Snow on Cinders (The Tallas Series Book 2)

by Cathrina Constantine

  “Is it true?” Doogan asked. “About the firing squad?”

  “I don’t know for sure. I think it’s a performance to get you and Fulvio into Tallas. Since my mother died, he’s—”

  “Gwin died?” He flattened a stiff hand over his jeans. “How?”

  “I don’t have time...” her words cut off as someone else was talking. “I have Gee with me. He’s going to perform surgery on Rooney as soon as possible. Doogan, he’s dying. My father shot him, and the bullet is lodged near his heart. Gee wants to ask you a few questions.”

  Keeyla watched as emotions battled over her husband’s face as he described intricate surgical procedures. And lastly he added to Gee, “Fulvio took off days ago. He’s probably in or near the village as we speak. He’s coming to get Paniess out of there. He’s supposed to call when he gets to Goshen’s, but we haven’t heard from him yet.”

  “Going to Goshen’s?” Gee sounded dubious. “That’s no good. Goshen’s dead. Someone conked him on the head and set fire to his place. He was burned alive.”

  “Burned alive? Goddammit!” Grief-stricken, Doogan mashed a hand over his brow, kneading. He hesitated while Keeyla clung to his arm with an audible intake of breath. Collecting himself, he then said, “I’ll be there sometime tonight. Tell Paniess to be ready.”

  “No—” Paniess said. Hearing their discussion, she must’ve snagged the cell from Gee. “Don’t come here. It’s a trap.”

  “If you’re being guarded then you’d better tell Gee to have a lookout for Fulvio.” Disregarding her plea, his voice trembled in fury and frustration. “We better disconnect the call before this line is traced.” He swiped a finger over the cell, turning if off.

  “What the hell’s wrong with Mediators?” Keeyla sobbed, distraught. “Even if Pomfrey ordered that...I can’t believe someone would actually do it.”

  Doogan gathered her into his chest.

  ***

  Scaling the linked fence, Fulvio had torn his pants on the wire, though fortunate his skin had been spared damage. In the near distance, Tallas sprawled before him. He stooped into the unwieldy undergrowth to calculate his bearings. Scanning the village for Goshen’s shack he wondered if he’d made an error and traversed farther than he should have.

  He squatted to the ground. Camouflaged by nightfall, trees, and undergrowth, he darted closer to the backside of the complexes. Ten to Fifteen yards before him laid mounds of snow on cinders. Where the heck is Goshen’s?

  He heard a monotone whistle, or was it a bird twitter? There it was again. He ducked into the grass and squinted to the slight movement to the left.

  “Fulvio—?”

  Fulvio delayed revealing himself until he recognized Gee hiding in the scrub. “Gee,” he whispered. “Why are you here? Where’s Goshen?”

  A low-lying Gee waddled to where Fulvio cowered in the weeds. Gee laid his hand on his shoulder. “I have bad news.” He paused. “Goshen’s dead.”

  “Dead?” Thunderstruck, he gazed at the cinders dusted with snow. His heart wept. “Wasn’t a natural death, was it?”

  “Pomfrey announced it was an accident. He said the old man fell asleep and left his candle burning.” Gee hesitated to swallow. “But Rooney discovered Goshen’s skull had been cracked open. Someone knocked him out and started the fire.”

  Clamping his eyelids didn’t deter Fulvio’s surge of tears. He’d been friends and allies with Goshen since the inception of Tallas. Attempts to combat his emotional state seemed dauntless as he mopped his watery cheeks and snuffled. “Gee, I’m assuming you’re here to meet me.”

  “Yes. I’ve been on the lookout for a while now. Paniess talked to Doogan. She’s upset cause he said he’s coming in.”

  “No,” Fulvio said breathily. “Not yet. I told him to wait for my call.”

  “I don’t think he’s waiting.”

  “Take me to Paniess.” Fulvio stood ready to move.

  “That’ll be kind of difficult. She’s under house arrest.” Gee checked the area for patrolling Mediators before continuing. “Paniess is at the Mansion, but Pomfrey had to leave for a meeting with the Elites and Executives.”

