Lena looked to Gideon. He nodded for her to answer. There was an uncomfortable silence before Lena cleared her throat. “The last I saw of her, the Defenses were holding her. I tried to draw the troops away from the facility, and we did—well, Jonah did—but I don’t know what happened to her after that.” She hated saying it. Her heart felt heavy and hopeless. Birdee had been captured because she had tried to protect Lena. She wished she had better news to tell them.
Tern’s face fell. Lark put a hand on her brother’s shoulder but didn’t say anything. “I assumed as much. We haven’t heard from her since the attack.”
“I didn’t know Birdee communicated with anyone,” Lena said.
“We don’t use electronics ta talk ta each other. They’re too easy ta trace. Birdee would leave us signals. Our own form of communication. Things only we’d be able ta notice.”
“Like what?” Lena asked.
“A turned rock, maybe a broken tree limb. Things that didn’t seem out of place ta an average person. When we’d see that, we’d know ta meet up at our usual place ta talk.”
“How was Birdee able to do that? We were confined to the facility.”
“Birdee is the best sneak any of us has ever seen,” Lark said. The group around them laughed, all nodding their heads in agreement. “She’d meet with us some nights and fill us in on what the facility was like.”
“Which is how you knew about us,” Lena said.
“Which is why we also know you’re the girl of the prophecy,” Tern said.
Lena saw Gideon stiffen, but Lena only stared deeper into the fire. Birdee had figured out who she was at the facility. It made sense Birdee would tell those closest to her. Though Lena didn’t feel like the girl that could destroy the Priestess. She felt like the girl who had brought destruction, death and imprisonment to all those associated with her.
“How did you heard of the prophecy?” Gideon asked.
“After Everleigh was bombed, troops were sent into the woods ta find the girl Evangeline,” Tern said. “They figured ya must be hidin’ where there wasn’t a way ta find ya with electronics and such. They didn’ come out and tell us why they was lookin’ fer ya. But we’re good at keepin’ our ears open and we learned.”
“So Birdee pieced it together and told you?”
“She did,” Tern said, then looked to Gideon. “Birdee may have joined the Defenses, but I can assure ya, we aren’t on the Priestess’ side. Years ago the Priestess killed many of our elders for standing against her rule. Birdee’s parents were among ‘em. When the Defenses came to gather more troops, we refused. There was a lot of violence and then Birdee stepped up. Birdee was the next in line ta rule our tribe. She offered ta join if they’d leave the rest of us alone. ‘Cause of her position, they accepted her offer. If helping you will keep ya away from the Priestess, we’ll help ya in any way we can.”
Gideon nodded. “A safe place to sleep tonight will be much appreciated.”
Lena stared at the fire again. So much hatred and violence. Lena had a feeling it would only get worse.
Chapter Twelve
Thora paced through the cavernous room. Remiah and Dessa watched her from their seats. Spots of light danced around them, the result of the light reflecting through the room’s crystals. She was glad Aaron’s children were here with her. She felt useful keeping someone’s children safe, even if it wasn’t Lena and Gideon. Thora nodded to them and kept pacing. She was worried about Lena and Gideon. Aaron walked over to stand by his children. He leaned against the wall and watched her.
“Was Xenia able to reach Lena?” Aaron asked. He rubbed the scars on the side of his face, something Thora noticed he did when he was worried about something.
Thora took a deep breath and looked at the crystals hanging from the ceiling. “Yes,” she answered.
“Then why are you pacing?” Aaron said dropping his hand to the side. Thora knew Aaron was worried about her. She’d had a hard time eating. Any rest she got, her mind filled with all the horrible things that Selene would do if any of the people she loved were caught.
“Lena’s taking too long. We need to know how far the technology has spread. And who else has it? The longer it takes Lena to get here, the more at risk the planet is.” Aaron placed a calming hand on Thora’s arm as she passed. Thora stopped and looked at him. She rolled her shoulders and stretched her neck to one side. “I’m afraid Selene is going to use the technology—that allegedly controls people—again. The only proof I have that it was used in the first place is Dorry’s word. I’ll never be able to take the information to the Interplanetary Alliance.”
