Rite of Redemption (Acceptance Book 3)

by Sarah Negovetich

  “By now, I’ve spoken with each of you, and everyone should know where they are going. I know that splitting up isn’t what anyone wants, but I truly believe this is our best course of action. I want to let you know about some other actions we are taking to protect our future.”

  I shrink back against the wall. Liam must think they are ready.

  “As most of us head to the south and east, away from the Cardinal, a small trio will head west on an important mission. Rebecca, Ethan, and Eric are going to the other Freemen villages, to warn them about the Cardinal’s actions and to ask for their help. Their help in fighting back against the Cardinal. Because being a Freeman is about more than just surviving, and we’ve lived hiding in the shadows long enough.”

  There isn’t a chorus of shouts or thunderous applause following Liam’s words. This is different. It’s like the room instantly got twenty degrees warmer. All around the room, eyes stare back at Liam, filled with belief, hope, and more than anything, commitment. The people of Allmore are ready to fight back. Heads nod with his words, and the occasional neighbor stretches an arm around his neighbor’s back. They believe.

  “I can’t promise any of you that we’ll ever come back here. Once we leave, the Cardinal might burn this whole village to the ground. But I can promise that this isn’t the end of Allmore. We will fight, and we will win, and someday we will start again.”

  Liam reaches his hand down, and Carol, sitting nearby, hands him a brown flower pot. He lifts it up so that even those in the furthest corners of the room can see it. “Inside this pot, tucked inside the dirt taken right from our fields, are dandelion seeds. While our resistance grows, so will these seeds. And someday, we’ll bloom together.”

  The room finally reaches the tipping point and breakfasts are abandoned. The applause isn’t a slow build, it’s an instant roar with half the room jumping to its feet. Tears fall down Liam’s exhausted face, but his eyes are shining brighter than they have in a long time.

  I clap right along with everyone else, but with a little less enthusiastic abandon. Liam has placed the future of the village squarely on my shoulders. Without buy-in from the other villages, there’s no army, and the Cardinal stays right where he is. And if the Cardinal is still in power, there’s no chance for a reunited Allmore. He’ll just hunt it down, too.

  As people crowd around Liam to shake hands and make their goodbyes, I slide out the door, desperate for some air. There’s a chill in the morning breeze, a painful reminder that winter is knocking on the door. Daniel follows me out on his crutches, and we stand together but separate against the front of the building. The door opens a minute later, and Ethan comes out, his bag slung over one shoulder.

  “I guess now’s as good a time as any to get going. I’m headed to the stable to do a final check on the saddle bags. I’ll get the horses saddled, and we should be ready to go in just a little bit.”

  I can’t match Ethan’s enthusiasm, but I’m glad he agreed to come. I’m hoping his energy is contagious. “That would be great. I’ll find Eric, and we’ll meet you over there in a bit.”

  “Okay. Safe journey, Daniel.” Ethan leans in to shake Daniel’s hand and then jogs off toward the stable.

  “You want me to go back in and find Eric?” Daniel lifts one hand as if he’s going to wrap his warm arms around me, but he stops short.

  “No, he’ll find me in a little bit.” I twist the plain metal band around my ring finger and close my eyes. Maybe distance is what we need. Time apart to figure out how we’re supposed to fit back together again. Because that’s what I want, even more than stopping the Cardinal. It’s not that I can’t do this without him. I just don’t want to.

  * * *

  The first group to leave is a good mix of both Allmore and Arbor Glen people. I don’t know the man leading them, but I guess it doesn’t matter. The reality is that I’ll probably never see most of these people ever again. We’re about to be scattered in the wind, like the fluffy white seeds of a dandelion. And just like the little weed, once you blow the pieces apart, it’s impossible to pull them all back together.

  The next group to exit hits me in the heart with a strong right hook. Marcus is the man in charge, and some of my favorite people in the world are with him. Carol stops when she sees me and pulls me into one of her warm hugs.

