by Rebecca Rode
“No,” Jasper said. “You brought Treena?”
“She needs to hear this.”
“We both do,” I cut in. “And I have something I need to talk to you about as well. Hi, Chan.”
The guy standing next to Jasper inclined his head, but he didn’t speak.
I’d nearly forgotten about my promise to Maizel. It would be difficult to keep Chan safe if I only saw him once every few days.
My father leaned in and began to whisper. “I’ve spent a lot of time talking to residents, and it sounds like that prince is an interesting man. People say he’s a bit unstable after some incident in the military. Spends his nights at an upscale pub called the Royal Pauper with his upper-class friends and sleeps in late every day. He grew so depressed about being dragged home that the queen removed the royal guard from under the military’s jurisdiction and placed it under the prince’s care, just to give him something to do.”
“So the royal guard answers solely to him,” Vance said.
“There’s more. It was a little tricky to get specific numbers, but I’ve heard the royal guard has grown by eight or nine times since last year.”
“That much?” I said. “What kind of numbers are we talking about?”
“There used to be fourteen battalions of thirty men each, but now there are over three thousand.”
“But . . . why? Is Augustus so paranoid he needs thousands of soldiers at his disposal?”
“Why indeed,” Vance murmured.
“Does the queen know he’s doing this?” I asked. “The prime minister? Parliament?”
Jasper scratched his head. “Oh, it’s no secret. Seems like everyone’s just rolling their eyes, saying the queen’s son is just up to his usual strange ways. And it gives plenty of people a job, so no harm done. Sounds like the money’s coming from a private family fund.”
“Idiots,” Vance said. “He’s creating his own military force. Why can’t anybody else see that?”
We sobered. Another transport, a larger one judging by its loud lumbering, passed on the road behind us.
“So Prince Augustus is a bit strange,” I said, “or maybe he’s just paranoid. But I don’t see how his eccentricities have anything to do with our mission here. We’ll keep an eye on him. Meanwhile, there’s something I want to discuss with you. Jasper, you probably know President Chiu is here.”
“The city is buzzing about that,” Jasper confirmed. “People are livid that he came without notifying anyone, especially after the Russian president didn’t show. They think he’s here to intimidate and bully the Western countries.”
“What do we know about him?” Vance asked.
“All I’ve heard is this. When China’s party members went to war and fractured China, Chiu stepped in. Nobody’s sure exactly how he did it, but he managed to make the individual leaders step down and agree to serve under him. He persuaded the Russian president to join his alliance less than two months ago, which enraged Western Europe to no end.”
“They’re scared of him,” I said. “I think we should forget about Prince Augustus and focus on Chiu. If we get solid evidence that Chiu is planning an attack, the committee will have to listen. We need to know where Chiu lives so we can plant a recording device.”
“You want to sneak into his quarters?” Vance asked incredulously. “We’re talking about the president of China here.”
“We’ll do it while he isn’t home. Then we can hear all his conversations. Chan, can you translate recordings in Mandarin?”
He nodded, the movement barely visible in the dim light.
There was a moment of silence before my father spoke. “Uh, Treena. Even if we could find where he lives—which would be risky enough—there’s no way we could sneak inside. The man brings an army with him wherever he goes. And even if we did successfully plant this bug, the man is known for his violent temper. If he found your little receiver, it would be traced back to you eventually. Your plan would pretty much ensure your death.”
“Absolutely not,” Vance said. “It’s too risky. We’ll gather evidence some other way. And I think it’s time we move Treena to different quarters, somewhere safer, away from royal eyes. I don’t think they watch their own prisoners this closely.”
I shook my head. “I’m not moving. It would send a message to Britain that we don’t trust them, and despite what you think, they’re our closest ally right now.”
“It’s your decision,” Jasper said. “But at least think about it. Personally, I agree that your current situation is worrisome. In the meantime, Vance, I’d like to know for sure that my daughter is safe. How many soldiers are standing watch per shift, and where are they stationed?”
The men began talking about details. Chan still stood by my father’s side, glancing in every direction as if looking for a way to escape. I knew the feeling. Frustration welled up inside me until I wanted to scream. We’d been here a few days now, and no progress whatsoever had been made. My so-called helpers were too obsessed with security to discuss our next move rationally.
The evidence committee would take far too long to reach a conclusion. I knew that much. We needed solid proof of what Chiu planned to do, and I couldn’t think of another plan to get it. I thought about the receiver tucked away in my belongings. There had to be a way.
Chan shuffled his feet. Maizel’s words returned to my mind. You’ll never find a more loyal follower. He’ll do pretty much anything you ask him.
An idea struck me.
“Thanks for being willing to come,” I whispered to Chan.
He nodded. What that meant, I wasn’t entirely sure. Did he agree that I wasn’t doing a good job, or was it an acknowledgment that I at least cared?
“Maizel said you’re loyal, that I could trust you. Is that true?”
“Yes.”
I glanced at my father, who was arguing with Vance now. “I think they’re too emotionally involved to see reason. But you understand why getting Chiu’s own testimony would be important, right?”
