Boy of Blood

by Megan O'Russell

  It was Captain Stokes’ men who should have stopped the attack from ever happening. His Guard who had failed five days ago.

  “How are you, Captain Stokes?” Nola’s voice wavered as the powerfully built man approached her.

  He limped, still favoring his right leg after the battle, but that didn’t make him any less intimidating.

  “My fallen guards are up next for burning, the ones who are still alive are protecting the shattered side of the domes, and the damned doctors can’t set my leg properly,” Stokes said. “How well do you think I’m doing, Miss Kent?”

  “About as well as the rest of us,” Nola said. “Everyone’s lost something, Captain Stokes.”

  “But was everyone surprised by the loss?” Stokes narrowed his eyes. “I need to talk to you about your time as a prisoner in Nightland.”

  Though she had been expecting his words, her heart began to race.

  “You told us you had only seen the inside of your cell when you first came home, but when the attack came, you became a fount of information.” Stokes leaned closer, backing her into the wall.

  The knowledge that Captain Stokes had every right to glare at her like he knew each horrible thing she had done didn’t make it any easier to not run away.

  “How to navigate the tunnels of Nightland, how to find their leader’s home, even where they had been storing things aboveground. I’d like for you to explain to me how you knew all those things if you never left your cell, Miss Kent.” Stokes’ face was only inches from hers, but something in the foul stench of his stale breath emboldened her.

  “What happened to me in Nightland was outside the domes,” Nola said. “What happens outside the domes is Captain Ridgeway’s concern, not yours. If Captain Ridgeway wants to talk to me, he knows where to find me. In the meantime, why don’t you go check on your guards? Make sure no more of them end up in line for burning.”

  She sidestepped Stokes and darted up the stairs, not breathing until she had reached the lights of the dome two stories above. Sunlight touched her face as she gasped for air. Even through the glass of the dome the sun warmed her skin.

  Her feet carried her toward Amber Dome, away from the workers with their heavy boots and noisy tools that toiled frantically to fix the side of the atrium before the rains returned. Back down a flight of stairs and into a short tunnel. Heavy panes of glass leaned against the wall, waiting to be used in the atrium. But the steel had to be fixed first. It would take days for the wall to be in place, and no one knew how long for decontamination to be complete.

  The steps leading up into the Amber Dome were empty, and the few people tending the crops in the low, wide dome didn’t pay Nola any mind. The vents blew in clean air, and the fans lifted the scent of fresh, moist earth and vibrant leaves. Rows of leafy green vegetables ran along the outer edge of the dome, closest to the glass, but she headed straight for the center, to the middle of the wheat field that swayed in the breeze. She ducked her head low as she walked so no one could see her path, and when all the walls were out of sight, she lay down on the warm soil, letting the green and amber stalks surround her.

  Thick, gray smoke cut through the dazzling blue sky above. Ten would be burned today. Ten of the seventy-two fallen Domers. A list had been read over the com that morning. PAM had displayed their faces on all the computer screens for ten minutes, one last memorial to those who had died. This was the third day of burning, and they hadn’t even made it to the fallen guards yet. They would be burned last, their sacrifice in protecting the domes given the highest point of honor.

  Twenty-seven guards had been lost.

  Nola rolled onto her side, covering her head with her arms. Twenty-seven guards who wouldn’t be there to defend the domes if Nightland attacked again.

  But the Vampers from Nightland had fled the city. Taken everything they had and vanished. They could be hundreds of miles away by now. Or only a few. Kieran had never told her where it was Emanuel, the leader of Nightland, wanted to take his people.

  She took a shuddering breath. Pain shot through her, but there were no tears. How could she cry for herself when she knew what was to come?

  She had thought before that Nightland would never attack the domes. She had been delusional enough to believe she knew Emanuel and Kieran. That they were good people who would never harm her or her home.

  Seventy-two dead.

