MY EYES OPEN, but shut again quickly when the morning light hits them. I wake knowing I will never look at Evelyn the same way again. I also have more of a reason to hate Jeremiah for everything he is. He is nothing but a monster; he’s a greyskin with the ability to think rationally and diabolically. The idea brings a bad taste to my mouth.
I sit up and don’t see Jake or Grandma, but quickly remember that they hadn’t shared my bed last night. It feels like late morning so they are probably already outside working. When I finally get the motivation to set my feet on the floor, I walk to the window on the other side of the room and look out. The sky is heavy with dark, grey clouds. There will be rain today, no doubt.
Running my fingers through my hair, I stumble toward the sink in the kitchen and splash some water on my face. These dreams that Evelyn sent through my brain have given me extraordinary insight to what we’re doing here, but they’ve also left me without good rest. I almost feel like I haven’t slept, yet I suspect if I try to go back to sleep there will be more dreams. I want them. I want to know more. I just need a dreamless sleep sometimes, too.
I take my time getting on my clothes and braiding my long hair. When I’m ready, I stand and take the cylinder off my side table. Before slipping it into my pocket, I look at the device closely. It’s mostly metal and a cap protects the soft top from dust and contaminants. It’s not much longer than a man’s index finger, but it is such a valuable item. Honestly, I don’t know why I carry it with me. There is just something about it that resonated with me the first time I had been checked in the Vault. Green you’re clean, red you’re dead. How many red you’re dead’s have there been? How many people have been faced with their mortality by the flicker of a tiny, red light?
If I’m ever bitten or scratched, I want to know. I have to know. I don’t want any of this waiting around, being unsure. If it’s green, I can toss the vial away and live my life. If it’s red, I can find the nearest guard and have him shoot me between the eyes. I hate the anticipation of not knowing — though there is still that short moment of eagerness while the cylinder is checking the blood for the virus. Even those few tiny seconds can feel like an eternity. I’ve been there waiting for it. I know what the anticipation feels like, even though I knew I had not been bitten or scratched.
I think of the man at Salem who had waited. I remember watching as the light turned red and he was ushered away from the rest of us. I saw it happen all over the colony that day. I remember Bret who had been shot right in front of me because his cylinder light had blinked red. I remember the day my parents had found out. Though they may not have had a cylinder to tell them their fate, they still had the awful realization that their time had come. It was time to die.
I slip the cylinder in my pocket and make my way to the front door. The wind picks up as soon as I walk out of the house and I’m instantly thankful that I braided my hair. Though I love the feeling of it whipping in the wind, it does me no good when I’m actually trying to get somewhere. Then I remember that I don’t even know where I’m going. I suppose the main thing I want to do is talk to Evelyn.
For a moment I close my eyes and seek her out. She’s near the bottom of the Tower talking to Austin. I don’t linger on the sight for very long as I begin my walk there. When I finally reach them, Evelyn is waving at Austin as he walks away toward the wall construction. He gives me a short wave and hurries.
“What’s he running for?” I ask.
“Trying to figure things out,” Evelyn says. “People aren’t where they are supposed to be.”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugs. “I’m not sure. Austin said something about people not working on the wall as usual. He’s trying to figure out where they might be.”
“That’s weird.” I say.
Evelyn nods. “How was your night?” she asks.
I take a deep breath and let out a sigh. Shaking my head, I can’t seem to find the words to say to her. She has seen so much pain and loss from the beginning. “Is everything I saw last night true?”
“As true as you and I standing here,” she answers.
I look down at my feet, almost embarrassed that I was ever skeptical about her goal to take down Jeremiah. “So all of this is very personal to you,” I say. “I never knew how close to him you were. I had no idea that Jeremiah had done those terrible things to you. That he wanted to eat you…and others.”
“I told you that I have a dark past,” she says. “I told you that Jeremiah has done some unimaginable things.”
“Does he know you’re still alive?” I ask.
“No,” she says. “At least I’ve never had any indication that he knows. I imagine if he ever found me out, he would have had me killed long ago.”
“But you ended up in a colony,” I say.
“And Salem is a big one,” she smiles. “It wasn’t a colony when I found it. That came many years later. Besides, there are so many people under Jeremiah’s rule now, there’s no way he would find me.”
