“Answer the shoddy question. How can I fix this?”
“There is no solution.” He looks at me now, a slow smile creeping on his face. “You just sentenced your own country to death.”
I grip his shoulders and knee him in the crotch. He groans and hunches over.
“Fine,” he manages to say through gritted teeth. He peeks at me again, he green eyes filled with rage…and something else. Something I’ve never seen before.
Fear.
“Contact Nashville,” he says. “They will be more than willing to help.”
I narrow my eyes. “They’ve severed all contact with me when they found out I dethroned you.”
He straightens. “Oh, they will be more than willing to help you in any way possible now…now that you have…tribute.”
“Tribute?”
“How do you think I was on such good terms with Nashville? This is one secret I withheld from you because I knew you’d flip. But the idea might not sound so repulsive now that you’re in control and see no other way around this.”
Ice creeps up my spine, into my bones.
“On career day,” he says, “I sold some of the weakest, dumbest kids to Nashville.”
“What?” I blurt out. “Why one earth would you sell your own people to them?”
“Because the unvaccinated were fodder for entertainment. They were the perfect pieces to Nashville’s game.”
I don’t want to hear this. I can’t listen anymore. I want to turn around and run away—
“Nashville gave the White Plague to those kids and made them fight to the death in an arena.”
Heat rushes into my face, and I look away. The same shocked disgust I felt when I found out Titus took Gideon fills every corner of my brain.
“Why?” I glare at him, and I stifle the urge to grab Mcallister’s gun and shoot Titus in the head right now. “Why would you do such a thing to your own people?”
“They’re hardly people, sister, with the Proletariat brains they had. They didn’t even know what hit them.”
I can’t breathe.
“And I can assure you that Nashville will give you whatever you want. They will give you a cure. They will also give you luxurious food. With the amount of plagued you have to trade, you could ask for pretty much anything and Nashville will hand it over.”
“You sick, sick bastard.” Rain’s voice sounds from behind me, and I whirl around to find Rain standing at the doorway. “Grab his arms, Mcallister, while I beat his face into an unrecognizable pulp.”
“Rain Turner,” Titus says. “You would do so, after I gave you all the tools necessary to kill my sister? I practically gift-wrapped her, and you still failed at taking her down. And this is how you thank me?”
Rain looks at me. “May we have the honor, Chief?”
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I’m so horrified at the things Titus has been doing—things he never even told me about—that I can’t speak.
“Do whatever you like to him, Rain.” I walk toward the door, my hands trembling. “He’s all yours.”
“No,” Titus shouts. “No, Rory, you don’t know what you’re doing. I helped you! I told you what you wanted—”
I spin around. “You helped me?” I manage a laugh. “You lied about the antitoxin and now half the country is dying.” I stride up to him until I’m inches away from his face, and he flinches. Flinches! I want to laugh at the insanity. “You slept with me and then you took my son away. You killed our sister.” My hand curls into a tight fist and all the rage, all the fire, all the dark energy Titus has poured into my life shoots into my fist and it cracks in collision with his nose.
Titus squeezes his eyes shut and covers his nose with his hand. Both Rain and Mcallister stare at me, wide-eyed. When Titus removes his hand, blood oozes out of both nostrils. He looks at his hands, then at me. Mouth agape, he takes a startled step back.
I nod at Rain and Mcallister. “Have at him. I don’t care if he lives.”
Then I turn around.
And leave his desperate cries behind locked doors.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
RAIN
Holy Crawford, it felt good to finally take some of my rage out on Titus. I’ve been wanting to do that for years. I offered James a turn to throw a few punches, but he refused. I guess it was enough salve just to hold Titus in place and watch him take a well-deserved beating. James ended up stopping me from going any further though.
“We might need him later,” James said. “He clearly has information we don’t. He could be used as leverage against Nashville.”
So we sent the doctor in to clean up his wounds and headed to the capitol building where a very important meeting was taking place, and my presence had been requested. James and I climb the marble steps to the third floor, then step in front of the door to the conference room. A Defender opens the door. I do a quick scan, catching the faces of politicians I loathe, one of whom is my own father. Fewer than half the politicians as before fill the room. Some of them have been replaced by Olivia Doss and Walker and others. Aurora must have already disposed of the traitors. I kind of like this new revised Aurora who’s made an appearance since our return. But I’m surprised Father was able to stick around. I’ll have to tell her how Father orchestrated the attack in the Garden. Walker sits on the other end of the table and nods at me in greeting. He and Mcallister are the only two people I truly trust in this room.
“The White Plague,” Aurora says, bringing my eyes back to hers, “has officially taken down half the country.”
I feel like someone threw a brick at my stomach. Any tension I released in beating Titus up returns tenfold, and I have the sudden urge to throw up.
“Ha—half?” I choke out.
She steps back into the room, nodding for me and Mcallister to follow. She seems way more put together now, this Chieftess of Ky. I mean, she’s still clearly stressed, but she has it more under control than she did when we left to distribute the antitoxin.
