The Uprising (The Julianna Rae Chronicles)

by Aral Bereux

  The bright night turned black. The big round disc, full and bright, was covered with a passing cloud. The breeze’s warmth would dry her clothes before she finished her swim. The night was comfortable.

  At last.

  Her mind exhaled.

  Her body trembled.

  The cool water lapped gently at her naked body. Her feet sunk into the thick mud and she toed it cautiously for anything lurking. When the bottom dipped out, she swam for the middle. She bobbed her head back a few times to wet her hair, keeping her eyes clear to gaze above the surface. When she soaked the last of the blood and dirt away, she treaded the water and listened to the trees dance along with nature.

  The clouds parted way for the moon, and the stars were a thick blanket of sparkling white. She measured the distance with her fingers outstretched, closing in to an inch to hide them again, playing with the notion of grasping their brightness in her hand, and then letting them go. She estimated from the thickness of the stars, that the night was into its twentieth hour. She considered the power Caden held in the palm of his hand, as she released another star.

  And Taris.

  Her head snapped toward the shore at the sound of crunching pebble, waiting for a soldier to approach. She cursed herself for the jinx – of thinking his name, as she lowered her breasts into the water, paddling quietly, and sinking until her eyes rested above the line. The moonlight lit the clearing well. She waited for the crunch of broken twigs to stop, and the gravel of the shore line to reach underfoot.

  Caden halted with his Glock swinging loosely in his hand. He tucked it under his shirt, and she swam closer, keeping her nakedness in the depths, for cover.

  He crouched over the fire with his hands out to catch its warmth.

  ‘Maybe I was wrong earlier,’ she said.

  His hands curled around a flame. It struggled to escape from his clutches. He let it go.

  ‘Though you keeping something like being my watcher secret, was wrong,’ she said. ‘You should’ve told me earlier.’

  He gave her a fleeting glance before hooking her dry knickers onto his finger. He playfully twirled them once before ending his tease. They landed over the branch.

  ‘Yelling at Bastiaan was the wrong thing to do as well,’ she said. ‘Heat of the moment. I’m sorry.’

  He cleared his throat. ‘No. You called it the way you saw it. Maybe keep it between ourselves next time, not in front of everyone. If you’re pissed at me, keep it with me.’

  ‘It wasn’t intended for everyone,’ she said.

  He was eyeing the water lining her breasts and she sank deeper into the lake as her self-consciousness took over.

  ‘Being your watcher doesn’t make me your enemy. You saw that last night,’ he stood. ‘How cold’s the water?’

  ‘Cold enough.’ She said and watched as he unbuttoned his shirt. The Glock pressed into his skin when he leant over the water. ‘Don’t think you’re joining me.’

  ‘Don’t think I’m not.’ He slipped his black shirt over his arms and dunked it into the water. The stone she used for her own clothes was dragged along his. Caden wrung it before hanging it beside her bra. His belt swung over the branch next, and then his pants.

  She backstroked out and caught his glance. The water exposed her until she sunk down again. The soft lapping of the ripples against her skin tickled under her arms.

  ‘You looking for some action, or can a man get some privacy? Either way, I’m happy to abide.’

  She swam to the middle of the lake, diving shallowly under the water, kicking lightly until her lungs felt the pressure of an early suffocation. When she returned to the surface he was swimming lazily toward her.

  ‘You’re useless with my orders.’

  She swam, closing their gap where she treaded the water. Her shoulders tipped out. She slowed her legs and arms, sinking down, while he admired her from his distance. His eyes wandered across what was barely visible.

  ‘I’ve taken orders all my life, and always from men,’ She followed him swimming around her, creating a lapping effect against her body. ‘I promised myself no more, and you’re no exception. Watcher or Commander, I really don’t care,’ she said.

  ‘Since Taris?’ he continued swimming the circle. She stayed, choosing not to watch his every move, keeping her eyes forward. He eventually returned in front of her and stopped. ‘You didn’t answer,’ he waited.

  Julianna shrugged. ‘Since Taz, since Uncle Douglas Cathan, since a lot of things.’

