by Chele Cooke
They reached the row of houses just before sun high; though it was hard to tell with the little sunlight they received, these days. Olless checked her device and told them the timing was relatively accurate. They stopped in the middle of the street, ensuring that whoever was surveilling them would be able to check they had stuck to the terms of the deal. Olless moved almost constantly, shuffling in position to keep herself warm, unlike the Cahlven soldiers at the meeting who had stood perfectly still. Alec and Dhiren took up positions behind them, Dhiren facing in the other direction to check for people coming in from behind them. While they were on a thin line of trusting Olless, there was no such trust for the Colvohan.
“It is time,” Olless said, pulling the device from her pocket and checking it again. “They should be here.”
Alec moved closer to her. “You think we’ve been tricked?”
“I would not be able to say.”
Georgianna moved closer to the shield, peering between the houses. “They’re coming.”
The figures were warped and wobbly through the shield, but clear enough as they appeared. The Colvohan had put specific limits on who he would allow the group to bring, but he had made no promises on the size of his back-up. He had brought a full delegation of soldiers: twenty or more, not including the two who hung back with their hostage between them.
Georgianna stepped to Olless and grabbed her arm. “Give Dhiren the coat.”
“They will have already seen me wearing it.”
“I know. But the less friendly you appear with us, the better. Right?”
Olless nodded. “Sound reasoning.”
She slipped out of the coat and handed it to Georgianna, who threw it to Dhiren. He caught it and looked rather pleased to have it back on. Georgianna took hold of Olless’ arm again, just as the delegation reached the barrier of the shield. They didn’t pass through. Georgianna blanched. If Keiran was breaching the shield, those monitoring it would see the breach, undisguised by the Colvohan’s delegation passing through.
Georgianna hurried forwards, dragging Olless with her. “Come through and bring Beck. Your soldiers can stay on that side.”
With the shield warping her vision, she couldn’t tell whether the Colvohan looked annoyed or not. But he waved the two men holding Beck forwards and, once they had joined him, stepped through the shield himself.
“Miss Lennox.” He gave a small bow. “As you can see, I have met your demands, and I see you have met ours. Let us get this over with.”
The men holding onto Beck stepped forwards, but as Olless moved to stand opposite them, Georgianna stayed where she was. She watched the Colvohan, Naltahn, and his detached expression as he stared her down.
It had been her decision to do the trade as planned, to not risk asking for more, but now that she stood here, facing the very man who controlled it all, she found herself unable to let go of Olless’ arm so easily. “Wait.” She pulled Olless back to join her. “We’re not done here.”
Naltahn’s eyes narrowed, and he lifted a hand, waving his soldiers back a step. “We sent you the terms of the deal, Miss Lennox.”
“You did.” Georgianna’s hands trembled. She struggled to keep her voice from wavering. “But you never gave us the option to reply, to tell you our demands.”
“Your demands? But you made your demands clear upon taking my emissary. The lists of the Veniche people inhabiting this territory, and the release of your Marshall, Beck Casey.”
Shifting her weight, Georgianna glanced at Olless. The Cahlven woman glared at her with such loathing that Georgianna wanted to shrink away and get the deal over as fast as possible. Still, she had started this. “That was before we saw how many are sick. Infected, right?”
Naltahn nodded. “Genetic testing. That is all. Our language does not always correspond to yours in a direct translation.”
“We want them released.”
Naltahn laughed. Humour didn’t suit him. It was the wide face; eyes too far apart; mouth a long, thin line that stretched even further when he smiled. It was all so grotesque and twisted. He shook his head and, without checking for Georgianna’s compliance, waved his soldiers and Beck forwards. “No Veniche is being kept here against their will.”
Georgianna considered backing up, taking Olless with her. But there was no point. The Colvohan had no intention of even considering their other demands. If that meant taking back Olless by force, his soldiers were up to the task.
