by Kate L. Mary
27
Mira was waiting when I stepped into the cave. “Did Asa leave?”
“He did.” I passed her, nodding for her to follow. We needed to speak, but in private. “Come with me. We have things to discuss.”
It was unclear whether Mira thought I was referring to my confession of love for Asa or something else, but she followed with no other comment. Which I was grateful for. I would tell her everything, but first I needed to work it out in my head and accept what had happened. Asa had walked away from me. Again.
We reached my alcove, but my brain still had not acknowledged what was about to happen, and my heart was even more in denial. Even so, despite my feelings for Asa, my people had to come first, which meant destroying the mirrors. Without power, the Sovereign would be helpless, giving us the advantage once again. Even with the remaining Fortis on their side.
There were no lanterns in the city and few candles. The buildings were too close together for fires, and even the electroprods would eventually stop working since they had to be plugged in every night. We would take out the tower, wait a day, and then send a small party in through the tunnel after the sun had set. That would enable us to open the gates, letting our army into the city so we could take the Sovereign down once and for all.
“Tell me what is going through your head,” Mira said when I did not speak. “Is it about Asa?”
“It is. You heard me say I love him, and it is true. I did not intend for it to happen, but it has. Only now, I know for sure we are not meant to be together.”
“Indra—” Mira began.
“No. You must listen, then you will understand.” She closed her mouth and nodded for me to go on. “Remember the mirrors we saw in the wastelands? Beyond the city?”
“I remember,” she said.
“The mirrors are what give Sovereign City power. They collect the sunlight, and the tower converts it to electricity.”
“Magic,” Mira whispered, her eyes wide with wonder.
“No. It is technology from the old world,” I said. “But if we destroy the mirrors, they will have nothing. It will give us the advantage once again.”
“Then we do it.” Her blond hair swished when she nodded. “We must, Indra.”
“I know. Except Asa did not agree. He said if we do this, the Sovereign will kill everyone living in the tower, and he could not let that happen. I am afraid he will take his tribe there and try to stop us.”
Mira’s brows furrowed over her blue eyes, pulling her passage markings together. “If he does this, the other Heads will never trust him.”
“I know.” When I looked down, my gaze landed on the bed where only last night Asa and I had lain together. “I told him, but he refused to take my side in this.”
Saying the words to someone else, even Mira who knew firsthand that Asa was a good man, weighed my heart down even more. Everyone would see him as the enemy now, and no matter my feelings for him, I would be forced to do the same.
“We need to go there.” Mira’s expression was fierce, like that of an animal about to attack. Or that of a warrior. “Soon. Tonight. Before he has time to plan a defense.”
“I am afraid we will be too late regardless. I should have stopped him from leaving, but I could not.” I let out a deep sigh. “Emori was right. I have let my feelings for him cloud my judgment, and now it has put us in danger.”
“There are more of us, Indra,” Mira said firmly. “We can beat Asa and his people.”
“I know,” I whispered as pain squeezed my heart. She was right, but I also knew what this could mean. There was no protecting Asa from this, no convincing the other Outliers not to kill him. Not after this betrayal.
Mira’s fiery expression softened. “But you are afraid of what will happen to him.”
“He will be a traitor in the eyes of the other tribes. They will not let him live.”
“He had a choice to make, Indra, and he has. Now you must make a choice. Will you lead us or will you stay behind? Either way, we must march on the mirrors tonight.”
This time when pain throbbed through me, it was from guilt. Not from what I was about to do, but because I had never considered turning my back on my people. I loved Asa. Maybe even as much as I had loved Bodhi, which was not an easy thing to admit even to myself. But everything I had done since my husband’s death had been for my people, and no matter my feelings, I could not stop.
“The Outliers are my priority, no matter how difficult the consequences will be. I will go.” I turned to leave the alcove. “The sooner we meet with the other Heads, the better.”
“Will you tell them what Asa is doing?” Mira asked, stopping me in my tracks. “If you do not, they will be at a disadvantage.”
I closed my eyes, fighting against the anguish over the decision that now faced me. “If I do, they will think him a traitor even if he is not there.”
Mira said nothing.
I exhaled, but it did not help. My heart had turned to a boulder in my chest. “I will tell them to expect resistance. That is the best I can do. Asa said the people living there are defenseless, and he has fewer than fifty people who can fight with him. We will be okay.” I opened my eyes and turned to face Mira, anticipating judgment or disappointment. When I met her gaze, only sadness greeted me.
“We will figure out a way to fix this,” she said.
“There is no way to fix it. Not if he cannot stand with us.” I turned and headed out of my alcove.
I had seen the mirrors twice before, but both times had been from far away, and the sunlight had made them blinding. In the darkness with the moon shining down on them, they were utterly brilliant. I had worked in the city for years, but had never known where the Sovereign got their power, and other than the few Outliers who had come out through the back tunnel, no one had known about these mirrors. It was impossible to know for sure since Xandra was not with us, but I assumed she and people like her had never told anyone about the tower out of the need to protect the location of the tunnel.
