“Would you run?” Lena retorted.
“If the Priestess wanted me dead? Yes, I’d run,” Azara said.
Lena started brushing her hair out. Azara pulled a jar from the cupboard. Filling her hand with its contents, she put it in Lena’s hair, leaving it in shiny waves down her back.
“I don’t see why I’m such a threat in the first place,” Lena said, surveying herself in the mirror. She hadn’t worn a dress since Everleigh. And though she was now clean, she felt more self-conscious than ever.
“Because of the prophecy, of course,” Azara responded. “The Priestess is quite superstitious.”
“What prophecy?” Lena asked
“What do you mean, ‘What prophecy’? Certainly Gideon told you?” Azara eyed Lena. “He didn’t tell you?” Her face paled. “Come on. You’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Lena and Azara exited the bathroom. The men and Myri sat around the table in Tarek’s ship. It was more like a mini home than a ship. Several beds hung from the ship’s walls. A kitchen and living area lay in the middle. At an upward diagonal from the living quarter were the ship’s controls. Below the controls sat the engine room. At the opening of the door, they all looked up. Gideon and Jonah’s eyes fell on Lena. Gideon’s lips parted, and he quickly shifted his gaze to Azara. Jonah stood, his eyes scanning Lena.
Lena smoothed down the wrap, feeling extra self-conscious now. She walked to the table and sat next to Jonah. Azara sat next to Gideon, kissing him on the cheek. His eyes flicked to Lena’s. She scooted closer to Jonah, who wrapped an arm around her.
“Gideon,” Lena said. “What is the prophecy?”
Gideon looked at Azara. Lena thought she saw a spark of anger in his eye but it softened just as quickly. “I don’t believe in prophecies.”
Lena locked eyes with him. “Gideon. Why does the Priestess want me?”
He stared at her, his jaw locked. “She’s crazy. That’s why,” Gideon answered.
“Tell me the prophecy, Gideon.”
He folded his arms across his chest and his jaw tightened. “You make your own destiny Lena. Knowing a prophecy doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me,” Lena countered.
“Oh, this is ridiculous,” Azara cut in. The offspring of your greatest threat to power will grow to overthrow you. You must find and destroy this enemy to ensure your lasting reign.
Gideon tensed as he heard the words. Azara placed her hand on his arm. “Gideon, she needed to know,” Azara said.
Lena felt complete disbelief. All the years of hiding and worry because of a prophecy. “The Priestess thinks I can overthrow her?” Lena cut in.
“It could be anyone,” Jonah added.
“Could be, but most people who knew of the prophecy thought it meant you, Lena. Including the Priestess,” Tarek inserted. “And yes, she believes it to be true.”
Lena tried to comprehend all she had just heard. “Do you believe it?” Lena asked the group at the table. Druinn and Myri glanced at each other, then at Gideon. Gideon looked at them angrily, and Druinn shrugged his shoulders.
“Na, I don’t really believe such things,” Druinn said. “I think we all write our own destinies.” His eyes probed Lena’s for a moment. “But the Priestess believes it, so a lot of people want ta use the prophecy against her.”
Lena’s mind spun, grabbing at information within its depths. “If they can control the Priestess, they can control Mir,” Lena said. “Mir’s location in the galaxy provides the easiest gateway for trade. With the treaties among other planets expiring, if they control Mir, they can control the port. You control the port, your control reaches other planets. And they think they can control her, through me.”
“That is exactly why we’re getting you off this planet,” Gideon huffed.
A beeping overhead had Druinn jumping up the ladder into the pilot seat. “A signal is trying to lock onto our location,” Druinn yelled. “Non-defense ship.”
Myri jumped up from the table and ran to a control panel on the side of the ship. Her fingers flew across the panel’s surface. “I cloaked our location earlier. There shouldn’t have been anything they’d be able to lock onto.” Her eyes soared over the information across the screen. “There is a foreign signal coming from our ship. Gideon, what other tracking devices do you have?” she asked, her voice near panic.
