Release (The Submerged Sun, #3)

by Garden,Vanessa

  I inched my hand across the blanket until I found Lily’s, and it suddenly occurred to me how pointless it was for Lily and I to blame ourselves. I squeezed her fingers between my own.

  “It’s not your fault. It’s nobody’s fault but Damir’s, and Sylvia’s because she’s allowing this. And anyway, according to Sylvia he’s been doing this for the past couple of weeks.”

  Lily cleared her throat and folded her arms across her knees as she sat down beside me on the floor, our backs against the bed. She found my hand again.

  “We can’t let this happen anymore. No more women in Marin will suffer as long as we live, Robbie. We have to make sure of it. And we can’t let that precious little baby be brought up by Sylvia. She’s as much a monster as Damir.”

  My entire body turned rigid at the thought of Sylvia teaching the innocent child her heartless ways or of Damir getting his sick hands on her tiny body.

  I balled my free hand into a fist. I’d make it my life’s mission to make sure Damir never hurt anyone again. Reaching down, I slipped a dagger out from my boot. It was a comfort to feel the cool metal hilt in my hand.

  “We need to get Marko and Miranda back here right now. And this time we need to get rid of Damir and Sylvia for good. It’s the only way.” I tossed my dagger and caught it. “If only we could get into Marko’s room.”

  Out in the hall, Redkin cleared his throat and laughed. The door was shut so I knew he couldn’t have heard me. He probably found the idea of a girl bleeding to death a big joke. I stabbed the dagger into a crack in the stone floor.

  “Wait, I have an idea,” Lily said, whipping her own dagger out of her boot absentmindedly before plunging it back into its sheath again. She stood up and offered me a hand to haul me to my feet. In a second I was standing, staring down into her blurry, smiling face.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked hesitantly, the back of my neck prickling. I got the feeling I wasn’t going to like it, especially if it involved Lily putting herself anywhere near Damir, or Sylvia, or that idiot Redkin.

  “Okay. So, we both know that Redkin has had a thing for me ever since we played spin the dagger at my thirteenth birthday.” She scooped her hair up behind her neck and twisted it into a ponytail. I caught the briefest scent of her jasmine perfume.

  “I hate this idea already, but go on.”

  “Just be patient and listen.” She slapped my arm. “So because of his thing for me, I’m the best person to distract him away from Marko’s door.”

  I stepped back. “No. If you distracting him involves what I think it does, then... no. Just no. He’s not nice, Lily. I’ve heard the way he talks about women and know the way he treats them.” I shook my head. “He’s disgusting. He’s an animal. I can’t let you put yourself at risk like that.”

  Lily put her hands to her hips. “There’s no other way, and we’re talking me here. I actually find it rather insulting that you don’t think I can handle Redkin.”

  I released a long sigh. She was right. And there was going to be no stopping her, no matter how much I protested.

  “Okay, but he knows we’re together. He’s going to know we’re up to something if you’re suddenly out there all over him.”

  “Aww, you’re jealous, Robbie, how cute.” She wrapped her arms around my waist but stiffened suddenly, as though she’d just remembered the injured girl in the room.

  “Listen Rob, we’re going to fight.” She gently poked my chest. “You and I. Right now. I’m going to say some nasty things and you’re going to retaliate with equally nasty things. Then I’ll storm out and seek comfort in the arms of Redkin.” She smiled up at me and this time my eyes gained focus. I stared down into her round face. She was so beautiful and childlike and womanly all at once. There was no way Redkin was going to refuse her and I hated knowing it.

  “And what am I supposed to be doing? Standing around like a blind fool while you seduce that idiot?”

  “You’ll be breaking the locks on the adjoining door, Mr Muscles, and if that fails, then... I don’t know... I’ll try to steal the key from his belt buckle.” Lily shuddered in my arms.

  Sickened by the idea of my girlfriend’s hands going anywhere near Redkin’s filthy belt buckle, I released myself from Lily’s hold and bent down to slip my dagger back into its sheath.

