“It’s a mistake.” Without the weapons pointing at me, I’ve got my voice back. “A painful, costly mistake. It’s already responsible for one life lost. Please don’t make it pay again.”
The woman stares at me, her steely green eyes running over me from my cropped hair, over my baggy men’s clothes, down to the obviously too large boots. She takes all of us in, her lips moving silently like she’s arguing with herself. Nodding once, she motions at both men and they stow their weapons.
“We’ll take them back to the village. Alan can sort this out there.”
The men nod back, neither of them questioning her decision. The younger of the two pulls Eric up by the back of his shirt. Eric runs to where Patrice is still sobbing and helps her to stand.
Strong arms wrap around my waist and I know it’s Daniel without looking. I turn and let my raised arms fall onto his shoulders. He wraps me up, his cheek resting on the top of my head until I’m surrounded by his warmth.
“Get their stuff and let’s go home.”
Home. She says it like it’s a real thing.
Fabric rips behind me and I turn out of Daniel’s arms to see the woman tearing one of our thin blankets into strips of material.
“What are you doing?”
She stands up, one of the strips stretched between her hands. “We aren’t going to shoot you out here, but I’m not about to trust you.”
Before I can flinch away, she reaches out and wraps the scratchy fabric around my eyes. “My home, my rules.” She ties off the blindfold in a rough knot behind my head. “The rest of you get over here and line up behind her.”
Footsteps shuffle behind me, but I can’t see anything. Daniel’s hands grab my shoulders and give a soft squeeze. “You’re amazing.” Lips kiss the crown of my head and I lean back into him before calloused hands grab my wrist.
I’m tugged forward and the others follow close behind me. Led blindly through the forest to Cardinal knows what, I don’t feel amazing.
Nine
We haven’t marched far, but my energy is sapped, an entire night of walking through the forest hitting me with every step. My feet throb where blisters have split open and new blisters have formed.
“Hail, Mary.” A baritone voice calls from above us. I lift my head up even though I can’t see anything.
“Hail, John,” the woman with the green eyes calls back. Her voice is friendly, but holds the hint of command she had talking to the men who captured us. “Run to tell Alan we come with guests.”
Funny. I don’t feel like a guest.
The ground evens out beneath us. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear we were walking on a man-made surface. Whatever it is, at least I’m not tripping over tree roots or sliding on fallen leaves.
“Hail, Mary. What do you bring us?” a new man’s voice rings out, carrying easily in the warming air. It holds the same sense of command that Mary’s does.
Her hand comes down on my shoulder, halting our bone-tired passage. “We found them down by Jacob’s rocks. From the look of things, they’ve been traveling a while.”
Strong hands grab my upper right arm, pushing back the stretchy fabric. A finger runs over the small incision where Eric removed our poison capsules, the gauze long gone. I hiss in a sharp breath against the stinging pain. “Rejects.” The hands let go and grab the blindfold off my head.
I blink from the sudden onslaught of light and try to take in everything. Daniel gasps behind me. He’s seeing the same thing I am. We’re still in the middle of the forest, the mile high trees acting like a fence around the large cleared area in front of us. We’re standing on an old road and small buildings line both sides. It’s a village.
Another man, his temples already graying, stands in front of us. This must be Alan. He stares at me like he’s trying to see beneath the grime I’ve accumulated over the past week in the woods. “Get them over to Marcus to get these cuts cleaned up and something to eat. Then send this one to me.” He jerks his thumb at me and Daniel’s hand tenses on my shoulder.
“Let’s go.” Mary walks off, clearly expecting us to follow her.
Daniel grabs my hand, our eyes meeting briefly before we head deeper into the city.
Mary leads us down a paved street. I wasn’t wrong about the surface evening out. There are cracks running through the hard dark surface, but only a few spots have weeds popping through them. Someone has taken a lot of effort to maintain the road.
