Night of Never

by Megan O'Russell

  A man so tall he had to bow his head to walk through the tunnel sniffed the air as he passed, looking from Nola to Jeremy.

  A green-eyed woman led four children down the hall, holding a fifth in her arms. She spotted T’s belly. “Congratulations,” the mother said with a smile.

  “Thank you.” T watched the children until they were out of sight, trusting Nola to guide her. “Did you see them?” Tears rolled gently down T’s face. “They all had color in their cheeks, and so much hair.”

  “They were beautiful,” Nola said.

  “They were healthy,” Beauford said.

  “I wish Catlyn had seen this place,” T whispered.

  “You made it here,” Beauford said. “That would have been enough for her.”

  “What happened to her?” Jeremy asked.

  “Do you actually care?” Beauford said.

  “The domes wanted Nola dead, and Catlyn helped keep her alive,” Jeremy said. “I absolutely care.”

  “All lives have value would have sounded better, lover boy,” Raina said.

  A hollow pain swelled at the center of Nola’s chest. “We were attacked before we ever got into the city. Catlyn didn’t make it.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Jeremy said. “She seemed like a really nice woman.”

  “She was,” T said. “Maybe if the baby’s a girl, I can convince Charles to name her after Catlyn.”

  “Catlyn would like that,” Nola said.

  Desmond stopped in front of an intricately carved double door.

  “Only the best for Emanuel.” Raina shoved the doors open.

  Four stained glass chandeliers cast colorful light on the room, which was big enough to hold the largest house in the domes. Bookcases lined the walls with paintings and tapestries hanging above. A single door at the far side of the room was the only other exit.

  “It’s just like Nightland.” Nola’s throat tightened.

  A lifetime ago, she had stood in Emanuel’s library, desperate to know if Kieran was alive. She had thought the tunnels of Nightland were destroyed, a casualty of attacking the domes. But Emanuel had remade his sanctuary, preserving his precious proof of what being human used to mean.

  A stuffed red armchair, which looked like something out of an old gothic novel, sat in the middle of the room. The seat hadn’t been in the library in Nightland. Nola kept her eyes focused on the chair, ignoring the rumble of voices behind the door in the back of the room and Jeremy inching closer to her.

  “Raina.” Emanuel’s voice carried from the door behind them. “I thought I had lost you.”

  “Not so lucky.” Joy filled Raina’s voice. “I’ve come home, Emanuel.”

  “Thank you for fighting your way back to us. Who have you brought with you?”

  There were swirls in the stitching of the chair. A twirling pattern that held no meaning.

  “Jeremy’s a disgraced Outer Guard who wants to see Dr. Wynne. Beauford was taken to the domes as a worker, so was T—she’s carrying a child of Nightland. They helped Nola and me escape.”

  “Nola.” Emanuel stepped in front of Nola, blocking the chair from view.

  Curling black hair hung around his shoulders. His eyes were so dark, they moved beyond a given color and into a void of nothing. The natural tanned tone of his skin had been only slightly paled by years away from the sun.

  “Nola, you’ve come back to us.” Emanuel reached for her.

  “You son of a bitch.” Arms locked around Nola before she could launch herself at him. “You made me trust you. You convinced me to help you!”

  “You saved an innocent child,” Emanuel said.

  “And you killed innocent people in the domes. Look at all you built here. Why break in? Just to prove you could? To spit in the face of the domes one more time before you disappeared?” Nola fought against the arms that held her. She would scratch his eyes out, then punch through his chest until she could rip out his heart.

  “We needed supplies,” Emanuel said.

  “You could have asked for them in the trade.” Nola’s shout echoed off the walls. “Remember that? The time you handed me over to the domes when I wanted to stay with you. Why bother trading? Why bother sending me back if you were just going to break in anyway?”

  “There were things we couldn’t ask for,” Emanuel said. “What we took from the domes will keep the children of Nightland healthy and safe for a hundred years. Is it not worth a few Domer lives to save four generations of children?”

  “You sick bastard.”