  “Promise me you’re going to take care of yourself and don’t let those boys get you into too much trouble.” She pushes my growing hair away from my face and plants a grandmotherly kiss on my forehead. “If Ana could see you now, she’d be so proud.”

  Carol steps back, and Constance takes her place. Her arms squeeze around my neck so tight it’s hard to breathe. Especially with her firm little baby bump pushed up against me.

  “You’re not staying with Doc?”

  “Doc is staying with Liam. Marcus is taking a group of the older villagers. We’re going to a closer village, less travel. I don’t think I have the energy for the longer trips.”

  My chest hurts at the thought of Constance having that sweet baby without any of us around to help. Carol steps up and squeezes an arm around Constance. “Don’t worry, love. I’ll take care of little mama until we can all be back together again.”

  I nod, wiping away a tear, and Carol trudges off to join the rest of their group.

  Constance grabs my arms and pulls me into another tight hug. “I told Thomas I wouldn’t cry, but we all know that was a bold-faced lie.” She steps back and wipes fresh tears from her cheeks. “Little Rebecca Collins all grown up. Got herself a husband and now she’s off to start a revolution. What would your mother say?” Constance winks and gives my arm a squeeze.

  Thomas is so large, I think he’s afraid of hurting me. His hug is as soft as a warm, spring breeze. He holds on for just long enough to whisper in my ear. “Never forget that the Cardinal fears you. Not the other way around.”

  He pulls back, leaving me stunned while he shares a hug with Daniel. “Safe travels to both of you.”

  Thomas takes Constance’s hand, and they turn to leave.

  “Wait.” I dig into my bag and grab out one of the chips Daniel gave me. They’re supposed to be for the other villages, but I don’t care. “Take this. When you get to where you’re staying, find a Noteboard and put it in like this.”

  Daniel grabs mine and shows them both the compartment for the chip.

  “You can use this to contact me without the Cardinal tracing the signal. I just need to know you’re safe.”

  Constance tucks the chip safely into her bag and takes Thomas’s hand again. “Thank you.”

  Before I can respond, they’re gone. I stare at the back of their group as they make their way down the main road out of town. I’ll never again get to stop into Carol’s bakery for a hot Danish and wonderful advice. I won’t be there when Constance has her baby. I’ll never even know if it’s a boy or the girl she hopes it is.

  I can’t take any more goodbyes. “Let’s go to the stable. Eric will find us.”

  The stable is almost empty. All the horses except three are already saddled or attached to wagons that will take everyone else to the south in hopes of finding host villages that will take them in. Our three are out in the middle, two already saddled and munching on hay while Ethan gets his horse ready.

  “I’m just about ready here. You’ll be on Salty, but don’t worry, she’s named after her love of salt licks, not her personality. You’ve got room in your saddle bag if you want to put your backpack in there, or you can wear it. It’s fine either way. All three have been fed, so as soon as I get this saddle tightened we can leave.”

  “Ethan, do you have anyone you want to go say goodbye to? Several groups have left already.”

  Ethan shakes his head. “I said everything I needed to say last night. I’m not really good with impromptu displays of emotion. It’s better this way.”

  The door to the barn opens, and Eric slips in with Elizabeth. “Figured I’d find you turkeys in here.” Elizabeth shuts the d
oor behind her to keep in the heat. “Daniel, most of the groups have left already. Liam says we have a few minutes, and then we need to leave.”

  I never know where I stand with Elizabeth, so I’m not sure what to expect when she walks over to me. We stand staring at each other for several heartbeats before she wraps me in a hug. I wrap my arms around her back, and neither of us needs to say a word.

  “You’ll take care of him for me?” I choke out the words between sobs.

  “Of course, and you’ll do the same for me.” Elizabeth pulls back and wipes at her own tears. “But I draw the line at kissing him goodnight.”

  Leave it to Elizabeth to find a way to make me laugh, even in the midst of the worst situation.