  ‘Why do you do that?’ he asked. He swam back a few strokes and she followed.

  ‘Do what?’

  ‘Call him Taz, like you’re old friends?’

  She shrugged, ‘Does it matter if I don’t have an answer?’

  ‘No, curious. But I think you still have a thing for him.’

  She pointed a finger casually. ‘Now, master watcher, you just crossed a line,’ she warned.

  ‘Tell someone who cares, sweetheart.’ He went under the water and she waited for his return to debate the last comment. When he eventually surfaced, he was behind her, startling her. He apologized, but with a sincerity she didn’t trust.

  ‘What’s your story, then?’ she asked.

  Caden swam to her. ‘You know mine. Old Council, treason charges, the camp, the Rebellion…now here, with you.’ He closed their space. ‘After a very, very, long twenty-four hours.’ He smirked and gave her a wink. ‘Alone.’

  She paddled away from him. ‘I’m being serious.’

  He smiled and swam to the shallow waters where he stood on the murky bottom. ‘I’m done being serious today. Need some time off.’

  Julianna followed him in. The water was numbing her skin and making her bottom lip quiver. Her feet found the ground beside him and their toes touched.

  ‘You were head of the Council once,’ she said. She waited for the defining answer. She wanted to hear it from his mouth, not the others.

  Caden’s eyes narrowed. ‘Hmmm, once,’ his eyebrow cocked. ‘Never left it.’ He waved his arm around to encompass his surroundings. ‘This gig is much more interesting. You’re a great sniper, too. Thought I should mention that.’

  ‘Taz taught me all I know about the sniper rifle. Maybe you should know that.’ She dipped further into the water from the wind. ‘Last I heard you lost your illustrious position to your cousin, and then the Council came to an abrupt end.’ She watched his expression remain, the smirk never leaving him while he nodded. ‘You knew me in the cells last year. You knew I was Peter Rae’s daughter.’

  ‘Are you looking for an explanation to something you already know?’ He looked up from the water and his brow furrowed. ‘I knew who you were, once I heard your name. Notorious for the trouble you caused. Biggest trouble maker in the family.’

  She sniggered. ‘Now you’re making light of a serious situation.’

  ‘Like I said, need some time off from serious,’ he admired the starry sky. ‘I’ll be serious tomorrow if you like. Promise.’

  She shook her head. ‘Maybe I need some time off too,’ she said quietly. ‘My bad. Forget I asked.’

  He leaned over. ‘You did good back there. What happened – all of it. It takes nerves to confront even the smallest noc, let alone one with a rifle.’

  His dizzying pull reached from him to her, she was puzzled. He wasn’t reading her, or whispering, but his expression had changed to one she didn’t understand.

  ‘Daniel has the couch. Dev’ cried herself to sleep in Bastiaan’s arms again…’ he rolled his eyes. He held two fingers for her to see. ‘Two beds, one sofa.’

  The water held the heat from her cheeks and the butterflies started in her lower belly. ‘I’m sure you’re used to the floor by now. Can you turn around please? I’m cold.’

  He baulked at the suggestion. ‘Modesty in an Exotic Dancer?’

  ‘I’ve never given a private dance yet,’ she said, and he gave her a cheeky wink. ‘I dance for the Rebellion. Club Star’s just a rouse to hide who I
am, you know that.’

  He turned for her. ‘Teasing, sweetheart. Lighten up.’

  Julianna left the water for the wind whipping against her smooth skin. The pebbles under her wet feet felt sharp near the fire. She leaned her naked body into the warmth to grab her knickers.

  ‘You know he hates you dancing.’

  Julianna fumbled with them as they fought the pull along her wet legs. Her clothes were warm from the fire as they clung over her dampness. She felt Caden’s clothes hanging on the branch. ‘Your clothes aren’t dry.’

  He walked unashamed from the water reaching for the shirt she held. She turned awkwardly towards the woods, extending her arm behind her, waiting for his grab, wishing it was his pants instead.

