ashen city (Black Tiger Series Book 2)

by Sara Baysinger

  “What?”

  “The girl in the parade?” Rain reminds me. “The one posing as you? She could really work to our advantage. The Patricians will never even know you’re gone. Here’s the plan. We—the Resurgence—take down Titus. We take down your little look-alike. You take her place as, um, yourself. People never even know you left. And the politicians will put you on the throne themselves, since you’re a Whitcomb. Then, voilá.” He lifts his hands in the air like it’s a done job. “You’re the new Chief. Or—Chieftess.”

  I glare at him. It’s all I can do right now. Because so much has happened today—I was going to die. I was running. I found out I’m Jonah Walker’s niece. I found the Resurgence. I found my family. I found out there’s a way out of this blasted city. And now everyone wants me to go back to the very place I loathe and take the place of the very person I hate.

  And they make it sound so simple—this completely impossible thing.

  “We’re a group of, what, two hundred people?” I ask. “I mean, it’s a war we’ll never win.” I look at Walker. “Haven’t you learned yet? Titus is always one step ahead. Every time someone takes a stand, people die. Innocent people. Brainwashed Defenders.” I think of the two Defenders who lost their lives at my command, and I shudder. “We’ll never beat Titus. He will kill us. He knows we’re out to get him, and he’s ready for us.” I look at Dad. “We’re so close to the river, Dad.” I try hard to keep my voice level. “Why not just leave all this behind?”

  Dad swallows convulsively. “Because these are our people, Ember. You know that. This is what your mother fought for.”

  My mother. My mother who was a Patrician. Who was the First Lady, Chief Aden Whitcomb’s wife. I still have a hard time believing it. Why didn’t she tell me? Why didn’t Dad tell me? I had so many questions about Mom and my true identity after I’d returned home, but he refused to answer. Pretty much anything that has to do with Mom he refuses to talk about.

  “C’mon,” Dad says. “It’s cold out here. Let’s go inside the caverns, and we can talk more there.”

  I nod, wrap my hands around my arms to fight off the chill, and walk with the group toward the caverns. Because there is too much to think about, and I need time to let everything I’ve learned this far to just simmer for a minute.

  Or a day.

  There are two entrances to the caverns that I can see, both hidden behind the waterfall of vines. Dad leads me through the vines of the first entrance, and I realize the opening looks man-made, a perfect square. It’s dark in here. The smell of mildew immediately hits my senses. It feels damp and cold, but not as cold as outside. Walker and Dad pick up lanterns and light them, illuminating the cavern. And I’m struck by how large it is. I guess when I imagined a cavern where they were hiding, I thought of a cave. A little hole in the wall just large enough to hold the Resurgence and keep them warm and hidden.

  But this…this is huge. Like a stone palace.

  “How big is this place?” I ask.

  “One hundred acres.” Walker looks back at me as we walk. “Large enough to house fifty thousand people. The place used to be a mine for limestone. Then it turned into an alternative for a bomb shelter during a few wars. With limestone between the cavern ceiling and the ground of Louisville, this place could withstand the most violent tornado…or bomb.”

  “And,” Rain says, catching up with me. “It stays a constant fifty-eight degrees. Perfect in the bleak of winter and heat of summer, don’t ya think?”

  “A little too cold for my taste.”

  Elijah snorts. “Whatever happened to Optimistic Ember?”

  I almost snap that all my optimism pretty much disappeared when I nearly died three times, but I clamp my mouth shut and study my surroundings. The cavern keeps splitting off into other tunnels that go on and on, vanishing into darkness. Large, rough pillars separate the tunnels. I feel like we’re walking in a palace. A big, elaborate palace that would be incredibly easy to get lost in. Yet Walker seems to know exactly where to go, holding his giant lantern up to light the way.

  I step up next to Dad and decide to ask the question that’s been burning in my mind since I found out he was alive.

  “So…” I begin. “Why did you leave me? When the orchard burned down, why didn’t you come find me?”