“Are you sure you can’t take the information to them anyway?” Aaron asked.
“I need actual evidence—hard proof. The Alliance was created to ensure that all of our worlds would be allies, and that the affluence of Mir’s port would benefit all of our worlds, not just Mir. That’s why The Port is controlled by the Alliance Council to begin with. Without evidence of this technology, the Council has their hands tied. They can’t accuse Selene without nullifying the treaty. Without the treaty, The Port’s control returns to Mir.”
“Which is what Selene wants,” Aaron said.
“It’s no secret that Selene wants control,” Thora said. “The treaty regarding The Port is about to expire and be rewritten by the Alliance. Selene needs to sway the Alliance Council to her side in order for her to increase her power beyond Mir. She’s trying to be the sole person controlling The Port. If she can control the rewriting of the treaty so that Mir controls The Port, she will have unlimited access to worlds beyond this one.”
“Are you implying that Selene is going to use the device on the Interplanetary Council?”
“I’m guessing that she’ll use it on the council members she can’t manipulate on her own, but we don’t know for sure. We won’t know anything until Evangeline gets here. Using her insignia to bypass Selene’s security is the only way we can know who the technology is being used on and who’s producing it. The key to stopping Selene lies with Evangeline.”
“Do we know where she’s at?” Aaron questioned.
“No,” Thora answered. “I thought she and Gideon would be here by now. Something must have happened to them.”
***
The trees flew by her in a blur as she ran around the outskirts of the camp. Lena knew she couldn’t go far, but she couldn’t bare to sit and rehash the last days over and over again. Her soul hurt. That’s the only way she could describe what she felt. The sadness and anger seemed to have swirled together into an unrelenting pull on her heart. She didn’t know how to rid herself of it, so she ran. They’d stayed up late into the night talking about Jonah’s betrayal, but mostly talking about Birdee and her capture. Tern wanted to know every single detail. Like somehow, if he knew which way the wind blew, he’d have a better idea of where they took her. When they finally went to bed, Lena hardly slept at all. Her mind re-lived the scenes over and over again. She wanted to remember the answers to everything that Tern had asked. When she did finally sleep, she dreamt of Birdee being taken into the ship by the Priestess. She dreamed of Jonah dying as she knelt next to him. Now, even as she ran, images of her parents’ deaths flashed through her memory. She ran faster. Her lungs stretching as far as they could. She needed the memories to go away. She pushed herself beyond her capabilities and stumbled to her knees.
Gideon called her name from the edge of the camp. She ignored him. Pushing herself from the ground she walked to the nearest tree and she hit it. She didn’t know why, but it felt good. Ignoring the pain in her hand, she hit the tree again. She was frustrated. She needed to do more. She wanted to fight, to get back what had been taken from her. Instead, she was letting Gideon hide her away. Hit, jab, kick.
“Eves?” Gideon called again. His voice sounded closer. Hearing it made her anger rise. She was mad. And suddenly all her anger turned towards Gideon. Why didn’t Gideon stop Zeke? Why couldn’t he have stopped Selene? Anger flared from her fi
sts as she plunged them again into the hardness of the tree. This was Gideon’s fault. Faster and harder she kept punching until she heard Gideon step directly behind her.
Turning towards him, she pulled back her arm and punched him on the side of the face. His head whipped to the side. Gideon quickly grabbed her arm. Using her free arm, she punched him again. He grabbed that arm, too. Lena yanked her arms from his grip and stumbled backwards.
“You want to hit me?” he yelled stepping towards her.
Lena swung at him. “This is all your fault,” Lena yelled. He caught her arm and twisted it behind her, spinning her so that his chest pressed into her back. She stamped on his foot. He didn’t move. Using her head, she hit him as hard as she could in the face. He pushed her away from him. She spun to face him. He wiped the side of his lip with the back of his hand leaving a red streak on it.
