Nikon and I stayed curled up together for some time, Tewy asleep, sitting half on me and half on Nikon. The peace and relaxation was too much to resist, so I let myself fall asleep.
I woke to one of the bedroom doors creaking open. I sat up and stretched, getting the kinks worked out of my neck. Light footsteps entered the room. Zoe.
She said, “Has Kaius returned yet?”
“No.” Nikon sounded tense.
“What time of day is it?” I asked. The air remained a little chilly, but not bad. It was more difficult to judge the time of day when I was groggy and inside a building.
“It’s well into the night,” he replied.
I stiffened. “Has something happened to him?”
Zoe paced the floor in front of the sofa. “It’s uncertain. It’s not like him to stay away for so long, though he’s had to before, when we lived in Ruso.”
“Did he tell you where he went?” Nikon asked.
“Not exactly.” She lowered her voice. “He’s checking on the rebellion in Sirya, but where would that have led him? I have a few ideas, but it’s probably not safe to check any of the locations this time of night.”
Then we had a problem. A twinge of unease went through me. Zoe’s brother was missing, and none of us could do anything about it. Nikon might not be my brother, but if he were gone, I’d be worried sick about helping him.
“What can we do?” I asked.
“Nothing until morning. Then Nikon and I can go out looking for him. Though if he walked into trouble, we may very well do the same thing.”
“We can’t jump into something without the proper information. We need to discover what he was doing and if it’s safe to head into the same thing,” he said.
I nudged Nikon with my elbow. Tewy stirred on my lap but didn’t rouse.
Thankfully, Nikon seemed to take the hint. “I’m well acquainted with this area, and I have a lot of contacts here. We’ll find him as soon as possible,” he said.
Her pacing stopped in front of him. “How do you have so many contacts in Sirya? How do we know they can be trusted?”
He didn’t respond, but Tewy let out a hoot.
“I need to understand,” she demanded.
“Nikon,” I said softly, “I think you should tell her. She does have a right to hear, and it would help.”
“And if she doesn’t understand?” His voice was tight.
“We’ll take that step if it comes, but she already has heard part of it. She’s been with us for a while so she probably trusts us too, but that trust can’t be complete if she doesn’t know everything.”
“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” she said, surprising me. “You don’t know everything about me, either. I understand some things need to stay secret. I’m upset at the situation.”
Nikon sat up straighter. “No. Cass is right. You need to hear this, especially if we’re going to be here very long. I am—”
“Was,” I interject.
“I was more than a warrior. I was an elite warrior.” Though he delivered it softly, the words were firm.
She didn’t reply. Didn’t move either, that I heard. I wanted some clue as to what she was thinking, but I got nothing. Not knowing if she was handling it well, I needed to say something.
“He’s changed from that life, but it’s given him the opportunity to have contacts he might not otherwise have. It will help us find Kaius.”
“No. I understand,” she said, though her voice shook. “I’m shocked, to be honest, but it explains a lot about how you act, Nikon. Makes sense, as to how you’ve protected Cassandra. It’s just a big step from warrior to elite. A dangerous step.”
“I know. All too well.” He shifted beside me.
“What else have you two hidden from us?” The accusation in her tone made me wince. “Anything so dangerous that Kaius’s life would be in jeopardy out there?”
“The fact that Kaius works with the rebels is more of a reason to worry over his safety. Nikon can use his contacts to see if there’s a problem,” I said calmly.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s hard to process.” She sounded hesitant. “Do you really think you’ll be able to find Kaius?”
“We’ll do our best, but none of that will be happening until morning,” he replied. “I promise you, Zoe, I’ll do what’s in my power to find him. You’ve both done so much for me and Cass, I not only owe it to you, but I also want to help.”
“Thank you.” Her voice was less shaky, more firm.
Tewy jumped off my lap and thumped around on the floor. Hopefully, there wasn’t anyone downstairs to wake up. That could be a problem with the landlady.
“What do we do in the meantime?” I asked.
“We get some rest,” Nikon replied.
“I couldn’t sleep now if my life depended on it,” Zoe said.
I knew what she meant, and it wasn’t my brother who was missing. “Do we have any food we could scrounge together? I can make the dinner we skipped.”
“I couldn’t eat either.” But her footsteps headed toward the small kitchen nook.
I got up and followed her, careful to use my cane in this unfamiliar place. Nikon said, “I’ll ask Husani if he wants anything. He’s been giving us plenty of space, but we should let him in.”
Tewy squawked in protest from across the room.
“Hey, boy,” I said. “You’ve got to be quieter. People are most likely trying to sleep.”
