“Stop,” Lena said putting one hand in front of her in a stopping motion. The other hand she placed on Gideon’s chest holding him back. She stared deep into Zeke’s eyes. “Stop, Selene.”
Zeke’s eyes widened in surprise, then relaxed as he smirked. “You think you’re special. But you’re nobody.”
“You’ve spent a whole lot of time and technology on someone who’s a ‘nobody,’ Selene.” Lena kept her eyes steady on his as she spoke. “You forced Zeke to kill my parents. His best friends.” She tried to say the words so that Gideon would understand so he’d have some clue as to what was going on with his father. “Dorry told me about the device that controls a person’s actions.”
Zeke pointed his gun at Lena’s chest. “I’m going to kill you and your friends for defying me.”
“Dad!” Gideon screamed. He stepped in front of Lena, the gun touching his chest as he did so. “Dad!” Gideon yelled again. Zeke jerked. “Look at me.”
Zeke faltered.
“Dad, it’s Gideon. Your son,” Gideon pleaded.
Zeke blinked his eyes. His head shook slightly as if he was clearing it from a fog. He looked at the gun pointed at Gideon’s chest. His hand started shaking.
“We are not your enemy, Dad,” Gideon called to him.
Zeke trembled as he pulled his gaze from the gun back towards Gideon. Gideon calmly placed his hands on the barrel of the weapon and started lowering it. Zeke let him.
“Gideon.” Zeke’s voice sounded scratchy and strained. He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head to clear it. He opened his eyes, his arm holding the gun started shaking again as it rose to point at Gideon’s chest. He was visibly at war with himself. Sweat formed on his brow.
Gideon stepped back from his father. He beckoned for the gun. His eyes only focused on Zeke. The soldiers surrounding them looked back and forth between their General and the people they were trying to capture. They still pointed guns at the group but looked uncertain as to what to do.
“Dad, give me the gun,” Gideon said, continuing to hold out his hand.
Zeke’s veins in his hands bulged. “Stop her,” Zeke croaked. He jerked again and shut his eyes. When they opened again, Selene’s fire was behind them. He sneered. Holding the gun steady now, he pointed it at Gideon.
“No!” Lena yelled. “Don’t shoot him.” She pulled on Gideon’s arm, trying to put him behind her but only succeeded in moving to his side.
Zeke moved his gun so it was now pointed at Lena.
“Dad, no!” Gideon screamed. A blast shot from the gun at the same time Gideon tackled Zeke.
Something hit Lena’s back knocking her off balance. Lena turned her head to see Jonah leaning limply against her. She wondered how he had gotten there? Jonah’s eye opened wide as he slid to the ground. Blood gushed from his stomach. Lena heard herself scream as she dropped beside him. Jonah’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. Lena pressed her hands into Jonah’s abdomen to stop the gush of blood.
“Jonah,” she said. His eyes rolled forward and focused on Lena. She looked to Gideon for help. He knelt next to his father who was also on the ground. Zeke held his head in his hands. His fingers tugging at his hair. The gun lay beside him. She looked to the other soldiers. “Help him,” Lena demanded. None of them dared moved. A few looked pale as they stared at the body on the ground.
She felt Jonah touch her arm. “You can stop her, Lena,” Jonah said.
Lena sniffed and wiped her eyes against her shoulder. “Stop, Jonah. Please don’t...” She pressed her hands harder into his wound. The blood bubbled through her fingers. She knew she was mad at him—angry that he lied to her and used her—but all she could focus on was saving him. He was dying, and she needed to stop it from happening.
“Help!” she screamed. “Somebody help.” She looked to each soldier, pleading for one of them to move. The soldiers stood in place, petrified.They looked between the general, now on his knees, and their captive dying on the ground.
Jonah squeezed her arm. “I’ve read the prophecy,” Jonah said, his words barely above a rough whisper. “At the ship, I read it. You have to stop her. She’s working with the Viceret.” Jonah’s words rattled from the back of his throat. He closed his eyes.
“The Viceret?” Lena asked shaking her head. “What does that mean? Jonah, I don’t understand.”
