I sit up and bang my head on something, hunker back down, groan and—
It is over, S’ven.
I turn sharply, my chest feels like it’s going to explode. Jed’s eyes are in the narrow strip of white light on my left.
Come out, he says. And his voice is soft. Softer than it’s ever been.
I move slowly, cautiously. Reach my hand up. Metal, covered in dirt. Mud? I crawl out from under the metal thing, blinking in the daylight. So bright. I squint. The sun’s so strong. Is it still the same day? Or the next? I can’t tell, my head just feels…strange.
I stand up, look around. It’s just Jed and me. Standing next to an abandoned car, among a few trees and—
I recognize the trees to the left. That’s where Corin carried me, where he left me. We’re back here?
I breathe out slowly.
Jed moves closer to me, and I flinch, pull away from him, feel my heart speed up.
It is all right, he says. They have gone. That one who was after you has gone.
I stare at him for a few moments. “Where’s he gone? Where have they all gone?” And why is Jed still here? He’s one of them too, isn’t he?
He points upward, and I stare at his arm.
To the skies, he says. The void. Already, in these two weeks, I have seen it: the longer they are spirits, the Lost Souls, the harder it becomes for them to stay here. Some manage it, the strong ones. And the ones who feed regularly. But most only appear to take their physical form during times of great power.
Like the Turnings. So it was going to happen anyway? It wasn’t Rahn’s doing?
I breathe slowly, then look at Jed. “You didn’t make it to the New World either. You’re one of them too?” And I don’t know why I phrase it as a question, when I know the answer.
Jed nods. It is too late for me now. I have tried, but we only have one chance to get there. We are the Lost Ones, and we degenerate fast.
My bottom lip feels strange. “That’s going to happen to you?”
That is going to happen to me. I was a Seer, so I am strong. Maybe that is how I can walk these lands at times when it is not the Turning. But soon I will become like them. Already, there are times I am not in control enough for anyone to see me. But I can feel my strength—I hid my image from my father. I do not want him knowing I am suffering.
“You don’t want Raleigh knowing? But he deserves to! He did this to you.”
Not yet. I want to surprise him. I want to plan it. Jed shakes his head. There is only so long I can experience this pain before it too drives me mad, before I deteriorate. When I am fully a Lost One, I will seek my revenge on him. Make him feel my pain.
I stare at him. “You’re in pain?” My voice is soft, and part of me can’t believe I’m having this conversation, that I’m feeling sorry for Jed.
Like nothing you have ever imagined.
I press my lips together, feel sick.
I moved you here, and I protected you from them, he says. They’re already Lost. They wouldn’t hurt you if they still had their minds.
Part of me feels like I should thank him, but I don’t. And then—
“Corin!” My eyes widen.
He was out there and—
It is all right, Jed says. I got Corin to safety first. Before I came for you. You could defend yourself. He could not.
I stare at him. “You saved Corin?” My eyes widen further…this, this can’t be real, can’t be happening. “But you hate Corin.”
I would rather you were with that arrogant boy than my father.
“Your father?” I take a step back. “Raleigh? Gods! I would never….”
Jed turns on me. You have already kissed my father. You, my fiancée. And my father. It is disgusting. And I saw you sleeping, wrapped up in his arms. No, Corin is a welcome successor.
Successor? My gaze hardens. I’m not an object.
I hold my hands up, heat flooding through me. Heat, and the memories of Raleigh, and it’s all I can think about: the way his lips felt against mine. Raleigh’s lips.
My stomach hardens.
“I didn’t know.” I spit the words out, aware of how defensive I sound.
You did not check. You did not even look.
I turn on him. “But he looked like Corin. He looked—”
And appearance is enough now, is it? There is fire in his eyes that I don’t like, don’t like at all. Not in a spirit. You need to be careful, S’ven.
Careful.
The word pulls through me.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I freeze. “You saw me sleeping in his arms, and you didn’t say?”
It was one of the times I was not strong enough for you to see me.
Great.
