by Silver, Anna
London shook her head. “Who?”
Rye reached out again and stroked at a lock of dark hair that edged London’s face. She could feel it give beneath the pressure of his hand. When he touched her, there was sensation, light and diluted, but there nonetheless. When she touched him, there was nothing.
“God, London. There’s so much I want to say. I just—there’s no time.” His eyes implored her to forgive him.
“But—I—” London couldn’t get anything out fast enough. Her words were a string of misfit thoughts and questions.
“Get out of here. Stay safe,” he said again, deadly serious. “Promise me.”
“I promise,” she managed, desperately trying to hold herself together. She felt like an unstrung marionette, a disconnected puzzle of limbs and brain and heart.
Rye’s eyes raced over her features as though memorizing all the changes they found there, as she had his. Then, they bored into her own with the ferocity of a savage animal. “Don’t believe everything you see and hear. Do you understand me? Things aren’t always what they seem.”
London opened her mouth to speak, but only a squeak emerged. What did he mean? Who was he talking about? Himself? Avery? Elias? Zen? Her eyes rolled wildly around the room, taking in all the possibilities.
“London,” he said and her name sounded like honey on his lips, like relief and pleasure and pain all rolled together.
She looked at him, blinking mutely, hearing the desperation in his voice and fighting her own intuitive sense that this was it—this was the last taste of him she was going to get. There was a half a second more for them together, just them, and then they would be apart again.
He opened his mouth to speak, and like her, seemed to choke on the hundred different things that were fighting to emerge at once. At last, three words fought their way through to the surface. “I love you.”
Can I believe him? Her fingers grazed something sharp on the floor, where her crystals had rolled from her pocket during sleep, and a high-pitch hum floated up to her ears. Truth.
And then he was gone.
London felt the darkness creep in on her like a childhood nightmare, returning with all the fears she could forget in the light of day. And the space of him, where he was, where he’d just been, pulled at her like a vacuum in his absence. Her heart folded in on itself, crumpling like paper, withering inside her without him. Wilting like a plant without water.
It was all she could do to get the words out before it completely collapsed, even though he was no longer there to hear them, even though the darkness mocked her and she was too late. She needed to say them.
“I love you, too.”
Chapter 20
* * *
The Shift
“GET UP.” LONDON’S nudge was anything but gentle, and she’d already strapped her boots on, but she didn’t have time for niceties and Zen was a heavy sleeper. “Now, Zen. We have to go.”
He stirred and wiped at his face with both hands as London struck a match nearby, lighting two skinny beeswax pillars on Elias’s table. “What time is it?”
“I don’t know,” London told him. Elias didn’t have windows; the stone tunnels were disorienting. She’d lost track of day and night behind these walls. But she was willing to guess the sun hadn’t risen yet. “I think it’s early morning.”
“How early?” Zen asked, rolling over. “What’s the rush?”
London crouched next to him and began shoving random things into a small canvas pack she’d found tucked away in one of Elias’s lonely cupboards. She wasn’t trying to steal, but there was no time. The Beekeeper wouldn’t miss the stuff anyhow, a few candles, two jars of honey, a wrap of cheese and some biscuits that were hard as packed dirt but better than Dehydrated Dinner any day. She added two or three of the Beekeeper’s books to this stash, praying he would forgive her. Every one of their paper pages were as good as a pack full of ration tickets inside the walls. Their high value could come in handy in a trade.
London thumped Zen on the head with one of the books before throwing it in. “I’m serious, Zen. Help me get the others up.”
She ran over to where Kim and Tora lay cuddled together and began vigorously shaking the pair. “Rise and shine, lovebirds. We have to roll.”
She turned around and Zen was sitting up staring at her. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What the hell is going on?”
London threw the pack over one shoulder. “Look, I can tell you everything once we’re on the road, but there really isn’t time to explain right now. You just have to trust me.”
From behind her, London heard Kim ask, “We’re leaving? Why?”
