“Naomi, I'm glad to see you, but you can't be here. It's too dangerous.”
I pointed to the black robe laying on the ground. “It's okay. I have the Cloak of Invisibility.”
“Yeah, right,” Bram said.
Dorian picked the cloak up from the ground. “It's true. I saw it—or, I didn't see it—with my own eyes.” Dorian placed the cloak around my shoulders, and I pulled the hood over my head.
Bram's eyes widened, but he said nothing.
Mother gasped. “Naomi, where'd you get that?”
“From Dunstan.”
Bram yanked the cloak off me. “Dunstan?”
“Yeah. I was in the Forager's village.”
Bram wrapped the cloak around himself and disappeared. “Man, this is so awesome. You know the kind of stuff I could do if I were invisible. Can I keep it?”
“No, you can't keep it. It's not even mine. What did Dunningham do?”
Mother shrugged. “He came looking for you. We said we didn't know where you were. He sounded the alarm and sent the Watchers after you. That was it.”
It was strange for Dunningham to give up so easily.
Mother ushered me to the kitchen table. “Sit down and tell me everything.”
I settled down in a chair beside her.
She wrapped her hands around my face. “You haven't been eating properly. Bram, make your sister a sandwich.”
Bram threw the cloak off. “What? Are you serious?”
“Just do it,” Mother ordered. She turned her attention back to me. “What happened?”
“Well, I went through Litropolis. I couldn't get over the wall and the Watchers came looking for me, so I spent the night with a Grim named Odessa. She was really nice to me. The next day Foragers climbed the wall to have a meeting.”
“Why would they do that?” Bram asked, digging through the refrigerator.
“I don't know. They wouldn't tell me, but something's going on. Anyway, the Foragers helped me climb the wall and they took me to their village. I spent the night with Merna and her sons Colden and Nigel. Then this morning, Colden decided he just had to take me to see Dunstan, so we went.”
Bram slammed things noisily on the counter to show how much he obviously didn't want to make me that sandwich.
“Dunstan is just like his brother, but he looks older. He took a knife and he sliced my arm,” I told her, rolling up the sleeve of my hoodie.
Mother frowned and touched my bandage.
“Mother, I bled. Dunstan said it was because I was a hybrid like them, and not a full-blooded Grim, but that's ridiculous.”
Everything in the kitchen became still at that moment. I wondered if they had all stopped breathing.
“But why would you bleed?” Bram asked, holding a butter knife.
Mother touched my face again. “Naomi, let's go to my bedroom to talk.”
“Why can't you talk in front of us?” Dorian asked.
“Go back to bed, you two,” Mother said.
“But what about Naomi's sandwich?” Bram asked.
Mother ignored him, leaving the table. I followed her, suddenly afraid. What was so bad that she couldn't talk about it in front of the boys?
In my parent’s bedroom, Mother closed the door behind us. Their room was huge. Maroon wallpaper with a leaf design decorated the walls. Mother crawled into their giant canopy bed. I followed her and snuggled underneath the covers. We had girl talk like this sometimes when Father was away on assignment.
I rested my head on my mother's chest and enjoyed her scent.
“Naomi, I have to tell you something. I was hoping this would never have to come out, but it has. You bled because you're half Human.”
I shot up. “That's impossible. You and Father are both Grims.”
Mother closed her eyes and paused for a long time before she spoke again. “Darkness, your father—your real father—is a Human.”
What? “You're lying. Stop lying.”
“Naomi, Nox is not your biological father.”
I tried to think of what possible reason my mother had for lying to me. There had to be something. I lay back down and stared at the black material that hung above us.
“I was on assignment a long time ago. This one was unusually long, five months. Assignments that long happen sometimes, but not very often. Anyway, I was following a man named Jeremy. He was a photographer and a really nice man. One day I made the drastic mistake of letting him see me. I was in his home. He demanded that I tell him who I was. I told him why I was there.”
I shook my head. If this was true, my mother had broken all kinds of rules. I guessed it ran in the family.
“Jeremy seemed to accept his fate. He wanted to live his last moments to the fullest. We started to talk, and we bonded. I developed feelings for him that I shouldn't have for a Human or anyone who's not your father. One thing led to another.”
I closed my eyes, wishing she were done with this fairy tale.
“I still had to do what I had to do. When Jeremy's time came, I took his lifestone and left.”
“I know you're lying. If you'd really done something like that, Dunningham would have executed the both of us a long time ago.”
Mother looked me in the eye for a moment and then looked away. “Mr. Dunningham is a lot more . . . malleable than people think.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means sometimes he'll compromise.”
I raised up again. “Yeah, in return for something.”
Mother closed her eyes.
“What did you give him, Mother?”
“I had to do what I had to do to save you. To save both of us, but mostly you.”
I didn't want to know what she had done. “I have to get back. They're expecting me.”
“Naomi, can't you stay the night?”
“No, Mother. I don't want to anyway.”
I flung the bedroom door open. Bram stood there, holding a messy turkey sandwich on a plate. Mustard and mayo dripped down the sides. “That's why you never had the heart of a Grim.”
