Boy of Blood

by Megan O'Russell

  “Nola.” Lenora burst through the door, looking harassed after 672 seconds. “What happened to you?”

  Nola smiled to herself, swallowing the urge to laugh. “I almost got blown up on the bridge, and then hit my head really hard at home. So, a little blood and a lot of trauma.”

  “What?” Lenora looked at Dr. Mullins as though expecting her to say delusions were a symptom of Nola’s head wound. “You were on that bridge? How in the ever-loving hell did you get out there? And what do you mean blown up?”

  “Can I tell you at home?” Nola said.

  “How did you get outside the domes? And where did you hit your head?”

  Nola smiled apologetically at Doctor Mullins who stayed plastered to the side of the room as Nola’s mother led her out into the hall.

  “And you can’t possibly tell me you had anything to do with what happened outside. I’ve been told there were werewolves.” Lenora took Nola by the arm and dragged her up the stairs. “How could you have gotten to the bridge in the first place?”

  “Captain Ridgeway set me up.” Nola expected a shot of pain to fly through her chest. But there was nothing. Only a vast emptiness in the place where the pain should have been. “He made me negotiate with the wolves. Made me think there was a chance to make sure no one died. And then he blew up the bridge with me standing on it. With a hundred people running across it. He’s a liar and a killer, and I never want to see him or Jeremy again.”

  “What?” Lenora stopped in the middle of the hall.

  Nola sidestepped her and kept walking toward Bright Dome. “They used me to buy time to kill people. And I hate them for it.” She didn’t look back to see if her mother was following.

  She had reached the steps to Bright Dome when heavy running footfalls caught up to her.

  “Nola, honey…” Lenora grabbed her daughter’s arm. “That can’t be what they meant to do.”

  “It was, Mom.” Nola took her mother’s hand. “Please don’t pretend you don’t believe me. I think you knew what the Ridgeways were capable of long before I did.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Lenora shook her head, her fingers pressed over her lips. “What can I do?”

  “Keep Jeremy away from me, and let me live my life away from him.” It sounded so ridiculously simple when she said it like that.

  “The Ridgeway family is no longer welcome in our home.” Lenora chased Nola up the stone walkway to their house. “And I’ll be sure to talk to the Council, too, though I don’t know how much good it will do since even the Incorporation seems to be on the Outer Guard’s side these days.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” She turned to her mother, tears burning in her eyes. “Thank you for believing me and standing up for me, even if you think it won’t work. I love you, Mom.”

  Lenora pulled her daughter into a tight hug. “I love you, too, Magnolia.”

  As soon as the words had left Lenora’s mouth, the moment ended. The deep, tender feelings of a mother protecting her only child disappeared.

  “Now that we’re home, what can I do for you?” Lenora asked as Nola walked up the steps to the house.

  “Nothing, Mom. But can you make sure my work team is up in the Amber Dome and ready in fifteen?”

  “Of course.” Lenora beamed up at her daughter. “It’s always good to turn to your work, Nola. The seeds always make sense. And they will never hurt you.”

  Lenora turned and walked away without looking back.

  Nola wanted to call after her and ask if that was why she preferred the company of seeds to her own daughter.

  It won’t matter soon.

  The steps creaked under Nola’s weight as she ran up them, pulling out her dresser drawer before she had even stopped moving. There was a narrow space at the back, discovered years ago when she and Kieran had needed a place to hide their childish secrets.

  Carefully, she packed in vials, bottles, and packages, making sure there was no wasted room before sliding the drawer shut. From where she sat, there was no indication that she had done anything wrong. No blaring signals declaring Magnolia Kent had stolen from the domes once again.

  What’s next?

  Nola crawled onto the bed, clutching the covers so her hands wouldn’t shake. She needed a place to go and people to go with her. She knew enough about the outside world to be certain she would die quickly on her own. And she wouldn’t leave T, Catlyn, or even Beauford in the domes. There was no bridge to the city anymore. No way for the domes to march them home when they were deemed no longer useful. She didn’t want to imagine what the Council would do with them.

