Tandem

by Anna Jarzab

  I crouched down and peered at the console. Sure enough, there were three words etched into the metal of the panel’s frame. “No way,” I breathed.

  The label read touch and go.

  “It’s the brand name!” Callum cried, grinning proudly. “These are the same consoles you have at the Castle.”

  I squeezed his arm. “Good job, Cal! I can’t believe you even saw that.”

  He shrugged happily. “I guess all that paying attention to doors and windows has finally paid off.”

  “It sure has. How much do you want to bet that one, one, two, three, five, eight is an access code?”

  “Could be,” he said. “At the risk of sounding ridiculous, this is sort of exciting.”

  “Although …” I chewed at my lip. “Like you said, all the consoles are the same. So the access code could be for any room in the Castle. There are hundreds of them! What are we going to do, go around to every single one and try it to see if it works?”

  “I guess we could,” he said, less enthusiastic now.

  “That might take days. And you never know—it could be the code to a room in the Tower, or anywhere in the Citadel for that matter. Someone’s going to wonder what the hell we’re doing long before we get to all of them.”

  “Okay,” he conceded. “But don’t you think it’s more likely that the room the code opens has something to do with the king himself? If he’s trying to give you clues, he has to believe that you know which room, or could at least figure it out.”

  He was right. The only problem was that I wasn’t Juliana. The king’s real daughter might have known instinctively what he was trying to tell her, but that would’ve been just between the two of them. Even Thomas couldn’t help with this.

  “I have no idea,” I said, the thought of Thomas, of the last time I’d seen him, making me woozy. “It’s not the code to his room, and anyway he didn’t move there until after his … accident.”

  “The royal bedroom?”

  “You mean the one he shared with the queen?” I considered it. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “Either way, we need to go back to the Castle,” Callum said. “In the morning, first thing.”

  “That would raise an awful lot of eyebrows.” Not to mention that it would attract the General’s attention, which I absolutely did not want. But it didn’t seem like I had a choice. If the king was trying to tell Juliana something, who knew what it could be? What if it was urgent? I’d wasted so much time thinking his exclamations were nonsense. I didn’t have a second to lose.

  “Who cares? You’re the princess, you can do whatever you want.”

  I gave it some careful thought. “Okay. I’ll tell Gloria we want to go back.”

  Callum took my face in the palm of his hands and kissed me deeply. It took all I had in me not to squirm away, my mind full of strong memories of another kiss. “This is so exciting!” he cried when we separated.

  “Shhh, keep your voice down.” But I couldn’t help laughing. I’d never seen him this animated, not even earlier by the ocean.

  But all I could think of was how much I wanted to tell Thomas.

  THOMAS IN THE TOWER / 4

  “Do you want to tell me what this is about?” Thomas asked. Captain Fawley shrugged.

  “I’m just as in the dark as you are, Mayhew,” Fawley told him. “All I know is that the General isn’t happy. He woke me up in the middle of the night and demanded I get you back to the Citadel as fast as possible.”

  “And now he’s just got me sitting here, sweating it out. Wonderful.” Thomas sat back in his chair. To Fawley he might’ve looked calm, but his guts were roiling. What possible reason would the General have had to send for him last night? He and Sasha had spent several more hours together, kissing and talking. He’d felt more like himself than ever. Then he’d noticed her trying to suppress a yawn and he realized how late it was. She hadn’t wanted him to leave, but she needed to sleep. They both did. So he’d seen her to her bed, placing one final kiss on her forehead, and went to his own room, where he found a summons waiting on his mobie. return to the citadel now—direct order from hod. Head of Defense. The General.

  It couldn’t be good, whatever it was. “I don’t know why he’s making you babysit me.” They were on opposite sides of a table in one of the interrogation rooms in Subbasement B. Fawley had been tasked with watching Thomas until the General was ready to see him.

  “Me neither,” Fawley said. “And I don’t much appreciate it, to be honest.”

  “I don’t blame you.”

  The door opened and the General strode through. “Get up, Fawley, and get out of here.”

  Fawley did as he was told without hesitation. He gave Thomas a look that said good luck, but Thomas knew he’d probably need a great deal more than that.

  The General took Fawley’s seat and stared at Thomas. “Do you know why you’re here?”

  Thomas shook his head. “They just told me you wanted to see me.”

  The General’s expression was blank. “You’re being removed from active duty.”

  “What?” Thomas cried. “Why?”

  The General continued without hesitation; there was no emotion in his voice. “This punishment is being meted out for gross misconduct on shadow Operation Starling and personal behavior unbecoming of an officer of this realm. Your suspension is effective immediately and of indeterminate duration.”

  “Gross misconduct? Behavior unbecoming of an officer? What are you talking about? I have a right to know what I’m being accused of, and by who!”

  “BY ME!” the General shouted, slamming his fist upon the table. He stood, his chair clattering to the floor, and leaned over the table to get right up in Thomas’s face. “I told you when I trusted you with this mission that under no circumstances were you to fraternize with your assignment and you disobeyed my explicit orders, not to mention your oath to the KES and this country.”

