Yet Maya refused to give up, and continued to bombard him with ridiculous suggestions month after month. Considering how annoying she must have been getting, Jarod remained steadfast in his decision … that is until he caught her closely analyzing the sides of the Tower outside their window for a way to scale down its slick surface. Finally realizing she wasn’t going to drop the matter, he succumbed to her pleas and promised to contact an associate of his to check on her mother’s well-being. Weeks later she was sorely disappointed when her update came back in the form of a vague report stating nothing more than “she was doing fine.”
Maya took in a deep breath and blew out in frustration. What was she so afraid of? It wasn’t as if Jarod was going to hurt her for asking; the worst that could happen would be he would deny her once again. Then again, maybe that was what she was afraid of. As long as she didn’t ask she at least could hold onto the hope that it was still a possibility. On the other hand, if she asked and he denied her once again, it would crush her. The idea of being so close and not being able to see her mother made Maya sick to her stomach. Another sigh escaped her lips and didn’t go unnoticed by Jarod, who cut his gaze in her direction.
“Is there something wrong?” he asked flatly, looking back to the road ahead.
“No, nothing wrong,” she lied, smiling unconvincingly.
Jarod, not being one to push an issue, simply huffed. Another half an hour of silence followed before Maya couldn’t take it anymore. She stopped walking, took a deep breath, and decided to go for it.
“Okay, I lied,” she said, speaking rapidly, hoping it would help conceal her desperation. “I want to ask you something but I’m afraid you will tell me no.”
It was Jarod’s turn to sigh. He took a deep breath before turning back to face her. “You want to see your mother.”
Him just acknowledging the idea out loud made her eyes water and she nodded weakly.
“Maya …” he began slowly, taking a step toward her, the sound of his voice confirming her worst fear.
“No,” she begged. “Please don’t tell me no, don’t tell me I will be only blocks away and denied the right to see her. Please, Jarod, I will get on my knees here and beg you if I must, just let me see she is doing all right on her own and allow me to show her that I am alive and doing well. After that I will do whatever you want without question, I just need this closure. Please.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she dropped to her knees in the middle of the road, hands clasped together as she continued to beg, “Please—”
In a blur of movement Jarod stood before her, cutting her off as he pulled her to her feet. Grasping her cheeks in his hands, he forced her to look upon his face and she cringed at the sight of his bright red eyes glaring down upon her.
“Don’t ever do that again!” he growled as her eyes met with his. “You never kneel before me, ever.”
He released her, and gently wiped the tears from her face. She watched the red fade from the black pits of his eyes, and unsure of what else to do, she continued to plead. “It’s just that I want to see her so badly that I am willing to do anything. It’s been half a year since we first met and my life was completely turned inside-out. And while I don’t regret the decision that I made, all I have thought about every day since was how much my decision to do this has affected her.”
“All right,” he conceded, much to her surprise.
“Really!” she exclaimed. Jumping up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hung on as she planted a kiss squarely on his cheek, catching him completely off guard. Doing her best not to laugh at the shock clearly imprinted on his normally flat face, she slid back to the ground. “Thank you, thank you,” she said, continuing to celebrate while tugging him to move forward. “Come on, let’s go.”
But Jarod didn’t budge. Instead, he pulled her back toward him and gripped her shoulders. “Not so fast, I have one condition.”
Maya hesitated, frightened of what he was about to say. “What is it?”
“You have to convince her to leave town and go somewhere where they don’t know her and her connection to you.”
“But why?” Maya gasped. “In Vicaris she has the inn and a comfortable way of life. If she leaves there she will be just another Full-blood laborer forced to work on the road or in the factory.”
As the words left her mouth a rush of panic swept over Maya. How did she know her mother still maintained the inn? The only reason they had it before was because of her father’s connections. With him dead, what was there to stop the patrols from taking the whole thing over and sending her mother to the factory with the rest of their kind?
“Oh my stars, she does still have the inn, doesn’t she? Is that why you didn’t want me to talk to her?” Thoughts of her mother toiling day after day in the hot, sweaty factory, forced to labor for rations of formula they had become accustomed to having a steady supply of over the years, overwhelmed her. “What have I done?” she cried, spinning on her heels. She pulled loose from Jarod’s grasp and took off in a full run down the road.
She didn’t get very far before he stopped her. “Maya, settle down. Your mother still has the inn.”
“But how can you be so sure?” Maya responded, trying to get around him. “I left her there to fend for herself. How do you know the patrols haven’t taken it away from her already?”
“Because I know the chief and he assured me she would be left alone,” Jarod replied, squatting so he was on her level.
Maya paused. “Are you serious? You can’t trust the patrols, especially the chiefs, they will turn on you in a heartbeat for the right price. How do you know this man hasn’t been feeding you lies to keep you off his back?”
“I don’t,” he answered honestly, “but I don’t believe he would do that. He is the one who helped me with the Shadows the day I brought you to the Tower. He risked his own life to testify on behalf of the both of us. I believe he is an honorable man.”
