Chapter Nine
Beth was waiting for her at the foot of the stairs. She was wearing her green fatigue jacket. She looked completely cool, but something in her expression made Petra's pulse leap. "There's something going on between you and the prince, isn't there?"
Petra hesitated. Her best friend knew her well. She hadn't been able to hide anything from her since they had met five years ago. "I'm not sure what it is," she admitted.
Beth looked skeptical. "You're not sure?"
Petra shrugged. She glanced around them to ensure no one was listening. "It's crazy, Beth. I think I like him."
Beth lifted an eyebrow. "Yes, I can tell. And he likes you?"
"Yeah. I think he does, but it's a little more complicated than that."
"Why?"
"Because he's the prince, and we are hoping to stage a revolt against his father, likely killing him in the process. I don't know how that's going to go for us."
Beth nodded. She threaded her arms through Petra's and led her out of the safe house into the streets. She didn't move with any urgency or fear. She seemed perfectly comfortable wandering the outlands. She did it everyday. The outlaws probably knew she was one of the Uprising; even the outlaws avoided them. "Yes, you're right. It's complicated. Even if he is on our side."
"He is!"
"You need to think about it, Petra. If he isn't on our side, he could be planning to warn his father what we're up to. It might be a trick. All of this. He could be trying to weasel out the whereabouts of the Uprising for his father."
Petra's shackles rose. "I don't think that's true. Do you really believe that?"
Beth shrugged. "It could be. I mean, we don't know anything about him but what he's done. His reputation does not exactly foster trust. Besides, we kidnapped him and lied to him. You think he just forgave us for that? Then he just comes back and wants us to help him take down his father? It seems a little...off."
Petra lifted her chin stubbornly. "I believe he's telling the truth. He helped us find this information."
Beth nodded. "Yes, he did. And it will hurt his father more than the Uprising. If you believe him, I trust your judgment. I always have. But it will not be so easy to convince the rebels."
"What about the documentation? It's proof."
"It's good. It will be a good offering to begin a conversation. And if he is on our side, he will have to be part of the fight against his father. He might have to kill Scarlet himself or see him die. It would be hard for anyone. He might think he's ready for it and realize too late he isn't. It could ruin everything."
"I know. I'm hoping somehow we can keep him out of the actual fighting. At least where his father is concerned."
Beth lifted an eyebrow. "Good luck. I don't think that will be easy. It's too late not to take it all the way now. He'll be running his entire life if we don't stop his father."
"Do you think the rebels will help us? Will they be ready to mobilize?"
Beth hesitated. "I'm not sure."
"What?" Petra looked at her in surprise. "You think they might not?"
"This information will help us get more numbers for the cause..."
Petra didn't like her tone of voice. "Aren't they ready?"
She sighed. "I can't really talk about it, Petra. I don't have all the information. I'm not a member of the inner circle. I just help gather supplies. I help where I can with random stuff."
Petra didn't think she was telling the whole truth. She didn't ask any questions, though. She only hoped what she and Grey had found would be what they needed to make their move. It was their only hope.
Beth didn't say anything else as they wove through the streets in the outlands toward the bar where they would meet Beth's contact. It looked the same outside as any other outland bar she'd been to in the last few days. It was old and crumbling, and the sign was shattered so she couldn't see what it had once been named. An air of danger hung in the atmosphere around it. Beth didn't go inside. She walked past the door into the alley around the side of the building.
There was a man standing in the alley waiting for them, as motionless as a statue. He wore a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his hair. He came to life when he heard the crunch of their boots in the debris littering the ground. He turned to them. He was younger than Petra expected. He looked no older than she or Beth. He inclined his head in greeting. Petra didn't recognize him. She had never seen him anywhere in town.
"Pablo," Beth greeted, inclining her head.
He didn't look like a Pablo. He was pale and thin. His pale blue eyes flicked to Petra. "Have you brought a new recruit?"
Petra glanced at Beth. It was her show now. Beth shook her head. "No. We have information."
"Okay."
Petra leaned closer to Beth to speak in a low voice. "You trust him not to tell anyone about Grey?"
Beth nodded. "He will not. I will speak for him. I trust him as well as I trust you."
This was good enough for Petra.
"Tell me what you know," Pablo ordered. "I will bring it back to our leader."
"You aren't the leader?" Petra blurted.
Pablo and Beth smiled at this, and Petra wondered if they were making fun of her. "No. I am his second. He is not prepared to meet with you. I will hear your information and bring it back to him."
Petra sighed. Beth nodded to her encouragingly. "Go on, Petra. You may tell him everything."
She took a deep breath, and her stomach flipped a little. She had been trying to keep Grey from the rebels since she'd found him, and now she was letting them know exactly where he was. She hoped Beth was right. "A few days ago, I found Prince Dante in an alley outside the King's Random. Someone had attacked him and left him for dead. He was badly beaten up. I brought him back to the compound and took him in."
