“Prettier?” Vaughan said doubtfully.
That irritated Belle. Summer managed a certain cuteness, like a stuffed animal, but that was the best Belle could say. “What about Leslie?” she asked. Leslie was the Second of Belle’s Nine.
“No, no,” Vaughan said with a nervous laugh. “We’re not messing with her Progenitor.” He scanned down the list. “You have an interesting idea, though. A couple on here would work. Wanda’s ideal, actually.” He chuckled to himself and continued under his breath, “That old hag deserves it.”
Belle wasn’t sure if the hag he was talking about was Senator Bentilius or Wanda’s Progenitor. She didn’t care, either. Vaughan obviously needed to get some sleep. She couldn’t tolerate this much Dr. Carlhagen coming through.
Vaughan folded the paper and handed it back to Belle. “The problem is that I’m in no position to offer the senator anything. If I can’t talk to her, the point is moot. To even get into the conversation, I have to have Summer in my possession.”
“Listen to yourselves!” Mother Tyeesha’s voice cut across the little kitchen. She stood trembling in the doorway, hands balled into fists. Her face had crumpled until her eyes were black pinpoints. Her lips pulled back to show her white teeth, but this time in a snarl. “You’re talking about one of your sisters. How could you think of giving one of them up to that horrible woman?”
“I know it’s difficult, Mother,” Belle said. “But it’s a complicated situation.”
“No!” She smacked her hands together. “There is nothing complicated about it. If all you care about is protecting yourself, then you’re both just being cowards. I thought I had raised you better than this.” Mother Tyeesha stared at Vaughan, tears welling in her eyes.
Belle recoiled from the obscene display of emotion. Even worse was the fact that Mother Tyeesha had addressed her disappointment only to Vaughan, as if she didn’t expect better of Belle.
“You don’t understand,” Mother Tyeesha continued. “If the outside world knew about what happened at the Scion School, it would be the greatest scandal of all time. Why, if the net media knew about it, the story would blow up. There would be trials. Executions maybe.”
The old woman tottered to the table and sank into a chair. “I never should have taken this job. I just wanted to care for children. I believed in the great destiny that Dr. Carlhagen talked about.” She clasped her hands beneath her chin and lifted her eyes to the ceiling. “There is so much evil in the world. He convinced me that you children would be the antidote. But I see now that you are a distillation of that evil. You are poison!”
Vaughan went to Mother Tyeesha, but she wouldn’t let him touch her.
“I’m sorry, Mother,” he said, voice soft and tender. “I don’t like this any more than you do. I really don’t. But sometimes we have to set aside our emotions and consider what’s practical for survival. Our outrage won’t do anyone any good if we’re dead. The greater good requires a few sacrifices.”
Mother Tyeesha shook her head and got up. She moved as if her years had doubled. “I must go check on the nursery.”
She shuffled out of the house, the door clunking shut behind her.
Belle clamped her mouth shut, tried to control her breath. She refused to let the emotional charge the old woman had left in the air infect her. “If I’m going to find Summer, I should go now.”
“You?” Vaughan said.
“You obviously can’t go. Summer and Jacey believe you’re Dr. Carlhagen. Do you think they’ll get into the Jeep with you in it?”
“I hadn’t thought of that. But I’m sure I can overpower them.”
Belle went to him, but stopped a meter short, not daring to enter that tempting zone of warmth. “You need rest. You look very tired and pale. I know how to drive the Jeep well enough, and with the top down, they’ll be able to see that I’m alone. I can even tell them what a mistake I’ve made setting you free. Jacey will eat that up.”
A smile crept over Vaughan’s face. “That she will. That she will. And I could use some sleep. If only I could get some of my pills. But hurry. If you find them, bring them back here. Watch out for the helicopter, and if you even suspect it’s been here, don’t come back. I will flee into the woods, and I will find you.”
She turned to go, but Vaughan caught her waist, swept close, and planted his lips on hers. An inrush of sweet warmth threatened to take away her breath, take away her heartbeat. Overpowered, she collapsed into him, returned the kiss with ravenous desire.
