Hostage

by Rachel Manija Brown

She was going to have to make a whole new life for herself. If she chose a good breeding herd, she’d have valuable stock wherever she went. She’d need three mares and a stallion who had proven their fertility, but were young enough to have plenty of breeding years left.

  In a burst of rebellion, Kerry opened her mouth to name Coronet, her father’s silver stallion, then snapped it shut again. She couldn’t bring herself to dare. But her own horse, Nugget, was a stallion, and he’d sired two foals already. If she wanted to breed him, she should choose mares who got along well with him and weren’t closely related to him. Sean’s horse, silver Sally, would do. She’d had three fine foals, and she was gentle. Ross could ride her.

  “I want Sally and Nugget. And . . .” Better take an alpha mare. She’d always admired the beautiful bronze Tigereye. And for the last mare . . . Kerry grinned to herself. She’d get five horses for the price of four. “Tigereye and Penny.”

  The head groom didn’t snap to do her bidding. “Penny is pregnant. You know how touchy these mares get late in their term. I wouldn’t put the little princesses on her. How about Topaz?”

  Kerry glared at him. “Bridget is thirteen, and she specifically asked for Penny. Do you doubt her ability to handle that horse for a short ride?”

  “No! I only . . . I’ll go saddle her.”

  Reluctantly, he moved to obey. Kerry followed, chatting about how nice it would be to shake off the dust of Las Anclas with a good ride. She pointed out the prettiest saddles, with handsome saddlebags attached. And while she sent the poor groom back three times for different bridles, she slipped trail rations into the saddlebags, then smoothed the caparisons over them to hide the bulges. Water, they could find, now that the rains had come, but fodder would be scarce in the desert.

  Kerry clicked her tongue, as if she’d suddenly remembered something. “I almost forgot! Fiona wanted me to bring one of the burros. The littlest one.”

  “A burro?” a groom echoed incredulously.

  Kerry gave him a murderous glare. “Yes. The littlest one. Fiona thinks he’s cute.” She snapped her fingers. “What are you waiting for? Get him!”

  The groom hurriedly fetched a small, scruffy-looking burro. “This one, Princess?”

  “Yes.” She certainly hoped it was the right one. If it wasn’t, Ross could go back to the corral himself, as far as she was concerned.

  To her relief, Nugget wasn’t in a touchy mood. She mounted him and led the mares and the burro, certain that the grooms would start discussing her high-handed ways once she was out of earshot. Well, by tomorrow she wouldn’t be a princess any more—she’d either be riding for the west, or dead. She might as well enjoy handing out orders while she still could.

  The palace lights shone peacefully through the garden trees, and the street lights cast a pretty purple glow on the starless sky. It would be terrible when the entire city went dark.

  But at least everybody will be safe, she thought as she peered up at the nursery windows. Safe . . . without her. She would never see Fiona again, or Owen or Bridget. Would they miss her the way she missed Sean? Nobody had missed Deirdre much, because she’d gotten so bossy and moody and mean after she’d Changed.

  Is that how they think of me?

  At least her half-siblings would be safe from Father’s anger, because they were his children. Mom, too, would be safe, protected by her unique power. Father would never give that up.

  Except for Santiago, there was no one else Kerry was close to. No friends, no favorite sparring partners, not even a tutor of whom she was particularly fond. Certainly none who was particularly fond of her. She’d had more personal conversations with Mia than she’d had with any girls in Gold Point.

  Nobody knew her as anything but the princess. And she’d never tried to be anything else.

  The gate guards saluted. She was already there—she must be way more tired than she’d thought! Startled, Kerry tried to remember the excuse she’d made up for the gate guards, but her mind went blank. She scrambled for a new one. Moonlight ride with her siblings? But where were they? Taking the horses and one little burro to stretch their legs? That made no sense.

  She lifted her chin and rode through the gate, her heartbeat thundering in her ears. Nobody spoke. If they wondered, they kept it to themselves.