So, Jed could by spying on me at any moment. I feel heat rush to my face, and breathe deeply, stare at the trees.
At last, when I look at Jed, my words aren’t as angry. “Is he okay? Is Corin okay?”
He is fine. He doesn’t look at me.
“You got him to safety? Where is he?”
He is on his way back now. I pushed him to a cave, so he could take cover during the Turning. I stayed invisible; he would not have been happy to see me and likely would not have trusted me had he seen me. But he will be back soon.
I digest the information quickly, part of me glad that Corin hasn’t seen Jed.
“Had he got as far as the compound?” I ask. “Did he get Esther out?”
Jed shakes his head. No. I told him you needed him. He did not appear to recognize my voice, must have assumed it was just one of the spirits of the Turning advising him. Not me. Nonetheless, he listened. He pauses. There was a dog with him. A horrible little thing.
My pulse quickens. “A terrier? Small-ish? Brown hair, a bit matted? Huge eyes?”
Yes.
My head spins. “Wait—a horrible little thing?”
I do not like dogs.
Jed advances slowly, holding his hands up. I stare at his palms, expecting the skin to peel off at any moment. But it doesn’t.
S’ven, you have to believe I am sorry for everything that happened. But you are free of my father now. And so am I. You cannot let yourself be caught again by him, by them. I know the true augury now, and we can win. You must win.
His words float over me, but there’s something insistent about the tone of that last sentence that grips me.
Jed is right. I must win.
“I will,” I say, swallow hard. There’s a low buzzing in my ears. Very faint, but it’s there. “Somehow.”
You’re a body-sharer, Jed says.
“I am.”
My father thinks you’re dead.
I nod.
Then use that to your advantage, Jed says. Bring the Untamed together and lead them when he does not suspect your involvement. My father is going to send more teams out to try and find the Untamed who are out there.
But you can see through all the Untamed Ones’ eyes. It is the gift of supreme body-sharing, an ancient power. Mazel, one of our old Seers, had it in the lesser version—one host. But he died when his host was killed. The poison dart got him too. You must be careful. Nonetheless, you can be everyone’s eyes. Warn them of attacks. If the Enhanced get one group while you are watching, then you must warn the others who live close by. And bring everyone together. Rise up. There are still Seers out there. Put your powers together, and you will find a way to make the augury come true. That is what I believe you need to do. You must lead it, S’ven. You’re the most powerful one, born to end the war.
I can’t help but snort. “So you do believe women and girls can be Seers?”
It was my culture that did not, and it is the rules and the culture that control people’s actions first and foremost in most instances. We do what we need to do in order to fit in.
The humming in the air is getting louder, and—
Esther.
I swear, look at Jed. How the hell had I forgotten?
Because of Rahn, because of the Turning,
because of….
Shit.
I punched Raleigh when I was in her body, and she’s—
He was going to convert her.
The augmenters.
I flush hot then cold. I lie down and open up my Seer powers. I find her door, and I step toward it. Somewhere far away, I hear Jed’s voice—the strange voice that speaks on a different level—out loud, but in my head too. I push thoughts of Jed away, step through the door to Esther.
Coldness and light and—
“It’s all right.” Three’s words. “They can’t find us here.”
Esther turns and looks up at him, my brother with his mirror eyes. The little light glints off the metal plate in his face. They’re in a small place, very small. A cupboard; lines of light mark the doorway.
I stare at Three, feel anger in my veins. There’s a cut on his face. But he’s alive.
“Are you sure?” Esther whispers, stepping closer, and I step closer with her, feel the pain of her hip—so it’s not been fixed—no augmenters? Yet it can’t be broken, can it? Not if she’s standing up—and she must’ve walked here, and she’s moving and—
She presses her hands lightly to Three’s chest, tiptoes up, and—
Oh Gods.
Esther, what’s happening? I cut in before she kisses my brother.
She jolts, pulls away from Three.
“Seven?” she says, shock filling her voice.