  Her home had been shattered. She had to pay the price, but she would be damned if she was going to wait for Stokes to come for her. Nola looked back up to the bright sky. The smoke had started to fade. Another body gone. Scrunching her eyes, she tried to memorize the bright blue. She might never see the noon sky again. But the blue held no thrall. No lightness or joy. All that was left for her was justice and darkness. She stood and, walking tall, headed straight for the Iron Dome.

  Chapter Three

  Two Dome Guard flanked the steps to the Iron Dome. Neither of them attempted to stop Nola from passing. Neither of them called her a traitor or tried to haul her away. It would have been simpler if they had. It would have spared her from having to tell the world herself.

  I don’t deserve for this to be easy.

  The Iron Dome was wide-set with low bushes instead of trees to ensure sightlines in case of attack. It was the only dome where metal could be lowered to shield the glass from destruction and the only dome where weapons were allowed. But Nightland had attacked the exact opposite side of the complex, leaving the Iron Dome completely untouched.

  Nola approached the largest of the shoebox-shaped houses. A shadow moved past the kitchen window as she climbed the steps to the Ridgeways’ door.

  Good. Better to get it over with. You’ve made up your mind. Now do it.

  Her hand didn’t shake when she knocked. Almost instantly the door swung open, and Jeremy stood in front of her.

  “Nola.” He beamed down at her as though finding her at his door was the most wonderful thing he could imagine. “Come on in.” He took her hand and led her into the kitchen, pulling her into his arms as soon as the door closed.

  His heart pounding quickly in his chest couldn’t compare to the speed at which Nola’s raced.

  “What are you doing here?” Nola stepped the foot away from him the tiny kitchen allowed. “You’re supposed to be on duty.”

  “I got switched to night patrol for today, so I got sent home to rest,” Jeremy said. “But you must have—”

  “I need to talk to your dad,” Nola said. “I need to see him right away.”

  “So, you didn’t come to say hi to me?” Jeremy gave her a joking smile.

  She couldn’t find it in herself to smile back. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. She was going to tell Captain Ridgeway, and have it done. All at once. No more complications.

  “Where’s your dad?” Nola asked.

  “He’s not here.” Jeremy stepped forward, taking her face in his hands. “He’s out in the city. There was some trouble, and he wanted to check it out himself before tonight.”

  “Dammit.” Nola scrunched her eyes shut. She needed to do it now, but there was no way they would let her go out into the city to find Captain Ridgeway.

  “Nola,” Jeremy said, wrapping his arms around her, “you’re okay.”

  “Don’t!” She shoved Jeremy away and started for the door, but Jeremy was faster. He stepped in front of her, blocking her way out before she could even reach for the handle.

  “Nola, what’s—”

  “Get out of my way, Jeremy.”

  “Nola, what do you—”

  “I said get out of my way!”

  Jeremy flinched as though she had hit him. Strong Outer Guard Jeremy, who fought Vampers without fear, flinched because she had yelled at him.

  “Please,” she whispered, dragging her fingers through her tangled hair, relishing the pain it caused. “Let me go.”

  “No,” Jeremy said. “Not until you tell me what’s going on. Nola, I love you. I know you’re hurting and scared. After wh
at you’ve been through in the last few weeks, anyone would be. So I can’t just let you leave if you’re this upset. I love you, and I’m scared for you. It’s my job to protect you.”

  “Please don’t say that.” Her words barely squeezed through the tightness of her throat.

  “But it’s true. I love you, and whatever you need to talk to my dad about, whatever has got you so upset, I’ll do whatever it takes to help you.” Jeremy stepped forward, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. “I love you, Nola Kent.”

  “Please don’t.” Tears trickled down her face.

  “I can’t help it.” Jeremy brushed away her tears. “I love you.”

  Nola looked into Jeremy’s brown eyes. He loved her. He truly did.

  Her heart shattered, like a physical blow to her chest, bending her in half with the pain of it.

  She sank to the ground, willing herself to stay present, to not slip away into the terrible agony of it all. The hard way would be better for Jeremy. Breaking him now would allow him to heal.

  “Nola, are you all right?” Jeremy’s eyes went wide with fear. “I’ll call a doctor.”

