The Lost City: The Palumbra Chronicles: Book Two

by L. D. Fairchild

  Maeve narrowed her eyes at Gray. "Are you serious? You would just leave him here?"

  "Keep your voice down. We don't want anyone to find us."

  "Don't shush me. Why would you even consider leaving him?"

  Gray put a hand on her shoulder, but Maeve shook him off. "Maeve, he can barely walk. His hand is useless. He's much safer here than he is with us."

  Maeve started to speak, but Gray held up a hand. "Let me finish. What would happen to Elton if we had to run again? We barely made it here."

  Tristan stood and dusted his hands off on his pants. "He's right, Maeve. We're not just worried about him slowing us down. We're worried about him. He's not up for running or even a lot of walking."

  "I'll be fine." Elton's voice steadied a bit, as if he was trying to convince Maeve of his ability to fend for himself through the strength of his voice.

  "I could stay with him," Thomas volunteered.

  Maeve shook her head. "Uh, uh. No way. You're sticking with me."

  Gray pursed his lips, and Maeve knew he was considering Thomas's statement. "It's a good solution."

  "Gray, he's 10! You're going to leave the 10-year-old here to help the guy who only has one good hand and can barely walk. How is that logical?"

  Thomas drew himself up to his full height. "This 10-year-old made it all the way across the desert and rescued you. I think I can hang out in a storm drain for a couple of hours by myself. Let me help. Please."

  Maeve looked into Thomas's pleading eyes. She knew Thomas could take care of himself, but every instinct she had was screaming at her not to leave him behind.

  "I'll look out for him, Maeve." Elton's voice was weak but confident. "We'll be fine. No one knows we're down here. We'll just wait for you guys to come back. If you don't show up by morning, we'll come find you."

  Maeve chewed on the skin on the side of her thumb as she considered Elton's promise. Finally, she nodded and ruffled Thomas's hair. "OK. But you stay right here. No wandering off."

  "Got it." Thomas grinned. "We'll be fine."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  "Don't move." Gray flattened himself against the side of the building and held out his arm to keep Maeve from going any farther. Maeve followed his lead and tried to shrink into the side of the glass building as well.

  "What is it?" Maeve breathed out the words in an almost-whisper.

  Gray shook his head and put a finger on his lips.

  They were following one of the streets that made up the spokes that led toward the center of the city. Until now, they hadn't seen a soul. Either the plague had killed everyone or everyone was in hiding. The sun had set several hours ago and after grabbing a quick nap in the alcove, she and Gray had bade goodbye to Elton and Thomas and ventured back to street level with Ginger and Tristan. Elton had given them a quick overview of how the city was laid out and had provided specific instructions on how to get to the research facility. Tristan and Ginger had received similar instructions on how to get to the Info Hub, which was the most likely place to start searching for Emery. Once they reached the surface, Tristan and Ginger had headed east to use another spoke to reach the Info Hub.

  Maeve opened her mouth to speak again but snapped it shut when she heard footsteps marching along the street beyond the corner where they were hiding. Barely daring to breathe, she watched as a line of people marched in lockstep down the street. After they passed, Gray said, "I guess there are more people here than we thought. There are a lot of things about this place that don't add up."

  Maeve thought for a moment. "You mean like the fact that they have all this advanced technology, and Palumbra isn't even close to this advanced."

  Gray nodded. "And the story about the plague that Elton has been telling us. There's just something off about it. How did it kill everyone? And how did Elton avoid it? His parents and his sister died from it. If it's that contagious, why didn't he catch it? And why haven't we? We were all in that bunker together with Shalara, but only Emery got sick."

  "You don't think Elton is lying do you?" Maeve's voice held a note of panic. "We left Thomas with him."

  "I don't think he's a threat in his current condition, but I don't know what to think about him in general." He motioned in the direction the marchers had taken. "I do know that there's more going on here than we've been told."