  ‘You know I’m talking about your father,’ he took his shirt. ‘He hates you dancing in those places. Rebellion or not, it’s not really an excuse is it? You like taking your clothes off for strangers’

  ‘Says he who stands naked behind me, unashamed. Besides, I don’t take my clothes off – and maybe he should stop me if it bothers him.’ she said quietly, glancing back and quickly returning from his nakedness to stare at the trees.

  ‘Well, he tried when he sent me.’ He slipped his pants over his wet legs, and she could hear his zip and his belt being buckled. ‘He worries about his little girl out in the Rebellion. It’s why he appointed me to you.’

  ‘So he’s the one responsible for you being my watcher? And when do I get a say in it all?

  ‘Kills him he can’t be closer,’ he hesitated. ‘Kills him you’re so reckless.’

  She spun around. ‘Kills me too. Kills me that I’ve been searching this whole damn time – and you know who he is, and where he is – and I’ve been looking since we escaped the camp…’ she stepped into his space, mindful to keep her hands down. She wanted to point, to emphasize every word, to let Caden Madison know just how angry she was, but she held on.

  ‘This week my mother appears in Sector One, and you tell me daddy dearest is alive. So next time, when you two have a friendly talk, tell him from me, that I don’t need his concern, or a watcher to look out for me, and if you so much as hint at initiation, and training, and abilities again, I’ll smash you from where I stand. I’m a norm, not a watcher.’

  ‘Temperamental little thing too, aren’t you?’ he smirked. ‘Just from one little comment.’ He held his fingers to emphasize the little part.

  ‘Does Isis know?’

  ‘That I’m your appointed? Yes he does. He’s very agreeable to it. Let’s just say everything your father decides, Isis is right there with him. They’re good friends, they know each other well.’

  She left him standing beside the water to finish dressing alone. She didn’t notice the time it took to reach the farm house, or the wrong turn she misjudged. She was too angry – he couldn’t expect to have all hugs and kisses upon the topic could he? The thought drove her mad; and with it her pace quickened up the stairs to the farm house door.

  The torn wire screen hung in its frame, holding the bugs away from the candles flickering through the ripped curtains. Daniel stirred on the worn out sofa. The slamming door startled him, and she found herself staring down the muzzle of his pointed gun.

  ‘Christ Julianna, wake the dead next time.’ He muttered and lowered the weapon. The dusty sofa he had turned into his bed looked inviting. He pointed a finger to a door across from them. ‘Your room. I can take the floor and he can take this if you like,’ he yawned.

  She shook her head.

  ‘He’s your watcher and he’s an asshole, don’t you forget.’ He yawned again and rolled over, starting his snore from where he left off.

  Her lips pursed together. Daniel yawned one more time as she opened the door he’d pointed to. It creaked loudly, Daniel was right, if the dead haven’t woken already…and she closed the door tight behind her.

  A window of rotting wood and peeling paint was open for a breeze, or it didn’t close – she wasn’t sure. With the noise she had already made, she didn’t dare pull it down. Candles flickered on an old table beneath it, and she circled around a double bed sitting center of the room. The blanket Caden had carried in was lying tidy on its mattress. For the abandoned long forgotten farm house, the quality of the room was admirable. The dust was minimal and it was clean, dry and warm. In the New World Order, a perfect world finally graced her fingertips.

  The door closed quietly.

  ‘I was kidding about the floor,’ she said, not looking back. She felt his gaze.

  He unlaced his boots next to the door, kicking them away gently. ‘I know. Too tired to play anyway.’

  He collapsed into the center of the bed. His hands rested behind his head and he watched her. ‘Unless, you wanna’ play.’

  Is that what he called it?

  She blew two of the three candles out. ‘We’re safe here, right?’

  Caden ushered for her. She crawled along the bed to a grasp that pulled her tight against his body. He closed his eyes as they lay motionless together and she took in the stillness of the night. Their breathing synched, and slowly she closed her eyes against the room, feeling his arm move around her shoulders to pull her even closer.