Zen tugged a long-sleeved shirt on over his tee and London blushed as she looked away, afraid to admit how much the bulge in his shoulders still turned her on. The memory of Rye’s face only moments ago swam before her and she was flooded with guilt. What was she going to do? Part of her heart would always belong to Rye, but she’d just given another part to Zen.
“Ask Miss Ants-in-her-Pants over there,” Zen grumbled back. “This is her bright idea.”
“It’s not my idea,” she said defensively before she could stop herself and the words hung conspicuously between all of them, dangling in the center of room. London bit at her bottom lip until it hurt. Why did she say that? Foot in mouth.
Everyone stopped and stared at her. Kim took a step forward. “Then whose idea is it?”
Tora pulled her arm into a sleeve of her brown, reprocessed jacket. It rustled like dry leaves. She echoed the boys. “London, what’s going on here? I thought we needed more time with Elias to learn all we can? We have one more day here at least. And I’m sure we can convince Ash to give us more.”
London spun around toward the opening that led to Elias’s beehive. “I have to go find the old man. Just…keep getting dressed. I’ll tell you all about it on the way.”
But a large hand landed over her shoulder and pulled her back around before she could escape. “Whoa,” Zen said. “Not that fast. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me why we’re bailing on our deal with Ash and Elias.”
Kim was combing his fingers through his hair. “Exactly where do you expect us to go anyway? This was the end of the road, remember?”
London decided to address the concerns that kept her farthest from having to talk about Rye. “We’ll think of something. There has to be another camp that’s none the wiser.”
They all stared at London dumbfounded. Finally, Tora said, “London, you killed an Outroader. A scout. You shot the messenger! Right now, there are other scouts criss-crossing the landscape from one camp to another spreading word.” Tora affected a mock news anchor voice, “Murderer on the loose. She’s about five foot seven, maybe taller now, with long black hair and a major chip on her shoulder. Goes by the name of London .”
“Yeah, we’re lucky we got in here at all. And since you haven’t stabbed anyone yet, there’s a chance we can convince Ash to let us stay and lay low,” Kim agreed.
“Not to mention the hordes of Tycoon regiments and black trucks that are probably stationed from here to Kingdom Come by now,” Zen said.
London was spinning between the three of them, looking from one to the next with her mouth hanging open, unable to get a word in edgewise. Rye’s warning kept ringing in her ears: if they won’t get up then just take off on your own...get everyone you can and get out of here.
She could just run and leave them there arguing. But, no matter what Rye said, she couldn’t leave them behind. Even he had to know that. She’d already done that once, and never forgiven herself for it.
London swallowed. “They’re coming. Okay? They’re going to be here any minute and we have only a tiny window to get out before they show up.”
“Who?” Tora asked.
“Tycoons. Regiments. Avery. Take your pick.” London stared at Tora, daring the Seer not to believe her.
“But I would feel it,” Tora said softly. “Wouldn’t I?”
�
�I don’t know, Tora,” London admitted, bending to snatch up a spoon that had fallen off the table and stuffing it in her pack. “Avery’s flown under your radar before. She’s sneaky. And she’s getting better.”
Kim was rolling up a couple of the blankets and tucking them under his arms. “If what London says is true, we need to hustle.”
“How do you know that?” Zen asked. “Especially if Tora doesn’t?”
London took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “Someone…someone told me.”
Kim stopped wadding blankets and looked at London. “Someone told you? Someone who isn’t one of us? Someone outside this room?”
London just nodded.
Tora’s sharp eyes zeroed in on London and she knew what was coming before the Seer even asked it. “Who?”
London inhaled, bit her lip, squeezed her eyes shut and said it before she could lose courage. “Rye.”
Zen froze. His shoulders stiffened under his shirt. His nostrils flared and his eyes hardened into rocks. “Rye?”
Again, London nodded.
Around her his name echoed and ricocheted off everyone’s tongue. “Rye?”