Lena came towards him, totally irrational and started hitting him in the chest. Gideon didn’t fight back. She hit him over and over again until her hits were sloppy and soft. She felt Gideon’s hand wrap softly around her upper arms and lost all desire to fight him. She knew she wasn’t mad at him at all. She was mad at herself. Tears welled in her eyes and fell down the side of her face and her anger turned to grief.
“You should have let her capture me,” Lena said. “I should have died in Everleigh,”
“Evangeline?” Gideon said. She didn’t want to look at him.
“It’s my fault,” she answered.
“What are you talking about?”
“Jonah.” Her shoulders heaved as she tried to catch her breath. “That bullet was meant for me. Birdee got captured because of me. And my parents...” Gideon was holding her close now. Her tears wet the front of his uniform. “I miss my parents, Gideon.”
He held her tighter. She could feel his breath on the top of her head. He held her as she sobbed uncontrollably into his chest. Pulling her close he waited until her sobs subsided and she could catch her breath.
“Everyone close to me dies.” She raised her eyes to Gideon. “I don’t want you to die, too, Gideon.” She could barely talk between the sobs.
Gideon’s arms tightened around her back. The wind blew her loose hairs across her face. Reaching for her cheek, Gideon brushed the hairs aside. “Lena, there is one person at fault in all of this. It is not you. It is the Priestess Selene. Don’t let your mind become your enemy. This is her fault. No one else’s.” He touched his forehead to hers. “You are brave and strong. Focus on that, and not on all the bad things that are happening around you.”
The air between them felt thick, but Lena didn’t pull away. She felt stronger with Gideon next her her. And for whatever reason, his words calmed her. They stood that way for several minutes, just breathing; Lena letting Gideon hold her.
“We can’t let her keep doing this, Gideon,” Lena said as the tears ran down her face. “We have to do something to stop her.”
Lena felt Gideon’s heart beating against her cheek. She let its pounding sooth her as her eyes dried. When Gideon didn’t reply, Lena pulled away and studied him. His posture fell and his eyes were filled with pity. She hated him looking at her that way, like she had been deceived by her own thoughts.
Tern cleared is throat as he walked towards them. “Sorry ta interrupt,” Tern said. Lena jerked her head towards the sound. Gideon released his grip and slowly took a step back. “I did’n mean ta interrupt. But I wanted to talk to ya where the others coudn’ hear.”
Gideon crossed both arms in front of him and nodded his head at Tern.
“I’d like ta join your trek.”
“You don’t know where we’re going,” Gideon replied.
Tern continued talking. “It don’t take a genius ta figure out that ya need ta leave the planet. I’d like ta come with ya as far as the Port. Then I’m goin’ ta find Birdee.”
“Why should we trust you?” Gideon said.
Terns eyes glided between Gideon and Lena. “Because the Priestess has no love inside her. She doesn’ know what it is ta love—or be loved. Or ta fight for those ya love. She is selfish and unforgiving and cruel. I would never forgive myself if I didn’t do everything I could ta get the girl I love away from her. The same as you’re doin’.”
Gideon held his eyes for only a moment before nodding. Lena silently prayed Gideon would let him come. She wanted to help Birdee and she could do that by helping Tern. “You can come with us,” Gideon finally said. Lena smiled. Tern’s chest relaxed and he let out a sigh of relief before tensing suddenly. Turning his head, Tern’s ears perked towards the woods. Hunching, he darted into the forest surrounding them.
“Stop where you are,” Lena heard Tern yell.
“We are unarmed,” a voice yelled back. “We’ve been looking for our friends. Our tracking device led us here. We are not here to hurt you.”
“Druinn,” Gideon and Lena said at the same time as they darted towards their pilot. Myri stood next to him. At the first sight of Lena, Myri dropped her hands and ran towards her. Lena fell into Myri’s arms.
“You’re safe. Stars above, what happened to you both,” Myri asked. Releasing her hold on Lena, she examined her face. “Oh, Lena. What has happened?” Myri said, sounding so motherly Lena began to cry all over again. Lena just shook her head, not knowing where to even start. Lena heard Gideon come up beside her. Druinn moved in so they now formed a circle.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” Lena said. “How did you do it?” For the first time in days Lena felt a part of herself relax.
