Isaura (Aberrant)

by Silver, Ruth

  “I guess I did,” she mused. It was unlikely they'd travel back to Torv anytime soon. Certainly not before Joshua and the advisors returned.

  I was puzzled to see that she'd decided to stay. Her home was gone, much like mine had been destroyed. Torv had been a second, or more specifically, third home for her. It was no wonder she was trying to find her way again. “How are you liking it here?” I didn't know what to say to her. Every conversation always felt awkward between us, at least to me. Probably because she'd once liked Joshua and now he was mine.

  Rane sighed, glancing towards the closed gate that rose as high as the stone around the cities. “Everyone's been nice.” Her answer sounded rehearsed.

  “And Henry?” I asked, glancing at her. He hadn't said goodbye to his advisors when they'd left and I didn't question why. I assumed if he did rule this city he was often busy with important matters.

  Rane shrugged, giving the faintest smile. “He's cute. He's not my type, though.”

  “And what's that?” I raised an eye. “Not powerful, wealthy and good looking?” I felt that accurately described Henry.

  Rane glanced at me and I felt my stomach somersault. “He's not Joshua.” There it was, the one thing I had hoped we'd gotten past.

  “No, he's not.” I breathed.

  “I know Joshua's spoken for,” Rane quickly explained. “You two are happily married and I would never come between that. I just,” she paused. “You seem so happy together and I've never felt that about anyone before. He's such a nice guy.” Rane continued, “When I first met him, he treated me like a friend and I hardly knew him. Most people in Haven weren't like that.”

  “That's just how he is,” I offered. “He'll be back and he's still a friend.” I wasn't keeping him from befriending her.

  “I know and Henry is cute.” She laughed and her cheeks reddened as she spoke. “But he doesn't even notice I exist.” Rane sighed. “All he ever looks at is you, Olivia. Every guy I know loves you. You walk in a room and their heads all turn. It's not fair,” she whined.

  “What?” I laughed at her words. I wasn't beautiful. I was pretty, but I was still ordinary. People noticed me because of who I was and what I was capable of, naturally conceiving a child. They were curious, that was why they looked. “Rane, you're gorgeous.” I confessed, “I saw you with Joshua and I was jealous.” I hadn't wanted to ever tell her about that moment.

  Rane stared at me with a curious expression. “Really?”

  “Yes, really.” I grabbed her arm. “Now come on. Let's find the Grand Duke of Spade,” I laughed leading her inside the tower as we searched for Henry.

  “Henry?” I peered around the corner finding him inside a room studying maps. “Do you need any help?” I offered, inviting Rane and myself into the room without so much as a knock.

  Henry glanced up from what he was doing. He rolled the maps, shaking his head. “No, I just finished.”

  Rane glanced from Henry to me looking utterly uncomfortable. If she did like Henry, she wasn't going out of her way to show it.

  “Your advisors and the others have left for Spade,” I told him. He walked towards his cabinet, placing the maps inside a drawer. What they were maps of, Cabal? The old rebel cities? I would want to look later and find out if he refused to show me.

  “I'm aware. Rane would you mind giving us a few minutes?” he asked.

  “She can stay.” I wanted Henry to know I trusted Rane and that he could too. Maybe he hadn't opened his eyes to what was in front of him. At the very least she could be a companion, a friend. I didn't doubt Henry needed one, we all did.

  Henry gave me a pointed look. “If you insist.” He took a seat at the giant oak desk, relaxing into his chair. “Mindonsiphan.” It was one word. A warning that if I wanted to discuss it alone it was my job to send Rane out.

  “She already knows about it.” She'd witnessed what I'd done to those men who had attacked us on our way to Haven. Although she might not have been privy to Henry's injection of the drug, I didn't see any harm in her finding out. “What do you want to talk about?” I asked and grabbed a seat on the opposite wall along the sofa. The furniture looked old and smelled that way too. Something from another time and generation but had been restored. Most of Spade felt that way.

  Henry sighed. “Isaura for one. We know she's out there and is probably searching for you.”

