Rift

by Heidi J. Leavitt

  “Dina!” she shrieked. “Dina, I need you!”

  I’m here, Kendra, the voice answered her at last.

  ●●●

  At first when the Armada soldiers had started to take Jenna to the ship without Kendra, she had been too much in shock to understand what it must mean. She just stubbornly dug her feet in, thinking that for some reason there was a misunderstanding, that she just had to get them to stop and listen. When Kip had accused Vanda of making a deal, it started to dawn on her that something was terribly wrong.

  That was when Lenata had shouted, bringing everything in the clearing to a halt. She had appeared practically out of nowhere and stood with her gun pressed to the captain’s head.

  Jenna’s first thought was disbelief. Lenata couldn’t have come from the ship by herself. She could barely see. How had she managed to sneak right up to the captain? Then Vanda’s words chased every other worry from Jenna’s mind: Vanda had somehow convinced the Armada soldiers to leave Kendra with the Rorans. She stared in confusion at the soldier who held her arm. If her father had sent these men to rescue them, they would never have agreed to leave Kendra behind, no matter the pleas or bribes Vanda may have offered. Jenna’s confusion only lasted a second, though.

  Lenata’s blistering voice rent the air with an accusation that explained so much and twisted Jenna’s gut with fury and fear. “These soldiers are not here to help the Forrests! They are in league with the Raviners. They work for the monster who bought them both during the auction. Admiral Leckey sent these soldiers to collect them when the Raviners were unable to deliver.”

  Admiral Leckey was the sick pervert who had paid a fortune for her? Leckey was a rival of her father’s—a fellow officer that her father not-so-politely despised.

  Suddenly, the soldier at Jenna’s side drew his weapon and fired, hitting Lenata multiple times in the chest. Lenata collapsed to the ground, her eyes wide with the pain and shock. Then a spear buried itself in the murderer’s stomach, and the momentum pitched his body into Jenna. She stumbled to the side and then tried to dart away. Violence erupted all around her; the soldiers fired their guns, some guards hurled spears, and more guards launched themselves at the soldiers, using their spears to knock guns to the ground. Jenna had to find a way out of this. She had to find Kendra, and she had to hide.

  Neither the Rorans nor the soldiers could be trusted.

  Just when she thought she might break through to the trees, a soldier grabbed her arm and brutally yanked it up and back. An involuntary scream tore from her throat, and she collapsed. The soldier grabbed her shoulder, and a red wave of pain shot up her shoulder and made her vision blur.

  Unexpectedly, the pressure from his hand disappeared, and she gasped in relief. Her arm still throbbed—something had to be torn, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was finding Kendra and escaping this nightmare. She lurched back to her feet, not even glancing behind her, and stumbled forward a few steps, still hoping to reach the trees. But then another soldier was in front of her, blocking her way, and she tried to swerve away from him, but he grabbed her by both arms. The pain lanced up her injured arm again, and for a second she thought she was going to vomit. Then he was trying to drag her toward the ship again, and her adrenaline surged. Desperately she kicked out at him, connecting with his shin. He stumbled back, and she kicked again, this time managing to get one side of her body free from his grasp. She yanked around, trying to pull herself completely free of his grip.

  Just as she turned, she saw the captain raising his gun. He steadied his hand with his other arm, and she had just a moment to realize that he was aiming at her when a gust of wind slammed into them. The soldier holding her staggered, dropping Jenna to the ground. She pitched forward onto her hands, gasping in agony at the jar to her injured arm. Turning to the right, she saw Kendra at last. Her daughter was kneeling by Kip, who was sprawled on the ground only a short distance away. Jenna blinked, the wind making her eyes water, then watched in horror as Kendra stood and closed her eyes. Jenna opened her mouth to scream at her daughter to run, to get down, anything that would keep her safe, but then a voice shouted, “Sola! Left!” The soldier on the ground beside her rolled away, and Jenna looked up to find the captain standing only a couple of meters away, his gun aimed right at Jenna’s head.

  I’m going to die, she thought stupidly. After everything.

