“Yes.”
“What does it say?”
“It looks like a date.”
“Exactly. What is that date?”
I look at the screen, then back at him. “That’s two weeks before the Healing.”
“Correct. Do you understand what that means?”
“Of course.” If this wasn’t so unbelievable, I’d be irritated at his question. Like I’m some sort of simple Maiden to whom he needs to explain everything. “It means that the Founders loaded the Genesis with all the necessary items for life two weeks before the Healing. Two weeks before the flood waters started rising.”
“Exactly. All of your stories tell us that the flood waters were sudden and that the Gods selected the faithful to be saved. There wasn’t a forewarning.” There’s contempt in his voice, especially the way he says the word your—as if he’s exempting the Boundary.
“So The Lex is wrong,” I say.
“Again.”
“Again.” Feeling a creeping sense of uncertainty, I pause for a tick. This Tech is telling us much more than the old tale about the inaccuracies of The Lex. “If it was just a simple matter of forewarning, the Founders could have written some passage about the Gods sending them a sacred message. To protect the faithful and all that. No, I think that this Manifest is telling us much more than that The Lex is wrong.”
“What, then?” he asks.
The answer tumbles from my mouth before it is even fully formed, the words an avalanche of realization. “The Founders planned the settlement of New North long before the Healing. Think about how long it would have taken to assemble this list. Months, not weeks, I’m guessing. This is no mere forewarning. There are bigger questions at work here.”
Lukas turns to me. “What questions?”
“Look at this.” I point to a tiny entry at the bottom of the screen. “It says THE NEW NORTH COMPANY. Do you remember what you told me about a company?”
“Yes. That a company is a group of people who make something. Apple was the company that made Tech.”
“Right.”
He turns back to the screen. “So what exactly was the New North Company making with all these items? And how did the Founders—or this New North Company—know about the Healing long before it happened?”
I can’t respond. I feel like the answers are so close, but I can’t reach them. Do they even really matter? I’m not certain how the truth about the Healing and the founding of New North will lead me to my brother’s murderer, but somehow I know this truth is intertwined with his death. Perhaps that is also why I feel myself getting one step closer to finding out what happened to Eamon.
“Do you think my brother knew about this?” I ask after a tick.
“He never mentioned it to me. But maybe—”
I interrupt him. “Shh. I hear something.” In the distance a familiar sound. The clomp of the Archon Guards as they tromp down a nearby corridor. They never bother to muffle their heavy steps. Why should they?
I point at the ceiling. Lukas pulls out his atlatl and shoots two lines into its icy expanse, one right next to the other. He gestures for us to start climbing.
Hand over hand we ascend, my heart rattling in my chest. I do my utmost to slow my breathing; I don’t want to give away our location by my panting. We pull our dangling lines up as we climb until we can climb no more. Lukas releases one of his hands to push my feet up against the ceiling; I sink the toes of my bear-claw boots into its surface. Lukas does the same just as the Guards scan the floor of the Conservation Chamber with their forbidden Tech-produced beams.
Together we cling to the ceiling like two spiders in the center of an icy web.
XXX.
Augustus 2
Year 242, A.H.
Even though I’m bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, I am ready and waiting when my parents take their seats at the breakfast table. They look surprised when my plate is cleared of the morning repast of broth and bread; usually they have to prompt me to eat. When I have my sealskin overcoat on before my father dons his, they laugh at my eagerness. But they misunderstand it. I’m racing to the Hall of Archons not because I long to resume my duties but because I have to make sure Lukas and I left no trace behind in our haste to escape.
In the Main Chamber, I arrange myself near the hallway leading to the Conservation Chamber. When my father calls the Archons to prayer, I dutifully chant “Hail to Sun the Mother,” but my mind is retracing every step Lukas and I took last night. Archon Theo has eagle eyes.