  “I’m a traitor.” The words rushed from her as though they had been waiting for their chance for weeks. “I betrayed the domes, and everyone that died is dead because of me.”

  Jeremy’s brow wrinkled, but she didn’t stop. He needed to know everything. She had been selfish in wanting to tell Captain Ridgeway. It was Jeremy her betrayal would hurt most. He deserved to hear the horrible truth first.

  “I didn’t mean to. It didn’t start that way,” Nola pushed on. “It started at the Charity Center the day of the riot. Kieran Wynne was there. He stole my I-Vent. He told me if I needed him, I could find him at Nightland.”

  Jeremy turned away, but Nola grabbed his face, forcing him to look at her, making sure he heard every awful word.

  “I wasn’t going to go after him, but then someone with dome medicine was killed on the streets. I needed to know if it was him. I broke out and went into the city. I knew the way through the glass—one loose pane. One stupid, loose pane I had known about for years. Kieran was alive, but I met Emanuel, the leader of Nightland, and his little girl. She was dying. A little girl was dying, and they needed more medicine. I stole it for them. I thought I was done. I thought she was saved and it was over, but then you said the guards were going to raid Nightland, and Kieran, Emanuel, and his daughter would all have been killed. So I left through the glass again to warn them. I was never kidnapped. I went to warn them.”

  “They stabbed you, Nola.” Jeremy latched onto the one thing that could prove her innocence.

  “They thought I was a guard. I stole a coat to stay safe in the rain. They thought a guard was attacking. They didn’t mean to hurt me. But by the time I woke up, it was two days later. Emanuel said the kidnapping story was the only way to get me home. I didn’t even know if I wanted to come home, they all seemed so good. Trying to feed the city, trying to build a new world for everyone, but Emanuel said it was the only way to prevent a war, and they had to send me back. I trusted him. I trusted Kieran.”

  Nola spoke through her sobs, feeling Jeremy’s anger growing, but it wasn’t over. Not yet.

  “They taught me a lie. What to tell you had happened. That they had taken me and locked me up. But they didn’t tell me how horrible living with the lie would be. Being here in the sunlight and knowing how many good people were trapped in the dark. I wanted to go help them. That’s why I wanted to leave. I would have gone. But then they attacked. I didn’t know they were coming. I swear to you I didn’t.

  “I never thought they would attack my home. But they did. Kieran was here with the others. I saw him. He was stealing from the domes while the Nightlanders were murdering our people. I didn’t know, I promise I didn’t know that they were going to attack. But it doesn’t matter. I betrayed the domes. I betrayed you and my mother, and everything the domes are supposed to stand for.”

  She took a breath, her body hollow now that the flood of words had left her. Hands trembling, she let go of Jeremy’s face, wiping away her tears before speaking again. “I have to tell your dad. I’m a traitor, and I have to face the consequences. I am so sorry, Jeremy.”

  He looked away at the sound of his name. She couldn’t blame him for never wanting to see her again.

  “I did terrible things, but I never ever wanted to hurt you,” Nola whispered as she pushed herself to her feet. “I’ll go wait in your dad’s office till he comes back. Please don’t tell anyone till I talk to him. I just want to get it done.”

  “Don’t,” Jeremy said, pressing his palm to the door so she couldn’t open it. “Don’t you dare walk out of this house, Nola.”

  She froze as Jeremy sprang to his feet, not taking his hand from the door.

  “I have to go,” Nola said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I have to tell—”

  “Don’t you dare tell me what you have to do.” Jeremy took Nola by the shoulders, pinning her against the counter. Fury flashed in his eyes.

  She didn’t blame him. She couldn’t. She was a murderer standing in his home.

  “Your father will turn me in to the Council.” An eerie calm filled Nola. “They’ll decide what to do with me.”

  “No, they won’t, because you aren’t going to tell any of them a damned thing.” Jeremy’s face was inches from hers, but she didn’t look away. “We lost seventy-two people in the attack on the domes and six when we tried to rescue you.”

