by Aral Bereux
‘Put your borders up.’ Caden cupped a hand gently on her chin to stop her head moving. ‘Come back to me now, Julianna,’ he called gently. He returned to Isis, ‘You knew this was happening.’ Caden stroked her cheek again. ‘Has she had a seizure before this?’
The dark green eyes lowered between the borders. Isis’s long sigh carried through the monitor and into the room. ‘If she’s being honest with me, then I’m under the impression it’s her first.’
‘Well chances of that are pretty damn slim, don’t you think?’ Caden snapped and leapt to his feet to pace. ‘Sorry,’ his hands brushed through his hair when he stopped his pacing in the middle of the room.
‘We’ll get your brother back,’ the general offered and stepped out from his desk. His perfectly combed hair grayed around the edges of his hair line. A walker half-breed – the other half, a nocturno. The outcome was an interesting mismatching of features, but in his day he was considered handsome. Now, they described him as ruggedly distinguished.
Caden stopped pacing beside the only window in the office, and blacked out with paint. Caden stared through the chips in the window, so small that the light in the room was never seen from those who passed in the street below.
Those in the room watched him hunch and listened to his sighs. The general had a century on Caden, but considered him an equal. They’d been in past wars together, serving in more than he could count on two hands, and they’d serve in more in the future. He wasn’t accepting Bastiaan’s fate as easily as the others.
Caden slouched against the wall.
‘Bas will come back to us. You must believe he has the strength to do so, Cain.’
Caden gazed into the world as much as the crappy paint would allow. The general’s use of his real name, presented the dire situation they were in. Only those from the old world understood his true identity, and he didn’t appreciate it mentioned so boldly in front of Julianna, even if she did sleep deeply. Caden peered at Julianna, then at the general, and back to the window.
The general’s hands rested firmly on Caden’s shoulders, giving them a squeeze. Old friends or not, Caden sensed the general’s empathy for his pain.
‘Taris will anticipate a fierce reaction. He’ll expect us to act hastily. I suggest we wait before we react. Give it a few days.’
Caden’s eyes narrowed. The general’s hands left his shoulders to swing at his own sides, and he leaned against the window blocking Caden’s view.
‘What about the Guild, should we consider their involvement?’ the general asked.
Caden shook his head. ‘No, let’s not involve them. They’re rogue these days, too uncertain.’
‘We don’t want them learning about Julianna’s status.’ Isis stated.
‘They already know! She’s worked with them longer than she has the Rebellion, how did you not know this?’ he looked over his shoulder. She stirred under the blankets. ‘It’s been the world’s worst kept secret,’ he waved his hand and slowly paced into the center of the room again.
Daniel looked up from the seat he took behind the large desk.
‘This whole damn thing,’ Caden said, frustrated. He faced Isis on the screen in front of him, hanging large on the wall behind Daniel. ‘And you my friend, have a lot to freaking answer for!’
Isis stood; his chest up to his light brown hair was on the monitor. ‘As do you,’ his eyes narrowed. ‘Friend.’
Caden moved his hands to his hips. ‘And you mean what by that?’
‘I have to spell it out? You couldn’t wait to get into her knickers!’
Caden threw his hands up in contempt and paced again.
Isis scoffed. ‘She’s a tenth of your age—’
The general stood between them ‘Men, enough—’
‘I don’t believe this,’ Caden muttered. ‘She’s a consenting adult.’
‘She’s vulnerable!’ Isis argued. He leaned into the screen.
The general put a hand to Caden’s chest, anticipating the rise in his temper.
‘And she’s a damn good fuck too!’ Caden responded.
Isis hit the desk in his office. ‘And she’s my daughter! Damn it Cain!’
Caden shook his head and returned to the window. Separate corners for time out. Julianna stirred from the noise.
‘Is it agreed that we wait? That we don’t give the reaction that Taris expects from us? Can we discuss this in calm detail tomorrow?’