  Suddenly, the wind whipped dirt and leaves and debris into eddies, and then the hair of Jenna’s arms lifted, and the air felt oppressively charged. The lightning crashed with an immediate boom that deafened her and thrust her backward. The captain collapsed in a heap, his uniform smoking. People screamed, dust was flying, the air smelled of roasting flesh and ozone, and then a distant rumbling grew louder and louder. Jenna dragged herself to her feet and stumbled toward Kendra, fighting against the wind. Kendra was frozen with her eyes closed, and her arms were raised to the sky as if she were inviting the wind and the storm to come straight to her.

  The ground beneath Jenna began to shake terribly, and she careened to the right, her stomach threatening to rebel again. She pressed on desperately—she just had to reach Kendra before something terrible happened. Just as she tottered to Kendra’s side, the ground split open with an almighty crack, and the Armada ship tumbled out of view. Clouds of dust billowed, and Jenna coughed uncontrollably. She put her arms around Kendra and held her.

  “It’s OK,” she whispered to her daughter. “Everything’s going to be OK. You need to stop now. Do you hear me, Kendra? Stop. Please.”

  After another long minute of howling winds, deafening thunder, and violent ground shaking, Kendra opened her eyes.

  “Mommy?” she asked, her voice trembling.

  The ground stopped shaking first.

  “Kendra!” Jenna stopped and took a deep breath, trying to sound as calm as possible. “Everything is all right now. Can you make it stop? The storm?”

  Kendra looked at her blankly for a moment, and then she said, “Dina?”

  The lightning flashed one last time, and then the winds ceased abruptly. Everything was unnaturally still.

  Jenna sighed in relief and tightened her arms around her daughter, the tears finally spilling down her cheeks.

  “You are a Speaker!”

  Jenna turned to see the councilmember named Bolasco standing a few paces away, staring at Kendra with undisguised admiration. Other Rorans were getting to their feet and reappearing from behind the huts where they had presumably taken shelter during the sudden maelstrom. They moved forward, surrounding Jenna and Kendra. Jenna looked wildly for any of the Armada soldiers and saw only one still standing. He was warily backing away from the sunken hole that had swallowed their ship.

  The crowd parted, and Torben marched toward them, his eyes wide with shock. Jenna instinctively stepped in front of Kendra, but Torben merely reached around her and took Kendra’s hand.

  “Speaker,” he whispered gently. “Come with me.” Then he tugged at Kendra’s hand, leading her back to the edge of the looming crater where the ship had fallen in. Vanda knelt over Lenata’s body, gently stroking her daughter’s marble cheek. She glanced up at them and saw Torben and Kendra with Jenna anxiously hovering at Kendra’s other side.

  Vanda slowly stood, looking as regal as if the storm hadn’t touched her at all. She moved until she stood directly in front of Kendra, and then she knelt gracefully. “Hail, Speaker!” she pronounced, her voice resonating through the quiet clearing. All around them, the Rorans began dropping to their knees.

  “Hail, Speaker!” they repeated.

  Kendra stared out over them and timidly raised a hand.

  “Hail, Speaker!” they shouted enthusiastically.

  Vanda’s voice rang through the crowd again. “The Speaker will now tell us the will of The Planet!”

  Oh fantastic, Jenna thought bleakly. She looked down at Kendra, who smiled up at her a
nd squeezed her hand.

  51. Negotiation

  A few minutes later, Jenna stood in the living area of a nearby hut, her hand on Kendra’s shoulder. They were alone except for Torben. “Would you like something to drink?” he offered Kendra eagerly. She shook her head wearily and leaned back into her mother. Jenna looked down at her and gently tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.

  “What about you, Mrs. Forrest?” he asked.

  “No, thank you,” she said. In truth she was parched—it had been hours since her last swallow of water. But she wanted answers more, and she didn’t want Torben disappearing before she got some.

  “Where is Kip?” she asked. The last she had seen of him, two guards had been lifting him onto a flimsy-looking stretcher.

  “He is being treated by our healer. She is very busy, but I assure you he is being as well taken care of as any villager.”

