"You think I'd leave you? Aliah, you're my best friend. Overbearing and overprotective, but still my best friend. I wouldn't leave you." She smiled a small smile that made her look sad and tired. He wanted to remove the sadness, he wanted the vibrant life-loving Shai back.
The thought startled him. When had he known her to be anything but closed off? When had she ever been vibrant?
He looked at her standing there with the pink sky behind her and he remembered. It wasn't much of a memory, maybe more of a feeling. Remiel was right. He'd loved her. Sometime past, someplace else when he'd known love. He wished he could feel it again.
"Hey, you two! I caught our breakfast!" Remiel came towards them wearing a silly grin and holding up a string with three small fish tied to the end.
Shai laughed and walked quickly to Remiel, stepping over roots and rocks. "I thought you were going hunting not fishing!"
"There's a difference?" Remiel smiled again. He looked as though he'd slept well on the hard ground. His eyes were bright and energetic. But Aliah knew differently. Aliah had tossed and turned and every time he woke up he saw Remiel laying with his arms behind his head staring at the stars. He likely never slept.
Shai and Remiel stopped chattering and laughing then turned around to face Aliah. "You coming?" Shai smiled at him, her expression more open than he'd ever seen.
Aliah nodded. "I guess I have to. It's my turn to cook unless you want to eat those things raw." A strange nostalgic feeling came over him. They'd once been happy.
The three of them. Together.
CHAPTER 49
Shai
She could stay here forever. Being around Remiel brought her a peace that reached into the deepest hopelessness and held her together. But nothing good ever lasted, so while it was here she didn't want to say or do anything to destroy it. But she was also anxious to get to Sector Seven to meet Elchai and ask about his sons, especially the Son of Thunder.
The more she thought about the Three Worlds and the veil between them the more hope began to break through the shadow of despair she had been living in. Somehow my Old World dreams and the ripple Remiel talked about are connected. But before she decided whether or not to believe in the Son of Thunder story, she wanted to talk to Elchai.
"Two hours left." Remiel's voice cut through the stillness of the afternoon.
"What?" Shai and Aliah asked at the same time. She exchanged glances with Aliah as Remiel walked a few paces ahead. They'd been hiking over rough terrain for the past several hours and her back ached. She stopped and tossed her bag on the ground then sat on a large rock. Aliah also sat, choosing a large boulder near Shai. His face sober. He looked older than his eighteen years.
"What about two hours?" Shai's throat got tight. She tried swallowing, but coughed instead.
Remiel stopped and turned around to join them. "That's how soon you'll reach Sector Seven."
"Soon isn't soon enough. I'm not used to this heat." Shai fanned her face with her hand and grabbed a drink of water from the near-empty canteen. Aliah said nothing, but she noticed an odd look on his face.
Remiel walked lightly across the stones to sit beside Aliah. "How much are you remembering?" Remiel leaned toward Aliah, his eyes intense as he watched Aliah's face.
"I'm remembering more than I care to." Aliah sat with his forearms resting on his knees the way she'd seen Remiel often sit. He leaned forward and put his head down, letting his pendant dangle from his neck. The sun caught the jewel, as red as the one on the key she'd lost. She still couldn't bring herself to tell Remiel she'd left it behind.
Remiel put his hand on Aliah's shoulder then looked at Shai. The sun on his face made him appear ethereal, his eyes so pale they were nearly transparent.
"Everyone's perception is based on what they believe. The things he thought he believed about Lael are changing. He’s letting go and memories of former things are returning. He'd do better without that pendant though."
Remiel stood on the rock he'd been sitting on and looked West then pointed. "That's Sector Seven. You can see it from here."
Shai climbed up next to him and saw smoke rising in the distance.
"The smoke comes from the metal-working Factories that surround the community." Remiel stepped down from the rock and held out his hand to help Shai.
Shai still hesitated to deliberately touch him. The memory of the last time they’d touched still lingered.
"It's alright. You can take my hand. This is different than touching me through the ripple." His boyish grin convinced her so she took his hand and stepped down. "If you leave now you'll reach Kent before nightfall."
