City of Deception (The White City Series Book 1)

by Alexa Mackintosh

  City of Deception

  I search for a way to unlock the door or an instrument I can use to get out. The walls are stone, so I can’t break through them. A quick glance through the bars in the middle of the door shows the keypad sensor that serves as the lock. It would take a specific fingerprint pressed to the sensor to unlock the cell.

  My arm fits through the bars, but even with my cheek against the bars, I can’t reach the sensor. Dragging the mattress off the bed, I fold it in half in front of the door and stand on it. It gives me a few extra inches, and I can just reach the sensor.

  I try everything I know to override the sensor, but all my attempts end in a flashing red screen. I try hitting it hoping to damage it, but nothing happens except a cracked screen and a bloody cut along the side of my hand. The pain in my hand mixes with the realization of Dmitri’s betrayal and my villages destruction. Stepping

  away from the door, I let the tears begin.

  Once the tears start, I think I’ll sob forever. I can’t be- lieve Dmitri killed everyone I grew up with. My stepsisters were too young to die, and my mother…there are so many questions I want to ask her. Did she know what I might be in the future? That my father is from Earth? Or did she know nothing?

  My involvement in the rebellion and my trust in the Mersiovskys killed them.

  It is my fault they will never draw another breath.

  Alexa Mackintosh

  I sit on the cot and pull my knees up. I wrap my arms around my knees and cry.

  My grief is replaced by fear clawing at my stomach. I know I can’t escape. Even if I break out, where will I go? At least if I die tomorrow and the old religion is true,

  I’ll join my family. I rarely pray, but I figure if there ever was a time, now might be it.

  The future will also change if I die. There will be no future dictator.

  I don’t want to die, but maybe…maybe that’s the only way to complete this mission.

  { 41 }

  Chapter 41

  Snow?

  I wipe at my tear-stained cheeks and puffy eyes. The

  edge of my sleeve is wet from rubbing my nose. I want to tell myself I will get out and that my family is alive, but I know neither are true.

  A guard slides a plate of food and water through the thin slot beneath the bars. I’m not hungry, but the water would feel wonderful on my parched throat. I rise and reach forward to pour a glass, but when I pick up the cup I notice a piece of paper.

  I set the glass aside and unfold the tiny piece. It reads:

  The city will burn come morning. Rebels are going to take the city tonight.

  I wonder who left the note, and surmise it was my fa- ther. Maybe my father escaped capture, but I know my

  Alexa Mackintosh

  father will be killed for being a leader once Dmitri finds him. Everyone will recognize him from his position as “General Hardcastle.”

  Rebels might come, but that doesn’t mean they will find me in the cells before they destroy the palace.

  I hope, much as I always have.

  s

  Shouts arise outside the door a few hours later in the middle of the night.

  At first, I think it might be the rebels, but I know they could not infiltrate the city walls that quickly. As a second thought, I wonder if it is Dmitri, come to fetch me to use me as a bargaining chip with the rebels.

  I know I would rather die than help him. I can’t help but feel tears as I think of all the lies Dmitri told me, and even worse, all the times I believed him.

  However, the door is thrown open, and Ivan enters. He looks anything but kingly, his hair a mess and his clothes…He wears the colors of a general of the revolution. He’s out of breath and flushed.

  He takes my hand and pulls me out of the cell. “Do you want to live?”

  I nod, finding the question a little pointless. Of course I want to live.

  “Follow me and keep this ready.” He presses a gun into my free hand and starts walking.

  I press the gun to the back of his skull.

  City of Deception

  “I find it unlikely I can trust you.” I see the unconscious bodies of the guards at the end of the hallway. Could Ivan really have taken care of them?

  “If I wished to hurt you, why am I freeing you?” “It’s a trick. Orion deceived me too.”

  He turns to face me, not flinching though the gun is an inch from his forehead. “We both know that no one will be the winner of this war. To stop this, we must find an- other way.”

  “You know you will lose your crown if the rebellion doesn’t win. That does not make you my friend.”

  “But helping you change the future does.” I flinch. “The future?”

  “I’ll get you to the future where you will fight yourself. Stopping yourself is the way to fix all of this. The leaders want you to stay at this time, but it’s not working. The rebels are in the city, and soon they will try to enter the palace to get to you and me. The rebels want to keep you here to change things, but I believe taking you as you are now to the future is the way. It’s the one thing no one has tried.”

  “Why not kill me? That would solve everything.”

  “I don’t think that would solve anything. The future is unpredictable.”

  “How do I stop myself? The entire city may be slaugh- tered in this version of time before I can do anything. Is there something you can do as Emperor?”

  Alexa Mackintosh

  His eyes are sad when he says, “If there were, I would do it, but there is nothing I can do to save them. The en- tire planet is in danger. For being part of the resistance you are quite a fool for not knowing.”

  “I am not a fool. I know everyone is in danger, but I hoped you might have an answer.”

  He sighs. “True, your father is the one to blame for your negligence.”

  “My father?”

  “I assume General Hardcastle is your father?”

