by Jaleta Clegg
"Me," I said grimly. "Let's go find out where our backup is."
It was my turn to carry her. She leaned heavily on me, limping badly on her injured leg. She grimaced in pain but kept going as we picked our way back outside. Neither of us commented on the bodies sprawled in the halls. Most of them had been shot through the left eye. We made it to the street before Paltronis said anything.
"Lowell said you were good. He didn't say how good."
"After Xqtl, I hoped I'd never have to shoot anyone again."
She didn't say anything more. She limped in silence down the street, her arm over my shoulders.
We saw no sign of our backup patrol until we reached Rian's headquarters. They looked very surprised to see us. We didn't miss the looks they gave each other as we limped through the door.
"Rian set us up," Paltronis muttered. "They're trying to get rid of us."
"All they have to do is ask," I said. "And let us into the port."
"I think we know too much."
"Scholar definitely does."
I helped her sit on one of the few chairs that still had all four legs. She stretched out her bloody leg, wincing as the muscles pulled. Fresh blood welled up. I peeled back the fabric of her leggings.
"The pellet needs to come out," she told me. "There's a medkit here somewhere."
"And people who know how to use it." I stood. "I'm going to find help. And then I'm going to find some answers."
I looked around the crowded room. No one would look at me, it was as if I didn't exist. I felt my temper rising. I'd had enough of them and their rebellion and their world. I'd had enough a long time before.
"Where's the medic?" I asked.
She hurried from a back room, a tall willowy woman with hair chopped short and gray eyes that had seen too much lately. She knelt beside Paltronis without acknowledging I was even there.
It was as good as I could hope for.
I crossed the room to the inside door. People moved out of my way, as if my touch were poison. No one tried to stop me as I climbed the stairs inside the old orphanage. Rian had taken over the director's rooms on the third floor, the largest bedroom in the place. I went to the door and opened it without bothering to knock.
She stood at the window, watching the rain fall. She didn't turn around. I stepped in and shut the door in her guard's face.
"Yes?" She stared out into the rain, her hand playing with a medallion she wore around her neck.
"We were ambushed," I said sharply. "And the rest of our team seemed very surprised to see us come back alive."
Rian turned to face me, her dress rustling around her. "And you think I planned it?"
"If you want to get rid of us, all you have to do is let us into the port."
"You are much too useful. Your legend is growing. The daughter of Lirondalla Muberretton, the doomed leader of the first rebellion. Her daughter is proving much more formidable. A warrior of the Patrol, chosen one of the Forest Spirits of the mountains, hero to the villagers and the common people, avenger of past wrongs. You carry powers within you that none have ever believed possible."
"If I'm such a hero, why do they avoid me? Why do they watch me with fear and suspicion?"
"Because they are uneducated. They can't appreciate the promise you bring." She smiled a secretive smile. "Shadowing knows your value to the cause. What happened today was a mistake."
I shook my head. "It was deliberate, Rian." I rubbed my head, trying to ease a sudden pounding headache. "Just let us go. Fight all you want, but I don't want to be part of it."
"But you are. You've been part of it since you first set foot on Tivor again. If you didn't want to be part of the rebellion, why did you come back?"
"Because I wasn't given a choice. You aren't giving me much of a choice either."
"You can leave whenever you choose. But you won't make it to that ship alive."
The threat hung in the air between us. My headache grew worse. I felt her emotions eating at me.
She sensed her triumph and gloated in it. She stepped towards me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Our victory is almost here. Don't despair. Don't doubt. Shadowing has led us to victory. Within days, Kuran will fall, along with the other tyrants who would rule by force. Tivor will truly be free then."
I stared at her, wondering if she'd gone loony. She smiled again, a brilliant smile of love for everyone. Or so she wanted people to believe. I wasn't sure if it was fake or sincere. She blinded me with her other tangles of emotions.
"Isn't that what you taught?" she asked. "Zeresthina, the true leader of our revolt. We should make a statue of you. After all this is over. You were the one who taught us about freedom and equality."