Shai glanced at Aliah. He'd heard it too.
"We will get there before nightfall? What about you?" Aliah looked up, his features clouded by an unseen shadow.
Remiel shook his head. "I have an appointment with Samael. I will be going to Gershom. Alone."
"Gershom? But why? You told me to get the Book, but I don't know how. I don't even know where to look for it." Shai’s palms grew moist. She couldn't go to Kent without Remiel. She didn't completely trust Aliah's motives for wanting to go to Kent, since he still never spoke about the Book. And his strange behavior lately made her edgy. Even now he sat moping on the rock while she stood still holding Remiel's hand.
She looked down at their clasped hands, hers and Remiel's. He gave her fingers a squeeze then released her.
"You can do it, Shai. Go with Aliah. He's remembering more than he cares to right now, but when the pain of those memories goes away he'll do the right thing." He looked deeper into her eyes, so deep she wanted to look away but couldn't. He could pull her in without touching her. "You can trust him. He won't prevent you from finding the Book. He'll protect you. Even with his life."
"But when will we see you again?" She bit down on her bottom lip.
"In two hours you'll see me no more. But when you find the Book it will reveal more than I can explain to you right now."
Remiel started walking over the jagged bed of stones. He climbed over a large boulder then disappeared over the other side. Shai watched, unwilling to move. All the fight had left her. She had no key, Remiel would soon leave them, and Aliah still sat hunched over, his pendant swinging back and forth on its chain around his neck.
"He thinks we'll find the Book in Kent but he's wrong." Aliah spoke to the ground. The back of his neck had begun to turn red from the sun. She noticed earlier the pale skin below the collar of his sweater, but above that the skin was now a sun-kissed bronze.
"How do you know the Book's not in Kent?" She asked his bent head.
"It was in Conley. I was there during the raid, the fire... the Watchers started it."
Shai's chest squeezed at Aliah’s admission. “And?”
"And I saw the Book in the Supply House. Akan was looking at it. He told me to take it just as Mallak and his men showed up. Ava's little brother came at me with a knife." He chuckled softly. "Good fighter that one, but he could've been killed." Aliah looked up at her and his eyes glistened. "I tore a page from the Book before Akan took it."
She tried to imagine her best friend fighting off a young boy then running through the Borderless with other Watchers, setting fires. She stared at his head. The dark hair that glistened in the sun and curled along the back of his neck and around his ears. Who are you? How was it possible that someone she had known her whole life was someone else entirely?
She didn't know this Aliah, the one they called Ace: Watcher of Lael. His face was crossed with shadows, making his bright green eyes dark even in sunlight, his face was closed with a thousand secrets. He looked up at her and his eyes shone with tears. You should feel bad. You’ve lied to me. Kept things from me. Some things she'd forgiven him for, but she still wanted to be angry with him for other things. She rubbed the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "Who's Akan?"
"He’s the Head Watcher." Aliah shook his head and the movement made a tear spill out of his eye. "You wouldn't know him. He's not from
Lael. He's a Gershomite." He swiped at his cheek.
Shai turned her face away. A Gershomite? That was little comfort. "So you think this Akan has the Book in Gershom?"
"That's my guess. He said Samael wanted it."
A tightness threatened to close Shai's throat. She swallowed. "And you just let him have it?"
Aliah shifted on his rock and scratched idly at a bug bite on his arm. "It wasn't like that." He waved a hand dismissively. "But that doesn't matter now. All I know is the Book's not in Kent. And if Remiel is going to Gershom, we're going with him." He stood up and shielded his face from the sun with his hand, looking in the direction Remiel went.
A mixture of relief and dread washed over Shai. Being with Remiel made her feel safe, but traveling to Gershom seemed like a death sentence. She didn’t even know where Gershom was.
She watched a fly swarm in lazy circles around her head before swatting it away. As long as I am with Remiel, I don’t care where I go.
