Powerless: Aeos Book One

by Sarah Anne Fields

  CHAPTER 25

  THE SKY FESTIVAL

  The evening streets of Edgewood were illuminated with purple-and-orange paper lanterns in the shapes of stars and moons. A lively string quintet was set up in front of the now-empty Temple plot, playing classical Aeosian music. The annual Sky Festival, held at the beginning of every November, had brought renewed life to the picturesque little hillside town.

  Detrick and his parents strode through town, intent on enjoying small town life one last time before they started packing up their home yet again. What made matters considerably more difficult this time around though was Detrick’s age. He was eighteen now and had made a life for himself here. It was just one more thing the Union would be severing.

  Although, this move didn’t have to be for nothing. Detrick could still change things for the better. By hopefully becoming a Magistrate, he could fix what was broken. He could rework things from the inside, instead of via violence and opposition, the way Conner preferred.

  Speaking of, he still hadn’t decided how to break the news to Conner. Oh, he had so many things to tell him… His stomach dropped just thinking about it. Conner deserved to know about his father. And he knew Conner would be furious and heartbroken.

  The winter air was kept at bay by the fires of the giant grills cooking sausages and marinated steaks, and by the torches that lined the streets. Detrick and his dad were especially warmed by the mugs of Sky Brew they’d bought from The Weary Traveler; it was a piping-hot seasonal apple ale they always made special for the festival.

  Numerous shops and stands were set up in rows along the square bearing all sorts of foods, desserts, and crafts. Townspeople bustled through, admiring the wares, snacking on traditional almond bread, and relishing in the festive atmosphere. Detrick wished he were as carefree as these people, but he had a dark errand for tonight that was clouding his mind.

  He saw that the Wicklows had set up a stand of their own to sell off some of their remaining inventory. His spirit sank even more as he spotted Conner from a distance. He and Gwenith both looked happy. People seemed to be flocking their booth. Whether they were handing over their money out of pity, or due to the alcohol in their systems, Detrick was just pleased that they were getting business.

  Detrick hadn’t yet told his parents where Victoria had dragged him off to and had no plans for it any time soon, despite the fact that they kept trying to drag it out of him. After she’d dropped him back off at the house, she and the paladins had disappeared into the night, and that was the last Detrick ever wanted to think about her again. There was one person he did intend to talk to about it though, and he was across the square wrapping up a vase and handling it to a customer.

  “I’m…I’m gonna go say hi to Conner,” Detrick said, getting up from the table he and his parents were sitting at.

  “Bring us back some berry cider?” his mom asked, handing Detrick a few shell coins.

  “Sure, Mom.”

  As Detrick passed through the square, he couldn’t deny that the jubilation of the Sky Festival was contagious. He passed people laughing at each other’s corny jokes and trading stories. The air was sweet with a dozen different foods. He even chuckled at the pair of children who’d darted out in front of him, almost causing him to trip over himself. For a fleeting moment everything seemed right to Detrick. But the impending conversation he was about to have with Conner drove that from his mind.

  “Hey, Det!” Conner shouted from their stall. He waved Detrick over. “Is it alright if I step out for a bit, Mom?”

  “Sure, sweetie, but not for too long. Hi, Detrick,” Gwenith said with a small wave.

  Detrick waved back, but Conner was already dragging him away.

  They stopped at a bench along the road outside of town.

  “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!” said Conner, spinning around and pulling Detrick into a hug.

  Detrick said nothing but hugged Conner for a long time. I’m so sorry for what’s to come. Finally pulling away, he said, “I know. It’s been a while. We have to talk.”

  Conner nodded. “Actually, I have to talk to you too.”

  They both sat on the bench, with Detrick unsure if he should speak first.

  “I guess I’ll go first,” Conner said. “We’re leaving in a week.” He rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the ground. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do.”

  “Oh, no. I’m so sorry. Didn’t you say you might get to move back at some point, though?”

  Conner shrugged. “I mean, yeah. But I don’t want to leave you at all. And it’s more real now that it’s almost here.”

