by Ann Bakshis
We walk through a back entry to the High Ruler’s palace and head down to the floor below. The air is moist and cold; mold covers much of the walls. Jagger is secured to a notch in the cement blocks while I’m left standing between two Regulators and two palace guards.
Artemis saunters over, grinning ear to ear.
“I see you just couldn’t stay away,” he says, as he motions for the men to step back. “If only all women felt this compelled to return to me as often as you do, I would never be lonely. Then again, you did make a fool of me.”
He punches me hard in the face.
“You son of a bitch, don’t you fucking touch her like that again. I’ll kill you if you do that again.” Jagger screams, pulling hard on the chains.
“Stepping out on me, Trea?” Artemis smirks, sizing Jagger up. “My, my, you have been a busy girl.
“Artemis, please, you need to listen to me.”
“Why should I? You’ve caused me nothing but grief. Killing you would be counterproductive, so perhaps a more fitting punishment would be to punish your friend here instead. Watch as he is slowly ripped apart.”
“No,” I shout, realizing the sincerity in his threat. “I have a proposition for you.”
“I don’t take proposals, especially from someone who has caused me so much frustration.” He begins to walk back towards the doorway, gesturing to the guards. “Kill him slowly, make sure she watches, then bring her upstairs.”
Two of the guards force me down onto my knees, holding my head up by my throat as the Regulators approach Jagger, knives drawn. He screams as the first wound is inflicted on his exposed arms. Blood runs down onto the floor as they begin slicing away.
Anger triggers my actions. Trea finally emerges.
Snapping my head back, I roll over, twisting out of the guards’ hands. I grab the guard on my right, plant my foot into his lower back, and shove him across the room, taking out two more guards. The other guard is on me the moment I attack the Regulators. I try and fight him off as others approach, but there are too many now as more come down the steps, past Artemis, and into the room. I can’t fight them all, but I have to help Jagger somehow.
“I’ll make a deal with you!” I shout to be heard over the ruckus.
Artemis turns around, snaps his fingers, which causes everyone to stop moving.
“And what, my dear Trea, could you possibly have to make a deal with?
“You let Jagger live and I’ll tell you where you can find another Antaean.”
His face takes on a serious tone as he narrows his eyes, trying to determine if I’m lying. He walks over to me as I hang between the arms of two guards.
“Where is he?”
“Ha. You think I’m going to tell you now? You let Jagger go free and then we’ll talk.”
Artemis hesitates in responding, a single finger bouncing off of his lips as he ponders the exchange.
“Nope, forget it, keep going. Make sure you spill all his blood.”
“No, Artemis, please. I’m begging you, I’ll do anything, just leave Jagger alone.”
“Now that’s more like it. Begging looks good on you, Meg.” He walks over to me, kisses me on the cheek. “Take Jagger here back to the Boroughs. We’ll find some use for him.”
I twist myself free from of the guards’ grips, remove one of their blades from a holster inside one of their coats, knock Artemis to the ground and nestle the sharp edge against his pale-skinned neck. “No, Artemis, that’s not the deal. The deal is Jagger goes free and I tell you where to find an Antaean. If you don’t accept, I will open your neck from ear to ear.”
“Neither you nor Jagger will make it out of this room alive,” he whispers.
“You’ll go first.”
I take the tip of the knife and begin to slowly cut him under his right ear. He screams, swearing for me to stop.
“All right,” he shouts, “but you have to do everything I ask, no matter what.”
“Fine,” I consent, as I step off of him, placing the blade in my belt for safekeeping.
He signals the guards to release Jagger while a Regulator helps Artemis to his feet and places pressure on his wound to stem the bleeding. Jagger’s wounds are hastily cleaned and stitched before we walk back up to the surface. Sweat pours from my body. The guards begin to escort Jagger around to the front of the palace, but he stops.
“If it’s all the same to you,” he says to me, “I’d prefer to stay.”
“Why?” I ask, wondering why he’s giving up the freedom I’ve gained him.