His lips moved, but no sound came out. He turned his head to the side and coughed, gasping for air. Jonah’s eyes peeled open. He licked his lips and took a rattled breath. “I’m sorry,” Jonah mouthed. His eyes bore into hers. She put her hand softly on his cheek. Jonah exhaled. Blood gurgled from his mouth as his head rolled to the side. He was still.
Lena looked to Gideon. Her hands still pressed into Jonah’s stomach. She didn’t know what to do. Tears poured down her face. “Gideon,” she said softly. She knew he couldn’t hear her. Gideon still knelt by his father. She couldn’t hear the words they spoke to each other. As if sensing Lena watching them, they both looked at her.
Through gritted teeth, Zeke spoke to Gideon. “Go.”
Gideon’s eyes narrowed and he shook his head no. Zeke’s hands clenched, and he trembled. “Go,” he said again, stronger this time. “We can’t save her if you don’t go now!”
Gideon locked eyes with his father and nodded. Moving faster than Lena thought possible, Gideon grabbed a canister from the belt of the nearest soldier. He knocked the soldier to the ground and ran to Lena. He wrapped his arms around her and hurled the canister at his father. Lena heard the explosion as Gideon held her tight and jumped off the cliff.
***
The water felt like concrete before it gave way and consumed their bodies. Gideon’s arms slipped from around her. Which way was up? She didn’t know at this point. She just kicked and searched for Gideon. Something touched the top of her head. Lena felt Gideon’s arms wrap around her once more. He pulled her close and kicked upwards. Breaking the surface, Lena gasped for air. The current pushed them away from the falls.
She looked at the cliff above them. Dark red smoke filled the cliffside. It was so dark she couldn’t see the soldiers in its depths. Gideon floated on his back while pulling her closer to his chest. The river flowed into a forest where the current slowed. Gideon pulled her to the bank and helped her out of the river.
“Stay where ya are,” a deep voice called from the trees above them.
Lena raised her hands in the air as she turned her head in a half circle, looking for the concealed person. Water dripped down her arms and off her elbow. The cold air on her wet skin made shiver uncontrollably.
“Please,” Lena said, her teeth chattering. “We’re unarmed.” She turned in a circle searching for the voice. It came from above them, from the tree’s lining the bank. The trees were thick here, and although the leaves were brown and dying, they still clung to the branches enough to provide a hiding place. Lena took a step toward the trees.
“I said, stay where ya are,” the voice called back. Lena’s heart jumped listening to the way this man spoke. His incomplete pronunciation of words and the rhythm of his voice rang with familiarity. Her friend Birdee spoke with the same accent. She last saw Birdee being dragged away by the Priestess and suddenly Lena’s heart ached for her friend. She forced herself to focus.
“”We’re not your enemy,” Lena called into the trees above her. Her teeth kept chattering as she searched for the voice’s location. “Please. We need help.”
“Why shoul’ we help any soldier?”
Lena looked down at her Cimmerian uniform.
“Do you know a girl named Birdee? She’s from the woods.” Lena said. Scanning the trees above her she searched for the man. She still didn’t see anyone. “She’s our friend.”
A man jumped from a tree and landed in front of her. His large shoulders and build towered over Lena. She’d never seen somebody so tall or imposing. His weathered, brown hair hung to his shoulders. He looked like he spent his life in the outdoors. The veins in his strong ar
ms bulged. He took a step towards her.
“Who are ya, and how do ya know Birdee?”
“My name is Lena,” she said. “We’re running from the Defenses.”
“Your name is Lena?” He looked her over with wide eyes. Lena nodded her head in confirmation.
The man whistled into the trees surrounding them. The trees shook and three more people jumped from them. Two males and one female. They all looked strong. They all looked like Birdee.
“Then ya must be Gideon,” he said, turning towards Gideon.
Gideon looked as confused as Lena felt, but he nodded his head in confirmation.
“I’m Tern.” He gestured at the others. “My sister Lark and my friends Eilly and Jay.” Though it was cold, the only one who wore sleeves was Lark. The three men wore rough leather vests with fur on the inside. The top part of their arms had a leather band with beads hanging from fringe on the ends. Lark’s hair had the same type of band and beads woven into a braid that fell to the side of her face.