  Jenna hoped that was true. She probably owed her life to Kip again. She was racking up quite a debt to him.

  “And Vanda?” she asked, a little warily.

  “Tending to Lenata’s body. We will hold the burial ceremonies at dusk. We suffered a grave loss today. Ten of our men in their prime as well as Lenata. They will all be honored for their sacrifices.” Torben’s voice was somber, and with good reason. Losing so many men in such as small community as this would mean serious hardship. Still, after everything Jenna had been through, she was struggling to dig up sympathy. Some of those men had dragged her through the forest and tied her up in a corral of pigs. Vanda had lost her daughter, yes, but she had essentially tried to steal Kendra by sending Jenna away alone with the soldiers.

  Though, she grudgingly admitted to herself, Lenata had saved her in the end.

  “How did Lenata make it back to the village?” she asked. “I last saw her at the ship.” Too late she realized that she had just contradicted her own story about having been stolen out of the village by the Raviners. She bit her lip, wondering how much Torben knew about what had really happened. Did he know that Vanda had tried to help them escape?

  Torben thoughtfully studied her face. “Apparently she had her own run-in with a Raviner. She overpowered him and convinced him to talk. When she learned that Admiral Leckey was sending out a squad to pick you up, she made him lead her back to the village, though they didn’t arrive until the Armada ship had already landed. A Guardian found them at the edge of the forest and brought them to me, since Vanda was meeting with the Armada captain.”

  “And she told you about Admiral Leckey?”

  “Yes,” Torben agreed. He sighed deeply. “You may be an Outsider, but I could not let you go with him. I knew as well that the soldiers were a more serious threat than Vanda believed. I ordered the rest of the Guardians into position to defend us if needed.”

  “Your shadow warned you, didn’t it?” Kendra said suddenly. She was staring at Torben with wide eyes.

  Torben’s mouth fell open. He closed it immediately.

  “Yes,” he whispered.

  Kendra nodded. “Dina says your shadow is powerful and wise.”

  Before Torben could respond, the door opened, and a vaguely familiar woman strode into the hut.

  “Councilor Blackrock,” greeted Torben. His eyes fixed on the door for a long moment, but the councilwoman seemed oblivious to Torben’s hinted reprimand for her abrupt entrance.

  “The ship is completely disabled,” Blackrock said, striding to the far side of the hut and staring out of one of Torben’s two windows. “Six of the Armada soldiers survived, and we have them locked up. But another squad or more is probably on its way right now. We need to evacuate the village. Counselor Voelker refuses, but we can overrule her. Council Roran agrees with me. He feels we should execute that woman right now before we go.” She turned back from the window and jabbed a thumb at Jenna.

  “Blackrock!” Torben was visibly rattled.

  The councilwoman shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to me either way. We don’t need another mouth to feed, and she was condemned yesterday.”

  “But . . .” protested Torben.

  “Or we could use her to bargain with the Armada,” said Blackrock thoughtfully, tapping the wall. “That Admiral Leckey might leave us alone if we hand her over.”

  “You leave my mother alone!” Kendra said fiercely.

  Everyone froze and looked at the small girl who stood with her feet spread.

  “You will not kill my mother. You will not hand her over to this horrible admiral.” Then she lifted a finger and pointed primly at the ceiling. “Besides, a ship is already here. And Dina says it is not from the Armada.”

  At that exact moment, the door flew open and a guard flew in.

  “Councilors!” he gasped. “There is another ship!”

  Kendra smiled widely. “My daddy is on that ship.”

  Jenna didn’t wait for permission to leave. She grabbed Kendra’s hand and flew toward the door. Behind her, she heard Torben call out, and she thought maybe Blackrock was swearing, but she didn’t even look back. She sidestepped the winded guard and darted through the doorway, Kendra right at her side. Outside she paused just long enough to eagerly search the skies, but they were empty.