Caden glanced up from his moody stance and nodded silently.
The general shook his head between the men who lived in separate worlds, pushing his hands into his pockets, driving them as far as they’d go.
He opened the office door on the private level. Only his closest security would hear this argument.
‘We’re all ending in Central if we react. We can’t afford this in-house fighting. Sort your differences for the sake of the Rebellion, and Julianna. You need to put this aside for another day.’ His dark eyes darted across them both, warning them silently before moving in on Daniel.
‘What’d I do?’ Daniel protested.
The general regarded Daniel for a moment and Daniel looked away, shaking his head. ‘It’s late. I’m retiring for the evening gentlemen.’ He considered his last words from the doorway and waited for Caden’s attention. ‘Take the VIP quarters. Make her comfortable.’
Caden watched the general lift his jacket from behind the door, closing it on his leaving. Caden locked his stare with Isis.
‘I’m worried about her. What medical supplies did you send us?’
Isis moved to a seat in the corner of the screen and clasped his hands in his hunched posture. The black borders dropped down to display the immaculate office and rows of books shelved behind him. Tonight, the watcher with the usually stunning eyes and perfect appearance was roughly shaven, pale and quiet.
Isis leaned back in his chair and raised his clasped hands to loosen his dark tie. They were all tired tonight. Tired and worried that the war was almost lost, but no one spoke it. He shook his head.
‘You need to keep those borders up man; if she wakes, she’ll flip.’
Isis ignored Caden. ‘I know what you’re asking Cade. You know the anti-seizure drugs are as rare as the Seer herself. The Militia made sure of that, remember? You made sure of that, so the full-bloods were forced to cross to the Militia for help.’
‘Hey, don’t you fucking put this back on me, you prick. That was a long time ago,’ Caden said.
‘Worked though,’ Isis said under his breath.
Daniel listened, waiting for the argument between his father and teacher to end. He ran his hands over the soft wood of the desk, ignoring the maps and the books, and the coffee ring that rested neatly on the edge, and when nothing more was said, he glanced up.
‘Is that all you need?’ Daniel said. He had their attention. ‘If that’s all you need, I know someone who can help us.’
‘Is it clean?’ Caden asked. He sat beside Julianna and checked her wrist for a pulse. She objected under his touch, asked Taris to leave her alone, and pushed his hand away. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
‘I use it.’
‘You use it. Well that convinces me,’ Caden frowned. ‘You’ll put anything into your veins.’
Daniel reached for his sidearm. You dumb cunt, you don’t know anything about me. ‘I wouldn’t give junk to my sister.’
Caden glanced up. ‘Go surprise me then,’ his eyes grew dark. Quickly, before I smash your teeth to the back of your throat.
‘Men, are you really doing this right now?’ Isis’s scowled temper travelled the room, ignored by both men.
‘Fuck you,’ Daniel tempted.
‘Anytime bitch. You want it now?’ Caden stood his ground.
His peripheral caught the borders of the monitor flicking up and the eyes taking over the screen. The man in the suit called Isis, disappeared. Only his eyes remained again. Caden looked at Daniel edging toward the door and checking his gun.
‘It�
��ll take a few hours, this guy’s in Sector Six,’ Daniel said, but no one heard him.
Julianna burst into tears as she bolted up from her first vision. Daniel left in silence, weighing it heavily on his mind, that he shouldn’t bother returning.
* * *
Caden carried her up the flight of stairs when her strength dumped her onto the fourth floor in a heap. The room he carried her into, was bare but for the four-poster bed in the center with a once glorious rug underneath. She slipped between its covers with a guilty pleasure, surprised that something like this existed in the Sectors, let alone in the safe house. It was warm and comfortable and the clean pillows eased her into their embrace while Caden lit a cigarette in the corner of the dark room.
‘Not your fault. I should have known better than to split the group. It never ends well.’ Caden pushed his lips together and screwed his nose. ‘That whole divide and conquer thing – been around long enough to know better.’
