Reaper's Order (Founders Series Book 1)

by Mari Dietz

  He waved his hand toward the vitals. “It’s an honor to know you. Step forward and get the brand. Tonight, we celebrate you.” He bowed and faced the crowd. “Let us honor them.”

  Everyone in the room bowed low to the vitals as they received the new brand. A white circle was placed on their necks with paint. It wasn’t a permanent brand, so Vic didn’t understand why they called it that. The vitals would have no other occupation in the city, so was this supposed to make up for what they were leaving behind?

  Vic noticed she was holding on to William’s forearm. Her nails dug into his uniform. He put his hand over hers. Was William actually comforting her?

  “Stay in character,” he whispered.

  Vic curled her toes in her shoes. She loosened her grip and watched her sister smile at various founders while Tristan led her around the room like a prize. Why did he stay so close to her? He looked at her sister’s face with an expression Vic didn’t understand. There was an odd softness in his gaze. It couldn’t be love, but it looked that way from where she stood. Did Tristan actually care for her sister? She bit the inside of her cheek. It couldn’t be. His cold posture in the dungeon only hours earlier had shown a man who couldn’t love. Could he? It didn’t matter. Once her sister went to Haven, Tristan couldn’t get to her either. Right? Her head hurt from all the questions, but she didn’t have any answers.

  She almost flinched as William went into the crowd. Vic made sure her face didn’t change, and she let him lead her. Now that they were surrounded, she didn’t dare ask what he was doing. Radiant didn’t have their own thoughts. When the founders saw Vic, shock filled their faces, and they immediately whispered to the person standing next to them. Their stares drilled into her back. Soon, they would all know that the heir to Glass was a radiant. What would happen when her father found out? Or did her father not care anymore?

  William halted, and she nearly tripped. Her father stood in front of them, his face blazing with rage.

  18

  Vic

  Vic forced herself to remain a brainless radiant as her father stood shaking, with the whites of his eyes showing and his skin flushed red. He wanted to kill someone, probably William.

  “What did you do to my daughter?” His shout silenced the room. If they hadn’t been looking before, Vic was sure they were looking at her now.

  Her father’s lips pressed into a thin line, one hand clenched at his side while the other held his wand, pointed directly at William. Imbs didn’t have much as far as combat training with magic, but she’d once witnessed her father shred a wooden post using glass. She shivered, and William backed up.

  “Sir, if I may talk with you in private, I can explain.” William raised his free hand in a peaceful gesture.

  Her father’s face darkened, and the silent room deafened her. “Explain now. I don’t care what these gossips hear.”

  Vic noted William’s hesitation. He couldn’t tell the room that a Nordic had ordered him to purify a founder. If it came out that William had forced a purification, he would be hauled away to the holding cells at the station.

  “You have ten seconds to answer me. I know my daughter would never choose to be a mindless fool.” He reached into his pocket, where he kept a pouch of sand.

  From the crowd, Ethan appeared next to her father and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Old friend, let’s figure this out in the next room.”

  Vic’s father flinched and nodded sharply. In the silent room, they followed Ethan out of the supposed celebration and down the hall to his office. Her father pulled away from Ethan the minute the door shut, and he glared back and forth between Ethan and William. Vic stood with her fake smile and glazed eyes. She tried to think dull thoughts to remain calm in her father’s presence. A bead of sweat traced down her forehead and into her eye. It burned, but she didn’t dare wipe it away. Did the radiant wipe away their sweat? The whole room could probably hear her heart beating. She knew too little about how to act.

  “Conrad, I know this is unfortunate, but this is something Vic requested.” Ethan sat down calmly in a cushioned wooden chair and gestured for her father to sit. He ignored William and Vic.

  Her father remained standing and stepped forward. His voice was raw with anger as he said, “When was this decided?”

  Ethan shifted in their direction. Her father noticed the movement, and he stepped back, still gripping his wand.

  “I’m not sure when your daughter decided this, Glass.”

  A scary coldness filled Vic. Did he mean that her father was involved in what GicCorp was doing? He opened his mouth, then glanced at William and shut it again.

