Boundary

by Heather Terrell

  “Surely you don’t mean your father? Or my uncle?”

  “I don’t think so, but I’ve been wrong about so many things.”

  Jasper rolls away from me to stare at the blank wall beside his bed. I sit quietly for a few ticks on the edge farthest away from him, hoping that a little space is all that’s needed to sway him. I know I’m asking a tremendous amount. I’ve had several months to deal with this deluge of truth; Jasper doesn’t have that luxury. He needs to process it now. Theo will be here shortly, and I need Jasper’s allegiance.

  I say his name a few times.

  Nothing.

  I’ve never known him to ignore me; such unGallantry goes against all his beliefs. Can he hear me? Or did he become engulfed somewhere in the avalanche of information?

  I have an idea. “Do you remember what you said when I asked you to search inside the Lexors’ Vault for documents about the Genesis?”

  He doesn’t answer. He doesn’t even glance over at me.

  I supply the answer for him. “You said, ‘The people of New North deserve the truth about the Healing, The Lex, everything. If we’ve been lied to by our Founders, we need to discover the deception and tell the truth.’ ”

  Still nothing. I’m desperate.

  Moving around to his side of the bed, I kneel before him. “If we go to the Triad first and tell them what I’ve learned, I will get the gallows. I have violated The Lex so many times to gain that information, even if the Triad wasn’t trying to shut me up, they would have no choice but to punish me. I am trusting you with all that I’ve done in the name of the truth, and praying to whatever Gods exist that you will help me. The people deserve to know. I need to know that you have my back when I’m up on that dais tomorrow, Jasper.”

  Finally he turns from the wall and looks at me. His eyes are a startling blue even in this darkness. “I want to, Eva,” he says. “I love you, and I don’t believe that you would ever lie to me. But this is hard. Whether your accusations about The Lex and the Founders are true or not, I still believe our world is a good one. I love New North. The Triad makes sure that everyone has what they need, and everyone’s virtue is protected. Not like the pre-Healing world. Why would I want to upset the order in our society after all that mankind has been through? It’s not like we have anywhere else to go.”

  “I understand, Jasper.” He’s not going to help me. It was always a gamble. I stand, though my knees quake. I’ve got to be brave, because tomorrow I’ll be out there all alone.

  Turning to leave, I hear Jasper’s voice. “But you’re right about what I said before. If there are lies about New North—its present or its past—we must root them out and show them to the people. And root out the liars, too. Only then can a just society be restored.” He pauses for a tick and says, “I’ll help you, Eva.”

  Did he really just say that? I whirl and face him. “You’ll stand behind me tomorrow when I announce the truth at the Founders’ Day celebration?”

  “I will.”

  I’m not sure he can stand it, but he needs to know that in addition to the Triad, Lukas might be a threat. That we must be prepared physically as well as emotionally for tomorrow’s revelations. “One more thing, Jasper. Lukas and I had a falling-out today. He wants change in New North—including a breakdown of this barrier between Boundary and Aerie—and I’m not sure he’ll stop at my speech.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, if he doesn’t get the reaction he wants from the people after my speech, he might use force.”

  My Betrothed nods. “Then we will be prepared for that.” Jasper the Gallant has returned.

  I hadn’t even noticed, but I’ve moved closer to him. Very close. We lean toward each other. Our lips touch tenderly, almost sadly. We cling to each other, together on the only life raft left in rising flood waters.

  XXXXIV.

  Augustus 16

  Year 242, A.H.

  Standing on the roof of Jasper’s home, I prepare to descend. Just as I’m about to throw a line over the edge, the view of New North, glistening and peaceful in the partial moonlight, stops me. Could Jasper be right? Would my revelation force the people to sacrifice a society that’s largely good for the sake of past truths? Yet how can I abandon my path now? No, I must continue.

  I slide down my line to the ground. Theo isn’t here yet. What’s keeping him? Have they found Lukas? I’d be surprised if the plodding, loud Archon-Guards could track a silent, expert hunter and climber like Lukas. Still, I shudder at the thought of standing face-to-face again with Eamon’s killer, a person I thought was my friend and maybe more.