  “I’m sorr—”

  “Don’t!” Jeremy shook her. “Seventy-eight people are dead. Don’t you dare tell me you’re sorry! The domes lost more than a tenth of our people. A tenth of our carefully-calculated population designed to save the world. And now you want to strike out one more? Because you feel guilty?”

  “I have to tell them! Stokes knows I lied. He knows I saw the tunnels in Nightland!”

  “Stokes is a moron! Stokes is one stupid man, and you’re just going to have to keep lying to him, because we are already losing too much! Look at this.” He dragged her to the window, making her look out at the fresh waves of dark smoke blooming in the sky. “There is too much grieving and too much loss here, Nola. You don’t get to add to it. We need you, and if that means you have to live with the guilt of hiding what you’ve done, so be it.”

  “You don’t need me,” she said, grasping for the words that would make him understand. “You would all be better off without me.”

  “You’re being trained in plant preservation.” Jeremy spun her to face him. “We need you to keep feeding our people.”

  “There are other people who can do that job.”

  “And what about when your mom cracks up? She can’t lose you, Nola.” He gripped her shoulders. “I can’t lose you. I won’t.”

  “People are dead because of me.” A fresh wave of tears tumbled down her cheeks at the look of horrible desperation in Jeremy’s eyes. “I am no good to anyone. Least of all you!”

  “Did you ever want to betray the domes?” He shook her. “Did you ever for one minute do something that you thought would hurt us?”

  “No. I thought I was helping. I just helped the wrong people.”

  “I won’t lose you because you made a mistake.” He pulled her to his chest, his strong arms surrounding her like a steel vise. “There is too much at stake to lose you, too.”

  “But I have to pay for what I did.” She leaned against Jeremy’s chest, certain if he let go for an instant she would fall.

  “Pay for it by helping the domes survive.” His breath was ragged as he whispered. “Pay for it by making the world a better place.”

  “But Stokes wants to talk to me.”

  “Lie.” He lifted her chin and stared straight into her eyes.

  “I can’t.”

  “You aren’t allowed to say you can’t. Promise me you’ll lie.”

  “How can you even want me here? How can you even stand to look at me?” She laid her hand on his chee
k, willing him not to slip away. For him not to be a part of a terrible dream.

  “Because I love you,” he said. “I love you because you are good and kind and want to help everyone. Those Vamper scum, they lied to you. They manipulated you. Whether your see it or not, they hurt you and used you. But I won’t let their abuse take you away from me. I fought too hard to get you back.”

  “I don’t deserve for you to love me.” Nola pressed her lips to his cheek. “I’ll never deserve it.”

  Jeremy turned his head, his lips brushing gently against hers. She pulled herself to him, wrapping her arms around him, willing herself to believe that this was real. He was there, holding her, protecting her. After all the blood and pain, he still believed she was worth saving.

  Nola’s heart raced as his fingers found the skin at her side, tracing a line toward her ribs. She deepened their kiss, stumbling when he pulled away.

  He took her hands in his, staring at them for a moment before kissing both her palms.

  “Promise me one thing,” Jeremy said, still looking at her hands. “Promise me you aren’t still in love with Kieran Wynne.”

  She took his face in her hands, staring deep into his brown eyes. “If I ever see Kieran Wynne again, I’ll kill him myself.”

  Chapter Four

  Report to the Amber Dome at 0800 for planting. You have been assigned a supervisory role. Report to Lenora Kent for further information.

  The message started blinking on Nola’s bedroom wall at six in the morning. PAM woke her up, beeping as the words lit the darkness.

  Magnolia Kent. You have received an assignment from the Dome Reconstruction Committee. Please tap your screen to confirm receipt.

  Nola climbed out of bed and tapped the screen in her wall before PAM could continue. It was the first assignment she had received since the attack. Everyone else who wasn’t in the hospital had been given a task but her. She had assumed the Council had deemed her too broken or too much of a liability. But there it was, blinking on her bedroom wall. The domes wanted her to work. Or at least her mother did. Dressing quickly, she popped her head out of her bedroom door, listening for the sounds of her mother. Silence filled the house. Lenora had been sleeping in her office for the last week, coming home only to shower.