Buildings of various sizes and conditions line the street. Most of them could be houses from back home, with some smaller buildings mixed in, rough wooden signs hung on the doors. Everything could use some repairs and a coat of paint, but besides the slightly shabby state, we could be in any city in the Territories. The only differences are the trees…and the people.
Men, women, and children walk everywhere, traveling alone and in small groups, their voices calling greetings out to each other, laughing and shouting. The people here are genuinely happy.
Several older men sit in rocking chairs in front of what could be a small store. They lean in toward each other, whispering comments before calling out to the people walking by them.
“Hail, Linda. Anything good for lunch today? A stew would be mighty fine.”
A woman wearing sturdy pants and carrying a basket of potatoes pauses in front of the trio of men. “You know as well as anyone else we have baked spuds on Tuesdays. Stew is on Friday and not a day before.” Her voice is stern, but she winks at the men before walking on, a laugh on her lips.
The sound is infectious, and I smile along with her. This is like the Territories, but with people really living instead of playing out some elaborate Cardinal choreographed dance. When women stopped to chat back home, it was never filled with this much joy. Every contact presented an opportunity for cataloging eyes and critical analysis. Not here. The people talking in the streets look like they’re actually enjoying each other’s company. My heart surges and I can’t hold back a small giggle. We made it and it’s so much more than I had thought to hope for.
Mary stops in front of a squat building without any windows in the front. She pushes open the door and a tinkling sound rings through the room. Not an electric chime like the shops back in the capitol, but an actual bell that vibrates above our heads.
“Hail, Marcus,” Mary calls out while ushering us all into the mostly empty room. “I’ve got some actual work for you today.”
An older man with wrinkles lining his face and glasses perched on his thin nose comes out of a back room. “Hail, Mary.” He wraps her in a brief hug and pushes his glasses up. They have the same green eyes. “Getting a little sassy there, little lady. Don’t think you’re too old for me to turn you over a knee.” He swats at her backside, but she scoots away, laughing.
“You’d have to catch me first, Grandfather.”
Matching green eyes.
“Stars guide the man who catches you.” He winks at her stuck out tongue. “Now, what do you have for me?”
“Watch found them this morning. Escaped from the PIT. Alan sent them over to have their cuts cleaned up.”
Marcus eyes us like a group of abandoned puppies. “Starving by the looks of ‘em. Too early for lunch, but run over to Cook and see what you can rustle up. I’ll get started here.”
Mary heads back outside, her exit announced by the ringing bell.
Marcus lifts my sleeve and shines a tiny light at the cut. “Mhm. Sure enough, there’s some early signs of infection. These cuts need cleaned up and closed up. Come on back.”
“Wait. How do all of you know about the poison?” Eric pushes up to the front of the group. “I didn’t find out until they made me a guard.”
Marcus blinks at us, his eyes wide. “Do you think you’re the first PIT runaways to find their way here?”
I shuffle back a few steps and bump into Daniel. No one has ever escaped from the PIT. That’s what kept everyone in the Territories safe. But we know the Cardinal lies. Is it possible?
* * *
Mary is waiting for us with a basket of bread and cheese when we file out of Marcus’s exam room. My arm stings from the antiseptic and stitches, but the sight of food shoves the pain to the back of my head.
“Lunch is still an hour off, but I was able to talk the cooking crew into some bread and cheese. It’s not much.” Mary sets the basket down on the counter with a jug of water and cups.
We don’t wait for an invitation. Constance grabs the basket and hands out bread to each of us while Patrice heads straight to the water. None of us even bother finding chairs, as we cram food into our mouths as fast as we can swallow. Mary and Marcus must think we’re a bunch of savages, sitting on the floor in our filthy clothes and dirt smeared everywhere, but that doesn’t stop me from licking the bread crumbs out of my hand.
With all the food gone, Mary taps me on the shoulder. “If you’re done, Alan wants a word.”
Daniel wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and nods. He stands up and reaches down to help me to my feet. Mary raises her eyebrows at us, but doesn’t say a word.