The group was smaller tonight, but we still had over a hundred men and women traveling across the wastelands toward the mirrors. Asa had said he had fifty people with him, but that his group consisted of mostly women and children. Who lived in the tower was a mystery, one that would very soon be solved, but I was confident that no matter what their numbers were, we could take them. We all carried weapons, but our main goal when we reached the mirrors was to smash them. Hopefully, we would be able to achieve that without bloodshed.
My eyes swept the area as I moved, looking for any sign that Asa and his people were nearby. There was nothing. No movement, no shadows, and no sounds greeted my ears other than the howl of the wind. It was possible he had decided against trying to stop us. That he had allowed his feelings for me to get in the way of duty just as I had.
Then we reached the mirrors, and the shadows moved. Figures emerged from the blackness, hulking even in the dark night, and I raised my bow. I hesitated, though. All I could think about was Asa and if he was one of the dark forms in front of me. All I could imagine as I ran beside the men and women from the wilds was how devastated I would be if my arrow were to pierce the man I cared so much about. It made it impossible to strike.
More figures moved through the darkness, their large frames colliding with the smaller ones of the Outliers, and the clang of metal on metal filled the air. The grunt of people hitting the ground and the scuffling of feet followed, but I still had not released my arrow. Instead I moved cautiously through the dark night, between the mirrors as the people around me went down. Outlier after Outlier.
A figure appeared in front of me, large and familiar even in the surrounding blackness. I flipped my bow around and swung it at his head, striking the figure in the shoulder. He let out a grunt, and the familiar sound made me freeze. Then he had my bow and he was jerking me forward, making me his prisoner.
The bow disappeared, and his arms went around me. He twisted me until my back was to his chest,
pressed tightly against his giant body. I gasped when the cold point of a knife pricked at my neck. All around us people struggled and fought, but in the light of the moon, it was clear Asa’s friends were winning. There were more of them than I had realized, more than I had ever imagined. But there was no blood. My people were on the ground, held down by larger men and women so they could not move, but it did not seem like anyone was injured. The Outliers were still struggling under the hulking frames, reminding me just how capable the Fortis were, but they were not hurt.
“Stop,” Asa bellowed, his face close enough to mine that his voice echoed through my head.
The Outliers still left standing came to a stop in staggers as those on the ground eased in their struggles, but they did not stop completely. I could not focus on the faces of my people, making it impossible to figure out who was up and who was down, not with the knife at my neck, held there by a man who claimed to love me.
“Fortis!” Emori’s scream drew my attention her way.
She was up and angry, her sword in her hand as she rushed forward. I wanted to reach out and stop her, to shout for her to stay back, but I could not move with the blade pressed to my neck.
Thankfully, Mira grabbed Emori’s arm when she rushed by. The other woman reeled around, her expression hard and her sword still up.
Mira did not blink. “Stand down.”
Emori jerked her arm from Mira’s grasp and spun to face me. In the moonlight her eyes shone like the fire that burned in the underworld. “I told you he could not be trusted.”
Roan was on the ground, held down by a Fortis man twice his size, his face twisted in my direction. He was looking at Asa, though, at the knife held to my neck, and the expression in his eyes reminded me of the way Greer had looked at me in Saffron’s house. They were full of fire and hate.
“Stand down,” Roan called to Emori, his voice strained from the knee in his back. Then he focused on Asa. “Only a few hours ago you claimed to be on our side, Fortis. Tell me the meaning of this.”
“I can’t let this happen.” Asa took a step back, pulling me with him. “And soon you will see why.” He stepped back again, and this time the blade was pressed harder against my neck, forcing a cry out of me. “Don’t move.”
Asa turned, taking me with him. He tightened his grip before he started walking, and my feet left the ground as he carried me toward the tower. The knife was still up, but the point was no longer touching my skin. He moved faster, and the desert air seemed especially cool against my hot skin.
Anger pulsed through me, but also shame. Not only had Asa proven he was not trustworthy, but he had also humiliated me in front of my people.
He entered the tower through the only door, dragging me into thick darkness. The air was musty and damp, somehow defying the dryness of the earth. Two steps in, and my feet were once again on the ground. The knife was no longer anywhere near my neck, and I wiggled from his grasp before shoving away from him.
I stumbled forward when he released me but caught myself, then spun to face him. “How dare you?” I spit in his direction.
“You knew I wouldn’t hurt you.”
He was right, although I refused to acknowledge it. Outside, with the knife held to my throat, I had not been afraid he would kill me, only that someone—especially Emori—would kill him.
Something scuffled to my right, and I turned just as Roan was shoved inside. He stumbled forward a few steps before turning to the man who had dragged him in, only there was nothing he could do. The man in front of him was huge, taking up the entire doorway, and he was also armed while Roan had nothing.
The Mountari Head spun to face Asa. “What is the meaning of this?”
“You wanted me to show you why.” Asa waved toward the tower at his back. “Follow me and you’ll find out.”
