Chase places his hands on my bare shoulders, their warmth filling me with comfort. “They want to help, Noni. You’re not alone, and you can’t do everything on your own.”
I give in and hand the messages to Chase who gives the one for Mandi to Gwen, and the other to Sheila, who frowns when she sees what I used to create it.
“It was all I had,” I apologize, but her lips remain pursed in disappointment, since my actions ruined a towel.
Chase opens the door and ushers them outside, and they run off, making very little noise so as not to attract unwanted attention. “They will be fine,” he says to me, to ease my worries. “I’ll let you know when they return. For now, do your duty, and try not to worry.”
We embrace once more before he slips out of my room, leaving me to get dressed and face what the day has to offer, so I remove all emotion from my face, determined to not give anything away. Today, I am just another arbiter, but tonight, I intend to get some answers.
Chapter 29
Mandi’s Secret
Crouched behind a pile of rotted wood and crumbling brick, I wait in the darkness for both Mandi and Natalie to arrive, assuming they fall for my ruse, while the incessant drip of water into a puddle that has formed in a patch of cracked and sunken cement with a few rusty nails stuck in its center hit my ears, providing the only sense of companionship on this mission. Chase wanted to come, but I told him no. If it turns out to be a trap, if they turn the tables on me, I need to know that he is okay and will be able to watch over Gwen and Sheila, because if both Mandi and Natalie choose to bring other arbiters, I will be executed for certain. But, if they do come alone, I need them to be able to trust me, which will be difficult enough, considering that I have set them up. My muscles start to cramp from the position I am in, but I ignore the burning desire to move, to stretch, to ease their discomfort and provide some sort of relief. Sitting still is a skill that arbiters are supposed to excel at. Musky air stifles my lungs as the aged smell of burnt metal, gunpowder, and soaked wood permeates the atmosphere, filling it to the point where the idea of fresh air is nothing but a dream, but I breathe it anyway, knowing there is nothing else I can do, but try not to cough while I wait.
Minutes turn to hours, or so it seems, while my impatience grows. Perhaps they both have decided not to come. Maybe they both know it is a trap. People don’t often hand write anything, and maybe that was the tip off. I cannot stay here for much longer. If no one arrives, if my plan is a failure, like so many of my plans, then I will need to leave, knowing that I will never get the answers I seek, a knowledge that will haunt me for many nights to come. Just as I am about to give up waiting and go back to the manor, a door creaks, not a loud monotone sort of creak as though the wind had caught it, but a slow, deliberate bit of movement as though someone does not want to be noticed, and is being cautious. I try peeking around the pole that is in front of me, but my muscles refuse to move, having gotten used to their cramped position. A lone shape moves a little closer to my position, but not too close, being careful to remain quiet and the unease of its movements tell me that it is not certain about the decision it had made. I crane my neck to get a better look and can just make out that it is Natalie; her white uniform is covered by by a dark overthrow to try and mask it as she moves through the night.
“Mandi?” she whispers, but not too loud so as not attract anybody. Even though the buildings have been searched in the past, and the former occupants evicted, that doesn’t mean there isn’t an arbiter or two on patrol just outside.
“Mandi!” the harsh whisper scratches my ear drums, making me cringe just a little.
Where is Mandi? Did she decide not to come? As though in answer to my question, Mandi steps out of a pile of woodwork. How long has she been here? Was she here before I arrived? Or did she sneak in without my notice? I scold myself for not being more alert, but also remember that Mandi has been an arbiter for many years, and silence, prowess, and concealment are traits that are taught to arbiters. Some excel at them better than others, and Mandi must be one who surpassed all of them.
“I thought I had told you not to contact me,” Mandi says with frustration. “It is too dangerous.”
“You contacted me,” Natalie replies, showing Mandi the piece of towel that I had written my note onto.
Mandi snatches it from her hand and throw it on the floor, setting it on fire with a lighter. “You should have destroyed this the moment you received it.”
An image of her burning the note she had received fills my mind, and I imagine that that is probably what she did so that no one else could read it.
“You didn’t write the note?” Natalie asks.
“No,” says Mandi, “which means someone else did.”
Both look around, backing away from one another, ready to run if necessary, meaning that the time for me to reveal myself has come.
“I wrote it,” I say, my voice filling the space between us and sounding more confident than I feel, as I step out from behind the pile of wood and bricks.
They both take a step back from me.
“Noni,” Mandi says with surprise. “What are you…”
“I want some answers,” I say.
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” says Mandi.
“Cut the bullshit,” I tell her. “I know you two are up to something. Too many times I have seen you two together, passing packages, or notes, meeting in secret, and making every effort to not be noticed.”
“Apparently we didn’t do good enough of a job,” Mandi says.
“I want to know what you two are up to,” I say.
“We outnumber you,” Mandi says.
“But only one of you is a trained arbiter, and both you and Molers taught me well.” Inside, my nerves scream at me to not push it, but I must appear confident in my ability to handle this situation, otherwise all of this is for nothing. Bluffing is a huge part of winning.
