by KM Fortune
The nomad did not answer but instead motioned with the rifle barrel toward the handgun Gabriel wore on his belt. Gabriel narrowed his eyes and calculated his odds of pulling his pistol and trying to get off a shot. As if understanding what he was thinking, the man jabbed the end of his gun hard into Gabriel's chest. It was a clear warning. If Gabriel tried anything, he would be shot. With no other option, Gabriel pulled his handgun from its holster and tossed it into the snowbank on the side of the road. "Now what?" he asked. The man again used the rifle to communicate and waved it away from the jeep, openly expressing his desire to have Gabriel start walking into the cover of the shrub around them. It would mean any soldiers who came along would not be able to see them. Gabriel guessed the nomad had a hideaway nearby. It was what he would have done. Still, the fact the man had not spoken made Gabriel wonder if the heathen could even talk. It did not make Gabriel feel reassured. If he allowed himself to be taken hostage by a marginally intelligent nomad, he figured his chance of negotiating for his release would be difficult, and the odds of his survival were slim enough. Still, Gabriel could not help but be a little curious. The fact the man was risking his life to make such a daring ambush had to be motivated by something extreme. The question now was, what was it? Gabriel realized, to ensure the safety of Eden, he needed to know and so turned on his heel and started to walk at gunpoint down the road away from the mountain.
Hector woke with a start. There was someone in the room, standing over him beside the bed. Hector reacted instantly and sprang from where he was sleeping. Before the intruder could possibly know what was happening, Hector had him on the floor with a paw on his throat. Only a moment of curiosity kept Hector from killing the beast. “Wait,” gasped the cat mutant on the floor under Hector. “Your Grace, please wait.” Hector frowned. Why is he calling me that? he wondered. Is he confusing me with my father? Suddenly, Queen Helen spoke up from where she was still in the bed.
“Why did you call him that?” she asked. “What has happened to the king?” The cat mutant on the floor looked surprised to see Queen Helen, but he recovered quickly.
"He died in the night, My Queen. I've come to warn you," he said. Hector's mind whirled. His father was dead, and they had never had a chance to reconcile. Or for him to name you as his heir, he thought and quickly realized the ramifications. “Please, Your Grace, let me up. There is no time to waste,” said the cat mutant. Hector nodded and stood up. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the queen slide out of the bed covers and slip on her robe. She came to stand beside him.
"He's with us, Hector," she said and looked on as the cat mutant started to get up from the floor. "What is your plan, Sergeant Gray?" Hector tilted his head. The name was familiar, and when he looked closer, he recognized the stranger. Extending his paw, he helped the sergeant stand.
“Sergeant Gray,” he said. “You were the one who escorted me and my companions into the palace the first night.”
The sergeant nodded. “I must admit, when I realized who you were, I thought it was a gift from the gods,” he said.
Hector shook his head confused. “Why?” he asked.
“Because only you can help keep Prince Edward from the throne,” the queen answered for the sergeant. “He will destroy the realm if he becomes king. We need you.” Understanding, but then again not completely seeing how it would all work, Hector ran a paw over his face
“So how do we make that happen?” he asked. “With our father dead, I imagine Edward has already planted his tail on the throne.”
“That is not far from the truth,” Sergeant Gray interjected. “And he is mobilizing his guard. They will arrest you within the hour.”
“Then we must hide. Sergeant, do you have a plan?” Queen Helen asked.
"I do," he answered. "I have a place set up for you in an abandoned mine tunnel. It will work for now, but we need to hurry. I have others who can be trusted in place to guard the route, but before long it will look suspicious." They turned and looked at Hector. Their faces were questioning, and he knew they needed him to decide if he would go along with the plan or not. Conflicting thoughts raced through his head. He hated the idea of hiding, but could also see why it was necessary at least temporarily. Then there was the matter of believing Sergeant Gray. Can this beast be trusted? he thought. Or are Queen Helen and I being led into a trap? He would not put it past his evil brother to try such a thing. Hector stared into the sergeant’s eyes and tried to read them. All he could see was urgency. Finally, knowing he had few choices otherwise, Hector moved toward the door.