  “I think I would like to talk to you, my friend, about what my daughter decided without telling me.”

  The loaded conversation filled the room with tension. They didn’t want to talk in front of William. Nordic clearly held all the power here, but maybe he’d brokered a deal with her father. She could only assume they had some sort of dealing, but whatever the deal was it wasn’t good. Could this be the reason for his change in demeanor over the last year?

  What are you doing, Father? Vic thought. She wanted to shake answers out of him. Saving her sister from this mess was the one thing she could do. Whatever her father had done affected them all.

  “Why don’t you and Glass’s daughter stay here for a bit so we can get back to the party? She’s upsetting people with another foul choice of hers.” Ethan rose as smoothly as ever. Her father would lose two daughters today, and it didn’t bother Nordic.

  Her father stiffened and glanced at Vic before following Ethan out of the room. A wave of pain and sadness hit her. Her father quickly schooled his expression into an emotionless mask and left the room.

  “I think we stepped into something,” William’s voice broke through the room. Its tiredness wove around Vic.

  “All our fathers are up to something.” Vic dropped her hand from William’s arm. “Since they couldn’t find your father today, you’re involved by default.”

  William weakly pulled on his cuffs. “It doesn’t really matter, does it?”

  “What do you mean? Whatever they’re doing involves turning people into mogs to provide blight. You don’t think they matter?”

  “If they would choose the path of the radiant, they wouldn’t need to worry about corruption.” His voice no longer held the conviction it used to.

  Vic scoffed. “Don’t you realize that if you hadn’t been called, your dad would have purified me against my will? How many people has he purified without permission?” His father had to be breaking radiant laws by changing people willfully. Forget radiant laws; it was a law in Verrin too.

  William used the wooden chair for support. “Sometimes, you don’t have a choice.”

  Vic let out a short laugh. “Like your brother? Did you tire of bailing him out of confinement? Tired of him giving the radiant a bad name?” Vic squared her shoulders and got into William’s face. “He wouldn’t get in line, right? Took care of a problem and saved him, right?”

  His breath hit her face as he exhaled. He backed away. “Don’t talk about my brother. You know why I had to do it, and it had nothing to do with those reasons.”

  “Someone has too. You know what he wanted, and you still changed him.” Vic told herself to stop, but the words poured out anyway. “You took away his choice and did what you wanted!”

  William reached up as if to shove her away but stopped himself. “I saved you today. Don’t forget it. If they find out you’re not a radiant, I might as well run off with you.”

  Vic snorted and kicked the chair. It clattered as it fell over. “Like I’d want to be stuck with you out in the swamps.”

  “That’s your plan? Survive in the swamps?” William laughed. “How will your sister live out there? Can she fight? Oh, and what does she want? Are you thinking about that?”

  “Worry about yourself and your dissolving morals!” Vic paced to the door and wondered how long they needed to stay in here and away from t
he crowd. At this rate, it didn’t look like she could get close to her sister. Maybe she should pass her a note? She doubted they would let William get close to her either.

  William trembled with anger behind her. “Don’t claim to understand my beliefs. You magic users know nothing of what the radiant do.”

  Vic clicked her tongue and pointed at him. “Purify the unwilling. Got it figured out, thanks.”

  “You know what? Why don’t you stay here and figure this out on your own? You’re bound to drag me down. I might as well get a head start.” He pushed past her to the door.

  “Verrin isn’t that big. Where are you going to go?”

  “I can survive in the swamps the same as you.”

  Vic blocked his hand from the doorknob. “Oh, really? Are you going to turn mogs into light lovers? Be careful when you touch them. They bite.”

  The door flew open, knocking into them, and William swung to face it. There in white stood her sister. Her mouth opened, and she flung herself at Vic. “I knew it. You aren’t a radiant.”

  Vic’s arms automatically went around her sister and squeezed. The smell of lilies filled her nose as she held her sister. “Blight, this is luck. How did you get away? Wait, no time. We need to get out of here. Think you can open the glass window without making a sound?” Her stance relaxed. This was the stroke of luck she’d needed. She wouldn’t have to separate her sister from Tristan.