She pushed me back to the door as she talked. I let her. She was definitely a few wires short of a circuit. She was scaring me.
"I will speak with the others," she said as she pulled the door open.
I didn't comment. I escaped while I could, at least from her room. I resolved to find Scholar and Paltronis and run away as soon as we could. Rian was a fanatic. Kuran was just as bad. Between them, they would tear Tivor apart and nobody would be left to enjoy their new freedoms.
Chapter 42
They marched into the city two days later, soldiers and refugees from the farms. It started with only a few. They moved with purpose, coming in from the railroad lines, walking into Milaga. They were tired, worn and tattered. Their faces were set. They had come to resolve matters once and for all.
Rian was there to watch them, standing in a window high in what had once been an apartment building near the edge of town. The fickle weather of late winter was warm that day, clear, sunny and bright.
"And so it begins," she said, when the ragged band came into view.
She turned to her second in command, Lief's replacement. He nodded without needing orders. He already knew what to do. He left the room.
Rian stood in silence, alone. Within the hour, Milaga would once again be alive with people. Those in hiding would come out, joining the growing mob marching on the government buildings, Kuran's stronghold.
She regretted the fact that Kuran had not died in the confusion Dace had caused. She had reports Atera had gone mad, searching for Kuran to kill him, but Kuran had not been there. Atera had been shot by his own people.
Rumor also said Shaydoc was dead, poisoned by Kuran, although any who dared even whisper a hint of that disappeared. Kuran ruled with terror and a tight fist. But he only ruled a small compound of buildings. Rian and Shadowing ruled the rest of Milaga. No one ruled the outlying areas.
That would change soon. Once she had Milaga in her hand, she would turn to the villages and farms. They would listen to her, they would join. Tivor would truly be free then. She saw no need for the Empire or the Federation. Tivor was rich enough in land and resources to support itself. All it needed was guidance from someone with vision.
She didn't want to be ruler for life. No, that position had proven too dangerous. Rian wanted only to be remembered. In a good way, of course. Shadowing's commander, the one who had finally freed Tivor from the despotic rule of the Inner Congress. The one who had thrown off the shackles of the Empire. Yes, that would do.
The ragged people from the farms reached the street below her. As planned, a few of her people came out of nearby buildings to join them. Others followed.
Rian watched until they turned out of sight. She hurried out of the building, cutting through the maze of alleys to another vantage point.
They came out of the shadows of a tall building, into the sunlight of the street where she waited. Their numbers had swelled. Someone caught sight of her and shouted. The others picked up the cry.
"Shadowing!" It echoed from the buildings.
"Tivor!" someone else added. "Freedom!"
That was the chant the crowd picked up. Over and over, "Tivor! Freedom!"
They marched in step, united by the echoing chant. Rian smiled and joined them, marching at the front. Her voice
rang out loud and clear with the others.
The movement built and flowed. People joined them from every building. She saw more than one face covered with tears as they shouted their hearts out. Someone handed her a makeshift flag tied to a broom. She held it high, waving it in time to the chant.
She was buoyed up, carried on the flood of people, swept along in front of them as they marched to the center of the city.
And overhead the sun beamed down, a blessing on them. She couldn't have planned it more perfectly.
They passed the street leading to the orphanage. More of her people poured out of the street, joining the stream of people. She marched, chanting with the others and waving her flag, leading her people to freedom.
She saw Dace, and the other two Patrol agents, as they were herded by her people. They would be where she planned when she planned. She smiled and shouted and felt her heart singing.
The people around her saw Dace, Zeresthina Dasmuller, daughter and heir of the last great leader of the rebellion. They shouted as they pushed her to the front. Rian moved to the side, letting them push Dace into the lead position. Let her take her mother's place. Only this time, even if she died as her mother had, Tivor would be free. The people would triumph.