“Let’s go,” he said.
CHAPTER 3
Blaze opened his eyes and saw shag carpet. He was on the floor, and his head felt like it was going to split open. With a moan, he rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling. For a moment he was not sure where he was, and then the memories from earlier came back in a rush. Alarmed, he sat up and winced. Moving did not help the ache behind his eyes, but he ignored it and scanned the room. He saw the twins. One was passed out on each of the white leather couches. Brody was snoring especially loud. There was no sign of Matthew nor The Duke, but more importantly, he did not see Raven. Now he was even more worried, and he pulled himself to his feet. Once he was upright, the murmur of conversation he did not realize he had been hearing over the buzzing in his ears stopped. Turning to look, Blaze saw The Duke and Matthew still at the bar. They were drinking something from mugs instead of shot glasses now but otherwise looked the same as they had hours ago. How is either of them still upright? Blaze thought. They all had been drinking shot after shot of vodka as well as other liquors from The Duke's well-stocked display. Regardless, they both look fine, amused in fact. "Well now, look who's up," The Duke drawled. "Want a cup of coffee, partner?" The lanky man in the white cowboy hat walked to the end of the bar and poured some brown liquid into another cup. He set it on the bar for Blaze. "It will help a bit, I promise," The Duke said.
Blaze ignored the man's hospitality. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing The Duke could offer that he wanted. Blaze knew in his heart the man could not be trusted. "Where is Raven?" Blaze asked with a glance at Matthew. Although he was not a fan of the ex-soldier, at least he was confident the man would not let anything happen to Raven. As if understanding the look, Matthew nodded.
“She’s safe,” Matthew said. “Just sleeping.”
The Duke returned to his place across from Matthew and leaned casually against the bar. “Yep, Matthew’s right. Your lady friend is fine. We just took her to one of the hotel rooms and tucked her in to get some rest,” he said with a grin. “And we were perfect gentlemen about it.” Blaze was not one hundred percent sure what being a ‘perfect gentleman’ meant, but it did not help him relax. He wanted to see Raven was safe with his own eyes.
"No offense," he said. "But I'd like to see her for myself."
The Duke nodded. "Fair enough," he said and turned to Matthew. "Want to go get her? I think it is time we all had a little heart-to-heart anyway. She was eager to discuss something over breakfast, but then she fell asleep. Best get to the details now." Matthew took one more long drink from his coffee mug and then stepped away from the bar.
“I’ll be right back,” he said.
“I’m coming with you,” Blaze insisted.
Matthew looked at him and then glanced over at The Duke who shrugged. "Okay, it's just one flight down," Matthew said and walked to the door. Blaze followed and felt a bit of unease. Matthew was acting strangely considering their circumstances. Why does he seem to be deferring to The Duke? Blaze thought, and as the two of them left the penthouse, he resolved to start asking questions the minute no one was around.
Out in the city, Kit skirted the tall building. At the corner, she stopped and listened. For the last few hours, since she was able to slip through the narrow gap in the fence left by the slack in the chain which locked it, she had been playing keep away from a pack of dogs. So far she had stayed one step ahead of them, but Kit knew tim
e would eventually run out if she did not go inside one of the different buildings which made up the city. The question was which one to try. The last thing she wanted was to burst in on a group of strangers, especially considering the few people she had glimpsed looked rough. At one point she had even seen a fight break out between two men. It appeared to be over a woman who was with one of them. There was a lot of shouting and pushing and shoving. At one point the woman was even knocked down. It ended when the bigger of the two men pulled a large knife from his belt and repeatedly stabbed the other guy. Even Kit had been surprised by the move. Her life in the high desert wasteland was hard, and she was always vigilant about attack from the Patrols, yet the ruthless way the killer disposed of his advisory struck a chord. The people in the forbidden city were not to be taken lightly. All of which left her with the problem of where to go. As if to motivate her, Kit heard the distant barking of dogs. Have they caught my scent? she wondered. It was definitely time to make a decision.