  Dad looks at me. “Like I said, Defenders were on our tail. And…I honestly thought Forest already took you. When the orchard burned down while you and Forest were out, I figured this was his doing, him being so close the chief and all.” His mustache twitches. “Forest never had my trust to begin with.”

  “I thought that too,” I say. “But it turns out he didn’t know anything about Titus’s plans to burn down the orchard. After I was arrested, he put his life on the line to rescue me. Even now, he sent me away and stayed behind to confront Titus.”

  “He did?” Dad asks.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s…very noble of him.”

  “Noble?” I ask in disbelief. “He’s a hero. He rescued me.”

  “Yes. That he did. But he still stayed behind with Titus instead of coming with you.”

  “So he could protect me. So Titus wouldn’t ravage the country looking for us.”

  “How do you know he’s not working with Titus now?”

  “I just…have that feeling. I mean, despite his naïveté, Forest is a good person, Dad.”

  Dad looks at me, a deep sorrow in the depths of his dark eyes. “But tell me this, Ember. When it comes down to Forest choosing between your life and Titus’s, who do you think he will choose?”

  I blink. Swallow. Bite back my doubts. “Ours.”

  “Okay. So you’re saying that Forest hung back because he believes Titus will forgive him for rescuing you, and then Forest will just decide to stab Titus in the back? After Titus forgives him?”

  “I—I never really thought of it like that.”

  Dad heaves out a heavy sigh. “Forest is Titus’s friend. And Titus and the Resurgence are…enemies. And you’re technically a part of the Resurgence now. So let me rephrase the question. If it came down to a battle between the Resurgence and Titus, whose side do you think Forest will choose?”

  His question leaves me speechless. It makes me rethink everything. Because when it comes down to it, I think I know the answer.

  And I’m too terrified to say it out loud.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  When we arrive at the makeshift camp in the cavern, I’m surprised at how…primitive it is. Lanterns line the perimeter of the camp. Tents clump together, each with their own lanterns at the doorways. A fire burns below a giant pot, and a few people gather around it, all turning to look at us as we approach. Farther out past the tent, I can see the silhouettes of people playing a ball game, their laughter echoing off the cavern walls.

  Rain and Mcallister are welcomed into the group with shouts and laughter and friendly embraces. I guess they weren’t joking when they said they’ve been working with the Resurgence all this time. Walker introduces me to the people as Whitcomb’s sister, and whispers of astonishment ripple through the crowd. And then a few familiar faces appear.

  “My comrades,” Walker says. “The people who stowawayed in your hotel room with me. We call them the Fearless Five.” He begins nodding at them as he lists of their names.

  Levi, the boy with glasses who didn’t want me here. Ash, the girl I was locked up in prison with, who has dark skin and rippling muscles, and who reminds me of a lioness. Kate, with her long brown hair bunched up in a messy bun, wears the constant expression of heightened awareness, like she’s just waiting for something to come at her so she could take it down with her bare hands.

  “Digory and Isaac are still in Frankfort.” Jonah says this so causally, and I’m about to ask why they’re in Frankfort when he nods at Elijah. “And now Elijah has become a part of the group, thanks to his climbing skills and courage. Which would make them the Fearless Six now, I guess,” Walker says. “Turns out Elijah here can aim wi
th a slingshot better than a Defender can aim with a gun.”

  “That’s my brother.” I grin proudly at him, remembering all the homemade slingshots he made and how he practiced with them every day. “So you’ve really made a life for yourself here, in the, um, two days you’ve been here.”

  “A lot can happen in two days, Ember,” Elijah says with a grin.

  I’m so proud. Proud of my little brother for standing up for what he believes in. For taking action to fight against injustice. Proud that he’s more heroic than I’ll ever be. I ruffle his brown hair, then pull him into a tight embrace.

  “You’re quite the little squirrel, aren’t you?”

  “Um, I can shoot a squirrel with my slingshot faster than a chicken can peck a worm,” he says, jerking away from me. “Seriously, though. You have got to stop calling me that.”

  I smile at him. Elijah. Tough. Brave. But still my little brother.

  Jonah shows me to my tent, which is just big enough to hold three people. “You’ll be sharing space with Ash and Kate. I hope you don’t mind.”

