“It’s nothing compared to what will happen to everyone else if I don’t.”
Rian, we have to be strong. If I turn myself in, they’ll search until they find you.
“I can’t be responsible for a whole community being starved out,” I say.
Rian doesn’t reply, but I can see in his eyes that there’s a struggle going on inside him. Why is he hesitating? He’s usually so brave, I think to myself.
What about Dax? his mind says. Shouldn’t we wait for him? He promised to rescue you. Us.
Dax. My stomach bubbles uncomfortably. Where is Dax? What has happened to him? I wonder.
He’s coming back, isn’t he? Rian thinks.
I don’t know. I don’t know where he is. He’s gone, Rian. We’re on our own now. We can’t hope he’ll come back, because what if he doesn’t?
Memories of my invincible twin brother flit about my head. I want to imagine him charging back into Purenet with an army sent by my uncle Otis, but it won’t happen. Even if he makes it and finds help, he’ll never be back in time.
We can’t rely on anyone else now, I tell Rian mentally.
“We haven’t got a choice. We have to let the soldiers take us back to Purenet and face the consequences.”
I feel cold and my limbs are heavy with an extreme sense of powerlessness. The powers in this world are far, far bigger than we are, and there’s nothing we can do to stop them. I realize I’ve known all along that I’d be going back to Xander and the plans he had for me.
“Skylier, Cavern will defend you. You have to stay,” says Enoch firmly, putting his hand on my arm.
A burst of anger forces its way out of me and I snatch my arm away. “No, Enoch! You can’t tell me what to do. This is my family. Don’t you understand what family means?”
Enoch shrinks back and I immediately regret my outburst. He looks hurt.
“Yes, I know what a family is,” he mutters. “You’re not the only one to have lost people.”
I’m with you, Rian’s mind says at last. You’re right. We have to do this. We can be strong for mother and Callie.
“But it’s not your decision,” Enoch says. “The Committee will decide.”
“This is the last decision I have any power over,” I say. “Purenet may have robbed me of my last bit of freedom, but I’m frigging well going to make this choice.”
I storm toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Enoch asks.
“To speak to the Committee. Where are they meeting?”
“I can’t— Abaven will kill me,” he protests weakly.
“Then I’ll ask someone else. Coming, Rian?”
Rian’s by my side, and a sulky Enoch hands us a pair of scarves that Abaven laid out on the table for us.
“You can’t go out like that. Cover your heads. Come on, I’ll take you to the Committee,” Enoch says.
All I’m aware of is a room full of dark Cavern faces, but I don’t stop to take stock of what’s going on.
“We volunteer,” I declare before anyone can stop me. “We will go with the soldiers back to Purenet.”
The room comes into focus and I can see bemused expressions. The Committee members are sitting grimly around an old wooden table, and were evidently in the middle of a debate before I interrupted.
“Be quiet, Skylier. No one invited you to speak.” Abaven is stern, and I suddenly realize the disrespect I must be showing to the Committee. I stick out my chin stubbornly.
“It’s our decision. It’s our risk,” I insist.
“These are the escapees, are they?” someone asks, and I turn to see a man eying us up and down. “So we are harboring Purenet property.”
“Practically everyone here was Purenet property once,” snaps a lady.
The room feels crowded as the air is sucked out of it. I feel really small in it all of a sudden.
“What’s going to happen to us?” I whisper.
“They’ve shut off our supply routes,” says Abaven. “We’re under siege. No one can get in or out.”
“So we’re trapped?” Rian asks.
“They’re going to squeeze us until they get what they want,” says the man who spoke first.
“They don’t necessarily know Skylier and Rian are here,” says Sloft from next to Abaven. “I’ve been up there. It’s chaos. They’re bluffing.”
“It doesn’t matter,” says the lady. “Too many of us have escaped from Purenet. We can’t afford to have the soldiers stampeding through our home. They’ll discover even more refugees. We have to hand these two over, for the good of everyone else.”
“We have a new plan,” says Abaven.
“It's too risky,” says someone—an older man.