The smell of the tobacco drifted from where Caden propped. She watched the tip of the cigarette glow in the dimly lit room; Caden cast his thinned eyes under the shadows, looking at nothing in particular, but the cigarette he held and the concrete floor.
The word “fuck” waivered in a dull whisper. ‘I don’t know how I’ll go without him.’
She was compelled to leave the bed and hold him in her arms. She would have if she trusted he wouldn’t push her away. A tired sigh escaped and he took his cigarette between his parted lips. She watched its red glow in the dark, again.
‘We’ll get Bastiaan back,’ she said quietly. ‘I’ll make sure of it.’
He snapped his head up. ‘You’ll do no such thing Julianna Rae, you hear me? No such thing!’ His voice intruded into her mind.
Promise me.
‘It’s because of me that—’
He lunged forward, pouncing. ‘Promise me!’ his hand threw the cigarette to the floor.
‘Okay,’ she said quietly. ‘Okay.’
He lowered his voice. ‘I’m sorry sweetheart.’ He wiped his face with his hand, grinded his foot over his spent cigarette before kicking it under the bed and slid onto the soft mattress to hold her close. It was for his comfort as well as hers.
Julianna had told him about Taris and Bastiaan. How Bas lowered her underneath the house with her thinking he’d follow. How she’d waited as long as she could. She told Caden everything except for the reason why it happened.
Then there was the oddity of her dream. The reactions from Isis and Caden were unexpected. The discussion of Sector One and any type of attack ceased abruptly and Bas was mentioned no more.
And the crying. Don’t forget the crying. She hated the fact she’d cried in front of him.
‘Get some sleep,’ he whispered. He pushed an arm gently under her shoulders.
‘We should be doing something right now.’
He stared at the ceiling. ‘Don’t mistake my resting here for inaction. I want my brother back more than anyone; but if he’s somehow been turned, what’s the point? How can I fix that?’
‘He’ll expect more than two people. We’ve done this before.’
‘With a whole lot of luck. Let’s not believe that of our reputation. It’s not all true.’
‘We still escaped.’
‘From a camp, J Rae. We’re talking about Central Command here. The place is a fortress. You’ve been there, you’ve seen it,’ he put a hand to his eyes. ‘The best thing to do right now, is wait. We know he’s alive. That’s something, right?’
‘What about the summit in Sector One then, we can still hit that can’t we?’ she propped herself on one hand. The dizziness overcame her, forcing her head into the pillows. ‘Bas might be there.’
‘They’ll be distracted with the Summit,’ he talked more to himself than her. ‘All the focus will be on the Summit, it’s where I’d focus the security.’
She closed her eyes. The blinding headache was searing hot pokers into her temples.
The guilt eased when his hand curled around her shoulder. The summit was two nights away. It gave them enough time to prepare. It gave them two days at the safe house. It gave her two days to come clean about Taris, and it gave him two days to forgive her. For now, she enjoyed his embrace.
‘We hit Central Command the day of the Summit.’
That’s suicide. She needed to sleep.
‘We hit them hard, we hit them fast,’ his half-hearted smile broadened. ‘We blow that place to freaking hell and send in a suicide team into the Summit at the same time.’
They’d done what they could for the night.
‘Yes,’ he whispered with unwavering agreement to himself. ‘Tomorrow we abandon grief for our plans.’
But for now her head ached, and though she didn’t mean for it, a whimper escaped.
He stroked her forehead. ‘I can’t take this pain away, but I can make you sleep through it.’ He nodded, convincing her; compelling her to nod with him as the pain dug its claws deep within her mind. ‘Trust me,’ he whispered.
She nodded again.
‘Close your eyes,’ he whispered.
His fingers stroked her forehead slowly and with each touch the pain lessened and her eyes grew heavy.
‘Find a place where you feel safe,’ she travelled with his voice. ‘And when you do I want you to stay there until I call.’
His sweet, soft voice.