  “I only have a few moments, so I can’t stay,” Emilia replied.

  “Yeah, I got that. Let’s get out of here.” Vic grabbed her hand and took her to one of the back windows. William followed behind. Vic ignored him. He could follow them if he wanted, but he wasn’t coming with them past the wall.

  Emilia pulled her hand away from Vic’s. As her fingers slipped away, Vic glanced back.

  Her light green eyes softened. “I’m not leaving, Vic.”

  “You have no clue what the Nordics or our father is involved in. Trust me, we need to leave. There’s something going on with Haven.” She didn’t need to get stuck behind the stone wall and figure it out too late.

  Emilia shook her head. “No. I can’t.”

  “Um, you can. Follow me and we can get out of here.” Vic reached for her sister once more, but she moved back. “Em, I’m not joking. Before, I might have selfishly wanted you to stay, but there is something wrong with Tristan.”

  “What makes you think I’m joking? Where in the city do you plan to run? The sewers? You know they’ll find you. Yes, Tristan is strange, but he won’t be with the vitals.”

  “I’m leaving Verrin.” The moment those words left her mouth, Vic’s throat dried up.

  Emilia gripped her arm. “You can’t. You’ll die out there.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence. We’re strong. I’m sure we’ll be fine.” Vic found it hard to believe her own words as she tried to sell Emilia on the idea. Verrin suddenly felt tiny, and Vic struggled to breathe.

  Emilia looked at Vic’s back. “You don’t even have your relic.” She took Vic’s hands, her fingers cold. “I have to stay. If I don’t, they’ll come after you. Just live, okay. This is part of what I need to do as a founder. I’m keeping you all safe. I know you wanted me to leave when you left the house, but I stayed so I could save you.”

  Emilia pulled away, but Vic clutched her hands. “What do you mean? What do you know? Why isn’t anyone telling me anything?”

  Emilia gently released her hands. “I know they need us to keep the city safe. Even though it isn’t the life I imagined, we are needed.”

  “Blight take me, can’t you and Father see this isn’t helping anything? What are you protecting?” Couldn’t she see there was something wrong? Vic raged at her lack of solid evidence.

  “You.”

  The word floated in the room.

  “I didn’t ask you to.” The life of a vital was an honor, but Vic felt like her heart was being ripped out.

  “I know this may sound selfish, but I’m doing this more for my family than the city. Vic, did you ever stop to think that all this ‘something is going on with the vitals’ stuff could be in your head? I know you want to keep me here. I know it’s hard, but I’m saving you. Can you believe in me for once?”

  The door opened, interrupting them. Vic blanked her expression and stared at Emilia. Tristan walked into the room. She could fight Tristan and grab Em.

  “You’re missing time with your parents. Did you get to say goodbye to your sister?”

  Emilia stepped back, and Vic caught a small shake of her head. She was telling her not to do anything stupid.

  Frustration built to the point of exploding as Vic watched her sister take Tristan’s arm. She didn’t know what he was doing? How could they trust the Nordics? What did he know about the vitals that they weren’t saying?

  “Radiant, you might as well take the former Glass heir away. She isn’t needed here, and she’s upsetting her family. Making such a selfish decision has hurt her family even more.” He went back to the door. “She turned her back on them months ago.”

  Vic burst forward and punched Tristan in the nose. Warm blood sprayed over her hand and arm as he fell back. His dumb eyes spread open in surprise.

  “Blight consume you, you monster maker.”

  Vic raised her foot and slammed it into Tristan’s side. He rolled away from her and stood, blood running down his chin. He swung at her.

  Vic bent out of the way of his punch, and it grazed her side. She used his forward momentum to thrust her leg into his. Then she elbowed the back of his head, shoving him to the ground. He’d be down for a moment. Vic grabbed her sister’s hand.

  Emilia jerked away and shook her head. Then she looked past Vic. “Take her, please.”