  “Take care of yourself out there, princess. I’m ready to kick a little Cardinal ass, and I’m counting on you to make that happen.”

  “You got it, captain.”

  Elizabeth gives me another quick hug then walks over to Eric. Daniel grabs my hand and leads me into one of the empty stalls.

  His hands cup my face, and he stares into my eyes as if all the answers to the universe are hidden inside. He opens his mouth to speak, but closes it again without saying a word. I wish I could reach inside and figure out what it is he needs to get back to the Daniel I fell in love with. The fear keeping me up at night is that the old Daniel is never coming back.

  I nod my head. He’s broken, and maybe I am, too. But our love is still there, sitting beneath the surface of the anger, guilt, and sadness.

  Daniel pulls my face to his and kisses me hard, like he’s trying to fuse our mouths together with the heat generated between us. I kiss him back, and I’m suffocating in our kiss and couldn’t care less. Nothing exists but his hands, warm against my cheeks, and our lips working as one.

  “Daniel,” Elizabeth calls over the wall. “The last group is gone. Liam is ready to go.”

  Daniel pulls back and stares into my eyes again. “Fly. Fly as fast as you can and convince everyone out there the same way you convinced everyone here. Send up the battle cry and then get back to me as fast as humanly possible. Faster even.”

  “I love you.” I can barely get the words out between the sobs that escape with every breath.

  “More and more every day.” Daniel pulls me in for one last hug, and then he’s gone. Out the door with Elizabeth to somewhere safe.

  I step out of the stall and walk to Salty without a word. Without prompting, Ethan offers me a step up into the stirrup, and then we’re all mounted. Outside the stable, I take one last look at the empty village of Allmore. In the lightening sky, I find a lingering star and make a wish like I did when I was a little girl staring out my bedroom window. But this isn’t a wish for a puppy or a new pair of shoes. In the middle of an empty village, I make a wish that one day I’ll have a real home with Daniel where we can grow old together. I close my eyes and send my wish flying like a piece of dandelion fluff. Then I open my eyes and lead my horse around the stable and into the trees.

  Nine

  “Rebecca, you have got to slow down.”

  Ethan’s words float to me from behind for at least the third time today. I get that we have to keep a steady pace or risk wearing out our horses and losing a whole day for rest. But I need to get there and finish this.

  I pull back on the reigns and take Salty out of her trot. Ethan was right about her name. She’s as salty as Elizabeth is sweet. The boys catch back up to me, and I ignore the look of warning from Ethan. According to the maps and Ethan’s excellent memory, the village of Longview is due west, and we should reach it shortly after nightfall. Normally, the PE riders would stop outside the village for the night and then finish the trip in the morning, but this isn’t a trade ride. We can’t rush and risk the horses, but we can’t afford to take our time either.

  Ethan pulls his horse, Vincent, up to my right. “There’s a little stream up ahead here. It’s a good place to rest the horses and get something to eat.”

  Stopping is the last idea I want to entertain, but I know we can’t ride the horses indefinitely, and we have to rest, too, if we want to arrive at Longview without passing out first.

  “Okay, sounds good.”

  Ethan drops back and fills Eric in on the plan. I pull ahead a little bit to put some distance between myself and their conversation. They’ve kept up a steady chatter covering a million different topics all day. I don’t mind listening to it, actually, but I need the quiet to think about my plan for once we reach Longview.

  Liam and I didn’t really talk about what sort of strategy I should use to convince the villages to join us. Honestly, I think Liam is convinced I’ll just open my mouth and genius will spontaneously pour out. The reality is that I have no idea what I’m going to say.

  Do I need to ease into the conversation and butter them up first or just lead with, “Hey, would you like to join my rebellion against the Cardinal?”

  My brain is whirling with ideas when Salty stops, and I bounce forward in the saddle. We’re on the edge of a thin stream that’s not too wide to cross so long as you watch for the rocks shimmering at the bottom of the clear water.

