Tainted Rescue

by Jenn Vakey

  The question was, had he known about the tests? Did he know that failing the test meant that his fiancé was Tainted, or had he simply believed what everyone else did when it happened? That she had been shuffled away for retraining until the city claimed that an accident or illness had claimed her life? Could someone lose their love to the city just to turn around and hunt others like her?

  Rhydian's hand on my arm made me turn away from him. When I looked up, he motioned over toward the other side of the room. Orson was already headed that way. I let the questions slip to the back of my mind for the time being and braced myself for what was to come.

  “You want to tell me what really happened after you got here?” Orson asked, his jaw tight as he spoke when we reached him.

  “It's not important,” Rhydian answered quickly.

  Orson’s attention moved to him. Rhydian just held his gaze firmly, but I knew what Orson was asking himself. If Rhydian had known. Well, I imagine he had figured that one out and was now wondering why he hadn't said anything.

  Personally, I was feeling that same guilt again. More now that I might have just gotten Rhydian in trouble with Orson.

  “Have Naiya come in,” he finally said. “We'll wipe the last twelve hours from the one that's fighting and strip him of his access through the wards. Then have someone take him out and leave him outside of the archway.”

  “What about the other one?” I asked, making a mental note to ask about the mental mind wipe later. It wasn't something that I'd even known was possible.

  “He'll have to stay confined, but he might be able to give us information we need. Take him to the jail. We’ll decide what to do with him later. And you and I are going to have a talk when this is done.”

  I nodded, knowing there was no way around it. Fearing the outcome of what I’d just done. I might still be considering leaving Alkwin, but it wasn’t a position I wanted to be in before my sister was back with me. There was also the risk now that he would tell Stassa, which could mean she wouldn’t welcome us there.

  Rhydian sighed and walked out. I couldn't stay there with Orson any longer, so I walked back over to the men.

  “I'm sorry about this,” I said, and I meant it. “The people here have never wanted trouble. We've never done anything against Eden other than existing. And the only thing we want is our people safe and out of Eden. Why do you think we never kill the Sentry who attack us?”

  Even the resistant guy looked like he was thinking about that one, but I knew it was too much of a risk to keep him here. He was too loyal to Eden.

  Rhydian came back in a few minutes later with Naiya. I didn't wait around to see what they were going to do to the resistant guy. I grabbed the other one by the arm and helped him to his feet, then walked him out.

  “What happened to Adler?” he asked when we walked out into the sunlight.

  I sighed. It was a risk admitting to actually killing Adler, even if this guy was leaning toward our side. I couldn't lie, though. Not if I wanted him to trust us. “He told me that if I killed the prince, he would release my sister. I knew he was lying. It's one of my abilities.”

  He looked over at me skeptically, and I smirked.

  “Tell me three things that could be feasible, but make sure one of them isn't true,” I told him.

  That earned a smile in return. “Okay. My name is Lamont. My parents were Maker section. I…”

  But I didn't let him finish. “No they weren't,” I said, grinning at his surprise. “Anyway, Adler gave me a gun. I turned it on him, but it wasn't loaded. He told us his plans, and that the others were being used for something. Then the bastard tried to kill the prince with his bare hands. My other abilities activated, and I stopped him. He said that he wanted to end the last remaining heir of the king. I couldn’t let him.”

  The way that he looked at me made me think that he actually believed me. It gave me hope.

  “If there's even a chance Stazie is still alive, I want to help,” he said.

  He was telling the truth, and I nodded. “We’re going to have to have a meeting, then we'll figure out how you can help. First, tell me how you and your buddy knew we were expecting the group of others today.”

  No one had mentioned it yet, but the question was eating at me. Maybe it was because I had actually given Eden information about our people's movements in the past. I didn't want to think that someone else might be. It would make our rescue attempts so much more difficult.

  “We were sent out to monitor the northern edge of the wards,” he answered. His tone was slightly tighter than before, like he had some apprehension about answering, but he wasn't lying. “We spotted the group coming in and overheard someone asking how much longer it would be before they reached Alkwin. While they stopped for a short rest, we doubled back and walked out to meet them. We said we had been sent to escort them in case there was trouble.”

  “No one informed you they would be coming?”

  He shook his head. I watched him, eliciting a tiny smirk that actually eased some of his tension. He knew what I was wanting.

  “No, no one told us.”

  It was like a weight was lifted off of me. We didn't have a traitor giving the Sentry information. There wasn't the added risk that they would know we were planning to move on the city.

  Lillith wasn't in even more danger.

  Lamont didn't resist when I walked him into the jail, which was really just a small house with a set of bars inside the door and over the windows. I'd never been in it, but I could see that there was a bathroom and a bed. Even a table had been put in there for meals. I had him stop just inside the door so I could unbind his hands, then he stepped in further so I could lock the bars.

  “You won't be harmed,” I told him, watching as he rubbed his wrists. “I can promise you that. This is just a precaution. We have a lot of innocent people here. Children. People that would be killed if you told anyone how to find us.”

  He nodded, his eyes moving beyond me as he looked around. Then they stopped on something, widening with shock. Maybe anger.