  Kogatana scampered ahead, vanishing then returning, her little nose twitching as if to say all was well. Now that it was quiet, exhaustion began to press on Kerry. The slow rhythm of the ride acted on her like chamomile tea, and she kept catching herself dozing off. Her entire body ached, the day’s tiredness made worse by carrying Ross out of the garrison. She wished she’d soaked longer in the bath . . . Ross had better not run off with the pack containing her pillow . . .

  The power plant’s lights forced her to wakefulness again, though her eyes burned. She wished she’d brought a flask of hot coffee with her—and some of that lovely dinner Mom had left in her room. But her choice had been to bathe or eat—she hadn’t had time for both. And she couldn’t stand the thought of not bathing for twelve days. Her clothes would probably rot off.

  She tied up the horses, then rode to the power plant, her story ready.

  A sentry called, “Halt!”

  “It’s all right,” Kerry replied, forcing her voice to cheerfulness. “It’s Princess Kerry.”

  “Princess! You’re back!”

  “I am. My father has decided to step up the construction of Dam Two. He wants everybody out of the plant and at Dam Two by morning, so we can get an early start.”

  “But, Princess—”

  “Now. The sentries, too. They need to guard the technicians. The second shift is right behind me. They’ll take over as soon as you all leave.”

  “But—”

  Kerry strove to sound like her father. “Brief the head technicians, now.”

  “That’s why I’m trying to tell you, Princess. They’re all up at the dam, on the king’s own orders.” His earnest expression changed to puzzlement. “You did know that, right?”

  In a heartbeat that confusion would change to suspicion. “Of course I knew that. I meant the junior technicians left in charge.” Kerry snapped her fingers. “If you hurry, you’ll get some decent rest before morning.”

  The guard’s face cleared, and he saluted. He ran to the power plant, and soon emerged with a handful of technicians and two guard squads. They streamed up the road toward Dam Two.

  As soon as they were out of sight, Kerry retrieved the mares, then turned up the steep mountain road toward the dam.

  I can do this. It’s going to work.

  Her exultant mood lasted until she glimpsed the dam between ridges and hills, looming impossibly large in the moonlight. The moon was dangerously low in the sky; it was mere hours before dawn.

  Where was Ross? There was no sign of him.

  She kept one sword at the ready as the horses plodded up the steep road. At the dam, she again left the animals out of sight, and rode up to the floodlit sentry station.

  The guard quickly ran to do her bidding. But time stretched on, and instead of a neat line of guards herding their technicians, the guard returned alone, looking annoyed and frustrated. “I’m so sorry, Princess, but the technicians are refusing to leave without orders directly from the king.”

  “My orders are directly from the king.” Kerry fought to keep control of her voice. She couldn’t get shrill. She was the princess. The heir to Gold Point.

  The guard looked apologetic. “Can you tell them that, Princess? I think it’s just me they don’t believe.”

  Kerry made a move to dismount, then sat back. She needed the height, and anyway, she was afraid her legs would give out. Already her head swam unpleasantly.

  “Send them out,” she commanded.

  A mob of frowzy-headed, red-eyed technicians marched out, grumbling and shuffling mutinously. Kerry snapped her spine straight, squared her shoulders, and repeated the speech she’d given to the sentry.

  The technicians looked at eac
h other, then a tall woman spoke. “Princess, the king himself ordered us up here. He said we don’t leave till we’ve finished repairing the intake.”

  Kerry had no idea what an intake was. “He sent me with a new order. Never mind the intake. You all need to leave now.”

  They didn’t budge. The tall woman obstinately repeated, “The king said we don’t leave. Princess.”

  “He’s riding right behind me.”

  Another technician spoke up. “Then we’ll wait.”

  Kerry ground her teeth. The moon was beginning to set. It was far too late to abandon the idea of blowing up the dam and flee across the desert. Ross’s escape would be discovered the moment the sky blued. The entire army would come after them.

  “I just escaped from Las Anclas. You did hear that I got captured?” she added sarcastically.

  “Very glad to see you safe,” a technician said hastily.