Hearing those words coming from Jarod, Maya began to relax a bit. Jarod didn’t hold much regard for anyone, so to hear him say he held some sort of respect for this chief made her hopeful that perhaps her mother was indeed safe. But one thing still bothered her.
“If he is as honorable as you say, then why not ask him to continue allowing her to keep the inn? I don’t understand why I need to ask my mom to leave Vicaris.”
Jarod took a deep breath and sighed, “Because her connection to you and me makes her a prime target for retaliation by our enemies.” Standing, he pulled a rag from his pocket and handed it to her. She wiped her face clean of sweat and tears while wondering why he even carried the things if he never needed them. “It was going to happen eventually anyway, once word spread that you were alive and working with me. But with us actually going to Vicaris and people seeing for themselves, she will soon become the target of all those who hate me … us.”
“Can’t your friend, the chief, protect her?”
“For a while, maybe, but even he won’t be able to protect her forever. Besides, he has already angered many by allowing her to keep control of the inn in your father’s absence, which he only did at my request. Asking him to do more would only risk his life and cost me an ally.”
Reluctantly Maya nodded. She understood, but it didn’t stop her from hating the idea of asking her mother to leave behind her semi-comfortable existence to return to the daily suffering the rest of their kind endured. “Where will I tell her to go?”
“Wherever she wishes. As long as it’s somewhere they don’t know who she is and her connection to you.”
“All right.” Maya hung her head and began slowly walking down the road. Jarod fell into step close beside her. The happiness and excitement she had coveted at the idea of seeing her mother had now fled her body, replaced by sadness and dread that weighed down her every step.
They continued the rest of the way in silence until they were only a few miles outside Vicaris. Jarod nudged her slightly to get her attention, then nodded his head in the di
rection of the wheat field ahead. In the distance Maya could barely make out a lookout tower. A small figure was descending rapidly down its side and once it reached the ground, took off running in the direction of the town. “A messenger.” It was more of a statement than a question, but Jarod nodded in response.
“They will be waiting for us on the edge of town when we arrive.”
Suddenly the reality of what she was about to do became very real. Her nerves started to get the better of her, so she paused to take a moment to gather herself. This wasn’t like walking through all those other small villages. There, no one knew her or anything about her. Heck, they had barely known who Jarod was. But not here. She was about to walk right through the middle of a town she had spent the last several years of her life. Around her would be familiar faces, faces she had once served in the inn and talked with at the market. People she had grown to know and care about. And she was about to come back from the dead and announce to them all that she served the Shadows.
Sensing her hesitation, Jarod asked, “Are you sure you are ready for this?”
Maya shook her head. “No, but what choice do I have?” She stared straight ahead at the rooftops peeking up over the horizon. “Sooner or later they are going to find out anyway, right?”
Jarod said nothing else. They continued ahead, and it wasn’t long before they spotted a group of patrols waiting for them at the edge of town. Surprisingly there were only three men waiting for them—two appeared frightened and nervous, the other stood confident, watching as they approached. This one man, who Maya assumed to be the chief Jarod had talked about, respectfully bowed his head as they neared.
“It has been some time since your last visit, my lord,” the chief said calmly. “Shall I go ahead and call for the cars?”
Maya stifled a laugh. Though the circumstances he was referring to really weren’t that funny, the fact that the chief even felt comfortable enough to say something like that to Jarod made her like him immediately.
Both of Jarod’s last two visits to Vicaris had ended up with him being packed into the barrel-sized solar cars for transport back to the Tower, and both times it had been her fault. The first time she had met him, he had arrived at her family’s inn to rest for the night after a fight in the street left him injured and bleeding. Unfortunately, that particular visit had ended with her father accusing him of raping her and then him being escorted back to the capital. The second was only weeks later, when he had been sent back to arrest her and her father for the lie they had told. That visit ended with this chief driving them both back to the Tower after they found her half dead from the severe beating her father had inflicted on her.
Jarod’s face remained stoic, though when he responded Maya could swear she heard a hint of amusement in his tone. “That won’t be necessary. We are here to locate a fugitive and have reason to believe he has hidden himself in your town.”
“We?” the chief responded, turning his attention to Maya. Scanning her from head to toe, he then returned his attention back to her face, smiling. “I see. I’m Chief Rodgers, and I must say, my dear, you look to be in much better health than the last time I saw you.”
“I am, thanks to you.” She smiled, bowing her head respectfully. “Without your assistance that day I would most likely have perished.” Not desiring to continue in this line of conversation in front of an audience, Maya glanced up at Jarod and changed the subject, “May I see the pamphlet one more time?”
Without a word Jarod reached in his pocket and handed her the piece of paper. He then proceeded to walk ahead with Rodgers as the two of them discussed what had been going on in the town since his last visit. Maya silently fell in behind them, taking advantage of their distraction to pinpoint their fugitive’s location.
