River: A Novel (36 page)

 Let
me pack for you.
Valeria began to busy herself, assembling
some things into a bag. She looked as nervous as I felt, so I set the flowers
down and placed my hand next to hers to help. That was when I saw it—they were
identical. I gasped and broke away from her confused expression.

 I snapped my
hand back, quickly recovering.
That’s not necessary.
 

 She just
smiled at me again and closed in, arms extended. She touched my glasses lightly
with a puzzled look, and then my possible mother gave me a hug. I placed my
arms around her hesitantly, breathing in a strange, shallow way. I wondered in
the back of my mind if I was hyperventilating.

 A loud bang
on the door repelled me from her arms, though she kept a hand on mine. “Hurry
up!” a gruff voice rasped. Marcus gripped my other hand before hugging me. He
seemed very concerned, although my own stress could have just been projecting
out to the room.

 
Don’t worry, you will be all rig
ht,
he signed and tried to smile. I tried
to smile back and then gulped. There was an underlying expression in Marcus’s
eyes. Taking a moment to place it, I saw kindness there. Love, maybe. Fear. He
didn’t seem to be someone who would deliberately hurt anybody—let alone as a
profession. Within that second of thought, the reason he muted people clicked
together. He was protecting us. The Speakers had probably forced him to take
away voices by holding his family in the balance, and of course he’d complied. Those
bastards would never bluff a threat.

 A swell of
sympathy surged through me as I gave a gentle squeeze to both their hands. For
a doctor to hurt anyone on purpose must be agony. I hated the Speakers much
more than I thought I was capable of hating anything—in any world.  

 Another rap
on the door made me jump, and Valeria hurried me behind a curtain to remove the
elaborate costume. She knew exactly what to do. I blinked when I guessed that
she had designed it, possibly sewn it herself. Having not studied it
previously, I’d forgotten what I’d been wearing at all as the terror had escalated
in the evening. Examining the costume now, I could see it was truly a
masterpiece made of rich satins and delicate crystals. She had made it for her
daughter. As I pulled on my jeans and sweater, she smiled again, sad and
reluctant, before wrapping my scarf around my neck.

 At the
door, Marcus gave me my bag. I’d forgotten Danny and I had stuffed it full of
dry foods and toiletries and wondered if either of them had questioned its contents,
though it didn’t matter now. I couldn’t imagine what they would’ve presumed. Even
so, I shrank at the thought that I would never know them. They weren’t evil brainwashed
Speaker followers. They were parents. And I didn’t want them to leave. 

 My shallow
breathing started again as we signed good-bye, and they handed me over to the
raspy-voiced Speaker. From the corner of my eye I watched Valeria fall a bit to
the side into Marcus’s arms. That sight brought me back to reality, and I wondered
if I should try to run. Or maybe jump off the tram as it sped along, for surly
the risk of injury or death was better than what awaited me at the Domain.

 The guards
pushed and pulled me while I searched everywhere in sight for Danny. His face
before they had taken me backstage had been one of barely controlled terror. He’d
twitched while holding himself still, knowing he would lose if he tried to
rescue me, and we would’ve both suffered the consequences. Dan would never willingly
let me become a Speaker’s hostage; if he could have done anything, he would
have by now. When we reached the mirror maze, I caught a glimpse of my round eyes
and felt the flame snuff out again.

 The tram
rolled through the town faster than usual. On my last grasp of hope, I waited
doubtfully for rescue. If Dan had decided I was a lost cause—maybe he could use
Mace’s preoccupation with me as a distraction to get the innocents out of River.
Maybe I could be more useful than I’d dreamed in the rebellion. Mace wasn’t in my
car on the tram, to my relief. I assumed he had a private car, probably in the
front, for he was too conceited to ride in the same area as his subjects. While
surreptitiously glancing around for an escape route, my stomach twisted at the
thought of him as I began to feel the Lulling border, though the anti-Lull was still
keeping me alert. Even as the guards had to sit due to their own minimal
reaction, their eyes were still on me. At least fainting wasn’t hard to
fabricate. Every ounce of my being wanted to escape.