“It will work, I’m sure of it. It’s the only chance we have for Cavern to be left in peace. If Skylier and Rian are discovered here, Purenet will never stop watching us. We’ll never have the chance to free anyone ever again.” The older man pounds the table with his fist.
“But how do we escape if Cavern is under siege?” I say.
I hear the sheet behind me being pulled aside and Gerel charges in. She looks flustered and still seems rough from last night’s journey into the wasteland to rescue her sister.
“You can’t hand Skylier and Rian over,” she insists. Is she really saying something nice about me?
Looks like she’s warming up to you after all, Rian’s mind says to me.
We’ve been through something together now. Maybe she trusts me after all.
“Of course we’re not going to hand them over, Gerel,” says Abaven. Members of the Committee exchange glances as though they’d like to disagree, but don’t say anything. “We’re just discussing the best way to get them out of here.”
“They can’t leave, either,” says Gerel. “That’s what I was trying to tell you last night. We need Skylier here. She’s a healer, she’s a spirit goddess like me. The best one I’ve come across. She healed Beba, who was already dead. We have thousands of sick people.”
Rian’s head whips around to look at me. What’s this? his mind asks.
“But I have to rescue my family!” I cry.
Gerel shoots me a poisonous look.
Ouch, even I felt that, says Rian. She definitely hasn’t warmed up to you.
“Your family is just two people. We have hundreds here with greater need.”
“What about the soldiers?” the older man asks. “Without supplies we won’t last a week.”
“We’ll fight them,” says Gerel.
“They’ll cut us down,” says the woman, but she’s nodding like she’s beginning to agree with Gerel. My heart feels icy.
“And Skylier will heal us. This is where the revolution starts.”
CHAPTER THREE
Skylier
“Citizens of Cavern!”
Abaven stands on one of the higher walkways, addressing the throng that’s gathered below. Rian and I are hiding in Enoch’s quarters again, but we can see everything as we peek from behind the sheet in the doorway.
“We have been accused of disloyalty to Purenet, of harboring these people we’ve never even heard of before. They want to punish us for a crime we haven’t committed.” The people murmur.
I hope this works, my mind says to Rian’s. Abaven planned the speech to coincide with the guards' returning after the decision-making hour was up. Obviously everyone in Cavern knows we’re here, but Abaven wants the guards to think they don’t. Or something like that. The people will get behind him.
Rian doesn’t respond. He’s been angry with me ever since Gerel’s revelation about my healing powers. He’s standing right next to me, and even though I can almost touch him, he’s never felt so distant.
“For decades we have always had an understanding with Purenet. They’ve respected our right to govern ourselves and take care of our own justice, in recognition of the huge value we represent to the Sanction. No one works harder than Cavern people.” There’s a cheer. Abaven adjusts the scarf t
hat covers his head and most of his face, the only indication that he’s aware soldiers must be watching somewhere.
Are you really not speaking to me? I try to get Rian’s attention. I nearly tug his arm, but he’s so cold it feels like I’d get an electric shock if I did. He sighs loudly.
Keep quiet, I’m trying to listen to Abaven, his mind says gruffly.
I didn’t know I had healing powers. I would have told you if I did, I find myself protesting, even though I know I shouldn’t have to.
I’m sure. I bet you told your darling twin brother Dax.
Why are you being like this?
Like what? You know how sick our mother is.
Exactly! And if I knew I had healing powers, don’t you think I would have helped her?
Rian has blocked me; I can tell he’s thinking but he pretends to focus on Abaven’s speech.
“Purenet has chosen to come to us and threaten us with force,” Abaven is saying, and just as he does, the gates clang and the thud of a hundred approaching boots is heard.
“Here we go,” I whisper.
White uniforms fill Cavern. The soldiers’ guns are already charged blue, ready to fire.
“But we shall use diplomacy!” Abaven bellows above the racket that’s rising up from the frightened people. “I will go to Purenet and show them that we cannot be intimidated. We have done nothing wrong and we will hold our ground!”