  Maeve worried the skin at the side of her thumb. "Maybe we should go back and get Thomas."

  Gray pulled her into his side and gave her a reassuring hug. "We can do that, but it will take time away from looking for the antidote. What do you want to do?"

  Maeve stared at the ground and let out a sigh. "I don't know." She looked up at Gray, her brown eyes troubled. "How do I choose between them?"

  Gray pulled her hand away from her mouth, where she had chewed on the skin on her thumb until it bled. "Do you think Thomas can get away from Elton if he needs to?"

  She stepped out of Gray's comforting embrace and considered his question. Finally, she nodded. "I do think that he can. Elton's injuries would make it impossible for him to move quickly." She leaned once again against the glass of the building behind her. "I guess our best option is to go forward, look for the antidote and get back to Thomas as quickly as possible." She nodded again, as if convincing herself. "Let's go."

  Gray adjusted his pack on his shoulders. "You sure?"

  Maeve took two determined strides toward the corner. "I'm sure."

  ###

  Gray stopped so suddenly that Maeve bumped into his back. "What are you doing?"

  He took her hand and pulled her up to his side. Her eyes widened. "What is this?"

  Gray shook his head. "I have no idea."

  Before them stood a crumbling stone structure, completely out of place in the middle of the sea of glass buildings that comprised the streets of Bellus. Maeve moved toward the building, running her hand over the remains of the front wall. "Why would they have left this here when everything else is so modern?"

  Stone crunched under Gray's boots as he joined her in examining the structure. "Maybe it's a reminder."

  "But a reminder of what?" Maeve ducked under the crumbling arch and entered what was left of the building.

  "Wow," Gray whispered.

  "What is this place?"

  The interior of the building no longer had a roof, but three of the four walls still stood taller than Maeve's head. Those walls were covered with some of the most beautiful artwork she had ever seen. The paintings showed a man talking with children and feeding a crowd of people. While the colors had faded over the years, the attention to detail showed in the laugh lines around the man's mouth and the expressions on the children's faces.

  Maeve traced the outline of the man's face with her finger. "Who would let this masterpiece just crumble to the ground?"

  "Someone who is more interested in power than art," a soft female voice said.

  Maeve and Gray whirled around to face the new voice, inching closer together to present a united front. Gray reached toward his waist, seeking a weapon that wasn't there.

  A slim, almost ghostlike woman dressed all in white slipped from the shadows in the back corner of the building. She seemed to float across the ground, and Maeve fleetingly wondered how she managed to keep the hem of her dress from getting dirty as it dragged on the dirt floor. The woman held out her hands so they could see she held no weapon.

  "Please," she said in a voice that reminded Maeve of music. "I mean you no harm."

  "Who are you?" Gray asked.

  "I'm the keeper of the sanctum, or I used to be."

  "What happened here?" Maeve made a sweeping motion with her arm.

  The woman shook her head. "This is not new destruction. When the invading army came to Bellus, this sanctum was a refuge for the city's defenders. Always before, the sanctum had been a place of sanctuary. Once inside its walls, no one could touch you."

  "Even if you had committed a crime?" Maeve asked.

  The woman nodded. "Even then. But yo
u must understand Bellus was a peaceful place. Everyone had enough of what they needed. There was very little crime. Our sanctums were used mostly to escape unpleasant domestic situations or as a refuge for those needing time to themselves to sort things out. Never before had we faced a war."

  "Things clearly didn't end well." Gray pointed toward the broken front wall.

  The keeper of the sanctum folded her hands in front of her and took a deep breath. It was as if the retelling was physically painful to her. "No. The invaders had no respect for our sanctums. They broke down the walls and captured our defenders."

  "But why did they leave this building when they rebuilt everything else?" Maeve glanced up at the glass skyscrapers towering over the roofless building.

  "So that the people of Bellus would know that there is no refuge from the invaders."