“To protect you, Meg. Like I said before, I made a promise. ”
I feel for the first time in months that I have a true ally.
Artemis rolls his eyes, turns to his lead guard, and tells him to escort Jagger to their quarters to get properly mended and fitted for a uniform. The Regulators return to their post out on the jetty while Artemis takes me inside the palace and up to the top floor where I’m shown to a suite next to Kedua’s. Once the door is closed and I’m alone, I walk into the marble-covered bathroom, turn on the hot water in the enormous bathtub, strip down and slide into the warm embrace. I lay there, eyes closed, trying to drown my mind of all that has previously happened, and focus on a plan I need to put together fast.
If Artemis is thinking I’ll do whatever he asks, he’s sorely mistaken.
My intention is to use Artemis to free Lehen, but it’s after the rescue that I need to plan for.
I stay in the water much too long and it becomes cold, so I drain the tub then refill it again so I can properly wash up.
I’m so covered in filth and my hair is so exceptionally tangled that it takes five washings to rinse clean, only then do I begin to feel human again, skin freshly cleansed, and pink from stringent scrubbing. I wrap myself up into a thick towel before stepping onto the cool blue floor where I search the cabinets under the dual vanity for nail clippers and a comb. Suitably groomed, I finally exit the bathroom and find an identical outfit to the one I’d worn in Tyre when I fought the droid, lying on the gray comforter of my bed. I place it on the dresser, don a plush blue robe, and crawl under the inviting covers, falling deeply asleep.
I don’t stir until I hear a knock at my door. The room is dark, so as the door opens I’m slightly blinded by the intense light from the hallway. Jagger pokes his head in, blue and gold uniform fastened tightly to his fit body. He tells me he wants to make sure I’m all right and that he’ll be standing outside my door all night. Then he quietly closes it and I go back to sleep.
There are no nightmares this night, just sound restful sleep.
I feel like I haven’t been able to properly maintain the training that Devlan had me doing, and I know I’ll need it, so it’s just as well I’m supposed to start training Kedua. It’s one of Artemis’ demands in exchange for saving Jagger, and as it happens it also fits into my plans, so I agree.
Artemis places Kedua and I in the Regulator’s housing complex on the northern platform. The top three floors are dedicated to weight training, an indoor climbing wall, a five-lane track, and a substantially large swimming pool. Kedua isn’t too thrilled about being removed from her luxurious suite, but Artemis wants to make sure she has the same abilities as I do.
I spend the next week working on her strength and endurance. She fights me every step of the way, so I eventually stop telling her what to do and just concentrate on getting myself into shape, spending about eight hours a day between the track and the climbing wall.
Jagger is in charge of my protection, so he makes it a point to train with me. I out-pace him at every turn, but he never gives up. He’s well-trained and very fit, for a Laic. We spend many nights staying up late talking. I hesitate to discuss anything I’ve been through with him at first, but after a while I do let him in on some of my fears.
“Why don’t you like being called Trea?” he asks, as we sit in my room watching some endless propaganda video on the large monitor over my dresser.
The video continual
ly states that the war with Tyre is approaching and everyone must be prepared, however from what I have seen and heard, Tyre has made no move to invade Acheron. We keep the monitor on since it also provides some white noise in case anyone is trying to listen in on us.
“I don’t like losing control,” I say. “Trea is unpredictable and I can understand why Devlan did whatever it was to keep her quiet all these years. She’s dangerous. And I don’t want Meg to be lost, possibly forever.”
He doesn’t press the topic even though I can sense he wants to ask more questions.
The second week begins with me showing Kedua how the Quantum Stream works while Artemis is finalizing our plans with his Royal Guards to enter Nuceira.
First, I demonstrate using a Pugio blade. Her eyes light up upon seeing the energy stream wrap itself around the metal of the blade, almost causing it to sing. I take the blade and spar with Jagger, showing her how to properly hold the weapon, wielding it in a slow rhythmic dance. After several hours of practice, Kedua picks up one of the Levin guns lying on the table by the windows.