Pablo lifted his eyebrows. "I have heard he is missing. Dante is with you?"
"Yes. He's learned that there might be a plot against him at the palace."
"The King?"
"Maybe. He might be trying to have him killed. He has been attacked by the same man twice, and it seems as though it's not going to stop until he's dead."
"What man?"
"Saer Dagon."
"The King's hit man."
"Yes."
"How did he manage to survive him twice? I don't know Saer, but I have heard of him. I understand once he is set after someone, he doesn't fail. They are as good as dead."
"Apparently Dante is very resourceful, and he has a strong will to live," Beth put in.
"But he is still the prince."
"Yes, but since he learned of the plot against him, he is prepared to join the rebels."
"Prince Dante wants to join the Uprising?" Pablo sounded almost amused.
"Yes. He believes it is the only course of action left. He cannot remain in hiding forever. Someone has to do something about the King and what's happening in this city. Who better than the one closest to the King?"
Pablo frowned. "But what does he want us to do about it?"
"Move against Scarlet. The Uprising has been building an army. You are preparing for war. It is time to move."
Pablo's expression did not change. "We are not prepared to do that."
Petra scowled. "But you have been training and preparing."
"Yes. And we are still training and preparing. We are not yet ready to launch an attack."
She felt her stomach sink in disappointment. Beth stepped forward. She drew a thick envelope from her jacket, inside which she'd slipped Petra's and Grey's evidence. "Pablo, we have information that could help us."
Pablo took the envelope. He pulled out the papers and scanned them cursorily. He did not look impressed. "What is it?"
"It's a list of people we think Scarlet is targeting for imprisonment or death."
This seemed to interest Pablo. He turned his attention back to the papers.
"There is a series of emails between the King and an anonymous address. The King rece
ives emails from the anonymous address with a single or multiple names. Subsequently, a Noble will accuse the names of treason or some other trumped up crime," Petra explained.
Pablo frowned thoughtfully. "What is the significance?"
"I believe someone is feeding the King names of people who might pose a threat and the names are going to the Nobles, who come up with a reason to get rid of them. It suggests the disappearances and false accusations are not random; the King is directing all of it. Him or whomever this email belongs to, who works for him."
"Or whom he works for. For all we know, there is some mysterious force driving all this and the King is just a figure head."
"No. Dante would know. Scarlet runs the show. He would never be someone else's pawn."
"You didn't find out who the anonymous email belongs to?"
"No, but does it matter? This proves there is a plan behind all this. And the people on the list will want to know they are probably next in line to be sent away or killed. They can't just sit by and let it happen. They will have to join you."
"It might matter. Not for your purpose, but if someone is out there picking people in the city to be taken out, it would be nice to know who they are. They could be among us even now. It could be Dante."
"It isn't Dante. If it was, why give the information to the Uprising? It certainly wouldn't give the King any advantage."
"I don't know. There is a lot we don't understand about the King's motivations. Or Dante's."
Petra scowled, but there was no point arguing. "There is another list. The people on this list have died mysteriously."
"All of them?"
"No. Some of them are still alive. Which does sort of suggest they won't be for long, doesn't it?"
Pablo lifted his eyes to her. "How did you get this?"
"Dante helped me break into the King's system."
"We've been trying to get this sort of information for a very long time."
"We could use it to get more numbers, Pablo," Beth said. "We could use it to warn the people who are in danger. It could bring more people to us. If they know something is going to happen to them, they may want to join the fight."
Pablo looked at Petra. "The prince is going to help us?"
"Yes. He will be able to help coordinate a strike. He knows about the guards and all the King's holdings. He knows who we will have to fight."
After a long, thoughtful moment, he nodded. "I will take this to our leader. We will see what he has to say about it."
Petra stepped toward him. "That isn't good enough! I need an answer. We can't keep hiding him. There are people who are looking for him."
"That is not my problem. You are the ones who took him in."
Petra looked at Beth, but her friend didn't say anything.
Pablo nodded to them. "I will take this to our leader. Beth, I will contact you." He spun away from them and strode away without saying another word.
Petra spun to Beth. Her eyes flashed. "I thought you said he would help us!"
"It doesn't mean he won't, Petra. He isn't our leader. He's his second. He will share our information. If our leader wants to meet with us, he will contact me."
She sighed. "Grey isn't going to like this."
Beth looked at her strangely. "You still call him Grey? Not Dante?"
Petra shrugged. "It suits him. He's not the same man as Prince Dante was."
"Are you sure about that?"
She considered. "I'm sure."
"I hope you're right." Beth's expression was grim. "If you're wrong, we could lose everything."
Rebel Grey Page 23