There’s no cheer this time, not with those blue-charged weapons dangerously close behind people’s backs. Abaven adjusts his scarf again, and I’m close enough to notice a brief look of concern flutter in his eyes. I follow his gaze down to the soldiers below. Most of them have their guns pointed at the crowd, but one is staring curiously at Abaven, a puzzled expression on his face. I glance back at Abaven but he’s leaving the platform, looking defiant as ever. The loudspeaker crackles into life.
“People of Cavern, your hour is up. Hand over the fugitives or face the consequences!” One of the women from the Committee has taken Abaven’s place on the walkway.
“We don’t know anything about any fugitives,” she shouts. “You’re looking in the wrong place. If you want to get them back, don’t waste your time on us.”
“You choose not to cooperate. So be it,” booms the voice over the loudspeaker. “Nothing and no one will get in or out of Cavern. Your supply routes will be cut off and your people starved until you change your minds and hand over the criminals.”
“We have nothing to hide!” the woman yells, but her voice quivers at the end.
The people are still and silent. Everyone waits, but then I realize that the guards are not going to leave this time.
“From now on all public meetings are forbidden in Cavern, on pain of imprisonment. Any violence will incur a penalty of death. This meeting is now disbanded. Return to your homes.”
I can hear muttering from below, but the people don’t need to be told twice, and soon the ant’s nest is stirred as they scurry out of sight.
“Right, you two.” Abaven’s voice startles us and I spin round to see him come through a doorway I thought led to Enoch’s bathroom. There must be another way in. “That’s the first stage of our plan put in motion. Now we can’t waste any time.”
Despite the need for speediness, Abaven works slowly like an artist. Sloft left to meet Gavyn with news of the new plan as soon as the Committee came to its decision, and now we can’t let him down. I realize how much everyone has risked for us, and the pressure is so huge that I don’t know if I can bear it. The terrified Cavern people hide in their homes as the guards parade their makeshift streets, and it’s all our fault. I can tell Rian feels it too, but he doesn’t want to share right now. His silence is almost as unbearable as everything else.
“Are you sure we need this?” I ask, aware that every second we waste here is another second Cavern suffers for us.
“It has to be convincing, and therefore perfect,” Abaven says, ripping the sleeve off my white Host’s dress, which I thought I’d never have to see again. Gone are the guns and holsters, our only form of defense. “If you’re going to return as Gavyn’s prisoners, you can’t be seen to have any connection with Cavern. We’re doing this properly or we might as well kill everyone here now. We cannot risk exposing Cavern; we’re not ready for a battle.”
“Gerel thinks you are,” I say.
“Gerel has a disproportionately high belief in your healing powers,” says Abaven, dabbing dust all over my face and arms. Rian snorts disdainfully, nursing a wound that Abaven gashed into his arm with an old nail. He hadn’t screamed, but he wasn’t allowed a bandage, either.
“Here.” Abaven hands him the piece of my sleeve he’s just ripped off. “You can clean yourself up with that. Imagine you’ve been trying to escape and got lost in the wasteland. No one’s going to have tied you a beautiful bandage.”
This had better be frigging worth it, Rian’s mind finds mine. I can feel he’s in pain but he doesn’t want to look weak in front of Abaven. Despite that, I find myself grinning. Does this mean he’s forgiven me? I wonder.
“You’d better imagine it and make it real in your head, because if things go wrong then someone’s going to be questioning you.” Abaven looks grim. He rips off a shred from my skirt for good measure. “And if you betray Cavern, I’ll kill you myself.”
I hope he’s joking, Rian says.
I don’t think he is. He believes in Cavern more than he believes in us. We’re just some kids who think they’re important, but he’s rescued hundreds. I reply, feeling cold.
“We understand,” I tell Abaven. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.”
“So what’s the plan?” Rian asks.
“Sloft’s gone to Gavyn. If he makes it in time, Gavyn will meet you near the wall where you found the banished Hosts last night,” Abaven explains. “You’re going to need to return as his prisoners; it’s the only way to convince them and to hold everyone’s cover.”
