“I’ll stay awake ‘till you get back.” Birdee said. “Be safe.”
Lena nodded as she left. She crept to the entrance of the servant’s hallway. Once inside she moved more freely to the Captain’s room. The closer she got to his room, the more her mind raced. Did she really want to tell Gideon about Nagar and Lucius? Did he already know about Thora missing? Or would she also need to tell him about that? She absentmindedly tugged on the cuff still around her wrist.
A voice whispered in the shadows. Lena’s heart lurched. The voice grew louder. She could make out some of the words.
“...loss of Thora is quite a blow. She will be fine....”
Surprised at hearing Gideon’s voice, she stopped in the middle of the hallway. His words rang clear now in her ears. Gideon spoke to someone unseen through a com device. Gasping, and taking a step backward, she shook her head to clear her thoughts. Gideon spoke of her. To someone, clearly not Thora. Her head spun thinking of who else knew about her hidden deep within the heart of the enemy. So consumed in her own thoughts, she failed to see Gideon coming around the bend.
“I’m confident she’ll only be stronger and work harder in spite of the loss. I am closely watching her. I’ve known her our whole lives. She will not let this...”
Stopping, he looked guilty. “Eves, what are you doing?” Her heart jumped hearing her former nickname. He closed his communication device. “It’s after curfew. Why are you out?” His question didn’t bear the command of a Captain but of a friend. The thought made her even more confused.
“I came to find you,” Lena answered, her voice shaking more than she wanted it to. “Can we talk?”
“Is everything okay? What do you need?” he whispered. He wore his full Captain’s uniform. The silver buttons reflected the overhead light, catching Lena’s eye.
“Is it safe to talk without being overheard?”
Gideon looked down the hall and pulled her into a shadow by some vents. “Make it quick.”
“Nagar knows I’m here,” she answered. Focusing on the buttons on his uniform, she saw Gideon catch his breath. She looked at his face for a reaction.
“What do you mean?” His eyes widened in alarm.
She held her breath. His closeness made her nervous. “Jonah and I overheard Lucius and his father talking,” she blurted. Her insides twisted anxiously. “Nagar has pieced together who I am. Though he didn’t tell Lucius.” Lena looked nervously around the hallway. She wanted to look anywhere but at Gideon.
“What. When? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I tried to find you,” she said. “You weren’t at training this morning.”
“I was away,” Gideon said, not explaining more. “How much do they know?”
Lena retold the conversation. “I’m sure Lucius and Jonah don’t know yet, but I’m sure they’ll figure it out, eventually.”
“And now Jonah knows too?” Turning away, Gideon grabbed his head with both hands then dropped them to the sides. Furious, he turned back to Lena and started pacing the hall in front of her. “Who else are you going to tell, Lena?”
“I didn’t tell Jonah at all,” Lena felt defensive and couldn’t keep her voice from rising. “He was with me and overheard the conversation. He told Birdee.”
“Birdee?” Gideon barked.
“It wasn’t intentional,” she spat back.
“Do you have any idea what this means?” The more Gideon spoke, the angrier he sounded.
“No, actually, I don’t, because if you remember, you refuse to tell me anything of importance.” Her voiced rose above his. A light flickered, making her shiver.
“It means you’re on the radar, Lena. It means you’re no longer safe. Why couldn’t you have just stayed hidden?”
“You’re blaming me?” She emphasized the words. “As if any of this was my doing? Should we review? Let’s see, infiltrated Everleigh? You. Shot me? You. Hid me? You. Recruited me? YOU!”
Placing her hands on the center of his chest she shoved with all the force she could muster. Gideon stumbled back onto the vent they had been hiding against. Catching his balance, he looked at Lena wide eyed. Her reaction clearly surprised him. Gathering his wits, he straightened his posture. Lena continued. “I was trying to do the right thing by telling you. By not keeping secrets. But maybe all you understand is how to keep secrets.”
He grabbed her arms. His grip tightened. “Eves. Stop speaking of things you don’t understand.”
