Thrall (30 page)

Five days before Winter Solstice, Hale made everyone pack a bag of essentials and a bedroll so we’d be ready to travel in a moment’s notice. Gretchen tucked bug spray and sunscreen into everyone’s packs, including mine.

Three days before Winter Solstice, Hale pulled me aside and thanked me for trying. Neither of us believed any longer that Karayan was going to let me in on the plan. I hoped fervently that the Guard’s intelligence was right. Because if Ais wasn’t in South America, it seemed unlikely we’d be able to locate her in time to keep her from bringing down the Wall.

When December nineteenth arrived, I stared at my calendar woodenly. Winter Solstice was two days away. I moved through my morning routine in a fog. School was a blur.

Royal and Cassie sensed that something was wrong. Royal pulled me aside after lunch and reminded me, “I’m on your speed dial.” I squeezed his hand, but there was no way I could tell him what was going on.

That afternoon, I returned home, expecting to find the Guard loading the van for the airport. Dad just met me at the door, shaking his head.

“No word yet,” he said.

“So...?” I asked, unsure what to do with myself.

“Hale says business as usual,” Dad answered. “You’d better go to practice.”

When I walked into the basement, Gretchen was warming up.

Hale looked up as I entered. “I’d like to do an hour of sparring, then we’ll start you with a sword. Okay?”

“Sure,” I said, taking my place on the mat. I was getting so familiar with Gretchen’s style that I could watch her and tell what she’d do as she made the decision to do it. A tiny flick of her eyes told me she was going to start with a kick, so I was ready to block her. I countered and she blocked, and we were into another sparring session. We went nearly five minutes before Gretchen managed to land a solid hit. As we squared up again, I decided to attack first. Gretchen misread my move, and I had her on the defensive in a few breathless seconds. She fought furiously, swinging for my ribs again, but I was ready for her. As she whipped close to tag my ribs, I sidestepped her, swept her foot out from under her, and dropped on top of her, fist raised. But I didn’t have to take the shot. She knew I had her.

I heard a grunt from the stairs. All three of us turned to see Lucas watching, stunned.

“Lucas?” Hale frowned. “What are you doing in here?” Hale’s voice radiated disapproval. Lucas – for once – ignored him.

“She’s amazing,” Lucas said to Gretchen, accusatorily. Then he turned to me, wounded. “You’re amazing. Why didn’t you tell me you knew how to fight?”

I glanced at Hale, uneasy. “I... I’m just learning.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Lucas flinched. “You know how many of the guys Gretchen used to train with ever knocked her off her feet?”

“She’s a fast learner,” Gretchen said.

“She’s a good teacher,” I said. Gretchen’s eyes flickered over to me.

“I’ll have to take your word for it.” Lucas wouldn’t meet my eyes. “She won’t let me train with her.”

“Lucas.” Gretchen pulled her gloves off.

“Forget it,” Lucas said. He stormed up the steps, and slammed the door.

“Hale?” Gretchen pleaded. Hale waved toward the stairs, and Gretchen ran after Lucas.

I looked at Hale, uncomfortable.

“He’ll be okay,” Hale sighed. “It’s hard for guys his age to see girls that fight better than they do. Though you’d think he’d be used to it, growing up around Gretchen.”

“I don’t fight better than...” I stared at Hale. “Lucas got into a fight his first day at school.” Hale didn’t look surprised. “He fought five guys and won.”

“Your point?”

“My point...?” I stared at Hale, but he wasn’t smiling.

“Did you think I made you train with Gretchen because I thought it’d be easier for you? Gretchen is the best fighter in my unit. She was an alternate for the U.S. Tae Kwon Do team before she joined the Guard. Murphy’s got more experience, and I’m stronger, but Gretchen is faster and smarter when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. Get used to it, Braedyn. You’re a better fighter than Lucas is. Now you both know it.”

I let Hale’s words sink in. Strange feelings twisted in my stomach. The glow of pride was tempered with a leaden dread. Lucas had been training for years, learning who knows what from who knows how many soldiers? No wonder he couldn’t believe I’d just started learning. No normal kid could have picked this up so fast. Like the dreams and the night-vision, my ability to fight wasn’t human.

Hale walked to the weapons rack and drew out a sword.

“Wouldn’t daggers make more sense?” I asked. “I can’t exactly stash a sword in my backpack.”

“You need finer control for the daggers,” Hale said. “And the sword has one advantage over the daggers.” He lunged, stabbing the sword through the air with precise, lethal energy. “It extends your reach. Keeps the Lilitu from getting too close.” He flipped the sword into the air and caught it by the hilt, then offered it to me.

I took the sword gingerly. It was heavy, but balanced - it took little effort to keep the blade parallel to the ground. I made a few half-hearted swings, testing it out. Hale drew a similar sword from the rack.