  “I don’t like it. But if you’ve got your mind set on it, then I suppose I’ll have to go along with it.”

  “Imagine having use of the light crystal channels? Imagine getting Marko back? And Miranda? The city will be saved. The people won’t want Sylvia or Damir when they hear about the dead girls. Some people are already suspicious anyway. Jonathan told me.” She took my hand into her own and squeezed it. “We could leave Marin tonight to go find Marko and Miranda. Imagine, Robbie.”

  I squeezed her hand back.

  “Okay, okay.” I had to admit, as blood pumped fresh adrenaline through my veins, Lily had crafted a good plan. As long as she didn’t get hurt, then I was okay with it.

  “Remember to use your dagger if you need to. And call out to me if something goes wrong.”

  There was a knock at the door and in stepped the young guard I had summoned earlier, carrying a jar of pain medication.

  “Thank you,” I said, stepping aside to allow him in.

  The guard peered at the bed and gasped when he saw the girl.

  “We need to inform her family,” I said. He seemed about the same age as the girl on the bed. “Do you know her?”

  The guard ignored me and edged closer to the bed. He peeled back the sheet, tenderly tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind the girl’s ear, and nodded his head.

  “Her name is Avalon. Her family lives not too far from mine.” His shaking hands balled into fists. “I’ve heard rumours of missing girls. Sylvia’s been telling tales of runaway girls disappearing into the darkness of the Underworld. But this is Damir’s doing, isn’t it?”

  I rested a hand on his shoulder. “It is. But we’re going to make sure that nothing like this happens again.”

  He nodded, his white cheeks stained red with rage.

  “What’s your name?”

  The guard stared hard at the girl, swallowed thickly and then turned to face me. “Jarrod.”

  “I’m Robbie and this is Lily.”

  He nodded and flicked away a curl that had fallen over his eye. “I know. Everyone knows who you both are.”

  “Say nothing of this to the other guards. Notify her family, but warn them to stay away from the castle for the time being. I will send her family updates on her condition and have her moved from the castle and sent home as soon as it is safe for her to travel.”

  ‘If I may, can I at least move her to my quarters? My room’s not far from here so it will take me half a minute to shift her. That is, if it’s safe to move her in this condition.’ The boy winced as he stared down at Avalon.

  I nodded. Better for the girl to be hidden in the boy’s room than here where Sylvia or one of the guards could stumble upon her, think her dead and dispose of her.

  After I gave him instructions on Avalon’s care and the correct dosage for her medicine, Jarrod carefully wrapped the blanket around her, and scooped her up into his arms with tenderness. At the door he paused and turned.

  “I want to help stop this. If there’s anything I can do, please tell me. There are others who want Marko back. So many citizens aren’t happy with the way things are in Marin. I’ve been speaking to Jonathan and Anne. We’re all happy about the baby, but nothing else is being done about the general unrest in the city. No one is truly happy with how things are run anymore. It’s hard to know who to trust. But you can trust me.”

  I reached out and gripped his shoulder before releasing him. “Thanks, Jarrod. I’ll send word.”

  Jarrod nodded a goodbye and I held the door for him as he left with Avalon in his arms. I watched the back of his curly head as he disappeared down the corridor, glad to be reminded of the fact that there were others in the city
like us, but sad to think of what had happened to Avalon.

  Now I wished that I’d stabbed Damir while I’d had the chance. I should have slit his throat and saved Marko the job, even though he’d made me promise to leave Damir for him.

  “Let’s get this over with,” I said, shutting the door and tugging Lily into my arms for one last hug before we set our plan into motion. I didn’t know what I would do if I ever lost her for real.

  I pecked her forehead and squeezed her tight, not wanting to let go, not wanting to fake-fight and fake-break up with her. I wanted to bury my head inside her vanilla scented hair, but even more so, I wanted to get on with our plans to get Marko back here as quickly as possible.

  “Don’t believe a word of what I’m about to say, okay?” Lily whispered, before she stood on tiptoes and pressed her soft lips to mine.