  “This is a war, Nola Kent,” Emanuel said. “You’ve known that since the first time you knocked to get into Nightland. It’s a war the domes hide from their people, and yet one of their soldiers stands behind you.”

  Nola glanced down. It was Jeremy who held her in his vise-like arms.

  “All I want for my people is to live in peace,” Emanuel said. “But one final battle had to be fought. And I did everything I could to minimize loss of life on both sides.”

  “Tell that to the civilians killed in the domes. And what about the vampire that bit me? Huh? Was he just aching for a snack?”

  “They scented blood and a frenzy took over,” Emanuel said. “Not all of my soldiers were as strong as I believed them to be. Bringing the weak ones in was a mistake.”

  “A mistake that got people killed,” Nola said.

  “That isn’t the first blood on my hands I regret, and I doubt it will be the last.” Emanuel examined his impeccably clean palms. “It’s the burden of power, and the plague that touches all at the end of the world who refuse to go gently into the dark night.”

  “You can justify anything, can’t you?” Nola said.

  “Anything that gives my people a better chance of survival. The domes were wrong to lock themselves away and hoard every resource the rest of us need to survive, but they got one thing right. You can’t save everyone. You can’t make them all follow you to salvation,” Emanuel said. “I gathered those I could, as many as I could, and I found them safety. The few who perished along my path are nothing to the number I have saved.”

  “Tell that to the families they left behind,” Jeremy said.

  “I’m still comforting my own who lost loved ones to the domes,” Emanuel said. “And now you’re here. That either makes you enemies in my halls, or my own family to protect. I will leave that choice to you.”

  “Are you going to attack the domes again?” Jeremy asked.

  “What would I gain tactically from attacking the domes from this distance?” Emanuel sat in his red chair.

  “Nothing,” Jeremy said. “They would be ready, they would destroy you, and they would follow the stragglers home.”

  “Then you have your answer.” Emanuel spread his hands.

  “Nothing about how you have what you need and causing any more bloodshed is a horror you won’t risk?” Nola asked.

  “That’s more true than you know,” Emanuel said. “But you won’t believe me. Jeremy knows the truth of tactics. That he can believe.”

  “It would be suicide for them to attack again,” Jeremy said.

  “Good,” Nola said.

  “Are you past wanting to attack me?” Emanuel asked.

  “No,” Nola said. “But it wouldn’t be a tactically sound decision.”

  “I think you can let Nola go, Jeremy,” Emanuel said. “Learning to live in Nightland won’t be an easy transition for either of you, but know you are welcome and will find safety within my home.”

  “Just like that?” Nola said. “You’ll welcome us with open arms?”

  “You helped Raina,” Emanuel said. “The least I can offer you is a chance at a home.”

  “What sort of home are you offering?” Jeremy eased his grip on Nola, though he didn’t let her go. “A bunker in a mountain, is this really the hope you’ve been waiting for? How are you going to feed a thousand people? What plants can you grow in the dark to feed the children, and where are you getting blood from?”

  “I al
ways suspected the Outer Guard were smarter than their uniforms let on,” Raina said.

  “I would be happy to give you a tour of our gardens and farm, but it’s better to wait for nightfall,” Emanuel said. “We have plenty to do in the meantime. Find you a place to rest—”

  “And Charles.” T stepped forward. “My baby’s father is Charles. He fought with you at the domes.”

  Emanuel’s brow wrinkled. “Desmond, find Julian and have him search the records for Charles.”

  Desmond strode toward the door at the back of the library.

  “We’ll do what we can to find him,” Emanuel said.

  “Thank you.” T gave a small bow.

  The door at the back of the library swung open before Desmond reached for the handle. A boy with dark hair and a pale face stepped into the library.

  “We need to get her fed, too,” Raina said. “I pushed her hard to get here.”

  The boy’s eyes weren’t the green they should have been. Black had swallowed the color.

  “Nola.”

  The boy’s voice was the same. She would recognize the way he said her name even after a hundred years.

  “Nola, how did you get here?”

  The room swayed as he came toward her, worry and joy marking his face in equal measure.