“You’re asking me to help you.”
“Yes,” I said, hiding my surprise that he’d actually responded. “Do you think you can find where President Chiu lives? I don’t want you to get too close—it’s risky. Just locate it and then come tell me.” I lowered my voice even more. “And I’d rather nobody else know about it.”
He was quiet for a long moment. Rather than filling the silence, I gave him the time he needed.
“Ratings stopped mattering to me a long time ago,” he finally whispered. “And I didn’t come because you’re on the council. I came because I believed in what you’re trying to do.”
I nodded, waiting for more.
He looked at the ground. “I respect your father, but if you think this is the best way, I will do as you ask.”
Letting out a breath I didn’t know I was holding, I glanced at the men. Still having their disagreement. Guilt struck me as I realized just what I was asking. Not only was Chan putting his own life on the line, he was doing it for a girl he barely knew.
“Just—please be careful,” I told him. “Stay a safe distance away. I promised Maizel I’d bring you home safely. If I break that promise, I think she’ll kill me quicker than any politician.”
A grin stole over the guy’s face. He knew it was true. “Yes.”
I turned back to Vance, who was shaking his head. Whatever their argument, it seemed Jasper had won. When I smiled at them, they straightened, and Vance cleared his throat. “Ready to go?”
“Ready.”
“Hold on, then.” Vance trotted ahead to survey our route, then returned to say it was clear. I grinned at Chan again as we left.
We waited for the royal guard to change before sneaking back into my dome, pretending to be NORA soldiers on duty. Just for effect, Vance stumbled a bit and slurred his words. The guards frowned, but they must have received orders to allow Vance inside, because they didn’t stop us.
I expected him to strike up a conversation at that
point, to drive home the point that he’d been right about Prince Augustus’s suspicious activities. But he noted my troubled expression, then gave me a peck on the cheek instead. “We’ll talk about this tomorrow. Sleep well.”
As I lay in bed, I tried to ignore my resentful feelings toward the two men I loved most. Jasper and Vance were overprotective in different ways. Vance said Augustus was treating me like a prisoner, but if that were true, I was in a jail of Vance’s making. He was absolutely convinced assassins awaited me behind every corner. Every glance, every word, would be twisted to fit his assessment of this place and its people. It was as if he’d become a different person since our arrival two days ago.
“You’re not seeing things as they really are,” he’d said.
That was ridiculous. Just because he chose to see things differently didn’t mean he was right. He’d grown up in a world that had constantly betrayed him. Vance just hadn’t seen much goodness in his life, so he assumed it wasn’t there.
I reached under my pillow and fingered the diary, still wrapped in its protective fabric. If we were better and smarter than our ancestors, why did we keep making the same mistakes? Old America had fallen when its own citizens turned on each other, accusing each other of horrible things. It was easy for us to criticize the dead and yet so hard to see such emotions in ourselves.
My followers said I should take the throne from Dresden. But would that actually solve anything? Even if NORA was left in peace, how long would that peace last? Each generation’s discontents demanded the same thing—a change in leadership. A different body on the throne. And if their chosen hero delivered more of the same, it was easy enough to demand another change. That was the reason behind Richard Peak’s system, right? To prevent war. To take the decision out of the people’s hands completely so things like this didn’t happen.
Overthrowing Dresden would mean fighting against everything Peak created. Could I prevent one war without starting another?
At some point I must have fallen asleep, because I was awakened when a tapping sound penetrated my dreams.
Forcing my eyes open, I looked around the dark room. It was perfectly quiet. The digital clock in the wall screen read 03:41.
Tap-tap-tap. Someone was at my bedroom door.
Had Vance changed his mind? My thoughts sharpened, and I scrambled to the door, wincing at the chilly floorboards. I grasped the doorknob and opened the door a crack. A dark form stood there, one not much taller than I was.
Not Vance.
“Who is it?” I whispered, my voice raspy with fear.
“It’s Chan,” he said. “I found it. Getting word to you would be impossible in daylight, so I thought . . . Maybe I shouldn’t have come. You need your rest.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and got a whiff of a deep, earthy smell. Chan? It had only been a few hours since our meeting. “How did you get past all my guards?”
“The domes in this section of town all have trees like yours,” he said. “They require a soil box and watering system, which is accessed through a hatch from below. I just crawled through it. Do you have a drawing board or paper? I will draw you a map to Chiu’s flat.”
He had crawled through the tree roots and come out in my living room? That explained why he smelled like dirt. I’d have to clean up any traces of his visit before the morning cleaning crew saw the evidence.
“Sure, let me get . . .” My voice trailed off as a new predicament occurred to me. I wouldn’t be able to escape in broad daylight, and sneaking past my own guards wasn’t likely, especially with Vance acting so protective lately. If I was going to place this receiver, it had to be tonight.
I motioned for him to wait and closed the door. I dressed in what I hoped looked like local street clothes—a gray button-up shirt and dark trousers. Then I reached below the bed and grabbed the tiny receiver. About twice the size of those we’d used in EPIC, this one was supposed to be four times as powerful. Jasper had given it to me weeks before, assuming I would use it to listen in on Dresden’s secret plotting or something. He would be horrified to know my true intent for it.