“What?” Three looks startled, turning and—
No, don’t tell him, Esther. He’s one of them. But saying the words to her, they still don’t feel right—even though I know they are. He’s the enemy. He locked me in with Raleigh. Twice. Let me think that Raleigh was Corin. And he knew.
I feel the confusion in Esther in the way she narrows her eyes and how her vision darkens, how she rubs at her chin, and the rising temperature of her body.
But, Seven, Three’s on our side, she says to me.
No. He’s Enhanced. Even in our heads, my words are brisk, sharp.
But he got me away from Raleigh, stopped me from being converted. He has to be Untamed. You resisted it, so has he.
What? I breathe hard—make her breathe hard too. Oh Gods. I don’t know anymore. Things aren’t black and white. And his actions are too conflicting. He saved you from them? Just…just don’t tell him I’m alive. Not yet. Not until I’ve thought about this. I pause. Three’s looking at her strangely, makes me squirm inside, because it’s like he’s looking at me. I am Esther. I gather my resolve. But you’re okay? Esther?
Yeah. We’re hiding out. Waiting until the guards switch over. Three said he’ll get me out of here.
Get you out of here? Not both of you then. And I don’t know how I feel about that. Because Three is predominantly Enhanced—more Enhanced than he is Untamed, and he doesn’t want to leave?
Where’s Corin? she counters, and her tone is different now. More forceful. You said Corin was coming, but he didn’t arrive. Has he been caught?
No. Not according to Jed, anyway.
Where are you?
Outside. I keep my answer vague. She’s still in the compound. Anything I tell her, they could find out. I’ll keep checking in on you. And when you’re out, I’ll direct you to me. Okay?
“Okay.”
“Okay what?” Three says.
“Nothing,” Esther says.
I breathe deeply. I’m going now. Talk later.
I don’t wait for her answer, just disconnect, shut her door.
Jed’s looking down at me strangely, asks if I’m okay.
I nod slowly, push Three from my mind—because I can’t work this new Three out—then rub at my ears. The humming’s louder now, louder and louder. I look up and—and then I see it.
It’s low in the sky, just above the horizon.
And I know it is a drone.
A drone searching.
A drone that will find me.
I jump up.
Jed swears. Then he starts to move, away from me and—
For a moment, my thoughts freeze, but then, just as quickly, the ice breaks and the water crashes through.
“Jed!” I cry, and my head’s all over the place, but there’s something, something there—somewhere—telling me something. Something important. And I listen. “Don’t go! Cover me!”
What? He turns back, looks at me. And he looks worried.
The humming gets louder, and I look up—the drone, it’s getting closer, closer and closer—so quickly. How can it move so quickly?
“Cover me!” I yell at him, and Three’s words veer over and over in my mind: The Chosen Ones use thermal imaging to scan the lands as relatively few spirits inhabit these regions when it’s not the Turning, so few spirits can interfere with the imaging.
But Jed is here. He’s a spirit, he can interfere with it—can’t he?
I yell at Jed, try to tell him what my brother said, but the drone is so loud.
I dive back toward the vehicle, yank on the door handle—need to get inside, need cover—but it doesn’t budge. I swear, look up and—
Shit. No time.
I drop to the ground, roll under the vehicle—that same space. The metal above me—will that be hot? Hot enough to mask my signature thanks to the sun? Was that how Corin avoided it? By hiding here? Or was it Rahn? Was he about too, affecting the drone’s detecting ability and protecting Corin? Has Corin seen his uncle again?
I hold my breath, feel tears pierce the corners of my eyes—what about Corin, out there? Jed said he was coming back…what if he’s been detected? He must’ve already seen the drone and—
I suck in gritty air sharply, know I need to stop overthinking, I’m too close to panicking. But the sounds of the drone are getting louder, louder, louder. I clench my hands over my stomach, over the knot of muscles pulsing in time with my heartbeat, and I’m shaking, shaking so much.