  “What needs to be done to get to the future?” I ask, ignoring his question.

  “Now that is a better. Follow me to Vera’s lab.”

  I lower the gun but keep my finger on the trigger.

  s

  My breath comes in gasps by the time we reach the top of the staircase. We keep climbing until we reach ground level. They are coming. I hear the shouts and the footsteps of soldiers above our heads.

  When I pass a window, I see ashes floating like snow through the air. Flames erupt from the bottom floor of a mansion across the street. In minutes, rebels will be at the palace doors.

  “Your father sent a small army to ensure sympathizers escaped. He hopes entering the city will disorient Orion and give you a chance to escape. He also hopes that the

  City of Deception

  rebels can slaughter those in the city before they can es- cape and somehow support the Mersiovskys. We need to make it to Vera’s lab before the rebels, or my brother finds us.”

  “Perhaps we should wait before going to the future and contact Earth first. If we contact Earth, we may be able to create a treaty. Certainly, not every Earthen can be like the ones here.”

  He spins. “We are not contacting Earth. They caused this.”

  “Earth caused this? My crazy future-self and time travel caused this! Vera spoke of a time when the planet was different. Maybe using her machine and somehow working with Earth we can set things back to the way they were supposed to be. Maybe your family can be kept alive, and you made Emperor. Things change Ivan, and it has been years since talk of any alliance with Earth, cor- rect? Perhaps Earth would be willing to negotiate new freedoms even if we must remain a colony of theirs.”

  If things are set back to what they were, I will never be born. There will be no need for my father to ensure I hap- pen to be born.

  I will never exist if things are set back.

  Ivan begins to say something, perhaps the same idea of my death dawning on him, but a familiar voice brings us both to a halt.

  “Going somewhere?�
�� Dmitri asks.

  I spin, unfamiliar anger and fear crawling up my spine.

  Alexa Mackintosh

  “I thought you would stay and become Empress,” Dmitri says. His voice is coaxing, but his smile is of the Devil himself.

  “Go, Natalia.” Ivan pushes me towards the nearest door as he points his gun at Dmitri.

  I hesitate, frozen in place. My eyes fill with tears, and I can’t hide the pain welling in my chest. “How could you burn my village, Dmitri?”

  “I was trained to fight for my planet, as you were. They were enemies.”

  In the blink of an eye, Dmitri raises his hand and an invisible source hits Ivan in the chest. The blast alone sends Ivan skidding across the floor with a bone-crushing snap. He remains still against the wall.

  It must be Dmitri’s gift, part of the Black Curse. But what kind of gift is that?

  But if he’s from Earth, how does he have a gift? I as- sumed gifts were passed through families on this planet. Ronyne doesn’t have mystical gifts like we do.

  Dmitri turns his attention to me. “You have two choices. Stay and become Empress, or I kill you here. Ei- ther you’re with me or against me, Talia.”

  My mission will be complete if I lift the gun and fire. With one shot goes the tyrant Angelica and I trained to kill.

  And with it goes my heart.

  People believe love is beautiful and the epitome of life itself. But what about when love is dark and cruel? What

  City of Deception

  about when the love you share with someone is the very thing corrupting you? Are you the hero for wanting to hold on to that love or are you evil?

  Which am I?

  My hands start to shake, but I keep a tight grip on the gun.

  He takes several steps towards me. “What choice do you make? Two days ago, you would have become my wife. Do you still want that? We can marry as soon as we crush the rebels. No one needs to know you helped the rebellion. You are meant to be my other half, my powerful, beautiful ally.”

  He now stands an arm’s length away. Soon he’ll be too close.

  “I will soon send my troops out, and they will kill every rebel. People from Earth will be saved when they come flooding to this planet. I’ve seen the future we have, and it is glorious. I’ve written down every alternate future we’ve lived in. Did you know this is the seventeenth life we’ve had together? The rebels and Vera have messed up our future together that many times.”

  “The rebels are stronger than you know and they suc- ceed in changing this future too.”

  “I know everything that happens in the White City. If I knew of you, their best-kept secret, don’t you think I know everything else too?”

  “Then you must know what I’ll choose if you know so much.” I raise the gun to his chest and prepare to fire.

  Alexa Mackintosh

  Before I can act, my hand goes numb and drops the gun. Something invisible pushes against my body like a corset tied inhumanely tight. I scream in pain as the thing con- stricts tighter, pushing the air out of my lungs.

  Dmitri crosses the space between us. He pushes me to the floor and though I feel my senses blurring I manage to grab the gun again. My heart beats madly, and I realize this is the taste of death. Dmitri wants my power, but he may be too bloodthirsty to care. He said I’m with him or his enemy. No other choices exist in his mind.

  The terror begins to grip me. My lungs burn, and I im- agine this is what it feels like to drown. I claw at my ab- domen as though that could somehow make the invisible thing let me breathe.

  Dmitri releases me, a small flicker of pity in his eyes.

  I gasp for breath several times before looking up at him.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.” He bends down beside me. Seeing I still hold the gun, he pins my arm to my side with his leg and places his hands around my neck.

