Edge of Truth (9781310978142)

by Hanova, Natasha

  “Was this before or after you bargained with him to release the other redheads?”

  Blaze narrowed her eyes and rocked her head back on her shoulders. “How do you know about the bargain?”

  “Chai can read minds.”

  “A mind reader?” Her hands flew to her mouth. “SME, then she probably knows all about your feelings for Nevan.”

  “She says she doesn’t tell him things, but I’m not sure about that.”

  “Oh, Rena. I would’ve died of embarrassment.”

  “I almost did. When I found out, all I could think of was how quality Nevan looked in his shirt and how sexy he looked playing the bongos and how bad I wanted to kiss him.”

  For the first time since they’d found her, Blaze giggled. The welcomed sound caught them both by surprise.

  “Nevan taught me how to block my thoughts. But let’s get back to Topaz. Who was he talking to?”

  “I think it was that woman who’s always with him at Market.”

  She nodded. “She’s the one Chai pulled the information from.”

  “Really? Well, whoever it was, Topaz was real upset with her.”

  “Why?”

  “I only heard one side of the conversation, but I think she wanted to re-sell the book we sold to Grunge to someone in Eden.” Blaze closed her eyes as if it helped recall the details. “I think she tracked down the family it belonged to.”

  “Oh no.” She leaned forward, resting her head against her palms. “Now the Nesties know about the cave. What if the Overlord confiscates it?”

  “I don’t think he knows. All I know is Topaz turned all red in the face and threatened to ‘eliminate’ her—his word, not mine—if she told anyone about his newly discovered antiques.”

  Rena rubbed at a sudden tight spot on her chest. “We might be able to use it as leverage to help us get out of here.”

  “Yeah, if we don’t freeze to death first.”

  “That’s what the fire is for.”

  “I guess.” Blaze twirled a twig in the flames. “But we could still starve.”

  “Don’t worry. Nevan said he’d be back before dark. He should be here any time.”

  “Uh, Rena. It’s already dark.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “SME!” Rena jumped to her feet and rushed toward the exit. “I hope he’s not lost. Or hurt.”

  “Are you crazy? You can’t go out there.”

  “I’ll stay close. Keep the fire going.” The tunnel grew darker, the farther Rena went from the firelight. She glided her hand along the wall for guidance.

  Blackness like she’d never seen swallowed her. The moon wasn’t bright enough to illuminate anything beyond her immediate vicinity. How would Nevan find his way without being able to see? If their positions were reversed, how would she find her way? Ground vibes. She stomped her foot, but realized Nevan wouldn’t be able to sense it.

  Sound. She’d have to use sound, but not her voice. Nevan said the Syn could be anywhere. She needed a less obvious way to communicate. Crouching down, she felt along the ground for a pair of rocks. Once she had them, she stood and clacked them together in a one, two beat like that night in Nevan’s basement. Music was in Nevan’s bones. Surely, he’d recognize it and make his way toward her.

  He had to.

  Rena wasn’t about to add him to her growing list of casualties. She stood perfectly still and closed her eyes, focusing solely on her feet. Drawing every vibration up from the ground, she let the tingling sensations spiral up her legs, course through her abdomen, and echo throughout her chest, until her whole body hummed with the mountain’s pulse. She dissected them one by one. Blaze shuffled around the cave.

  Rena clacked the rocks again. One, two.

  No response.

  A nocturnal animal scurried down the slope. Leaves and twigs snapped beneath its tiny feet. The stream pushed pebbles down the mountain, but still no Nevan.

  One, two.

  She continued sensing and banging the rocks for what seemed like hours. Her head spun from the mental exertion. The physical effort weighed down her arms, making them feel like they were going to fall off. Yet, she continued.

  One, two.

  She opened her eyes and took five measured steps forward to stand in a dim pool of moonlight. Eyes closed once again, she honed her concentration. That’s when she felt it.

  Three, four—Nevan’s answer.

  She bit her lip to prevent herself from calling out to him. She tapped the rocks again. The frustration of him being near, yet far, made it difficult to breathe. By his footfalls, he was somewhere to her right. She searched for him.