“Rye?”
“I know it sounds crazy, but—but he was here. Kind of. He woke me up and he told me we have to go before—” London started but Zen’s voice barreled through her own.
“Crazy? Crazy, London? It sounds suicidal! Let’s just suppose for a moment that you’re not completely delusional and what you’re saying is true. Since when do we listen to Rye? Since when do we trust Rye? How do you know that this isn’t exactly what he wants? That we aren’t playing right into his hands? That they didn’t conjure this to stir us out of hiding?”
London wrung her hands. “If you could have seen him. I mean, I could tell that he meant it and…and I heard the truth alarm go off. My charm.”
“God, you are so gullible when it comes to him!” Zen flung at her. “We’re supposed to believe a rock over our own common sense now? One that only talks to you?”
London’s hands balled into fists at her side. “That isn’t fair, Zen.”
“What isn’t fair is you expecting us to pack up and ship off at the enemy’s bidding! You weren’t even going to tell us until we were out there, until it was too late.” Zen’s face was red and the veins on his neck were thick cords bulging beneath the skin.
“I didn’t think you’d believe me!” she whined and she hated herself for sounding so weak.
“Because we don’t!” Zen shouted back.
Tora was standing silently by and even Kim had dropped the blankets he was carrying. “London,” he said now. “It does sound a little far-fetched.”
London glared at him.
“We just—we need to talk about this first,” he finished.
London huffed. “There isn’t time to talk. Rye said—”
“Rye said? Rye said! I mean, do you even hear yourself?” Zen cut in.
“Zen,” Tora began, stepping between them. “You need to calm down. This isn’t helping. I’m sure if everyone just stays calm we can get to the bottom of this.”
Zen spun around so his back was to them and ran both fists through his shag of blonde hair.
London didn’t know what to do, what to say. She believed Rye, but Zen was so emphatic she was starting to doubt her own instincts. But she’d heard the truth alarm with her own ears, though it only sounded toward the end when he told her he loved her. The only thing she could logically guarantee was true was that Rye still loved her. For all she knew, the rest of it could be a lie. Would Rye do that to someone he loved? Would he lead her into Tycoon hands? And she couldn’t tell Zen any of this. Telling him Rye said he loved her, and that she said it back, would only send him into a bigger rage.
She looked at Tora with wide, wounded eyes that begged to be understood.
Tora stared blankly back. “London, what if Rye wasn’t telling you the truth? The only reason would be like Zen said, to flush us out.”
London’s vision blurred and the tears stung as they built up. She pulled at the corners of her eyes to dispel them. “But what if he was? What if Rye was telling the truth? They’re going to be here any moment and we’ll be caught. What then?”
Tora shrugged and looked away.
London tried again. “If we leave, it’ll take them some time to catch up to us. If Rye’s lying, and they’re trying to flush us out, it’s because they don’t know where we are. So it’s not like they’re lying in wait or anything.”
Kim and Tora looked at each other and Zen grunted from where he stood, both hands leaning against the far wall, his back to her.
London continued. “But if he’s right and he’s telling the truth, and I believe he is, then this is our only chance. It’s a risk we need to take.”
“She has a point,” Tora said and London breathed a sigh of relief.
“We can’t stay here forever,” Kim added. “Maybe it is time to move on. But we need to go totally off grid, no more camps. No more Outroaders.”
Zen spun around and looked at them like they’d lost their minds. “I can’t believe you’re buying this crap.”
Kim shrugged. “We were going to leave anyway. Maybe as soon as tomorrow. What’s a day early?”
“Everything, if there’s a trap waiting out there for us!” Zen shoved his hands in his pockets. “This is insane.”
“But you’re coming?” London asked, desperate to keep him with her, wanting him to be safe, too.
Zen glared at her. “What choice do I have?”
London smiled in spite of the fact that he was clearly unhappy about it. “I’m going to tell Elias. I think he should come with us.”
