Rebel Heart

by Young, Christine

  "My bag was searched and no contraband was found," Tori said with an indignant air about her.

  "And Nessa's?" he asked.

  "My baggage passed inspection also," Nessa said.

  "Are you satisfied?" Tori asked.

  "Tori, don't be so hard on father. We will survive and we will be stronger for the adventure."

  DeMontville laughed. "I would have expected Tori to think on this as an adventure not you Nessa."

  "I'm trying to look on the positive side."

  "There is nothing positive about purification," Lady DeMontville said. It is an archaic and brutal means of keeping diseases from infiltrating the cities."

  "Seems a bit strange that we have to be purified in order to leave," Tori said.

  "You must go through the cleansing process because you reentered the city. It should have been done that very day but I, like the fool I am, tried to prevent it from happening."

  "Sir."

  "Quentin Morray and five others just set their gliders down in the terminal."

  He thought the day was as bad as it was going to get, but now with Morray in the terminal, all hell could brake lose.

  "Thank you."

  Lady DeMontville's face had just turned a ghostly shade of grey. She knew how dangerous that man was to the twins. Trust no one.

  "I would like five guards sent to my office before we take the train to the terminal. Keep me informed."

  "Jonathan," DeMontville said, surprised to see him. Jonathan Reese was a cousin to his twins and a renowned debater. He was overjoyed to see someone he could trust turn up at his door at this moment. Trust no one... He would be wise to remember that even with Jonathan. Every man had his own agenda be it good or bad.

  "I brought four of the city guards. They are friends of mine. I too was in the terminal when Morray showed up there with his entourage. I don't believe in coincidence. So when I heard your request, I volunteered for the assignment. I would like to see my two little cousins make it to their destinations safe and sound."

  "Then let us be on our way. We have one stop before we board the train."

  "The chambers?"

  "Yes."

  "Are they prepared?"

  "They know what will happen if that is what you mean. But I doubt if anyone can truly be ready for such a fate."

  "I am ready. You don't have to talk as if we aren't here," Tori said. "I've been told that while the initial part, the taking of all your plasma and replacing it with clean plasma, is extremely painful, a person only feels it for a second. When they wake up, it is all over and it is as if nothing has happened."

  "You make the process sound so..."

  "I am at a loss for words."

  "It does no one any good to fear something that is inevitable but won't kill you. Here in this room all of you have gone through this process at least once. And you are still present and able to talk about it. It is part of the world I live in so I must get used to the barbaric practice."

  Forming a V around the girls and Lord and Lady DeMontville with Jonathan in the lead, they made their way to the chambers. The process would take about thirty minutes. The girls were ushered into the chambers, disrobed and hooked up to the plasma draining apparatus. Then the doors clanged shut. Stillness pervaded the waiting area; a hush fell over the seven remaining outside.

  DeMontville rested his head in his hands, remembering so many things and so many times he should have taken a heavier hand with Tori. He had never had it in him to punish his headstrong oldest twin. She'd never really done anything so bad. Just as this time she did not deserve this. But for the machinations of Quentin Morray and his camp followers, she and Nessa would not be sent away. Seven years was such a very long time.

  "I'm going to the mountains," Lady DeMontville said. "I have need of fresh air and honesty."

  "Go if you must, but there is no more honesty and faith in the mountains than there is in the city."

  "It's my home. I will come back though and soon. I cannot leave you for very long. My glider awaits and I will leave with the girls."

  "Don't think to follow them," DeMontville warned. And he prayed Morray did not have some vile plan to shadow one or both of the twins.

  "And which one would I follow? The one who needs me the most or the one most likely to find trouble?"

  "When you put it that way, neither, I suppose. Jonathan, would you arrange for the girls to have escorts?"

  "I have done that. No one will know where they go and where they will live for the next seven years save you."

  And the codicil you have in your wall safe. Guard it closely, Jonathan Reese. I am counting on you. If anything happens to me, you are their hope and their savior all in one package. Trust no one.

  "They are finished and have come through with shining colors," the nurse told them with a beaming smile.

  The girls followed in wheelchairs, looking pale as death and sleepy.

  "You should not put them on the gliders for another thirty minutes or so. They have a gallon of water they should drink and some bars that will help them through their recovery. They will be groggy at first but might become silly as the drugs wear off. Any questions?" the nurse asked.

  "No," DeMontville said. Trust no one. "What bill are they debating now?" he turned his attention to Jonathan.

  "On the floor as we speak are laws about interracial marriages. We hashed this over so many times I have the bill memorized as well as all of the pros and cons. What we need to do is overturn the bill prohibiting the genetic allele transplant surgery. I know it will work. And Cameron Savage has been working on the process for over a year now. His center in Reding is state of the art, but there is still the fear."