“He wanted you,” I say. “He knows you got away too. I imagine he still thinks of you.”
“I imagine he’s quite insane,” Evelyn says. “I think he was sane to begin with, but after years and years of taking victims and eating them to sustain yourself, I don’t imagine you’d be able to keep yourself entirely together.”
A thought strikes me like a lightning bolt. I shouldn’t have let Connor go. If I had known the things then that I know now, there’s no way I would have let him. What if Jeremiah doesn’t care about what he has to say? What if he’s eaten? All of a sudden, I am lightheaded. My knees hit the ground before I know that I’m falling.
Evelyn rushes to my side. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? Mora? Mora!”
I look at her, but she’s already grabbed my hand. She already knows what I’m thinking. I’ve seen her power in motion. A few seconds can show her a person’s entire life.
Her face turns suddenly stern as she realizes what I’m reacting to. “I didn’t know he was going to Screven,” she says. “That boy is in trouble. So are we if he says anything about a healer.”
“I had no idea that you and Jeremiah had such a history,” I tell her. “If Connor pretends to be on Jeremiah’s side, he’s probably going to mention you. If he does, Jeremiah will be here by tomorrow, no doubt.”
The sound of thunder breaks in the distance as the first drops of the storm begin to hit all around us. Evelyn helps me to my feet and takes a step away from me, but continues to look at me deep in the eyes. “You told him not to mention the healer?”
“Yes,” I say. “I did.”
“Do you think he will honor your request?”
“I…I don’t know. He knows it’s important not to mention Christopher, I know that.”
“Close your eyes,” she tells me as the rain starts to fall much heavier. “Tell me where he is.”
I do as she asks and think about Connor. He’s sitting in a chair fidgeting. He’s nervous and keeps glancing at a doorway. Trevor comes up to him and tells him it will be a few more minutes and asks if he would like something to drink. Connor declines.
My eyes shoot open. “He’s about to meet with Jeremiah,” I tell her.
“The other day, did it work?”
“Did what work?” I ask, having no idea what she’s talking about.
“Speaking to him. Did it work?”
I think back to when Connor was trapped in the room about to lose his life. “Yes,” I say. “He could hear me, though I think it had more to do with feelings and emotions. I don’t think he heard my words specifically.”
Evelyn steps forward, rain drops dripping off the end of her nose. “Get to your house,” she says. “Talk to him. Tell him not to mention me.”
“But I don’t think he will understand what I’m trying to say.”
She shakes her head at me. “It doesn’t matter. You’ve got to try. The moment my name passes his lips, Jeremiah will send a battalion here and I’m not sure even your gift could save us from that.”
A door slams open at the bottom of the Tower and Aaron, Heather, and Danny come running to us. “The satellite,” he says. “It’s not working.”
“Could be the weather,” Evelyn says to him, but Aaron just shakes his head.
“Something is going on,” Danny says. “Workers are missing and the cable leading from the satellite receiver to our console in the Tower has been severed.”
“I can fix it,” Aaron says, “but that’s not what I’m worried about. Someone is trying to sabotage us.” He looks at Mora and points. “You remember seeing that figure on the heat image last night?”
“Yeah.”
He just shakes his head. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t believe this is all a coincidence.”
“The only reason I can imagine someone taking out our satellite is because they don’t want us to see what’s happening within a fifty mile radius,” Evelyn says. She looks at Heather. “You’ll take a look won’t you?”
Heather shrugs and shakes her head. “It’s a fifty mile radius. I can move fast, but that’s a lot of ground to cover.”
“Take a radio while you’re out,” Evelyn says.
Heather mumbles something as she takes a radio from Aaron and is gone in a split second.
Evelyn looks back at me with wide eyes. “Go,” she says.
I look at Aaron who doesn’t seem to know what’s happening, but there isn’t time to explain. With a quick nod, I’m off at a sprint toward my house. Puddles form in the mud streets as the rain continues to pour like waterfalls. Every bit of clothing I have on me is soaked.
As I run, I can’t help but think this will be a failure. I can’t believe I just let him go like that. It was an insane idea on his part anyway. If only I had known Evelyn’s involvement with Jeremiah, I would have said something to him. All I had ever heard was that she had shaken Jeremiah’s hand once. I had no clue that the handshake was after a year of dinners and had ended in a night of death and pain.