  She didn’t know how she broke free of Jeremy’s arms, didn’t feel her feet carry her toward Kieran, couldn’t hear the words his mouth formed.

  Nola didn’t know anything until pain shot through her knuckles as they met his face.

  Chapter Seven

  “Nola!” Jeremy’s shout echoed off the walls as Nola punched Kieran again.

  “You filthy traitor!” The scream tore from Nola’s throat as Jeremy’s arms locked around her again, lifting her feet from the floor. “You knew them. The people you helped Nightland kill in the domes, you knew them!”

  “Nola.” Kieran’s eyes were wide with shock.

  “How could you?” Nola kicked back, catching Jeremy in the knee. “I trusted you. Was everything a lie? Did you ever even give a shit about me?”

  “I have always loved you,” Kieran said.

  Jeremy’s grip loosened.

  Nola launched away from him, tackling Kieran to the ground with strength she didn’t recognize.

  “Don’t you dare!” She punched him in the chin. “Don’t you fucking dare. You led them into our home.” She hit him again. “I got bit, Jeremy almost died. So many people did die.” She hit him again and again. Hands forced her arms to her sides, lifting her away from Kieran. “No, let me go. You let me go.”

  Desmond kept her arms pinned.

  Kieran stared up at her from the ground. Blood trickled from his nose, and bruises covered his face.

  “You were my best friend.” Tears coursed down Nola’s cheeks. “I loved you. I mourned for you. How could you?”

  Kieran sprung to his feet like she hadn’t hurt him at all. “We had to go into the domes. There was no other way. I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry doesn’t bring people back to life.” Nola kicked and squirmed, desperate to break free, to hurt Kieran. To make him feel every ounce of agony he had caused. “You made me believe in you, and then you ruined everything.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Kieran took a step forward, both hands out as though approaching a wounded animal. “I wish there had been another way to get the medicine to save Eden. I wish I had never led you to Nightland and we hadn’t needed the supplies from the domes. I wish my dad and I had never gotten kicked out of the domes and you and I were still living there safely, the two of us together, like it was meant to be.”

  The will to fight left Nola’s limbs. Desmond loosened his grip on Nola, setting her back on the floor.

  “Nola, I’m sorry,” Kieran whispered. “I never, ever wanted to hurt you.”

  “Well, you did.” A sob hitched in Nola’s chest. “You broke my heart. I trusted you, and loved you, and…” There were no more words, just tears.

  Arms wrapped around Nola. Not holding her back but comforting her. Jeremy held her close to his chest, his scent of fresh earth filling her lungs.

  Nola pushed away from him, smacking him hard across the face.

  Jeremy blinked wide-eyed at her.

  “Don’t pretend you didn’t hurt me too.” Every inch of Nola’s body shook as tears streamed freely down her face.

  “It’s okay, Nola.” T took her hand. “You’re okay. We’d like to find a place to rest, please.”

  Nola couldn’t see past her tears as T led her out the double door of the library and down the hall.

  Emanuel and Raina spoke softly at the front of the group. The sound of Jeremy’s boots echoed far behind.

  “How?” Nola asked. “How did all of this happen?”

  “The end of the world sucks,” Beauford said. “Surviving is hard, and it makes people hard. Death is common, pain is normal. When finding a way to live to the end of the day is a battle, it’s easy to think of everyone as a casualty of war.”

  “Big guy is smart.” Raina stopped at a wooden door. 113 had been carved at the top. “In you get. I’ll bring some food around later.” She swung open the door, bowing them in. “Nola, do you still eat?”

  “Yes, she eats,” Jeremy said.

  “Don’t speak for me,” Nola growled.

  T dragged her into the stone room.

  “I don’t think so, lover boy.” Raina blocked Jeremy at the door. “We’ll find a different place for you to rest your weary head.”

  “I—” Jeremy began.

  Nola stopped him with a glare.

  Jeremy shrugged and stepped back.

  “Get some rest.” Raina shut the door, leaving Nola with T and Beauford.