He turned away from Roan, not looking at me as he moved deeper into the black depths of the building. It was silent other than his footsteps, and no more than a few shapes were discernable through the oppressive darkness. Doorways, a chair of some kind. That was it.
I watched Asa for a beat before glancing back the way we had come. Roan had not moved, and Asa’s man still stood in the doorway. Something about his red hair tickled a memory, but I could not grasp it with so much else happening. His frame seemed to take up the entire opening, but there was nothing threatening about him.
“Follow him,” the man said, nodding in the direction Asa had just gone.
I did not follow Asa because I had been ordered to, but because I knew if he had gone to this extreme, something big must have been happening inside this building. He had killed none of us, and if any of the Outliers had been injured in the skirmish, it was no doubt by accident. Asa had come here to stop us, but also to show us why.
Still, I refused to let him off the hook so easily. “You took a real risk doing this.”
Footsteps thudded at my back, telling me Roan was coming as well, but the Head said nothing.
Asa glanced over his shoulder, his eyebrows raised. “You’re going to talk to me about risks?”
“You have a valid point,” I reluctantly conceded.
He turned into a doorway, and I followed, only to find a staircase that wound up into the darkness of the tower.
“Do the people living here not have electricity?” I asked.
“Only what they need to keep the tower and mirrors going. The Sovereign don’t give them lights.”
“Why do they not demand it?” Roan’s voice dripped with rage. “It seems like these people hold a lot of power in their hands. Why are they not using it?”
Asa looked past me, toward the other man, but in the darkness of the stairwell, I could not make out his expression. “They’re just trying to survive.”
He said nothing else before continuing up, and even though it was too dark to see Roan, his footfalls echoed through the stairwell as he followed Asa and me.
We went only as far as the first landing before Asa stopped. “You should prepare yourself.”
“What do you mean?” My hand moved to my hip as if going for a weapon even though I had none. “Are they dangerous?”
“No.” Asa was invisible in the darkness, but I could not miss the sadness in his voice. “It’s just that it can be shocking to see.”
He pushed the door open, and a dim light penetrated the stairwell. Before I could utter a word, Asa stepped inside.
My heart was pounding at Asa’s words and I did not move. The room was dimly lit, making it difficult to see much from where I was. Shocking, he had said. What did that mean?
“It is a trap,” Roan hissed.
Asa’s soft voice, whispering reassurances that everything was going to be okay, floated from the room.
“No.” I took a deep breath, hoping to calm my pounding heart. “You do not know Asa, but I do. He would not put my life in danger.”
“You still think that after he held a knife to your neck?”
“Yes,” I said calmly, “I do.”
Then I stepped inside.
28
I was greeted by the stink of too many bodies living together. Sweat, dirt, human filth, the smells brought to mind the Fortis village and how my nose used to wrinkle in disgust when Mira and I walked through it.
A handful of lanterns were spread throughout, casting shadows across the people and playing tricks on my eyes. At least I thought I was seeing things. I had to be, because it looked as if the girl in front of me had an extra arm, and just past her sat a man who appeared to have a horn growing out of his forehead, and beyond that I spied a growth protruding from a young boy’s neck.
I blinked, but my eyes did not clear. Instead, they focused on other things that made no sense. Two girls who seemed to be attached at the hip, a boy with no legs, a woman without a neck. It was like this with everyone, all of them having some kind of deformity similar to the few I had seen in the Huni village.
“What is this?” Roan said from behind me.
“Thi
s is where the untouchables go,” Asa replied.
I pulled my gaze from the people in front of me and focused on him. “I do not understand what that means.”
“It happens a lot,” he said. “Babies both in the city and in our village are born with something wrong. Extra limbs, or hands or feet that have shriveled up like fruit dried in the sun. When it happens in the city, they are turned out, left by their families to die. When it happens—happened—in our village, they came here to live. It’s been going on for centuries, and this building is full of them.”
“This happens often?” I asked, looking around again.
This level was full and the tower was high, ten stories, perhaps. If every floor housed this many people, there must have been hundreds of them living here. Hundreds of people who had been born with something wrong, and because of it they had been cast aside. Their living conditions were even worse than ours, and their existence could not have been anything short of miserable.
“Every fifth baby,” Asa whispered. “At least that’s what the healer told my mother when she gave birth to an untouchable.”
I spun to face him. “Your mother?”
Asa’s eyes focused on someone behind me. “This is my sister, Elora.”
The girl with the extra arm was only a couple feet away when I turned. She was in her late teens and probably a good ten years younger than her brother, but they resembled one another a lot. She was broad and tall like all the Fortis, and her skin was the same shade of brown as Asa’s, her eyes just as big and beautiful. When she smiled, she reminded me so much of her brother that it brought tears to my eyes. Everything about her was perfect except the extra arm protruding from her right side. It was much smaller than the others, but still looked functional.
“Asa has told me about you,” Elora said.
“This is why I stopped you from killing these people.” My attention was drawn back to Asa. “They are innocent, Indra. The Sovereign have rejected them and made them feel like they should stay hidden here because of how they were born. Killing them would accomplish nothing.”