  Moving to the bathroom in a daze, she stuck her head under the faucet of the sink and watched the red of the blood from her hair swirl down the drain. Her head stung as she pulled her hair into a tight braid. She needed to look normal, even if normal made her want to be sick again.

  The walk to the Amber Dome seemed shorter than usual. Nola didn’t read the signs that greeted her everyday as she normally did, even though they had been the same her whole life.

  Her feet carried her to the Amber Dome without thought. She yanked on the brown gardening jumpsuit, not noticing what she had done until she pulled the zipper on the front all the way up.

  People were already at work in the dome. The bloodshed of the night couldn’t be allowed to affect the work of the day. There were more Domers working than there had been before, taking the place of Allory and the others who had attacked the guards the previous day.

  “Miss Kent!” a voice called hesitantly from the far side of the dome. Catlyn gave a quick wave before dropping her hand and shrinking back into the bushes.

  Nola ran over to her group, who were working on salvaging the bits of vine they had pushed through fleeing the fight.

  “How are you?” Catlyn asked in a bright tone that sounded like she was merely being polite. But the intensity with which she stared at Nola told a different story.

  “I’m fine.” Nola smiled. “Doing well. Got a little bumped around on the bridge but nothing to worry about.”

  “You really were on the bridge?” T looked up from the vine she had been binding to a trellis. Her eyes were red and puffy as though she’d been crying.

  “I was.”

  Catlyn gave a slow exhale through pinched lips. “We heard the guards talking and saw the bridge through the glass. I was hoping I had heard wrong.”

  “The bridge to the city was destroyed.” Nola knelt down next to T, pointing at different parts of the vine without really looking at them. “There isn’t a way for you to cross over the river to get home. There was a huge fire in the city last night, the biggest I’ve ever seen, and the Outer Guard aren’t going to go back in to try and keep the peace. Now that we’re cut off from the city, I don’t know how bad things will get.”

  “Great,” Beauford said from his place on the other side of the vines. “So even if we can get out of here and could find a way home, there won’t be anything but wolves, Vampers, and death waiting for us. Glad you could give us that helpful information.”

  “I can’t go back to the city.” T shook her head, her face paling so her freckles were the only trace of color left. “How am I supposed to keep a baby safe with wolves running the streets?”

  “Can you ask them to keep the baby?” Catlyn whispered, taking Nola’s hands in hers. “There has to be a way to convince them. No one with a heart would send an innocent baby into a place where they have no chance of survival.”

  “The people of the domes don’t have hearts,” Nola said. She expected the words to hurt, to dig at something deep inside of her, but the void had swallowed the pain of that knowledge, too. “They will use you, then dump you outside. They probably won’t even help you get across the river.”

  Fresh tears streamed down T’s face.

  “So we have to get out of here before they decide they’re done with you. We have to break out of here and find Nightland.” Nola ducked under the vines, feigning interest in the work Beauford had done. “You
can’t stay here, and after last night, neither can I.”

  “But you don’t know where Nightland went,” T said, leaning back down to the vines and attaching miniscule braces to the damaged section. “You swore you didn’t.”

  “I don’t know where Nightland is,” she said, “but I know someone who does, or at least would know where to start looking.”

  “Can you trust them?” Beauford asked.

  “I’ll never trust her, but she needs my help if she wants to get out of her cell, and she’s as close to Emanuel as we could hope to find.”

  “The Vamper in the cell,” T said, then, seeing the shocked look on Nola’s face, added, “I’ve heard the guards talking about her when they come into the hall.”

  “I’m sure she’d help us if I can get her out, and you out, and find a way out of the domes.” Helplessness flared in Nola’s chest.

  “Getting out of the rooms only takes a code,” Beauford said. “All you have to do is find out what it is. Getting out of the Guard barracks take a distraction.”