The very tick my father ends the prayer, I’m gone. Thank the Gods I pass no one as I race down the corridor. I’ve got maybe five or six ticks until Archon Theo arrives. Turning the corner, I proceed under the entryway and cross into the Chamber and practically bump right into Theo.
How did he get in here before me? I just saw him in the Main Chamber. “Are you in a rush, Archon Eva?” he asks with a stern look.
“No, Archon Theo.”
“I certainly hope that there’s another explanation for your panting. You know my feelings about rushing.”
“Of course, Archon Theo. Many times I’ve heard you say, ‘Slow and steady wins the race.’ ”
“Indeed.” He grins.
“Is that a phrase from The Lex? I don’t remember seeing it, but maybe it’s one of the lesser rules. I don’t have those memorized.”
“No, it’s not.” He scratches his head. “Funny, I’m not sure where it comes from.”
“I’ve never heard your brother Archon Laurence use it.”
“No.” He gives me a sly grin. “But then he wouldn’t use it, would he? Nothing slow or steady about him.”
I glance around the room. There are scuffs in the usually polished ice floor, gouges in the ceiling, should anyone bother to look up, and one of the Tech is askew. Theo is always very particular about how we leave the Tech in the evening. I watch as he busies himself with getting on his sealskin gloves. His fear of the Tech hasn’t diminished since our return to the Aerie; if anything, the constancy of contact has intensified it. Even within the safety of the Conservation Chamber, and even though such a buffer can hinder our work, Theo takes every precaution to avoid touching the Tech directly.
Frantically pulling on the gloves Theo insists I wear, too, I walk with purpose but not haste over to the off-center Tech. Thank the Gods Lukas grabbed his charging contraption; no explanation would have sufficed for its presence. Just as I reach toward the Tech to straighten it, Theo asks, “What in the Gods are you doing, Archon Eva? We haven’t gotten to those Relics yet in our cataloguing. We are still over here.”
“My mistake, Archon Theo—”
“Wait a tick.” He is staring at the ice-table behind me. “Why is that Tech misaligned?”
“I don’t know.”
His gaze shifts to mine. “You didn’t dislodge the Tech from its normal position. I’m certain that you didn’t.”
“I don’t think so, but it’s possible I nudged it accidentally.”
“No, that’s not it,” he says as he approaches. With his protective gloves in place, he runs his fingers across the ice-table. “Someone placed another object here.” He points to the spot where Lukas had his charging machine. “It must have been last night. There is a slight indentation in the ice that can only be attributable to another object. Another warm object.”
I remain motionless. I am frozen by my fear. Theo is piecing it all together. I will be found out for the fraud that I am—and get the gallows I deserve, according to The Lex. I will be made an example for all, like that poor Boundary worker. My mind utters a silent prayer. By the Gods, whoever, whatever you are, please spare me. I seek only the truth.
“I wonder …” he says, but not to me. He is staring off into the distance, his eyes glazed in a private rumination.
I don’t want to ask, but know I must. “Wonder what, Archon Theo?”
“Nothing to trouble yourself about, Archon Eva.” He gives me his brisk, officious smile. “You’re probably
right. You probably bumped into it. Let’s spend the rest of today focusing on a far more important task—the sacred work of cataloguing the Genesis Relics. Only then can we begin the Chronicle.”
XXXI.
Augustus 2
Year 242, A.H.
Even the numbing task of cataloguing every detail of the Tech doesn’t calm my mind. I can’t shake the idea that Archon Theo is trying to lure me into a confession with his uncharacteristic silence about the disrupted table. Normally he likes to discuss each theory that runs through his mind, and in truth, I learn much about reading Relics from this practice. That Theo would keep silent on a critical concern like the possible violation of the Tech is unthinkable. How could it be anything but a trap?
I leave in a dark fog. Fear consumes me as I enter my family home. I start up the stairs to change for dinner. I’m so distracted I almost miss Jasper waiting for me in the solar.
“Eva, my apologies for interrupting your thoughts,” he says softly as he approaches the stairs.