His eyes were barely above hers. Both held the other’s stare. “Then tell me.” She clenched her jaw, waiting for Gideon to answer. “Why does the Priestess want me? Why did you hide me here?” His eyes searched hers. She felt his grip tighten. Stepping back, Gideon’s eyes readjusted to focus on her face. The silence simmered between them.
“Tell me,” Lena yelled.
He pulled her close. His lips were so close to her ear she felt the vibrations of his words, “Trust me. You don’t want to understand why the Priestess wants you or the horror that awaits you if she finds you here.” He dropped her arm. His eyes held hers in a warning stare for a second longer. He turned his back towards her and walked away.
“You should have just killed me,” she yelled against his retreating form. Leaning against the wall, she kicked back at it as anger and frustration consumed her.
***
Back at her room, Birdee stretched awake, turned on the light and rubbed her eyes. Sitting on the edge of her bed she looked to Lena. “Whoa,” she said, looking at Lena’s livid face. “Guess ya found the Captain.”
“Don’t ask.” She sat down angrily on the edge of her bed. Picking up her pillow she threw it across the room.
“Hey. What’s that on your bed?” Birdee questioned.
Lena looked at her pillow. She saw a tiny square box sat on her bed. Picking it up, she turned it over in her hand.
“Lena?” Birdee questioned.
Lena opened the box and gasped. “It’s my necklace.” Pulling the necklace from its box, she held it in the palm of her hand “I thought I lost it the day my parents died.”
Birdee hopped off her bed and came to sit by Lena. The lights from the room caused the necklace’s prismatic surface to glisten with color. “What’s the symbol?” she asked.
“The Warrior and the Angel,” Lena whispered. Memories of that night flashed in her mind. The mystic’s voice rang in her memories. A warrior and an angel. One, with the power to save. The other, to destroy. Alone you will accomplish nothing. You must work together to accomplish your destiny.
Wrapping her hand around it, she brought it to her chest. “I got it as a child. Thora must have had it this whole time,” Lena responded.
“So why’d she wait ‘til now ta give it ta ya?”
Lena opened her palm and looked at it again. There is much in this life that will keep you apart. Secrets, treachery and pride. You must overcome these. You must always find each other. The mystic’s voice resonated in her mind.
“She wants me to fix things with Gideon,” Lena answered. As she said it, she ached for Gideon, the old Gideon, her best friend. She knew she had to make things right with him. A single tear slid down her cheek.
Birdee looked compassionately over Lena’s shoulder. Gently taking the necklace out of Lena’s hand, she fastened it around her neck.
“Come on now,” Birdee spoke gently. “It’s been a long day fer ya. Get some rest. Things always look better in the morning.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Working with Gideon the next day bordered on brutality. Lena arrived at extra trainings the next morning to find Gideon already waiting for her to arrive. With a countenance as hard as ice, he led Lena outside, not saying a word. The sky still hung dark and grey, anticipating the arrival of morning. As they started running together, Lena hoped to find peace in the fresh air. She got anything but. About three minutes into their run, the Captain started shouting demands. Fifty pushups, followed by thirty lunges, more running intermingled with s
it ups, push-ups and knee-highs. The whole hour working with the Captain felt like hours on a death march.
Lena said nothing as he ordered her around. The more he yelled, the harder she worked. She knew the intensity of the morning directly related to their confrontation the night before.
Her night had haunted her with thoughts of their argument. But mostly, she thought of the necklace and its vision. When she did fall into a fitful sleep, she had dreamed about Gideon. She witnessed the same scenes she had seen in the vision with the mystic. Gideon stood on the opposite cliff, fighting, but Lena couldn’t get to him. She kept all these thoughts to herself as she pounded the ground, not letting the difficulty of the exercise wear her down.
When the hour was finished, Gideon turned back toward the gates of the compound with Lena huffing behind. Lena was surprised that his exercise regime left them so far from the gates.
“I assume you can find your way back without any distractions,” Gideon barked. He grabbed her cuff and used his remote to let her through the gates.