Druinn looked grim. “After Jonah led the Cimmerians to our ship. I hid Myri and myself in a slot of the canyon just behind our ship. No one even looked for us. The Cimmerians left our ship disabled. It didn’t take long to fix it, but by then we lost your trail. We figured you’d been captured or worse. Then we got your signal again and made our way here. What happened to you guys?” Druinn asked.
Chapter Thirteen
Lena stood in the ship's bathroom and examined herself in the mirror. Dirt was caked in her hair making it a matted mess. Tear marks streaked down her dirt covered face. Newly formed scabs covered her knuckles where she’d hit the tree. Myri knocked at the door and handed her some clothes. They were Lena’s clothes from the Defense Facility. She’d left them in the ship before the Cimmerians captured them. They were folded and smelled like fresh laundry. Myri must have washed them. Lena turned on the shower and stepped inside. She didn’t know how long it took to get everything clean, but even with her clean clothes, she still felt dirty on the inside.
She looked across the countertop hoping to find a comb. Her heart skipped a beat. Sitting in the corner of the vanity sat a box filled with several small electronic-looking pieces. Lena knew immediately that they were pieces of the device Dorry had given her.
“Well, do you remember when I said I was working on making up for past mistakes? Well, I’ve finished it. And I need you to take it with you when you leave.”
“What exactly does it do?” Lena asked.
“Agency, my dear girl. Agency. It will give it back to those from whom it has been taken.”
She had broken it when she parachuted from the plane in an attempt to escape the Priestess, but the device was more broken than when she saw it last. It must have fallen out of her pocket when the Cimmerians captured them. Myri must have found it and put it here. Lena brushed the pieces with the tips of her fingers. Maybe someone had stepped on it, she decided as she studied it. Picking up the pieces and tried to figure out how they went together. Dorry had given her instructions to take it to Everleigh and to keep it safe. She hadn’t known what the gadget was suppose to do, but after seeing Zeke being controlled, she wondered if it might counteract the effects of being controlled.
Coming out of the bathroom she saw Gideon sitting in front of the holo rewinding the same footage over and over:his father on the cliff; his jerky movements; shooting Jonah.
She walked up behind him. “Where did you get this footage?” she asked.
“This ship belongs to Tarek’s dad. It has access to the satellites on the Interplanetary Military Academy,” he answered not taking his eyes off the screen. Lena watched the footage, closing her eyes where Jonah got shot.
“You know what’s happening to my dad,” Gideon said more as a statement than a question. “On the cliff, you knew it was Selene controlling my dad.”
Lena paused before answering, taking a deep breath to collect her thoughts. “I think I know what’s happening with your dad,” Lena responded setting the box on the table next to him. Gideon turned from the holo and looked at Lena. “Dorry... he told me of a technology he created that could take away a person’s agency,” Gideon’s eyes went wide, but he didn’t interrupt so Lena continued, “He said this technology had been used once before. I think it was used it in Everleigh.”
“You think he used this tech on my father?”
“I think someone used this tech on your father. I know Dorry regrets inventing it,” Lena answered. She held her breath as Gideon looked into the space beyond her. He stood and clenched his fists and relaxed his jaw he took a step forward and clasped his hands then unclasped them. Lena studied his face confused at his reaction.
“My father is being controlled,” he said.
“I believe he is,” Lena said. “His actions on the cliff only confirm my suspicion.”
Gideon let out an audible breath and grabbed the back of his head with both hands. Lena didn’t say anything as Gideon stared at the screen in front of them. He turned to Lena, “You know what this means?” Lena shook her head. The array of emotions on Gideon’s face was hard to read and she didn’t know what he was referring to. “He didn’t choose her, Evangeline. He didn’t betray us.” Now Gideon’s eyes were filled with tears. He quickly wiped them away and covered it up by readjusting his posture and looking way from her. He noticed the box filled with the broken pieces. “What is this?” Gideon asked.
The Mir Chronicles- The Complete Series Page 28
