Rebellion (28 page)

I look at Eli. He was with Mother. He should know.

Eli seems to guess what I'm thinking. “She's extremely careful not to tell me anything anymore. She's paranoid, and Dr. Friar is the only one she shares anything with lately. When I returned, I could hear her screaming and breaking things from the Maintenance tunnel. I followed her voice to her room where she was dressing down every single Enforcer we have left. She saw me and immediately demanded answers, but I played dumb. I don't think she believed me, but she kicked me out after that, so I have no clue what's going on in her head or what her next move is.”

“So how do we prepare?”

“We're already as prepared as we're going to get,” Eli says.

“So we're just going to sit around doing nothing?”

“No,” Evie says behind me, startling me.

I twist around and see her wearing a new dress. Her hair is wrapped in a towel. She looks absolutely exhausted, but despite that, there's something shining through her. Something I've only seen peek through when she's gone into Enforcer mode. Except she's
not
in Enforcer mode. She's quite obviously in control of herself. I've never seen her look so beautiful.

“You're going to do another masking,” Evie says. “Tomorrow. This will give the Underground enough time to spread the word on it and let Mother tell her lies about Kara and Tate.”

“You said
we'll
be doing it,” Asher says. “What are
you
going to do?”

“I'm going to talk to the Enforcers.” She straightens her shoulders.

Suddenly the room is in an uproar and my heart has jammed itself into my throat, while my stomach seems to have taken up residence on the floor. I can't make out one voice from the next. After a minute, she holds her hand in the air. “One of Mother's Enforcers did this. I know which one.” She holds her Slate up. “The one that hurt you originally, Asher.” The two of them share a look full of meaning that I don't understand, but clearly they do. Asher purses his lips as she continues. “Her actions suggest she might not be as okay with what Mother is doing as Mother wants to believe. If that's so, she's probably not the only one.”

“You can't just walk in there. They'll kill you on sight,” Lenore says, popping up from behind Evie. She must have followed her in, but I didn't see her.

“Possibly. Maybe even probably. But,” she fans out her hands in front of her, “it's a chance we have to take. Unless and until you can figure out how to deactivate the nanites, it may be our only choice. If we can get them on our side, we'll have the final blow to Mother's support system.”

“They're monsters, Evie. You can't reason with them,” Asher says.

“
I
used to be one of them.”

No one seems to know what to say to that. But I do. It's something I should have said a long time ago. “You were never a monster, Evie. From the first time they Conditioned you, you fought back. That's why they kept brainwashing you over and over again. To get you to go along with their plans, while thinking they were your own. It's possible these girls could be fighting their own battles like you did. But it's just as possible they never have and never will. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if this was all some part of Mother's plot to get you back.”

She frowns, and I can see she's thinking it over. “Yes … I suppose that you're right.” She nods and looks directly at me. “Actually, that makes a lot of sense.”

“If that's the case,” Eli says, “which I'm inclined to agree it is, then it is even more imperative that you
not
do this. We've said our piece. Let's just give Mother time to make her own statement, then hold a masking in the Square the following morning. It'll tell us how many people we still have supporting us and how many are still too afraid. You're forgetting that while this
could
go in our favor, it can just as easily go against us. Fear is the most powerful weapon and Mother wields it well.”

Evie rubs her fingers in circles around her temple. Little tiny cuts dribble blood, and I wonder what
that's
about but I don't ask.

“We'll see what Mother has to say. We've waited this long. One more day isn't going to hurt.” They all breathe a sigh of relief, but I know better. I'm not surprised when she says, “Besides, that'll give me time to prepare a plan for going to meet with the Enforcers.” She looks at everyone in turn. “I
know
this is what needs to be done and no one is going to stop me.”

*   *   *

I can't sleep. I can't stop pacing. I can't stop thinking about Evie and her idea. It's solid. It scares the hell out of me, but it's smart and resourceful and
if
she can get the Enforcers on our side, that will leave Mother open to an attack that would otherwise be impossible to execute. While I understand why the others don't want her to do it, after what I had to do with Mayor St. James, I completely understand why she does.

When I'm in the corner of the cutout I hear footsteps at the door and stop pacing long enough to see Evie standing in the doorway, the light from the common area turning her to mostly a shadow. But I'd know her anywhere.

She turns her head and moves her eyes until they meet mine. She jerks back, slapping her hand to her mouth to muffle her scream.

She moves a hand to her chest and lets out a little laugh. “Oh, you scared me. I thought you'd be asleep.”

“Couldn't.” The main reason why is staring right into my eyes.

She nods. “Same here. Couldn't even if I wanted to.” She steps farther into the room, then hikes herself up onto the cot. I can't help but notice how her dress goes up and shows her knee and a lot of her thigh. I have to admit: she has awesome legs.

She clears her throat and I realize she's caught me staring. I look up guiltily, but I don't see a frown, I see amusement. She's actually laughing at me!

I sit next to her. “Are you sure you don't want to try and sleep?”

She shakes her head. “Mother is probably planning her next step right now. I want to be awake when it happens. There'll be plenty of time to sleep once we finish this.”

“I agree with them,” I say, cautiously. “I don't like the idea of you just walking up to the Enforcers like a lamb to slaughter.”

She purses her lips. “I guess it's a good thing the decision isn't up to you then.” Her tone is considerably cooler than it was a few seconds ago.

I sigh. I wasn't planning on telling her, but this is the first time we've really talked and I don't want to fight before we've even said more than a few words. “I don't like it, but I think it's a good plan.”

She blinks as if she can't believe her ears. “You do?”

I shrug. “I don't like it, but … I believe in you. I love you. And I trust your decisions. If you think talking with the Enforcers is what needs to be done, I'll be standing right there beside you. No matter what.”