“Are you coming now?” I ask as his scissors come out and he trims off my beautiful flame tips Delilah added to my hair at the party, which now seems so long ago.
“I’m still Adohnes up there, and it’ll draw suspicion if I turn up with Gavyn and his prisoners. We’ve never met before, so it will look odd if we’re suddenly best buddies.” I nod. “Even though the siege has changed things, I hope I can still follow the original plan to bring down the defenses from inside Purenet. I’ll take you as far as I can go, then I’ll come back and make a more public exit on my diplomacy mission to Purenet. I hope they let me out.” He gives a final snip and I catch my reflection in the metal table. I look like a wreck. He’s done a good job.
“Once we’re caught, will they end the siege on Cavern?” Rian asks as his blue tips are snipped away.
“They might not,” says Abaven. “We may have to fight anyway. But if you’re shown to have had nothing to do with Cavern, we may be spared.”
“How will we get out of Cavern if the guards have blocked all the exits? How did Sloft get out?”
Before Abaven can answer, we hear voices outside and the sheet is drawn aside. A man shuffles in, dark rings around his eyes, a disheveled sleeping girl in his arms. At least, I think she’s sleeping.
“Abaven, excuse me,” says the man. His eyes drop; he looks humble, groveling.
“What is it, Damian? Is everything OK?” Abaven is abrupt, but still remembers to be kind. He is their leader, after all.
“I heard a rumor that the fugitive Skylier is a healer,” says Damian. His eyes flicker toward me, and he registers the sorry state of my appearance.
“I—”
Abaven waves his hand and cuts me off. “Now isn’t the time, Damian,” he says. “How is Joslin doing?”
“She’s weak, Abaven, so weak,” says Damian. “If the healer could just—”
“She can’t,” Abaven says, kindly but firmly. “I’m sorry, Damian, but she won’t be able to help you.”
“But I—” I see Abaven
’s look and stop. We haven’t got time, I know. But the girl is so frail, like she’s hardly in this world any more.
“Her fever’s worse,” says Damian, holding the girl close to his chest. “She can’t eat. She hasn’t for days. She’s getting weaker and weaker. I don’t think she has very much time left. Please, you must!” His eyes turn to me. It’s a kind of desperation I’ve never seen before. It frightens me, like he might… He steps toward me and Abaven grabs his shoulder.
“I said no, Damian,” Abaven all but snarls. “Go and see Daphne. She’s got some medicines from Purenet. Skylier isn’t strong enough.”
“But Abaven, I could help,” I burst out.
“Skylier, stay out of this,” says Abaven.
What are you doing? Rian asks.
I can’t just leave her, I reply. Damian comes even closer despite Abaven’s warning hand. His eyes are manic with desperation and now hope.
“Please, just lay your hands on her,” Damian begs.
“Skylier, you don’t know how your healing powers work,” says Abaven. “You haven’t even recovered from last night. Healing Joslin will drain you completely and you won’t even last a minute in the wasteland. Come on, we have to go.”
Abaven grabs a couple cloaks he brought earlier and we wrap them around ourselves. Damian is still staggering toward me, holding Jesslin’s wraith-like body toward me like an offering. Abaven’s fingers wrap around my wrist and Rian and I find ourselves dragged toward the main entrance.
“Out of the way, Damian,” he says.
Beyond the sheet, a crowd has gathered. It doesn’t take a genius to work out these are Cavern’s sick, come to beg like Damian. Determined faces stare back at me.
“Healer!” someone cries hoarsely.
“What are you doing?” hisses Abaven, glancing down at the soldiers below. “Get out of here, you’re drawing attention.”
“You must let us see the healer!”
“Quick, this way,” says Abaven, dragging us back into Enoch’s quarters and knocking Damian out of the way.
“I should help them,” I protest. “How can I leave them?”
“You have to. We don’t have time to heal every sick person in Cavern,” says Abaven.
Captured Memories (The Sanction Series Book 4) Page 2