The house feels cold when I run inside, sopping wet from the rain. I walk to the kitchen table and sit at the end with my back to the front door. I put my hands together and close my eyes. If someone were watching me, I’m sure it would look like I was praying.
I picture Connor’s face and instantly the sound of rain and thunder fades out and all my consciousness is next to him. I’m pleased to see that he’s still waiting for Jeremiah and hasn’t started the meeting yet. I can’t help but wonder where Connor might have slept last night. Had he been given a room? Did the guards just let him into Screven without questioning him? Surely not.
I open my mouth and call out his name. “Connor.”
His fidgeting stops. “Mora?” he whispers.
“Yes, it’s me.”
He sits up in his seat straighter. “I know you’re watching me right now. It’s that feeling again.”
“Don’t mention Evelyn to Jeremiah,” I tell him.
He bends his head down to his knees this time. “You’re trying to tell me something. I just don’t know what it is.”
“Don’t say Evelyn’s name.”
His breathing gets heavier and the fidgeting returns.
“Don’t say Evelyn’s name,” I repeat. “It’s too dangerous. They know each other. Don’t say Evelyn’s name.”
“Evelyn?” Connor asks.
“Yes! Yes!”
“What about her?” Connor asks. “What are you saying?”
“Don’t mention her name!”
Trevor comes from inside Jeremiah’s grand office. “He’s ready to see you now.”
Connor nods at Trevor but turns his head back to the ground.
“Don’t mention Evelyn’s name!” I nearly scream.
“I’m sorry,” Connor whispers. “I know you’re telling me something. I just don’t know what.”
He gets up to walk into Jeremiah’s office, but I decide to keep drilling the message into his head. Maybe he will get it before it’s too late. Maybe he won’t mention her at all. This was all such a terrible idea. I know he meant well, but he had to know it would fail. That’s not what he wanted was it?
“Don’t mention Evelyn’s name. Don’t mention Evelyn’s name.”
He walks into the office. Much like the time Aaron and I had gone to visit him, he stands at the giant window near the top of the stairs. Connor silently marvels at the giant bookcases filled with more books than can be read in a lifetime. Trevor instructs him to ascend the stairs and take a seat in front of the coffee table where Jeremiah will meet with him.
Connor stands next to the seat and watches Jeremiah. He takes note of the man’s full dress and hat. He even sniffs the air to take in the perfumes that cover the man’s rotting skin.
“I wasn’t quite expecting a colonist of Salem to be visiting me any time soon,” Jeremiah says, still staring out the window.
“I didn’t expect that I would be visiting either,” Connor says. “Not until the events of the other day.”
Jeremiah turns and faces Connor, motioning for him to have a seat. Connor does so as Jeremiah sits across from him. His teeth seem to be clenching a lot more today than when I had gone there to see him. His sunglasses cover his drooping eyes. He still holds a commanding presence and Connor seems nervous.
“Don’t mention Evelyn,” I repeat.
“Your name is Connor,” Jeremiah says. “Brother to Aaron, am I right?”
“Yes.” Connor says.
“Tell me, Connor, do you possess the power of the Starborn?”
“Actually, Aaron is my adopted brother,” Connor says. “I don’t really know if Starborn blood runs through me like it does him. Nothing has come of it anyway.”
“I see. So from what I understand, you wish to help me?”
“I do.”
“Why?”
Connor swallows and looks down at his feet for a second. He looks too nervous.
“Calm down,” I say. “You look like a liar.”
He takes a deep breath and looks up at Jeremiah. “I never agreed with them in the first place,” he says. “I always thought we should remain under Screven’s protection. I didn’t think it was a fight I should join.”
“Did Aaron plan to fight me on his own? At least, until Mora came along to help?”
“No,” Connor says. “There are others.”
Jeremiah sits up straight. “Of course there are.”
“Don’t say Evelyn,” I say. “Don’t say Evelyn.”
“But before I give you information,” Connor continues, “I want something from you first.”
Jeremiah raises an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”
“I have a lot of skills,” Connor says. “I’m smart. I’m a good marksman. What I mean to say is that I want a position here in Screven. An important one.”
Jeremiah sits silently.
“I can help you in the fight against the Starborns. I know their powers. I know their weaknesses.”