And then he pulled away.
She trembled more than he did and had to cover her mouth with a hand to keep in a moan of disappointment. But she was also thankful that he’d released her because she never would have let go of him otherwise.
She stumbled out of the little villa and into the Jeep, breath coming in deep gasps, heart racing.
Sense data she told herself. It’s just sense data.
21
Dead Mongoose Dangling
Jacey shuddered to think what insects or other creatures might be living among the dead vines that littered the floor of the old windmill ruin. But she wanted to collect all the dry debris she could to make bedding for her and Summer. As the afternoon lengthened, less and less light beamed through the gaps high on the wall.
She grabbed a handful of the rough stalks and gave a yank. Fortunately, they were brittle enough to easily rip free. She had wanted to clear away more of the vines that covered the archway but didn’t dare do more than create a slight opening to let in more light. It wasn’t enough. Her next handful stung her palms. Thornskipple. She snatched her hand away and sucked at the wounds. Deciding she had created enough of a cushion, she unfolded the tarp and spread it over the pile of debris. She knelt on it and patted it down with her hands, mentally preparing herself for an uncomfortable night.
She wiggled her jaw to relax the tension that had built into a sharp headache. It was made worse by dehydration. A brief rainsquall had helped, but she still felt like she could drink five liters in one go.
A constant pulse of anxiety wore on her, too. Summer was outside somewhere trying to snare a mongoose. The girl’s brilliance with mechanical things didn’t give Jacey much confidence in her judgment.
Summer had promised to stay under the cover of the rainforest. But the mere separation made Jacey antsy.
The sound came to her ears gradually. Not the helicopter, she thought. It was low and distant, but not an animal, not natural.
She stood and went to the gap in the vines at the entry. The noise was louder.
A shift in the wind made the sound instantly clear.
It was the Jeep.
The entrance faced north, away from the coastal road and docks. But the Jeep sounded closer than that.
Jacey squeezed out of the tower and crept along the wall, keeping low. She peered around the edge until she could see the length of the overgrown plantation road that she and Summer had followed most of the way here. There was no way the Jeep could traverse that. At least, she didn’t think so.
She heard the Jeep again, the sound of the engine revving as if straining to overcome some obstacle. And then the hiss and crush of tires spinning.
Thinking that she might see farther from a higher a vantage point, she began climbing the outside of the tower. She found easy handholds and footholds among the vines and bits of the stone block thrusting out.
Soon she was five meters up, hugging the face of the ruin and inching her way back around so she could see the plantation road. She hoped that the helicopter didn’t show up while she was so exposed.
Leaning away from the wall, she scanned the faint trail of road.
Very far away she spotted a flash of red metal and part of one headlight as the Jeep thrust over a rise and came to a stop. It had to be Dr. Carlhagen and Belle.
Jacey realized it was the same rise she and Summer had stood upon when Summer had first spotted the tower. She wished she had the binoculars, but Summer had taken them with her when she left on her
mongoose hunt.
Jacey hastily made her way back around the side of the windmill and descended.
She didn’t think Dr. Carlhagen or Belle would spot the windmill. It had taken Summer’s particular talents to see it. But still, she wanted to be prepared just in case. She wasn’t afraid of Belle, but Dr. Carlhagen was in Vaughan’s body, and he was the best fighter in the school. Dr. Carlhagen didn’t have as much control, but he had nearly subdued Jacey just a few nights before in the medical ward. She had no intention of being in that position again.
Jacey jumped the last few feet to the ground and gazed into the depths of the rainforest. No sign of Summer. Jacey was tempted to shout for the girl, make her come back so they could hole up inside the tower, but she realized her voice might carry to the Jeep. Besides, there was no reason to voluntarily corner herself inside the structure.
Keeping the windmill between her and where the Jeep had been, she went into the rainforest and took shelter behind the old plantation house wall. From there she’d be able to see anyone approaching by peeking through its window.
The sun angled lower, and the wind rose, though not enough to chill her.
She huddled there slapping at mosquitoes and occasionally lifting her head enough to peer out the window. Her headache deepened as she strained to hear the progress of the Jeep.