“Show me how to use this,” she says to me, placing the gun in my hands.
“I would prefer you to have more experience with the other weapons before we move onto this one.”
“You’re kidding, right? I already know how to shoot the damn thing. The only thing I need from you is your power,” she says, as she gestures to the blue line meandering up and down my arm, all the while her tone threatening.
“You’re not ready for it,” I grumble back at her, placing the gun back and walking away.
“Meg!” Jagger screams from behind me.
I turn around in time to see the Pugio blade coming at me, so I’m forced to dive to the floor, rolling away from Kedua as she tries to plunge the weapon into my chest. Jagger picks up the Levin gun I’d been holding and aims it Kedua, but he doesn’t get a chance to fire as several guards grab him, shoving him down on his knees. They restrain him, forcing him to watch Kedua try to kill me.
“You don’t want to do this,” I tell her, as I try and make my way back around to the weapons table.
“Come on, Trea, I know you’re in there,” Kedua taunts me.
It sounds like she’s been eavesdropping on my conversations. The annoying thing is, it works.
My mind begins to distort the images around me.
I feel heat growing inside, pulsating through my veins. My right arm burns red hot, searching for a weapon to manipulate. A smile grows on Kedua’s face as she sees Trea escaping from her lair. I fight myself to keep her hidden, but I’m losing control every second. Kedua jabs at me, grazing my thigh.
I reach the table, grabbing a hold of whatever enters my grasp first. Looking down at my fingers, I notice I’m gripping a simple Beta gun, but I don’t have time to choose an alternate weapon as Kedua comes at me again. I fire the gun, hitting her in the arm and shoulder. She drops the blade to cover her wounds with her working arm. I walk over, pick up the blade as the heat grows; bright blue beams intertwine around the weapon, wrapping tightly around the metal causing it to glow intensely.
“You want this power,” I hiss at Kedua who is now crouching on the floor, “you can have it.”
I thrust the blade deep into her left arm, almost severing it. She screams in pain…a noise I’m very familiar with. I pull the blade out, drop it to the ground, and walk away, as the guards drop Jagger and immediately rush to tend to Kedua’s multiple gashes. I go back to my room and stay there for the remainder of the day.
The only person who comes to check on me is Jagger as he carries a dinner tray filled with pasta noodles covered in a thick red sauce. He sets the tray down on the small end table by my bed before he pulls the black plastic chair he normally sits on over to the bed where I currently lay.
“Artemis is restricting you to your room for the time being,” he says quietly, hands folded together as he leans forward.
I don’t say anything. I only remain laying there, staring up into the blue painted ceiling.
“Kedua won’t be released from the hospital for a couple of days. They had to amputate her arm just below the elbow and are fitting her with an artificial one.” He pauses, waiting for me to respond, but I don’t. “She didn’t heal quickly from her injuries…not as fast as you do.”
This surprises me for a moment, but the more I think about it, the more I understand our differences. Devlan injected me with Quarum after my injury from the Levin gun. Quin did the same after he was severely hurt, so he heals faster as well. But there isn’t any Quarum left. The formula for it would have been destroyed in the Dormitories, and only Devlan had some left over, so unless Artemis finds a way to synthesize it, Kedua will never heal as quickly as Quin and me.
I wait for Jagger to leave before I get up to eat my food, but he stays. I look over at him, his face drawn down.
“What’s wrong?”
“Meg,” he stammers, “I need to tell you something.”
I continue to look at him, but he doesn’t raise his eyes to meet mine. I’m not sure I’m going to like what he has to say.
“One night when Quin and I were down at the power plant, I did something.” He wipes his brow with the back of his hand as he begins to perspire. “While we were looking for some parts to repair the electrical outlets, I came across a couple of lead wires with nodules at the ends. Quin asked me to do it, and I didn’t see the harm in it at the time.”
“Do what?” I ask, sitting up.
