The morning came like every other, except that this day was destined to be like none before. Mikel rose early, unsure if it was anxiety or excitement that had denied him sleep during the night, and he wasn’t alone. He could hear the movement of his uninvited guests below as they moved and shuffled things around in preparation for their departure. But he wasn’t ready to get up just yet, choosing instead to nestle himself deeper into the blankets and mattress, knowing it was the last time he would sleep in this bed that he and his wife had shared for so many years. He had made himself good and comfortable when a knock came to his door.
“Dad, are you awake?”
“Yes,” he called back at her through the closed door.
“No you’re not. Get up lazy, we have things to do,” she giggled through the door, before running off, yelling at Dirik about something.
Mikel dragged himself out of the bed and headed straight to the shower, his normal start to an abnormal day. Since the day Rigar showed up at the back door with K in his cart, Mikel couldn’t help but feel as if he had stepped foot into a dream, or at times it seemed a nightmare. Everything felt as if it were moving in slow motion, even the water cascading off of him in the shower appeared to be swirling around the drain in an unusually slow pattern before it disappeared into the darkness below. And as he watched the spiral continue to suck more water into its void, never to return again, he couldn’t help but hope that he and his family were not blindly allowing themselves to fall into the same fate.
After he finished he returned to his room and sat on the side of the bed, pulling on the clothes he had left unpacked in preparation for this morning. Tugging on the last boot, he looked up and found himself face-to-face with the ornate wardrobe that held what was left of his wife’s belongings.
Walking to it, he ran his fingers over the fine grain of the wood that had made this particular article of furniture so valuable. Trees used to make furniture like this were rare and illegal to cut down without having the proper paperwork; an offense punishable by a lengthy jail sentence and hefty fines. It was a law that had been enacted way before the rule of the Shadows. The only reason it existed was because of his wife’s family diligence in passing it down over the years from family member to family member. It was her most cherished possession and she had hoped to pass it down to Citera when the time had come, a dream now impossible. Carefully he opened the doors and ran his hands through the various articles of clothing it still held. He could still feel her presence in each and every item, as a flood of memories of days long passed rushed into his mind.
“My dear, I miss you so much,” he sighed as he held onto the sleeve of a dress she often wore while working side by side with him in the clinic. “We built a wonderful thing here, didn’t we? And we did many good things for so many people.”
He released the sleeve and moved to the next article of clothing, a formal dinner dress hardly ever worn except on certain holidays and special occasions. “And I know I said that we would stay here and grow old together in this place, this place where our daughter was born.” As he spoke tears began to trickle down his face, but he didn’t care. “But, Lilith, you left me, you left me alone, and I was so angry at you that I shut down and locked everyone else out for a long time, even Citera. Luckily she is tough, like her mother, and while I rolled around in my own self-pity, she and Janil managed to keep it all together. They gave me the time I needed, but I fear in the process I may have robbed our daughter of what was left of her childhood.”
He paused, wiping some of the tears away, and taking a moment to think. “That’s why I … we need to leave, Lilith, we need to start over, go somewhere where we can build a new life for ourselves. Somewhere where there aren’t Enforcers, Shadows, and inspectors, somewhere hopefully we can find some sort of peace. Somewhere she can be happy again.”
A noise behind him caught his attention, and when he turned around, what he saw through the tears took his breath away. “Lilith?” Standing in the doorway with her long dark hair and dressed in his wife’s clothes was a fleeting image of his deceased wife.
“No,” K answered softly, “I apologize, I should have knocked.”
“No, I’m sorry,” Mikel murmured, rubbing his face, “I forgot about your makeover last night. It’s just for a moment …”
“We should all gather down stairs, it’s about time.”
“All right, I’ll be there in a minute.” Mikel returned his attention to the wardrobe as K headed down the hall toward the stairs.
One last time he ran his hands through the items inside the wardrobe then closed the doors, sealing them and the memories they held behind the engraved doors. He made his way down the stairs to the clinic where the group had gathered in the front waiting area.