“I’m sure I’ll be just fine. Thank you for your heartfelt concern.” Her words boiled in sarcasm as she pulled her hand from his.
Gideon turned to walk the other way, leaving Lena to walk back herself. She watched his back, feeling torn. She knew deep inside that she needed to fix things with him—bridge the gap that was between them.
“Gideon,” Lena called after him. She saw him stop, but she didn’t know what to say. Shaking her head, she turned and headed back toward the compound.
“Eves, wait,” Gideon trotted to catch up. His voice bordered on penitent, but neither said anything as they crossed the wide expanse towards the compound.
“Look. I think you’ll be safe for a while,” Gideon said, as they walked. “Nagar won’t act until he’s sure you’re really here.”
Lena nodded. “I thought the same.” She hesitated with her next words. “I don’t want to fight you anymore, Gid.”
Gideon stopped and turned to look at her.
Taking a deep breath, she continued. “I’m frustrated that you won’t tell me what’s going on, but I don’t want to fight you anymore.”
His stared at her. Moments passed before he took a deep breath and spoke. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that whatever fight you’re secretly fighting, I’m in. All the way. By your side. In whatever way you need me to be.”
“Eves, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Maybe not all the details. But I think I’ve pieced a lot of it together. I know you and Thora aren’t the only ones keeping me hidden. Those aren’t exactly the actions of someone loyal to the Priestess.
“I don’t know what the Priestess wants with me, Gideon. And I don’t know why you and Thora hid me here. But you’re right. Any option is better than the Priestess. So, I’m choosing to trust you. I’m choosing to help you in whatever way you need me to. To be on your side.”
She thought about the necklace hidden under her clothes. The Warrior and the Angel. Gideon and Evangeline.
His eyes furrowed as he crossed his arms over his chest, examining her. “You’ll do what I say.”
“Yes, Gid. I’ll do what you say.”
“Even if you don’t know why.”
She paused, knowing that she hated acting without a reason. However, determined to make things right with Gideon, she added, “Yes, even if I don’t know why.”
Studying her face, he spoke. “You prove to me that you’ll do anything I say, no questions asked, and we have a deal.”
Lena’s breathing relaxed. “I promise,” she answered.
“Don’t promise me anything. Prove it to me,” he said.
She remembered her father’s words. Knowledge without action will do you no good. Acting without knowledge is a fool’s errand. You need both to truly succeed.
Watching him walk away she thought, so which am I? No good, or a fool?
***
Entering the compound, Lena went to find Birdee. She needed to relax, and Birdee always got her laughing. Walking into the hallway just outside the dining hall, she saw Birdee exiting the commons area.
“Birdee, wait up.” A huge smile formed on her friend’s face as she trotted to the other end of the hall.
“You left before I woke up. How ya doin’ this morning?” Birdee questioned as her eyes examined Lena’s face.
“I’m much better today, Birdee.”
“Oh good, ‘cause I wasn’t quite sure what to do with ya last night. I’d much rather see ya floatin’ in the stars.”
Looking at Birdee, Lena’s anxiousness slid into the back of her mind. “Floatin’ in the stars?” She raised her eyebrows at Birdee then laughed.
“What’s going on over here?” Jonah said, coming up behind them and placing a hand in the center of Lena’s back, making her heart flutter.
“We were just talkin’,” Birdee said with a glint in her eye.
Jonah winked at Lena. “I knew you’d missed breakfast, so I brought you an apple.” Holding out his hand, he offered her a beautiful red apple.
“I hate that you’re in different classes than us, Lena. It’s no fun being with a group of people vying for the Captain’s attention,” Jonah complained.
“I didn’t think the Captain taught classes,” Lena said.
“He doesn’t. But he supervises them, which means that every recruit wants to catch his attention.” Jonah said.
“Ya, it’s like bein’ caught in a whirly swirl of stuck up, pretentious mamma’s boys. Not includin’ you, of course,” she said, hitting Jonah on the shoulder.