  “Something’s brewing.” Fulvio hardened his tone. “I feel it.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  As soon as Doogan had stitched Tibbles lacerations, the bear had made swift tracks toward the mountain. No longer could he ignore his prophetic urgings. His father figure was in terrible jeopardy. His muscled appendages eating the dirt as he chugged up the incline like a locomotive. His snout filled with a discernible scent. Putting on the brakes, claws channeled deep ruts, spraying dirt. “Rrrarrrrrr—!”

  Tibbles beady eyes glared at his newfound friend, Snow. He roared louder and slugged his arm through the air.

  Snow mewled, slinging her furry white head from side to side.

  Again, Tibbles growled raising his muzzle in a spectacle of dominance.

  Snow cowered and shrunk into the muddy ground.

  With a final rumbled reprimand, Tibbles spun. He rocketed up the gradient, negotiating boulders, soaring over crevices, cantering amid thickets of pines, brambles, and brushwood. As the moon decreased over the horizon, he ascended the summit. The fragrance of ripe blood plugged his nostrils. He detected carcasses of broken wolves strewn about. Whiffing a supine body, he smelled not only Fulvio on the beast but Zennith as well. Tibbles jaws parted.

  Demonstrating means of retribution, he ravaged into flesh and bone, he tore into the underbelly of the black wolf.

  Less than a ten-minute delay and following the scent of blood, Tibbles fared a downhill romp.

  ***

  “You are pigheaded, stubborn, inflexible—”

  “Tenacious, steadfast,” Keeyla butt in. “And you love me for it.”

  To prevent his venting, Doogan bit his upper lip. She was right. However, since now they were both labeled as traitors, risking Tallas would be dangerous and suicidal.

  “I go where you go. Got it?” She gauged him with her look of fortitude.

  “There’s no way I can persuade you?” He pleaded with his eyes. “Even to stay behind with our son?” For a moment, she faltered and squeezed her eyelids creating a pleat between her brows. Reopening them she appeared resolved.

  “I love Fabal with my whole heart; you know that. Don’t do this to me.” Her eyes turned glossy with brimming water. “Of course I’ll stay with him. But I truly believe when we land in Tallas as a unified couple, Mediators will stand down, and citizens will stand with us.”

  ***

  Fabal had clung to them in a heart-wrenching farewell. His begging to go along was not appeased, but he relented and seemed to understand their proposal. Now stationed at the controls of the helio Doogan looked at Keeyla. Each harboring a forlorn expression when suddenly the metal side doors squealed open. Gus and Smelt, loaded with ammo and guns climbed in.

  “You’re not going without us, are ya?” Smelt said throwing a burlap sack on the metal flooring. “I brought some extra bear meat. I get awful hungry on these trips.”

  Gus skedaddled to the rear of the craft and settled in for the long haul. “I’ve never seen Tallas.” He folded his rifle into his arms.

  “Now isn’t the…” Doogan’s sentence was cut off as the pilot’s door flung open.

  “You sneaking out of here without me?” Ennis elbowed his shoulder. “Move. You’re sitting in my spot.”

  “What the hell, guys!” Doogan glimpsed a hard-nosed Ennis. “You’re all making a big mistake.”

  “Nope. We’re in this together.” Ennis pulled him from the seat. “Come hell or another earthquake, bub.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.” Doogan’s feet hit the ground, and Ennis instantly replaced him in the pilot’s seat. Cussing undertones, he trooped around the craft to discover Clayton and Garth.

  “We’d like to come along.” Clayton’s zebra-like stripes on his face seemed to radiate in the dusk. “But Keeyla said she’d tan my hide if we left these peop
le unprotected.”

  “I hate to miss the action,” Garth said, his skin taking on a golden hue. “But Keeyla said—”

  Doogan raised a hand, arresting Garth in midsentence. “Sounds like Keeyla’s calling the shots.” Exasperated, he exhaled and compressed his brow with the heels of his palms. He then deposited his hand on Garth’s shoulder. “Take care of Fabal. Don’t let him out of your sight.” Hoping he’d made the right decision, his eyes met Keeyla’s. Her taut lips curved with an acceptable nod as her fingers swept tears from her cheeks.

  Clayton started to say, “We’ll be building…” They twitched upon hearing a strange ringing.

  Doogan’s heart clanged as he rushed his hand into his coat pocket and produced the cellular. He thought the call was from Paniess or Fulvio, so he put the device on speakerphone, though, didn’t speak.

  “Doogan, I presume?” Hearing the familiar voice, his skin crawled.