  Since when do I have a choice? These people sort of took me in even though I’m Ky’s most wanted. I have no room to complain about anything here.

  Dad and Elijah have their own tent across the fire from mine, and Rain’s tent is at the edge of the camp.

  Long after everyone has gone to sleep, Walker, Dad, Elijah, Rain, and I stay up late, sitting around the dying fire and talking about…everything. I stretch my cold fingers over the warm fire and listen as Dad tells me what happened after the orchard burned down. I guess he and Elijah ran right into Walker, who’s been stalking—I mean, looking out for me—this whole time. Because I’m his niece. Because he promised his sister—my mother, whose real name is apparently Lily—he would keep an eye on me.

  “I heard, after you were nearly burned on the Rebels Circle, that you’d returned to the garden,” Walker says, scratching his beard. “But I knew Titus wouldn’t just let you leave, no matter how persuasive Congressman Turner might be. Titus had something in mind when he let you go. And if he’s as malicious as his father, then I knew it would be bad. I’m just glad no one got hurt.”

  “Me too.” I say. And, as unsettling as it is that Walker’s been watching me since Mom died eight years ago, I’m infinitely grateful he was around when we needed him most. Because if he wasn’t there to lead Dad and Elijah to freedom, then where would they be now? Lost in the city with no food.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask Walker. “When you were in my apartment recruiting me, why didn’t you just say we were related?”

  “Because Titus didn’t want you to know you were his sister or that I was your uncle. And I was afraid that knowledge would put you in worse danger than you were already in.”

  “I could have kept it a secret,” I say.

  “Really?” He straightens, amusement glittering in his eyes.

  Rain laughs out loud, his laughter echoing off the cavern walls. “No way she would’ve kept that information to herself.”

  “Yes, I would have,” I snap.

  “Oh, come on, Ember,” Rain says. “You would’ve used it as the fuel you needed to poke at Titus. You were always looking for something to shod him off. I don’t know why I didn’t see you as his sister before. You two were at each other’s throats in sibling rivalry before you even knew each other.” He laughs again, shakes his head, and hunches forward, resting his elbows on his knees while mumbling, “Son of a jackal. Can’t believe I missed it.”

  He’s the son of a jackal. I pull my knees to my chest, frustration bubbling up at all these blasted secrets. Secrets about me. Secrets that I had every right to know. This is like one big family reunion, sitting around the fire talking about the past. My uncle sitting across from me, Dad and Elijah beside me. But finding out Walker is my uncle isn’t nearly as exciting as it should be. Maybe it’s because I’ve been lied to all my life.

  I glare at Dad. “Why didn’t you tell me anything?”

  “I promised your mother I wouldn’t whisper a word to you. She didn’t want you to get caught up in the Frankfort drama. She wanted to let you live a normal life.”

  I snort. My life is about as far from normal as it could get.

  “What about all this making me the chief stuff?” I ask. “Isn’t that why Mom named me Ember? Because she hoped I would grow into a flame that would blow over the city of Ky? Because I was the chosen one?” I spit the word out.

  “If you were to fight for Ky,” Dad says. “She wanted you to do it by your own choice. Not because you were related to Titus, and therefore entitled to take the throne if something happened to him.”

  Guilt engulfs me like a winter vortex. Mom wanted me to fight for Ky, even if I didn’t know I was related to Titus. And here I am, not wanting to fight for Ky even after I’ve found out I’m related to him. Especially because I’m related to him. What a disappointment I must be to her. To everyone. And what a complete coward I am. But after several arrests and death sentences and rebellions against the chief, I know there’s no fighting him. He’s clever, this brother of mine. He’s ready for uprisings and trained to think like a soldier.

  There’s no way to beat him.

  But how do I tell Walker that? Right in the midst of this small army he’s been building over the years?

  I stare at the embers of the fire, burning searing hot and still glowing, even long after the flames have died down. Embers have the capacity to burn down an entire city, Mom had said so many times.

  They’re also the last thing a fire sees before it dies, I think.