  “And getting out of the domes?” T asked.

  “The domes are only made of glass.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “I need to see my work crew.” Nola smiled sweetly at the Outer Guard who blocked the stairs to the barracks. “The ones who are in the cells in the back. It’s my fault. I handed one of them a few seeds and asked her to keep them in her pocket while we worked. But I forgot to get them back, and now my mom, Lenora Kent, well, she’s running inventory, and I really need to get those seeds back before she murders me.”

  The guard looked to his companion.

  “I know I shouldn’t have forgotten something so important, but with everything from last night…” Nola let her voice trail away for a moment, feeling foolishly dramatic. “I guess I’m just not thinking so well today.”

  “Fine,” the guard finally said after a stiff nod from his partner, “but please don’t tell anyone we let you in. And you’ve got to make it fast.”

  “I will.” Nola sighed in relief as he led her through the barracks corridor. “I promise, I don’t want anyone to know I made that sort of mistake. I mean, they aren’t rare seeds. Just a few food plants, but my mother can be scary sometimes.”

  “I’ve heard rumors about Dr. Kent.” The guard pushed open the door to the hall of cells and stopped at the first one. “I don’t blame you for wanting to stay on her good side. Even if she is your mother.”

  “Especially since she’s my mother.” Nola forced a laugh.

  The guard tapped on the glass, drawing T, Catlyn, and Beauford’s attention. They were all in the room together, just as Beauford said they had been last night.

  “Catlyn,” Nola called through the glass, “I forgot to get the seeds back from you.”

  “What, Miss Kent?” Catlyn shouted, looking toward the door. “I don’t have any seeds.”

  The guard raised an eyebrow at Nola.

  “Yes, you do,” Nola said, her face now only a few inches from the glass. “I gave you the sealed dish to carry. But I never asked for it back.”

  “You did?” Catlyn patted her pockets a little more dramatically than necessary before pulling out the tray. “You’re right! I’m so sorry, Miss Kent.”

  “It’s not your fault. It’s mine,” Nola said. “But I do need to get it back tonight.”

  “Leave the dish on the floor and step away from the door.” The guard stepped over to the numbered panel by the door.

  “Thank you for helping me.” Nola laid her hand on the guard’s arm.

  The texture of his uniform made her skin crawl, but she inched closer to him.

  “Of course,” the guard said. Pink rose in the guard’s cheeks as he punched in the code.

  25663

  “Stand back.” The guard opened the door and, in one swift movement, grabbed the dish of seeds and closed the door again. “And there you go.”

  “Thank you.” Nola beamed. “Thank you so much. After last night, I really don’t think I could take any more stress. I’m not built for that kind of thing.”

  “I was there.” Sympathy sounded in the guard’s voice. “I saw you talking to that wolf, and you were great. But you can’t always talk a crazy person out of doing a crazy thing.”

  “No, I guess not.” They would be calling her crazy soon enough. “Is there any way I could talk to Captain Ridgeway while I’m down here? Just for a minute. After last night, I mean, well, I guess I don’t understand everything that happened.”

  “Understanding what drugged-up outsiders do is impossible. I might have only been a guard for three years, but even I know that.” He was young. Nola hadn’t bothered to look before, but he was only a few years older than she was. And now Graylock had taken over his system.

  Nola swallowed her scream. “I’d still like to try.”

  “We can see if he’s in.” The guard shrugged. “Just don’t mention the seeds or me opening the door, all right?”

  “Don’t worry.” Nola winked. “It’ll be our secret.”

  The guard led her back out into the barracks corridor. There were still guards milling between rooms. It would have been better to come at night when everyone not on duty would be sleeping, but she needed the code.

  The guard knocked on Captain Ridgeway’s office door.

  “Come in.” Captain Ridgeway’s rumbling voice sounded angry even through the thick metal.