  “Well, speaking of moving out of town…” Detrick said slowly. “We’ve got our new orders. It’s back to the Citadel for us, I’m afraid.”

  Conner sat up. “Really? They’re making you move again?” He sighed dramatically. “Maybe we should just…run away. To hell with all this. Why should other people dictate where we can live and how we live our lives?” He growled in annoyance. “Maybe I should go visit dad. See what he thinks.”

  Detrick’s eyes ached with new tears as Conner’s words sent his pathetic self-control into a fit. Oh, who was he kidding…he didn’t have any self-control when it came to Conner. His throat felt tight, and he inhaled a shaky breath.

  They both stared into the night, side by side. After a long silence, Conner looked over at Detrick. “Hey…are you crying?”

  Of course he was. He hadn’t even told Conner the worst news. Ned’s muffled cries of pain were still haunting him. And the helplessness he’d felt that night… “Conner, there’s something I need tell you,” he said, wiping his eyes with the back of his hands.

  “Alright. What is it?”

  “Victoria, the Grand Magistrate, she…she broke into our house the other night with a couple of paladins.”

  “What?”

  “She said she had unfinished business. She forced me into a car, and we drove to…to Weston. They’d found out where Ned was living, and…and…” A pitiful sob escaped Detrick, and he buried his face in his hands. “And then we drove into the forest. They told me to do it, but I couldn’t and so…Victoria…she…”

  “What are you saying? Did she…did she kill my dad?”

  “I’m so sorry,” Detrick said into his hands. He sank deeper into the bench.

  Conner cried out and fell forward, almost falling off the bench. “My dad?” He began sobbing aloud, and Detrick knew that the pain must have been tearing at his insides. The father he’d only just been reunited with, who’d been missing almost his whole life, had been ripped from him. By the Union.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Detrick grabbed Conner and pulled him toward himself, and Conner cried into Detrick’s jacket. He clutched it in his fingers to steady himself, but still he wailed.

  “Why?” Conner demanded. “Why would they take him from me?”

  Detrick squeezed Conner tightly, rocking back and forth, his own face wet with tears. “I don’t know, Conner. I don’t know.” He wasn’t going to tell him that it was part of the punishment for his third offense. He did not want Conner to think this was his fault. No way…that was something Conner would never find out.

  For almost an hour Conner cried, but finally he’d exhausted himself and was now lying in Detrick’s lap, a few silent tears streaming down the bridge of his nose and falling onto Detrick’s jeans. The noise from the festival seemed so far away, even though they were less than a hundred feet outside of town.

  Detrick leaned over and planted several kisses along the side of Conner’s face. He yearned to steal Conner’s pain away, to beat it into the ground and make it sorry for ever harming his dearest love.

  “Can we…can we go somewhere?” Conner asked softy.

  “Sure, Conner. Anywhere you want.” They rose up from the bench. “Where do you want to go?”

  “I was thinking…” he began, wiping his nose on his jacket. “That storehouse behind the grocery store?”

&nbs
p; Five minutes later, Detrick twisted the handle to the storage room and opened the door, and he and Conner slipped inside. “Are you sure about this?” he whispered. “What if somebody catches us in here?”

  “We’ll be alright,” Conner whispered back. He wiped the remaining wetness from his eyes.

  Both were still struggling to catch their breath from the jog back into town.

  There in the dark, with only a sliver of light pouring in through the crack of the door, Detrick could resist it no longer. He grabbed Conner’s head, and Conner wrapped his arms about Detrick’s waist as he was pulled into a deep and insatiable kiss. And everything was confessed perfectly in that moment.

  Detrick fell completely into Conner, melting away until he felt his body become overwhelmed by the intensity of it. They both broke away to catch their breath.

  “I love you,” they whispered simultaneously. They laughed…it figured that they’d end up saying it for the first time at the exact same time.

  They kissed again, as if to save their lives, voracious and impassioned, erasing every pain, forgetting everything outside that room.