“Oh, Jasper, I’m sorry that I didn’t greet you properly. I’m … thinking of the Archon work I brought home with me.” Smiling a little, I walk down the few steps that I’ve mounted and take his outstretched hand.
“Archon work is so important for the future of New North, Eva. Never apologize for doing your duty. I’ll be disappointed if you leave the Archon world behind when you enter the doors of our home.” He blushes a little when he says the phrase our home. I feel the heat rise in my cheeks as well. Soon our Union day will arrive and the departure to our own home with it, but truth be told, I’ve been so preoccupied since our Betrothal ceremony that I rarely think of it.
“Well, then, I promise to bring my Archon work home to our house,” I say with a smile, reminded for the hundredth time how lucky I am to have a Betrothed so open in his views.
He lifts my hand to his lips. I think he’s going to bestow the Gallant’s kiss, but instead he turns over my hand. He traces my palm with his finger and then kisses the hollow. The sensation of his warm lips on my skin sends shivers through me. Has anyone seen this immodesty? For the first time since I arrived home, I realize we are completely alone.
I lead Jasper to the high-backed bench strewn with pillows embroidered by my mother. His face bears such an expression of longing that I almost abandon my intention to test his commitment—not to me, that’s clear, but to the pursuit of the truth. But if not now, when?
I hold his hands tightly and ask, “Do you really want to hear of my work, Jasper?”
The hazy look slips away, and he takes a deep breath. “Yes. I want you to share everything with me.”
“Do you recall our conversation yesterday about the distance to the Frozen Shores?”
His brow furrows. “Yes, the news was very disturbing.”
“Right. But listen. That’s not all. Not even close. That’s just one of many disturbing things I’ve learned from the dig. One of many things that make me question what we’ve been told about New North. Do you remember the journal of Madeline?”
“The one you took from the Hall of Archons? Of course.” It’s a testament to his feelings for me that he’s forgiven that outrageous breach of The Lex. And the lies I told him about it.
“Yes. Well, in it, Madeline tells a story about the objects she found on the Genesis, a tale that differs wildly from the official version she wrote in her Chronicle. One that details suspicions she had about the foundation of New North. Suspicions that she did everything in her power to repress when it came time to write her Chronicle.”
Jasper laughs. “Her Chronicle? You mean that outlandish piece of fiction about finding Relics on the Genesis before it slipped away in a crevasse?”
I’m not laughing with him. My voice hardens. “I just came from the Genesis, Jasper. And everything that Madeline said—the reports that practically caused her to be shunned from Aerie life—were true.”
“Your dig was on the Genesis?” He leans away from me. His face is incredulous.
“Yes. We uncovered all the artifacts that Madeline described and more. And I’m fairly certain that the story she wrote in her journal—the one containing questions about the creation of New North and The Lex itself—was more accurate than the Chronicle she submitted. The one that got her laughed out of Aerie society.”
“By the Gods, Eva. Those are strong accusations. Are you sure?”
“I’m absolutely certain. I’m worried that the founding of New North—and The Lex along with it—is not as we’ve been told.”
He removes his hands from mine. Glancing around the room, he says, “Be careful, Eva. You know better than anyone that such words are high treason.”
“I don’t utterly them lightly, Jasper. You know me well enough to believe that.”
He reaches for my hands again. “I believe in you, Eva. I hope you have faith in that.”
“It might be the only thing I have faith in these days.”
“Eva, let me help you. And protect you if I can.”
Jasper the Gallant has emerged. “I appreciate it, Jasper. But I don’t need protection.”
“I wouldn’t be helping just for the sake of your protection, Eva. I want to uncover the truth, too. For all the Aerie. The Lex tells us that faith, loyalty, and truth are the cornerstones of our life in New North.”
Ironic that Jasper is quoting The Lex in support of my efforts to upend it. “I don’t want you to do anything to jeopardize your own safety.”
“Eva, I will be helping you.”