  “Are you sure you want to go in there?” The guard shrugged and swung the door open. “Miss Kent here to see you, sir.” With a jerk of his head to the captain and Nola, the guard shut the door behind her.

  “Nola.” Captain Ridgeway stood behind his desk. She hadn’t even started speaking, and his eyes had already narrowed suspiciously. “What can I do for you?”

  “What happened to Lucifer and his pack?” she asked. “I know the story in the domes is that a pack tried to attack and blew themselves up. I’ve heard it repeated three times since lunch. But I know that isn’t true. It wasn’t one pack, it was a thousand people. And we blew up the bridge, not them.”

  Captain Ridgeway hesitated for a moment before tenting his fingers under his chin. “Fine, we blew up the bridge to cut off the domes from the city before the wolves could become a threat to our people. After what you saw last night, I would have assumed that would be self-explanatory.”

  “Is Lucifer dead?” Nola asked. “Did any of the Outer Guard see him in the fighting?”

  “One thinks he fought him, but we didn’t find a body. It’s not unexpected. Between the fire and fighting so close to the broken ledge of the bridge, he could have been burned beyond recognition or fallen into the river.”

  “So, we just hope he’s dead?” She wished the thought of Lucifer dead would bring at least a little sadness if for no other reason than the loss of precious life. But she had seen what he did to Allory, and she couldn’t mourn a murderer. She could barely stand speaking to the one in front of her.

  “We hope he’s dead and hope even harder someone worse doesn’t take his place.” Captain Ridgeway sat back in his chair. “Of course, the city isn’t our problem anymore. If they destroy themselves, so be it.”

  “And if they build boats and come for us again, will you burn the river to drive them away?” Nola’s nails bit into her palms.

  “I will burn the river and all of them with it. I believe in the mission of the domes with all that I am. And I will defend it with my life and with my children’s lives. Don’t forget what we’re locked behind glass to do, Nola. We’re here to save mankind, and if some have to be lost to let the human race survive, so be it.”

  “So be it.” Nola nodded and turned for the door. She couldn’t stand to look at him anymore.

  “I’m glad you understand, Nola,” Captain Ridgeway said.

  She turned back around at the hardness of his tone.

  “Jeremy seemed upset today,” Captain Ridgeway said. “I won’t pry into what goes on between the two of you. But you need to ap
preciate the sacrifices he is making for the domes. And for you.”

  She took a breath, begging the screaming in her head not to start again.

  “I know Jeremy would do anything to protect me and the domes.” She gave a pained smile and walked out of Captain Ridgeway’s office, closing the door slowly behind her.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The guards still stood at the end of the corridor, facing the stairs.

  They were so trusting. Not even watching for the girl who had seen the code. Convinced of their safety behind glass walls.

  Nola walked toward the hall of cells, not looking back to see if anyone followed.

  Fingers trembling, she opened the door and stepped into the corridor. Closing it as silently as possible behind her, she turned and stared at the solid door to the Outer Guard’s hallway.

  “One, two, three,” she counted. She couldn’t afford to try unlocking the cells until she was sure she hadn’t been followed. If she were caught, she would be banished without hope of taking the others with her or stealing any of the medicine she had horded in her room. “Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine, one hundred.”

  The door stayed shut. Nola walked to the door behind which T, Catlyn, and Beauford were trapped.

  It only took a light tap on the glass for Catlyn to whisper, “Miss Kent.”

  25663

  Nola held her breath as she punched in the numbers, only letting it out when the lock clicked open with a soft beep.

  “Is everyone ready?” she whispered.

  “Ready.” Beauford was the first one out the door. He stood facing the exit to the Outer Guard barracks as the girls slipped past.

  Nola ran down the hall until she reached the single cells. Raina lay on the floor of her cell just as she had the first time Nola had found her.

  “Raina.” Nola knocked on the glass.

  Raina glanced up for only a moment before laying her head back on her arm.