And then she saw Beck clearly for the first time, as they moved forwards. Lacie had said he was sick, that he was infected. But he wasn’t just sick in the way Veniche usually meant it: a freeze-cold with fevers or a hacking cough. Beck wasn’t walking between the two soldiers; he was being propped up, his feet dragging through the snow. He was pale and sweating, despite the freezing temperatures.
Georgianna let go of Olless’ arm. “And those that are sick?” She indicated to Beck.
“Every person involved in the testing signed up to be a part of it, to understand themselves and their… family better. Mr Casey is suffering some side effects, nothing more.”
Beck coughed and spluttered, but couldn’t get enough energy to form words.
“Then let us see them. Let us hear from them that they wish to remain here.”
“I am afraid that would be quite impossible. Infection spreads quickly in close quarters. They have been kept separate for their protection, as well as ours.”
Georgianna waved Alec and Dhiren forwards to meet Beck, and nodded that Olless should go. Olless threw an unreadable glance at them before hurrying across the gap to her leader. She took up a position behind him, and yet she didn’t seem too pleased to be back on the Cahlven side. She shifted her feet and wrung her fingers in front of her, looking anywhere but at Naltahn.
Her expression changed from discomfort to loathing right before Georgianna’s eyes. “You would not understand people wanting to stay here, would you, Lennox? After all, you drove Zanetti to abandon you in favour of staying with the Cahlven. He understood what we could do for your people, and you refused to even consider doing something for family or friends. That was why he refuses to see you.”
Georgianna gritted her teeth and took a step away. “We’re done here.”
“Yes, I believe we are,” Naltahn said. “Come, Olless.”
Olless’ smile as she turned away was wrapped in cruelty, but it was still a smile, and Georgianna understood exactly what it meant.
Lacie ran halfway down the tunnel to meet them, with a bright smile that shone through the dark. She collided with Beck, throwing her arms around his neck and almost collapsing him under the force of the hug. Dhiren and Alec stumbled along with him, just about holding him up. But even in his weakened state, Beck shook them off and returned the hug, not quite able to lift Lacie from the floor the way he would have done before.
“I’ve missed you,” he said, his voice raw and cracking. He laid a hand on the back of her hair, his eyes closing and a soft smile growing as he held her close.
“Are you okay?” Lacie said, still holding tight. “They said you were sick.”
“I’m fine, sweetheart. Don’t you worry about me.”
But the moment Lacie let go of him, taking a step back to look at him properly, Beck was reaching for Alec again, using the younger man to steady himself. Lacie’s joy faded from her face like melting snow, dripping away as the realisation washed over her.
Georgianna took Beck’s place, wrapping an arm around Lacie’s shoulders and directing her back down the tunnel. “Come on. Let’s help Beck get settled, and we can talk.”
Lacie nodded and let herself be led along. But she kept her head twisted to see behind her as the others followed them down the tunnel.
Jacob was waiting for them when they reached the tunnel car and, without a word of explanation, he joined Alec and Dhiren in helping Beck. Dhiren climbed into the tunnel car first, crouching and taking both of Beck’s hands to help him up into the car.
�
�We’ll get a step for the door,” Lacie said, climbing up after him and shifting to his side. She led him down the car to Alec’s bed.
Beck sat with a heavy thump and gave her a sleepy, pained smile.
“You’re such a good girl to me,” he said, reaching up and touching his knuckles to her cheek. “What did I do to deserve such a good girl?”
“That list is long and exhaustive,” Alec said.
Beck gave a small breathless chuckle and leaned over his knees.
Lacie moved in front of him. “Here, lie down.”
She helped him take off his boots and the heavy coat Alec had given him for the walk. Beck lay down on his side, his eyelids drooping.
Lacie blanched at the sight of the blood seeping through Beck’s shirt. She rounded on Georgianna, Alec, and Dhiren. “What happened?”
“He had a tracker,” Georgianna said. She squeezed Lacie’s arm. “We didn’t have a choice. We had to remove it before bringing him back here.”