Chapter 30
Pushing past him, I sprinted to the kitchen. I grabbed the cloak, which hung on a chair and wrapped it around myself. Mother called after me, but I ignored her, opening and slamming the kitchen door shut behind me.
I stood behind our home, then scurried away before Mother came out, screaming my name. I should have gone back to Litropolis, but I had to see Keira. I needed to apologize to my best friend and make sure she didn't hate me.
I walked slowly this time, wiping tears away with the back of my hand, trying to contemplate why people were trying to make me believe I was a Forager.
When I made it to Keira's, I stopped underneath her window. Getting her attention would be tricky. Her room was on the second story. I picked up a rock and hoped I had good aim.
The rock missed her window by a few inches. I threw another. That rock hit its target, but I didn't think it would be enough to wake her up. I hit the window three more times and waited.
I glanced around nervously, having to remind myself that I was invisible.
A dim light came on in Keira's room. She had probably turned on a lamp. Her curtains parted, and she looked down, but I couldn't quite read the expression on her face.
She opened the window. “Bram?”
Bram? Did Bram sneak out and come to her window at night? Probably not, with the Watchers all over.
It was a risky move, but I had to do it. I removed the cloak. “Keira, it's me.”
She froze and looked around. “Naomi, what are you doing here? They're looking for you!”
“Let me in.”
She disappeared from the window, and I hurried to her back door. It took a moment, but the door cracked open. I slipped inside, letting the door fall closed behind me. By then, Keira was already tiptoeing up the stairs. I followed her to her bedroom. Once I was inside, Keira closed the door gently behind her. We sat on her bed.
She stared at me for a moment
and then hugged me tight. “Are you okay?”
I inhaled the lavender scent of her long, ebony hair. It had only been a short time, but I missed the luxury of taking hot showers and washing my hair with shampoo.
“I'm fine,” I said after she let me go. “I'm really, really sorry about all of this.”
“Forget about that. What’s done is done. I'm just glad you're okay. Naomi, you can't stay here. Dunningham will execute you.”
I ran my hands over her satin sheets, wondering how uncomfortable my sleep would be that night. “I know. I'm going back tonight.”
“Where are you staying?”
“On the Outskirts.”
“With the Foragers?”
“Yes, but they like to be called hybrids.” Or perhaps we like to be called hybrids.
“Naomi, what are you going to do?”
That was a good question. “I guess I'll have to live there. Adjust. There's nothing past there but barren land. I don't have many options.”
“Yeah.”
“Why do you think Dunningham's not making a bigger deal about this? He knows where I am.”
Keira lay back on her bed. “I don't know, Nay. I really don't.”
“Is Chase back from his assignment?”
“Yeah, I saw him today.”
“What did he say?” I asked
“He's worried about you like the rest of us.”
I contemplated whether or not I should tell Keira about what Dunstan and my mother had told me. “I bled today.”
“What?”
“Dunstan—he cut me with a knife, and I bled.”
Keira sat up. “Grims don't bleed.”
“I know.”
“So what does that mean?”
I wasn't sure. I was lost and confused. The room spun ever so slightly. “Dunstan said I'm not a full Grim. When I went home tonight, Mother said that was true. That my real father's a Human.”
I expected Keira to be shocked and act as if it was the most ludicrous thing she'd ever heard, but she didn't.
“That would explain some things.”
“What? What things?”
“Why you get so attached. Why you connect with them. Why you feel sympathy for them when they die.”
“I'm not one of them, Keira,” I said forcefully.
“Why would your mother lie about something like that?”
“I don't know, but she is.”
“Naomi—”
I stood. “I have to get back. They're waiting for me. Maybe I'll come back tomorrow.” I rose and wrapped the cloak around my shoulders.
“Okay.” Keira followed me to her back porch.
I was going to miss her. I wouldn't have a best friend in the Outskirts.
She embraced me once more. “Nay, take care of yourself. No matter what happens, you'll always be my best friend.”
“Same here,” I whispered as we separated. “Bye.”
I had taken a few steps when I heard the back door close.
I took my time walking back to Nigel and Colden. They were asleep in Odessa's shack, where we would stay the night. I curled up on the tiny spot they had left for me. It was tight and uncomfortable, but that wasn't the reason I couldn't fall asleep. I would have stayed awake in the world's most luxurious bed. I had been fed a lot of information today. There was a lot on my mind.
* * *
The following morning, after a meager breakfast of oatmeal, Nigel, Colden, and I traveled back to the Outskirts. There I gave Dunstan back his precious cloak, and he informed me that I would be staying with him.
I sat at the kitchen table in front of Dunstan as Jax served us tea. Nigel and Colden stood around, being nosey. When they'd asked what had happened in Farrington, I'd told them nothing.
“So?” Dunstan asked, stirring his tea.
I wished for a cup of coffee right then. My sleepless night was taking a toll on me.
“I went home to see my family. They're fine. They said your brother's not even mad at them. He's treating them normally.”
Dunstan sat back and fingered his cup. “He's planning something. There's a reason he hasn't executed them or at least sent them to Gattica. Did anyone besides your family see you?”
“No,” I lied.
“Good. You'll go back tonight.”