  “Okay. Same.”

  Her face suddenly turned red as she contorted her sweet features into anger.

  “None of it was real, idiot! I’ve never cared. There’s only one guy in this entire city who’s man enough for me and you’re not it.”

  It took me by surprise, even though we’d planned this. It felt terrible hearing those words, staged or not.

  “So you’ve lied to me all along?” I said, my voice rising with each word. I was using Avalon’s senseless injuries to fuel my anger. “Get out, then, and go be with him if you want him so much.”

  “What are you talking about?” she shouted back. “How would you know who it is?”

  I sucked in a deep breath, cringing inside, hoping we weren’t being too theatrical and false sounding.

  “That idiot outside the door. Is that why you’ve been coming here to see me day and night? So you can see him each day?”

  Lily took two steps back.

  “At least he can see properly.”

  Ouch.

  I widened my eyes at her and luckily, because of my temporarily sharpened sight, I could see her mouth form a “sorry”.

  “So go be with him then. See if he can make you as happy as I thought I did.”

  “Ha! You’ve never made me happy. Ever! And you want to know something? You’re horrible in bed.”

  Whoa... thank God we hadn’t slept together yet or I’d have one hell of a complex right now.

  “Get out!”

  My eyes became fuzzy temporarily but sharpened just as Lily grinned, dipped her finger into a nearby jug of water, sprinkled drops on her cheeks and winked at me before storming out the door.

  With my ear to the door, I could hear her sobbing as the idiot tried to calm her down. I could just picture him with his greasy, sweaty arms around her, and it was all I could do not to burst out of the room and strangle him for daring to touch her.

  “I want to go back to my old room, but I don’t want to walk alone. Can you please escort me?” she asked, between sobs. “It won’t take long. Sylvia won’t even know you’re gone. And no one comes this way anymore, anyway.”

  Opening the door a crack, my vision stayed sharp just long enough for me to see the idiot staring at Lily with hooded eyes, a slow smile spreading across his face. “I wish nothing more than to escort you to your room, Lily, but I won’t cross Sylvia for anything.”

  This was not good. He wasn’t taking the bait.

  Lily sobbed even louder. It sounded horrible. She was a terrible actress.

  “Just walk me to my room and come straight back. Sylvia’s tired from the baby being up all night so she won’t notice at all.”

  I hardly breathed while I waited for Redkin’s answer.

  “Okay, but just for a few minutes,” he said, his voice as slippery as oil.

  I wanted to kill him. But instead I carefully pulled the door to a close. Resting my back against it, I took stock of my thoughts.

  After several deep breaths, I managed to bury my rage deep in my belly and was able to remind myself of the plan to get to Marko and Miranda back to Marin.

  When their footsteps died, I slid my dagger out of my boot and set to work at picking the lock of the adjoining door between my and Marko’s room.

  Two palm-sweating minutes passed, during which I nearly stabbed myself because of my impaired vision, until the lock finally clicked.

  Sighing with relief, I turned the handle, but the door wouldn’t budge. I gave it a good, hard nudge with my shoulder but nothing happened. Stepping back, I raised my boot and gave it a fierce kick, then another, and another, until my foot ached. But the door remained locked.

  I swore. They must have foreseen this and padlocked or dead-locked it from the other side.

  Lily.

  I’d sent her with Redkin and put her in danger. All for nothing.

  But as I rushed out of my room, my left boot kicked something that skittered across the floor. Something made out of steel, possibly even a key. Were Lily’s fingers that quick? I didn’t even want to think how she’d managed to get it off his belt buckle that fast.

  The silver item glinted under the soft glow of the light crystals, but as I crouched down low and moved closer, the glint disappeared.

  On my hands and knees I went, feeling around the cold stone floor with my fingers and palms. Several minutes passed, until I found it. Finally.