“This new strain takes two weeks to appear in antitoxin form, but with physical contact it only takes minutes to completely transform its victims.” Aurora takes her place at the head of the table, then nods at me to sit down. Mcallister takes his place as bodyguard along the back wall. “Trimble County erupted with the plague yesterday. Since then, they’ve been attacking the rest of the city and the plague has spread through the country as fast as fire on gasoline. They’ve already raided the Community Garden. We have a barricade of Defenders keeping them on the east side of Ky until we figure things out.”
“Please don’t tell me you had a part in this.” Father looks at me with his pale blue eyes. He’s always looked slightly dead inside. Like his soul decided he was too boring to live with and moved on decades ago, and all that’s left now is a coldhearted bastard.
“No,” I respond. “But neither did I have a part in the crew that tried to stop us from distributing the antitoxin.”
He huffs out a dry laugh. “Good thing I did, or we’d have more people lost to the plague. However, I had no association with rebels like you do, Rain. Have you told our chief how you’ve been in contact with the Resurgence this whole time?”
“I know all about Rain’s contact with the rebels,” Aurora cuts in. “And I know all about your attempt to have me killed, Thomas. Seems the male Turners have an insatiable thirst for my blood.”
My eyes snap to hers. We’ve had a small understanding during our trip in the Community Garden. But how will she act now? Now that she has Bodyguard Mcallister standing behind her, and a host of politicians backing her up? I wait. Wait for her to tell everyone how I need to be executed with the traitors because I almost left her for dead. But she gives nothing away as she stares at Father.
“However,” she continues, “Rain was my greatest asset while we were attempting to free the people of mind compulsion.”
“The people who are now diseased?” Father asks.
She doesn’t bat an eye. “Yes. The very people Titus cared so little about, that he was willing to let us use his White Plague Supply to bring this country to its knees.”
Father does bat an eye. Twice. Then he looks at me. And it’s the look that says “you’re going to get a whipping now,” and I feel myself shrivel a little. No one makes me feel smaller than my own father. And I HATE him for it.
“Now, Thomas, give him a break.”
I look down the table and spot the speaker—Mother. What is she doing here? When did this meeting turn into a shoddy family reunion? Those never end well. The back of my neck burns. I almost stand, stride out of the room, when Mother says, “Rain’s done more for this country in the last three years than you’ve done in your entire politician career.”
Father’s face reddens. Mother looks at me, her gray eyes shining, almost like she’s proud. But that can’t be true. I’ve done nothing in my life that’s earned praise from either of my parents.
“Krin, I’d hardly call someone who recklessly works with the Resurgence a hero,” Father growls.
“He’s flipped Ky on its head and is already making positive changes.”
Seriously? My parents are talking about me—in front of me—like I’m not even here, and worse—in front of all the most important leaders of Ky. Holy Crawford, I’m never going to live this down. I glare at Aurora, silently begging her to carry on the meeting.
She gets the message and clears her throat. “Okay. I think there are more important things at hand than our opinions on whether Rain’s done anything…worthy…with his life.”
Stop. Just stop.
She smiles a little at my annoyed expression and looks down at her tablet. I wonder why she won’t demote Father if she knows about his hand in the attack. But from what I’ve seen in Aurora just this morning, she’s not taking crap from anyone today, so she must have a reason for keeping him around.
“Oh. No.” Her smile vanishes. Everyone leans in a little, waiting for her report. “The diseased have broken down the barricade. They’re flooding the streets of Ky right now.” She looks up, her eyes wide. “They’re headed straight for Frankfort.”
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
RAIN
If ever there was an appropriate time to panic, it’s now. I’m used to having everything under control. I’m used to knowing what’s going on inside Ky and out. I have friends in high places and low places and everywhere in between.
But this.
This is uncontrollable.
Because these plagued can’t be reasoned with. I can’t charm them. I can’t pull any secrets from them. I can’t torture them into doing what I want, because they are. literally. brainless.
“Why are they coming for Frankfort?” Father asks. “Aren’t they mindless? How do they know where to go?”
I shake my head and stare at the table. “It’s almost like whatever was in that antitoxin programmed them to target Frankfort.” I look at Aurora. “How else would such a large body of people with no leader—and no way to comprehend a leader—head straight to one fraction of the country? This isn’t just the White Plague eating at their brains. It’s some preemptive form of compulsion.”
“Of course,” Aurora says. “That’s exactly something Titus or Father would have cooked up.”
My stomach writhes and turns. This must have been how our ancestors felt—like it’s the end of the world. The shoddy apocalypse. There will be no living through this one, though. I stare blankly at the desk.
“So these…zombies are going to take over the nation,” I say huskily.
“Zombies?” Aurora says with a light laugh. “That’s a degrading term to use on our people.”
I stare at her. “Heartless. Brainless. The only way to kill them is a shot to the head, right? What else would you call them?”
“Just…sick. They still die a slow painful death by getting eaten up by the disease.”
“What term we used is irrelevant,” Thomas says. “They are diseased and must be eliminated immediately. Does Chief Whit—Titus have any bombs in the armory? We need to blow up Ky.”
I snort. “You’re kidding, right? I mean, the southern part of Ky is perfectly functional. We need to evacuate them and send them across the river.”
