voske could enjoy his kids’ books.

  Ross pointed. “That one. The upper story looks too unstable, but we can try the lower one.”

  “No tricks. You know the king is watching everything we’re doing.” Santiago glanced upward, at the dense foliage that blocked out most of the sun.

  Voske couldn’t see in the dark; could he see into the dimly lit interior of a ruin? To be safe, Ross had to assume that he could.

  He approached the tilted entrance of the building he’d chosen. It had slid over a foot from its foundations. With the upper story still mostly intact, the whole thing could be balanced like a house of cards. He was careful not to touch anything as he peered past the vines that curtained the entrance. Santiago joined him, holding up a lantern.

  “What do you think it was?” Santiago asked.

  “Probably a store.” To Ross’s relief, there were no giant insects, and it didn’t smell like any carnivores nested there.

  What he could see from the doorway was a huge empty space, without even the remains of furniture. At the rear were what had probably been a number of rooms, but several had collapsed and all the doorways were at least partially blocked. There was a staircase leading to the second floor, but the bottom had been crushed when a pillar had fallen across it. The rest of the staircase had no supports, and would fall in the moment you set foot on it.

  He raised his lantern until the golden glow illuminated the ceiling. An army of beetles skittered into its crevices and cracks. A long shadow resolved into a gaping hole, through which mossy pipes were visible. From the slimy thickness of the moss and the dampness on the floor below, the pipes were full of water. If one broke, it wouldn’t just produce a trickle of water, but a flood.

  “There’s nothing in this room,” Santiago said, sounding disappointed. “Let’s check out those rooms in the back.”

  “No, I see something,” Ross said, bending down.

  He picked up a plastic ball and socket. Holding it up, he spun the tiny ball. After all those years, it moved as smoothly as if it had been made yesterday. Mia loved those things. Sometimes she made toys for the little kids out of them. He automatically stashed it into his pack to gi
ve her, then wondered if he would ever see her again.

  “There’s nothing valuable in this room.” Santiago headed for the nearest door.

  Ross grabbed his arm. “Stay behind me.” He cautiously stepped forward.

  A low wall divided the room. As he skirted it, something chittered from the deep tangle of vines. Santiago started, hand on his machete, and Ross brandished the sledgehammer, but nothing jumped out at them.

  While Santiago held his lantern over the wall, Ross lifted his and studied the ceiling. One of the two support pillars was intact, but another listed to the side. Its top was less than a foot away from the biggest water pipe.

  “See that pillar, Santiago?” Ross warned him. “If that comes down, it’ll break the pipe and flood the whole building. Don’t even go near it.”

  Santiago gave the pillar a wide berth as he headed toward a door. A rustle was the only warning, then a huge shape hurtled out. Santiago nearly dropped his lantern as the thing flew overhead, shrieking.

  “Bat,” Ross said.

  “Not many that size in Gold Point,” Santiago said.

  Ross could hear how he was trying to be casual, and grinned to himself.

  Santiago let Ross go first. Ross poked his head through the door to the bat cave. His eye was caught by the gleam of light on metal.

  The entire room was lined with racks of guns.

  Ross stared incredulously. There were pistols, rifles, and weapons he couldn’t even identify except that they were obviously firearms of some kind. All were far more complex than any weapon he’d seen, but he recognized some from books in the Las Anclas library. These were the weapons of ancient times that could kill hundreds of people in an instant.

  Voske would use those guns to kill every last person in Las Anclas.

  Ross lowered the lantern, backed up, and tried to sound as casual as he could. “Nothing in that one. Let’s try the next one.”

  His voice betrayed him, the way Santiago’s had before.

  Santiago pushed past Ross. “Let me see.” He held up his lantern, then gasped.

  Ross grabbed Santiago’s arm. “Pretend you didn’t see that. You know what Voske will do with these. He’ll kill hundreds of people with them. Thousands.”