Naomi Grim (7 page)

"What?" Chase crawled out of
bed and turned on the lamp on his nightstand. He stared at me with his coal-black
eyes and ran his fingers through his tussled hair. I had the urge to smooth it
out, but I resisted. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, even though I really wasn't.
Chase stared at me for a few seconds. Then he held me tightly, knowing I wasn't
okay at all. I'd missed his scent.

We pulled apart. "I've been so
worried about you," he said. "Where've you been?"

"In the Outskirts."

His eyes widened. "The Outskirts?
With the Foragers?"

I nodded.

Chase frowned. "Wow. What's it
like?"

I shrugged. "Different. Chase, are
you mad at me?"

"Why would I be?"

"I went against Grim Covenant. I
cost our colony a lot of lifestones."

Chase shook his head. "I'm not mad.
I don't understand why you did what you did, but I'm not mad. At first, I was
kind of relieved that you and Keira would be staying in Farrington, but that
was before I realized they were going to kick you out. So what are you going to
do? Live in the Outskirts forever?"

"I don't know, Chase."

"But really, tell me. What's it
like there? Living with the Foragers?"

"It's terrible. For one, they all
hate me, but I can't blame them for that. There's a lack of food and water. I
miss taking warm showers and my big, warm bed. I miss my family and you and
Keira."

"Take me there."

I looked at him, trying to determine
whether or not he was joking. "You can't go there."

"Why not?"

"They don't take kindly to
strangers," I said.

"Come on, just for a little while.
If there's a problem, I'll leave."

I contemplated telling him my awful
secret. "No, Chase. You can't come there. Promise me you won't."

He stood up and went to his bedroom
window. "Fine." I felt bad. I knew Chase loved me. He had since we
were kids. He wanted to come with me, but he'd die in the Outskirts.

"Chase?"

"Yeah?"

"What if I wasn't who you thought I
was?"

"What do you mean?"

I had to tell him. If he really loved
me, the possibility of me not being a full-blooded Grim wouldn't matter. "Chase,
I'm only half Grim. My father's not my real father."

Chase laughed. "Get out of
here."

I looked him dead in the eyes so he
would know I was telling the truth. "I'm serious." I showed him my
dirty bandage. "Dunstan cut me and I bled."

       Chase exhaled, searching for the
right words. "Damn. How did that happen?"

I told him what my mother had told me.
"I know you're not going to look at me the same way anymore."

"That's not true. I mean, it's a
lot to take in, but it doesn't change the way I feel about you."

I believed him, but there was no use in
Chase holding onto his feelings for me. I could never live in Farrington again.

 "I should get back." I stood
to leave. It pained me to leave Chase alone with the load I'd just dropped on
him. I wanted to give him another hug, but that would probably make things
worse. "I'll try to come and see you again."

"Sure," Chase answered,
staring out into the moonlight.

The next morning, back in the Outskirts,
I woke up to something that smelled like pancakes. I rolled over in the
uncomfortable cot Dunstan had given me to sleep on. I crawled from underneath
the covers and went into the kitchen. At the stove, Dunstan stood flipping
fully-cooked pancakes onto a plate. It was a strange sight, like watching
Dunningham cook for himself when I knew his assistants practically chewed his
food for him.

Two settings were laid on the table.
"Sit," Dunstan said without turning around.

"I didn't know you guys had
pancakes here."

Dunstan poured more batter into the pan.
"We don't have much, but I save my flour for special occasions."

"This is a special occasion?"

"Yes, it is. Tonight we begin our
operation."

"What are you going to do?" I
asked skeptically.

"Nothing tonight. We're just
sending some scouts in to check things out. Then we'll take it from
there."

"You aren't going to hurt people,
are you? I mean there are innocent Grims there—it's not their fault things are
the way they are."

"What about my people? It's not
their fault I made a mistake a long time ago, yet they’re being punished for
it. I owe them a way out."

"I understand that, but you can
raid the Mill and get what you need without anyone getting hurt."

"Naomi, we will do what we have to
do, by any means necessary. The men of Farrington and the Upper Estates are not
going to let those lifestones go easily. We've been training for a long time.
We're prepared to do whatever we have to."

"Mr. Dunstan, what are we talking
about here?"

He must have caught the concern in my
voice. "Not to worry, dear. I'm simply going to have a discussion with my
brother, that's all. I want to see if we can come to some sort of understanding."

"You actually think you're going to
be able to reason with him?"

Dunstan brought a plate of pancakes to
the table. "Sure, he's my brother."