  Thomas stared at his father with defiance, unwilling to admit his transgressions, but incapable of denying them. Everything the General had said was true. And yet he no longer felt guilty. He no longer cared if his father thought well of him, and his only regret at incurring the General’s wrath was that it would have consequences for Sasha, consequences he might not be in a position to protect her from.

  “You should be grateful I’m not discharging you with disgrace altogether,” the General growled. “But if you think you’re ever going to see that girl again, you’re mistaken.”

  “What are you going to do to her?” Thomas demanded. He couldn’t get Mossie’s words out of his head: He has something special planned for you. The General ought to have discharged him with disgrace—his actions warranted it. And yet he was choosing not to. Did that mean Dr. Moss was right? That the General saw war with other universes on the horizon, a war he expected Thomas to help him fight? Then it hit him, full force in the stomach like a punch: Even on Earth, Sasha might never be safe.

  “Whatever I want. Leave your gun and your creds with Fawley. You will be detained in your quarters until I decide how you can be most useful to me.” He left without another word.

  “You’re not really going to do this, Fawley,” Thomas protested. The Captain programmed a system override into the LCD lock on Thomas’s apartment door as Thomas stood watching, quivering with anger. The console turned an alarming bloodred. When the door shut, he’d be trapped.

  “I have to,” Fawley said, with no trace of regret. Thomas was bothered by this—he and Fawley had always gotten along, and respected each other, despite the difference in their ages—but not surprised. Two weeks ago, he would have done the same thing. “Those are my orders.”

  When Fawley was gone, Thomas lost it. So what if he had “fraternized” with Sasha? He was a loyal KES agent through and through, unlike his traitor of a brother, whose crimes were unknown and unpunished. He’d done everything that was asked of him, obediently following orders just like Fawley, even when he disagreed. He’d given his life to
the KES, put himself in danger in service of his country, and this was all he was to expect? To be locked in his room like a child without proof or due process? Thomas kicked the metal door with his boots, over and over again in frustration, but all that did was leave a dent the size of a golf ball. It didn’t make him feel any better. He needed to break something, but everything in the room was metal.

  Thomas grabbed a picture frame off his desk, one of him and his adopted family, and threw it to the floor where it shattered. It was something, but it wasn’t enough. He ground it beneath his boot heel, the glass crackling like a bonfire, until the photograph was beyond repair. He didn’t care. He wasn’t that boy any longer.

  Thirty-One

  When Gloria came into my room at nine o’clock, I was already dressed, packed, and ready to leave.

  “I want to go back to the Castle,” I announced.

  “You’re not scheduled to return until tomorrow morning,” Gloria informed me, glancing at her tablet to confirm. “I was thinking you might want to take Callum to the lighthouse today.”

  “No. I’m going back to the Castle, and I’m taking Callum with me.”

  Gloria glared at me. “No, you’re staying here.”

  “Sorry, Gloria, but I’m going to have to pull rank on you,” I said. I was trying to channel Thomas—or Juliana. I didn’t even sound like myself, but it couldn’t be helped. “There’s something I need to take care of back at the Castle.”

  “Pull rank? Sasha, you don’t have a rank.”

  “Yes, I do. I’m the princess. I decide where I go and when, not you.” I’d been taking orders from everyone else for far too long.

  Gloria folded her arms across her chest. “And exactly what is it that you need to take care of, Your Highness?”

  “I can’t tell you,” I said. “Only that it’s important. Where’s Thomas? I need to talk to him before we leave.”

  “Thomas isn’t here. He left at dawn to return to the Citadel.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I don’t know. The General called him back and back he went. He’s not the ‘thing’ you need to ‘take care of,’ is he?” Gloria asked pointedly, complete with sarcastic air quotes.

  “No,” I said. “I didn’t even know he was gone until two seconds ago.”

  Gloria left to prepare the others for departure, giving me plenty of time to worry. The exhilaration of last night’s discovery was all but obliterated by the news that Thomas had been recalled to the Citadel. Something was wrong. Under normal circumstances, Thomas would have come to explain before he left. The only reason he wouldn’t do that was if he wasn’t allowed to, if … No, I thought. It’s not possible.

  What if the General knew?

  Callum pressed his ear against the door. “I don’t hear anyone.”

  “Cal, that thing is solid steel.” We were standing in the hall outside the queen’s bedroom, debating whether or not we should try the Fibonacci numbers on the LCD panel. “You’re not going to hear anyone if they’re in there or not.”

  “Good point,” he said. “But what are the odds? Just try it. See what happens.”

  “See what happens? I bet you spent a lot of time setting off fireworks in toilets as a kid.”

  He smiled at me wickedly. “There’s not a whole lot to do in a palace, you know.”

  “Oh, I know.” I took a deep breath. “Okay, here we go. Giving this a shot.” I placed my hand against the console. It took a second to read my handprint, then went from the blue of being locked to the red of being really, really locked.

  “Uh, that can’t be good,” Callum said.

  “It’s not. Let’s get out of here!”

  We sped all the way back to Juliana’s bedroom. As soon as the door slid shut behind him, Callum turned to me, breathless. “Do you think we set off an alarm or something?”