  A hand closed around Vic’s wrist and pulled her from the room. Vic jerked against William, but he ran. Emilia, still as a statue, remained in the doorway.

  “No!”

  Emilia smiled, and went back inside the room and to her calling, her white dress fluttering behind her.

  Vic tried to yank free from William. “Let me go, you light lover.”

  He was stronger than she’d thought, so she tried to trip him.

  He halted and grabbed her shoulders. “Don’t you get it? You’re putting her in danger! Open your eyes and see she made a choice. She’s protecting you. Now I’m protecting you too. Don’t drag us down even further.”

  Can you believe in me for once? Vic swallowed and nodded.

  William took her hand again, and they ran out the back of the Nordic mansion and over the stone courtyard. Vic barely noticed any of the workers moving out of their way. She let William lead her out onto the street. She didn’t know what would happen. The Nordics and Nyx wouldn’t want the city to know what they were doing to people. However, they couldn’t let them go; they would want to bring Vic back in quietly. Next time, they would make sure she was purified and William too, unless his father had some pull.

  Their footsteps slapped against the stone roads. They reached the main canal and ducked into an alley. He dropped her hand. Vic missed the warmth. His breath came out in gasps, and his face was flushed from the run. Vic leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. Her thoughts wouldn’t focus. All she could think about was her sister going back to Tristan.

  “What’s the plan?” William asked.

  Vic ran her hands through her hair, and the motion helped calm her down. “I-I don’t know.” The thought of going out to the swamp by herself did frighten her. Endless darkness and mogs once the sun set, all of them trying to eat her alive. If she stayed, Xiona or GicCorp would find her in the walled city. Once her gicgauge was full, she would likely die.

  “You can still come with me.”

  “How long until they find me?”

  “Change your name?” William suggested.

  She let out a sad laugh. “And my face? Maybe I need to warn the other Orders.” Had Dei gotten any updates from Kai? But he wouldn’t know about Nordic’s involveme
nt.

  “Are you going to live outside of Verrin?”

  Vic took another breath and thought about her options. Em wouldn’t leave. Kai was stuck at Nyx, his position precarious. “Will you be okay?”

  “I’m going home. If they want me to get purified, it doesn’t matter.” He faced the swirls of blight in the sky.

  “You’re giving up?” She had mixed feelings about the radiant, but she’d thought he was stronger than that.

  William’s jaw twitched. “I don’t see purification as giving up, reaper. It’s an honor to live without magic.”

  Vic rolled her eyes. “Fine, then. Enjoy your life. Thanks for saving me.”

  She didn’t need his help, anyway. He could go back to his light-loving life with all his brainless friends. She glanced out of the alley and got ready to run. She grabbed the bottom of the dress and tried to arrange it into tied-up shorts. The result was a bunched-up dress that looked like a diaper.

  “Next time, get out of your own mess.”

  She glared back at him. “Don’t worry, I will.”

  Vic took off and left him behind in the alley. She ran through the city. No one paused at the strange woman in a bunched-up dress as she ran past them. She stuck to the alleys as much as she could to avoid people. She ran over the bridges that went over the canals in the city. Citrus hung in the air as she hit the orchards.

  As far as she could tell, no one had followed her out to Dei. She stopped at the gate and met her old friend Becks.

  “Ah, the little redhead is back. I take it you want to see Nel?”

  Vic took a moment to breathe air into her strained lungs. She shivered now that she had stopped running. “Is she here?”

  Becks jerked her head, signaling for Vic to follow her to the main building. Vic tried to piece together her thoughts before seeing Nel. She didn’t know what the commander would do with the information about GicCorp’s involvement in turning people into mogs. Vic thought she could at least tell her so that someone besides Kai and William knew. Then maybe she would vanish. If she tried to help Kai, it might only hurt his family. She didn’t dare go back to her family. A soft pain filled her chest. Her father might need her, but she had a feeling he wanted her to stay away. What did they know about the vitals? They’d chosen not to tell her anything. She should be the one protecting Em. She should have been born an imb; then she would be the vital.