She stared at Aliah's back with the rocky landscape stretching beyond. His sweater clung to his sweaty back in transparent patches. The tips of his shoulder blades stood out like wings as he stood with his hands behind his back. His posture hinted at the confident Aliah of Lael she knew. She crossed her arms and tried to hold onto the anger that had already begun to dissipate.
"Why do you think the Book was taken from Lael? Who'd want it anyway? From what Sil told me, it's just full of names from the Readings and some pictures."
Aliah didn't answer, but stepped carefully off the rock. He slung his bag over his shoulder and followed the path Remiel had taken. The energy had gone from his step just like the fire had died from his eyes. So full of secrets. And whatever those secrets were, they looked as though they had strength enough to kill him. She grabbed her bag too and sighed as she followed after him.
They had nearly caught up to Remiel, when Aliah finally spoke, the shadows on his face deepened the lines around his eyes. She wondered if he had been getting enough sleep.
"The page has a map of the Division." His voice was gravelly and hushed.
It took her a moment to realize that he was talking about the page he'd taken from the Book.
"Gershom isn't on it but beyond the Division there's more."
"More what?"
"More land. Miles and miles of it, called the Outerlands. And there’s a dot. Something in the center of all that land. It’s unmarked though."
A thrill of excitement made her skin prickle. Someday I’ll see that land. She looked at Aliah’s profile and realized he wasn't concerned about the land surrounding the Sectors. Something else was bothering him.
"But what about the Book, Aliah? Why is it important? Why won't anyone talk about it? Even Remiel won't answer any questions."
Remiel still hadn't turned around or waited for them to catch up. He seemed focused on his own mission.
Aliah sighed and the small sound got lost in the craggy rocks and gravel around them. "I can't talk about it right now, Shai. I wish I could. I really wish I could."
Shai heard the catch in his voice.
CHAPTER 50
Aliah
It wasn’t fair to drag Shai to Kent without giving her some kind of explanation. Aliah had to think of something.
He wiped his upper lip on his sleeve and spoke quickly. "I don't know anything more about the Book than you do. But I can tell you what I read on the page I tore out of it. Besides the map, the page lists the names of three rebels who will one day overthrow Samael’s power." He looked sideways at Shai who didn’t register surprise or much of anything at all. Her shoulders slumped beneath the weight of her pack and her cheeks looked cherry-red. Dull strands of her honey-colored hair stuck to her damp forehead and every few minutes she swatted at an irritating fly buzzing around her head.
The familiar pang of guilt surged through him when she flicked her eyes at him and offered a weak smile. What has happened to us? He had told Ava more in the few hours he had known her than he had ever told Shai. Aliah was also beginning to regret showing Ava his brand. He'd shared too much while he was under the influence of the salve and tea.
He trembled under a sudden jolt of pain in his head. He shifted the weight of his bag and pressed a thumb and forefinger to his temples. If I can remember more it might help. Maybe I’ve always known about the Coalition, but have forgotten. But what if I do begin to remember more and everything changes? What if I change?
He touched the pendant again. Fear of the unknown made his insides quiver. Fear of who he was and fear of who he might become if his memory fully returned. The separation between the two seemed cavernous.
"Who are they Aliah? Who are the rebels?" Shai's question startled him out of his bleak thoughts.
Aliah turned his head slightly and spoke out of the side of his mouth, his voice barely above a whisper. "They're called the Coalition."
Remiel finally stopped walking and turned around, his face red from facing the sun. Behind him rose the angular shadows of Kent.
CHAPTER 51
Shai
Shai sucked in a breath and coughed as the air burned the back of her throat. The closer they got to Kent the harder it was to breathe, and an acrid, smoky smell filled her nostrils. Dark plumes of smoke billowed from tall rectangular shapes that stretched into the sky. There was no fence like Lael or trees like Conley to mark Kent's boundaries, only the dark outline of what Remiel had called the Factories.
"You will enter Kent in a few minutes. This is where we part. I'll continue West until the sun sets. One day we will meet again." Remiel nodded at Aliah, looking him in the eye. "Give my regards to Elchai, when you see him."