She started down the tunnel toward the hive, the drone of bees filling her ears, calling his name. “Elias! Wake up! We have to get going. I— I think you should come.”
But he met her outside the cleft before she could reach it, the bees falling off of him like droplets of water. Both hands curled around her arms so tight she could feel the circulation cutting off. His face was plastered with worry. “Go! Go now! I will do what I can to hold them off.”
“What?” London said, clawing at his fingers. “Elias, you’re hurting me.”
His eyes dug into hers. “I cannot follow you, but they won’t have me. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I won’t be able to hold them back for long.” Behind him, the hive was beginning to grow restless, feeding on his anxiety.
“I don’t understand,” London was saying when she heard the sound of muffled pounding, like stomping boots somewhere on the other side of Elias’s rock walls, traveling down the tunnel toward them. Then, the beat of fists against the door. Her eyes filled with terror and Elias dropped his grip on her. Time was up. They were too late.
Before she could say another word, the man before her wavered, a ripple coursing through his body like a wave of energy, and then he sucked into himself, shrinking in midair until all that hung before her was the tiny, fuzzy bisected body of a golden honey bee.
Within a moment, it was lost among the dozens of others just like it as they began to pour out of the cleft in a frenzy.
Elias had shifted.
Chapter 21
* * *
Stung
HER FIRST INSTINCT, her only instinct, was to run. But where? She was sandwiched between two terrors. A swarm blocked her path to the precipice and the Tycoon regiments blocked her path out the door. For a second, she just stood in her place, stunned. Until a burning prickle of pain in her hand, the one still clutching the pack strap at her shoulder, roused her from her daze. Then, instinct took over.
London whirled away from the cloud of bodies massing before her, fragments of it shooting off in all directions, bees whizzing by like bullets in the wind. Her feet carried her back down the tunnel into the main chamber where Zen and Kim were heaving another stand alone cupboard up against the only door into Elias’s rooms.
Behind the wall of spare furnishings they’d created and the rough wood o
f the door itself, London could hear Ash’s voice booming. “Open up, Elias! This is no time to be fickle!”
But as soon as the words met her ears, they were swallowed by a much louder, deeper sound—that of hundreds of thousands of bees filling the room.
London’s eyes caught Zen’s just as the door began to bulge and rattle on its hinges. They had seconds, maybe—if they were lucky, before whatever, whoever, was on the other side of that door busted through. And a few rickety cupboards and chairs were not going to hold them back.
For a moment, everything slowed down until it seemed the world was still around her. Zen’s gray eyes were shining in the feeble light as he leaned against the cupboard they’d just crammed into place. They sparkled with a dozen questions at once, all unspoken. Where’s Elias? Are you alright? Rye was telling the truth, wasn’t he? Why would he do that? But the ones that burned the brightest were far more personal. Do you still love him? Do you love me? And her own dark eyes answered back, soundless. Gone. I’m fine. Yes, he was. But more than that, she knew he could read the love that echoed in her gaze. Yes…and yes.
Behind Zen, Kim was turning, sprinting towards Tora, but to London it was as if his legs moved through a jar of Elias’s honey. Tora was reaching out for him and together they were charging toward her, their motions slow as a drip of molasses. All around, the room grew darker, thicker, with the bodies of Elias’s bees.
But in that moment, there were only Zen’s eyes and her own, locked in silent conversation.
It was the splinters of wood flying all around him as the door broke loose that caused Zen to finally turn his head and break the spell. Suddenly, the world flooded with sound and everything began to rush at her. Black clad limbs, arms, legs, booted feet, helmeted heads, were pushing through the narrow doorway into the chamber, like Tycoon spiders.
Zen was pushing off the cupboard, spinning on his heels to make for the tunnel. “Run!” he screamed at her, his face red with the effort. And then he was swallowed in a dark cloud of bees, a frenzy that had packed nearly every available space in the room, blinding them all and the regimented men who were breaking in.