After fifteen minutes of waiting, she was just about to head back to the windmill. But Summer approached from behind. Jacey waved to her, and the girl darted forward. Jacey motioned for her to keep low.
In whispers, she explained what she had seen. Summer nodded, face going pale. Jacey noticed then that Summer held a length of wire, a dead mongoose dangling from a loop on one end. Her snare had worked.
“Give me the binoculars,” Jacey whispered. “I’m going to go see if they’ve gone or not. You stay here.”
Jacey crept from behind the wall and back to the windmill. She had just reached its stone foundation when a bunch of foliage rustled behind her.
She squawked and spun, barely glimpsing the wriggling tail of an iguana as it darted from one patch of shrubbery to another. Body vibrating with adrenaline, Jacey ascended the wall, then crept around to check the road.
She stopped where a plume of leaves offered some camouflage. Winding a vine around her left forearm and digging her feet in, she lifted the binoculars with her free hand and scanned the road.
No sign of the Jeep. The binoculars showed her there was no way it could have gone any farther.
She was just about to descend when a movement caught her eye. She trained the binoculars, fingertips adjusting the focus. A figure in black stood atop the same rise where the Jeep had been earlier. A nearly white ponytail fluttered behind. It was Belle.
Jacey hugged closer to the wall, though she doubted Belle would be able to spot her from that distance. She swung the binoculars left and right.
Where is Dr. Carlhagen?
She framed Belle in the field of view again. The pale girl held a hand to shield her eyes, clearly searching the valley.
What is she looking for?
Jacey wondered if Belle and Dr. Carlhagen were searching for a hiding place, too. Maybe they worried the senator’s people would snatch them up in their search for Summer.
Jacey wouldn’t mind that one bit.
After a few more minutes, Belle turned away and disappeared. Jacey waited until she heard the Jeep start up and its motor fade to nothing.
By the time Jacey’s feet touched the ground, Summer was there.
“I told you to wait,” Jacey said.
“I heard you,” Summer said. “But I also heard you squawk.” There was nothing petulant about Summer’s statement. It was just a fact.
“I got startled by a lizard.”
Summer’s eyes brightened. “Really? Where? Maybe I can catch it.”
Jacey eyed the mongoose dangling from Summer’s wire snare. “What’s the point? We can’t cook anything without a fire.”
“You’re right. I’ll build a fire.”
“How?”
“With the fire starter you threw at me in the shack.”
Jacey had no idea what Summer was talking about.
° ° °
The mongoose meat was utterly delicious, Jacey decided as she licked the grease from her fingers. If only there were more of it.
Summer had cleared an area on the floor and dug an indentation in the dirt. To Jacey’s astonishment, Summer had easily started a fire using the small oval device with the black button on top. According to Summer, it was filled with a flammable liquid, and pressing the button created a spark to ignite it.
The fire had been nice while it lasted. But once the mongoose was cooked, they doused the flames. Smoke had filled the interior of the old ruin, and Jacey worried that what escaped through the cracks in the walls would signal their presence to the senator’s guards.
She and Summer had both served in the kitchens at the Scion School, but the recipes had been a step-by-step process using ovens and stoves. The meat had all been pre-butchered cuts of chicken, pork, and beef. They had occasionally cleaned a fish Sensei had brought in, but never a mammal.
Summer had only the vaguest notion of how to skin and clean the creature, and they lost quite a bit of the meat in the process. They didn’t have any experience roasting meat over an open flame, which resulted in a burnt and tough meal. And yet, it was the finest Jacey had ever had.
Their water had run out, so they sucked on mangoes and waited for the inevitable rain shower to sweep in and refill their jug. Summer had set it outside beneath some leaves positioned to funnel water directly into it.
Showing even more initiative, the girl had fashioned a roll of rough fabric they’d brought from the shack into a sort of droopy satchel.
“When did Socrates teach you how to make things?” Jacey asked.
“He didn’t.” Summer looked up from her work. “I just sort of see it. You know?”