  When I looked back to see what had just happened, I saw Linley standing about ten feet behind me, watching us.

  “You kidnapped the princess?” he asked, likely rethinking his decision to trust what we were saying. Awesome.

  I sighed and motioned her over, then turned back to Lamont.

  “No,” I said calmly. “The prince went to the king after he was informed she was in danger. Phineas sent her here to keep her safe and faked her death. That's when he learned that his son was also Tainted. That things needed to change in Eden. That was just a day before Adler murdered him.”

  “She's telling the truth,” Linley said, stepping up beside me and reaching for my hand. Then she waved her other one around. I wasn't sure what she was doing until I started to see little balls of light form, dancing in the space around us. Looking at them gave me the oddest sensation of confusion, like they were actually distracting me. Making me want to reach out and collect them. To chase them, not caring what I was actually supposed to be doing.

  I heard Lamont gasp, and almost gave one of my own. I had considered that she might be Tainted like her brother, but it wasn’t something I had asked either about. Even when I thought it might be the case, I had assumed she would have the same abilities as Rhydian. But that was pretty cool. Not something I had seen before. Will-o’-the-wisp.

  “My dad told me I would be safe here with my brother,” she said, casting the lights away. The sensation they had elicited snapped almost instantly. “He told me he was going to fix everything so it would be safe for us in Eden again someday. We had already left Eden and were back here before he was killed.”

  Lamont watched her as she spoke, that new found tension leaving him. Instead, he almost had a look of wonder about him.

  “You weren't supposed to see her,” I told him. “No one here knows who she is. It's safer for her that way. If you want us to trust you, please keep it that way.”

&nb
sp; He looked back down at the princess, as if looking for direction. It was curious.

  “You can call me Linley now,” she said in response. “And she’s Leeya, because she probably hasn’t told you.”

  He bowed his head at her, showing a loyalty I hadn't expected. That might actually make things a lot easier. To the rest of her statement, I almost laughed. She was right, I hadn’t told him yet. I wasn’t even sure if I would have. Not until I knew for certain he was going to be on our side.

  “I'll have someone bring you food,” I stated.

  He nodded. “What will happen to Arion?”

  “He won't be harmed. We're going to remove the knowledge of Alkwin from him and leave him outside of the wards.”

  Lamont raised an eyebrow. Like me before I got here, I imagined that he didn't really know much about Tainted abilities. At least they seemed to intrigue him more than frighten him. That could be seen in the way he had reacted to Linley’s ability. Or me being able to detect lies. “You can do that?”

  I shrugged. “Apparently. I'm still pretty new to all of this. My twin was the Tainted one. Well, that's what we thought. We never considered my skill at detecting lies was actually a Tainted ability. My other one only triggered because I was watching Adler kill the prince.”

  “And she loves him,” Linley chimed in.

  I leered down at her, putting my hand over her face and giving her a playful push. The child really was too perceptive. She just batted my hand away and smirked as she shrugged.

  The weather was still nice, so I left the outside door of the jail open when I turned and walked with Linley back to the dining hall. When we got there, I grabbed Auggie’s attention and asked him to take Lamont some food. He looked quietly curious at the request, but he didn’t question it. Then we crossed over to the corner Orson and Rhydian were in.

  “What's she doing here?” Orson asked, looking down at Linley.

  I looked down at her myself, finding not the slightest bit of guilt on her face. Nor did she show any sign of shying away at his harsh tone. “Someone decided to sneak away from the school house again and let the Sentry see her.”

  “You what?” Rhydian asked angrily, glaring sternly at his sister.

  I held my hand up to stop him before he could really get into it. “I think it might have actually helped. She told him her story, which backed up what we had said. From what I could tell, he seems very loyal to her. Even looked to her for direction before agreeing to something I said.”

  “Is he playing us?” Orson asked.

  I shook my head. “Not that I can tell. All of his answers have been honest. He even told me they have Sentry monitoring different spots along the wards, and that they only knew about Stassa's people coming because they spotted them. I'll sit down with him later and do a full interrogation, but he really does seem like he wants to believe us. Even if it's only because he's holding out hope that the girl he loves is still alive.”

  Orson considered my statement for a moment, then nodded. “Take the girl back,” he told Rhydian. “I need a word with my daughter.”

  Rhydian looked over at me nervously, but he didn't try to get between us this time. He knew this was one fight I needed to handle on my own. He held his hand out for Linley. She actually looked worried herself, not letting go of my hand until I gave her a reassuring nod.

  I watched as they started walking away, then turned and followed Orson outside. He was walking with such purpose that I almost had to jog to keep up. It wasn't a good sign.

  In some ways, though, I was glad he knew. I didn't like the secret. And it could give me the last push I needed to leave Alkwin. One that couldn’t be seen as me running away. I could get away from the pain that I knew would just be back again tomorrow.

  Orson walked out to that familiar spot in the woods, turning abruptly when he reached the middle of it to face me. I stopped myself a few feet from him.

  “Tell me why I shouldn't banish you right now,” he demanded, all of that anger I'd seen coming out with his words.