  "But that had to have been a long time ago. This building has clearly been in ruins for some time." Gray examined a protrusion from the wall that might have once held a candle or light.

  "The invaders haven't forgotten, and neither did the people of Bellus."

  "But why do they let you stay here?" Maeve asked.

  "I have only recently returned here. My family have been sanctum keepers for five generations, but we have been in hiding. Then the plague hit. I'm the only one left." She turned her gaze to her hands and blinked back tears.

  "But the people of Bellus and the invaders created a new society." Gray swept his hand to encompass the city outside the broken door.

  The Keeper shook her head sadly. "The invaders did. The people of Bellus either went underground or they became slaves to the invaders. The people that took sanctuary in this room were the last of the Bellus fighters. They took the words on the wall to heart." She pointed at the gold lettering on the wall.

  Maeve moved closer so she could read the elegantly inscribed words. "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

  The Keeper ran her hand over the word love. "Fifty Bellus defenders took sanctuary in this room, but when the walls were breached, none of them surrendered or ran away. Instead, they sent the children whose parents had left them here to safety through the back door. Then they returned to the fight. As others sought sanctuary here, the defenders made sure they were also sent to safety. The invaders whittled them down one by one. Each defender laying his life down for his friends." She turned her back on the wall. "In the end, there were none left, and the last sanctum lay in ruins."

  Maeve read the words again, her lips moving silently in tribute to the brave defenders who so long ago had done their best to protect those they loved.

  "But why are you here now?" Gray's voice interrupted Maeve's thoughts.

  "I have nowhere else to go. This is my calling, to protect the sanctum for those needing sanctuary. Is that you?"

  Maeve raised her eyebrows at Gray, wondering what he would tell this mysterious Keeper about their quest.

  "No sanctuary for us, I'm afraid. We like to go looking for trouble." The corner of Gray's mouth quirked up in a half smile.

  The Keeper returned Gray's smile, and Maeve felt a feeling of peace wash over her.

  "May you find what you're looking for − even if it's not what you think you need." The Keeper's musical voice trailed off as she stepped back into the shadows and disappeared out the back entrance.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Gray tugged on Maeve's hand, signaling that she should stop as they approached the building Elton had identified as the research lab. After leaving the sanctum, they had jogged down the street toward their goal, trying to keep to the shadows of the buildings. While they hadn't seen any cameras, Maeve assumed that with all the technology they had seen so far, Bellus probably had a camera on every corner. She held out little hope that their approach had gone unnoticed.

  Gray stood with his back against the window of yet another slick, glass building, scanning the street for signs of life. Nothing stirred except a lone piece of paper tumbling down the street in the first breeze they had felt all day. Maeve welcomed the cool brush of air across her sweaty face.

  "What do you think she meant?" Maeve asked.

  "Who? The Keeper?"

  Maeve nodded. "Yeah. What do you think she meant when she said she hoped we found what we were looking for even if it's not what we think we need. Do you think she knows we're looking for the antidote?"

  Gray looked back toward the sanctum. "I have no idea. She couldn't know what we're doing here. That whole encounter was weird."

  Maeve pulled her hair up to let the breeze cool her neck. "Would you do it?"

  Gray drew his eyebrows together and shot her a quizzical look. "Do what?"

  "Lay down your life for your friends."

  Gray thought for a minute, then took her hand. His piercing blue eyes stared into hers, and Maeve felt her heart jump. "I'd lay down my life for you."

  Maeve's eyes softened and she squeezed his hand. "And I'd do the same for you."

  Gray gave her a quick, hard kiss, squeezed her hand and turned back to observing the research lab building. Maeve was silent as Gray completed his survey of their surroundings. "But would you do it for anyone else?"

  He let out an exasperated sigh. "You want to talk about this now? We kind of have a job to do."

  She shrugged. "I just think it's interesting to think about. Where is the line? Who would I die for?"

  "Well, I don't want you dying for anyone."