  Rane laughed. “I think Olivia already knows that.” She frowned glancing at me curiously. “Sorry to interject, but is there a reason no one has tried the Mindonsiphan to create pregnancies?”

  “I may have used my abilities to keep one woman from dying.” I wasn't sure whether I'd saved her life or the injection Elsa and Chloe administered had done so. “I wasn't left with a training manual on what does and doesn't work. Besides we don't have a supply of Mindonsiphan around to inject pregnant women.”

  Henry sighed. “So what were you left with? In terms of an explanation.”

  Although I'd already explained to him what I could, I tried again. “Mindonsiphan works on the basis of perception. Our minds are always capable of doing far more but our own beliefs keep us from being able to do such things.”

  “That sounds like crap.” Rane rolled her eyes. “I would love to do some of the things you're capable of and I believe I can.” She crossed her arms. “But it doesn't happen.”

  I shook my head. “You don't believe. Not in the same way because you know it's impossible. You have to know in here.” I pointed at her heart as she sat beside me. “That you can and will do it. It's more than just courage and bravery. It takes strength and endurance. It's willpower that extends beyond the imaginable.”

  “Rane's right. Why can't women who have been injected with Mindonsiphan become pregnant?” Henry questioned.

  “I don't know. Maybe they could? You can't work against science and reality, though. For instance, you can't make Rane pregnant merely by looking at her. It's not magic,” I explained.

  “So it's an illusion? The fire you started on the road?” Rane asked.

  I rubbed my forehead growing frustrated. “No. It's not a trick. It's real, but it's only real as science allows. You can't make the world spin faster merely by thinking it.”

  Henry considered what I said. “But we made it from Haven to Shadow, how?” he asked me. “Whatever it was, it wasn't any science I know of.”

  He was right. From what we understood of science, the Mindonsiphan allowed us the chance to bend our reality. Nothing more. I let out a heavy breath trying to voice my thoughts. “Maybe it's science we haven't uncovered yet. Long before Newton discovered gravity, it had always been there.”

  Rane smiled. “You are right about that.” She stood up and glanced around. “Maybe I'm selfish in asking this but do you have any of it left? Any Mindonsiphan? I'd be willing to be a test subject to see if I could get pregnant.”

  “No, the last of it was taken by Isaura or destroyed in Shadow. There's nothing left and I don't know what it consisted of to produce more.” I should have saved a syringe. At least if I'd done that we could have had a chance to understand what was in it. Now the only existence of it left was running through our bodies. I did not want to be a guinea pig.

  Henry glanced from Rane back to me. He was quiet for several long moments before he finally spoke. “I have an idea.” He glanced at Rane standing up from his chair as he approached. “Please forgive me for being so rude in asking this, but is it not possible for me to heal Rane and help us conceive a child together?”

  My mouth dropped slightly. “I don't know.” It was the truth. We'd tried a lot before arriving in Torv to help with the pregnant women, but the fact was we'd been forbidden to use Mindonsiphan. Was it not possible that it had the properties to heal? I'd seen it fix Joshua after he'd been badly injured at the hands of Craynor. My own palms that had been sliced from glass had healed quickly on their own.

  Henry smiled reaching for Rane's hand. “I'd like to try.” I tried not to scoff at the notion of what
they suggested. Was it outrageous or could it actually be done?

  Rane hesitated only a brief moment before she took his hand, eyeing him up and down. “What becomes of me if we conceive a child?” She was smart in her questions. The child would become the rightful heir of Spade.

  Henry grinned, stepping closer and brushing his lips beside her ear. Sitting so close I could hear him, even if he was trying to offer an intimate moment. “You would become my wife.”

  Her cheeks reddened as she stood up. Was she nervous? She held herself well, if she were. Henry guided her out of the room and I gave a slight laugh and wave as they left. Were they seriously going to try now?

  I waited a moment and stood, glancing down the hall to make sure I was alone before walking towards the desk. I didn't know how much time I had before someone came by. I opened the drawer, doing my best to be quiet as I pulled out the rolled maps. One by one I spread them across the table, surprised to see they extended far beyond the borders of Cabal.

