City of Deception (The White City Series Book 1)

by Alexa Mackintosh

  Because I will have a plan then, and it will require the leaders listening to a few of my conditions.

  I am on no one’s side. I am becoming my own army. I will be no one’s pawn.

  { 27 }

  Chapter 27

  ALREADY HAVE PART OF A PLAN WHEN WE ARRIVE

  back at the palace, but I say nothing to Petrov when he asks how the meeting went. I barely have time to

  hand my coat over to a servant before the Empress finds me.

  She’s clad in solid black and her dress is simple, as is the custom of a widow. I try to hide my frustration when she and her ladies stop me. I clasp my hands behind my back even though I have little respect for her.

  “A strange artifact was found in the Southern part of the Second. You are to go with Ivan to see what should be done with it,” she says.

  “Artifact?”

  “Yes, as of yet they aren’t sure what it is. The royal historians and scientists uncovered it. You will go, won’t you? I’d prefer not to tell Ivan you plan to disobey him.”

  Alexa Mackintosh

  “I’ll go, but not because Ivan demands it. I’ll go because I’m curious,” I say.

  s

  We board a zeppelin, and though I’ve been on one be- fore, I still get a hollow feeling in my stomach when we start into the air. I take a seat and watch the stewards to distract myself. Throwing up would not be good. The headlines tomorrow would go on about it forever, and though Ivan and I are alone except for the crew and guards, I have a feeling one would sell the story to the highest bidder.

  I flinch as Ivan sits beside me and takes my hand. I wish I didn’t try to jerk way from him, but something in my instincts always makes me want to be as far away from him as possible.

  He says nothing, though I see his eyes move to my jit- tering hand.

  The ride will last all night. The captain expects us to arrive early in the morning. As we rise higher, it gets brighter and a few degrees warmer in the cabin.

  As night approaches a few hours later, stewards draw shades over the windows. It is impossible to know the ex- act time because we are high above the clouds and the sky is brighter than it ever will be on the ground.

  I try to sleep several times, and though the seat reclines until it is fully flat, my sickened stomach keeps me awake. It doesn’t help that Ivan is snoring, and quite loudly.

  City of Deception

  After the stewards retire to a separate cabin and the two guards are asleep, I roll onto my back to look up at the ceiling. I’ve rolled over at least five times in the last half hour. This time, Ivan stops snoring and rolls over. It is impossible to sleep when I know how easy it would be to kill him now.

  What’s worse is that some part of me wants him dead. I sigh, frustrated at my thoughts.

  “Can’t sleep?” Ivan whispers beside me.

  “Isn’t that obvious?” I say, careful to keep my voice low enough that the guards won’t wake. I feel a second of re- gret for answering so rudely, but the feeling passes when I think that he is the reason I can’t be with Dmitri.

  “Do you want to talk?” “No,” I say.

  “You can choose the topic.”

  I have a lot of things I want to say to him, but not much I want to discuss with him. I don’t think he will appreciate my view of him.

  I barely see him in the dark. However, I know when he sits up on his elbow because of the rustling of the covers around him.

  “You trust my brother.” “Trust is an odd thing.” “So is love.”

  I know where his questions will lead, so before he can go on I ask, “Have you ever loved someone?”

  He hesitates before answering, “Does it matter?”

  Alexa Mackintosh

  “I will soon be your wife. If nothing else, I want to know for my curiosity.”

  He lies back down. “If I told you and the news spread…it would be a disaster.”

  “I’m not telling anyone, and no one else is listening or can hear us.”

  He chuckles. I barely hear him mutter “That’s what you think” before continuing “I loved a girl once, and she loved me, but a future Emperor does not get to choose who he marries.”

  “You have all the power in the world. You can choose. Maybe no one will like the choice nor is it the best, but it is your choice.”

  “I would have married her if I could, but it was impos- sible.” Could she be part of the reason he despises me?

  “Then marry her. You owe me nothing.”

  “I owe you everything. Maybe I don’t owe you yet, but I will,” he says.

  Before I can ask what he means, one of the guards stirs. I don’t want to have a guard listening to us, so I roll away from Ivan and close my eyes.

  s

  I awake when I hear a door open. We have landed in a small encampment on the edge of the desert. I rise and spot Ivan talking to several military officials. I join them, and the officials clap their hands behind their back.

  City of Deception

  “I was telling Emperor Ivan that we are honored that you have come to inspect the artifact. However, we are also surprised as we expected a royal official, not actual royalty. We are not sure if it is a weapon or a strange me- teor. Since it may be dangerous, I advised the Emperor that you should stay behind, my lady,” an official says.

  I try not to bristle as I know he is doing his duty and not trying to insult me. “If you are so concerned with pre- serving the life of a Royal, I should go. The Emperor should be your utmost concern and stay here in safety. Af- ter all, it is acceptable to let commoners go near the arti- fact to inspect it. I’m going because the Emperor can easily find another bride if the artifact kills me.”

  The officials look startled.

  “We will both go,” Ivan says even as he throws me a hateful glare.