“So what now?” Citera asked, barely able to contain her excitement.
“Now we wait,” Jaron answered, taking a seat in one of the lobby chairs, “and hope your friend comes.”
“If he said he will come then he will,” Mikel replied, catching ahold of Citera and giving her a hug. “Are you hungry? I can go upstairs and cook us something while we wait, who knows when we will get to eat a real meal again.”
“Or I can run to the—” Dirik started, then his face drooped as the reality of what was happening came back to him. “I almost forgot.”
“It’s all right. Come on, you two can help me,” Mikel said leading them back up to the apartment, Jaron and K watched as they disappeared down the hall.
“Do you still think we are doing the right thing?” Jaron asked, turning to K once they were gone. “They will slow us down.”
“It is a better option than the alternative,” K retorted, sitting down next to him. “You know like I do that if they were ever taken by the Shadows they wouldn’t be able to keep our secret. They gave me a chance and I will do the same for them.”
“And what if they had refused to come?” Jaron asked, glancing over at her.
She leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs. “They didn’t.”
He knew it wouldn’t do him any good to push the issue, so he sat back and relaxed as well. The aroma of food being cooked upstairs filled the clinic and sent a crushing pain into Jaron’s stomach.
“How long has it been?” K asked, noticing his discomfort.
“A while,” he answered, wanting to avoid the question.
“How long?” K asked again with a sharp edge to her tone.
Jaron took a deep breath. “About three weeks, I think. It was back at the camp, I have a donor there.”
“You should have come last night, why didn’t you say something?” He could hear the disapproval in her voice. It was a conversation they had many times before, but he couldn’t care less.
“The same reason you didn’t ask, I don’t hunt and you know that already.”
“You can’t deny what you are your whole existence.” She was talking to him, but staring out the windows of the clinic, her new look providing her with a level of comfort she normally could not afford. Not once during the entire conversation had either one of them bothered to make eye contact with the other.
“Where have I heard that before?” Jarod huffed. K sent a sharp glance his direction as he continued. “I don’t deny who I am or what I am, I just won’t allow it to change me into something I don’t want to be. I have made it this long doing things my way and will continue to do so until I have no other choice.”
Much to Jaron’s delight their conversation was interrupted by a commotion in the street, followed by the sounds of a messenger sounding the news they had been waiting on.
“The Enforcer is coming, the Enforcer is coming,” the young boy yelled as he ran up the street toward the clinic. Jaron hurried to the door and watched as the people on the streets scattered in every direction, closing their shops and rushing their loved ones inside before bolting the doors and windows behind them. In a matter of minutes the once bustling street fell silent, no signs of a living creature to be had anywher
e, including Rigar.
“No sign of him yet?” The voice beside him caused him to startle. He looked over to find Mikel standing beside him chewing on a piece of bread cover with jam.
He sighed and shook his head. “No, and Jarod is on his way into town. He really can clear a street.”
“Yeah, no one wants to be found in the street when the Enforcer comes to town.” Mikel glanced back at K still lounging in the chair, as calm and relaxed as ever.
He heard Jaron sigh, “I really don’t like hearing him called that.” Returning his attention to the window he questioned, “Are you certain this friend of yours will come?”
Mikel followed his gaze to the deserted street. “He said he would come and he will.”
In the back Mikel could hear Dirik and Citera rustling around as they gathered the last of their things by the back door. The two of them were laughing and joking as if they didn’t have a care in the world. What if he doesn’t come? The question had weighed on Mikel’s mind all night, but he had managed to push the thought away until now.
“Has he ever let you down before?” K asked from behind them.
“No, but what if?” Mikel hadn’t realized he had asked the question out loud … no, he was fairly confident he hadn’t. “How do we do this, if he doesn’t show?”
“We will deal with that when and if the time comes,” K answered, as Citera and Dirik joined the rest of them in the lobby, each eating pieces of sweet bread.
“Deal with what?” she asked as she plopped down next to K, offering her one of the pieces of bread.