“I connected them to the Quantum Stream in his back, then laced them just under the skin of both biceps and down to the tips of his fingers where I created tiny ports. All he has to do is touch anything now and he can transmit the energy.” He lifts his eyes, guilt etched on his face. “I didn’t see the harm in it at the time,” he repeats.
I’m too shocked to speak.
“Say something.”
I continue to stare at him, anger building inside.
How could Jagger have been so foolish? What was he thinking?
Quin now has an ability I don’t.
“Please,” he begs, “say something…anything.”
I simply fold my arms and turn my attention to the monitor as a new propaganda video starts.
Jagger gets the hint, stands up, and leaves back hunched over, head down.
I’ve lost my appetite, so I place the tray on the floor outside my door.
I lock my door, crawl under the sheets, and try to sleep even though it’s early in the evening, but I wind up tossing and turning for hours, my body aching. I give up and sneak out to the training room where I spend the entire night working my frustrations out on the track. When I tire of running, I find a couple of sparring dummies in one of the weapons closets, drag them out, placing them at equal distances apart, pick up the Pugio blade that still has spots of Kedua’s blood on it, and use it to slice up the dummies, all the while picturing Artemis as one and Quin as the other.
Chapter 19
The plans for getting into Nuceira have been made without me.
Even Jagger is left out of the preparations, so I’ve no way of knowing exactly what Artemis has in mind. I sit by my door daily, hoping to hear anything about the trip since I’m not allowed to leave, and the housing complex has been jammed with people for the last several days. I’m finally lucky today as I overhear someone walking past advise the guard outside my door that they’re leaving for Nuceira early in the morning. I crack open my door to get a better listen, pressing my face against the small opening.
“Braxton has ordered twenty guards to begin preparations for leaving from the south platform before first light. He wants you to stay here and make sure she doesn’t leave.” The man points to my door. “He doesn’t want her to move from that room until we get back, understood?”
“Yes, sir,” the guard says, standing a little straighter.
The man walks away just as Jagger approaches with my lunch tray. I quietly close the door and go sit down on my bed. A few moments l
ater my door opens, Jagger walking inside. The guard closes the door. Jagger places the tray on the dresser instead of handing it to me. He lifts the silver cover from the plate and hands me what is hiding under it - a Levin gun.
“I’ll bring you a change of clothes at dinner time,” he says, as I stare at the gun. “We’ll leave through the service doors at the bottom of the rear stairs. I’ll have a transport car waiting to take us to the southern platform.”
“How long have you known?”
“Since last week when I overheard Braxton telling his second in command that you and Kedua are to be kept here while Artemis monitors the incursion from the Overseer’s office in the city. I figured your main goal has been to get to Lehen using Artemis, so let’s use him.”
I smile as he leaves the room. Jagger’s made some mistakes, but all in all he’s a valuable ally.
Dinnertime rolls around a few hours later, but no Jagger.
I begin to pace the room wondering what might have happened as the hours tick by slowly. I eventually tire and resign myself to go to bed as it appears he’s not coming.
At some point later on, my door bangs open, startling me out of a fitful sleep. Artemis’s head guard, Braxton, marches into my room, the light from the hallway cascading onto his grimaced face.
“Here,” he says, as he throws articles of clothing at me, “put these on and be downstairs in five minutes.” He goes back out the door, slamming it loudly as he leaves.
I turn on the light by the side of my bed and look at the items that have been given to me: black form-fitting pants, a long sleeve shirt, and a belt with a holster for the Levin gun. The material is thin, which will allow the Quantum Stream on my arm to be visible even through the dark color. I get up and dig around the dresser drawers, looking for a thicker top to wear underneath, which I eventually find, slipping it on. Before I don the pants, I strap the knife onto my inner thigh with a brown leather sheath, grab the pair of boots that I’ve been wearing, and make my way downstairs. As I reach the bottom step, I spot Jagger talking to Braxton. They are both wearing a similar outfit to mine, but are carrying more weapons.