Gideon stood. His hands rested in fists on the surface. “Search our gear.” It took him only two steps to grab Lena’s pack and start dumping the contents.
Jonah scrambled to stand and then knelt on the floor in the pile of gear.
“How long till they find us Myri?” Gideon asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe ten minutes,” she answered. “Find the signal, I can’t scramble it without knowing what it is.”
“Can you track it?” Lena asked. “I mean, we know it’s coming from the ship but can you find an exact location?”
Myri’s eyes went wide. “Just give me a second. I might be able to. Keep looking though, in case I’m not fast enough.”
Lena’s hands rummaged through the contents. Nothing she saw resembled any type of tracking device. It held food mostly, a first aide kit, water tablets. She reached for a weather blanket. Jonah’s hand fell on top of hers.
“Lena,” Jonah said. She looked at him kneeling across from her. His blue eyes looked panicked as he pulled her closer to him. He looked like he wanted to say something. Instead, he put his hands on both sides of her face and kissed her softly. Her eyes locked with his. A message lay behind them that she didn’t know how to decode.
“I found it,” yelled Myri. Lena broke her gaze with Jonah and looked toward the voice. “It’s coming from the bathroom.”
Lena leapt up and got to the bathroom one step behind Gideon. He grabbed her dirty clothes and furiously started shaking them. Something clanked to the ground. Gideon leaned over and picked it up. Opening his palm, a beautiful ivory star lay in his hand, carved to perfection with images of the galaxy. Gideon stormed to the ship’s exit, Lena following closely behind. Once outside he placed the star on a rock outside the doorway. Gideon grabbed another stone and started hitting the carving. It only took a few blows before her star lay shattered on the stone. Gideon sifted through the broken pieces before pulling out a tiny circle of metal.
“Where’s Jonah?” Gideon demanded of Lena.
Lena looked toward the empty space next to her and then spun toward the airship’s entrance. Tarek bolted into the ship, and out just as fast.
“Jonah’s gone,” Tarek said.
“We’ve got to get out of here.” Gideon grabbed Lena’s waist and hauled her towards the ship.
“You’re too late,” a voice called. A flood of light filled the ravine. A company of Cimmerian soldiers rappelled from the walls of the ravine and formed a semi-circle around them, their weapons pointed and ready to fire. Their green camouflage uniforms stood out against the red cliffs behind them. Jonah stood in the middle, his gun pointed straight at Lena.
Lena’s heart stopped. Her breath caught as the truth crashed around her. “Jonah. What have you done?”
The End of Book One
* * *
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Acknowledgments
There are many people I feel extremely grateful for who have helped this book get written.
To Dad, to whom this book is dedicated. You were the first person who encouraged me to write. Your excitement over my story motivated me from day one and kept motivating me through my countless revisions. You read my work from the roughest of drafts and provided my first feedback and encouragement. I love you!
To Carol, you’re the best writing friend ever! You saw me through all the ups and downs and kept me going. You were my sounding board, my beta reader, my encourager, but, more important to me, my friend.
Thank you for inspiring me to keep writing.
To my beta readers, Steve Hardman, Carol Vaughn, Crystal Boyack, Chelsea Smith, and Wade Wallace. Your feedback made this story what it is. Thank you!
A huge thank you to Cameron Boyack for cleaning up my manuscript.
To Lorraine Wallace for polishing my story to near perfection.
Westin Smith, your artistic skills are amazing. Thank you for the cover.
And last, Wally, Cole and Avery. You three inspire me everyday. I love you!
RESIST
Book Two of
THE MIR CHRONICLES
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
RESIST
Second edition. December 7, 2018.
Formerly published as “The Children of the Resistance”
Copyright © 2018 Leisa Wallace.
Written by Leisa Wallace.
Chapter One
She was conscious long before she peeled her eyes open. They hurt. Everything hurt. Darkness surrounded her. She twisted in her suspend cuffs as her shoulders pulled the rest of her body. With her toes barely brushing the ground her heart began to accelerate. Where was she? How did she get here? Squeezing her eyes shut, she forced herself to calm down and think.