"Yes, the brother who disowned
you."

"Nevertheless, he'll hear me out.
He doesn't have a choice."

* * *

That night Dunstan gave me his cloak
once more so I could visit Farrington. I still wasn’t sure why he was so
gung-ho about me going to visit my family, but I wasn't about to look a gift
horse in the mouth. Before I left, Dunstan put his hand on my shoulder and
looked as if he wanted to say something, but changed his mind. I left his
cottage without a word from either of us.

When I reached the house, I was both
relieved and nervous to see that Father was home. This would be the first time I’d
seen him since he had thrown me out that night. I found him in his study,
leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. He took a deep breath and then
opened his eyes. The man I'd known as my father stood and looked at me. I
shuddered.

I’d known it was true, that I wasn't really his, when I’d heard
the words from my mother’s mouth, but the look in my father’s eyes added an
extra confirmation. I could no longer be delusional.

“Father—”

He pulled me toward him, squeezing me tight. “Darkness, none of
this matters. You have always and will always be my daughter.”

I looked up into the dark eyes of the man who had never wronged me
or made me feel like I wasn’t his. I always knew Bram was his favorite, but
Father had never made me feel unloved or inferior. I wondered what it was that
would make a man take another man’s child as his own and love her despite her
mother’s sin. I thought about all the horrible Forager talk. How my father
hated them, but I was one.

“But, Father—I’m one of them.”

He pulled away and then grabbed me firmly by the shoulders. “You
are
not
! Dunningham excused that offense. You were branded with the
symbol. You are a Grim, period.”

I nodded, but we all knew that human blood flowed through my veins
and there was no denying that.

Father touched my cheek gently. “Naomi, I know this is hard for
you. We never intended for you to find out, but you need to forgive your
mother. This is something that happened a long time ago and we’ve all moved
past it.”

“But that’s not fair. You’ve known about this for sixteen years. I
just found this out a few days ago. This is my life, my heritage. I need time.”

“I see,” Father said. “You’re right, but at least go and talk to
your mother.” He motioned toward the door.

I had no desire to
speak to her, but
I did as I was told. I found Mother on the sofa in the living room,
embroidering. She only did that when she was stressed. I watched her as she
worked. Her eyes and the area around her mouth looked tired. She seemed to have
aged since we had left for the assignment. I took a seat next to her on the
sofa. She looked up at me and smiled.

I considered being kind and forgiving, but I wasn’t ready for that
yet. “How could you cheat on Father? I thought you loved him.”

Mother sighed and tossed the hoop on the couch. “I do love your
father, Naomi. I made a horrible mistake. We had only been married for a couple
of years, not that it makes it right, but I hadn’t come to love him yet as a
wife should love her husband. I told you, it takes time, but eventually you’ll
get there. Your father has forgiven me for it.”

“He didn’t have a choice.” There was no such thing as divorce in
our society. Once you were married, you were stuck for life. 'Til death do us
part meant just that. Father had stayed with her because he didn’t have a
choice. Who knew if he had really forgiven her? For all we knew, he could be
holding his disdain inside.

“Naomi, I know you don’t understand this, but sometimes the heart
just wants what it wants and being a Grim doesn’t change that.”

I thought about Hunter. If I were given the chance, I would be
with him (if he didn’t think I was a monster), but liking someone and having
their baby were two different things. “Still, you should have been more
careful, now because of your mistake, I’m a hybrid. It’s not fair.”

“I’m sorry. I did everything in my power to make this right. I did
everything I could do to keep this under wraps and to make sure that you were
recognized as a full-blooded Grim. Naomi, nobody knows about this, except for
us. Dunningham promised to keep our secret and we had to promise not to give
you a name that represents darkness or death. That's how you ended up being
Naomi.”

"And you and Father compensate for that by calling me
Darkness as a nickname." I stared at the silver swirls in our marble
coffee table. “All my life, I’ve always wondered why I felt sorry for humans,
why I couldn’t disconnect my feelings like the rest of you. You knew it was
something I struggled with for a reason, and you still didn’t tell me the
truth.”

"Darling, I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say."

I took a deep breath before asking a question I didn't really want
to know the answer to. "How did you get Dunningham to forgive that offense?
I mean, relations with a human, that's one of the worst things you could do,
Mother. He banished his own brother for that."

Mother looked down. Her dark hair cascaded around her face,
preventing me from seeing her. It was probably better that way. "That's
not important."

