Smoke (Smoke Series Book 1)

by Mariah Esterly

  Vail squinted, trying to see through the shadows. “There should be a path somewhere.”

  “You didn’t bring a flashlight, did you?” He didn’t answer and Gertie sighed. “Okay, well, let’s start looking.”

  39

  Gertie

  Gertie was exhausted. More than exhausted. Her body ached, her lungs burned and with each breath she took, a sharp pain jabbed her. It hadn’t been like this in the hospital, but the frantic run through the city had been enough to undo any sort of healing her ribs had done.

  They started walking north along the wall, keeping an eye on the forest. Vail let out a frustrated sound. “It should be here. They told me it would be about one hundred yards north of the exit.”

  Gertie didn’t answer, just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. To do anything else would require too much effort. After a bit, Vail let out a triumphant cry and led the way into the woods, on something that could hardly be called a path. It was more like a break in the foliage. She stared at his back as he led the way through the brush, stumbling over unseen branches and roots in the dark. Each time she did, she gasped in pain. She’d done it a few times when Vail stopped, turned and scooped her into his arms.

  “Put me down,” Gertie protested, though not very vehemently. “You’ve been shot.”

  She felt him shrug. “I’ll be fine.”

  Doubt crept into her brain. She was pretty sure that even if carrying her was killing him, he wouldn’t put her down. But it felt so nice to be cradled again his chest, to hear his heartbeat under her ear, that she didn’t argue, just let him carry her as he had done so many times before.

  Look at you, the voice inside her hissed. You’re so weak you can’t even walk for yourself. You’ll never survive what’s to come.

  I walked straight toward a man holding a gun at me.

  You knew he wouldn’t shoot you. He told you he wouldn’t. He’s weak like you.

  Shut up.

  I will not. I’ve been attached to hundreds of your ancestors, and not one of them was as much of a disappointment as you are.

  I said, shut up!

  Gertie clamped down on the voice, shutting it out as thoroughly as she could. But it wasn’t enough. She could still feel her shade there, laughing, mocking. She blinked back tears. It wasn’t fair. She hadn’t asked for this. Hadn’t asked to be burdened by a killer that mocked her and made her feel like nothing.

  That threatened to kill her friends.

  Her stomach tightened at the thought, anger burning away the tiniest bit of her exhaustion. She would never let her shade out again. Not until she was sure that she could control it.

  They paused on the edge of a clearing. Vail set her on her feet, keeping his hands on her until she nodded to let him know that she was okay. “Stay here.” he whispered before going invisible. She saw foliage move as he crept forward, presumably to make sure that only Dicie and Graves were waiting for them.

  Gertie stared at the spot that she had last seen him, waiting for the branches to stir again so that she would know he was with her. Her ribs ached as she leaned against a tree, and she rubbed them idly, hoping that the gentle pressure would somehow ease the pain. It didn’t.

  The forest was eerily quiet. Quieter than Gertie had ever experienced, even with the city not far on the other side of the wall. The animals that would have normally made their homes in the trees, tended to stay away from the busy streets of the town. Why wouldn’t they, when there was so much open forest for them to make their homes in?

  She’d been outside the walls with her family, taken the bus to the farms that provided the city with fresh produce, but it had always been noisy, filled with the sounds of workers chatting, singing and laughing as they cultivated their crops.

  It was almost as though the trees of the forest deadened any ambient noise.

  She heard Vail before she saw the leaves move. “Gertie?”

  “Here.” She pushed away from the tree and took a step toward the clearing. He flickered into view and held out a hand toward her.

  “Come on. They’re waiting for us.” She slid her fingers into his palm and allowed him to lead her to the waiting car.

  40

  Liam

  Liam rested his head in his hands. The side of his face was throbbing. If he ever got the chance to repay Vail for hitting him, he would.

  Captain Howler from 2nd slid a glass of water over the table along with two white pills. Liam popped the medication into his mouth. Howler sat in the chair across from him. “Tell me what happened again after you called in that Gertrude Penn was leaving the hospital.”

  Liam ran a hand down his face, wincing. “I left the hospital, taking the same route I’d seen Miss Penn take. I wasn’t able to find her on the streets. I followed the sound of gunfire and found three guardsmen in the alley. I called in their location, and continued my search. It wasn’t much of a stretch that they were heading toward the wall, so I went in that direction.” All of that was the truth, and Liam had no trouble telling them. What happened at the wall was a little harder to explain. “I came across Miss Penn and Vail Denholm in the woods by the wall. It was clear that she was there against her will. I demanded that he release her, but he refused and something hit me. When I woke up I was surrounded by guards and they were gone.”

  “And you didn’t see what hit you?”

  He shook his head. “No.” That was the truth. Vail had been so fast he hadn’t even seen him swing.

  “What is the nature of your relationship with Miss Penn?”

  Liam’s gold eyes flicked up, spearing the older man. “I don’t see how that is relevant.”

  Captain Howler leaned back. “From what I understand you and her are close. You hardly left her side in the hospital. Some of the men in your checkpoint have said that you frequently would let her pass through the checkpoint after it was closed for the night?”