  “Pomfrey,” he toned full of contempt.

  “It’s a shame you’ve decided not to make an appearance.” Pomfrey puffed into the cell. “Your good friend Rooney could’ve used your expertise. It’s regretful that another one of our physicians is going to die. You’ve abandoned the citizens, and now you’ve abandoned Fulvio and Paniess.”

  “What the hell are you getting at? Stop the mind games.” Doogan gritted his teeth as he spoke into the device and at the same time a frost encased his bones.

  “I’m not naïve or a nitwit,” Pomfrey said with distinction. “Did Fulvio actually think he could sneak into Tallas and flee with my daughter? We’ve been waiting patiently for one of you to make your move. And I feel vindicated to have my old colleague behind bars where he belongs. I don’t know if you’ll make it in time.” He paused for effect. “Paniess and Fulvio have been sentenced to death at daybreak.”

  “You mother-fucking prick.” Doogan was shaking. “You wouldn’t dare kill your own daughter. And citizens will revolt if you touch a hair on Fulvio’s head.”

  “Don’t be so sure. Citizens have been singing a different tune since Management squashed the revolution. They’ve come to their senses and prefer food to starvation, or worse, shunning from the village. To be vanquished into the mountains for the wild beasts to prey on has been a quick solution for them to conform.”

  “You’re are the devil’s spawn.” He chased fingers over his tight chest. “Prove to me that you have Fulvio. I want to hear his voice.”

  “I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”

  The cellular quivered in his hand as he gazed into Keeyla’s fraught face. The entire crew had left the craft and had accumulated around him. Coming through the device, a faint noise of a door banging, footsteps and the divergent sound of a lashing whip. “Stop.” Pomfrey’s voice. “Fulvio, would you like to say a few words to your son?”

  “Talk.” A wailing groan and a slap on skin were heard.

  “Doogan.” Fulvio sounded afflicted. “We agreed—remember?”—gasping—“Leave me to my fate.”

  The cell went dead.

  ***

  Moored between two Mediators, Fulvio was dragged into a cubicle. Dumped unceremoniously onto a cot, the jail cell door clanged shut. He thought himself a robust man, although, his first time being scourged caused him pitiful agony. Water welled in his eyes, not for his pain, but for the pain his son had endured for him. Doogan, you’re a stronger man than I’ll ever be.

  Every movement initiated a searing sting. His fingers curled over the cots metal railing, getting a good grip; he heaved his body into the middle of the too-small mattress. He moaned as he tried to roll onto his stomach, taking the stress off his shredded back. His vision waned and faded to black.

  Thuds and booted footfalls revived him. Slitting his eyelids, the jail was doused in a subtle light. How long was I out? The grind of his cell door gave him cause to move though his back screamed otherwise. He decided to remain on his stomach feigning sleep. What induced him to rouse, a female’s breathless inflection, he attempted to turn, recoiling in pain.

  “Here, clean him up if you want,” said Mediator Grunt, dropping rags and a bucket on the floor. “It hardly matters. He’ll be swinging from the gallows soon.” He retreated leaving Paniess alone with him.

  “Fulvio?” she said his name like a question. “How. Why. I don’t—”

  “I guess I’m not as stealth as I used to be.” He wiped moisture building on his face. “I thought I’d come to your rescue, my dear. After Gee left me at the barn—”

  “I warned you not to come. I can take care of myself.” She bent down and picked up the bucket and rags. “Let me look at your back.”

  “Like Grunt said, it doesn’t matter.” He noticed the severe sadness had returned to her eyes. A sadness never to be mitigated. “Why did they bring you here? Not to nurse me back to health, I’m sure.”

  She shrugged. “Who knows what lurks in my father’s brain. It could be a million and one reasons. All detrimental.” Her beauty marred as she scrunched her face looking at his back.

  “You’ve seen worse.” Fulvio strived for balance. “Pomfrey wants you here to witness my degrading end. To make a public spectacle out of one of their own, an Elite. To prove no one is above Management. All will suffer and succumb under his ruling thumb.”

  “Oh, haven’t you heard?” Paniess dipped a rag into a bucket of tepid water and twisted it in her hands. “We’re both headed to the gallows for treason.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  “Ennis, how long will it take us to reach Tallas in the helio?” Still a little shaky after the call with Pomfrey, Doogan slid the cell into his pocket..