“You stitched it?”
Georgianna shook her head. “Not yet. I’ve packed it for now, we didn’t want him in the cold too long. But we will.”
Lacie placed the boots at the side of the bed, even tucking the laces inside, before she returned with a Cahlven blanket and draped it over Beck. “No,” she said, firm and confident as she leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I’ll do it.”
“Let him sleep,” Georgianna said, ushering the others from the car. “Once he’s rested, we can talk.”
Jacob was first out of the tunnel car, practically jumping from foot to foot.
“I may be able to help,” he said to himself. “If I can get the right supplies. They’d be tough to find right now, and I don’t have—”
Dhiren grabbed Jacob by the arms and raised an eyebrow as the younger man froze, staring up with wide eyes. Dhiren smirked. “Kid, you wanna go hunting?”
Jacob nodded and extracted himself from Dhiren’s grasp, pelting off to the other tunnel car and leaping inside to get his things.
“That’s a good idea,” Alec said. “I’ll come with you. See if we can find some meat.”
They were quiet as they collected up their weapons and Alec took back his coat from Beck’s bedside. Georgianna watched from the doorway as the three men disappeared down the tunnel.
Lacie came to her side. “It all went okay, then?”
Georgianna put on her brightest smile. “We have Beck. That was the main goal.”
“And your family?”
Georgianna shrugged and took a seat in the doorway. It wasn’t comfortable, but sitting on her bed was too close to Beck. She didn’t want to disturb him and, right now, she didn’t even know if he knew about her family. She didn’t want him finding out that way. “The Colvohan is adamant that Beck is only sick from a bad reaction, that everyone signed up for the testing.”
“That’s shit though, right?”
“Don’t let Beck hear you talking like that.”
Lacie took a seat next to her and raised an eyebrow. “Who do you think taught me that song?”
“Which one?”
“The one with every swear word in it.”
Georgianna let out a loud laugh and covered her mouth with both hands. She whispered through her fingers. “I think he taught it to me when I was a kid. My da’ threatened to knock him out.”
Lacie giggled, but the amusement was soon replaced with concern. “It is shit, though. Right, George? That Vtensu is lying.”
She nodded. “It’s shit. I can understand a few signing up, maybe. But everyone who isn’t a soldier? If they did sign up, I can’t imagine it was without coercion. Perhaps they threatened to banish them if they didn’t do it. I don’t know.”
“And Keiran got back in?”
Georgianna nodded and sighed. “Yeah. Olless actually helped us. She made it clear she wasn’t going to say anything.”
“That’s one thing then, I guess.”
“It is.”
Lacie shuffled closer and rested her head on Georgianna’s shoulder. “We’ll get the rest of them back. Beck will get better, and we’ll come up with a plan to get the rest of them back.”
Georgianna rested her temple against the top of Lacie’s head. She had sat in this position with Halden many times. It was Halden’s head on her own, with her curled in against his side, but it was just as relaxing to be the one supporting someone else. She let out a sigh, curled her arm around Lacie and hugged her in tighter.
“We will. It’ll all be fine. You’ll see.”
By the time Dhiren, Alec, and Jacob returned, Beck had woken and was sitting on the bed against the wall with his arm around Lacie, getting fully briefed on everything they’d been up to. When she’d told him about being a scout for the meeting between the Volsonnar and the Colvohan, Beck had glared so hard at Georgianna that she’d felt like a small child again. But when it came to his turn to speak, he’d been kind and exuded pride at Lacie’s involvement.
Dhiren took a seat on Georgianna’s bed and spread a lining sheet over his lap, dumping two dead rabbits across his legs. Georgianna grimaced and considered telling him to sit on the floor, but once Alec and Jacob had climbed inside—Jacob with his own collection of scavenged supplies—there wasn’t space in the small tunnel car to swing a dead rabbit, let alone skin one.