  Instead of seeing him, she watched an orange glow crawl along the ground behind her. She spun around to face the cave. The same glow flickered on the cave wall. Blaze was on her way out.

  “Blaze, don’t come outsi…,” she started to say, but it was too late. Blaze stood next to her, torch in hand. Rena spun her by the shoulders. “Get back inside. Hurry.”

  “Why?”

  “The light, it could draw attention.”

  “Nevan said it didn’t need light to find us.”

  “Topaz has eyes, too.” She gave Blaze a gentle, yet forceful shove.

  After Blaze disappeared back into the cave, Rena felt quick, pounding vibrations moving toward her. She stared into the darkness, unsure whether to expect Nevan, the Synbot, or both. Something felt off in the footsteps.

  “Rena?”

  She spun in the direction of his voice. “Over here.” She didn’t care if he wasn’t alone, as long as he was okay.

  “I heard your signal and saw the light.”

  A slight breeze carried a smell to her, one she couldn’t place. Citrus, like Nevan’s, but different. She backed away, needing to hear his voice again to be sure.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah, Lil’ Mama,” he answered.

  With one long stride, he moved close enough for her to see his face. Joy filled her. A weight dropped by her feet right before he pulled her into a tight embrace. He repeatedly kissed her on the top of her head. For some reason, he wasn’t wearing his shirt again but she didn’t care why.

  “Don’t ever scare me like that again, Noodle.” She slid her arms around him, squeezing tight as she pressed her cheek against his bare skin.

  He stroked her hair then glided his hands down over her ears until he held her cheeks. Caressing her freckles with his thumbs, he gently guided her face up toward his. The way the moonlight fell across his eyes stopped her heart. She rose up on her toes to kiss him, but stopped when Blaze came out of the cave, this time without the torch.

  “I thought I heard something. Oh, good, it’s only Nevan.”

  The moment between Rena and him broke. He dropped his hands to her arms and pressed his forehead to hers. He spoke to Blaze without looking at her. “Can you give us a minute?”

  She huffed and returned to the cave.

  “She always like that?” he asked.

  “No.” Rena moved back, but not out of his reach. “I should go check on her.”

  “Yeah, she probably needs you right about now.” He gave her another tight squeeze then picked up the things he’d dropped by her feet.

  “What’s all this?” she asked.

  Nevan beamed. “I brought you a feast.”

  She hooked her arm through his as they walked inside to join Blaze by the fire. Sitting down, Rena cupped her cheek where the warmth of his touch lingered. He sat beside her, his back straight as he lifted his hand. “I caught trout upstream.”

  Rena’s mouth gaped open as she stared at five red-bellied fish. “You found those in the wild?”

  “That’s right. I had to make a rope to hold them all.” He held up a twisted vine. “Trenik.”

  Blaze swallowed hard and scooted away. “You stole fish and killed another plant?”

  He lifted an eyebrow as he placed a wide flat rock on the embers near the fire’s edge. “You are hungry, aren’t you?”


  “Yeah, but even though I’m a Dustie, I still know it’s illegal to harvest without a permit.”

  As he pulled the fish off the vine, he glanced at Rena.

  She held her hands up, answering the question in his eyes. “I have no problem with it. I don’t see any reason why we should starve when there’s food all around us.”

  Blaze crossed her arms. “If the Overlord catches us, we could get sent to Iron Mountain.”

  Rena sighed. “Why don’t we try surviving the situation we’re already dealing with before we get all worked up about what Andrick will do if he finds out how many Conservation Laws we broke?”

  As if on cue, Blaze’s stomach growled. “It feels wrong, but I guess you’re right.”

  “That’s what I’m talking about.” Nevan reached over and opened the backpack. Some of the contents spilled out. Blaze took one look at it, raked her hands through her auburn locks, and looked away.

  Nevan arranged a pile of broad oval leaves on the ground. When he emptied the rest of the backpack on them, Rena crawled across the small space between them to inspect what he had: more stickleberries, a variety of flowers with long leaves, a large brownish root, and a bundle of pine needles. “Sure is a lot of stuff.”