  Detrick sweetly kissed his way up Conner’s neck, over his jawline, and up to his ear. A faint moan escaped Conner’s lips.

  “Detrick,” he sighed. “I love you so much. And I really need you right now.”

  “I love you, too Conner,” Detrick said against Conner’s neck. “I’m here for you.” When he said this, he began to feel a different kind of longing…an urge that was taking over his entire body. He bit down on Conner’s neck, craving him in a way he never had before.

  Detrick knew Conner sought an escape in Detrick. But he was doing the same. So much was wrong outside that door. But inside that small little storage room, oblivious to the world outside, it was bliss. Conner was his paradise, and he never wanted to leave.

  He was reveling in Conner’s touch, his knees weak every time Conner’s lips teased his skin. He was fighting desperately to free himself from his quickly crumbling world, and he needed Conner to be his savior. And he knew Conner needed him for the same reason.

  “Detrick,” Conner said again.

  “Hmm?”

  “Maybe we really should run away. There’s nothing left for us here.”

  Detrick laughed quietly, kissing Conner’s ear. Then he pulled away, sensing his tone. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes, I’m serious,” Conner said, lying his head on Detrick’s chest. “Think about it. With everything the Union’s done to us—they’ve killed my dad and closed down our shop. They’ve forced you to do all these horrible things. They’re making you move again. You’re the only good thing I have left. And I’m not letting them take you from me.”

  Detrick considered his words. “How would that even work? We’d have to hide, like, forever.”

  “So what?” Conner said, still leaning on Detrick. He looked up at him. “We’re hiding right now. We’ve had to hide for months. How’s it any different? At least if we ran away, to someplace far, we could be out in the open. Not having to worry about who sees us, or whether you’ll get in trouble just for talking to me.”

  Detrick was scaring himself. Was he actually considering Conner’s words? He’d made an excellent point, after all. Much of their lives were already a secret. They’d both endured innumerous abuses. The Union were the ones who’d tortured Conner…multiple times. Why should the Union get to determine what becomes of their relationship?

  But that was just it. They shouldn’t.

  They’d had their chance, and they’d ruined it. If Detrick had never moved back to Edgewood and had continued working at the Citadel, things would be different. But he was here, with Conner in his arms, so desperately in love with him. Compared to this, no kind of career with the Union was worth it.

  He put his hand under Conner’s chin and brought his face up to his. He kissed his lips softly. “Okay. Let’s do it.” He felt Conner’s smile against his mouth.

  “Where will we go?” he asked.

  “I don’t care where. As long as we’re together.”

  Conner laughed. “Well, that won’t get us very far. I was thinking maybe one of the Nean islands to the south. They’re remote…warm… Or didn’t they teach you that in your fancy-schmancy school?”

  Detrick gave Conner a gentle shove in the shoulder. “Yeah, we learned about them. We also learned that they’re nearly impossible to get to, because of the violent ocean current that runs through them. It’s why it’s called the Nean Current. And hey, maybe we could even find some distant family of mine.”

  There was a host of voices and footsteps that ambled past the door, and Detrick remembered that they were still hiding in the storehouse.

  “Oh man! I completely forgot my parents were expecting me back with berry cider.”

  “And I told my mom I wouldn’t be gone long. We’re both assholes.”

  “Just think how asshole-y we’ll seem once we run away.”

  Conner nodded, peaking through the crack in the door. “I guess we have to figure that out pretty soon.” He turned back to Detrick. “Let’s meet up at the beach tomorrow at sunset, and we’ll figure everything out.”

  Agreeing to Conner’s plan, Detrick kissed Conner one more time, and they snuck back out to the square.

  CHAPTER 26

  I PROMISE

  Arelentless, freezing rain fell for days following the Sky Festival. Across the town, thousands of bits of colored paper peppered the buildings. A frigid wind carried some of the paper into the sky, dropping it into the trees and the ferocious gray waves that crashed onto the shore.