“How do you know who we are?” Gideon asked. He looked at Lena concern filled his face when he saw her shaking uncontrollably.
“Birdee told us about both of you,” Tern said without explaining further. “We’ve been searchin’ fer Birdee. Come on. We’ve gotta get ya away from the river and into warm clothes. Then ya can tell us what’s happened to her.”
Chapter Eleven
“You worthless fool, what have you done?” Selene shrieked. Her footsteps clicked across the gallery floor as she walked toward General Merak. Her face was stone. The servants in the hallway shuffled into nearby rooms and passageways, taking care to stay unnoticed.
Zeke stood straighter and marched for her. “You had me pointing a gun at the girl and my son,” he yelled back at her. “You were going to have me kill Gideon.” General Merak stood firm. He didn’t show any sign of fear, nor did he feel it.
Selene stepped in front of him. “You know I wouldn’t have Gideon killed. I need him. Shot, maybe. But not killed.” She grabbed Zeke’s head and pulled him down to examine the back of his neck. “There must be some default in the technology.”
Zeke pushed Selene away. He saw a mix of shock and anger fill her face as she caught her footing. “You better be thanking the stars that there was a default in the technology and I shot the other boy instead,” Zeke yelled.
Selene didn’t seem surprised by his outburst. She curled her lips into a tight smile.
“The only reason I haven’t killed you yet is because of that sick triangle you have going with the Viceret to keep you in power. You have it set up so that if you kill me, you can’t rule because only a citizen of Mir can rule. A citizenship that can only be granted through our marriage. And then, if I kill you, they kill Gideon.”
“Yes.” Selene gave him a brazen smile. “This is how we all stay safe.”
“It’s sick, Selene. I wish I’d never met you.”
“But then you wouldn’t have your precious little Gideon.”
Zeke’s anger escalated. “You’re an awful, selfish woman who should be protecting her child instead of using him as a tool.”
“You’re all tools. And if you want Gideon to survive, you’ll continue to do exactly as I ask of you.” Her words crescendoed into high-pitched shrieks that echoed through the gallery.
Zeke stepped down. There was no way to win.
“Get me Dorrijan,” she barked at Zeke. “This is his doing. He made the device, we’ll make him fix it.”
Zeke clenched his jaw and glared. “Dorrijan escaped.”
“Escaped?”
“He was not at the Defense Facility when we went for Evangeline, nor did they find him when doing a search for remains.”
The Priestess tightened her jaw and flexed her fingers. “Then get me my traitor of a sister Toralei,” she screamed.
“Thora left the facilities of her own accord before the attack. And she’s only your half sister. Not something she’s proud of, I’m sure.”
“She left?” Selene looked startled. “By whose authority?”
“Thora never took orders from anyone—least of all you. You know that.”
Selene looked annoyed. “Thora,” she said. “Who does she think she’s kidding by changing her name?” Selene crossed her arms. “Toralei was never good for anything but running away.” Selene seemed lost in her own thoughts. “Are you going to run too, Zeke?” she focused back on him, her voice sounded like a snake.
“I just explained why I won’t. Why I can’t.”
“But you don’t stay for me.” Her voice was smooth again. “You stay for Gideon.” Selene lifted her lips in a venomous smile.
“Was it ever a question? The only reason I ever helped you of my own accord was to keep Gideon safe. That, and to keep you from using the device to control me in the first place. I would have brought Gideon in, but when you forced me to point that gun at him, I realized it didn’t matter how well I followed your orders, you would always betray me. Gideon would never be safe.”
Selene didn’t respond. Instead, she signaled for the guards to open a door leading from the gallery.
A man filled the doorway, his imposing frame blocking out any light that came from the room behind him. He moved towards Selene and Zeke. Selene smirked.
Zeke took a step back and whispered, “Selene, what’s he doing here?” He hoped the man couldn’t hear him. It was the same man that inserted him with the control device. Zeke’s heart pounded against his chest and sweat formed on his brow as he watched the man move closer.