“Okay. First things first. Let’s talk about grip.” Hale adjusted my hand on the hilt. For the rest of our session, I practiced lunging with the sword extended. After an hour of this, my lower back was aching, and I was sweating in a way I hadn’t since I’d begun sparring with Gretchen. When I finally shelved the sword, my arm was shaking with fatigue.

“Good session,” Hale said.

“For what it’s worth,” I muttered.

“Braedyn?”

I looked up at the sharp tone in his voice. “I just meant,” I started lamely. “I mean, there’s only two days before...” I swallowed.

“Nothing we do is wasted effort,” he said firmly. “And even if...” He looked away from me. “Winter Solstice isn’t the end of the world, even if it is the beginning of a war. As long as we remain alive, we have to do everything we can to protect the ones we love.”

I nodded. Hale turned his back on me, cleaning up from our practice.

I emerged from the basement, and looked around for Lucas. He wasn’t in the kitchen or the living room. I left the house and peeked in the Guard’s back yard. I saw the shed, but again, no Lucas. I gave up and walked home, the exhaustion of practice finally getting to me. Even my hand felt tired as I turned the doorknob to my house. I took a quick shower and pulled on fresh clothes. I had to tuck my hair up into a wool hat to run back to the Guard’s house. It still hadn’t snowed, but the nights were starting to drop toward freezing.

An incredible aroma hit me as I entered. Dad had cooked a feast. A gorgeous pork roast shared the table with mashed potatoes, rich gravy, steaming dinner rolls, and asparagus. Lucas was setting the table. He looked a little tense when he saw me.

“I’m sorry,” I said. When Lucas didn’t answer, I took the forks from him and started placing them around the table.

“I just... I don’t know how you learned so fast,” Lucas said. “It’s like... inhuman.” I felt my blood turn to ice in my veins. Lucas looked up, smiling sheepishly. “Seriously, we should get your DNA tested for superpowers.”

Gretchen walked in at that moment, toweling her short, dark hair. Her eyes shifted from Lucas to me; she’d heard the last part of our conversation.

“Hit me with the spoons, Mitchell,” she said. Lucas handed them over and Gretchen ruffled his hair.

“I told you she still sees me as a little kid,” Lucas said. But he didn’t look upset.

“You are a little kid,” she said, pinching his cheek. “Look at that squishy face.”

“Gretchen, please. You’re treading on what little masculinity I have left.”

“You can take it. You’re tougher than you look.” Gretchen caught my eye and gave me a small smile. It was over so fast; I wondered if I’d really seen it or had just imagined it.

Ten minutes later, the Guard was savoring Dad’s feast. The food went a long way to lifting everyone’s spirits. Dad even sang an old Guard drinking song that had the table in fits of laughter.

And then the phone rang.

Hale pushed back from the table and left to answer it. We sat in our chairs, waiting, breathless. After a minute, Hale returned.

“We have news,” he said. Everyone listened with bated breath. “They’ve IDed Ais in Caracas. Marx’s unit will meet us here. They’ve chartered a plane to take us all to Venezuela at midnight tomorrow night.”

I woke up on December twentieth to the phone ringing. I heard the shower running and hopped out of bed to snatch up the receiver.

“Hello?”

“Braedyn.” It was Royal; there was an edge to his voice.

“Cassie?” I asked, battling a sudden swell of fear. “Did something happen?”

“It’s Parker,” Royal said. “He tried to kill himself last night.”

I sat down on the edge of my bed. “What?”

“My brother was on shift when they brought him in early this morning. He didn’t have any ID on him, but he was wearing his uniform. They called to see if I knew him, so they could reach his parents faster. You should have seen their faces.” Royal sounded shaken to the core.

“Oh, Royal,” I breathed.

“I thought you should know. I... I have to go.”

I hung up the phone, numb. I’d wanted Parker to hate himself. I’d wanted him to feel all the anguish Cassie was feeling and more. I’d fed in my own hatred. Cassie’s parent’s fear. Royal’s helpless fury. It was no different than if I had handed him a loaded gun. I had just finished dressing when Dad burst into my room, a look of horror on his face.

“What is it?! Braedyn? Are you hurt?!” I was only dimly aware that I was sobbing.

“I have to go to the hospital,” I choked out.

Dad grabbed his car keys and jacket. We were flying down the road a few minutes later. Dad was trying to get me to tell him what was going on, but all I managed to force out was that I had to see Parker. Dad dropped me off at the hospital entrance and I ran inside. I stopped at the front desk. The duty nurse looked up at me expectantly.

“Parker Webb,” I said.

She typed something into her computer and frowned. “I’m sorry, but he isn’t allowed any visitors.” Dad joined me at the counter. The nurse looked at him, startled.