  Why did Henry have maps of the world? Did any of these countries still exist? The guard, Kelvin, in Torv had told me about other countries but I couldn't recall any specifics.

  I returned the maps into the drawer, perfectly rolled. While Henry was busy with Rane, I took the time alone to explore inside the castle walls.

  CHAPTER 13

  I'd been in Spade's library, studying their texts and their language. It was interesting to read stories of their history which should have been considered our history, but it had been different. The texts were written by those who lived within Spade's walls. The entire library consisted of new books, new texts. Most I'd never heard of. Some were novels, many were history books with stories that had been passed down for generations.

  I jumped, startled, when the first strike against Spade hit. We should have seen it coming and been prepared, knowing Isaura was out there, searching for me. I was her target and the townspeople were mere casualties to her.

  I was engrossed in reading as I felt the first rumble generating through the town. The books shook, a few fell to the ground. My eyes widened and pulse raced as I backed away from the shelf, unwilling to be crushed by it. I didn't have to look outside to know what was coming. I staggered out of the library, as I heard the sounds growing even louder outside. Within town, the people screamed with fear, most having no idea what was going on.

  “We're under attack!” I heard them scream clear as day. It was a rally to get the troops of Spade in place.

  The ground trembled with another quake as Isaura had gathered her power and learned to use the Mindonsiphan to her advantage. I'd studied and trained in Shadow, but my purpose was never to intentionally harm anyone. Isaura though, she wanted to kill innocent people. Did she even have a soul, it seemed impossible. “Come out, Olivia!” she boomed from just outside the gates. I maneuvered through the city square towards the tower. The stone walls held strong, but for how much longer? I hadn't seen her. I could only feel her wrath as she had unleashed it on Spade. “Olivia. Olivia. Where are you?” Her voice held a sing-song quality as she paced outside the grounds. Each step was another rumble along the ground, an earthquake. “Come out. Come out. Wherever you are,” she taunted me.

  I maneuvered through the town, finding my way higher so I could see what awaited us outside the stone gates. Spade was well protected but how long these men could keep Isaura out?

  “Olivia!” I heard Henry's voice and turned around to see him and Rane walking alongside one another. “You need to get inside where it's safe.”

  “No.” I wanted Isaura to know I wasn't afraid and I needed to see what we were up against. I refused to cower and hide behind the castle walls.

  Cate came rushing outside towards us. “You need to hide!” she insisted.

  Henry sighed. “I'm not going to just hand you over to her. If she sees you, the minute she knows you're in here, she's going to storm the castle and kill you.”

  I won't deny that it was one of my concerns, but I also knew if she could have broken through the barriers she'd have come into the walls already. The stone was impenetrable. “Maybe not.” I tried to remain tough. I walked over towards Rane and threw my arms around her in a hug. My breath tickled her ear. “Find Adelaide and protect her at all costs. Okay?” I couldn't chance Isaura coming after her. She may have wanted me now, but I didn't want to risk Adelaide being her next target. If I didn't survive, Adelaide would.

  Rane didn't speak. With wide eyes she took off in the opposite direction descending the tower as fast as possible.

  “What are you doing, Olivia?” Cate asked with trepidation.

  “You can't.” Henry stared at me, concern pleading in his eyes. “You can't let her take you.”

  I scoffed under my breath. “You think she can?” I was tough but I wasn't fearless. I walked towards the window embedded in stone. I was careful not to be spotted, concerned if she did know exactly where I was it might not take much for her to attack. I hid as best as I could, peering through the opening and finding her outside. She looked harmless. If it had been anyone else I'd have thought she was lost. Perhaps I should have been grateful she hadn't come in disguise.

  Henry watched for a moment before pulling me away from the window. “You'll get yourself killed if you're not careful.”

  “What do you suggest we do?” I questioned. “We have a madwoman outside and she wants me dead. Come to think of it, as soon as she finds out you're like me, she'll want you dead, too,” I reminded him bluntly. “Same with Cate.” I glanced at her.

  “I'll fight alongside of you,” Cate offered. “You don't have to do this alone.”