Scanning the empty street in front of her, she noticed a shorter building with a surprising number of unbroken windows along its front. A sign hung over what looked like some sort of revolving door, but Kit had no idea what it said. Bulbs lined the edge of the marque, but they were not lit at the moment. She imagined whoever used the place waited until nightfall to turn them on again. Maybe it means the person in charge is either gone or asleep, she thought. Kit got a sense a lot of the activity which took place in the city happened during the night.
Again she heard the barking of dogs and this time they sounded like they were distinctly closer. It was time to take a risk. With another look up and down the street to make sure the coast was clear. Kit darted across and ran to the strange door. Not exactly sure what to do, she pushed on the only thing which looked like a handle and felt the contraption give way. Suddenly the whole door was rotating, and with no other option, Kit moved with it and was forced into the room beyond.
Matthew knocked gently on the hotel room door. If Raven was not awake yet, he did not want to startle her, but his consideration was not necessary. The woman pulled open the door immediately and stood in the doorway. Her green eyes looked into his own, and they held. For a moment, all Matthew could think about was how much he wanted to take her face in his hands and kiss her in much the same way she had once kissed him. In what felt like ages ago, as they stood together at the emergency exit from the underground laboratory, and his heart was suddenly filled with love for her. He had risked everything to help her escape and the choice wholly altered the entire trajectory of his life. And yet, I would never change my decision, he thought. Raven had set him free in every way possible and because if it, he knew he would spend the rest of his life dedicated to her. Suddenly, he wanted to tell her so and was opening his mouth to say the words when Blaze pushed past him and took Raven by the arm to lead her back into the hotel room.
Frustrated, Matthew followed the two inside. “Close the door,” Blaze snapped. “And lock it. We need to talk.” Matthew gritted his teeth at being ordered around but complied, only to find the door’s lock was missing.
“I can’t,” Matthew said. “It looks like The Duke has made sure no one can barricade themselves in.”
"Well, the next time the two of you are chatting it up over drinks, you can talk to him about that," Blaze said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Matthew looked at him and saw the young man was definitely angry at him.
“What does that mean?” Matthew asked quietly, not wanting to escalate the situation. The last thing Raven needed was a fist fight between the two men who were supposed to be protecting her. It did not seem to help as Blaze let go of Raven’s arm and stepped up into Matthew’s face.
“I mean I woke up to see you and that guy acting like buddies,” he snarled. “You want to explain what is going on?”
Matthew stared back at the shorter, younger man and, even though he disliked conflict, wanted nothing more than to send him sprawling. Before he could decide his next move, Raven was beside them.
“Stop it,” she insisted. “Blaze, this is not helping.” Matthew watched Blaze flick his eyes over at Raven. A look of uncertainty crossed his face.
“You should have seen him, Raven,” Blaze said.
“I’m sure Matthew had a good reason for acting that way,” she said. “Right?” It was Matthew’s turn to look at her. Curiosity filled her face, but there was no hint of suspicion. It reassured him to know she trusted him completely. With a nod, he stepped back from Blaze and turned to Raven.
“I did,” he said. “The Duke is dangerous. I can’t guess his exact plan, but he worked very hard to get all of us so drunk we passed out. Luckily, I met his match and stayed conscious.”
“How did you manage that?” Raven asked. “He was relentless.”
Matthew shrugged. He was not sure himself but figured it must have something to do with his engineering. "My genetic makeup maybe? We don't have anything fermented in Eden, so I never was exposed to any alcohol and had no idea how I would react. Fortunately for all of us, I felt fine. Maybe a touch of dizziness at the most."