“So, we have,” Mandi says.
“We should go,” says Natalie, inching away, but I stop her.
“Are you responsible for the bombings?”
“No!” Natalie’s voice echoes around us, and she hunkers just a little, afraid that someone might be outside to hear us.
“Then who is?” I demand.
“It is not us,” says Mandi. “We are part of a small operation that works to smuggle people out of Arel.”
“What about the attack on me on the railcar?” I ask.
“What?” says Mandi. “I heard there was an incident, but I didn’t know that it involved you.”
“What about the symbol that keeps appearing everywhere. And I saw the both of you right before a bomb went off. Don’t stand there and lie to me!”
“We are not lying,” says Natalie, trying to calm me down. “I am a nurse, sworn to help people. I would never get involved in anything that would cause harm.”
“There are rumors,” Mandi chimes in, “of a group, a rebellion of sorts, but I think they are more than that, who wants to overthrow the Arelian government. Their tactics are reprehensible. They do not care whom they hurt, but we are not a part of them.”
“How do I know that?” I ask.
Mandi takes a step toward me, and I take one back, keeping a distance between the both of us. “Noni, you know me.”
“Not well enough.”
“Have I ever done anything to make you believe that I would intentionally harm another, just for the sake of hurting them?”
I think back at the training facility and all the times she stopped a plebeian from receiving a senseless beating, or the times she seemed unenthusiastic about the Arelian mantra, or how she scolded recruits who chose to use their position to bully another. As an instructor, she was tough and unforgiving, but she was always fair.
“I refuse to have anything to do with whomever is instigating these terrorist attacks,” Mandi says. “And so does Natalie.”
“There are only three of us,” Natalie adds. “All we do is help get peopl
e who want to leave out of the city. Once out, they are on their own. But it is a choice they make.”
Which is what I have done as well. I think back on the people I have helped leave and wonder, just for a moment, how they are doing and if they made it to where they wanted to go. I may never know. In fact, I know I will never know their fate. Such is the way of life.
“Who’s the third?” I ask.
Natalie gives me a questioning look.
“You said the three of you.”
Daggers shoot from Mandi’s eyes at Natalie for having given me an extra bit of information.
“Doctor Sahir,” Natalie replies. “He fakes the death certificates, and I get the information to Mandi, who gets them out. Her clearance gives her an advantage.”
“But it is getting more difficult,” Mandi says. “Because of the recent attacks, my movements are being watched more and more. I’m sure you’ve noticed.”
I have. Amal keeps a constant eye on me, which makes my extracurricular activities difficult, and Molers, well, he is always suspicious of others and looking for an opportunity to advance himself.
“I only came here,” Natalie says, “because I have three people who want out. I thought…”
“I can get them out,” I say, not sure what I am doing, and the words are out of my mouth before I have a chance to think about them.
“What?” Both Mandi and Natalie stare at me in disbelief.
“I’ve been doing it for a while now,” I say.
“On your own?” asks Mandi.
“Yes,” I reply, refusing to tell them about Luther, or even Chase.
Mandi gives me a doubtful look, but does not question me. It’s not as though I am not telling the truth. Up until the last group, I had been on my own.
“We may have to tell them that they cannot get out,” Mandi says to Natalie.
“No!” Natalie refuses to listen. “They need to get out. One is a breeder. She cannot go on for much longer, and the other two work in the medical center, but have made the mistake of questioning an order. If they don’t get out, they will be executed!”
“And outside the wall, they may die as well,” Mandi says. “It is too dangerous. If we get caught…”
“I thought you said that your only function was to help them leave. After that they are on their own,” I say. “I can get them out.”
“And what do you want in exchange?” Mandi asks.
“Honesty,” I reply.
“That is a high price,” she says.
“But it is my price,” I say.
“And how do you know you can trust us?” challenges Mandi.
“How do you know you can trust me?” I answer.
“We don’t have time for this,” Natalie interjects.
“Send the same messenger to me within a week and I will get you the information you need. If you fail, you will be on your own.”
What else is new? “Understood,” I tell her.
“We should leave. Natalie, you go first,” says Mandi.
Natalie leaves without question, sneaking out the door and disappearing into the dark, with her overthrow covering her medical uniform quite well, allowing her to blend in.
“If you get caught, I will deny this meeting every happened,” Mandi says.
“To save yourself,” I reply.
“Not myself, but what I am fighting for.”
“And what is that?”
“The individual.” Mandi peeks out the door, but before she leaves, she turns to me and says, “I’m starting to think that I don’t really know you, Noni.”
“The feeling is mutual,” I tell her, and she leaves, going in a different direction than Natalie.
I wait a couple of minutes before slipping outside and making my way back to the manor, wondering just what I have gotten myself into.