The memory of Jonah, the boy she thought was her boyfriend, surfaced in front of her mind. He stood in front of Cimmerian solders. His gun pointed at her chest. Jonah was a Cimmerian, Lena’s heart jolted. Jonah was responsible. Pushing her toes into the ground, she tried to release the pressure tugging on her shoulders. Jonah led the Cimmerians to them. Her toes began to cramp. She flattened her feet and let the restraints pull at her shoulders once more. Jonah planted a tracking device in the star pendant he’d given her. She thought of the carved star. It’s delicate ivory surface carved to look like the night sky. She’d had it in her pocket when they escaped the Defense Training Facility. It wasn’t a gift at all; it was a way for the Cimmerians to find them. It was too late by the time Gideon found it.
Her muscles tensed. Where was Gideon? She felt her heart racing again. Gideon, her childhood friend. It had only been a few months since they’d reunited: she as a servant, hiding from the Priestess who hunted her; he, as the newly appointed Captain of the same training facility. Turning her head she listened for any other sound. Both Gideon and Jonah helped her escape the facility when the Priestess found out she was hiding there. Gideon’s friends had met them to take Lena off the planet. Gideon had been standing next to her when Jonah pulled the gun. She couldn’t remember anything after that. A shallow breath behind her caused her heart to skip a beat, taking a breath, she called out to the person who hung behind her. Her voice came out raspy and unclear. She silently prayed the person behind her was Gideon. Taking another breath, she forced air into her lungs until it pushed against her ribs. Tightening her stomach she opened her mouth to call out again. “Hello.”
The person moaned as if being roused from unconsciousness, but said nothing in return. Lena stretched her leg backward hoping to touch whoever spoke. She felt nothing. She let herself hang again from her cuffs.
A sharp light pierced her eyes as a door opened. The silhouette of a man stood in the doorway. The light from outside the door fell around him. She pressed her eyes into her arm as she heard the man stepped towards her. She looked back up. The light from the hall combined with the darkness of her cell made it hard to identify his features but he walked with the same cocky swagger as he normally did.
“Jonah,” she said. A thick film covered her tongue and the inside of her cheeks. Her mouth tasted of chemicals. She took another breath and stared at him. A mixture of emotions grabbed at her insides—anger, remorse, and embarrassment. She gathered her strength and took a deep breath. He stopped in front of her. “You’re a Cimmerian,” she said. Her throat hurt to speak. She needed water.
“I am,” Jonah took another step towards her. “But do I really need to confirm your suspicion?” He sounded the same as the Jonah she knew, confident and suave, but now his voice caused her skin to crawl. “Release her cuffs,” he yelled to another guard who waited at the entrance. Jonah stepped next to her as the guard moved from the doorway into the dark hall. The cuffs released and Lena felt herself collapse into Jonah’s arms. He held her around her waist. His chest against her side until her legs gathered the strength to stand. She wanted to push him away, but couldn’t. Her arms refused to move then began burning as the blood rushed into them. Lena whimpered.
“The others should be waking up soon,” Jonah said. “Release Gideon. We’ll come back for the other two later.” Lena turned her head focusing on three silhouettes she saw hanging behind her. Gideon, Tarek, and Azara.
“Gideon,” Lena said. He hung directly behind her; his body turned away from her. His hands twitched in the cuffs above him. He was waking up. A guard released his cuffs, and he fell to the floor. Two guards grabbed his arms and pulled him to his feet turning him towards the open door. His eyes began to focus, and he shook his head as if trying to clear the fogginess. Tarek, and Azara, still hung unconscious. Tarek was Gideon's friend from the Interplanetary Military Academy and Azara was Gideon’s girlfriend. They had come to Mir to take Lena off the planet to hide her in another world, away from the Priestess Selene’s grasp. And now they were prisoners. Jonah grabbed her arm with one hand and with the other he pushed the center of her back.
“Move,” Jonah demanded.