A fire kindled for a brief moment in Aliah's eyes then he looked away without speaking.
Remiel turned to Shai and his pale blue eyes met hers. He spoke inside of her like he had the first time back in Lael. It is possible to look and not see and hear without listening. Just like you can survive without living. But these things you can change. Only believe.
She opened her mouth to ask what he meant when a shout from behind her, the way they'd just come, made all three of them turn.
A tall figure ran towards them, waving an arm in the air and shouting. "Shai!”
CHAPTER 52
Aliah
At first it seemed that someone was calling Shai to get her attention, but Aliah saw the glint of something shiny between the fingers of their upraised fist.
Kael.
Shai reacted first. She pressed her lips together, dropped her bag to the ground and walked towards him with her hands curled into fists at her sides.
Aliah suppressed a smile. Something must have happened between them to cause such tension. If they were keeping score this would be a small victory for Aliah.
When Shai reached Kael he bent over panting and coughing, his face bright red with purple blotches. His hair stuck out in damp clumps around his head. Large, dark patches on his bright blue shirt revealed where he'd sweat through.
Aliah left his bag with Shai’s and moved a few steps closer to them.
"Shai... I... had to get... this to you." Kael straightened, the green of his eyes deepening when he looked at Shai. Aliah ground his teeth into his lip. The way Kael looked at Shai was the way Ava had looked at Aliah earlier. Kael seemed oblivious that anyone else was there other than Shai. He wiped his face on his sleeve then held out the glinting object. A thin silver key with a red jewel that caught the sun.
Recognition flashed inside Aliah. He turned to look at Remiel, but Remiel had gone.
"You came all this way to give this to me?" Shai took the key from Kael and Aliah glimpsed their fingers touching, lingering longer than he thought was necessary.
"I uh, knew it was important when I first saw it. You're pretty protective of it so when I discovered it under your mattress I knew you couldn’t have left it behind intentionally, unless you meant for me to bring it to you."
Aliah gave an exaggerated cough and Kael jerke
d his eyes away from Shai as though he had just realized the two of them weren't alone.
Shai tucked the key into her pocket without taking her eyes off Kael. "Why did you come all this way to give it back to me? You seemed more interested in warning me than helping me."
Aliah raised his eyebrows. He'd like to know the answer to that too. Kael's sudden interest in Shai made Aliah even more wary.
Kael looked at the ground briefly then back at Shai as he reached for her hands. "You're special. Different. In the short time I've known you I realized I've never met anyone like you."
Aliah smirked. Nice recovery. Kael even sounded sincere.
"But we've been gone for several days. You came all this way to give me a key that I think you'd rather destroy. Am I right?"
Kael glanced at Aliah who crossed his arms and waited for an answer. The Coalition scared Aliah because he didn't know anything about it other than what he saw on the page. But Aliah was certain the Coalition scared Kael because he did know about it, and Aliah wanted to know what he knew.
Certain words had been jarring his memory over the last few hours, but his memory was still a mess. His mind was like a stack of half-opened boxes, their unidentifiable contents spilling out. If Kael could shed some light, then Aliah was ready to listen. And Shai deserved to know too. Anything Aliah might be able to tell her she wouldn't listen to anyway. Her anger towards him consistently simmered below the surface, distorting everything he said.
But how much did Kael actually know? Would he reveal the truth or twist it just enough to serve his own agenda, whatever that was.
Kael leaned closer to Shai. "The Book describes three keys, each belonging to the three rebels known as the Coalition. Their leader is called the Son of Thunder."
Aliah raised his eyebrows. That much we already know.
"The Book also mentions that the Coalition is branded differently than any of the other Sectors. And that night... when I heard you calling out, I saw that your gown was torn right here." Kael dropped Shai's hands to touch her left shoulder. Aliah couldn't see her face, but the way his chest pulsed heat through him he knew she was struggling with the intimacy of that touch. A touch that bordered on caress.
Aliah took another step forward and their private moment shattered.
The Coalition (Coalition 1) Page 16