“We were discussing the best way to deal with all your energy during the travel.” K smiled, waving away the offer. “There was mention of some sedatives your father keeps in a cabinet somewhere.”
“Ha, ha, ha,” Citera laughed sarcastically nudging K’s shoulder.
Mikel had begun taking notice of a strange bond between the two of them, though he didn’t quite understand it. Unlike the rest of them, Jaron included, Citera didn’t seem to have a fear of K at all, it was as if she trusted her completely and would do anything she asked of her. He personally found K’s emotionless behavior frightening as hell, but Citera seemed unphased by it. Ever since he had left her home alone with them to heal the boy, he had noticed she had been spending quite a bit of the free time around K, even sneaking into her room a couple of times alone. Jaron also seemed to be noticing the extra attention K was paying to her, and though he hadn’t said anything, Mikel had noticed several displeased glances in their direction when no one was looking.
Returning his attention to the window, he continued to watch the street as time ticked by, allowing another fifteen minutes to pass; all the while he grew more and more nervous. It wasn’t until a second messenger came running down the street that Mikel truly began to worry this old friend might not come.
“Boy, come here,” Mikel called to the messenger as he stepped out the front door onto the stoop.
“What are you doing?” Jaron protested, as the boy ascended the stairs.
“Trying to get an idea of where he is in town,” Mikel answered, before turning his attention back to the boy. “What is going on, where is the Enforcer?”
“He is in the market area,” the boy answered, trying to peek around Mikel into the clinic. “He has the patrols with him, he injured one of them already and they don’t know if he will recover.” The boy was trying desperately to sneak a peek and see who else was inside. Jaron, growing annoyed at the boy’s continued attempts, stepped outside behind Mikel; the sight of him being enough to discourage further nosing as he continued with his account of the events. “Rumors are he is heading to the inn to get Sam and Maya.”
Mikel thanked the boy, tossed him some change, and watched as he descended the stairs, but before he took off he turned around and called to Mikel. “Oh, you should talk to Rigar; he is driving this way with his family, while the Enforcer is out. I tried to warn him but he waved me off and told me he would be fine, he must be losing his mind.”
“Will do, thanks.” A relief rushed over Mikel and Jaron both as he relocked the door of the clinic. “It won’t take him long to get here, we are only a few minutes from his house.”
Citera who had been sitting quietly by K taking it all in, asked the question Mikel himself had been wondering about, “How are we going to explain having so many people in the cart? Normally when Dad goes to take supplies to another town it’s just me, him, and Rigar.”
“And that is all that will be in there this time,” K answered as she stood and made her way down the hall to the back door. Mikel followed, wanting to clarify exactly what it was she meant, but she placed a hand on the back door at the same moment a faint knock sounded on the wood. Pulling the door open, there stood Rigar waiting on the other side. “Come in,” Mikel waved at him through the door, “where is Mirna and Sara?”
“We’re here,” Mirna said, stepping through the door, and embracing Mikel, Sara following close behind.
“Sara!” Citera cried, running up the hall and grabbing ahold of her friend. “Are you all right?”
Sara held up her arm, revealing the band she had been shackled with during the night. “They came for me,” she said, fighting back the tears.
A sense of despair overtook the room at the sight of the band tightly encasing the child’s wrist. Rigar, still sporting the bruises from his scuffle with the guards, couldn’t bear to look at it. Mirna, wanting to change the subject, turned to K. “We came; so how do we get everyone out of town without being noticed.”
“Let’s get all the supplies loaded into the cart then we will discuss the details,” K said as she lifted one of the large crates and headed out the door. Watching her Mikel couldn’t help but wonder who the poor soul was that had been sacrificed last night to give her back her strength. Preferring not to harp on such thoughts, Mikel along with the rest followed along, and within minutes the cart was loaded down with all of their belongings. As Rigar placed the last crate in the cart, the group turned their attention back to Jaron and K.