“So, what is it you want?” Jeremiah asks.
“I want you to give me a job. I want to lead your fight against the rebels.”
“They are Starborns,” Jeremiah says. “You are a normal human being. What makes you think you can stop them? A handful of them destroyed one of the largest greyskin herds I’ve ever assembled.”
“Assembled?” Connor asks.
Jeremiah smiles at him. “There’s a lot you don’t know.”
“The advantage I have is that they all think I’m still on their side.”
“Yes, that’s something we would have to discuss, you and I,” Jeremiah says. “There was an attack on my men at Springhill. We got it in over the radios. They’ve gone dark ever since then. I’m guessing you know about that?”
“Yes,” Connor says. “I was part of it.”
“You killed some of my men?”
“Yes,” Connor says. “I had no choice. I was working up a way to get out of there when I could. At the time, the guards looked at me as a fugitive from Salem. But I was more of a captive, forced to fight against the very thing I believe in.”
“And you believe in what Screven does?” Jeremiah asks.
“Absolutely.”
Jeremiah shakes his head. He sits silently for a moment, staring at no spot in particular. He then looks up. “Guards!”
Connor’s eyes go wide. What is Jeremiah doing?
Several guards come with guns drawn.
“Take Connor away,” he says. “Take him to the prison and shoot him.”
The guards grab Connor by the arms and start pulling him toward the stairs.
“Wait!” Connor yells out. “They’re planning an attack. They’re going to kill you!”
“You shot my men, Connor,” Jeremiah says. “I’ve got no use for you.”
“You don’t know what you’re doing,” he screams from halfway down the stairs. “There’s more than just Aaron and Mora. There’s a mastermind. Evelyn leads the lot of them.”
Jeremiah freezes and my stomach drops. “Wait,” he calls out to the guards. “What name did you just use?”
“Evelyn,” Connor repeats.
“She’s a Starborn?”
“Yes.”
“How old is she? What’s her power?”
Connor shakes his head. “The more I tell you, the less chance I have to stay alive.”
Jeremiah waves for the guards to let him go. “You’re going to tell me everything.”
I can feel the anger coursing through my veins. “You better come up with some good lies,” I say. “You’ve already messed everyth…”
I’m cut short when something from behind me grabs my braid and jerks me out of the trance that allowed me to follow Connor. I’m pulled so hard, I’m thrown out of my chair and to the ground.
I scramble to see what or who might have done such a thing, but when I look around I don’t see anything. I turn my head to the right and left. In every direction I seem to be alone. I stand and hold out my hands, ready to fight with the gifts I have within me.
Blood spurts from my nose and I fall to my back as some invisible force smashes into it like a brick. I feel a blinding kick to my ribs before I can get to my feet again. This time I raise my hands in front of me and push with all I have, sending the invisible force to the wall on the other side of the room. The force smashes into the wall and dishes crash into pieces as they land. I can hear the moan of a man in pain as I start to get up to my feet.
“Who’s there?”
I hear nothing but rapid footsteps and then another blinding blow to my face that throws me to the ground again. I could tell that one was a fist. It’s a man. Invisible. A Starborn? One of Jeremiah’s hunters? He yanks on my braid and pulls me up to my knees, and I suddenly realize my grandma’s advice to cut off my hair wasn’t so bad after all.
The invisible man kicks me in the side again and knocks the wind out of me. I do my best to whirl around and throw him back, but I have no target. The walls shake at my effort, but there is no victim this time. By the time I see the chair floating in front of me, it’s too late. He swings it with all his might and it crashes into my body. By the time I hit the floor I’m barely awake.
Weak and in pain, I can’t do anything when he drags me to a chair and begins to tie my wrists with rope. In a daze, I can hear him breathing and moving all around me. This is an enemy I’ve never anticipated. How long had he been in the room with me? How long has he been at Springhill?
I’m still barely conscious. I can hardly breathe, much less try to use my gift to fight him back. He pulls down on the rope and ties the rest of it around my ankles. I feel a hand grip my chin, and out of thin air, the man appears before me. I recognize the scar on the side of his head that points to the missing upper half of his ear.
“You’re lucky Jeremiah wants you alive.”
Before I can respond, Commander Green of Screven rears back his fist and knocks me out cold.