  “If that is what you wish, I will guide you to it.” The official swivels and heads down the platform leading away from the zeppelin.

  s

  The artifact is five feet across and looks like it has metal wings on it. It is painted silver with blue letters reading “FRC-U.S.2020.” In smaller print are the letters “NASA.” It is entirely metal and crude in design.

  “We speculate it is from the early portion of the Area 4 mission. However, the historians say it looks like none of the exploratory capsules of that time. One of our men

  Alexa Mackintosh

  found it a few miles away. The man said it left a massive crater,” the official says.

  Area 4 was a mission to set up a colony on the nearby planet. Several missions were sent to scout the territory, but after numerous failed attempts the project was can- celed. It’s speculated the mission would have succeeded had the planet not been going through one of the worst metal shortages in history. This was over a hundred years ago.

  “Destroy the artifact,” Ivan says. I glance over and re- alize he is pale. His hands start to shake as he continues, “Use the metal for another project.”

  “The museum was wondering if it might be put on dis- play.”

  “I said destroy it. Those that know about this are to remain quiet. If I suspect one of them of spreading this information, I will immediately execute them,” Ivan says. Before the official can carry out the order, a small group of historians and scientists approach. One carries a

  metal box.

  “Your Highness, we found this in an inside compart- ment,” a scientist says.

  “What is in it?” Ivan asks.

  They open the lid to reveal an assortment of cords and a rectangular device the size of a man’s palm. It is white with a shiny surface on one side. I suspect the shiny por- tion is a screen and that it is some sort of mini-computer. The computers owned by the royal scientists are much

  City of Deception

  larger and run on steam, but this one clearly runs on something else.

  “Can we inspect this equipment further?” a scientist asks.

  Ivan shakes his head. “I will take it and de
stroy it.”

  Several of them gasp. “But it could contain invaluable information, Your Majesty!” a historian says.

  Ivan reaches out and takes it even though he can barely hold the box. His hands still shake. “I will take it back to the palace and decide what is to be done with it. For now, destroy the rest of the artifact.”

  “As you wish. If you follow my second in command, he will show you some of our recent improvements and take you to a breakfast that was specially prepared by our cooks,” the military official says. He turns and gives or- ders to several men nearby.

  We follow another official away from the scene, and before we are far from it, men start to dismantle the arti- fact. I wonder why Ivan wishes to see it gone and the news of its existence kept quiet.

  But more interesting is why Ivan holds the box as though it is the most precious thing on the planet.

  s

  We enjoy several hours of talking with the men. Though they set aside breakfast in a separate room for us, Ivan decides we should eat with the men. For once, I agree with him.

  Alexa Mackintosh

  It is late afternoon before we board the zeppelin and start towards the capitol. We pass the evening in silence, and soon it is night. I wait for Ivan to fall asleep and the crew to go away. It is late by the time Ivan begins to snore.

  I know what I must do. I remain loyal to my cause no matter if my feelings towards the Royal family change.

  The box is tucked under Ivan’s seat where he has kept it since we boarded. Slowly, I sit up and wiggle the box from its position. I sit it on my lap and try to lift the lid. The lid opens with a loud squeak, but neither the guards or Ivan stir.

  I know from the one computer that ran all the equip- ment in the mines that the device must have a button to turn it on. Either that or one of the buttons might cause the device to blow up and kill us.

  I search the front with my fingers. I find a round divot that goes down when I press my finger to it, but it does not turn on. I try the sides and find three more buttons, but none of them do anything. Running a finger along the top, I find one more button. I press it, and to my surprise, the screen lights up.

  Quickly, I place it under the edge of the blanket over my lap before the light wakes anyone. I pull the blanket up around me to form a tent. The words “You are using Apple iPhone 10” flash across the screen before a holo- graphic image projects from the screen. It shows what the buttons are for and how to navigate through its programs

  City of Deception

  before the hologram disappears. The screen fills with lit- tle squares on top of a red, white and blue background. I press one of the squares another hologram shoots out of the screen.

  A man in a plain suit sits behind an ornate desk. He begins to speak, and the sound carries throughout the cabin.

  My heart lurches into my throat.

  Frantically, I try to quiet the mini-computer, but it won’t stop playing. I hear the guards jump up and try to open one of the window screens. Ivan sits up, fully alert within seconds.

  The guards finally get the screen up and look around for the intruder.

  I wish they had kept the screen down because the look Ivan gives me is worse than any he gave me before.

  He reaches out, and I prepare for the strike. However, he hesitates as though he thinks the wiser and grabs the device from under the cover. Without looking at the de- vice, he presses a finger to the side and turns down the volume.

  He glances at the hologram and freezes.

  Several people have joined the man since I last looked at it. Two men and two women stand on either side of the man. In front of them, they display a map of part of the galaxy. In the center of it, they have circled a tiny planet and written beside it “Earth.”

  Alexa Mackintosh

  “Guards, take Lady Alkaev to the other cabin,” Ivan says.