  “That way.” Kendra pointed, and Jenna didn’t even question her daughter’s information. All around them, Rorans rushed from their huts, carrying baskets of belongings, heading the opposite direction from where Kendra thought the ship was. Jenna took that as a good sign. She started through the village, weaving among the huts, ignoring the villagers that shouted questions and pleas at the Speaker. After passing a few huts, she started to see a few guards, spears in hand, running in the same direction. Jenna took a deep breath and pushed forward, hoping Kendra could keep the pace up. She had to get there before any of the guards did anything rash.

  When she rounded the last hut at the edge of the village, Floyd Roran jogged into view around the other side at the same exact time and shouted a command. Immediately, almost a dozen guards raised their spears and stood poised to hurl them at the small group in front of the ship. She pushed her way between two of the guards and ducked under a spear, still clutching her daughter’s hand. Five men stood in front of the ship’s ramp, weapons drawn. Three of them she didn’t recognize, though she noted they weren’t Armada soldiers. The fourth was Grier Nuris, Jimmy’s old bodyguard.

  In the center Jimmy stood defiantly, a gun aimed directly at the guard across from him.

  “Wait!” Jenna screamed. “Don’t!”

  All five men turned in her direction. The guard behind her yanked her backward and pressed a hunting knife to her throat. Jenna froze instantly, remembering the Roran tendency to poison their blades.

  “Jenna?” Jimmy’s voice was hoarse. “Kendra?”

  “Drop your weapons!” commanded Floyd as he strode to the forefront of the line of guards.

  “You first.” Grier’s voice was calm, but it carried across the field.

  “You are invading our land. Disarm, or we will attack!” Floyd demanded.

  “We’re just here for Mrs. Forrest and her daughter. Let them come to us, and we will leave you in peace.”

  There was a tense silence. Jenna hungrily studied her husband. He looked all right—he had dark rings of exhaustion around his eyes, and he desperately needed a shave, but she had never seen such a beautiful sight in her life. Only a short distance away, yet there might as well be a chasm between them.

  Inker Roran and the Blackrock lady—two members of that council that had condemned Jenna to death—made their way to the front of the guards. Torben finally made it to the clearing; Jenna spotted him taking a place at Inker’s side, even though he was still wheezing from the dash from his hut.

  “I am Inker Roran. I speak on behalf of the Council,” he said, addressing himself to Grier.

  “Great,” Grier said, without a hint a sarcasm. “Then you
have the authority to tell these men to let the Forrest ladies join us, and you won’t have any trouble from us. If they don’t . . .” Grier let the sentence hang in the air, but his stance shifted just enough to direct his weapon straight at Inker.

  “Stalemate,” Inker said thoughtfully. His eyes flicked toward Jenna just for a moment.

  “The Speaker stays here,” Blackrock said forcefully. “Let them have the other.”

  Grier cocked an eyebrow, and Jimmy asked, “What is a speaker?”

  Inker ignored both his fellow councilmember and Jimmy. She could tell he was debating his options. He clearly placed no value in Jenna, but did that mean he would choose to send her to Jimmy? He had to know they would never leave without Kendra, though. Perhaps the guard holding her hostage sensed that. The knife pressed more firmly against her neck, and Jenna flinched.

  Suddenly, Vanda arrived in the clearing. Her face was drawn, and her eyes were swollen. She didn’t even glance in Jenna’s direction.

  “Roran,” she said, her lips thin. “I am the head of the Council. I will handle this.” The two of them exchanged icy stares. There was a history here, Jenna realized. Roran and Vanda did not see eye to eye. Perhaps it had only been because of the troubled marriage between their children—or perhaps it had been something more.

  Roran dropped his eyes first, ceding ground in their silent power struggle. He stepped back and gestured toward Vanda. She straightened her spine and stood with feet planted wide, apparently unconcerned with the guns aimed at her people.

  “This is not a negotiation,” she said, her voice loud and confident. “We are grateful to return Mrs. Forrest to her home and family.”

  “What?!” exclaimed Blackrock. “But Vanda . . .” Vanda continued speaking as if Blackrock hadn’t interrupted her. “However, Kendra is a Speaker and must stay here. She is one of us now. This is her destiny.”