“I'm sorry for punching you,” she says.

An obvious ploy to stop talking about her idea, but I take the bait anyway and laugh. “No, you're not. But I kind of knew it was coming. I've seen that look on my sister's face a few times before she slapped my brother-in-law. Of course, it wasn't a sucker punch in his
nose
, but…” I break off when she giggles. An actual giggle, and I'm in heaven even if this place is hell. “I missed you,” I blurt out.

The silence after my admission is almost deafening.

“Was it horrible up there?” Her voice is so quiet I almost miss the hidden worry and hurt hidden in her words. Her eyes meet mine, and in the dark they look huge.

I pull her into my arms and hold her as tightly as I can manage. Her whole body shivers, as does mine. Six weeks was much too long to be away from her. I kiss the side of her head as she snuggles into me.

“Was it hard to come back? To this?” She tosses her arm out, obviously meaning not just the Caverns, but Elysium as a whole. She peers at me out of the corner of her eye. “To me?”

“No. It was hard to stay away.”

“What happened?” There's no censure in her voice. No accusations. Merely concern and curiosity.

I tell her the entire story from beginning to end without leaving out a single detail. By the time I'm finished, she's the one pacing the floor. I swear if the mayor was here with us, she'd beat the hell out of him. I'd almost like to see it.

“I can't understand how Asher came from such a … a…”

“Asshole?” I suggest.

She bobs her head once. “Yes. Such an
asshole
!” She grits her teeth when she says it and I can't help laughing. I don't mean to, but hearing her say the word is hilarious.

She whirls around and stomps over to me, glaring up at me. “What?”

I swallow back another laugh. “Nothing. It's nothing.” I pull her to me and kiss the top of her head.

She leans into me and wraps her arms around my waist, her head resting against my chest. “The city wanted me,” she says. “That's probably why he was looking so hard for me. I hurt a bunch of people at the medical center after a hallucination. I thought I was back here. After that they wouldn't let me go and wanted to run a bunch of tests on me. That's why Asher snuck me out and brought me back here. They're probably still looking for me.”

“Seems like it might be time to bury the hatchet completely and talk to Asher. It seems that I've been angry with the wrong people the entire time.”

“Will you tell me what happened? You were obviously close at one time.”

“Thick as thieves, as my mom would say.” I look down and turn my hand over to stare at the little scar in the center of my palm. “Blood brothers.”

“You're brothers?” Her eyebrows pinch together. “How can that be?”

“Not
real
brothers. But we were so close we might as well have been. So we did this thing where we both cut our palms, then pressed them together. Blood brothers.”

I can tell she doesn't understand, but she nods anyway. “Oh. Okay.”

“From the time we were babies until … well, until we weren't friends anymore, we spent all of our time together. Told each other everything. He told me his worst secret and I told him something I should have kept to myself. Ultimately it was our bond that made us enemies.”

“How?” She touches the back of my neck when I lean over. Her fingers play with my hair.

“One winter we didn't have enough food. Hunting had been slim all year and Tristan had just been born, so my mom needed every scrap we could find. But we were completely out. My dad had continued to hunt, but the winter was especially cold that year, so there wasn't anything. Not even a squirrel. We'd been without food for a week, so my dad stole meat from the butcher. I caught him. He was trying to hide it and present it like a kill, but I knew better. I'd been hunting with him earlier and knew. He admitted it to me, but promised that as soon as spring came around he'd repay the butcher with twice as much meat as he took. He made me promise not to say anything, because the others wouldn't understand. I tried to keep it a secret, but I had to tell someone, because it was just eating me up inside. So I told the one person I trusted most. Asher.

“About a week after I told him, the mayor came by with a few of his ‘special' hunters. The ones that supplied the city with fresh meat. He wanted my dad to be an official hunter for the village. He'd pay him for his services and allow him entry into Rushlake so we'd never go hungry again. My father didn't know how the mayor had known we needed food, but I knew it was because I'd told Asher and Asher must have talked to his dad. It made me glad I'd told them. I'd helped my family. Without even meaning to.

“After a bit of negotiating, my dad and the mayor came to terms and my dad headed out the next day. He never came back. He just … disappeared. The hunters he was with came back, but Dad was just gone. The official story was he was probably taken in his sleep by a coyote, but I know my dad. And the hunters he usually hunted with never believed it either. Not surprisingly, the ‘special' hunters were sent back to the city within a few days of their return. It was a commonly held belief that the mayor had my dad killed, but no one knew why. But I did. Because I told Asher my father had stolen the meat and he told his dad. My dad died because I couldn't keep a secret and neither could Asher.”

“Oh … Gavin.”

She steps toward me. Her blue eyes are a melting pot of emotions as they sparkle with unshed tears. Her arms come around me again and she just holds me. Her quiet support is more than I expected.

I expected her to tell me I was wrong to feel the way I did, or that I should forgive Asher. But she does none of that. Again there's no judgment. No criticism. She just hugs me.

I don't know what to do, but finally I solve the matter by kissing her. It feels like it's been forever, until I lift her chin up and lower my lips to hers. Then it feels like it's been no time at all.

She kisses me back, but it's not enough, this small taste of something I've been craving for weeks. The air changes between us, becoming charged with a familiar, primal kind of energy.

Her eyes flutter closed when I slowly slide her dress off her shoulder to bare the skin there and trace a path with my lips from her shoulder to the curve at the base of her throat.

My lips slide along the edge of her jaw, suckling softly at the tender spot where I feel her racing pulse against my tongue. She sighs, making my stomach twirl like the girl on my sister's jewelry box. Torturing myself, I let my hands drift excruciatingly slowly down her body, stopping at the hem of the dress. She trembles when I pause to let my fingers brush the sides of her thighs.