  “Probably.” I’d only ever seen an LCD panel go from blue to red once—the lock on the metal box in the trunk of Thomas’s moto back in the Tattered City. That one had certainly had an alarm on it.

  Callum sighed and flopped down on the foot of the bed. “It’s too bad we never got the chance to try the code in the lock.”

  “It wouldn’t have worked. There’s no way the king—my father, I mean—was leading me to that room,” I said. “It would’ve been a room he knew I had access to, otherwise what’s the point?”

  “So what other room do you think it could be? Does he have an office or something?”

  “Yes!” I cried. “He does. He has a study. I’ve been there before.” Callum gave me an inquisitive look. “Hundreds of times,” I added. Actually, I’d only been there once or twice, for wedding preparations with the queen, but I knew it existed. “There’s only one problem.”

  “What’s that?”

  “My stepmother took it over when she became regent,” I explained. “She’s in there all the time. Except …” I glanced at the clock on the mantel. It was 3:35 p.m. “She visits with my father twice a day: from nine to ten in the mornings, and three to four in the afternoon. If we go to the office right now, it should be empty.”

  “Well then,” Callum said, jumping to his feet. “What are we waiting for?”

  I stared at the console with trepidation. It was blue, of course, and pulsing, waiting for me to put my hand on it. But what if my handprint wouldn’t give me access to the study door, either, and the KES was alerted? I’d never gotten a chance to explain to Thomas what I was planning to do, and though we were both back from Asthall I hadn’t seen him all day. Gloria promised to make some inquiries, but she’d come back empty-handed. Nobody seemed to know where Thomas was. I couldn’t help but agonize over it, but I found some comfort in the knowledge that Thomas could take care of himself. I would see him soon. It was nothing to get hysterical over.

  “You’re overthinking it.”

  “What?” Oh, I thought with relief. He means the door. Before I could react, Callum took my hand and pressed it flat against the console.

  “Callum!” I cried, jerking my hand away, but it was too late. The numbered keypad replaced the silhouette of a hand.

  “You can thank me later,” he said with a smile.

  “I’ll thank you never,” I said, delivering a soft glancing blow to his arm. I punched in the code. One. One. Two. Three. Five. Eight. It wasn’t until the console turned green that I realized I was holding my breath.

  “You should see your face, Juli,” Callum said with a laugh. “You look like you’re going to throw up. It’s just a door!”

  “Yeah, well … shut up.” But I laughed, too. I was being ridiculous. There wasn’t anything to fear. It was just a door, and it was opening.

  The king’s study was empty.

  “What’s next?” Callum asked.

  “ ‘Mirror, mirror,’ ” I told him. But Callum was already staring straight ahead at the wall, where a long antique mirror with an ornate gold frame was hanging.

  “It can’t be that simple, can it?”

  “I don’t think he’s trying to trick me,” I said, making my way toward the mirror. I felt along its left edge with my fingers but couldn’t find anything. I gripped it with both hands and tried to lift it off the wall—it wouldn’t move. “It’s bolted down.”

  Callum joined me. “That sounds promising. Here, let me try.” But Callum couldn’t get the mirror to budge, either. He stood back and gazed at our reflections. “We look good together.” He put his arm around my shoulder and grinned.

  “Focus.” I felt around the right side of the mirror now, searching for the hidden latch I was sure was there. If it couldn’t be removed, the mirror had to be hiding something.

  Eventually I found it, a button on the back of the frame. I pressed it and heard a small click. The mirror swung forward on hinges, revealing a safe with another LCD console mounted on its door. It was exactly the same as the regular consoles, down to the touch and go branding, but this time the keypad was already up, no handprint necessary. I input the Fibonacci code again
. The console turned green and the safe was open.

  “What do you think we’re going to find in there?” Callum asked.

  “No idea,” I said. I tried to affect nonchalance, but my hands were shaking. Was it possible I was right? It seemed unlikely, but at the same time the only possible truth. “But it’s time to find out.”

  We peered into the safe. It was almost as large as the mirror, and went very deep into the wall. It contained a variety of things: several neat bundles of money, jewel cases stacked one on top of the other, and a tall pile of manila folders. I wondered if Juliana, staring at the contents of this safe, would’ve known what her father wanted her to find. “Angel eyes” was the last phrase. It could mean anything. It could be a pair of earrings he’d tucked away to save for a wedding gift. But I didn’t care much for jewels, and for some reason I believed that the king wanted me to have information. I grabbed a bunch of folders and dropped them into Callum’s waiting arms.

  “Angel eyes,” I said. He nodded and sat down on the floor, riffling through the folders. I took the rest and we began our search.

  “These are all top-secret military documents,” Callum pointed out after a while.

  I’d noticed the same thing. Each folder was marked classified in bright bold red lettering, and underneath that there was always a label with the name of the project in blue. We went through them one by one, but none sounded right. classified: operation larchmont. classified: operation painted arrow. classified: operation looking glass.

  I paused at the last one. Operation Looking Glass. I flipped it open and started skimming. Almost immediately I found mention of Earth. I wanted to read further, but I could feel Callum’s eyes on me.

  “Did you find anything?”