  “I need you here, Cate. Someone has to protect these people.”

  Henry sighed. “Fine, fine, but you staying here isn't doing anyone any good,” he reminded me. Abruptly he grabbed my arm, dragging me away from the window and the highest point of the castle. Together we slowly descended the tower.

  “Where are we going?” I was going to slap him if he suggested someplace safe.

  Henry kept walking but glanced at me quickly. “How do you think she found you?”

  I shook my head. I hadn't considered it. “The Mindonsiphan,” I answered slowly. “You think it has some sort of tracking ability?”

  “It runs in our blood. It's possible we're linked together,” he said. “Anyway there are more of us in Spade with Mindonsiphan than anywhere else, right?”

  Joshua was in Torv with Elsa and Aidan but Adelaide, Cate, Henry and I were in Spade. “Yeah, you’re right,” I agreed. “You think it's possible she can find us because we're all connected?”

  “It's how I knew where you were when Isaura arrived.” Henry stared at me. I felt another quake and gripped the stone wall. I stopped walking, just trying to keep my feet upright.

  “Is that so?” I was more than slightly surprised. When I had needed it to guide me to find Joshua when he'd been taken by Craynor it hadn't been so easy. Maybe I hadn't known how it worked. Knowing how to use Mindonsiphan was a tricky business.

  Henry shrugged. “Or maybe I just knew where you'd be.”

  “How?” I asked him. What was he implying? He didn't answer. He gripped my arm and led me further from the tower and back into the main city center. “Where are we going?” I demanded.

  “You're leaving, right now,” he stated. “The longer you stay in Spade the more danger you pose to my people.”

  I didn’t want to argue or fight with him. He was right. As much as I denied wanting to leave it was my responsibility. I would not be the cause of hundreds of innocents dying, including Adelaide. “Take care of her for me,” I whispered thinking of the young girl I'd rescued just a short time ago.

  “You'll be back.” He smiled, though I suspected he was reassuring himself.

  I didn't answer. “Protect her.” It wasn't a question but a request. He led me down through the tunnels, an all too familiar place I'd traveled once before. “Henry?”

  “Follow the underground system. It'll take y
ou to Torv in two days' time, if you always head south, and don't stop. About thirty clicks south there's a storage facility with bottled water and rationed food to get you the rest of the way. We've always planned for war. I just never thought it would happen like this,” he admitted.

  I leaned towards Henry, resting my forehead against his. “I can't do this.”

  “Yes, you can.” He pulled back. “Joshua would want you to do the same thing,” he reminded me. “You need to go now.”

  “No.” I pulled back slightly. “You should go. You, Adelaide, Rane, Cate and anyone else of importance. I'll stay. I'll fight. I'm who Isaura wants.” I stared at him. “I'm not a coward, Henry.”

  He sighed, pulling me into his arms. “I never implied as much. Running doesn't make you a coward. It makes you human. Having the will to survive is what we all have. I just, I want you alive, Olivia. Even if it means you're on the run.”

  “I've been on the run.” I stared at him, growing upset. I was frustrated with the world, with what it had become. I'd been on the run for over a year, trying to make a new system, trying to fix the damage that had been created. Most of it had worked out in our favor, but Isaura had been born from it and I couldn't take the chance she'd destroy everything we'd fought for. “My friends in Shadow died because of Isaura. I won't let her hurt anyone else,” I said. “You go. I'm staying here to fight.”

  “Let me help you,” he pleaded with me. “Let me stand with you, at your side.”

  “No.” My voice was sharp and intent. “You and Cate protect Adelaide. I need to know she will survive, no matter what happens with Isaura,” I acknowledged. “You and Cate can teach her and help guide her through this.” She needed people who understood what she was going through.

  Henry accepted what I wanted. He didn't argue. There was nothing he could say to convince me otherwise. Cate didn't try to stop me. She knew the damage Isaura had caused once and how easily she could do the same thing to Spade. I turned and walked back up the steps towards the bright light of the outside world. Though still within Spade's walls, soon I'd face Isaura, whether I was ready to or not.