He says this, but he really has no sense of what he’s getting into. I need to tell him at least some of the truth. “Madeline thought that the arrangement of artifacts on the deck of the Genesis looked like a setup. Like someone had very consciously scratched the Apple symbol on the Tech, started a first draft of The Lex, and then intentionally placed the two items next to each other to make it look like the conversion from the veneration of Apple to the worship of the Gods happened on the deck of the Genesis.”
“So let me understand you. She thought the whole thing looked like a …” Jasper struggles to find the right word for this abomination. “Fiction?”
I know this is hard for him. “Yes, Jasper. I’m really sorry.”
He inhales deeply and squares his shoulders. His face again assumes his typical Gallant expression, but his eyes bear none of the trusting innocence I normally see in them. “What can I do?”
“As a contestant in the Forge, you’re given access to the Lexor vaults, right?”
“Yes, but it’s limited. We’re only allowed to look at past Forge competitions to prepare for the ritual.”
“When you are in the Vaults, can you look for any documents related to the actual creation of the very first Lex? We might find some evidence related to Madeline’s theories.”
“If that’s what you need, Eva.” He sounds tired. In the long, silent tick that follows, I can almost see him trying to make this Lex-breaking part of his Gallant code. Finally he draws a breath. “The people of New North deserve the truth about the Healing, The Lex, everything. If we’ve been lied to by our Founders, we need to discover the deception and tell the Triad.”
I nod. How I admire Jasper’s scruples. I don’t have the heart to tell him that I suspect the responsible party is the Triad itself.
XXXII.
Augustus 3–10
Year 242, A.H.
I slide back into routine. I spend days in the Hall of Archons meticulously noting every detail of the Tech at Archon Theo’s instruction. I while away evenings at home dining with my parents, Jasper, and Jasper’s parents. I feign interest in being a Maiden and an Archon and the details of my Union, all the while thinking about something else. How I can get back into the Conservation Chamber at night. With Lukas.
It’s been eight days since Lukas and I raced out of the Hall of Archons in the dead of night. Eight days of waiting for Theo to accuse me of breaking into the Hall. Eight days of pining to get back in to examine the Tech alone, no
matter the risk.
“Eva, are you listening?” my mother chides me from across the crowded table. A large group has gathered for a feast before the Northern Lights festival. It’s considered good luck to see the Northern Lights the first night they are out, and it’s always a happy occasion, a night of revelry for all the people of New North.
“Yes, Mother. You and Lady Charlotte were discussing the Union Feast.” I hadn’t heard a word of their conversation, but I venture a guess. This is their latest topic, since the Union dress is now in its final stages. They talk of little else.
“Which of the desserts would you prefer?”
“Um, the honey cake.” Even though the Testing ruined my taste for sweets, this was known to be my favorite treat.
“As I suspected, you weren’t really listening to us. Honey cakes are not even one of the choices, Eva. They’re too commonplace. We were thinking of pears in red wine or spiced dates stuffed with goat cheese.” My mother’s tone makes clear she isn’t happy at this show of un-Maidenly behavior in front of Lady Charlotte.
The Gentlemen and Lords push back their chairs from the dining table and gesture for the Gentlewomen and Ladies to rise. Jasper sidles up to me as we wander into the solar for nuts and cheeses. “I haven’t found any early records of The Lex yet,” he whispers as he reaches for my hand.
“None?” I try not to sound disappointed. How did I think that in eight days Jasper would find damning evidence that The Lex was just some construct of the Founders instead of divine inspiration? A secret—if true—that’s been hidden for nearly two hundred and fifty years? Ridiculous.
“But I did find a small group of documents stored under the heading Genesis,” he adds. “Just a few pages, really.”
“The Genesis?” The sudden surge of excitement makes it hard to keep my voice steady and quiet. I link my fingers with his. Jasper has proven himself to be so brave and supportive in this dangerous venture, well beyond what I expected from him.
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