“Genetic what?” Blaze asked.
Matthew looked at him. “I’m a clone,” he said. “I’m not human like you.”
CHAPTER 4
The man moved faster than Willow expected. She guessed he would bolt at some point, or at least she knew she would if the situation was reversed. Being shot would be worth trying to avoid whatever fate was in store for her. What Willow had not considered was his speed and skill. It was the gray beard and wrinkles around his eyes, which threw her off. Looking into the old soldier's face when she was able to get the drop on him, she realized he was the oldest person she ever laid eyes on. People on the wasteland of the high desert lived too dangerous of a life to normally survive long. Even the people who lived beside the lake struggled between having to fight the wolves and raids by the Patrols. In the end, the man's apparent advanced age made her underestimate him, and it was really only luck that she caught him at all.
They were nearing the spot Willow had picked out for them to temporarily hole up while she interrogated him. It was rockier than the normal landscape and packed snow had turned into ice in the crevices. A misstep onto a slippery patch was what made the old soldier stumble. It was enough for Willow to catch up and punch him with the butt of her rifle. She was trying not to hit him too hard because keeping him alive for the moment was critical, but Willow used enough force to daze the man and stop his attempt to run. As he clutched the back of his head and rolled over onto his back with a groan, Willow held the rifle ready to strike him again. Seeing her intent, the man held up his hand to protect his head. “Wait,” he said. “I give up.”
Willow lowered the rifle but keep her guard up as she pulled the scarf down to uncover her face. She was about to give him a warning when she saw his eyes widen with surprise. Willow frowned, puzzled by his response until the reality of the situation dawned on her. He didn’t know I was a woman, she thought and felt grim satisfaction in the fact his understanding she was female would not sit well with him. Willow smirked at the old man. "You assumed I was male, didn't you," she said, making a statement and not asking a question. "Well, the joke's on you then. Now get up. I have plans for us." Suddenly, the soldier growled and tried to trip her with a sweep of his legs. It was a good attempt and would have been successful if Willow was not as experienced a fighter. Instead, she skipped to the side and with a shake of her head, brought the butt of the rifle down again, this time straight into his face. She heard his nose crunch and expected a yelp of pain. Instead, the man shook his head to clear it and with bright red blood already pouring into his thick gray beard, he started to stand up with a look of loathing and defiance in his glaring eyes. With a frown over the man's stubbornness, Willow smacked him with the rifle butt again. Hard enough this time to knock him out cold. Just great, she thought. Now I’ll have to carry him.
Raven looked from one man to the other. They stood toe-to-toe, and as
she observed them, she realized even though she cared deeply for both of them, they could not be more different. While Blaze was lean, quick to temper, and rugged from a survivor's life on the plains, Matthew's face was fuller with gentle, intelligent eyes, which reflected his even temperament. One similarity however was the dislike for the other she saw in both their eyes. Before the situation could become even more uncomfortable, Raven inserted herself between them, and they stepped back. "We have got to get along," she said. "We need a plan. I don't remember much of last night after a certain point, but what I do recall, The Duke seemed like a reasonable man."
Blaze frowned and looked at Raven. “You’re not serious?” he asked. “He’s a snake.”
"Not necessarily," Matthew interjected with a shake of his head. "I do agree he is dangerous, but I believe he will keep any promises. I spoke with him at length this morning. He's a betting man, and I think he would never go back on a wager." Raven raised her eyebrows. A betting man? she thought. Then she remembered they were in Reno, Nevada of all places. Being a gambler made sense, and it might account for how The Duke came to run the city.
“What kind of bets?” Raven asked.
"Pretty much anything," Matthew answered. "He tried to get me to make a wager on which twin would wake up first, but I declined. The stakes were not to my liking." Raven felt a hint of unease.
“What were the stakes?” she asked, somehow knowing the price for losing a bet to The Duke would be unpleasant if not dangerous. Matthew shrugged.