Tandem: The Many-Worlds Trilogy

by Anna Jarzab

  “Angel eyes,” I said. He nodded and sat down on the floor, riffling through the folders. I took the rest and we began our search.

  “These are all top-secret military documents,” Callum pointed out after a while.

  I’d noticed the same thing. Each folder was marked CLASSIFIED in bright bold red lettering, and underneath that there was always a label with the name of the project in blue. We went through them one by one, but none sounded right. CLASSIFIED: OPERATION LARCHMONT. CLASSIFIED: OPERATION PAINTED ARROW. CLASSIFIED: OPERATION LOOKING GLASS.

  I paused at the last one. Operation Looking Glass. I flipped it open and started skimming. Almost immediately I found mention of Earth. I wanted to read further, but I could feel Callum’s eyes on me.

  “Did you find anything?”

  I shook my head and reluctantly closed the Looking Glass file. “Not yet.” I kept thumbing through them but found nothing, and the clock on the wall told me we only had ten minutes left before the queen returned.

  Suddenly, Callum leapt up, waving one of the folders.

  “I’ve got it,” he said, thrusting the file into my hands. The cover read CLASSIFIED: OPERATION ANGEL EYES. I hesitated, not sure if I really wanted to know what was in it.

  “Aren’t you going to open it?” Callum pressed. I nodded. But when I saw what it contained, I was more confused than ever.

  All the other files were filled with documents, long detailed memoranda filled edge to edge with tiny, black text. But this folder was empty except for a color printout of a map of the North American continent. The map was dark blue, the landmass clearly outlined in white. There was a thick line that divided the country, just like the map I’d seen in the Tower, marking the delineation between the UCC and Farnham. The rest of the map was covered in abstract blobs, light blue in color. Some were huge, like the one that hovered right over Chicago; others were smaller, like the ones that dotted northern New York Dominion like freckles. It looked like the sort of thing you might see on the evening news, during the weather report.

  “A weather map? That’s it? That’s what the king wanted me to find?” I shook my head in disbelief. All that cloak-and-dagger nonsense for nothing. I felt like an idiot.

  “Let me see.” Callum reached for the file and considered its contents carefully. “Maybe Angel Eyes is some kind of meteorological satellite.”

  “But who cares about the weather? This can’t be it!”

  “I don’t see any other files marked ‘Angel Eyes’—do you?” He was right. I wanted to go through the Looking Glass file, but it was too dangerous with Callum right there. Whatever happened, he couldn’t know about the tandem, about Earth. About me.

  I shoved the files back into the safe, slamming the door in frustration.

  “I’m sorry you didn’t find what you were looking for, Juli,” Callum said, laying a gentle hand on my shoulder.

  I sighed. “It’s okay. Maybe I was just making all this up. Maybe there was never anything for us to find.”

  “But you were right about the things the king was saying,” Callum insisted. “They led us here.”

  “Yeah, straight to nothing.”

  “We should probably get out of here. The queen could come back at any second.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s go.” I hesitated. “Wait, hold on.” I opened the safe again and removed the map from the file.

  “What are you doing?” Callum looked away in embarrasment as I folded the map in quarters and crammed it into my bra.

  “I want to show it to someone,” I told him, avoiding his curious gaze. He must’ve been wondering who that “someone” was, although he probably could’ve guessed. “Just to be sure.”

  Despite the disappointment of the afternoon’s fruitless search, I was glad to be back at the Castle. I’d loved Asthall, but now that Thomas was at the Castle, I wanted to be as well. I wished I knew how to get in touch with him. I wanted to show him the map and see what he thought of it. At brief moments throughout the day, when I knew myself to be alone, I took it out and looked at it. Something about it struck me as familiar, but for a while I didn’t know why, until I realized—this was what Juliana had given the Shepherd. But I was struggling to figure out why it was so important, why it was worth anything to Libertas. I needed to talk to Thomas more than ever; if anyone could shed some light on this mystery, it would be him.

  After dinner, Gloria informed me that a new agent, Kline, had been assigned to manage my security detail. My heart fell straight to my toes when I heard this. Something was clearly wrong, but nobody would answer my questions. I kept trying to convince myself that Thomas could handle whatever situation he found himself in, but that didn’t make me feel any better.

  I turned in early that night, despite Callum’s protestations; I felt bad deserting him, but I had a headache and wanted to be alone.

  The room was dark, and at first I thought it was empty. Then I caught a sudden movement out of the corner of my eye. There was someone standing out on the terrace. I started to back away, but then whoever it was came through the door and switched on the lights.

  “Lucas?” All the muscles in my body tensed. “What are you doing here? Where’s Thomas?” Of all people, I figured he’d be the one to know.

  “Locked up in his quarters,” Lucas said, ambling in my direction with his hands shoved in his pockets. “He’s been suspended, you know. Because of you.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m here to warn you,” he said, but there was an edge of malice in his voice and I knew he hadn’t come to me—to Juliana—as a friend. With every step he took toward me, I took one back.

  “Warn me about what?”

  “The General has it out for you,” Lucas said. “He knows all about your little tryst with my brother and now he’s angry. That’s not what you want.”