“We don’t have time for that,” Father growls. “We only have one boat in this country—a shoddy ferry—there’s no way we’re going to evacuate half of Ky on that before the plague takes over.” A string of saliva flies out with that last word. “Sending them across the river would only reintroduce the plague to the rest of the world. We’re already clambering back to where we used to be as a planet. Why on earth would you try to reverse that by allowing the plague to leave our community?” He looks at Aurora. “Bomb Ky. Save ourselves. Nashville will take us in. I’m sure of it. Just offer Prometheus any survivors.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Father has always been heartless, but I never took him for a complete jackal.
“I think we should contact Indy.” Mother looks at me. “You have connections, don’t you, Rain?”
“None that would help us now,” I say.
“That’s a great idea, Krin,” Aurora says. “Nashville clearly won’t help unless we allow them to come in and take all the diseased. But I still have hope that we can heal them. Didn’t one of the Resurgence members discover a way to gas the country with the antitoxin, Rain?”
“Levi did.”
“And the Indy Tribe must have the real antitoxin—maybe even a cure—on hand if they survived this past century.”
“Not to mention they wouldn’t have any barbaric terms to deal with,” Mother chimes in. “Their only terms were to help save Ky. That’s what we were attempting to do. Now we have proof, so—”
“They might be willing to listen, and step in for the sake of our people,” Aurora finishes.
I look between Mother and Aurora. Finishing each other’s sentences? Talking like there’s no one else in the room? These two are more like family than me and Mother ever were. Seeing their devoted relationship makes my throat close. I remember the nights Mother stayed out late, “working”. I remember all the times I saw my friends’ moms and I just wanted that normalcy with my own mother. But she wasn’t available. LeighAnn was the mother figure in my eyes. Not Krin.
But seeing her motherly affection for Aurora right now annoys the shoddy rot out of me. All dark feelings I had for Aurora return. The familiar bitterness fills me.
“We just need to convince the Indy Tribe to help.” Aurora looks at me, hopeful, beseeching. Mother stares at me and lifts a cool, unassuming brow that does little compared to Aurora’s compelling expression.
“Maybe,” I say through gritted teeth. “If we still had Ember, the Indy Tribe would be willing to step in.” I glare at Aurora. “But her little act in saving your life took away any chance you had for help from the Indy Tribe.”
She inhales a gasp. The betrayed look in her eyes makes me regret every word I just said. Others around the table are staring at me, shaking their heads in disapproval. These are Aurora’s loyal subjects, not the politicians who wanted to take her down. Of course that was a low blow in their eyes. Who am I kidding? It was a low blow all around.
I shove out my chair, head out of the meeting room. I take the marble stairs down to the second floor and walk out to the balcony where I pace and dig my fingers into my hair and think.
Convince the Indy Tribe to help us? Right. They severed ties with us the day Aurora took the throne. They’re not going to help until Aurora is dead. They’re not going to listen to me until I assassinate her. But I can’t assassinate her without going against everything Ember died for.
I can’t assassinate her without chipping a piece of my soul along the way.
Below, more Defenders take their places around the capitol building. Do they seriously think the plagued will break into Frankfort? The cupola was placed there as a shield. The weather-co
ntrolling dynamic didn’t come along until later, when the real problems of our world faded and petty issues like the weather took priority. No way the zombified plagued are getting into Frankfort, unless they find the entrance I came through, which is a slim chance. But if Mcallister is already tripling up on defense…maybe I should be more concerned. Maybe I should at least try to reason with Isaac. He won’t listen to Walker, but he might listen to me.
I look at my phoneband, and slowly begin typing while thinking up something clever to say. But before I can think, the buttons have been pushed and Isaac is on the line.
“She dead?” Isaac’s voice speaks into my earpiece.
“Um…” I really should have prepared for this a bit more. “The White Plague has made a…reappearance.”
“What? Please don’t tell me your chieftess had anything to do with this. She’s dead, right? RIGHT?”
I clear my throat. “No.”
“Rain. You’re clever. You can assassinate anyone at any time. Please explain yourself.”
I resist the urge to snap the phoneband off. “Look, Isaac. I’m not here to argue. I haven’t killed her. I can’t kill her. I’ll explain why later. The White Plague has taken over the country. We need an antitoxin for the remaining survivors now. I want you to contact the highest person in leadership you can get to—”
“That would be their president.”
“And ask them to help us. Otherwise the plague will get way out of control. People will start panicking. They’ll find ways to get across the river, and the White Plague has a very large chance of spreading to the rest of the continent, including the Indy Tribe.”
“Why not contact Nashville? They’re not ashamed to shove their pride up a Whitcomb butt.”
“Nashville severed all contact when Aurora became chief, unless she promised to send her own people in as tribute.”
A pause. “Oh.”
“Aurora was against that, and she’s seeking out other solutions. Please, please don’t disappoint me, Isaac.” I click off my phoneband and lower my wrist before he can make any more demands. If he truly cares for Ky like he says, he’ll help. He has family here, I know that much. At least they will be his reason to seek out help, if I’m not compelling enough.
white dawn (Black Tiger Series Book 3) Page 27