 The memory
of Asher washed over my mind while I forced my rigid muscles to slacken. I’d
hidden him in a corner the whole time, afraid of Mace catching a hint when he’d
thrown me around the stage. My terror was pushed to the side as I remembered
the night before; the Lulling cast a dream-like quality as it brushed my senses.
Bound to become another statistic in River, never to see Asher again, I
languished in fantasies of us in New York. The many places I would take him flitted
through my mind. I had a feeling he would like old diners and jazz clubs with
thick red carpet. He would appreciate the history of the city. We could get an
apartment together. Not far from Danny’s, maybe in the same building. We’d find
a place for Gwen and Colin, too. 

 When I was mentally
listing the songs from my past that I would play for Asher, the tram slowed to
a stop. My eyes opened reluctantly, and I still hoped that I could somehow run.
As the guards rose, my hopes were dashed. They were easily twice my size and staring
at me intensely. I sat frozen until one rolled his eyes and leaned over to jerk
me up by the arm. They both rocked with laughter when I stumbled.

 Prodded to
the exit without my bag, I scurried from them and saw we were heading toward a
huge brick building. Not what I was expecting—for some reason I’d assumed
opulence. This was more akin to entering an institution. One thing I did notice
in my brief first impression was the absence of windows. Flat red bricks without
a break in them. It was then that I completely lost my resolve. There was no
way out.

  The entrance
opened to a passageway. The darkness was disorienting, and I had to rely on the
guards to lead the way. They brashly enjoyed the short walk, snickering and
holding me by the arms, into a bright room. As my eyes adjusted, I was startled
to see two familiar faces standing a few feet from me. I’d only known Dan’s
parents as acquaintances, at least the New York versions. They smiled and
applauded silently. I couldn’t find it in me to smile at all. My muscles
wouldn’t do it. The horror had become real; I could feel it roiling inside me
as I passed them. They wouldn’t help me.
Brainwashed
, Dan had said. I could
see it now in their nearly blank gazes and wooden smiles. It was painful to
behold, and I wondered what had been done to them. 

 We moved
deeper into the building. The corridor was enormous. Stretching either way, each
of the halls must have been a mile long with black doors at even intervals. A deep
booming jolted me out of restraining hands. The noise came from above, and I
had to straighten my glasses before looking up, taking in the ceiling with
incredulous eyes. As long as the corridors had been, the ceiling was equal in
height. Vertigo swirled the scene around me while waiting for Mace to come into
view.

 “El-
o
-
die
!”
he roared down in a mocking tone. With insides turning I cringed, crossing both
arms around my torso as if they could protect me. “So glad you made it! This is
going to be
quite
a party.” He meandered down the steps to my left. I
wondered if there were more people in the Domain, or if the party in his mind
was made up of me and his two thugs. One of my hands moved to cover my stomach,
nausea once again making an appearance. I painfully swallowed acid in my
throat.

 Mace took
his time coming down to the floor while I covertly glanced around. The hundreds,
if not thousands of doorways were closed to the bright hallway lights. Escaping
unnoticed would be impossible. I shut my eyes and took a breath, willing courage
from the depths. 

 Just as I
began to calm my trembling, a pinch on the cheek made me open my eyes to a brutal
and menacing smile. “So, what would you like to do first?” Mace pursed his lips
and gripped his chin in a calculating way. I fought back tears. He then smacked
his hands together in front of my face, causing me to violently flinch. I
cursed him internally. “Pay attention, girl. This is your party after all.” The
evil lurking under the surface of his perfect, unmarred skin made villains from
any story or movie seem downright kittenish. “Well, we’ve already had our first
dance as a couple, so I guess we can move on to other ventures,” he said, leaning
toward me. I began to wish I would throw up all over him. “Or we could have a
little chat. Get to know each other again, because I clearly don’t know you as
well as I used to.” I felt my eyes widen.
A little chat?