  Four cots and a table took up most of the room, leaving barely enough space for the three sets of drawers crammed between the beds. None of the furniture matched, and all of it had been patched up in some way.

  “They must have scavenged all over the city.” T pulled out one of the four chairs and sat, hands draped over her belly.

  “How many carved out rooms are there in this place?” Beauford asked. “How long did it take them to dig, and how did the whole thing not collapse?”

  “No idea.” Nola’s voice shook.

  “Come sit.” T nudged a chair with her toe.

  “I don’t want to sit.” Nola buried her face in her hands. The pain in her knuckles from punching Kieran had already begun to fade.

  “Then what do you want to do?” T asked.

  “Punch some more people is my guess.” Beauford sat on the bed nearest the door.

  “That would be nice. Or I could run until my legs fall off. Or grab a pick and smash the walls until this whole place caves in.” Nola paced in front of the door.

  “You’re stronger now, but I think the mountain might still win,” T said.

  Nola examined the skin on her knuckles. She hadn’t even noticed she’d been bleeding, but drying blood coated her hand, surrounding freshly healed skin.

  “I hope I’m strong enough that it actually hurt him.” A tremble of shock stung Nola’s heart at her own words. She sank into a chair.

  “I didn’t know you’d really been in love with him,” T said. “Kieran, I mean.”

  “Maybe I wasn’t,” Nola said. “I mean, I thought I was, he was my best friend for forever. I trusted him…”

  T squeezed Nola’s hand, ignoring the blood on her skin. “You can’t always pick who you love.”

  “It’s not supposed to be like this.” Anger flushed Nola’s cheeks as she said the childish words. “You should be able to love people. To trust people.”

  “And no one should be hungry, and clean water should fall from the sky,” Beauford said.

  “How did this happen?” Nola swiped the tears from her cheeks. “How did I end up in a dug out cave with vampires? How did this become the good idea?”

  “You got betrayed by a lot of people, and there’s nowhere else you can go and stay alive,” Beauford s
aid.

  “Beauford,” T shushed.

  “He’s right,” Nola said. “Living with the devil is better than death.”

  “See? Start with better than death and work your way up from there.” Beauford stretched out on the bed.

  Footsteps passed in the hall. T sat up straight, staring wide-eyed at the door, but the person on the other side kept walking.

  “They’ll find him,” Nola said.

  “They will.” T gave a faint smile. “They have to. I came too far to find him.”

  A minute passed, then another.

  “What happens if they can’t find him?” T whispered.

  “Then you’ll still be okay.” It was Nola’s turn to squeeze T’s hand. “You’re strong and brave.”

  “And you’re not alone.” Beauford spoke with his eyes closed. “Nola and I will be here.”

  T looked at Nola.

  “He’s right,” Nola said. “We’re all here together. And we’ll all make sure your baby is safe.”

  “Thank you.”

  A cluster of footsteps passed through the hall, the sound rumbling through the door.

  Nola wanted to prop open the door to see who was passing by or, better yet, go find Julian and help find Charles herself. But wandering the tunnels would only get her lost.

  “What if the baby isn’t born healthy?” T whispered. “What if I find Charles, but our baby doesn’t survive?”

  “Breathe, T,” Beauford murmured. “The best thing you can do for the baby is breathe.”

  “What if the baby hasn’t got lungs to breathe or a brain?” T said. “What if the baby already has a terrible disease from my living in the city?”

  “Dr. Wynne is the best doctor on the outside,” Nola said. “He’ll make sure your baby is okay.”

  Please let Dr. Wynne be able to help her.

  Nola held onto T’s hand, examining the room to keep from staring at T’s belly.

  These walls hadn’t been carved as smoothly as the walls of the hall. Three bulbs hung from the ceiling, linked together by a red cord that ran through the top of the wall on one side of the room and out the other. There was no window in the room, but the air didn’t have the stifling quality she would have expected. Nola searched the walls for the vent pushing in the cool air. Only a four-inch hole in the ceiling gave any hint as to where the air might be coming from.