  "It won't happen until there are no other alternatives--until none of then new serums work--until people are dying in mass--until there are so many dead they cannot bury them all," DeMontville said.

  "Always the fear. It is really more like terror," Jonathan said.

  "Then there are the recruiting laws. Some believe every male over the age of fifteen should enlist. Others are outraged and say fifteen is much too young and if the males have to enlist, what about the females. I would say history always repeats itself."

  "Do you think there will be war?" DeMontville asked.

  "I'm afraid so. The two sides in power will never agree. Whoever has the majority controls the laws. And the other side grows more and more impatient. Everyone believes they are right. And perhaps for them they are, but some fail to see that everyone does not lead a privileged life.

  "Nor is everyone impoverished. Do we as the countries representatives look out for ourselves? Or for someone whose life might need help."

  "They are ready."

  Tori tried to push up and out of the chair but failed. She gave a cockeyed little look and settled back in. "Guess I'm not supposed to walk to my doom."

  "No, you need to stay in the chair. You will be fastened in safe and sound in your glider. Buy the time you reach your destination, you will be as frisky as a newborn pup," the nurse said.

  "Thanks," Tori said, brushing a lock of hair from her face, just what I always wanted to be compared to, a puppy dog."

  DeMontville pushed Nessa's chair and Lady DeMontville Tori's. The procession to the gliders was solemn.

  The terminal was grey and foreboding. DeMontville's head began to pound. He searched the terminal for enemies. He had never before thought about life and death so much. All he saw were uniformed terminal guards. If Morray meant to show himself, he had best do so soon. Jonathan's hand rested on his gun belt as did the other guards. DeMontville's hands tightened around the handles on Tori's chair.

  Nothing, only silence met them. The hanger door opened and sunshine flowed into the landing strip. For a moment his spirits lifted.

  "This one is Tori's."

  DeMontville helped his daughter from the chair, carrying her to a seat inside the spacious land glider. "Tori, know that you must learn patience and forgiveness here. You need
to curb your tongue, think before you speak and before you act. You will have need of those traits when you return to the Tower City. In time, I will send you computers and research material. For the time though know that you must not at any cost let anyone know where you are. Your life is at risk. Trust no one." He kissed her lightly on both cheeks.

  Her mother was inside the glider too, hugging her. "You must heed your father's words. I will be in the mountains if you should ever need me. Remember, we love you."

  They stood back and watched the glider slide through the gates of the terminal and saw the vapor it left behind. Once on her way, he prayed then that the good sisters at the convent could find a way to curb Tori's willfulness and teach her as well about life and people.

  "Nessa, this is truly a difficult day for all of us. I will not mince words. This place I send you to will not be easy for you. They will test your limits and make you stronger. Learn all you can and come back to us ready and prepared for whatever the future brings."

  He and Lady DeMontville walked her into the glider, hugs and kisses before they left then they watched Nessa's glider as it too vanished.

  Lady DeMontville wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck and kissed him. "I love you and I do forgive you for this. I am beginning to understand more completely the situation. Don't forget you can call me home at any time. If there is any need..."

  "I understand more than you know, you want fresh air and a moment to heal the grievous wounds I just inflicted on you. Did you take work?"

  "I did. There is so much to do. I have papers to read, many on some new herb or flower that might be a key ingredient in the new serum. I have accessed the archives too, hoping the information there might lead to a new discovery. I have a trunk packed with things to read."

  "Good luck then. Let me know when you arrive."

  DeMontville stood back and watched the glider's engines roar to life, watched as if in slow motion the vehicle floated from the tracks. Then his wife was gone. But he prayed to her safety.

  "Do you want me to walk back to your office with you?" Jonathan asked.

  "Are you going that way?"

  "No, I have business within the city major. I was headed toward the town."

  "Then go. I would not keep you from your destination. We have issues to discuss though. Come by tomorrow sometime."

  DeMontville took another second to watch Jonathan stride away from the terminal. He watched as he disappeared through a door at the far end of the corridor. Moments later, DeMontville was on the train carrying him back to his offices.

  He leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment, resting on the soft head cushions while he tried to remember the faces of the twins. They would look different when he saw them next. He might even thank Quentin Morray for his help. The twins would be safe at least for the next seven years.

  All too soon, he strode the steps to the third floor, his mind in a fog. He put his hand to his head, feeling dizzy.

  "DeMontville."

  He turned. "It is your day to die."

  A bullet ripped into the chest and as he put up his hands to defend himself another struck him in the back. The world spun crazily as he groped at the handrail, trying to pull himself up to confront his assassin.

  Tori--Nessa--Lady DeMontville--his eyes closed and he fell.