She couldn't read the expression on Dace's face. Tears streaked her face. She held her head high, chanting with the others. It was as if the crowd's emotions fed her, as if she took the emotions and magnified them and gave them back. Rian felt the eddy of emotion swirl around her and smiled.
When Dace had returned from the mountains, Rian had been afraid. Dace had been wild, her eyes full of power and madness. Rian found the key to controlling her through drugs and Dace's friends. Rian harnessed that wildness, turned it to a weapon for the rebellion. Who would have guessed that Tivor could produce a psychic of such strength? And not just mental powers, Dace was one of those rare empaths, powerful enough to control an entire city of people. Rian was pleased that it worked both ways. Dace was caught in the crowd's emotions as much as they were caught in hers.
The only blemish on the day was the stocky woman at Dace's shoulder. Paltronis, the Patrol agent who was Dace's shadow. Rian was unsure how to handle her. Her only concern seemed to be Dace's safety. There was time to deal with that later. Rian let herself be swept up by the crowd and the heady exhilaration of the moment.
They marched down the streets, through the sun, to the wide plaza in front of Kuran's stronghold. Dace was in the front. Rian stayed near her, just behind her shoulder. Paltronis marched grimly on her other side.
Kuran's forces waited for them, a solid front of uniforms and weapons. Dace slowed. The crowd behind her slowed, shuffling to a halt. Their last shouts echoed and died, leaving the plaza in silence. Dace stood three paces in front of the rest, facing the wall of soldiers.
The world was still, holding its breath, waiting. Violence or peace, either was possible. The future hung in the balance. And Dace held that balance in her hands.
Rian moved to stand behind her. Dace gave no indication she even knew Rian was there, her attention was centered on the man standing at the door of the building, above his troops. Kuran's face was pale and angry. He would fire on them soon, killing without mercy. It was time for Rian to make her final play.
"People of Tivor," she shouted. She felt their attention shift to her. "Twenty five years ago, we rose up to protest the tyranny of our leaders. Shadowing was there to lead us."
"Shadowing is dead," Kuran shouted. "If he ever existed. A myth, a story. You will return to your homes or you will die."
"We have no homes!" The voice came from the back of the plaza. There was a ripple of angry muttering through the crowd. She was losing them.
"Shadowing was real," Rian shouted. "Yes, Shadowing died in the riots twenty five years ago."
"But you claimed to be Shadowing's commander," someone near her shouted. "Who's orders were we following?"
"Shadowing has returned!" Rian's voice rang in a sudden silence. She turned to Dace, stepping back to leave the other woman standing alone. She felt their attention shift to Dace, felt Dace's confusion at the sudden change.
"Her mother was Shadowing, leader of the resistance," Rian didn't have to shout in the stillness, her voice carried clearly. "She came to finish what her mother started. Shadowing has come to free her people."
She stepped forward and lifted Dace's hand high in her own. Dace stared at her, shocked and surprised and confused. The echoes of the crowd's emotions were reflected in her eyes, mixed with her own.
"Smile," Rian whispered to her. "I've made a hero of you and your mother."
"Freedom!" a man shouted behind them. "Tivor!"
The chant swept through the crowd faster than fire through dry grass. The sound echoed from the buildings. Rian saw the change in Dace's face, the blankness in her eyes as the crowd overwhelmed her with their emotions. Rian turned her to face the soldiers. Dace shook herself, a shudder that rippled head to toe. Rian let her hand go and stepped back.
Dace closed her eyes and walked forward, her hands held out to her sides. The soldiers hesitated, their weapons wavering. Rian couldn't have planned it better. Dace wore the simple clothes of a laborer. She had no weapons, nothing but herself. It was almost ironic. Her powers were more than a match for any weapon.
Dace kept walking forward, a slow step at a time. The chanting of the crowd grew to a frenzy. The soldiers lowered their weapons. Their commanders cursed them. One man raised a gun, taking aim. The soldiers next to him turned on him. The man disappeared under a sudden surge of soldiers.