  I shook away the image of Lily’s hands touching Redkin’s belt and quickly unlocked Marko’s bedroom door. But instead of entering right away, I made a bolt for Lily instead. Her safety came first and I was getting more and more concerned for her wellbeing by the second.

  Footsteps approached from the other end of the hallway, the quick, light steps of Lily. I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Are you alright? Did he hurt you?” I reached out to her and rested my hands on her shoulders before drawing her into my arms. “Where is he?”

  “Tied to my bed.” She shuddered in my embrace. “I knocked him out cold. But I’m going to have to throw out the bedcover and sheets.” She shuddered again. “Yuk.”

  After a quick peck on her forehead, I grabbed her hand. “Come on. The doors are unlocked. We have access to the chutes.”

  After checking to be sure the corridor was clear, we closed Marko’s door behind us. First I unlocked the adjoining door and dashed into my room to grab a small backpack I’d had packed and ready since the day after Marko and Miranda had been banished.

  In it were a couple of spare shirts, tinted goggles to protect our eyes while travelling the chute, and some identification in case I needed to access money from one of Marko’s bank accounts while on land.

  “I can’t believe we’re finally going,” Lily squealed as we ran across Marko’s room.

  I gave her hand a squeeze and slipped protective, tinted goggles over my and Lily’s eyes. She didn’t need them as she was going to be drugged for the journey, but I wasn’t taking any chances after what had happened to me.

  We entered the corridor, which was made entirely out of light crystal. It was like moving through a tunnel of white, blinding light. Reaching the shuttle room, which was walled from floor to ceiling with stone, was somewhat of a relief. The darkness soothed my damaged eyes like cool water to a burn.

  “I need you to help me, Lily,” I said, after I felt around and removed a travelling tablet from a glass jar in the nearby medicine cabinet. “I need you to press the correct button so that we end up in Bob’s Bay. It’s four down and seven across. I’d do it if my stupid eyes were behaving. We need to send two shuttles, one for us and another for Miranda and Marko. Then after you do that, I need you to take this tablet.”

  She pressed the button and a familiar rumble and whoosh sound met my ears.

  “I did it.”

  “Excellent. Now we’ll have two to travel back with. Four can fit in one but it makes for an uncomfortable trip.”

  Another shuttle moved along the conveyer belt and locked into place in front of us.

  “So I’ll press the same button again,” she said, but just as she was about to do so, someone rushed in with heavy steps.

  “One
of Sylvia’s guards,” said Lily, unsheathing her dagger. I did the same.

  “Going somewhere?” said a voice I didn’t recognise.

  7

  Miranda

  As soon as I entered the Sydney airport, I located the quietest block of toilets I could find, at a dead-end wing that was being revamped and renovated. By quiet I meant no people rushing in and out, and no bustling shops, not the fact that about a hundred workers were drilling and hammering the nearby walls.

  The secret compartment inside my backpack revealed the travel wallet Marko had given me, and the envelope of ID and eTickets booked under the other names.

  “Black hair dye at bottom of pack—just in case,” Marko had scribbled on a yellow post-it note. We’d discussed the likelihood of me having to dye my hair again on the way home, in the case of curious police officers getting suspicious. Hence the home-kit and the extra ID and eTickets booked in other names. Marko had thought of everything.

  The extra ID car licences weren’t personalised like the one I’d used at the police station. These were just licenses of girls who looked similar to me but with black hair. I chose the one with the easiest name to pronounce, Eve Lillian. The hair didn’t matter so much as I wasn’t going to need identification getting on the aeroplane, just the eTicket. But I figured, just in case Detective Lewis came looking for me at the airport, that I’d better use the dye. I had loads of time anyway, as my flight wouldn’t be leaving for another six hours.

  * * *

  Marko wasn’t at the airport when I flew in to Perth, despite the text I’d sent him. Though my plane had been delayed by fifteen minutes—because of a drunken passenger—giving Marko ample time to show, he wasn’t waiting for me at the drive-through pick-up zone. It was weird and so not Marko. I’d half expected him to stay camped out at the airport after he’d dropped me off.