Chapter 30
Consequences
Once again, I tuck my wristband under the mattress and put on Amal’s, which Sheila brought to me earlier. Amal wasn’t at supper this evening—something that I thought was a bit strange because he never misses a meal—and instead had been in his room. When asked how she got the wristband, Sheila said that she had snuck into his room and took it off the desk in there, and that I needn’t worry about Amal finding her because he had been in a deep sleep. I wonder if he hadn’t been feeling well. Earlier today, he did look a little pale, so the possibility that he had caught a small illness is there. Either way, when he returned from his day patrol, he went straight to his room, and must have gone straight to bed, giving Sheila the perfect opportunity to steal his wristband. I do worry about Sheila helping me so much, but she insists, and there was no keeping tonight’s proposed excursion a secret from her when Chase asked Gwen to report to Mandi for a message.
The door to my room slides open and Chase hurries in. I didn’t want him to come along at first, afraid that, if something goes wrong, he will be hurt, but Chase insisted and when I had first told him about the previous people I had snuck out, I had said that he could help me in the future, and now I must make good on my promise.
“We cannot go out that way,” Chase says. “Molers is watching the main floor.”
Of course, he is. Molers has been looking for anything suspicious since he arrived, almost as though he wanted something terrible to happen so that he would have something negative to report to the council about Commander Vye.
“We’ll go out the window,” I say, after checking Chase to make sure he has no identifying marks on him. “Where are Gwen and Sheila?”
“Gwen is in her room, safe. Sheila is outside, waiting for us.”
My heart sinks. I want her to be safe and to not put herself in danger, but…
“She’ll be fine,” Chase says, as though he can read my thoughts. “She wants to help, and you can’t do this alone.”
He’s right, but the thought of others putting themselves in danger for me sickens me. “I just…”
“We’ll be back before you know it. I told you, I’m not letting you do this alone.”
Knowing that there is no winning this argument, I head to the window and open it with care, looking out at the green quad outside and ease my way out, feet first, doing my best to make no noise. Just as I dangle from the window ledge, with my feet hanging in the air, a flash of lighting streaks across the night sky and thunder explodes overhead, causing my chest to vibrate as its tremendous bang hurts my ears, and just as I let go, rain dumps from the sky. I land in the already soaked grass—it has only been raining for seconds—and tuck and roll, so as to absorb the impact and get out of the way before Chase drops down beside me. We hurry into the bushes and wait for Sheila’s signal, but stop the moment we see Molers step outside and pace from the back door to the fence. What is he up to? Does he know we are here? More lightning and more thunder fill the night air, and the torrential rain continues to pound the earth with its fury, masking any noise that Chase and I make. We watch as Molers steps toward us, and we both sink even further into the bushes, their fine needles poking through my clothing and pricking my skin with their sappy points, but before he gets any closer, a clapping sound comes from around the corner of the building. He jerks in the direction of the sound. Painful seconds tick by as we wait for Molers to decide what he will do next. He stalks away, unphased by the rain beating down on him and goes around the corner. Soon after he disappears, I spot Sheila’s face and she waves Chase and me onward. We both speed off across the grass and to the loose bar in the fence, squeezing our way through and hurrying down the street before anyone notices us.
The torrential rain saturates my ears with its white noise as we race down the flooded pavement, our feet splashing with every step, but muted by the onslaught of the rain itself. We duck down alleys and narrow gaps between brick buildings as we head for the same place where I had Mandie and Natalie meet with me. Considering it is still closed off, Mandi thought it the beast place to hide the people she wants smuggled out of Arel. I just hope that she has not se
t a trap for me the way I had set one for her. Bits of my hair stick to my face as the rain pastes it against my skin, and I try to brush it off with the back of my hand, but only succeed at making it form a zigzagged pattern that covers my eyes. Chase stops and points in the distance. Through the wall of rain lurks a shadow, pacing the square, while trying to pretend that he does not care about the rain. I motion for Chase to turn a corner, and we snake our way past two residential buildings, relieved that nature has decided to mask our tracks. Painful minutes pass, and we make a few turns, until we arrive at the sequestered buildings. Pleased that the darkness surrounds us, and that no lights shine in any of the windows around us, I open the door just a little, peeking inside for any sign of a trap, but the stilled silence, broken only by a fast paced drip from the leaky roof, greets me; so, I hurry inside with Chase right behind me.
“Mandi?” I hiss into the dusty air, my heart racing as horrid thoughts race through my mind, each worse than the one before. “Mandi!”
“Over here,” comes a strong voice, and Mandi steps out from the shadows, surprising me in the same manner I had surprised her week earlier, and followed by three people, each dressed in dark clothing. One is a middle-aged woman, and looks to be near the end of her childbearing years, who, despite her dark skin tone, looks pale as though she has been ill and is just recovering. As she steps further into the open, I notice her protruding abdomen and realize that she must have just given birth, and it must have been a difficult one. A man hurries to her when she steps backward and looks as though she might pass out, and holds her, steadying her, and the small smile on her lips informs him of her appreciation.
“Come,” Mandi says to the fourth person in the room.
He continues to hide behind a pillar, unwilling to come forward. “I can’t. It’s too risky.”
“Now.” Mandi’s firm tone forces him into the open.
“Who is he?” the frightened man demands, pointing at Chase.
Ensnared (Enchained Trilogy Book 2) Page 45