  ‘I’m first watch,’ a sigh escaped him. ‘Nothing out there, I’ve already done patrols, so yes we are safe. You okay?’ he whispered.

  His head turned on the dusty mattress to see her face in the dull light.

  She didn’t answer.

  ‘Tough girl,’ he said quietly.

  ‘Sometimes you need to be,’ she felt his head turn back and she rested her hand on his chest.

  He agreed. ‘Sometimes.’

  Her eyes flicked open to see him studying the ceiling. She felt exposed resting on her side with her leg hanging loosely over him, but she didn’t want to leave his safe embrace. Maybe he was reading her and that prompted his questions. She hoped not. She lifted her hand to stretch and he returned it gently to rest on his stomach.

  ‘I’d rather think of other things, pretend this week never happened.’

  ‘When you’re done pretending, I’m here,’ he rubbed his eyes. ‘When Taris knifed you – the dream you had last night…’ He raised the hand resting on his stomach to his forehead.

  The knife wielding into her belly invaded her mind. The memory permanently embed. Her stomach ached at the thought as she watched the knife slam down in slow motion – over, and over, and over, again. The fever had stolen any chance to think about it, until now. Now it sunk into her mind, and she could relive the nightmare.

  His eyes drew her attention and he touched her side gently. ‘I can try healing you again.’

  She shook her head. The scar beneath her singlet was caressed with his finger. It didn’t hurt like that, all the healing in the world wouldn’t take away the memory that looped in her mind. His words just brought it back.

  His fingers stroked the skin gently. ‘Still a scar, can feel it.’

  ‘Doesn’t matter,’ she said. His hand continued to trace the outline. ‘Plenty more to follow, I’m sure.’

  His touch along her waist became more intentional, his eyes changed. She’d only ever had Taris, but the dark eyes, the concentration that came with it all; she knew the game they were playing.

  His lips nipped hers playfully.

  A dangerous game. His instincts—

  His hand ran across her flat stomach, lingering with each push of his mouth until she was under him, and he was on top. She felt his tongue taking her over with every moment they shared, until he pulled away to study her.

  She responded to his stare with her own. The smile he gave reached his eyes. His quick wink caught her breath while he tugged at her belt, playfully pulling her pants tightly between her thighs. He knew how to please, and the dizzying pleasure made her draw closer. He kissed her again.

  Just for a moment, no longer.

  His breathing rushed. ‘You want me to stop?’ he moved his lips down the nape of her neck and she stretched it, eager f
or his caress.

  He won’t be able to stop.

  ‘Jay,’ he whispered, nudging at her lips again. ‘I’ll stop,’ he pulled away.

  ‘No,’ she took his open shirt firmly. ‘I didn’t mean it.’

  But he was from the Old Council; he’s my Watcher.

  ‘Don’t be scared of who I am.’

  His hands ran beneath her singlet, feeling her delicate skin, slowly taking in the softness of her belly, before stretching the material over her head carefully. He bent down to kiss the center of her naked stomach.

  You know what I am, Julianna.

  She knew.

  He knelt and loosened his belt. The buckle dropped loosely on his touch, resting against his left leg while he unzipped and pushed the waist of his pants down until they left him. They landed heavily beside the bed.

  He leaned over her again.

  Another kiss.

  Another touch from the tips of his fingers.

  A noise from outside.

  They both sat on the bed, exchanging glances, daring not to move in case they missed the next sound. Julianna held her breath. His pupils expanded into his eyes, abducting all color for darkness.

  It moved again.

  Caden extended his hand. She wasn’t aware of his Glock in the room, but it flew into his grasp on his command. He ejected the magazine clip to check its rounds. She saw the two bullets left as he slapped it into position. He cocked the action and leapt from the bed, peering cautiously through the window where the curtains billowed around him.

  ‘The prisoner?’ she whispered.

  He shook his head. ‘Still there, I can’t see anything else,’ his large eyes looked back and they reminded her of the owl from her dreams.

  She reached for his pants. He caught her throw and gave her a pout and his eyes settled into their lighter brown shade.