Jacey did not know. “Let’s get some sleep.”
Fortunately, the residual smoke helped to keep the mosquitoes at bay. Despite the lumpiness of their bed and the loneliness of their sorrowful state, Jacey expected to fall asleep easily. Yet her mind wouldn’t stop thinking. She clung to the desperate hope that they could hide until the senator passed away. But she and Summer wouldn’t necessarily be safe then. If the senator died without a transfer, an invasion of greater force would sweep the island, searching for answers.
Jacey needed a distraction. She rolled onto her back and prodded Summer. “I’m going to review something I memorized this morning. I’ll try to keep quiet.”
No response. Jacey heard the girl’s soft breathing. Poor thing was exhausted.
A few deep breaths sank Jacey into the focus she needed for memory recall. She pictured the hacienda hallway, the light coming through the door. There it was, a man’s voice. Captain Wilcox’s.
Ehv|ree|thEEng|ahn|mie|yend|iz|rehd|ee
She spoke quietly, mimicking without effort the tone and emotion of each speaker.
Captain Wilcox: “Everything on my end is ready.”
Mr. Justin: “Excellent. We’ll never have a better opportunity. Dr. Carlhagen is secure and sedated.”
Captain Wilcox: “That was a very fortunate development.”
Mr. Justin: “Fortune had little to do with it. You have no idea how long I worked to hook him on those pills. Months crushing up pills and slipping them in his cake.”
Captain Wilcox: “This worked out better than I’d ever imagined. You have his Scion under control?”
Mr. Justin: “Oh, yes. Humphrey shares Dr. Carlhagen’s obsession with Jacey. As long as she’s around, he’s happy. She’s a bit of a handful, though.”
Captain Wilcox: “Her Progenitor is dead, right? I’ll take care of her when I arrive.”
Mr. Justin: “You’ll do nothing to her until I say so. I’ll still need Humphrey to stand in for Dr. Carlhagen once the boat leaves, and he won’t cooperate at all if Jacey is
harmed.”
Captain Wilcox: “Speaking of the boat . . .”
Mr. Justin: “Yes. What’s the schedule?”
Captain Wilcox: “Now that the storm has passed, I can have it there tomorrow evening. It’s loaded up. The bus is in place. I’m worried about the crane at the dock, though. If it’s not operational, we’re going to have a problem.”
Mr. Justin: “It’s perfectly functional. The supply boat used it just a few days before the storm.”
Captain Wilcox: “Did they offload a fifteen-ton bus?”
Mr. Justin: “No. But it can handle it. Dr. Carlhagen spared no expense on this operation.”
Captain Wilcox: “Nice of him to make all these Scions for us, wasn’t it?”
Mr. Justin: “It was indeed. Now, what are you going to do about Captain Wilcox?”
Jacey’s eyes popped open, losing the thread.
If the man Mr. Justin had been talking to wasn’t Captain Wilcox, who was he? A noise to her left drew her attention. It was Summer, hand over her mouth, staring at Jacey in shock.
“Don’t say anything,” Jacey warned. “I need to get back into it or I’ll lose the rest.”
She closed her eyes and took long, calming breaths. Letting her mind go, she searched for the line of rising and falling pitches.
Mr. Justin: “It was indeed. Now, what are you going to do about Captain Wilcox?”
Man: “Assuming things go to plan, he’ll never know we’ve been to the island until we’re long gone. The tricky part will be keeping him away for a few days after we’ve left to let our trail grow cold.”
Mr. Justin: “I suppose you’re right. I have to keep things looking normal. I hate leaving any of the Scions behind. So much missed opportunity there.”
Man: “How many were you thinking? Maybe we could come back for them.”
Mr. Justin: “I’ll need the oldest ones in order to keep up appearances. I’m thinking six or seven.” (sighs) “But the Eagle girl, Leslie, is too important to our plan. . . . You’ll have to take her.”
Man: “We’ll move the little ones first, then bring the bus up for the rest. You’ll have to sort them out for us so I don’t take the wrong ones. Now, what about the equipment?”
Child of Lies Page 13