  But the thought of Lukas’s imprisonment gives me pause. If he’s locked within the Aerie jails and subjected to the torture rumored to happen there, will he divulge everything? Including my participation? I can’t believe that the Triad would let me deliver my Chronicle tomorrow with such accusations hanging in the air.

  Pursuing Lukas right now would ruin my chance to mount that dais tomorrow and lift the blinders off New North’s eyes. A chance that may never come again. Should I really jettison the opportunity to tell New North the truth—an act my brother would have willingly died for—because of my fury at Lukas? My need for immediate revenge?

  I hear Theo’s lumbering footsteps approach, and I make an impossible decision. I will exact my revenge on Lukas another time—of that I will make certain. I can’t sacrifice my only chance for change, because it would be unfair to Eamon. He died for truth.

  “I’m so sorry, Eva,” Theo says, breathless from exertion. “We lost Lukas’s trail before we even got close to the Ring.”

  “Don’t blame yourself, Theo. Lukas is gifted in tracking and the ways of snow. If he doesn’t want us to find him, he won’t be found.” I don’t mention that having been trained by Lukas myself, I might be the only one who can find him now.

  “I promise you that at dawn, we will cross over into the Boundary. We will not stop searching until we find him.”

  Facing Theo square on, I ask, “Do you trust me?”

  His sad expression resurfaces. “Before tonight I did. Now I’m not sure. I want to believe in you and the things you told me, even though they were so incredible, so awful. But I don’t think you could make them up.”

  “Can you believe in me enough to call off the Guards? Tell them you made a mistake.”

  This is no small deed I ask of him. Repercussions will certainly follow for dragging the Hall of Archons Guards out after the final bell on a whim. On a search mission at that. Probably at the hand of his brother.

  “Why would you want me to do that?”

  “Once you find Lukas, my involvement in this will come out. The Triad will never let me mount that stage tomorrow. I need to make sure I read my Chronicle at the Founders’ Day celebration. Then I want to kill Lukas myself.”

  Theo stares at me long and hard. “I’ll do it, Eva. Not just for you and Eamon. For New North.”

  XXXXV.

  Augustus 16

  Year 242, A.H.

  I’ve never been so nervous. Not when I passed under the Gate in the Ring and left behind the Aerie for the first time. Not when I first stared down into the bottomless crevasse where I uncovered Elizabet’s Relics in the Testing. Not when I stole into the Hall of Archons under the cover of darkness. No, this moment is more terrifying than any other, because this is the tick that will determine whether all the risk and all the sacrifice were worthwhile. I could change everything.

  My fellow Archons and I stand shoulder to shoulder on the Aerie town square dais the morning of the Founders’ Day celebration. We serve as the black, sealskin-suited backdrop for the Triad leaders—my father as the Chief Archon, Jasper’s Uncle Ian as the Chief Lexor, and Henry as the Chief Basilikon. The flames of a hundred torches frame us, though they’re hard to make out in the brilliant sunlight, and the entire population of New North serves as our audience.

  Squinting into the sun reflecting off the ice-crusted building of the town square,
I review the scene. All the elements are in place. The Triad flanks me, my sole ally Theo and my nemesis Laurence among them, and the people stand before me, a sea of eager eyes. The faces of those leaders I need to assess are close enough to inspect, even though I’ll have to turn around to see them. Jasper and a few trusted Gallant friends, kept in the dark except for the hint of some unnamed amorphous threat, are in place throughout the crowd to protect me, should Lukas surface.

  I breathe deeply of the icy air. Maybe this gambit will work, after all. Maybe I will transform the future and set all of New North free with the simple words of the truth. Maybe I can do what Eamon wanted. But “maybe” feels like an enormous leap into an abyss deeper than any crevasse I’ve ever encountered.

  I try to calm my nerves by listening to the Chief Basilikon’s prayers; they used to soothe me. But now all I hear embedded in those offerings are lies. Lies about the Founders, The Lex, and the Gods that do nothing for my mounting apprehension. Lies that only serve to ratchet up my anxiety for my task. I’ve got to stay focused.