  “Is this how you talk to your princess?” I demanded, my voice trembling.

  Lucas laughed. “You? A princess? You’ve got to be kidding me. Anyone with common sense can tell you’re a fake from a mile away. What’s your name again? Sandra? Sarah?”

  “Don’t you dare come any closer,” I snarled.

  Lucas snapped his fingers. “Sasha! That’s it, right?” I seized up, temporarily breathless with surprise and fear. How did he know my name? “You look surprised. I don’t blame you. Thomas probably told you I’m just some lowly support agent. And he’s not wrong. He’s not right, either, but then again there’s a lot of stuff Thomas doesn’t know.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like who was behind Juliana’s kidnapping,” Lucas said. My eyes widened, and he grinned. “I thought that might get your attention. Let me tell you a little story about Thomas. You probably know that we’re not blood related, huh? That he’s adopted?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “You know, at first, I resented Thomas,” Lucas said. “The General already had a son, and yet he had to go and pick up a stray. Like I wasn’t good enough or something. But then I saw Thomas. I couldn’t imagine why the General would choose him. He was small and skinny and always trembling like a little puppy. I figured, hey, this kid’s no threat, so I took him under my wing. I loved him like a brother, but then he had to grow up and become a superman. Strong, fast, agile, smart as hell. Suddenly, he was the General’s ideal son. Like my father knew something we didn’t all along.” This last observation was said in a thoughtful way, as if Lucas was truly contemplating the possibility that the General was psychic, of all ludicrous things. This was a trait, perhaps the only one, that Lucas shared with his brother—the secret belief that the General was more than a man.

  “So? What does this have to do with me?”

  “I’m not finished yet,” Lucas said. “Did anyone ever tell you it’s rude to interrupt?”

  “Sorry,” I replied sarcastically. “Continue.”

  “Thomas has just one flaw.”

  “Integrity?”

  “Exactly,” Lucas said. “He�
��s a noble creature. He believes in things. He cares about people. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone. I mean, he’s a soldier, so he will hurt people, but only in the name of the greater good, and his idea of the greater good is a little bit different from the General’s. I, however, don’t have that problem. So when the General needed to get rid of Juliana, he turned to me.”

  “You kidnapped Juliana?” I was trying hard to sound incredulous, and he seemed to be buying it. But on this next point I was sincere. “And the General was in on it?”

  “Kidnapped is a harsh word. She went of her own free will. Juliana was infuriated by the marriage with the Farnham prince. I told her that I worked for Libertas, and if she gave them what they wanted, they would help her disappear.”

  “So you’re a traitor,” I said evenly.

  “I guess that depends on how you define traitor,” Lucas said. “I originally infiltrated Libertas on my father’s orders. When he told me he wanted Juliana gone from the Castle, I saw my opportunity to win big with the organization’s leadership and I took it.”

  “Why would the General want Juliana gone?”

  “Isn’t that obvious? Or do you not know enough about our politics to understand? Juliana’s the heir to the throne, and in two weeks she’ll be the rightful regent. But Juliana hates the General, and she was about to get married, which would only strengthen her position. That meant all the hard work my father put in over the past thirty years, grooming the king to trust and rely on him, was about to go right out the window. He couldn’t have that. He needed someone he could control. Someone like you.”

  “He doesn’t control me,” I said through my teeth.

  “I beg to differ. Anyway, long story short, Juliana isn’t coming back, and as long as it’s in the General’s best interest, you’re not going home. I don’t know what he has planned for you, but I’m thinking you’re not going to like it.”

  “Why are you telling me all this?” I demanded. “What’s in it for you?”

  “I’m here to cut you the same deal I cut Juliana,” Lucas told me. “Come with me to Libertas, tell them everything you know about the many-worlds project, and they’ll help you get home.”

  “If they don’t know anything about the tandem, how are they going to do that?”

  “Think of it as an incentive to tell them as much as possible.”

  “Did the General tell you to get rid of me, too? Why doesn’t he just send me back himself?”

  “The General is not explicitly aware of the offer I’m making you,” Lucas said, dancing around the fact that he was double-crossing his father, which was clearly what he was doing. “He believes I work only for him, but I prefer to think of myself as a free agent. Serves him right, for putting Thomas over me all these years. So what do you say? Are you in or not?”

  “I’m not interested,” I said. “I’ll—”

  “What?” He scrunched up his face in a patronizing expression. “You’ll tell my dad on me? It wouldn’t do you any good. It might get me executed in a dark alley, but you’ll still be stuck here. Besides, I highly doubt the General gives a damn about anything you have to say. That’s just a feeling I have.” He put his hand over his heart, as if to mime feeling. “You don’t have to give me an answer right now, but you might want to decide before Saturday.” He strode past me toward the door.

  “Think about it,” he said with a little wave as the door slid open. “I’ll be waiting. Tell you one thing, though. You’ll never see my brother again. So I wouldn’t let that affect my decision if I were you.”

  With that, he was gone.

  She sat up blinking in the sudden glare of the lights. She’d been asleep for hours, that same tormented sleep she’d been experiencing since her father was shot. She shielded her eyes and searched for a face on the dark figure that had entered her room.