  “I’m not sure how long we’ll be holed up in this cave.” Using a stick, he shifted some embers from the fire core to the edge of the flames. He placed the root on the flat rock and stuck it on top of the pile. “I don’t want you going hungry.”

  Blaze mumbled under her breath and pretended to be busy tending to the fire.

  How many times had she been on Blaze’s side of this equation—the odd person out, the third wheel, the last woman standing? She knew exactly what that ‘huff’ meant, but didn’t know what to do about it. She needed to find a balance between maintaining her long-time relationship with Blaze and nurturing the new one with Nevan, without offending either one of them, or making either one feel left out.

  She moved back to Blaze’s side, handing her a stick for the fire. “Here, this one is dry. Nevan, how do you know about catching fish and stuff?”

  He glanced at Blaze. “Doesn’t everybody know how to fish?”

  She tilted her head, narrowing her gaze. He’d never dodged her questions so blatantly before. Why was he doing it now? Could it be Blaze? Did she make him uncomfortable? Guarded? She wanted to ask him another question, but changed her mind. Instead, she watched him untie the pine needles, lay them on the ground, and set the gutted fish on top. When he skewered each one on fresh cut branches, Blaze gasped quietly.

  From early childhood, the ecological importance of nature had been drilled in their heads. Some rules about environmental abuse had harsher consequences than those regarding human abuse. Trees were on the verge of extinction.

  Lie. The trees here had not only learned to adapt to the climate change, they thrived. How foolish the people of Hollowcrest were to follow the Overlord, who made them believe that, if they worked hard enough and conserved their resources enough, they, too, would eventually be able to afford a place in Eden, or at the very least, build domes in Hollowcrest.

  False hope.

  That’s what it was. Lies built upon lies, passed down from one generation to the next until it rang true.

  “Why don’t trees grow like this in Hollowcrest?” she asked.

  “These trees out here, they’re not clones,” he answered in a nonchalant tone as he ripped apart the flowers and leaves.

  Blaze stopped playing with the fire. “What do you mean?”

  He glanced over his shoulder before speaking in a hushed tone. “Every tree you see growing around the city is a clone. They can’t reproduce like natural trees.”

  “But I’ve seen small trees.”

  “Clones, not seedlings.”

  Blaze tossed a twig in the fire. “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “I don’t ask questions. Only plant what they tell me, where they tell me.” He rotated the fish before piercing the sweet root with a stick to remove it from the embers. Using the knife, he divided it into three pieces.

  Rena shifted, crossing her legs at the ankle. “If I took a baby tree from here and planted it in Hollowcrest, it would have offspring?”

  “Eventually.”

  “Can you find me a baby tree to take home?”

  “If you promise to help me find my way back, I promise to find you a tree.”

  “Deal.” She stretched out her hand and they shook on it.

  Nevan spread out fresh pine needles and set the fish on them. “Give it a second to cool so you don’t burn your fingers.”

  Rena studied the charred scales as she leaned over to smell his food offering. It smelled different, better than the dried fish she was used to eating. Her mouth watered at the thought of tasting it. While they waited, he distributed the remaining food, pointing to it as he spoke. “Here’s a salad from flowers, sweet root, and the fish you already got should be cool enough to touch now. Go ahead, have a taste.”

  Rena peeled back the crispy, burnt fish skin, exposing the white flesh beneath. Steam curled up and tickled her nose with its moist scent. She pinched off a piece and put it in her mouth. Her eyes lowered to half-slits at the taste of the smoked fish mingled with the fresh flavor of the pine needles.

  “Mmm. I must be starving, ‘cause this is the best thing I ever tasted.”

  “Wouldn’t give you anything less.” He flashed a smile. Innocent. Intense.

  She blushed and took another bite.

  Blaze rolled her eyes before pinching off a taste of her own. “Mmm, that is pretty good.”

  “Did you have any doubts?” He sat up a few inches taller.

  “I guess you’re all right.”

