Pawn (11 page)

I looked down at my hands, but it was too late. He’d already noticed.

“Perhaps,” said Augusta with a sniff. “However, you are my only remaining grandson, and I will not compromise your safety so you can waste the night tinkering with your toys.”

“They’re not toys,” he said, sitting up straighter now and shifting away from her. “They’re inventions, and they work. If you’d just come to my workshop for a few minutes and look—”

She raised her hand, and even though his anger was palpable, he fell silent, as if he’d expected her to cut him off. A father like Daxton and a grandmother like Augusta. At least I’d had Nina.

“I’d like to see your new inventions sometime, if you’ll let me,” said Celia warmly. “You must have come up with some interesting things in the past few weeks.”

“It’s been a while for me,” said Knox. “Lila, too.”

The way Knox looked at me made it clear I was expected to chime in. “Right,” I said, clearing my throat. “I’d like to see them, too.” I couldn’t imagine what Greyson could have invented that didn’t already exist, but that was why he was the one making things and I wasn’t.

Greyson bit his lip. “Yeah, all right. If they ever let us out of here.”

“Patience,” said Augusta. “It will do you a world of good.”

“Maybe so, but I still say we don’t get out of here until morning.”

Unfortunately Greyson was right. I managed a few restless hours of dozing, curled up in an uncomfortable position with Daxton snoring next to me, but as the night wore on, he inched closer and closer. When he threw his arm across my chest and settled his head on my shoulder, I gave up hope of getting any sleep.

It was nearly dawn by the time we were escorted back to our rooms with a stern warning from Augusta that none of us were to leave Somerset. My time to find Benjy before his seventeenth birthday was dwindling, and without a way out, I would have no chance at all.

Exhausted, I followed Knox and the guards up to the fourth floor, but it wasn’t until we’d reached Knox’s room that I tried to work up the courage to speak. Instead of heading toward Lila’s suite, I stood in front of him with my arms folded and the weight of a sleepless night on my shoulders. How was I supposed to say this in front of the guards?

Knox picked up on my uncertainty and gestured for them to leave us. Once they were gone, he held open his door for me, and I shook my head. I wasn’t going anywhere private with him.

“Who are the Blackcoats?” I said softly. Knox leaned down to answer, and his lips brushed against my ear.

“The people who bombed the ministries last night,” he said. “Why are we whispering?”

He was determined to make this difficult, and I was too tired to play games. “Was—I—involved with them?”

Knox straightened, his eyes narrowing as he studied me. “Why do you ask?”

“Because they wanted the same things I talked about.”

Several seconds passed, and I dug my toes into the carpet, wondering if I should walk away now before he lied and told me no. It was too much of a coincidence: Lila dying, me replacing her, the bombings—they had to be connected.

“Those are the same things every rebellion has been about for the past seventy-one years,” said Knox at last. “Groups have tried again and again to take down the Harts, but you’ve seen how well that worked out.”

“Except when Daxton’s wife and son died,” I blurted, remembering the conversation I’d had with Nina the day I’d received my III. She hadn’t outright told me they’d been killed by rebels, but she might as well have.

Knox paused, his gaze unfocused. “Jameson and Yvonne died in a car accident. There was no rebel involvement.”

“Are you sure?” I said.

“Positive. This is the first time the Blackcoats have done any sort of real damage, which is exactly why Augusta’s spooked.”

Maybe Nina had been wrong after all, but the way he hesitated only confused me more. “I’ve heard rumors—”

“Rumors are rumors because no one can back them up,” he said shortly. “I’ve explained what happened. If you’re going to push it, I’m not sticking around.”

“You don’t want to talk about them, fine,” I said. “I get it. I’ve lost people, too. But you
will
answer my question.”

“I already told you—”

“Not that one. The one before. Was I or was I not involved with the Blackcoats?”

Knox eyed me for a long moment, as if deciding whether or not I was worth the truth. “She got involved in that sort of thing about a year ago, and despite what Daxton wants you to think, she didn’t trust me. I don’t think she trusted anyone, not even her mother. The first time I heard the speeches was when I saw them with you.”

I studied him, searching for any signs that he was lying. His expression was maddeningly blank. “Okay. Thanks,” I said. If I let him know I suspected him, he would only try that much harder to hide the truth.

“You’re welcome.” Knox started to enter his room, and I hesitated in the doorway, another question on the tip of my tongue. He stopped, his eyebrows raised. “Was there something else?”

I cleared my throat. “Have you ever been Elsewhere?”

Something changed in his expression, something so tiny that it was gone before I could figure out what it was. “Yes. My father and I take a semiannual trip together. He considers it a bonding experience.”