  When he starts to tighten his grip, I shout, “Wait! I’ll marry you. I’ll tell you everything I know about the revo- lution. I want to be Empress.”

  He hesitates but doesn’t move. He is weighing the price. Is it worth it to keep me alive now if I may betray him in the future? He knows that I am the one who can help him keep his throne in the future.

  City of Deception

  I’m the enemy and the hope for freedom. It all depends on my choice.

  “I’ll show you time travel too, as you asked,” I say. He is surprised. “Really? So easily?”

  I tell myself to seem as naïve as I had been when I first met him. “I think it could help stop this revolution before it ever started. Think of the lives saved. I know you can see the benefit. No one else will understand. Besides, I love you, Dmitri. I want to be your wife, standing by your side.”

  He would use the time machine to stop the revolution alright. He would use it to make sure we stayed married, and the revolution was choked out. He’d go back in time and kill the rebels when they were children.

  He removes his hands and stands. He is power hungry, and I have offered him the keys to the most powerful weapons he has: the time machine and me. Vera foresaw that I would one day become a formidable weapon so she sought me ought.

  “I will not argue that you will make a suitable match in marriage. You strengthen the peoples’ belief in the gov- ernment,” he says.

  His comment is cold, much colder than the Dmitri I thought I knew.

  “Will you not give me a kiss?” I ask meeting his gray eyes. I stand and place a hand on his shoulder. I give him a playful kiss even as I grit my teeth. He leans towards me, drawn in like a moth to the fire.

  Alexa Mackintosh A gunshot fills the room.

  Dmitri stumbles as I take a step back. He clutches his

  stomach and glances at me in fear. He saw the gun at my side but thought I would never use it.

  “Goodbye, Dmitri Mersiovsky,” I say.

  He collapses to his knees as blood seeps through his fingers and to the floor. I step towards him when he falls to his side gasping for breath and struggling to hide the pain. Silent tears stream down my cheeks as I lift the gun one last time.

  “Know I will always love you even though you’ve bro- ken my heart. I would have been yours, but I won’t be- come the Talia you would have made me into.” I look away as I point the gun at his head and pull the trigger. He is still when I look again.

  Wiping my eyes, I run to Ivan. He stirs and opens his eyes, taking a few seconds to focus and realize it’s me. He sees the blood on my shirt and asks, “Did he hurt you?”

  “It’s his, not mine,” I say as I help him sit up. He winces in pain but manages to stand.

  He glances to Dmitri’s body. “I’ve wanted for this for so long. Are you alright?”

  “I said he didn’t hurt me.”

  “That wasn’t what I was asking, and you know that. I know what it is like to lose the one you thought you would be with forever.”

  I shift. “I’ll think about it later. Now is the time to sur- vive, not grieve. He was a monster anyway.”

  City of Deception

  “But you loved him, so he wasn’t a monster to you. And you chose to destroy the one you would become. You chose to destroy part of your future. Now you have started a ter- rifying future because you are still alive, and we don’t know what it will be like. You were promised a comforta- ble life as Dmitri’s wife. Somewhere in him, he loved you.” “We should get moving.” I’m too shocked to compre- hend what I’ve done. I can face my regrets later, not now.

  We continue towards the lab, but slower now because of Ivan’s injuries and because of an increasing amount of guards. We come to Vera’s lab as the front gates are brought down. The sound ricochets through the halls though we are on the other side of the palace.

  We are running now. Ivan says the rebels will catch up with us in less than thirty minutes.

  I enter the lab first, surprised to find it unlocked. The same work tables and the time devices meet me. However, the lights are on, and Vera stands wit
h a pile of tools in her hands.

  She sees me and says, “What are you still doing here? You should be-” She stops when she sees Ivan. I try to keep him from entering, but he spots her. I suddenly feel like I should run back out of the room and leave the two in private, but by Vera’s pleading glance I know I need to stay.

  “Vera?” he questions. Her tools fall to the floor.

  Alexa Mackintosh

  He pushes past me and walks to her side. “You’re…You’re dead. I saw your body at your funeral.”

  “I can’t explain it. I was a dead, but…I call it a miracle. I think God wanted me alive to finish a few more things.”

  Ivan’s expression changes to pain. “Why didn’t you tell me you lived?”

  “Our futures are not meant to be spent together.” She walks to me and presses a note into my hand. “You will one day have a daughter, Natalia. The name of the father is in your hand.”

  I feel the blush rushing up my cheeks.

  What if it somehow reads Dmitri? What if it’s someone I don’t yet know?

  But my curiosity wears out. Perhaps this is her strange way of reassuring me I made the right choice about Dmitri.

  I unfold the note and read Vera’s fine print: the last of the Royal families.

  With Dmitri and Kir dead, there is one Royal left that could be the father of the child.

  He stands ten feet away confused.

  I expected the future to change, but not like this. Ivan and me?

  This will be changing as soon as I can figure out how to alter the future. I will not bear Ivan’s child. Ever. End of possibility.