‘Stay in your sleep, little one.’
She felt his kiss on her forehead.
‘I’m watching over you.’ He pressed his palm against her cheek. It slid tenderly down until she leaned into its warmth. He led her into a darkness that she never knew existed. Her eyes flickered beneath their lids, searching for traces of light, and found there was none; the blindness was comforting.
‘Sleep safe,’ he promised.
Julianna edged into his embrace of calm silence as it slowly immersed her entire body, grasping and stroking her skin until it preyed on her soul.
‘Sleep deeply,’ he whispered.
She exhaled slowly and listened for her watcher’s voice, in case he called her name. She needed to listen closely.
Closely...close—
She didn’t want to miss his call.
‘It’s time now...let yourself go.’
CHAPTER 17
5th May, 2018, 1400 hours.
The Safe House, Sector #3
The safe house basement was of the large expansive kind, with an area covering enough space to fit in a small army, if needed. It was damp, dark and always cold, but in summer it was a place of refuge from the searing heat that grew more powerful each year. It was also the area where the weapons were stored, locker after locker, row upon row.
Julianna knew the basement well; it was a place where she had slept when she had needed a place to crash, without anyone else knowing. So when she wandered down the stairs after being pointed in the direction for her commander, she was surprised to see him backing out of a grate in the wall, with a large bag of weapons trailing behind him. She didn’t remember ever seeing it before.
He brushed himself down, more out of habit. His clothes were filthy, it was a pointless task.
‘Devo,’ he called. ‘You okay in there?’
A grunt echoed back and he turned around, startled in his stance to see Julianna. He grabbed the large black bag, slung it over his shoulder and walked toward the storage lockers in the caged area, beneath the staircase.
Julianna peered into the grate and offered her hand to drag a commando crawling Devo through the last of the confined area.
Julianna peered into it. ‘Where’s it go?’
Caden finished the combination on the locks of the gates. They opened with a protesting groan and Julianna thought about the times she’d used her knife to break into them. It was a deterrent to the more honest in the group, not the traitors, and every time she took the comms down to show Isis the situation, he grunted in his response.
‘The tunnels,’ he peered back, frowning.
‘I told everyone to leave you alone. Who woke you?’
‘Me.’ Julianna began her crawl into the space. Caden muttered sarcasm about her abilities and grasped his hands around her ankles. He dragged her out and she landed with a thud on the hard floor, left to stare up at his frown.
‘It’s a maze in there. Not without me, okay?’
Julianna pressed her back into the wall as she stood. Without its support, she didn’t wholly trust her shaky legs. They’d betrayed her on the way to the basement twice, and the bruises stung from the bounce down the stairs.
‘Last thing I want is you finding more trouble.’ He returned to the lockers where Devo unzipped the last bag.
‘I’ve been jumping the roofs of buildings for twelve months, and the whole time I could’ve been going underneath the Militia. Why’d no one tell me?’
‘Not everyone knows about them,’ he said. ‘My little secret. I decide who I tell.’
Intrigued, Julianna went into the storage area and pulled back the edge of the bag that had his attention. Auto weapons filled her sight, including the new sniper rifle. She lifted it up in both hands to admire its craft.
‘Impressive. Anyone would think we’re at war with someone.’
Caden smiled at her comment and took the rifle back. It was the first real smile he’d offered since the lake incident. Julianna called it the incident; anything else would complicate things.
A curiosity with each other, she thought. Nothing more, move on.
‘You seem at one with the situation, right now,’ she waited for a response and got nothing.
Caden stacked the rifles into the locker. Taking note of everything as he went, counting to himself, storing the information. She started counting random numbers to herself and he gave her another smile.
‘Just lost track,’ Caden rolled his eyes and chastised her. ‘C’mon, stop it J Rae.’
‘Don’t listen to my thoughts then.’ He’s a different man this morning. She watched him recount in silence. He finished the first and opened another locker to repeat the process; stacking, counting, checking.