  “You should,” I answered. And I actually meant it. I loved the people here, but the guilt followed me everywhere. “What I did was inexcusable.”

  He pulled back a little in surprise, looking as if he had just been slapped across the face. It took several tense moments for him to shake it off. “Why am I just now hearing about this?”

  I sighed, not wanting to get Rhydian in any more trouble than I probably already had. I couldn't lie, though. That would only make this worse. “Because he wouldn't let me tell anyone. I owed it to him to do as he wished.”

  Orson’s brow dropped, confusion again meeting my words. “And why wouldn't he let you?”

  I folded my arms, the route this conversation was going making me uncomfortable. We were supposed to be talking about my actions. My betrayal. He was the last person I wanted to talk to about what had been going on between Rhydian and me. “You'd have to ask him that.”

  “I'm asking you,” he said harshly.

  I looked away. I couldn't answer that. Not to him.

  “I see,” he said, voice lower now. “Apparently Adler knew what he was doing in sending you here.”

  Something about that statement just angered me, and I looked back, fighting to keep from actually yelling at him. I might have had I not been concerned someone would overhear us. “I couldn't do it,” I snapped. “I decided that early on and came up with a plan to go find her myself. He followed me that night. I didn't give him to Adler.”

  To my relief, he didn't appear to actually doubt that I was telling the truth there. That wasn't something I ever wanted anyone to think. As mad as Rhydian was, even he knew that was true.

  “I want you to stay away from him,” he ordered.

  My insides burned with panic and anger, that feeling of being sick coming over me again. It was true that I had already been considering that very thing. Leaving to be away from him. But being told by someone else that I had to was a very different thing. Especially this man.

  “No,” I said firmly.

  He took a step toward me, his finger pointed right at my face. My instinct to fight reared up, and I had to make a conscious effort not to strike out at the threat. While part of me would have loved to try to knock him on his ass, it wouldn’t do me any favors here. “He's too important to this cause to have him being messed with.”

  “You think I don't know that?” I yelled, not caring anymore if anyone could hear. “Even before I knew who he was. Now that I do, I know there's nothing more important than keeping him safe. And you aren't going to stop me from doing that.”

  To my surprise, the corners of Orson’s mouth twitched at my response. Not in an angry way. In a way that left me wondering if he had been testing me. Then he just nodded and walked away.

  I waited until he was gone, then felt the tears on my face. I wasn't even sure why I was crying. Frustration? Fear? Maybe both.

  Dropping down onto the fallen tree, I thought over what Orson had said. Was I messing with Rhydian? Distracting him and putting him in danger? I guess that was what I'd done the night Adler took us. The night he almost killed him. Rhydian left the wards alone and unarmed. Because of me.

  Maybe it would be safer for him if I really did leave Alkwin.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  RHYDIAN

  News of what had happened spread through our small community by the time lunch was to be served. Nothing ever did stay secret here long. Well, almost nothing. I had two secrets that no one knew, ones just between Leeya and me. Until an hour ago, at least.

  She was already walking toward the table with her food when I walked into the dining hall. I could see the talk with Orson didn't go well. Although she was still here, and he didn't appear to have told anyone else. If he had, people would definitely be watching her. Looking at her. Her eyes were puffy, though, like she'd been crying.

  I was originally planning on sitting with Orson and Faida so we could discuss how this morning's meeting went. That
was before Leeya's big reveal and subsequent talk with Orson. I had no idea what all she’d told him. Our two secrets tangled together in a lot of ways. Besides, I wanted to make sure she was okay.

  I took the seat across the table from her before the new guy had a chance to. Her sides were already covered by Aarys and Joury. My timing couldn't have been better, because I turned to see him taking the one next to me just moments later.

  Leeya glanced up with a weak smirk, then looked back at her food.

  Aarys pushed an elbow into her side, then narrowed her eyes at her. Silently asking a question. I could see the concern, that she could see the same signs I had. The others probably did too, but Aarys was usually the only one to push someone for information. She was the youngest of the group and could get away with a lot more.

  “Orson,” Leeya muttered, barely even loud enough for me to hear. Then for some reason she flicked her gaze to me for a moment, looking almost guilty. Although that didn't make any sense. She had asked for silent permission before making the reveal, and even knowing there was a chance of major backlash, I had given it. The possible gain had been too great not to take the risk. When she dropped her eyes again, she added, “Our talk with the Sentry was very revealing.”

  I narrowed my gaze at her, more so when Aarys actually looked startled by her words, but she wouldn't look back at me. She didn’t meet either of our gazes, just staring down at the food she moved around on her plate. It was Aarys’ timid look in my direction that really made my hackles rise.

  Did Aarys know? The way she had looked at me after I sent her in to talk to Leeya a few nights ago came to mind. I had worried then about what she had told her. I couldn't know without asking her, something I definitely wasn't going to do here in front of everyone. I didn’t like the idea that she could have revealed the truth, but I wasn't mad. If she had told her, it wasn't something Aarys seemed to have told anyone else. And she wasn't treating Leeya any differently.