  “I’m glad to be back,” she replied, trying to stay regal. Calm. In control. “But the news I brought my father was not good. There is an army on the march toward Gold Point. Father wants you out of here, and reporting to Dam Two now. South Company Two is on the way here, with your replacements.”

  “But he didn’t send a message,” the woman said.

  “And we’re not done with the intake,” a man in the back said. “He won’t like us leaving it unfinished.”

  The first woman repeated stubbornly, “The king always sends a message.”

  “I am the message.” Kerry took a deep breath. “I didn’t want to have to say this, but he gave me strict orders. If anyone is here when he arrives, their heads will be on pikes by dawn.” She forced herself to raise a hand toward the guard. “Ready weapons!”

  “Never mind, Princess,” the woman exclaimed. “Forgive me! It’s just . . . highly irregular . . .”

  They were all muttering by now, but they were moving. They were moving!

  Kerry watched them vanish down the path, guards going first with torches, the techs straggling. If anyone in the city looked up at the mountains, they would see those torches. If anyone decided to send a messenger to confirm Kerry’s orders, everything would fall apart. It was all so precarious, and she was so tired.

  Where was Ross?

  Chapter Forty-Nine. Gold Point.

  Ross

  Ross leaned against a boulder and looked up at the stars. They weren’t as bright as they should be, because of the lights around the dam, but at least they were visible. Maybe if he watched them a little longer, he’d stop feeling so lightheaded and strange, as if his feet weren’t touching the ground. Even the pain of his burns felt distant and unreal.

  He couldn’t believe Kerry had let him go.

  He couldn’t believe he was really free.

  He couldn’t believe he had tried to kill himself.

  Pull yourself together, he ordered himself. You still have work to do. You can think about that other stuff later.

  Maybe he’d feel better if he ate something. He spotted a prickly pear cactus, plucked a fruit, stripped off the spiny peel, and popped the fruit in his mouth. He made himself focus on its juicy texture and sweet flavor, and the hard smoothness of its inedible seeds.

  He hadn’t had a prickly pear since he’d walked blind toward Las Anclas. He remembered fumbling with the peel, and dropping a pear and having to feel around for it. He’d been so clumsy back then. After wearing it constantly for more than a month, the gauntlet almost felt like part of his hand.

  Ross felt steadier after he’d eaten. He ached with exhaustion all the way down to his bones, but he’d be able to fight if he had to. He had a hard task ahead of him, but he could do it—as long as Kerry did her part.

  Straightening his spine, he continued through the scrub toward the dam. A voice startled him. He ducked behind a bushy mesquite.

  A whole lot of feet were tramping down the nearby road. Kerry had kept her promise.

  “. . . I don’t agree. We should send a messenger to the king.”

  “Do you want to run down the mountain at night?” another jeered.

  “I’d rather do that than get my head piked,” the first person retorted.

  “Do you seriously think the princess would go against the king’s orders?” a third person asked incredulously.

  “Prince Sean did.”

  A chorus of hisses broke out, shushing the speaker.

  Once they were gone, Ross bolted up through the scrub. He found Kerry pacing beside her golden stallion, clutching Kogatana.

  “There you are,” she exclaimed sharply. “What took you?”

  “Sorry.” Ross still didn’t understand why she was helping him, but he knew she was risking her life to do it. “The people you sent away walked past where I was hiding. We’ll have to hurry. One of them wants to send a messenger to Voske.”

  Kerry lashed out with her hand, sending dirt flying up in a spray as if she’d hit the ground with a whip. “This was a terrible idea! We could have had a head start by now. If they send that messenger, the entire garrison will be here in two hours. We have to run now.”

  “If we blow up the dam, no one will come after us.”

  Kerry grabbed the stallion’s reins. “The horses and your burro are this way.”

  Ross didn’t budge. He wasn’t giving up the chance to keep Voske away from Las Anclas. “I’m blowing up the dam. It’ll go faster if you stay and help. If you don’t, please leave Rusty here for me.”

  He hurried to the supply shed, which was still lit. The air inside was rich with the smell of fertilizer. There were more than enough barrels of explosive to crack the dam.