  Conner stared out the front door of the barren pub, bitter against the pounding rain that was forming icicles on the corners of all the buildings. He was mulling over the plans he and Detrick had discussed at the beach a few days prior. The reality of their plan was beginning to sink in. On the one hand, he felt indebted to Detrick, not only for helping him come to know his father, or for saving his life from that angry bear, but for giving Conner his heart, for how he’d risked everything to be with him. And for entrusting him with a secret that would have him killed should the Union ever find out.

  But Conner was also a Wicklow. His family was already so broken. He’d be shattering it even more by leaving. Frustrated, he thudded his head against the window in the door, the icy glass stinging his forehead.

  * * *

  Detrick was having a difficult time coming to terms with that fact that he’d soon be an apostate, a deserter. He’d seen firsthand how the Union dealt with the likes of those people. But he also couldn’t imagine a life where Conner wasn’t a part of it. Not anymore. Conner was his love, and he knew he could never live a happy life without him.

  He laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling, when he noticed a leak that had appeared in the corner of his room above the door. Water dripped through, splashing on the floor, and soon it was impossible to ignore. Sighing, Detrick placed a folded towel from the hall closet under it.

  “We’ve got a leak in here,” he called out.

  “I know,” his dad called from the living room. “I’ve found one in here too, and another one in the kitchen.”

  “One in here too,” his mom called from their bedroom.

  “What are the chances of that?” Detrick asked aloud, more to himself than to his parents.

  “The rain’s been relentless, and this house isn’t in the greatest shape anymore. It was bound to happen eventually,” said his dad, staring up at the leak in the living room ceiling.

  Detrick returned to his room and found another leak, this time dripping water right on Conner’s wooden fox. “Damn it!” he said, moving the fox out of the way. He dried it with his sleeve. “Stupid rain. Give us a break, will you?”

  * * *

  On a clear night after the rains had subsided, Detrick and Conner had met up to solidify their arrangements and enjoy the wilds of their childhood hometown one last time. They built a small bonfire on the beach and shared a woolen b
lanket.

  “So, this is it,” Conner said, rubbing Detrick’s hands in his to warm them up. “After tomorrow, there’s no going back.”

  “Yep.”

  “Have you said anything to your parents?”

  “I don’t see why I should. If I told them where we were going, it would just put them in danger. The Union can tell when you’re hiding something.” How Detrick had ever come to respect the Union, or anything they stood for, was something he no longer understood. He was a different man now. One of reason, of conscience.

  “I can’t wait to be rid of them,” Conner said.

  “Have you said anything to your mom?” Detrick asked, throwing a stick on the fire.

  “I thought about it. I haven’t decided yet. I know I’m going to feel guilty for leaving her. But she’ll still move to Pine Ridge. I think it’ll be good for her to be around family. Family who doesn’t have a record…” Conner trailed off. “I know I’m just a ticking time bomb here. If it wasn’t for me, the shop would probably still be open.”

  “Hey,” Detrick said, “you had nothing to do with that.”

  “Maybe.” Conner leaned his head on Detrick’s shoulder. “It’s just you and me now. That’s all that matters.”

  “You’re all that matters to me, Conner.” Detrick kissed the top of Conner’s head. This was exactly how he wanted the rest of his life to look. No one else in the world but the two of them, surviving against all odds, proving to the world that no force was strong enough to tear them apart. They’d been through so much shit already. Detrick knew they’d make it.

  “I was thinking…” Conner said slowly.

  “Thinking what?”

  “We should make it official.” He looked up at Detrick, and a coy smile spread over his face.

  “Like how?”

  Without speaking, Conner engaged Detrick in a slow, intense kiss. His silky tongue was so soft yet firm against his own…and Detrick’s entire body felt like it was rapidly liquifying.

  Detrick allowed himself to be completely consumed by their kiss, but soon he knew he needed more. Throwing the blanket off them and onto the sand behind Conner, Detrick leaned Conner back and pulled a second blanket on top of them.