He let out a litany of whoops.
I shook my head. There was no controlling him. It was amazing that Antonia thought she could.
Zoe and I got working on making dinner with the few items we had. It didn’t take long to put together a snack. By the time we were finished, Nikon and Husani had joined us.
Tewy continually made a fuss in the general direction of Husani. I couldn’t blame my monkey. It was hard to let go of a hurt once caused. I wished I could get him to understand it was an accident, though. Husani wasn’t spiteful like that.
We ate, and when I finished, I simply sat there. I didn’t want to retire for the night, because my worry about Kaius kept swirling in my head. Though I was exhausted, the thoughts kept from overwhelming me to the point of sleep. I might not have known Kaius as well as I knew Zoe—he was quiet and seemed almost shy—but he was an important member of our group. Not to mention he was Zoe’s brother. I’d want him to be safe because of that relationship alone.
The others must have finished eating as well, because not only had a lot of time passed, but the noises of their movements also ceased. Tewy was the only one who seemed not to notice the tension and worry. He babbled and cavorted around the room.
My eyelids were heavy. I put my chin on my hand and let my eyes close for a moment. A thump coming from outside the apartment door jerked me back awake.
I bent down and felt for my cane beside my chair, where I’d left it. As soon as it was in my hand, I stood and faced the door. An enemy wouldn’t be knocking, but one could never be certain.
I heard creaking, and someone’s footsteps fluttered from the table to the front door.
Zoe said, “You’re back.”
Kaius. I relaxed my grip on my cane but didn’t let it go. Tewy jumped on my shoulder and gave an oooo.
Except for the faint sniffles coming near the doorway, it was quiet.
After a few seconds, Nikon said, “We should close the door.”
There was a shuffling of movement, and then the creaking again.
Zoe said, “I’m so relieved you’re here. I thought something bad had happened to you. Why are you late?”
Kaius sighed. “It’s a long story.”
“I see I’d better make myself scarce again,” Husani said. “At least I’ll get some sleep tonight.”
As his footsteps faded away, Tewy gave a victorious hoot. Silly monkey. I gave him a good pat and waited to hear Kaius’s whispered words.
“The rebellion here is gone.”
“What do you mean gone?” Zoe asked.
“Let’s sit,” Nikon said.
We moved to the couch, where I sat with Nikon beside me. While we got settled, Tewy hopped up onto my shoulder, making himself comfortable there.
Zoe asked, “What did you discover?”
In low tones, Kaius replied, “The rebellion is gone from this city. Everyone has been taken away, was killed, or is too afraid to do anything.”
Someone hissed out a breath. Zoe, I thought. I kept my reaction locked inside, where it bubbled about. What had the Reding and Vading done?
“It’s bad,” Kaius continued. “I had a difficult time finding any usual contacts. Talking to neighbors helped, but a lot of them shut down at the mention of my contacts’ names. No one wants to talk. Everyone is terrified. I finally found someone willing to tell me what’s going on, but he made it very clear they never wanted to see me again.”
Zoe swore, which was very unlike her. “Is that why you were so late?”
“No.” He paused. “That’s not all. The later it got, the more warriors and elite warriors were out on the streets. I had to go to some lengths to avoid them.”
It seemed there was more to the story, more danger than he was saying. Probably wanted to keep it to the bare minimum, so as not to scare Zoe. What he did say was bad. It made me want to practice fighting, to burn off energy.
“I can’t believe you made it here safely,” Zoe said, and there was a rustle of noise. “Thank the sands you weren’t captured.”
“Did anyone follow you here?” Nikon’s question came out quick and harsh.
“No. I made certain of that. I would never lead anyone back to Zoe,” Kaius said.
Nikon shifted back against the couch next to me. “Sorry. I had to ask.”
“I would be disappointed if you didn’t,” Kaius replied. “We should be safe here, from my side of things.”
“Then we’re protected,” Nikon said.
“But how long will that last? Especially if the warriors are growing in numbers?” Kaius asked.
“What do you suggest? Leaving?” Nikon’s question made me scowl.
“Not if we’re to discover where my parents are. Not to mention the state the rebellion is in. Someone needs to step up and help them. Needs to convince them to keep going, no matter how hard things are.”
Nikon’s muscles grew taut. “And you want us to be the ones to do that?”
“Yes. No. Maybe.” My mind thought through ideas to itself. “There’s so much we need to do here, but it’s not safe for us, or anyone from the sound of things. It makes me nervous.” And we wouldn’t be able to accomplish what we needed to if things didn’t change.