Jed rolls under the vehicle too. The dug out space isn’t big, and he crashes into me—his solid body. I try to pull myself away from him. But he could be my only chance if the vehicle isn’t enough—and the Enhanced can’t know I’m alive. They can’t, can’t.
I hold myself carefully, tensing my muscles until they feel heavy, aware of every part of my body that touches Jed, and how it feels; a fiery rill that runs from our shoulders, down to our feet. Scorching heat fills the gaps between us, where my body curves away from his for a moment before joining back up.
And I don’t know why the air is burning around us, or why my breathing is so ragged.
The drone gets louder. Louder and louder. I try to breathe evenly. Need to remain calm. Have to. Need a clear head in case I’m detected, in case I have to run.
Do the Enhanced monitor their drones in New Kitembu in real time? Would they immediately know there’s an Untamed human out here? And what about Corin? Do we even have a chance?
I try to remember what Three said when he told me how a drone had detected where Esther and the Zharat were…when they sent a team out soon after.
Oh Gods.
I freeze. But that’s good. That means there’ll be some time between detection and capture—time I can get away in?
Only I won’t know if I’ve been detected.
I press my lips together. As soon as Corin’s back, and the drone’s gone—gone for now—we’ll have to leave. I try to picture the map with the spirit allocation. We need to go to a place where there are more spirits…spirits all the time—a place where Rahn could be now, in less-than-human form? I grimace. But the spirits are the key. The Untamed only survive where the spirits congregate. The world map proved it. And we need to be in a place where the Enhanced don’t send their drones, a place they can’t use them, if we’re going to have the smallest chance of survival. The smallest chance of winning the war.
I take a deep breath and turn my head. Look at Jed, so close to me. Even his beard looks real, so detailed, each scratchy hair. He’ll have to come with us. His presence could deter our detection.
Corin’s g
oing to love that.
But then I frown. What was it Jed said before? That he can’t stay visible for long…we’d be unprotected some of the time… And how long before Jed does start to degenerate, become one of the wild, bad ones? Rahn said he had a burning desire in him to feed. Jed’s a ‘good’ spirit at the moment, but how soon before he reverts, attacks us? Even if it’s just temporary?
Spirits aren’t safe. Too unpredictable, even the ones who are benevolent can turn.
Spirits are dangerous.
Spirits kill people.
The whirring gets even louder, fills my ears, my brain, every part of me. So loud. My ears feel hot, like they’re burning and warm blood is sloshing through my ear canals.
It’s all right, S’ven. Jed moves his hand a fraction, and his searing skin brushes against my leg.
My heart pounds, and I feel sick. Has the drone already passed over where Corin is—detected him? Or maybe Corin’s immune…no, that wouldn’t work. It uses thermal imaging. I let out a shaky breath. It must’ve been Rahn protecting him. Must’ve been. Rahn’s his uncle. And family matters. Matters very much.
I pray that Corin’s safe.
The humming gets louder still. The land starts to shake.
And Jed and I wait for the drone to pass, pressed up against one another.
Twenty minutes later, when the drone’s gone over and the hum’s faded to a distant thrum, Jed and I move from our hiding place. I’m still breathing hard, feel jumpy.
“We need to get going,” I mutter, then look around. “Where is he?” I peer through the trees, out at the sand, looking for any sign of Corin, then I turn back to where Jed was and—
He’s not there.
I get a strange feeling in my chest, and I crouch down, look under the vehicle. Just the burrowed-out space. The wind whistles through the trees, sounds eerie. I search for Jed, throughout the copse, groaning as each step pulls on my damaged ribs. They’re hurting again now, the adrenaline’s wearing off.
But Jed’s not here.
He’s gone.
I’m alone. All alone. And what if Corin isn’t coming back? What if he’s hurt? Or what if this was a different type of drone, and it picked him up there and then? Tingles crawl down my spine. I grip my hands together, squeeze them. My breathing gets faster. I’ve got to stay calm, I know that. I lean against the vehicle. The sun is low in the sky, like it’s going to get dark soon.
Divided Page 34