“Why?” Of course I wanted to see my family and Keira again, but I dreaded that long walk and the climb over that wall. “Why do you want me to go back?”
Colden shifted from where he leaned against the wall and muttered something to his brother.
I looked back at him. “You think I'm stupid? You think I don't know that something's going on and you're planning on using me?”
“We are doing no such thing,” Dunstan said calmly. “I thought it would be nice for you to go home, but if you don't want to—”
“No! No, I want to—”
“Then what are you complaining about?” Colden demanded.
“Gentlemen, aren't you on duty in the yard today?” Dunstan asked.
They both nodded and walked briskly out the door.
“Why did you do what you did?” I asked Dunstan once Colden and Nigel were gone. “I mean, have a child with a Human when you knew what the punishment would be.”
He took another sip of his tea. “Sometimes we don't think with our heads; we think with our feelings. I wanted to be with Gwendolyn, and at the time, I wasn't thinking about anything else. It just felt right.”
I understood. I felt that way about my decision at Kennedy High. “I felt like I did the right thing, but I don't feel that way anymore.”
Dunstan nodded. “I know that feeling. Back then, nothing could have kept me away from Gwendolyn. But she's been dead for a long time now. I left my son in the Human world for fear of what my brother would do to him. He's dead too. I sometimes find myself second-guessing my decision now that there's nothing to show for it, but what's done is done.”
I was thoroughly depressed and too tired to argue with him anymore.. “Mr. Dunstan, I didn't sleep well last night. Do you mind if I take a nap?”
“Of course not. Make yourself comfortable in my room for the time being. We'll make you a place to sleep in the study.”
I nodded gratefully and headed back to the bedroom, taking my cup of tea with me.
After setting the cup on the nightstand beside me, I snuggled under Dunstan's covers. My body was tired, but I was more mentally exhausted. As I nestled into a comfortable position, I thought about my father.
It hurt my heart to even think that he wasn't really mine. My heart told me that Dunstan and Mother were lying for some reason, but logic told me there was no reason for my mother to lie about something that made her look bad, and there had to be a reason I had bled.
* * *
When I awoke, the little light that shone through the curtains told me the sun was setting. I had slept most of the day away. My stomach growled as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Since I had been on the run, it seemed as if I never had enough to eat.
Leaning against the bedroom door, I heard men’s voices down the hall. Maybe if I eavesdropped, I would get some inkling of what was going on.
I cracked the door open and slipped out. After taking a few steps, I stood quietly in the hallway.
“We're going to start with the first group and see how that goes,” Dunstan was saying. “I know this is experimental and we're already expecting a lot of deaths, but we all knew this revolt would come with a price.”
Revolt? Against what?
“When is this taking place?” a familiar voice asked. I tried to place the voice but gave up. No one I knew would be in the Outskirts, sitting in Dunstan's house.
“In a few days. I'm tired of watching my people die. We were counting on those lifestones from the high school, but of course you know—”
“Yes, yes, I know.” I placed the voice. It was the man who had prepared us for Human interaction. The one who had overseen us on our assignment. Doyle. “I was counting on those lifesto
nes, also. As I said before, I'll make it up to you.”
I leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor. Doyle was Dunningham's right-hand man. What was he doing here, fraternizing with Dunn's outcast brother?
Then I remembered something that had never sat right with me. When we'd first spotted the Foragers at Kennedy High, we told Doyle about it. He'd said he'd take care of it, but the Foragers never went away. When I asked him about it, he blew me off. He wanted them there.
Someone coughed, probably Doyle. “I have to get back,” he said, sounding strained. “We'll connect again tomorrow.”
I darted back to the bedroom door as quietly as possible, but I still kept it open a crack.
“What about the girl?” Doyle asked.
Did he know I was there?
“Don't worry. She's doing just what she's supposed to. You can't let my brother get his hands on her. She's exactly what we need.”
Chapter 31
The front door closed, followed by the door to Dunstan's study. I crept out of the bedroom, down the hallway, and out the front door. I hadn't seen Jax, but I figured if he'd seen me leave, he'd tell Dunstan. I hurried from the cottage as briskly as possible.
I stood in the middle of the Forager's village. The streets were almost empty. Perhaps everyone was inside, preparing their meals.
I decided to explore. I passed a man sitting on his porch, smoking a pipe. He grunted and shot me a dirty look. I looked away. All the people here must hate me.
After walking through a large cluster of cottages, drawing strange looks and hushed whispers from the Foragers, I came to a large fenced-in plot of land. There were about twenty men inside with shovels, digging ditches in the tan soil. The large area was cut in half by another chain-linked fence. On the other side, there were countless mounds for as far as I could see.
I entered the gate. Against the gate in the center, a man sat on a tall chair, overlooking the field through a pair of binoculars. He looked like one of those lifeguards I'd seen on Human beaches. Lifeguards interfered with death, so they were frowned upon in our society, much like police officers, fire fighters, and doctors.
If anyone noticed me, they didn't show it. They kept right on digging with a monotonous rhythm. My shoulders hurt just watching them.
Naomi Grim: The Final Breath Chronicles Book One Page 19