  In thought, Ennis tapped a finger to his nose. “Estimating it’s good weather, no headwind, an easy climb over the mountain, I’d wager an approximate guess at about three hours.”

  “Can we fly the whole three hours without refueling?” Doogan asked, and steered his gaze from Ennis to the twilit sky.

  “Nope, not likely,” Ennis said. “Probably need to make one stop to refuel if you plan on a fast getaway. We’ll have to find an opening somewhere.”

  “That plain by Three Rocks would be perfect,” a child’s falsetto entered their discussion.

  They turned to see Fabal, Knox, and Swan.

  Doogan waved Fabal over. He placed his palm on the boys shoulder and smiled. “Good thinking.” Diverting his eyes back to Ennis, he said, “And from Three Rocks I’d say it’d take a man an hour or less to get into Tallas. Do you agree?”

  “Yup. That sounds ‘bout right. What do you have in mind?” Ennis said.

  “Pomfrey said Fulvio will swing at daybreak. You know as well as I that he’s luring us in. He has Fulvio under lock and key and won’t let him out of his sight. He’ll be guarded like a prized bull. Mediators will be expecting me.”

  “What about Paniess?” Keeyla asked. Her body trembled and wrapped her arms around her waist. “Do you think he’ll kill her?”

  “When Pomfrey first threatened that she’d be sentenced to a firing squad, I didn’t believe him. I thought it was bogus. But now…” He sniffled, pausing. “Who knows for sure, he’s come unglued.”

  “We head out as soon as possible for Three Rocks.” He scrutinized their faces. “I’ll tell you my plan on the way, and if someone has a bigger and better idea, I’d like to hear it then.”

  The men began to disband for last minute preparations.

  “You’re staying with Clayton and Garth.” Doogan crouched to make contact with his son’s eyes.

  “Gosh—no, Dad.” Fabal looked credulous. “I’m coming.” Grim and downtrodden, he glimpsed Knox and Swan standing nearby. They dropped their chins and headed to camp.

  “Not this time. We need to know that you’re safe. We already talked about this. Don’t make it harder on us.”

  “We love you with all our hearts.” Squatting next to Doogan, Keeyla fondled Fabal’s supple cheek and cupped his chin, gazing into his cherub face. “You know that, right?”

  “I lo
ve you too,” his voice warbled as fat tears trickled along his nose. “But…but you should let me come.” He used his sleeve to swipe his face. “The Mediators won’t shoot at a kid.” He swerved to get a Mediators opinion. “Ennis, aren’t I right? They wouldn’t would they?”

  Ennis turned from inspecting the heliocraft to the little family unit. His mouth crumpled chewing side to side. “A while ago, I remember a group of us discussing just that very thing. And we all were in agreement, we’d never harm a child unless unavoidable.”

  “See. I’m right.” Fabal’s eyes grew large, viewing his parents.

  “We can’t take that chance.” Doogan sounded perturbed. “We almost lost you the last time. A couple more inches and that bullet would’ve killed you.”

  “But the Mediators weren’t shooting at me. They were shooting at Tibbles.” Fabal worked hard on trying to convince him.

  “He might be on to something.” Ennis arbitrated in Fabal’s defense. “Why do you think they conscripted minors as moles? No one wants to hurt a child.”

  “No one wants to, but it happens all the time.” Keeyla admonished. “How many of our young died this past year in cave-ins? That was the main reason we escaped from Tallas before Fabal became a casualty. Management seems oblivious to their deaths.”

  “Your point has potential.” Ennis shrugged. “But in this circumstance, I highly doubt Mediators would target a child. And citizens—”

  “I’m not discussing this further.” Doogan raised warning hands to stop. “We’re not using our children as shields, got that?”

  “Absolutely. Sorry. I meant no harm.” Zipping his lips and his opinions, Ennis resumed checking out the engine.

  Unpredictable and speedily, nefarious clouds obstructed the rising moon. And the wind sent people scurrying for shelter as it whooshed like a defiant tide through the foliage.

  ***

  “How’s Rooney?” Fulvio flopped his head to the right to observe Paniess. “Do you think he’s going to make it?”

  “I thought you were sleeping.” Paniess applied cooled compresses to his stricken back. “We need Doogan to perform the surgery, and I already told you, my father won’t let anyone touch him.”