  Rena grinned. “Ain’t that the truth?”

  Blaze crinkled her nose at her, but smiled at Nevan. It looked like he was winning her over, too.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The fire took up one side of the cave, leaving them with limited space to sleep. Rena stretched out in between Blaze and Nevan. Sharing the backpack for a pillow, Blaze ended up closest to the flames; while Nevan lay by the wall with a makeshift pillow of rope. Exhausted from her ordeal, Blaze fell asleep fast.

  Rena, on the other hand, couldn’t decide whether to turn her back to her best friend or to Nevan. She settled flat on her spine, stared at the light twinkling off of the lumonium, and thought about Chai. How much the girl must’ve loved her rock. Rena shifted her legs, angling her head to better observe the lightshow. A lump on the ground pushed at her shoulder, and she knew she’d have to decide which side to lie on soon.

  “Can’t sleep?” Nevan whispered.

  “No.”

  “You’re divided.”

  “What?”

  “Your face.” He lightly touched her hairline, traced a path down her forehead, between her eyebrows, across the bridge of her nose, and paused slightly at her lips then continued to the tip of her chin. “Divided between shadow and light.”

  “Oh.” Sweet Mother... Warmth blossomed from the tingling line down the middle of her face and swept through her body. Her breath escaped in a soft moan, which she hoped the crackling sound of the fire covered.

  “Rena?”

  “Yeah?” Firelight danced across his face. His bi-colored eyes drank it in, more radiant than the sparkling stone. He was too beautiful to look at, and the only thing she ever wanted to see.

  “Remember the other day, at that club in the Underground?” he said in a low voice.

  His strong arms wrapped around her. His soft lips pressed against hers. The delicious taste of his mouth. Heat pooled in her stomach. She hoped the shadows hid her blush. “How could I forget?”

  “There’s something I need to tell you.” He sounded too serious.

  A cold wave rolled over her, dousing the flames inside her with an almost audible fizzle. “Uh-huh?”

  “I don’t know where to start.” He peered over her shoulder at Blaze who snored softly. “And
this might not be the best time or place, but I really need to get this out.”

  “What is it about?” She wasn’t sure she really wanted to know. Her tongue swelled, making it difficult to swallow. She parted her lips slightly and sipped small breaths.

  “Us,” he whispered. He was quiet for a moment, a long, impossible moment. This was where he was going to tell her the truth. That she’d misread all the nonverbal cues and the verbal ones, too. It wouldn’t work out between them. He only wanted to be friends.

  Or worse, he was playing her to get a cut of the money for helping to rescue Blaze. It had happened to her classmate. Okay, so no one got kidnapped and there wasn’t a treasure to be looted, but it was close to the same thing. The girl’s dad had won some money. Then this boy started flirting with her. He was really nice to her and everything until she told him where her dad stashed his winnings. Then wham! The money disappeared. People teased her, as if a broken heart wasn’t punishment enough.

  Nevan’s sister was a mind reader. How could Rena keep secrets from someone who could hear her every thought? Chai probably told him how easy it would be to get Rena to trust him, how easily she’d hand her riches over to make him happy.

  Then wham! A broken heart.

  The thought made Rena ache all over. She closed her eyes, praying to avoid that girl’s fate. “I’m listening.”

  “I wanted to tell you sooner, but I…” he paused again.

  Dread stopped her heart. Her breath. Her…she lay perfectly still. The coldness from the ground crept through her, zapping what little warmth the fire provided.

  “I hope you won’t think less of me…”

  Just say it!

  “The thing is, my dad was right.”

  “Huh?” And she was surprised she got that much out.

  He shifted, his elbow bumping her shoulder as he propped himself up. “Man, I thought this would be a lot easier.”

  Rena opened her eyes.

  So did Blaze. “You two still awake?” she asked, her voice sleep groggy.

  “Yeah.” Irritation saturated Nevan’s tone.

  “Good.” Blaze shuffled to her feet. “Rena, care to step outside with me real quick?”

  “Now?” she asked, both wanting to stay, yet needing to escape.