  I dismount and pull Salty over to a patch of grass as Eric and Ethan ride up. “You’re pulling my leg,” Ethan says while guiding his own horse to a grazing spot. “You don’t get any say at all in your job.”

  “Nope, and the choices can vary from completely expected to a complete surprise.”

  I grab an apple out of my saddle bag and join in their conversation. “Are you guys talking about Assignment?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been giving Ethan a crash course on life in the Territories.”

  “I had no idea.” Ethan grabs an apple for himself and plops down on a fallen tree. “Everyone in the Freemen villages knows about the Machine and Acceptance. It’s the stuff mothers tell their kids to get them to behave. ‘Go to bed, or I’ll send you to Acceptance.’ But I had no idea just how much the Cardinal controls. It’s insane.”

  “The really insane part is just how much everyone buys into it.” I join him on the log. “Before my Rejection, I fully believed that everything the Cardinal did was for my protection, and the Machine and the Assignments were all needed to make society work. When an unexpected Assignment came down, I just accepted that the system knew that person better than I did.”

  “Me too.” Eric tosses an apple in the air and catches it with one hand before taking a juicy bite. “It took me longer to realize it, but eventually I understood what a load of bull crap it all is.”

  “So, what is it?” Ethan glances between Eric and me. “Is any of it for real?”

  I shrug my shoulders and swallow a mouthful of apple. “Maybe. Who knows? I think once upon a time when it all started, it probably worked the way everyone thinks it does. The Machine really Rejected people who were always going to be dangerous. The Assignment really assessed every man and gave him the job that would be beneficial to society and give the worker fulfillment. In theory, it all sounds fantastic.”

  “But…”

  “But that’s a lot of power, and eventually it morphed into something self-serving. Instead of Rejecting criminals, the Machine sends anyone who doesn’t fit the perfect mold to the PIT. Instead of evaluating individual strengths and aptitude, the Assignment rewards those who benefit the Cardinal and punishes those who aren’t willing or able to give him what he wants. The whole system is broken, and that’s why it needs to come down.”

  “The whole system? I mean, some of what I’ve learned sounds pretty good.”

  I stare at Ethan in shock. “Would that be the part where innocent people are sent away for life or the part where everyone is pretty much a slave to the Cardinal’s whims?”

  Ethan stands and chucks his apple core into the woods. “I was talking about the part where everyone has enough to eat, and the houses don’t leak when it rains. Not to mention the part where if you get sick, there’s a doctor right there who went to an actual medical school and can just about cure yo
u of anything so no one has to die before they’re supposed to. That part.”

  “But people do die.” Eric’s voice is quiet in the stillness of the forest all around us. “Plenty of people die. Because they have the audacity to be just a little outside of the Cardinal’s comfort zone. So they go to the PIT. And they never get out. That’s why I’m here. To do what I can so no one else dies.”

  “Why are you here, Ethan?” My voice comes out steadier than I feel.

  “You asked, so I’m here.” He marches over to Vincent and closes the saddle bags. “We were all leaving anyway. One trip is as good as another. Let’s go.”

  Ethan mounts up, and Eric and I move to do the same. There’s still a bite of my apple left, but I let it drop to the ground. I’ve lost all my appetite.

  * * *

  The sun has started its descent into tomorrow, but we still have plenty of sunlight left in the day. We reach a slightly cleared area, and Ethan stops his horse and dismounts.

  “What are you doing?” I pull Salty up right next to him. “I thought you said we could make it to the next village tonight?”

  “We can, but by the time we get there, they’ll be done with dinner and tucked away for the night. If you want to eat, we need to do it now while we still have some light.”

  Back in the PIT, I wouldn’t have thought twice about missing a meal. When there was so little to begin with and what was there was mostly inedible, a skipped meal was a regular occurrence. But months of living in Allmore have softened me up. My stomach growls as if to confirm my dependence on three meals a day.

  Ethan smiles up at my obvious hunger, but has the decency not to laugh at me. At least his mood has improved since our last stop.