Bonding over hunting innocent people. What could possibly bring a father and son closer together? And the way he said it, as if it were no big deal—as if all the fathers and sons in the ruling class did it. For all I knew, they did.

“Okay.” I turned away and headed down the hall, and when I heard footsteps behind me, I stopped.

“Lila,” he said, and I refused to look at him. It wasn’t his fault, but I was getting really, really sick of everyone calling me Lila. “I’m heading out to a club around ten tonight. Nothing fancy, but I figured you might get a kick out of it. Some of our friends will be there, and I’m sure they’d like to see you.”

Friends. Of course Lila had friends, and that would only mean more lying and desperate attempts to get my story straight. The last thing I wanted to do was to see more people who knew Lila well enough to be able to tell the difference between us.

However, it was exactly the opening I needed. A chance to leave this place and find Benjy before it was too late.

“Aren’t we on lockdown?” I said.

Knox shrugged. “That’s never stopped us before.”

If the clubs Lila frequented were anything like the one where Daxton had found me, it would be crowded. That would give me a chance to break away and find Benjy, though if the club was close to Somerset, it would take a while to get back to the Heights.

It didn’t matter. Even if I had to walk there in heels, I would do it.

“All right. I’ll go,” I said.

“Knew you’d come around,” said Knox with a wink. “See you at ten o’clock.”

Once I was inside my suite, I leaned against the closed door and took a deep, shaky breath. I had less than fifteen hours to not only come up with a way to find Benjy, but also to figure out how I was going to convince him that underneath Lila’s face, clothes, and VII, I was really Kitty Doe, and I wasn’t nearly as dead as I was supposed to be.

IX
Key

The more I thought about it, the more impossible my plan felt. With my real face, it would have been easy to slip away and get lost in a crowd, but with Lila’s, all eyes would be on me. If by some miracle I did get away, someone else would surely spot me—and once I reached the Heights, I would stick out like a sore thumb. A VII had never had a reason to set foot in our run-down suburb before.

Even if I did make it to Benjy, what would happen after that? There were a million things only the two of us knew that would prove who I was, but where could I take him to guarantee Daxton wouldn’t get his hands on him?

I didn’t sleep well that morning, tossing and turning in the massive bed that could easily have held five people. Eventually I gave up and dragged myself into the sitting room, where I collapsed onto the sofa in a cocoon of white fur. I picked at the lunch tray the servants brought and tried to think of someplace within the city where Benjy would be safe, but nothing came to mind. The odds were stacked a mile high against us. Then again, they usually were, and that had never stopped me before.

A knock on my door made me jump. Knox wasn’t due for hours, and I scrambled off the sofa and padded over, half expecting him to be waiting with a change of plans.

Instead, Greyson stood outside my suite. His shoulders were hunched and his hands shoved into his pockets, and when he looked at me, the coldness in his eyes made me shiver.

“You didn’t come see me.”

I frowned, wary of the accusation in his voice. “You didn’t come see me, either,” I said, silently willing Celia or Knox to appear.

Resignation passed over Greyson’s face. “You said you’d come see my inventions, and you didn’t.”

Right. I shrugged, not sure what Lila would’ve said or done. No one had told me if she got along with Greyson. “I can come see them now, if you’d like.”

“Don’t bother.” At first I thought he was going to leave, but then he pulled something out of his pocket and thrust it toward me. “I made this for you while you were gone.”

I took the necklace. From a distance it looked like a simple silver disk dangling from a chain, but when I examined it, I could see tiny grooves running through it like a labyrinth, breaking it into sections.

“It’s beautiful,” I said. “Thank you.”

Greyson ducked his head, but not before I spotted the hint of a smile. “It’s not just a necklace, you know.” With nimble fingers he pulled a section of the disk apart, and it unfolded into an instrument I instantly recognized.

“A lock pick?” It put the crude ones Benjy and I made out of paper clips and hairpins to shame.

Greyson nodded. “There are three different ones in there that’ll open any lock, and if you put it together and pass it over an electronic security device, it’ll open any of those, too. Before you left...” He hesitated. “When you said you felt trapped, I thought maybe this would help. So no one can make you stay if you don’t want to.”

He handed the necklace back to me, and I stared at it, speechless. I wanted to tell him that no one had ever given me this kind of gift before, but this wasn’t for me. It was for Lila.

It wasn’t fair for Greyson to go on thinking that I was his cousin when I wasn’t. He and Lila must have been close if he’d made her something like this, and it would only be a matter of time before he found out I wasn’t her.

“Greyson,” I said, brushing my fingers against the disk. It was warm against my skin, probably from his pocket. Or maybe he’d clutched it all the way here, worried I wouldn’t like it. That Lila wouldn’t like it. “I need to tell you something.”