  Mia would love this. He wished there was some way he could show her what was sure to be a bigger explosion than any she’d ever seen. He’d just have to describe it as best he could.

  Grinning to himself, he loaded the final barrel on to a push cart and hauled it outside. He almost bowled over Kerry, with Kogatana trotting at her heels.

  “What can I do?” Kerry asked.

  “Load another cart and follow me.”

  As he set up the explosives at the base of the dam, Ross wondered again how this had all come about. He hardly even knew where to start with his questions.

  “Kerry, Santiago told me what happens when people run away from Gold Point. Is he going to be all right? What about your family?”

  “The royal family has different rules. When Sean disappeared, Father questioned his mother, but that was it. He didn’t even exile her from the palace. Mom and my half-sibs will be fine. And I made sure that Father thinks I don’t care about Santiago anymore.”

  “How did you do that?”

  “I left a note saying I’d fallen in love with you.”

  Ross almost dropped a coil of wire. “What? Seriously?” Then an even more alarming thought occurred to him. “You haven’t, right?”

  Kerry shot him an appalled look, then snorted. “When I had Santiago? Not a chance!”

  “Good,” Ross muttered. “Here, hold this.” He shoved the wire at her, hoping that would end the entire subject.

  The moon had set by the time Ross had finished setting the last charge. He stepped back to survey his work. He felt dizzy with elation.

  “We did it,” he started to say.

  He was interrupted by a chorus of bells, clanging up into the silent night from the city below.

  Kerry’s eyes were huge and black in the glaring electric lights. “They sent that messenger. Father is raising the garrison.”

  “Come on!” Ross was already running uphill.

  Kerry bolted after him, clutching Kogatana. She had hidden the horses away from the blast radius, sheltered from any possible rock falls.

  He only had time for a quick ruffle of Rusty’s fur before he dove down to complete his final task. Rusty’s bray sounded much happier than the last time Ross had heard it. He grinned, but didn’t stop working.

  His fingers trembled as he finished connecting the wires. The bells were still ringing in Gold Point. When
Ross looked down, more and more lights were blinking on in the city.

  Ross set his hands to the plunger and pushed. He threw himself flat as the ground jolted like an earthquake. A deafening crack split the air. He jammed his thumbs in his ears, covered his eyes with his fingers, and buried his face in his backpack. Gravel and dirt rained around. The shockwave followed a heartbeat later, blowing back his hair in a hot wind.

  He glanced at Kerry, who lay with her arms outstretched. Debris bounced off the invisible shield she’d raised. Kogatana had burrowed into her shirt.

  A jagged black line appeared in the dam. Massive slabs of concrete ground against each other as the crack in the dam widened. Water began to seep through. Ross watched, biting his lip. Then, with an enormous crash, a huge chunk of concrete peeled off from one side of the crack. Water smashed through, a furious cataract racing toward the power plant below. More cracks spiderwebbed out.

  Before the wave could reach the plant, the rest of the dam collapsed with another jolting quake. Boulders the size of houses spun and smashed their way down the mountain, water spilling over the banks of the river. The power plant was drowned in the flood.

  Ross turned to look down at Gold Point. In an instant, every light went out. The city vanished into darkness.

  He lay listening to the new river smashing its way down, barely audible over the ringing in his ears. He wished he could see Voske’s face when the power went out. Better yet, when Voske realized who had done it. Ross bet he wouldn’t be smiling then.

  Chapter Fifty. Desert.

  Kerry

  Santiago marched out between guards toward the execution platform, his hands empty, his face bleak.

  “Santiago!” Kerry yelled, but he couldn’t hear. She tried to run to him, but she couldn’t move.

  “Kill her,” Father ordered. He stood on the dais, with the royal family lined up behind him. “Kill them both.”

  “Kerry!”

  She sat bolt upright, her heart thundering. Where was she?

  “Kerry!” Ross shouted. “Roll!”

  Kerry threw herself to the side. A cougar thudded down on her blanket. It loomed before her, pale in the starlight, tensed to pounce. She could have touched its yellowed fangs.