  "Are you going to answer the question?"

  Gray gave up. "I don't really know. Definitely you. Probably Ginger, Tristan and Emery. Beyond that, it's probably a decision you make in the moment."

  Maeve cocked her head. "Do you think those defenders made their decision in the moment or did they already know they would sacrifice themselves for other people, no matter who they were?"

  Gray closed his eyes briefly and turned to face Maeve. "I really don't know, Maeve. I do know that we have a job to do here." He pointed to the front door of the research lab. "And I'd be really happy if neither of us gave up our lives to do it."

  Maeve nodded. "That's my preference, too."

  "Great, then can we get moving?"

  Maeve nodded again, but her face remained thoughtful.

  ###

  "Can you reach it?" Gray whispered. Maeve was standing on his shoulders, straining to reach an open window.

  "Almost. Can you boost me a little higher?"

  Gray grimaced and shifted to his tiptoes, his hands tight around her ankles. "Got it!" She wiggled, and he nearly lost his balance.

  "Give me a push."

  Gray loosened his grip on Maeve's ankles, put his hands on the backs of her feet and boosted her up so the top half of her body slid through the window. She kicked her legs, and the rest of her fell through with a quiet "Oof." After a minute she leaned back through the window and dropped a rope down the side.

  "We're good. There's no one in here."

  Gray breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed the rope. "Tie the rope to something sturdy."

  Maeve disappeared again. When she returned to the window, she gave him a thumbs up, and he braced his feet against the side of the building and began to climb. His arm muscles strained to carry his weight, and Maeve took a brief moment to admire them. When he grabbed the window ledge, Maeve latched on to the back of his shirt and pulled him through the window. They untied the rope and looked around.

  The room was exactly what Maeve expected to see in a research lab. Beakers of bubbling liquid sat on one counter while a computer with a large screen filled the desk in front of her.

  Gray flipped one of the computers on, settling himself in the chair in front of it.

  "Gray, what are you doing?"

  "I'm going to see if we can find what we need."

  Maeve looked over his shoulder. "Don't you think they're tracking the computers?"

  Gray shrugged. "Maybe, but how else are we going to see if the antidote is here. We don't even know exactly what
we're looking for."

  Maeve chewed on the skin on the side of her thumb and looked anxiously at the door as Gray typed. A piece of paper next to one of the bubbling beakers caught her eye, and she moved over to the table and picked it up.

  Her eyes widened as she read. "Gray, I think we can stop looking."

  He spun the chair toward her, surprise written on his face. "What have you found?"

  She waved the paper at him. "Look at this."

  He leaned against the table and took the paper from her then shook his head in disbelief. "This can't be right. It means everything Elton told us about this disease is a lie."

  Maeve pointed at a section of the paper. "It's not transmitted through the air or by touching someone. You have to be deliberately infected, either by ingesting the poison or through an injection."

  "No wonder none of us caught it." Gray turned the paper over, looking for more information. "But how did Emery get it?"

  "Do you think Elton injected her or put it in something she ate or drank?"

  Before Gray could answer, the door flew open. Two men in gray uniforms burst through the door and pointed guns at them. They slowly raised their hands. The click, click, click of high heels broke the silence.

  A familiar form filled the doorway. "Hello, again, Maeve, Gray. I wish I could say it was nice to see you."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Maeve stood in stunned silence as she stared into the face of the woman she had hoped never to see again, the woman responsible for the death of Gray's uncle and Ginger and Emery's mom. The new government's forces had searched the desert for her for weeks after the World Government fell but had found no sign of her. The general consensus was that she had fled into the desert and died. The general consensus was spectacularly wrong.

  Maeve recovered her voice. "Arabella." The word came out flat and disinterested. She gave the woman a slight nod.

  Gray's eyes were still wide with shock. He opened his mouth, then closed it without saying anything. His hands clenched into fists at his side, and Maeve could feel him trembling with anger.