  I look at Walker, shoving away my memory of Mom. “So tell me, Uncle Jonah. Why me? Why did Mom take me and not Titus when she ran?”

  He presses his lips together in thought and leans back. “She couldn’t take both of you. And Titus, being a toddler, might have been too loud while she was running, putting all your lives at risk. She had to leave one of you behind.” He shrugs. “And, honestly, Aden treated Titus like a king, because he was the heir. Your mother wasn’t so sure he would have treated you with the same kindness. He abused her. So she thought he would abuse you too. That’s why she took you away. But she knew Titus was safer there than he would have been in the city with her, with no guarantee of food or shelter.”

  “And then she found my dad.” I look at Dad and decide to ask questions he’s avoided because right now, in front of everyone, he’ll have to answer. “Did you even love her? Or did you just take pity on her because she was alone with a baby?”

  He winces. “I loved your mother. I took her in to keep her safe. Her plan was to go with Jonah to the Resurgence, but by the time Jonah arrived to take her, we’d…fallen in love. And she decided a life on the orchard was better for her and you than life in these caverns would be.”

  She was right, of course. I couldn’t imagine growing up in these caverns. And besides, if Mom kept running, Elijah wouldn’t have been born. I look at him, my heart squeezing at the thought. Most of my burning questions are answered…for now. My history is nothing like I thought it was. And because of my history, the Resurgence wants me to lead Ky.

  Walker stands, stretches. “I’ll give you a couple weeks. I know Titus must have scared the shoddy rot out of you. And yes, he’s clever and often one step ahead. But we’ve been planning for years, Ember. We’re ready to take on the challenge of bringing Titus down. So we’ll wait. We’ll wait for you to make a decision on whether or not you want to work with us. The Fearless Six are taking a trip back into Frankfort in a few weeks, and it would be good to know by then if you’re on our team.”

  He begins walking away.

  “Wait,” I say. He pauses, turns to face me. “I have one more question.”

  “Yes?”

  “Why—why didn’t you give Leaf the antitoxin?” My eyes are burning with fresh tears now, because this is the question that’s been burning in my mind since I found out about the antitoxin, but I’ve been too afraid to ask. “His parent
s were keeping you safe. And they had obviously taken the antitoxin, so why didn’t you give it to Leaf, too?”

  Walker’s eyes soften, and he swallows convulsively. “We haven’t had access to the antitoxin in years. This is one of the main reasons we have spies throughout the city. One of the many reasons we continue to send teams into Frankfort. To find the antitoxin.” He spreads his hands. “We would have given it to him if we had it.”

  I nod, but his excuse doesn’t make me feel better like I thought it would. “Why didn’t you take him with you then? Why didn’t you rescue him before he got his career?”

  “Ember, do you know why I was in the Garden the night before Career Day? I was there to get you and Leaf out. I was on a mission to rescue you both. We had it all planned out. Because Career Day is monitored, we wanted you and Leaf to attend, just to stay under the radar. And during your goodbyes, I was going to take you both to the Resurgence.”

  His words are like a punch in the stomach. That I could have avoided Frankfort altogether. That Leaf and I could have both lived and come here.

  “Why didn’t you tell us? If Leaf knew he was going to get out, he wouldn’t have—he wouldn’t have given that speech.”

  “We didn’t want to tell you,” Dad says, “because we didn’t want to risk you telling anyone else our plans. We wanted everything to be as normal as possible on Career Day. We wanted you to appear the way every other student appeared. Sad, not happy. And we were afraid you both wouldn’t be able to contain your excitement if you knew you were going to leave Ky to join the Resurgence.”

  Anger floods through my bloodstream because trust is a big thing, and Dad clearly didn’t trust me and Leaf to keep a secret.

  “Look what happened!” I snap, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. “Your lack of trust in us got Leaf and his family killed.”

  Dad’s eyes shift in the firelight, but Walker nods.

  “You’re right, Ember,” Walker says. “We should have trusted you. We shouldn’t have kept such a big secret from you. We should have known that you and Leaf were old enough to hold this vital information. I’m sorry.” He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I’m so sorry for not believing in you.”