“Marcus, Alan thought they’d all like to get some rest. Would you mind taking the others over to the rider’s house.”
“I imagine they could probably all use a nap. I’ll walk them over just as soon as I finish cleaning up in here.”
“Perfect.” Mary offers him a smile before heading outside, Daniel and I following close behind.
Ten
Mary walks down the street, her shoes tapping against the cracked roadway, and stops a few minutes later in front of a modest house with a sturdy roof. There are curtains in the windows and a line of wet wash hangs out in a rare spot of sunshine. Short of the white picket fence and garish garden decor, this could be my parents’ house.
A quick knock on the door is answered almost immediately by a woman in a floral print dress, her hair tied back from a worn, yet beautiful face.
“Morning, Margaret.” Mary leans in and gives her a small peck on the cheek. “Alan asked to see one of the newcomers.”
“Of course,” Margaret says, wiping her hands on a worn rag. “He’s in the study. I’ll take them from here.” She steps back to let us in.
Mary follows us through the door and leans in to whisper to Margaret. Margaret nods and Mary takes a seat on a couch that looks old, but well cared for. She pulls a bit of wood and a small knife out of her pocket and pretends we aren’t in the room.
Margaret closes the door and turns her bright eyes and warm smile to us. “This way, dears.”
Their home is missing the collections of vases, photographs, and dust catchers that line the shelves and walls back home. Yet, even without all the ‘necessities’ my mother insisted on having, the rooms feel homey, lived in.
In my mind, I pictured a very different situation when Eric first mentioned people living outside the Cardinal’s control. The people here don’t live in squalor and none of them are skinny enough to be starving.
Margaret knocks once on a solid wood door before pushing it open. Alan sits at a heavy desk scrolling through something on a Noteboard. There’s something else I didn’t expect to see out here. He lifts his head as we walk in and shares a warm smile followed by drawn brows. “I only asked to speak to the young lady.”
“I’m Daniel, Rebecca’s husband.” Daniel wraps an arm around my shoulder and my chest warms at his words. This might be the first time he’s called himself that. It sounds weird to my ears, but I like it. “We come as a package deal.”
“Well, that’s a new one. Fine, fine, come in.” Alan pulls another chair out of the corner so we all have a seat. “Margaret, please don’t let us miss lunch, dear.”
“And listen to you complain until dinner? I wouldn’t dream of it.” She winks at him and smiles again before closing the door behind her.
“That woman could tease a mule, but I’d starve without her.” Alan waves at the chairs and spins his own around to face us. “Now that we’re settled, why don’t you tell me your story, Rebecca Collins and Daniel Whedon?”
Daniel’s arms tense where they rest on the chair. “How do you know our names?”
“That’s easy.” Alan points to Daniel. “You’re the spitting image of your father. There was quite the kerfuffle in Cardinal City when you failed Acceptance. And then with your sister this year.” He gives us a gentle smile then gestures to me. “Of course, with your little video it was only to be expected. It’s hard to forget a transgression like that.”
“You saw the video?” My voice is softer than I intended. How in the world would they know all of this all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?
“Of course. We make it a point to stay up to date with the activities of the Cardinal. Brilliant idea, by the way, even if it was doomed. We toasted in your honor that night.”
Alan pauses as if waiting for us to ask another question, but my mind is blank. They know us. They saw what we did. They knew we would fail.
“We broke out about a week ago. Eric helped us get out right before the Cardinal planned to kill me and Rebecca.”
“I’m surprised he let you live past an hour. Of course, I gave up trying to understand his actions years ago.” Alan leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands steepled just below his chin. “Tell me more about Eric.”
I’m at a loss for words and I’m guessing by Daniel’s silence, he is as well. How do you explain Eric? He was our friend, a part of our family, and almost my husband. But he threw all that away to save himself. Based on that alone, he’s a lying snake. But he’s also the person who told us about the fence and got us out of the PIT. He was a Reject, but he left the PIT as a member of the Cardinal’s guard. He’s risked our lives and saved them.