I'd always heard whispered rumors about Dunningham—things about
him and other female Grims—but I'd never put much thought into them. After all,
Dunningham would be the last person to break Grim Covenant, right? Even if the
rumors were true, my mother would never let that reptile touch her.
"Mother, tell me."

"A mother will do anything to protect her child."

Just then, the knob on the front door began to jiggle. We were all
home, so it had to be Dunningham. He had a master key for every home in
Nowhere. I stood, struggling to remember where I’d left the invisibility cloak,
but it was too late. Dunningham walked in with Doyle and two Watchers. He wore
a black fedora. "Good night, ladies," he said, tipping the hat toward
us.

Father and Bram came running down the stairs.
“Mr.
Dunningham, you don’t have to do this,” Father pleaded. “We can come up with a
suitable punishment.”

Mother wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “Please,” she
whispered.

Dunningham sneered at her. “My dear, I’m afraid you’ve exhausted
your favor card. You all know what has to be done.”

Father rushed toward Dunningham with Bram on his heels. “Please,
take me. Let me pay the price for her,” said the man who wasn’t really my
father. My heart ached. In the light of his bravery, I wanted to be his so
badly, but I wasn’t.

The Watchers held Father back, and Bram pushed one of them. “Take
your hands off my father! He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

Doyle moved swiftly from Dunningham’s side, pinned Bram’s arms
behind his back, and shoved him to the ground. I had the overwhelming desire to
rat Doyle out at that very second, but I knew his secret would be more
beneficial to me at a later date. I didn’t want my family going through any
more pain at my expense.

“It’s okay. I’ll go. I’ll go,” I said, but Mother wouldn’t release
me.

“What’s going on?” Dorian asked from the top of the staircase. He rubbed
his eyes and surveyed the scene. “Father, what should I do?”

“Go back to bed,” Father ordered. But Dorian didn’t move from his
spot.

“Mr. Dunningham,” Father began quietly. “Please, it's not her
fault. Let me take her place. Take me.”

Dunningham glowered at Father. “Nox, I suppose I’m partly at fault,
and for that reason, I won't execute your entire family. I should have known
this wasn’t going to work. A simple branding wasn’t going to make her a real
Grim; she was always a Forager. I went against my better judgment, but she has
caused us a huge loss. You know what has to be done.”

Mother
didn’t bother to wipe away the tears that dripped from her face.
“Are you taking her to Gattica?”

I almost laughed. That was wishful thinking. Very few women went
to Gattica. Very few women were arrested period, but when they were, they
usually became permanent servants in Dunningham’s home. If their offense were
great enough, they were taken to Gattica and put in a small female holding
cell. I would have preferred Gattica over being Dunningham's servant, but we
all knew what I’d done warranted execution. My decision at Kennedy High had
been the equivalent of committing suicide.

“Three days,” Dunningham said. “You’ll have the opportunity to see
her once before the execution."

Doyle pried me away from Mother as the Watchers restrained Bram
and Father. "Where's the cloak?" Doyle demanded. "I know he gave
it to you." My heart skipped a beat. So they had known all along that I
had been coming here. I should have known. Dunstan cherished that cloak. It was
the only thing he had as a souvenir of his former rank, but I didn't have a
choice. I had to hand it over.

"It's on the kitchen table."

Doyle went to retrieve it as Dunningham slid his cold hand around
my arm. The chill seeped through the sleeve of my hoodie. I shuddered again.
His hand was much colder than any other Grims’. My skin crawled underneath his
cold, rough touch.

Dunningham pulled me out of the door as chaos broke out behind me.
Mother screamed my name at the top of her lungs, saying over and over again how
sorry she was. I heard grunts and blows being thrown as the Watchers attempted
to hold my father and Bram back. I wanted to tell them to stop fighting. There
was nothing more they could do.

A driver sat waiting in the front seat of Dunningham's black
carriage car—an antique that he cherished. Doyle appeared behind us with the
cloak draped over his arm. He opened the back door. Dunningham climbed in.
Doyle gave me a push, and I got in after Dunn and then Doyle himself got in,
leaving me trapped in a sandwich of hatred.

Dunningham tapped the back of the driver's seat and he took off. I
looked back at my home. The Watchers had yet to emerge. I wanted to know what
they were doing in there and if my family was all right.

"They won't—" I began.

"Shut up!" Dunningham snapped.

"You're not to speak again unless asked a question,"
Doyle explained.

I sighed and tried my best to enjoy my last moments of freedom
before being locked away.