“Thank you, all,” Beck said. Georgianna sat with him, once again feeling like a child, waiting for him to tell them a story their parents considered too risky for young ears. He pulled the Cahlven blanket higher across his body. Even with Lacie curled in against him, he was shivering.
“The Cahlven promised that your imprisonment was only temporary,” Alec said. “We were just ensuring they stuck to it.”
Beck smiled and cocked his head to the side, considering them.
“Was it awful in there?” Georgianna said. “I… being inside Lyndbury was just…”
“I was treated well enough. Not questioned or harmed.”
“Well, beside…” Alec waved a hand in his general direction.
“Yes. Beside this. My current condition is a recent development. Maybe a month.”
Georgianna crossed her legs and turned further away from the crack of bones as Dhiren went about his work. The fact he was doing it while they talked about the sickness within the Veniche felt wrong somehow, but Beck needed his strength, and he wouldn’t get it from the little supplies they’d been able to hide away. She could only hope that Jacob’s herbs would be able to help.
“The Colvohan is adamant that the illness is related to genetic testing,” Georgianna said. “That you have just had a bad reaction.”
Beck shook his head, his gaze dropping to his knees and a deep frown furrowing beneath his unruly beard. He’d lost hair in some places, and it was clear that if they should comb his hair and beard, or cut it back, they would uncover more damage.
“Lies,” he said. “It’s all lies.”
“You’re sure?”
“Well enough.”
“How have they gotten people to agree to it?” Alec said.
Beck yawned and covered his mouth with his hand.
“Beck, we can talk about this another time,” Georgianna said, throwing a quick glance between Lacie and Jacob.
Beck shook his head. “No. We should talk now, and these two are from a small collection of the strongest people I know. They deserve to be included.”
He offered Lacie a proud smile, then shifted and disentangled himself from her, pulling the Cahlven blanket up to his neck. Lacie helped tuck it around his shoulders. When he was settled again, he sighed. “They kept me separate from everyone for a long time. Other prisoners were too far away to have any kind of conversation. Then, one night they brought in a prisoner and put him in the cell next to mine. It was an Adveni soldier who’d been caught while on a scout.”
“Shit,” Alec said, grimacing.
“He didn’t know who I was, but he quickly worked out that I was Veniche, and began to talk, telling me how stupid
it was for us to have thrown in with the Cahlven.”
Alec scoffed. “Yeah, like the Adveni were any better.”
Beck smiled.
“Exactly what I told him,” he said. “But on he went, saying that the Cahlven would use us to deal a blow to the Adveni. Stuff it had taken them years to figure out.”
“Like what?” Georgianna said.
“I wasn’t sure at the time, and truthfully I’m still not sure everything he told me was entirely accurate, but…”
Alec leaned in. “What?”
Beck paused, and closed his eyes. For a minute, he was silent, and Georgianna half-expected him to start snoring. But instead, he opened his eyes again. “He claimed the Adveni needed us, and they could have wiped us out easily with the Mykahnol. But it wasn’t their intention, and their plan was always to live alongside us, to a certain extent. He claimed that this wasn’t the first time that the Cahlven have fought the Adveni over planets.”
Georgianna lifted a hand, nodding. “Edtroka told me about it. He said the Cahlven and the Adveni have been fighting for generations over resources.”
“Did he tell you what happened to them?” Beck said.
She had to think about it, but in the end, she shook her head. “I think he just said they won some, and lost some.”
“The Adveni told me that there was a place much like here, with another race the Adveni were working with. They had problems and needed people to… spread the Tletonise with, or something.”
Dhiren dragged his knife along the stomach of one of the rabbits. “They wanted to breed. Too much close breeding leads to problems. They needed brood mares.” They all looked at him in disgust. He shrugged. “Do it with horses all the time.”
Beck coughed, bringing the attention back to him. “Apparently, it was all a good deal. The Adveni gave the other race technology, helped them build. And they helped with breeding.”