  “Who’s there?” she called out.

  “It’s me.” The Shepherd. She should’ve known. He was the only one who visited her now, except the Farnham country matron. She put her hands up to her hair, which was blond now. She’d looked in the mirror once the matron was finished with her and been astounded by how stark the transformation was. The color brought out completely different features in her face, and she understood why they’d done it. With her hair this color, she was nearly unrecognizable. “Quick, get up and get dressed. We leave at dawn.”

  “Leave for where?” she asked.

  “Columbia City.”

  “What? No!” Why would they bring her back there? They were supposed to give her a new life. She supposed that would mean she’d have to hide out in Farnham forever, a prospect she didn’t relish, but it was far preferable to being dragged back home. “You promised—”

  “Don’t worry, we’re not handing you over to the KES, if that’s what you’re imagining.” The Shepherd took his customary seat on the desk chair, turning it around so that his arms rested on the chair back. “We have a different plan. But we’ve had to move up the date. It seems things have not gone exactly as we hoped back at the Citadel.”

  “Mind telling me what that plan is, exactly?” she asked.

  “Of course,” he said, smiling his inscrutable smile. “Juliana, what do you know about parallel universes?”

  THIRTY-TWO

  “Wow, Juli.” Callum whistled. “You look amazing.”

  “You don’t look so bad yourself,” I told him, reaching up to straighten his bow tie. I was trying my best to flatter and flirt, but my heart simply wasn’t in it. I was sick of playing Juliana, especially the Juliana Callum wanted me to be. I had far too much weighing on my mind, and on my heart. My thoughts kept careening back and forth between what Lucas had told me and Thomas’s predicament. I had, for a brief moment, actually considered Lucas’s offer, which revolted me, but I would’ve been crazy not to. It would be crazier still, however, to trust Lucas and abandon Thomas to his fate, whatever that was, not to mention leave Callum and the queen and all the people who were counting on me. Well, not me—Juliana. But at this point, what was the difference?

  Gloria had chosen my dress, a long draped gown with a dramatic leather sunburst collar covered in silver beaded appliqué, and a wide leather belt at the waist. Callum was coordinating by wearing a silver bow tie with his tuxedo. His hand rested at the base of my spine as we stood together in the full-length mirror. I took a deep breath and let it out. Gloria insisted I wear a formal tiara for the gala, so I’d picked out the prettiest one I could find, a garland of wild Sweet Briar diamond roses mounted in silver. It was heavier than it looked and was already starting to give me a headache.

  “Can we go back to the beach?” Callum whispered in my ear. I smiled at his reflection in the mirror, but it didn’t reach my eyes.

  “We’re late,” I said, moving toward the door. He stayed put. “Cal, are you coming?”

  He tugged at his collar. “I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to this kind of stuff.”

  “You will,” I assured him. The question was: would I?

  “You’re late, Juliana,” the queen scolded. She was resplendent in a long purple tulle gown, her hair piled high upon her head.

  I could hear the low murmur of a thousand voices coming from inside the ballroom. The guests had arrived and were waiting. On the queen’s signal, two porters swung the doors open. A great, booming voice announced the queen by her title—“Her Majesty Evelyn, Queen Regent of the United Commonwealth of Columbia”—and she stepped over the threshold.

  Then it was my and Callum’s turn. The voice, which was coming from speakers placed high above the crowd, declared us as well: “Her Royal Highness Juliana, Crown Princess of the United Commonwealth of Columbia” followed by “His Royal Highness Callum, Prince of Farnham and the Western Territories.” My stomach turned at the sight of all the people watching with rapt attention, and for the millionth time I wished that Thomas was at my side.

  Callum took my hand and squeezed it. Though I wished he was someone else, his touch was comforting. We
walked into the grand ballroom and the throng of people set upon us.

  The good thing about the fact that most of the gala attendees were strangers was that nobody expected Juliana to know who they were. They all introduced themselves, grinning from ear to ear, declaring themselves delighted at the forthcoming union between Callum and Juliana. Callum handled it better than I expected, switching on like a lightbulb and basking in the glow of all the adoration. So much for social anxiety.

  After everyone had gotten to speak to us, dinner was served. The banquet table was as long as the room, and Callum and I had to sit at opposite ends, to spread out the honor of speaking with us, so I wasn’t able to talk to him. I spent most of the meal looking for Thomas among the group of KES agents patrolling the perimeters of the room, but I didn’t see him. Not that I thought I would. I only hoped.

  When the meal was over, the dancing began. I wasn’t in a dancing mood, but I was forced to spend hours spinning across the floor with an endless stream of male guests. I tried as hard as possible to be cordial and captivating, but my mind kept wandering as they droned on about matters of state I couldn’t care less about.

  When my last partner finally released me, I looked for Callum in the crowd, spying him dancing with a refined-looking old woman who was half his height. They made a ridiculous pair, and I couldn’t help but smile. He was doing his best to charm her, and she was laughing at his whispered jokes. I was about to go over and cut in when someone grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me through a side door into a nearby alcove.