  “Wait! Why do you care about the artifact so much?

  Please, I want to know?”

  His eyes are flaming when he says, “Vera, and that is all you need to know.”

  When I don’t rise from my seat willingly, the guards grab hold of my arms and pull me towards the door lead- ing to the stewards’ and crews’ quarters. I am surprised that Ivan has no further harsh words for me, but he ap- pears engrossed in the hologram.

  The guards take me to the other cabin much to the shock of the crew. I take the seat they motion to and ig- nore the gawking stares of the stewards and a mechanic who were mostly asleep before the commotion.

  I don’t care because it was worth it. I want answers, but no one is willing to give them.

  { 28 }

  Chapter 28

  EVERAL WEEKS PASS WITH THE USUAL PARTIES

  sometimes accompanied by Dmitri and a visit, at the Empress’s insistence, to the seamstress that

  serves the Royals. The Empress has commanded the seamstress to make up a dozen different gowns as ideas for my wedding gown. Before it is over the seamstress will design as many gowns as it takes before the perfect gown is chosen for my wedding dress. I wanted Angelica to make my gown, but the Royals wanted their seamstresses to make it since Angelica is really a seamstress in training. They agreed to a compromise of Angelica sketching the designs for the gown and the royal seamstresses creating it.

  I hate to think that wedding plans are already being set in motion.

  I find that there is little to do. Ivan speaks to me at dinners and the ridiculously long hours we are forced to

  Alexa Mackintosh

  spend together so that we at least know each other before the wedding. Zadie spends her time in her room. Consid- ering what I saw last time I entered her room, I’ve learned to steer clear, especially when Petrov seems to disappear or is off duty.

  I spend my time sketching maps of the palace, careful to note the off-shooting halls and the location of guards. I hide them under the bed tucked in the corner of the framing. If anyone searched hard, they would find it, but few would dare to link me to the rebellion since I will soon be Empress.

  On one particular day, I search out a corner of the gar- den. I learned a few days prior during a forced walk with Ivan that it is a strategic place. From the spot, one can see the majority of the front entrances of the palace. When the revolution begins, it will be a valuable piece of infor- mation.

  I find a clean spot of grass and sit down. I place the notebook in my lap and begin sketching the palace. I jump when Dmitri sits down beside me.

  “Did I scare you?” he teases noticing how I jumped.

  “I didn’t hear you,” I say. I start to cover the paper, but Dmitri stops me.

  “Can I see what you were working on?” he asks.

  I bite the edge of my lip in thought. Showing him could lead to later suspicion, but trying to hide it will be worse. If I show him, it will not look like I’m doing something I shouldn’t.

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  I show him the drawing and take in his reaction. He’s a little surprised at first, and when he says nothing, I ask, “You think it is horrid, don’t you?”

  He shakes his head. “It’s not bad.” He stares at it a little longer before asking, “What is it?”

  I’m a little offended until he laughs and says “I’m jok- ing. I can see it is the palace.”

  “I think for never being trained I do fine,” I say. I fold the book shut, careful the ink doesn’t smear on what will soon be another completed map.

  He hesitates before saying, “I thought we might meet again like we did a few weeks ago.”

  “When?” I ask.

  “Late tonight. Right here,” he says. He glances around ensuring no one is in sight.

  “Why?”

  “What do you mean?” He seems genuinely perplexed by the question. “I…I want to know you. You are one of the few people I can talk to in the palace that I trust won’t go running to my brother.”

  I pluck off several leaves from a nearby bush and run them between my fingers. “I’ll meet you here t
hen.”

  “Make sure no guards follow you.”

  “What are we doing that requires all guards gone?” He smiles. “You will have to wait and see.”

  s

  Alexa Mackintosh

  I pull the hood of my cloak closer around my face. I tell my guards I am going for a walk in the garden. For what- ever reason, they believe me and do not insist on follow- ing.

  I meet Dmitri in the garden as promised. A bag is slung over one shoulder, and he is dressed in simple clothes. In the darkness, he looks like a third.

  “So, where are you taking me?” I ask.

  “Mirror Lake. We have to walk down the main road for half a mile and veer off down a footpath. No one will be there this time of night except for fishermen. They won’t bother us.”

  Mirror Lake borders the northwestern walls of the pal- ace. It’s said to span a hundred miles, and supports a rich harbor further down the coast.

  Most people call it Mirror Lake because of how the stars’ light glimmers on the surface of the water. It stretches out for miles on one side of the White City. The shoreline, though close to the lights of the city, gives a perfect view of the nearby planets and at night. The place glows like a thousand lanterns. I have never been, but that is what I’ve heard.

  We walk, despite it being two miles away. Getting an- yone to drive us will arouse suspicion. We follow the road from the palace for a while before turning down a tight alleyway. The night sky is brilliant purple and red. Even with the light of the city, the colors are visible.

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  As we reach the cliff, the sky becomes dazzling. The nearby planet, Zadie’s home, is rising. It’s bright orange, its rings translucent and pale like the wings of an insect.