  Instead, I try to tune out the chanting and mentally recite the speech I’ll soon give. I’m so intent on drowning out the words of the Chief Basilikon that I almost miss my own summoning.

  “Archon Eva, please join me.” The Chief Basilikon booms over the silent, prayerful New North crowd.

  I march to the front of the dais with a confidence I don’t feel. I stand just behind the Chief Basilikon, as befits my rank. The face of my mother beams up at me from the crowds, and I can almost hear her bragging to her friends, “Look at my beautiful Eva up there; I always knew she’d be the first Maiden-Archon.” As if she had supported me all along.

  I’m about to let her down. Crush her, actually.

  My father takes his place alongside the Chief Basilikon and gestures to the crowd. “As you may have heard, the Gods have decided that it was time New North witness firsthand the bravery of our Founders. We Archons were recently blessed with the discovery of that most important of Relics—the very boat that brought our Founders to the shores of New North in the final days of the Healing. The Genesis.”

  The crowd erupts as if they’ve never heard the news, even though I’m certain that most have been gossiping about the Genesis since we returned from the dig. New North is a small place, and word travels from Keep to Keep and home to home faster than an arctic hare. Still, it wouldn’t be seemly to admit their knowledge, and a subdued reception of the announcement would be just that.

  Unable to contain his smile, my father glances over at me; his face is shining with pride. I feel sick to my stomach. No matter my recent uncertainties about my father, I love him.

  He gestures for me to step forward. “I give you Archon Eva.”

  The crowd reaction to the news of the Genesis pales in comparison to the roar over me. My father’s chest puffs up even higher, and I wonder how deflated he’ll be after I finish my speech. Even now, it’s hard to disappoint him.

  The people begin to chant, “Eva, Eva, Eva.” It continues until it becomes a roar overtaking all other sound. The people begin to toss items on the stage. At first, I instinctively duck, and I see the Guards call out in alarm. But then, when I see the objects—garlands, wreaths, and other treasures—I reach out to catch them and form a pile of their offerings next to my feet.

  After the noise subsides, my father continues. “Her research led us to the exact Site of the Genesis, and she was the first Archon to cross the threshold. She deciphered the horror and the epiphanies of those days on the Genesis, helping us all understand the precise moment in which the Gods visited our Founders and gave them mankind’s second chance at life through faith. I’m certain you won’t be surprised that the Archons chose Archon Eva to write the Chronicle of this most important Relic.” He and the Chief Basilikon step to the side to give me command of the dais.

  I open my palms out to the people. My voice cracks as I try to assume the chanting tone used so effectively by the Basilikons to invoke The Lex. Because that’s exactly how I want the people to hear my Chronicle and the words that follow—as a sacred text. “In the beginning, the Gods created the heavens and His Earth …”

  I scan the crowd as I continue with my Chronicle version of the Biblical Genesis. All I see are accepting stares and nodding heads; the people look transfixed by the tale I tell. I don’t see any expressions of recognition or hear any disconcerting sounds, even from the other Triad members. Until I reach my mother. She’s heard the story of Adam and Eve before, I’m certain of it. I stare into her eyes as I continue almost automatically with my Chronicle. How in the Gods would my mother know the Bible? She of all people, follower of The Lex, perfect Lady, oblivious to the workings of New North beyond the hearth and home. I must be mistaken.

  “Slashing Apple’s symbol from the worship tablets they had brought on board the Genesis, the Founders began to draft The Lex—the goodly and rightful history of the true Gods and the laws which mankind must follow or ruin their second chance. And in this way, New North became the new Garden of Eden.”

  I finish with my Chronicle and pause before I begin the next phase of my speech. A long shadow falls across the dais, causing a break in the relentless sunlight. I glance up. Figures have begun to assemble on the ridge of the Ring.