As they continued down the deserted streets, Maya spotted a familiar road. “We should head down that way,” she said, gesturing toward the upcoming turn. Jarod looked at the road, then back at her questioningly. Even Chief Rodgers stared suspiciously at her.
Knowing immediately what they both were thinking, she reiterated, holding up the letter, “Our man enjoys liquor and the company of women, both of which are found down that way.” She paused, eyeing the chief. “Unless this town has changed that much in six months.”
“No, that hasn’t changed,” Chief laughed. “That is definitely where you go to satisfy those particular vices.”
Jarod, however, seemed less convinced. He looked once again at the street and back at her questioningly. “You are certain the letter is leading you there and not something else?”
Cocking her eyebrow, she gazed up into his doubting expression. “Don’t you trust me?”
Jarod studied her expression carefully, then seeming satisfied with whatever he saw, turned and began walking once again. With a grin, Rodgers spun around and scurried behind him to catch up. The poor man nearly had to jog just to keep pace with Jarod’s stride. Behind them, Maya and the pair of patrols followed steadily, pulling up the rear. Sure enough, once he reached the road she had directed him down, Jarod turned. Maya struggled to contain her delight; he did trust her, and for Jarod, that was a big deal.
The announcement of Jarod’s name through town had done wonders to clear the streets, allowing Maya to become more relaxed and at ease with her current situation. At least she wasn’t going to be forced to face a crowd of familiar faces all staring at her with shocked expressions. Word would still get out nonetheless, and in a town like Vicaris—where the residents liked to be brave behind closed doors and windows—word of her new job would spread like wild fire.
They were almost to the end of the road when the scent of fresh flowers filled the air, replacing the musty smell of stagnant water and animal feces that she had once grown numb to during their travels in the plains. Ahead she spotted the source of the sweet fragrance. The city garden, in all its colorful glory, stood before her, a beacon of familiarity. So many days she had spent sitting in its midst taking in the beauty of the massive beds of colorful flowers. How many hours had she sat on these benches inhaling the scent of their sweet nectar on the breeze and listening to the water cascading down the sides of the fountain? She stared up and found the cold, unmoving eyes of a stone officer that decorated the top, following them as they made their way past the garden.
But Maya ignored him because something else had caught her attention. The smell of a home cooked meal filled the air surrounding her. It triggered a flood of memories of a life she had once had. Memories of her and her mother cooking and cleaning side by side, hour after hour, sometimes laughing sometimes crying, as they prepared meal after meal in the kitchen of the inn. As they continued forward, the scent only grew stronger causing Maya’s stomach to cramp. Neither of them had eaten anything in days, and though her mother’s cooking wasn’t what she needed, the smell of it didn’t make the hunger pains any easier.
Still they moved forward, until she spotted the source of her anguish. Just a few feet past the edge of the garden stood the inn. The colorful painted building she had spent some of the best—and worst—nights of her life stood before her, beckoning her home. More images began to bombard her; images of her mother singing in the kitchen while she worked, and of her feigning surprise each time another of her customers complimented her cooking for the millionth time. Then the looming presence of her father invaded and pushed her happy memories away. There he stood, bottle in one hand, belt in another, yelling and screaming at her for whatever concocted disobedience he had conjured up in his sick mind.
Suddenly a heavy hand fell on her shoulder, startling her back to reality. Without looking she knew it was Jarod, his grip uncomfortably strong, pressed down on her, holding her in place. Taking a moment to reevaluate her surroundings, Maya was surprised to find that during her mind’s wandering, she had crossed the garden and stood now only a few steps from the front door of the inn.
“Maya, we need to take care of business first. We can come back here later.”
With
out bothering to look up, Maya responded, “He’s in there.”
“Who?”
“The chief, the one from the village, he’s in there.”
Jarod’s low groan would have gone unnoticed by most, but for her it was like a blaring alarm, signaling his mistrust of her intentions. Guess he doesn’t trust me after all, she thought. She wouldn’t deny that this situation looked a bit suspicious, however she had never lied to him … maybe hid some things from him, but never lied.
“Maya, I know how badly you want to see her, but this isn’t the way or the time to do it.”
Growing angrier with each word, Maya turned and faced him like a caged animal ready to fight to the death. Her angst must have been clear on her features because, for a fleeting moment, Jarod appeared taken aback.
“I am telling you he is in there!” she snapped.
Jarod’s grip on her shoulder tightened as he dragged her away from the front door and back into the garden before she could cause a scene. Once they were a safe distance away, he released her shoulder and stood glowering over the top of her, but she refused to back down. Standing toe-to-toe with the giant, she returned his gaze with the same intensity he stared down at her with.
Rodgers and his companions, at a loss as what to do with the pair of them, watched mouth gaped as they faced off with one another.
“I should have known better than to trust you,” he snarled down at her. “I am willing to bet you had this all planned from the start, didn’t you?” Jarod spun his back to her and ran a hand through his disheveled black hair. “Letter, huh? I am a damn fool.”
Linked (The Shadow Chronicles Book 2) Page 27