“There you are.”

Augusta’s voice stole the confession from my tongue. She set her hand on Greyson’s shoulder, but her icy gaze was focused on me.

“I’ve been looking all over for you, Greyson. Your father wants to see you in his study. Just because we are working from home today does not mean you can skip your lessons.”

Greyson made a face. “I decided to take the day off. Someone else can learn how to run the country for once. Like Lila.”

Augusta’s grip on his shoulder tightened, and she steered him away from me and toward the atrium. “Lila has her own duties to attend to. Besides, she is not the one who will take over for your father.”

He twisted around to look at me, and I forced a sympathetic smile. Lila would probably have felt sorry for him, but all I could imagine was Greyson on one of the floating platforms in Elsewhere, cackling as he shot into a sea of innocent faces.

I clutched his gift and pushed the image out of my mind. Just because Daxton was all right with hunting his own people didn’t mean Greyson was, and I refused to think that anyone capable of creating such a beautiful gift could be evil. Not until he proved me wrong. In the meantime, I had to tell him who I really was before something I did gave it away. I was short on friends here as it was. The last thing I wanted was to lose any trust he might otherwise have been willing to offer.

I studied the necklace for a moment, and when I looked up, Augusta stood in front of me. Greyson was gone.

“Do not talk to my grandson,” she said. “If he initiates a conversation, you will make up an excuse and walk away, do you understand?”

“He knocked on my door. What was I supposed to do, slam it in his face?”

“Yes,” she said. “Greyson must not know about this. If you tell him, I will not hesitate to make arrangements for you and your little friend to be reunited Elsewhere.”

My little friend. Benjy. “If you hurt him, I’ll go straight to the media and tell the entire world what you and Daxton did.”

“By all means, go ahead and try. Give me an excuse to have you executed for treason.”

She took a step toward me. Even though she was close enough for me to see every line in her face, I refused to back away.

“You may think you have a modicum of control, but I have a dozen stories ready to explain away your presence here. Even if you do live long enough to talk to the media, I control what news is presented to my people, and I assure you, your words will die before anyone else hears them.” She touched my jaw, trailing her cold fingertip down to my chin. “You
will
stay away from my grandson. Understood?”

I shook my head. “He has a right to know his cousin’s dead.”

“He has the rights I decide to give him, as do you and everyone else in this country.” She straightened, her stare never leaving mine. “Do not underestimate me, Kitty Doe, not even for a moment. Because if you do, I promise you will spend the rest of your short life regretting it.”

Without another word, Augusta turned on her heel and walked away. Clenching my fists, I slammed the door and locked it, not caring if it was something Lila would have done. Whatever it took, I would find Benjy that night, and even if we had to leave the city, I would get him to safety. He’d been protecting me nearly all our lives, and now it was my turn to protect him.

* * *

Knox knocked on my door at exactly ten-thirty. When I opened it, he gave me a once-over and raised his eyebrows. “I thought we were going clubbing, not looting the place.”

“You’re wearing all black, too,” I said, grabbing a leather jacket from the closet. I’d dressed in a pair of fitted black pants and a black silk tank top, and at the last minute, I’d crammed a matching hat in my pocket. If I tucked my hair up, no one would be able to see the telltale blond, and the silk scarf in my other pocket would cover the VII on the back of my neck. With any luck, I would have a chance of getting to the Heights without being spotted.

“So I am.” He offered me his arm, and when I wrinkled my nose, he chuckled. “Let’s go before someone sees us. Wouldn’t want to get caught before we even leave the wing.”

I trailed after him into the hallway, expecting to head to the atrium. Instead he opened the door to his suite, and I hesitated. No matter how much I trusted him relative to everyone else in Somerset, that didn’t mean I wanted to see his bedroom.

“Don’t give me that look,” he said. “This is how we’re getting out.”

“I’m not afraid to knee you if I have to,” I said as I ducked past him and entered his sitting room.

It was exactly like mine, except decorated in navy blue instead of white. The fireplace crackled, and it had a homey feel to it that my suite didn’t. He led me down a short corridor, and I was so pleased his suite was half the size of mine that I almost didn’t notice when he opened the closet door.

“In here,” he said, and I snorted.

“I am not going in your closet.”

He shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He stepped inside and shut the door behind him, and I stood there stupidly, trying to decide what to do. I heard a rustle and a soft scraping sound on the other side, and with a huff, I yanked open the door.

He wasn’t there. I squinted in the darkness, pushing the jackets aside, but all that was behind them was wall.

“Up here.”