  From this distance, they look like dark outlines against the brightness of the sun and the blue sky. To the untrained eye, the shadows would cause no alarm; they could easily be Ring-Guards. Yet, I know better. From the outline of their atlatl and long ipu spears and the flap of their cloaks, I recognize them as Boundary.

  Jasper sees me staring and follows my line of sight. He knows they are Boundary, too. Placing one hand on the hilt of his sword, he lifts the other; I know he’s about to signal to his men. I make our agreed-upon “hold” gesture. I need one more tick to see if I can win the people over with my words before Lukas resorts to his weapons.

  XXXXVI.

  Augustus 16

  Year 242, A.H.

  “This Chronicle is a fiction we were led to believe was the truth,” I yell out. I hope I’m loud enough for Lukas and his men on the Ring to hear me. I don’t want violence before I get a shot at peace. “New North was founded on a lie.”

  Gasps and cries sound from the crowd, and the expressions of betrayal on the people’s faces nearly send me into silence. In the tick before I will myself to continue, the Guards surrounding the stage assume a defensive position. Whether because of my words or the people’s reactions, I don’t know. Either way, I don’t have much time before I get dragged off the stage.

  “Eva,” I hear my father call out from the stage behind me, his voice full of alarm and anger. Only a few ticks before my period of grace ends.

  “The pre-Healing world is not as we think, and the Healing is not as we’ve been told. The pre-Healing people were sinful and corrupt, but no more than we. They worshipped a God not unlike our Gods, and in fact, our Lex is not divinely inspired but instead modeled on the pre-Healing religious text, the Bible, as well as other long-existing myths and legends. The so-called false god Apple is merely a Keep that created the pre-Healing Tech. Tech isn’t evil, just a fancy means of communicating. Not unlike our hawks. In fact, the most sinful act of the pre-Healing people—and the deed most deserving of divine punishment—is the one undertaken by the Founders themselves. The intentional flooding of our Earth—”

  “That’s enough!” Chief Lexor Ian cries out, as he steps forward and slaps me across the face. I skid across the dais floor, blood pouring from my nose.

  “How dare you!” he continues, drawing ever closer to my bloody face as I scuttle backward across the stage. “The Founders didn’t submerge the Earth; they just finished the job that the pre-Healing people had already started. By the time of the Healing, mankind’s machines had already polluted the sky with as much heat as thousands of nuclear bombs. The oceans were already rising. The flood waters were inevitable. Destruction was coming. The Founders simply made sure that the final subm
ersion happened in such a way that mankind could continue on, living in a way that is good and true. The Founders were heroes, not murderers.”

  As my father pulls Ian away from me, Laurence races to join Ian’s side. Laurence and Ian in alignment? The allegiances are now clear. This answers many of my questions about the small acts of violence against me and the horrific gallows message.

  Laurence and Ian face off against my father, and silence fills the Aerie Town square, becoming a presence unto itself. By uttering those words in defense of the Founders, Ian did more damage to their legacy than I could have ever done alone. He has confirmed that I speak the truth.

  I struggle to stand, slipping on planking made slick with my blood.

  Laurence turns and raises his hand to strike me—I guess he wants his chance to vent his rage, too—but my father grabs his arm before he makes contact.

  “What Eva says is true. Isn’t it?” my father asks both of them. He wants the people to hear the truth very clearly.

  “Yes,” Ian answers. “We should be celebrating those decisions on Founders’ Day. Their valor and decisiveness are the reasons we are all alive here today. Damn your daughter for her condemnation of our Founders. We’re not going to let our society falter because of some stupid girl!”

  In less time than it takes to blink, Laurence slides out his sword and lunges for my father. Before my father can grab the hilt of his own sword, Ian slips a knife out from a leg-sheath and slices my father’s arm. Two against one, an unspeakable act of unGallantry for such professed adherents to The Lex.

  As Jasper tries to make his way through the crowd to rally to my father’s defense, Ian and Laurence bear down on my father. He deflects a swipe by Laurence, and he parries Ian’s thrust. So paralyzed by shock are the Guards at the pronouncements and the sight of their leaders fighting that the three men continue uninterrupted.