  Liam leaned back in his chair. “Yeah, I did. She would get in line just before midnight, and in the cases where the guard scanning bracelets didn’t go fast enough, I would let her through. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t romantically involved with her. I’m sure you’ve seen the tape from the interrogation room in 3rd.” He tried not to show how much it bothered him that the man across from him had. Gertie had been right when she’d said that their first kiss was evidence. She’d been right to be uncomfortable.

  Captain Howler nodded. “Yes, we have seen that.”

  “We?”

  Captain Howler glanced over his shoulder, toward the two way mirror. So, there was someone else watching. He wondered if it was the same guy who’d asked him about Gertie before, after the night at the bar. The night that she said she was attacked by three men in her apartment.

  His fists clenched of their own volition and he took a deep breath to try to release some of the tension that thrummed through his body. He knew she’d been lying about falling and hitting her face. But he had thought it had been Vail, maybe angry that Liam had interrupted their conversation in the bar. He’d imagined the dark haired man following her home, cornering her in an alley, forcing himself on her. He felt sick at the thought.

  It was more common than he cared to admit. When the government encouraged promiscuity in order to breed the “right” kind of people as Gertie had said. Some people didn’t handle it well when they were rejected.

  It hadn’t occurred to him that it could have been something else. If she was right and men from the government had kidnapped her, it almost certainly them that had attacked her as well.

  In an instant, Liam decided he wouldn’t tell them anything about what had happened in the woods, about Gertie saying she was an Extra, that she was a St. Clare with a shade. He would do what it took to keep her safe.

  Captain Howler nodded. “Yes, we.”

  “Look, I don’t know what else I can tell you. What you can tell me, is what you’re doing to try to find Gertie. She was kidnapped again.”

  The Captain no
dded again, “Yes, we know. What we also know is that you were present for both of those kidnappings.”

  Liam let out a harsh laugh. “You think I had something to do with this? Do you remember that I was shot when she was taken the first time and knocked out the second?”

  “Yes, and from what I understand when you were shot, it was just a graze. Lucky at such close range, don’t you think?”

  Liam’s brow furrowed. The medication they had given him earlier was starting to work. He felt much better, lighter. The pain in his head receding and replaced with a soft fuzziness. “Yeah, I was lucky.”

  “Or maybe you were injured as part of a larger plan.”

  Liam shook his head. “No. I would never do anything to hurt Gertie.”

  “I’m sure you understand, Captain McDonagh, that we have to do a thorough investigation. If this had happened in your section you would do the same.”

  Liam nodded. Captain Howler was right. Were their situations reversed, Liam would be just as skeptical as he was. “I understand.”

  Something was wrong, his mouth felt heavy, his words slurred so it came out more like, “I unnersan”. He glanced at the water. He’d assumed they were giving him painkillers, but what if they had given him something else?

  The door to the interrogation room opened and a man dressed in a grey suit entered. The harsh lights flickered off his grey hair. Liam tried to focus on his face, to commit it to memory as he did with most people he came into contact with. But his brain refused to focus.

  The newcomer bent down and said something to Howler. The captain glanced at Liam and nodded, then stood and left the room.

  The man in the grey suit sat in the chair vacated by Howler, leaned back totally at ease. “How are you feeling, Mr. McDonagh?”

  Liam shook his head. “Who are you?”

  “My name is Mr. Saunders. I work for the Chancellor. We’ve spoken before.” He sat forward, leaning his arms on the table. “I had the pleasure of meeting Miss Penn shortly after she was attacked by three men in her apartment.” Liam’s gold gaze flew to meet the grey eyes of the man across from him. “Ah, I see she told you about that?”

  Liam shook his head. It was heavy, so heavy. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Did she tell you how she was able to escape the attack?” Mr. Saunders’ grey eyes were boring into his, through his skull to see the brain inside his head.

  Liam couldn’t look away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He repeated.

  Mr. Saunders sighed. Leaned back in his chair again, hands laced together behind his head. “I admire your tenacity and your loyalty, Mr. McDonagh. I can understand why Miss Penn inspires that feeling in you and… others. She is quite pretty.” He leaned forward, his face intense. “But it’s more than that, isn’t it? You have a need to protect her, even at the risk of your own life. And, let me be frank, your life is very much at risk. She inspires loyalty in you for the simple reason that she is an Extra and a St. Clare.” Liam’s head involuntarily shook, as though trying to clear some of the cotton from it. His brain struggled to understand what the man in front of him was saying. “The last St. Clare. It’s a survival mechanism, you see. Her ability is to inspire others to save her, to keep her safe, so that she can continue to rule.”

  Liam’s head shook again, but this time in denial, his hands clenched. “That’s not true.” He ground out. The idea that what he felt for Gertie was nothing more than her ability was sickening. When he thought about it, he’d felt an immediate need to get to know her, to be close to her, to help and protect her.

  He’d taken one look at her face and that had been it for him.

  He was lost.

  “I can assure you, it is true. If there is one thing I know, it is the truth. You see, like Miss Penn and like you, I also have an ability.”

  “What are you talking about?” Liam asked, slurring his words. “I don’t have an ability.”