It was as if they had given a signal. The soldiers turned on their officers. Kuran turned for the door. He wasn't fast enough. The mob broke and rushed forward to join the soldiers.
Rian was jostled as they shoved past her. Dace stood near the stairs, her hands out and her face raised to the sun. Her eyes were closed. In the confused rush, she was left untouched, standing alone, as if an invisible barrier kept her from the others. Rian could taste the emotions that surged and eddied around her. The power in the air was electric.
The officers were down. Kuran was dead, or soon would be. It was time to take control before the mob tore Milaga to pieces and killed each other. Dace was too dangerous.
Rian stepped into the empty space around the small woman. She reached cautiously for Dace's hands, moving to face her. Her touch was light. Dace's eyes snapped open, her head lowering. She stared at Rian, but her eyes full of the violence of the mob.
"Zeresthina," Rian called to her, willing the woman to answer, to break free of the grip of the mob's emotions. Dace's eyes remained blank. "Dace," Rian said, more urgently. She didn't want to have to kill her. The mob might turn on her if she did.
Paltronis saw what she was trying to do. Her icy glare froze Rian on the spot. She touched Dace's shoulder. Dace shivered and blinked.
"You have to control them," Rian said.
"I can't," Dace said, her voice small, like a child's.
"Dace," Paltronis said, "you have to." She turned Dace's face to her own. There was a moment of wordless communication between them.
Dace nodded and closed her eyes. She pulled her hands from Rian's, letting Paltronis take them instead.
The emotions of earlier, the marching chant and drawing power, changed to a call to put violence aside. The change was subtle, a slow shift from anger and revenge to forgiveness and the promise of peace.
Rian felt the change in the air around her. The shouts and screams faded. The crowd shifted restlessly. Some backed away in stunned surprise from those they had been intent on killing only moments earlier. There were some tears, as former enemies were reconciled. Rian was impressed, and a little frightened. Dace was too powerful. She would have to be dealt with. But not now, not with the volatile mob waiting.
"Today is the first day of our freedom," Rian shouted. "Let us not mar it with blood, but let us begin with a gesture of reconciliation. Let us build our world together. Today we will begi
n rebuilding our world. A united Tivor! A free Tivor!"
Her words rang in the air.
"Freedom! Tivor!" the crowd took up the chant.
"Shadowing!" someone else added.
And suddenly they were cheering Dace. The mob's feelings ran high. Someone called for her to be their leader, to elect Dace as Citizen Prime. Rian had lost control.
Dace raised her hands. There was sudden quiet. "Not me," she said. Though she spoke barely above a whisper, her voice carried to every person in the plaza. "Elect one of your own, someone who can lead you better than I ever could."
She looked over her shoulder at Rian. No one could have mistaken that look. Rian put an expression of surprise, gratitude, and commitment on her face. She let Dace fade into the background as the crowd turned their attention to her. She raised her hands. Dace wavered, as if her legs were giving out. Paltronis was there to support her. Rian took one step up the stairs in front of the building.
"Don't be hasty," she said. "Let us wait to elect a leader. At least until we have our situation sorted out. Let us wait until we let the others know what has happened. There are those still on the farms, and those in the mountains. I will continue to lead you, in Shadowing's name, until the will of the people is known. The true will of all the people of Tivor."
Her statement was met with cheers. She had one last gesture to make. She held her hand to Dace, smiling down at her. Dace read what she wanted in her face.
"One last gesture," she said quietly when Dace hesitated.
Dace took her hand, let her pull her onto the step beside her. The crowd shouted their approval. Rian lifted their clasped hands into the air.
"Tivor and freedom!" she shouted.
The crowd shouted their approval in a roar that shook the buildings.
Chapter 43
"This is ridiculous," Paltronis muttered as she paced.
I sat in the deep windowsill of one of the upper rooms in the government building. It had been hastily furnished as a bedroom. I shared it with Paltronis. Rian had guards outside the door, presumably for our protection. We both knew better.