“Well, as much as I’d love to have classes with you both, I get enough of the dear old Captain as it is. I don’t think I could stand being supervised in classes all day as well as extra tutoring,” Lena said.
“Ah, yes, and how are the good ol’ training sessions going? Does the Captain know how brilliant you are yet?” Jonah words were meant to tease, but came across somewhat jealous.
“I think he’s getting a pretty clear picture of who I am,” Lena responded. Thinking of the deal they made that morning made her chest tighten. Looking up, she saw Lucius walking toward them.
Lucius stopped in front of her. “I’m surprised the Captain lets you out with other guys Lena, with your relationship and all,” Lucius said. Several nearby recruits stopped and looked at them. She heard their gossiping whispers. Lucius looked down the hallway and smirked, his words already spreading like wildfire. He raised his eyebrows in triumph as he walked by her and into class.
Lena looked at her two companions. Their eyes simmered in anger at Lucius’s back. Hoping to ease the tension, she joked, “I hate to leave you guys in a den of lions. Are you sure you’ll survive?”
“I’d be much better knowing I could see you later,” Jonah grinned.
“I have to meet with the Captain after classes,” Lena said.
“Have you talked to him yet? About, you know?” Jonah questioned. He looked worried.
“He knows what we heard,” Lena responded. “I told him last night.”
“Last night?” Jonah questioned. His words sounded envious.
“Hey, I’d love to see you later too. Pick me up afterwards?” Giving him a flirty smile, Lenagrabbed his arm and gave it a light squeeze.
“Tonight it is,” he answered with his own half smile. Turning, he followed Birdee into Advanced Leadership Training.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lena arrived at combat training right as Ameena began instruction.
“I’ve paired each of you with a partner,” Ameena yelled in her raspy voice. “You will practice defense holds and escapes, which I will show you,” Ameena’s body screamed fit. Her muscles rippled across her tank-topped shoulders, making Lena hope she never got on her bad side.
Ameena quickly yelled out pairings, and Lena’s classmates gathered together on the black floor mats. Lena stood in place, waiting attentively for the sound of her name.
&nb
sp; “Lena,” Ameena yelled. “The Captain ordered that you were to do these instead.” She threw Lena a big black ball filled with sand. “Thirty pounds. Run once around the room carrying it. Then throw it as high as you can against the wall and catch it. Ten times each lap.”
Lena stared angrily at the heavy ball in her already-aching arms.
“I don’t know what you did to the Captain, but you might wanna beg for his forgiveness.”
Lena knew that Gideon used this as an underhanded way to see if Lena was serious about their deal. Whispers from other recruits flooded her ears as they guessed reasons for such a punishment. Lena stood tall, grasped the ball tightly in both arms and spoke loudly enough that all heard.
“I actually didn’t do anything wrong,” she smiled, and started her routine. The longer she went, the more she hurt. Her arms cramped, at the the end of class as she stretched them, she noticed how dehydrated and undernourished she felt.
The day proceeded with similar physical torture. Her class recruits were mixed in their response. Some held a look of sorrow, others smugness. However, too tired to care, Lena barely noticed.
Reaching the control room that night, Lena dreaded what inventive torture the Captain planned next.
Corgy sat at a workstation, the blinking lights of the control room flashing around him.
“Hey, Corgy,” Lena said. Pulling out a chair next to Corgy, her muscles stiffened. Grabbing her arms above her head, she stretched to the side.
Corgy jumped at the sound of her. “Oh, Lena. You’re here,” Corgy said. Spinning his chair towards Lena, his elbow clipped the edge of the table. “Oww.” He grabbed his elbow as Lena sat next to him. Her hips burned and stomach muscles ached, making her progress slow.
“Umm, are you okay?” Corgy said, shaking his arm out.
“I’ve had better days,” she said and gave him a slight smile.
“Well, the Captain wanted you to continue your assignment for Defense class.” Corgy leaned over her to pull up a list of names on her screen. “He said to look at these names. If you have any questions, let me know. I’m here mostly as tech support today.”
The Mir Chronicles- The Complete Series Page 13