Striding back through the door, I handed Chan a digital notepad from the deck in my room. “For your map.” When I turned it on, it emitted a soft blue glow that outlined Chan’s face.
He blinked and accepted it, eyeing my outfit. “You’re going somewhere.”
“I have to do this tonight. I appreciate all your help, Chan. You may have saved millions of people.” I pointed at the pad he held clutched in his hands. “Just make it as detailed as you can.”
“I’m coming with you.”
I shook my head firmly. “No. I promised Maizel. You’ve done enough.”
“You don’t want to face Maizel’s wrath, and I don’t want to face your father for letting you cross town alone at night. We’ll just have to do this quickly and return before sunrise.” He smiled, his eyes tired yet bright with excitement. “But I do insist you write a note to discourage panic in case we come back late.”
I sighed. “You won’t give in, will you?”
“No.” His grin widened, and he handed the notepad back to me. “Hurry. It’s a forty-minute trip each way. That doesn’t leave us much time.”
My note was little more than scribbles in the darkness, but hopefully it would be both vague and effective. Vance would be furious if he found it before I returned. For a moment I considered waking him and asking him to come along, but he’d already refused my plan once tonight. There was no chance he’d agree to this. By the time we finished arguing about it, the opportunity would be gone.
Chan met me at the tree. When I arrived, he’d already opened up some kind of hatch between two giant roots. It was well-hidden and completely black inside.
“Hurry,” Chan said and shoved himself down like it was a slide.
I waited until it went quiet, then sat down gingerly and pushed off just as a motor overhead gave a small whirr. The moment after I leaped through, the hole closed itself behind me.
It was far steeper than I’d expected. My stomach leaped into my throat as dirt peppered my eyes. I felt a scream gurgle in my throat, and then the slide ended and I was still falling.
Arms clasped around me as I twisted in the air. Then Chan grunted as I landed on him.
“You all right?” he asked, still on the ground.
“Fine,” I muttered, pushing to my feet and helping him up. “Not the most graceful landing. Sorry about that.”
The room was completely dark, but we were definitely on a lower level of the building. I saw no outlines of furniture, and it smelled musty, like old dirt. I tried to wipe some of the mud off my clothes, but it was no use. Even my hair felt itchy with dirt. I turned back to the ramp we’d just come down. It extended from the box Chan had described, but a series of pipes extended from the box, and metal walls encased the entire root system. So why the hatch? It was almost like a secret passageway in one of those old castles. Did Augustus know about this?
I shivered. Chan said many buildings in this area had a hatch, which meant there had to be a purpose. Acting paranoid was Vance’s thing, not mine.
“The night guards are all asleep at the door,” Chan said. “They only act alert during the day when people are watching. But we’ll still have to be quiet. Follow me.”
Chan was right. There were only two guards tonight, and both sat propped against the doorway, their heads drooping in slumber. Probably some of Augustus’s newer recruits who assumed any threats would be neutralized by the heavier security above. I didn’t ask Chan how he’d gotten through the locked door because the moment Chan reached the street, he motioned for me to follow and began to run. Glad I’d worn comfortable shoes, I raced after him.
The city looked much as it had hours before, except the pedestrians had disappeared. Transports were rare down here at this hour. They whined as they approached and then whooshed by. We turned our faces away just in case, pretending to be early-morning joggers.
So that was the pub my father had mentioned, the one where Augustus spent his nights. I’d expected it to be on the upper level of the city with all the rich people. Maybe they were preventing the wrong sort from entering and taking the lift up.
I turned my head as we passed so the soldiers wouldn’t recognize me. Chan did the same.
I occasionally glanced sideways at Chan. He kept pace with me almost stride for stride, his breathing more even than mine. He moved deliberately, almost gracefully, like an athlete. It made me realize how little I knew about the guy. He looked to be around my age. His Rating had been removed with the others’ because of my deal with Dresden, but I didn’t know how he’d become a red in the first place or where he’d met Maizel.
“Do you speak Chinese?” I asked as we ran, my breath ragged. Dirty sweat trickled down my face and into my mouth, making my lips gritty. I couldn’t wait to take a shower.
“My mother taught me Mandarin. She immigrated as a child.”
I waited for him to elaborate, but he seemed content to leave it at that.
“What does your mom think about all this? Does she know you’re here?”
“I hope not. She’s chief of the monitor force in Olympus. She’d explode if she knew I was helping the girl who will one day overthrow our emperor.”
I didn’t plan to overthrow Dresden, but now wasn’t the time to correct him. “You grew up in Olympus? I’m surprised we’ve never met before.”
“I knew who you were.”
Who I was. Which version of me had he known? Dresden’s timid girlfriend or the girl who defeated an empress? “Well,” I said, gasping for air, “I’m glad you’re here. How much farther?”
He pointed at an alley ahead of us. “There.”
When we reached it, Chan darted around the corner and disappeared into the shadows.