  Mr. Saunders gave him an unpleasant smile. “Yes, you do. You’ve done an excellent job of keeping it hidden. I can almost believe that you didn’t know about it. You see, you and I share a similar ability, Mr. McDonagh. We can both tell when someone is lying to us. So now, let’s start from the beginning. This time I’d like to hear the truth.”

  41

  Gertie

  The safe house that Dicie and Graves took Gertie and Vail to was a sprawling single story structure, nestled amid trees, well hidden from the view of the city. To Gertie it felt like they drove for hours, though it was probably well under two. In the dark, trees whizzed past the windows of the car, making Gertie’s head hurt and her stomach churn. She pressed her face against Vail’s shoulder to try to combat the sick feeling.

  Vail shifted, lifting his arm to wrap it around her shoulders and pull her into his chest, her head wedged under his chin. She closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat over the sound of the motor. His hand stroked up and down her spine, soothing her until the nausea retreated and she was left feeling only drained.

  She must have dozed off, because she was startled awake by the sound of the car door closing. Her head shot up, and she glanced around. Dicie and Graves had vacated the front of the car and Gertie could see them moving toward a low building in the early morning light.

  She turned her attention to Vail, who still had his arms wrapped around her. His head was tilted back, eyes closed. He must be exhausted. She’d never seen him in such a deep slumber. In all the time that they’d slept next to each other, she had never woken up before him. She would roll over to find him watching her sleep, which she’d told him on multiple occasions was just plain creepy.

  Now she understood the appeal. She could have watched him sleep for hours, just drinking in the sight of him, his nearness. She reached out a hand and brushed her fingers over his forehead, pushing back a lock of dark brown hair.

  He shifted at her touch, his arms tightening slightly, before he cracked open an eye. “You’re right,” he murmured, a smile curving his lips. “That is creepy.” But he pulled her closer and she went willingly, nestling into him. His hands idly moved up and down her back, being careful to avoid her ribs. They stayed like that for a moment, before Vail said, “Where are Dicie and Graves?”

  “Checking out the house. I’m guessing to make sure it’s safe. They’ve been in there a while.”

  He gave her a brief squeeze, then pushed her away from him to unbuckle his seatbelt. “You stay here. I’m gonna go check on them.”

  Gertie shook her head. “I’m coming with you.”

  He reached for the door handle, and Gertie did the same on her side, pushing open the door before he could refuse. Vail was beside her before she had fully emerged from the car. “You really should stay here.”

  She arched an eyebrow at him. “The last time I let you out of my sight you got shot, I’m not making that mistake again.”

  She was rewarded with a low laugh, and he nodded, taking her hand. “Just stay behind me.” Gertie did as he asked, tucking herself in his shadow as he strolled to the house. She was fairly certain if he thought there was any real danger, that he would have insisted that she stay in the car.

  When they reached the front door, he motioned for her to stay put and went invisible before pushing the door open and slipping inside. She leaned against the side of the house, staring back toward the car. The trees here were thick, blocking even the road they’d driven up from sight. If she looked up she could just see the patches of the early morning sky.

  The door swung open again and Dicie poked her head out. “You can come in. We left you guys in the car because you were both out.”

  Gertie pushed away from the wall and stepped into the main room of the house. By Gertie’s standards it was huge. The main room was open, the living room, dining room and kitchen all blending together. There was a hall to the left and the right, with doors lining each side.

  Gertie skittered out of the way as Graves strode past her and out the door. He sti
ll made her nervous. Moments later, he appeared again, carrying multiple bags. He handed one of them to Gertie, unceremoniously. “Here, we got some things from your apartment.”

  Gertie opened her mouth in surprise. “I- Thank you.”

  “You can take the room on the left down that hall.” He motioned with one of the other bags.

  “Thank you,” she said again, before turning and heading in that direction.

  Watch that one. The voice inside her said. I don’t trust him.

  Yeah, well, I don’t trust him either.

  That might be the first time we agree on anything.

  Probably the last time too, she thought wryly.

  The voice chuckled.

  Gertie pushed the door to her room open and found Vail standing by the window, running his hands over the frame, like he was checking for cracks. “I thought this was my room.”

  Vail spun and smiled at seeing her. “It is. I’m just double checking things.”

  Gertie tossed the backpack on the blue and white quilt that covered the bed and flopped down next to it, groaning slightly at the feeling of the soft mattress under her. She raised an eyebrow as he closed the door, then perched on the edge of the bed next to her. “Mr. Denhelm, are you trying get me alone?”

  He picked up her hand and toyed with her fingers, avoiding her eyes. Gertie tilted her head. “Vail? What’s wrong?”

  “I’m sorry.” His voice was rough, tight like Gertie’s got when she was trying to hold back tears.

  Gertie sat up, turned to face him, pulling one leg onto the bed. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I already told you that.”

  “You did, it doesn’t make it true. I could see them Gertie, in the video. I could see them take you. I could have stopped it.” That caught Gertie off guard. Maybe he would have stood a better chance against the attackers then Liam had, but what’s done was done. There was no point in him feeling guilty for it. “All those bruises, each cut, your ribs. All of that I could have prevented if I just hadn’t left you.”