I jumped. Above me Knox leaned out of a hole in the ceiling with a flashlight in hand. The opening was too big to be the air vent I’d discovered the day before, and Knox dropped down a rope ladder.

“How did you find this?” I said as I hauled myself up. He reached down to help me, but I pushed his hands away.

“Someone else showed me,” he said. “It doesn’t see much use, but it’ll get us out of Somerset.”

I pulled myself up into the ceiling. It was an entire walkway, high enough for me to stand, and I spotted a railing a few feet away. “Are the other rooms connected, too?”

“Just this one,” he said, covering the hole with what looked like a piece of ceiling. “C’mon, and keep quiet. If someone’s on the other side of the walls, they could hear us.”

The layer of dust on everything made my nose itch, but I held in my sneeze. Knox and his flashlight led the way, and we headed down a rickety staircase that creaked underneath my feet. It wasn’t until we reached a heavy wooden door several levels below the basement that Knox spoke again.

“The tunnel goes on for about a mile underground, and when it ends, we’ll be on the other side of the wall. Think you can manage it?”

I gave him a dirty look and snatched the flashlight from him. As I marched into the tunnel, which was dark and dank and smelled of earth, he chuckled.

There were no turns, so I didn’t have to ask Knox for directions. Except for the shuffle of our footsteps, it was eerily silent, and I could hear him breathing behind me. Finally I couldn’t take the quiet anymore, and I glanced over my shoulder to look at him.

“What are we going to do?” I said. “Hang around a club for hours and drink ourselves stupid?”

“Something like that. Don’t you want to be surprised?”

“I hate surprises.”

He smirked. “I don’t blame you.”

We walked along in silence for a few more seconds. “You said we’re meeting friends,” I said. “Shouldn’t I at least know their names?”

“Lila didn’t.”

“But they were her friends.”

“When you’re as famous and powerful as Lila was, you have lots of friends,” he said. “Don’t worry about it. Lila hated them as much as you will.”

I didn’t ask. If all went well, I wouldn’t have to spend more than a few minutes with them before I had the chance to slip away.

When we reached the other end of the tunnel, Knox took the flashlight back and led me up another old staircase. This time the door was made of metal, and though it looked rusted, the hinges must have been well oiled, because it didn’t squeak when he opened it.

As soon as I stepped through the doorway, I understood why. We were in an alleyway somewhere beyond the walls of Somerset, less than ten yards away from a busy and brightly lit street. Knox pulled the door shut behind him, and this time he took my arm without asking. His flashlight was gone.

“Just act natural,” he said, leading me to the street. Despite the late hour, there were people everywhere, laughing and chatting as they leaned against the moving walkways. When Knox and I stepped on, heads turned our way, and Knox’s grip on my arm tightened.

The walkway made me feel like I was floating. There was a rail to hold on to, but Knox was sturdy, and I’d seen pictures of him and Lila out together. They were always arm in arm, so letting go of him wasn’t an option even if I could’ve wriggled away. With any luck, he wouldn’t be as strict about it in the club.

Above us, screens lit up with the same kind of news scrolls that appeared at the bottom of the television. The monitors secured on the sides of buildings loudly advertised different products for things that as a III I could never afford and as Lila I would never need, and I attempted to look as bored as possible. Lila had probably been down this street hundreds of times before.

We passed shop after shop, some with magnificent window displays showing off the latest in fashion or electronics, and others that belonged to the intimate cafés where only the rich could eat. They were the same kind of places I’d mocked before, knowing full well I would never be ranked high enough to get in. Now that I was Lila, every door was open to me.

Across the street stood the smoldering remains of a small building, the only reminder that this wasn’t paradise. From the way it still smoked, I was sure it was one of the buildings that had been bombed the night before. Orange barriers blocked the walkway beside it, and at least a dozen Shields lined the perimeter, each holding a rifle.

Panic slithered through me. The Shields in the Heights were always on the lookout for someone to arrest or kill, and we avoided them at all costs. But here, everyone walked right on by as if they weren’t even there. Was that what being a V and VI meant? Never having to fear the Shields?

“A testing center,” said Knox, so close his breath tickled my skin. “The other two places were ministries.”

“Which ones?”

“The Ministry of Ranking—my father’s,” he said. “And the Ministry of Wealth and Distribution. Neither of them were destroyed, but the bombs took out a nice chunk.”

“Did it make any difference?” I said, and Knox shook his head.

When we stepped off the walkway, he led me down a side street. A line of people dressed in outrageously tight and colorful clothes wound around the corner, and as we passed, every eye was on us. I spotted a few more Shields in the distance and tensed, but Knox squeezed my hand, and I forced myself to relax. I wasn’t a III anymore. They weren’t going to arrest me just for breathing the wrong way.