The silence stretches on until Alan finally puts us out of our misery. “Different question. Do you trust him?”
“He got us out.” It’s the best I can offer.
“That’s not what I asked,” Alan says, giving his full attention to Daniel.
“I don’t like him, but that’s not the same thing. I have my reasons for hating him if I’m going to be completely honest.” I grab Daniel’s hand, but he keeps his eyes on Alan. “But the escape plan was his idea. Without him we’d still be in there or dead. So, yes, I trust him.”
Alan stands to stretch. “That’s good enough. I didn’t want to have to kill him, but I have a community here to protect. You can stay here tonight to rest, get cleaned up, and sleep in a real bed. But you’ll need to be gone tomorrow.”
Wait, leave? We just got here. “No…I mean…I just thought we’d stay here. Join your city or whatever you call it.” I stand up and Daniel stands with me. “We can’t survive out there. A week nearly killed us. I know we don’t look like much, but I promise that we can be a helpful addition to your city. You won’t find anyone who works harder.”
“I’m sorry.” Alan shakes his head, but he doesn’t really look sorry. “We would let you stay, but we’re at capacity as it is. I’m afraid Arbor Glen just can’t support anyone else. But there are other villages that would be more than happy to take you in.”
“Other villages? You mean there are more people out there living in cities like this?”
“Sure.” Alan leans over his desk, his eyes staring at a blank spot on the wall. “The Cardinal and his cabinet have worked very hard over the years to make sure everyone believes he’s essential. It’s drilled into you from the day you’re born until the day you die. But it’s a lie. The Cardinal’s rule is precarious at best. There’s a whole world out there, and it’s about time you knew it.”
Margaret knocks twice on the door and sticks her head in the room. “Lunch time.”
Alan walks over and opens the door all the way. “Perfect timing as usual, my dear. I imagine our guests could use a good hot meal about now.”
Clearly the conversation is over, and I’m suddenly not all that hungry.
Mary is still sitting on the couch, carving the little piece of wood, when
we make it back to the front door. Her head pops up at our entrance and she jumps to her feet, tucking the carving away. “You two follow me and I’ll lead you over to where the others are.”
She heads out the door and Daniel and I rush to follow her. Mary doesn’t say a word as she turns down a side street and leads us deeper into the village. We pass several other people heading in the opposite direction, and an uneasiness builds in my stomach. Mary pushes open the door of a building shaped like a barn. The others are inside, lounging on sparsely made-up cots.
“Come on, guys,” I call out. “Time for lunch.”
Mary freezes, her eyes boring a hole into the floor. “Actually, you are all going to stay here and I’ll bring lunch to you.”
Daniel growls next to me, but so low I’m probably the only one who hears it. His words come out between clenched teeth. “You don’t have to serve us. We aren’t so tired we can’t walk to lunch.”
The others stand to form a semi-circle around Mary, and a silence settles around the open room. Nothing good can happen next.
“You’ll need to stay here and I’ll bring you a meal.” She shakes her head slowly as she walks back out the door. She closes it behind her and there’s no missing the audible click of a lock sliding into place.
“What’s going on?” Elizabeth springs into action, grabbing at the door handle and confirming our captivity. “What exactly happened in that meeting with Alan?”
I open my mouth, but words fail me.
“They aren’t letting us stay.” Daniel takes care of it for me.
Everyone starts talking at once and I can’t make sense of any of it. I hold my hands up and wait for everyone to quiet down. “We told Alan we want to stay here, but he said they don’t have enough housing for us.”
“Horse shit.” I’ve never heard Daniel outright curse, but I’ve also never seen his face scrunched up like that either. “They don’t want us here. Plain and simple. We’re nothing but Rejects to them and that’s not going to change. We’re better off getting out of here.”
Rite of Revelation (Acceptance Book 2) Page 6