Lena stumbled as Jonah pushed her through the door and into a narrow hallway. Her bare feet hurt as she walked across the halls metal slatted flooring and her arms prickled with goosebumps at the brisk air that came up through its cracks. She wished she wore more than the silk wrap Azara had given her. Lena looked over her shoulder to Gideon. A soldier cuffed his hands behind his back and pushed him forward.
Gideon studied Lena’s face, taking in every detail then held her gaze. He looked worried.
Jonah gripped her arm, forcing her to look ahead. The artificial light cast shadows on the metal walls and floors. Jonah’s feet clanked against its metal joints as he pushed her towards an exit at the end of the hallway.
“Jonah, what are you doing?” Lena whispered. He caught her eye for a moment and pushed her ahead.
“I’m doing my job,” he replied. His voice sounded stiffer than she’d ever heard it, all of his charm gone. Lena stumbled. Jonah’s chest pressed harder into her back and she felt his breath on her cheek. “Just don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
Jonah pushed her down the ramp of a massive airship. Tree’s dotted the area. The smell of decomposing vegetation permeated the air. Her bare feet hurt as Jonah led her through the dry leaves and twigs to the middle of the clearing. Tents scattered the area. Soldiers sat outside. Some sat lazily against trees, while others sat in groups playing games. They stopped what they were doing and looked up as Lena passed.
“Agent Vernalis,” a cold female voice called. Lena dug her heels into the ground and pushed against Jonah. Jonah forced her forward then to a stop in front of a short woman with red hair and a deep frown.
Gideon stood beside her. Two guards gripped both his cuffed arms. His eyes looked clear now, and he stood tall and calm. His cuffed hands looked like he’d placed them behind him in a gesture of respect. Not like the prisoner he was.
“Evangeline Adhara, Gideon Merak. I am General Carina leader of the Cimmerians,” the woman stated.
“General Carina,” Gideon nodded his head respectfully at the General. “May I ask what we are doing here?”
“We’ve come to recruit you for our cause,” General Carina said. Her matter of fact tone made Lena stare at her dumbfound.
“Recruit us?” Lena said, “You kidnapped us.”
“Yes, well, our intel suggested that the Captain wouldn’t meet with us willingly,” General Carina said.
“Intel gathered by Jonah, I’m assuming,” Gideon said.
“Correct. Agent Vernalis’ purpo
se was to gather intel on Captain Gideon and arrange a meeting with us. The more intel he gathered the more we knew an amicable meeting would not be possible. We, therefore, organized a way to extract Gideon.”
“Through the tracking device we found in the star pendant that Jonah gave to Evangeline,” Gideon stated.
“Correct,” said General Carina.
Gideon nodded his head. “Agent Vernalis’ mission was finding intel on me. You’ve said nothing about Lena.”
General Carina’s lips turned up in amusement. “Finding Evangeline was not his mission. The world of Mir had searched for her and failed. We weren’t even looking for her, and yet imagine our surprise when she revealed her identity. Especially Agent Vernalis’ surprise.” Lena felt Jonah shift next to her, but couldn’t bring herself to look at him. General Carina crossed her arms and tapped her index finger on her forearm. “The Great Evangeline Adhara, the girl of the prophecy, hiding as a servant in the Priestess’ own training facility.” General Carina smirked with a dark glint in her eye. “Now we have you both, and we’ll use you both.”
Gideon stiffened beside her. “Use us for what?” Gideon asked.
“We want you to join our cause. The Priestess believes Evangeline will destroy her. And you’ve been trained at the Interplanetary Military Academy. You are a natural born leader. And, as her son, you have access to information that could prove vital to our goal.” Gideon’s arms flexed beneath his cuffs at the mention of him being the Priestess’ son. General Carina raised her eyes in amusement. “Yes,” she said. “We know you are Priestess Selene and General Merak’s son.”
“It’s not a secret,” Gideon answered with a hint of anger in his voice. “And you haven’t told me what exactly your cause is.”
“To overtake the Priestess. We want to rule Mir.”
Gideon shook his head and chuckled with unbelief. “And you think I’d help you, why exactly?”
The Mir Chronicles- The Complete Series Page 22