 In my
horror and surprise, I’d all but forgotten the two men standing on either side
of me. I was aware of them again when they picked me up with so much ferocity
that I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming. Fighting the urge to kick
my way out of their snickering clutches (because really, there was no use), I
made my body limp. This forced them to struggle but also pissed them off. After
half-dragging, half-carrying my dead weight to one of the doorways, their
bravado turned to impatience. One of them kicked the door open, and they simply
tossed me into the room.

 Without time
to pull my arm up before I hit the floor, my shoulder skidded at an odd angle
while my head struck cold concrete. Gasping, I clamped down on the inside of my
cheek to keep from crying out. A little blood trickled down my throat. I
cringed at the pain and opened my eyes. My glasses had flung off my face. Unable
to move yet, I thought briefly that it might be best if I didn’t see what was
going to happen.

 Panting
with some effort against sharp pains in my ribs and head, I slowly pulled
myself upright. Mace stood above me, frowning for once and cocking his head to
the side. He barely moved his lips as he whispered, “Did you and your little
friends really imagine you were going to get away with it? Did you think I
didn’t know about your little plan?” I froze as his questions registered. Mace
was looming over me. Towering. I finally retched; the result of hitting my head
or this new revelation, I did not know.

 Grateful to
the cold floor for easing the spinning, I kept my face down after choking, but my
terror must have filled the room. Asher’s words came back to me: “
Everything
is monitored
here,”
he’d mentioned with his usual stark expression. My
mind darted to all the people in danger during the rebellion. Gwen and Colin. The
Carav families. Dan. Petra. Asher. 

 
Oh no.
 
  

 Mace’s boot
was right next to my face, nearly touching it. In the corner of my mind, beside
the terror, a much smaller part of me was disappointed there was nothing left
in my stomach.

 “We weren’t
sure until tonight. Your little rebellion wasn’t worth the effort to stop. They
tried to get out, of course, but we got ’em before the music started. By the
way,” he said while lifting my face up with the toe of his boot. “Good plan.” He
smirked when I scrambled backward; the dizziness overtaking me as I stood. Though
he was still two feet taller than me, I felt a little more on even ground.

 Mace moved closer.
Refusing to step back, I lifted my chin. I wanted so badly to speak. To scream.
To grovel. I needed to know where they were: Danny and Asher, everyone. 

 “So,
Elodie
.”
My fingers twitched at the sound of my name. It had been said as an insult. “How
did you do it?” Unsure of his question, my eyes narrowed, but I didn’t sign. As
much as my own questions were burning me, I didn’t want to accidently divulge
information in the hopes that he was bluffing. Mace continued with his
questions. “How did you get away from me?”

 I
swallowed. Mouth still tasting of blood, my confusion grew. “I watched you go
over the cliff,” he said in a calmer voice. “And then you disappeared. We searched
the bottom of quarry for hours. You didn’t go back to your apartment. I would have
known. What did you do? Sprout wings?” He slowly shook his head. “And then you resurfaced
in front of the theater the next day. With Daniel.
Kissing
him.” He
snorted as if he’d heard a bad joke. “If he weren’t so valuable, I would’ve
brought him here days ago. But I was curious…,” he paused with his hand open—as
if waiting for me to give him all the answers. After a second, he closed his
palm into a fist.

 “I would’ve
given you another chance, you know,” he said with a smug look in his eyes. I
cringed as he stepped closer to me. “Well, maybe later,” he grunted. “After
you’re in here for a while, you’ll be begging.” Mace’s face was haughty, cold.
I couldn’t imagine River Elodie giving any thought but to abhor him. My disgust
must have shown for he advanced on me instantly, grabbing me by the neck. I gasped
and clutched at his grip. “Don’t worry. I’ve always got something up my sleeve.
If your stay in here doesn’t do the trick, I’ve got plenty of other options to
make you more… agreeable.” He let go of me as I wheezed and fell over. Mace was
smiling, but his eyes were soulless pits. He only wanted me as a possession. The
same way he believed he owned the rest of the people here. This man was incapable
of compassion; I didn’t need a memory of him to know that.