“I called Ras Taban as a consequence of your actions,” she said, watching Ras approach. The implants in the man’s forehead gave him a permanently angry look, but the look wasn’t nearly as intimidating as the evil radiating from his blood red eyes.
“The Viceret don’t help just to be helpful, Selene. What have you promised them this time?”
“I don’t have to promise them anything. I rule this world and influence many others. They know of my power and are offering their help.”
“You’re a fool, Selene.”
Ras stopped in front of them as Zeke spoke his last sentence. Selene gave Ras her most charming smile. “You know who you need to find and what you need to do?” she asked.
Ras opened a case and pulled out a medical gun with a vial loaded in the barrel. “I do,” Ras said. His grave voice echoing through the gallery. Zeke instinctively rubbed the back of his neck. The action made Ras give a low, dark laugh. “I see you remember me.” Ras held the gun in front of his face and sneered, revealing his pointed teeth.
“Of course I remember you,” Zeke replied, squaring his shoulders towards Ras. “You’re the reason I’m a slave.”
“You’re not my slave anymore,” Selene said to Zeke. “You’re now my prisoner. Guards!” Selene shrieked.
The guards who opened the door for Ras responded immediately. Standing in front of Selene they awaited their orders. Their eyes nervously jotted between Ras and Selene.
“Take him to the Crags,” she ordered. “And make sure there is nothing he can harm himself with. I need him alive.”
The guards grabbed Zeke’s arms on each side. Zeke stood taller. “You can imprison me, and torture me all you want. But you won’t win, Selene. You will not succeed. Gideon and Evangeline will destroy you.”
Selene clenched her jaw and motioned her guards to take him away. Zeke moved first, walking away from Selene as if he weren’t a prisoner. The guards followed, pulling on his arms as they hurried to match his steps.
She turned to Ras. “Find them,” she ordered. “Both of them.”
***
Lena sat close to the fire, a warm cup of liquid in her hands. Lark had given her some dry clothes to change into as soon as they got back to camp. They swamped her. The neck kept falling off her shoulders, and she had to gather it in her hand to keep herself modest. The pants and shirt sleeves she rolled several times to keep them from dragging and hiding her hands. Yet she appreciated the wa
rmth the rough cloth provided.
Lark and Tern sat with Lena along the edge of a campfire. Eilley and Jay sat on either side of the fire turning meat on a spit as they talked. Gideon stood directly across from from Lena. His feet were shoulder width apart and his arms were crossed as he stared into the flames.
“I’ve pieced some facts together, but help me fill in the blanks,” Tern said. Lena listened as she watched the fire blacken the wood. “The Priestess’ Defense Facility was attacked three days ago and you, Gideon, and another fella’ got away and then were captured by another organization?”
“The Cimmerians,” Gideon clarified.
Tern shook his head. “Well, I don’ know ‘bout them, but it seems ya got away again only ta get intercepted by the Priestess’ Defenses who shot an killed your fella’.”
“Jonah,” Lena said.
“Jonah?” Lark cut in. “Wasn’t Jonah Birdee’s friend?”
Lena didn’t want to explain. She stared deeper into the fire without adding anything.
Tern continued, “Then you escaped by throwin’ yourself off a cliff into the river.” Tern raised his eyebrows in amusement after he said the last part.
“That is remarkably accurate,” said Gideon in awe. “How did you gather your intel?”
“We monitor all of our borders,” Tern said. “Our town, if you want to call it that, is deeper in the forest. Usually, the Defenses stay clear of the woods.”
“Unless they need more soldiers,” Lark said under her breath.
Tern glanced her way but didn’t respond. “We were further up when I saw everything that happened at the waterfall. We followed ya. As soon as I heard your name, I pieced it all together.”
“How did you know about the facility?” Gideon asked.
Lark laughed. “You can say that Tern has interests there.”
Tern gave Lark a look only a brother could pull off. Lark pulled a face back.
“We all have interests there,” Tern replied sharply. “Birdee saved all our lives by volunteering ta join the Priestess’ army.” Tern looked back to Lena. “Birdee is why I chose ta help ya. Do ya know what happened to her?”
The Mir Chronicles- The Complete Series Page 27