“So how are we going to pull this off?” Mirna asked again, looking at the fully loaded cart. “There isn’t even room in there for us all.”
“That’s because we aren’t all going to be in the cart,” Jaron answered, glancing back at K who was pulling on her jacket. “The only way this will work is if the four of you take the cart like you normally would, and the rest of us will go on foot and meet you on the outside of town.”
“No, absolutely not,” Rigar interjected angrily. “I am not allowing my wife and daughter to go out there alone and on foot with the two of you.”
“Rigar,” Mikel interrupted, attempting to calm his friend, but Rigar wasn’t having any part of it.
“No, Mikel,” he snapped back at him, “I have had enough of them, the patrols, of everyone telling me what I have to do. This is my family, I will not ride away and leave them in the hands of these two and hope for the best.” His frustration and pent up anger was surging through his every pore as the events of the last week all complied into this moment. “You are my friend and I owe you, I know, but I can’t keep putting my family on the line to help you and yours.”
“Rigar, I would never ask you to,” Mikel responded, somewhat shocked and offended by the implication, but remained calm not wanting to evoke any more anger from his friend, “and if I ever made you feel as if you had to, I sincerely apologize, as it was never my intention.”
As he continued, Mikel could see K and Jaron having a serious discussion several feet away, one in which K seemed to be trying to reassure Jaron that their plan would succeed. “If you don’t want to do this then you don’t have to. It’s just, Rigar, you know what happens if you stay here, it’s as clear as the tag on your daughter’s wrist. Are you ready to send Sara off to work in the factory day after day, hour after hour, only to have her end up in the same shape as the Hurders’ boy?”
Rigar appeared defeated as he turned around and looked at his you
ng daughter standing beside his wife, the two of them watching him and Mikel. “Of course not, but can you honestly tell me you trust the two of them?”
The alley went silent as all eyes fell on Mikel; even Jaron and K had stopped their debate and were waiting to see how he answered. Mikel scanned over the small group before settling on his daughter. Then a flash of her sitting in the lobby, laughing and talking with K, brought him the confidence he needed to answer.
“No,” Mikel said, but he wasn’t looking at Rigar as he answered, instead he looked directly at K, “I don’t trust them at all. I think, no, I know there is something they still aren’t telling us.”
“So, how do you expect—” Rigar started only to be stopped by Mikel.
“Let me finish,” Mikel continued, his attention still focused on K. “But Citera does. I don’t know why she does, but I know my daughter and she has always been an excellent judge of character, just like her mother before her. If it hadn’t been for Lilith believing in and trusting when no one else would, I would have never come to know you or Dirik, who have become such an important part of my family.”
Rigar took a deep breath and sat down on the back of the cart, Mirna joined her husband at his side, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, uncertain of what to do. “What do you think?”
Mirna looked over her shoulder at K and Jaron, and then embraced him tightly. “We don’t have a choice, Rigar, they are right. There is no way we will make it out of town with us all together. We will go with them and we will be fine.”
Citera turned to K suddenly, after watching all the drama unfold. “How do you plan to get out of town on foot anyway?”
“Using the rooftops,” K answered flatly, seemingly perturbed by the mistrust but said nothing as she twisted her black locks back into a bun then threaded the blades through it. “Everyone is so concerned with what is happening on the ground, no one will be looking up.”
“Sara can’t—” Rigar began, only to be cut off sharply by K.
“Of course she can,” K scowled at him. “She is a Full-blood, and therefore she was born with the capability of doing anything a Full-blood can do. The only problem is that the Shadows have managed to brainwash the lot of you into thinking you are no better than Terrians.” K walked toward Sara, and Rigar rose as if to intercept, but Mirna placed a hand on his shoulder and he settled back into the cart. K, who was watching the two of them, seemed to be growing angrier with him, but for whatever reason still said nothing. When she turned her attention back to Sara, her demeanor softened slightly as she instructed, “Close your eyes for a moment.”
K: The Awakening (The Shadow Chronicles Book 1) Page 35