  Summer, 2590

  Five years later

  Victoria and Cameron

  High above the retreat, on a narrow ledge, Tori DeMontville crouched. Hiding behind a monstrous pillar, she studied the forest for the slightest sign of movement. A thorough search of the area revealed nothing, no subtle play of shadows against the light or uncharacteristic images flitting from tree to tree. The forest appeared deserted and curiously vacant as if no life existed within.

  Tori's eyes narrowed, assessing the relative safety of the mission. Her nerves and muscles stretched taut, she moved with incredible well-practiced stealth across the high wall.

  The forest floor, carpeted in a light grey mist, reached out its arms, beckoning, weaving its enchanted magic around her. Slender birch trees rose above the fog, stretched their branches to the dawning sun and the gentle warm rays. Cryptic silence fluttered in grey swirls beneath the canopy. Far overhead one daring sea gull swooped and called out a plaintive tune. A curious grey squirrel chattered angrily at her feet, lifting the gloom that threatened, while the rhythmic crashing of ocean breakers thundered to the west. There was no other sound.

  Everything looked normal, but the absence of noise was startling; Tori fought to shake off the feelings of doom that hovered in the pit of her stomach. She hesitated, overwhelmed by a feeling someone was out there--watching. The trees were too still, the earth too quiet. Nothing stirred, no shadows fluttered along the ground.

  She shook off the sensation, telling herself she was imagining things. Unloosing the rope she carried across her shoulder, she tied the end around a metal post and let the length slip to the ground. She had to move quickly. Her form, outlined against the early morning sky, would stand out in stark relief. With patience born from caution and adversity, she swept the area one last time before she tossed a knapsack over the wall. She descended the corded rope to the ground. After shouldering the bag, she set off toward the forest.

  With two hours until the dawn ceremonial, she had a minimum amount of time to find the tiny flower she needed. A rare, fragile white flower, one that bloomed in the early spring, was the object of her diligent search. The last factor in the electrolysis she worked on, it was imperative she locate the flower and isolate the rare chemical found in this plant. Tori breathed deeply, filling her lungs with fresh, clean air before she entered the forest. Soon the need for stealth overcame all other thought. Far ahead, the harsh low rumble of men's voices filtered through the dense trees and brambles. She penetrated the forest in the opposite direction.

  ~ * ~

  "God Almighty!" Cameron Savage rocked on the balls of his feet before he moved swiftly and silently behind the furtive shadow ahead. Until this moment, Cameron thought the area was secured and safe. If something wasn't done soon to stop this boy, all hell would break lose.

  The most powerful of the overlords were due into this area by noon. He, Cameron Savage, confidant of the most influential of all the overlords and also double agent, spy--thieftaker, was blessed with the burden of securing the perimeter.

  His job was two-fold; the overlords must feel safe, and the wheels must be set in motion for their eventual capture and prosecution.

  This City Dweller complicated his mission, had the nerve to steal away in the early hours of dawn to some secret rendezvous. It seemed he cared not for the laws and the tenuous peace. And why should the boy? The corruption that existed in this world went unprosecuted, terrifying all law-abiding citizens.

  Cameron vowed long ago to put an end to the trafficking, to stop the thieves who stole the deadly viruses from the disease control centers, holding them ransom until the City Dwellers were all but bankrupt. He'd vowed to stop the corrupt and dangerous thieftakers from forming unholy alliances with the thieves, and in the process reaping fortunes from both sides.

  For a moment he looked at the emblem sewn on his jacket and gritted his teeth. Once, the golden red symbol of the dragon, of the thieftakers, stood for something noble. A man wearing the emblem could be proud of what he did.

  But no longer.

  Over the last five years, progress had been made. The tension had eased somewhat, but the threat of contamination always lingered. One mistake, one infestation and all would be for naught. All the hard work and research over the long years would be wasted by a few heartless people. Corrupt thieftakers. The crime syndicates.

  Any mistake could prove fatal.

  While Cameron watched, the small figure stopped beside an old rotten log and knelt before whipping the knapsack from his back and rummaging through the inside. Seconds later a spade and a small knife were secured from the pack, and the figure began to shuffle through the dust, th
e dirt, and the growths found within. The boy sat back on his haunches and deposited debris in tiny plastic sacks.

  A shiver snaked along Cameron's spine. The figure did appear elusive but hardly dangerous. He wore loose fitting camouflage pants and a matching shirt. His cloak was hooded and dark. When he looked up, he seemed to stare directly at Cameron. With lithe movements, he deftly packaged and labeled each article and moved farther into the dense undergrowth.

  The darkened forest and the grey mist closed in around the City Dweller as he passed a huge redwood tree and disappeared. Cameron stepped forward, intent on tracking this person, but a flash of light where the boy had been digging made him stop. Cameron searched the ground for the object that pulled his attention away from his quarry. Then he saw the piece of jewelry, a ring, with the DeMontville crest.