by Janean Worth
If the Sovereign succeeded in his plan, then he would be finishing what the foolish had started so many years ago. By wiping out GateWide and its people, he would bring the human population of the planet to near extinction. He would bring about another Fall. But this time, there would be no Cure. This time, if she failed to stop him, her failure would be complete. She would not get the chance to try again.
If the Enforcers brought the Strays to the Sovereign, and the Sovereign wiped out GateWide as he planned, there would be few people left. Only she and Mathew and those few who had found the Narrow Gate. All of the others would be gone. Except the Sovereign.
“We could look for them for days here,” Mathew muttered. “The Old Forest is so large.”
“I know. I walked circles in the center of it for days and days when I first escaped GateWide,” Kara said. “I never even dreamed that there would be an abandoned city on the other side of it. The forest is so large, I was certain that it must go on forever.”
“How will we ever find them here? In the dark?”
“I don’t think we will—unless we think like an Enforcer.”
Mathew snorted. “Too easy. All they think is mean and meaner, and how to satisfy the Sovereign.”
“Exactly,” Kara said. “So, if a strange girl has brought them the other Strays, then what will the Enforcers do with them?”
“They’ll take them back to GateWide as soon as they can.”
“Yes, to please the Sovereign,” Kara agreed.
“But we don’t know that the Strays were caught by the Enforcers,” Mathew said.
“No, we don’t, but that doesn’t matter. We need to get to GateWide to warn the people there about the Sovereign’s plans. And, if we do that, then we will surely run across the Strays if they’ve been caught by the Enforcers.”
“How are we going to warn them without getting captured ourselves?”
“Trion,” Kara said.
“Trion?” Mathew asked.
“You never met him? He’s the laziest of all the Enforcers. He’s always set to guard the inside of the Gate.”
“Oh, him,” Mathew said. “I always wondered how he managed to get away with sleeping by the Gate all day.”
“I did, too, until I met the Sovereign,” Kara said. “The Sovereign never ventures outside the House.”
“So Trion was never caught sleeping at the gate because the Sovereign never saw him doing it?”
“No, and none of the other Enforcers must have said anything about it,” Kara said. “And, that’s surprising, actually. The Enforcers don’t seem to be a very kind group to me.”
“Like Truchen, Gabert, and Heddert.” Mathew mused.
“Yes,” Kara agreed.
“So, how is Trion going to help us warn the people?”
“By doing his job,” Kara said.
“But all he does is guard the gate, and sleep,” Mathew said.
“But, if we set the gate on fire, then he will have to do something, won’t he? And, since he sleeps most of the time, if we can set the fire in the center, right after it is closed at dusk, then Trion probably won’t even notice until a good bit of it burns.”
“And the walls are all made of stone, so they won’t burn.”
“Right,” Kara said. “And they will have to open the gate to put out the fire, won’t they? We will sneak inside when they do.”
“And what if they put out the fire and close the gate? Will we stay inside GateWide all night?”
“If we have to,” Kara said, her voice hard with determination.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Gregory led the others through the Old Forest, the defeated Enforcers in tow. He glanced over at Gabert, who seemed remarkably healed for someone who had suffered such massive injuries only hours before, and then he glanced at the tracken prowling along beside the horses.
He was still amazed that they could facilitate such healing. How had the Sovereign never found out about their abilities? Gregory knew the man would have used it to his own advantage many times over.
Though Gregory was saddened to know that this miraculous power of healing had been suppressed in the tracken by the Sovereign’s control, and that it could have saved many, many lives in GateWide—even perhaps the life of his own beloved wife—he knew that it had been for the best. Only the Creator knew what the Sovereign could have done if he’d been able to be kept endlessly hale and hearty. The man had sickened greatly over the preceding few years, and still he’d wielded unimaginable power with the Old Tech he’d melded to his body. The destruction he would have caused if he’d been eternally healthy was unimaginable.
He glanced at Therese, riding comfortably beside Gabert. He almost couldn’t believe the depth of the miracle of the trackens’ tears. Therese had been shot, a grievous wound that would surely have killed her if not for the intervention of this healing power.
He glanced around at the others, though there were very few of them. For as long as he had been an outcast from GateWide, he had been collecting people he found in the wilderness. Together, they had sought and found the Narrow Gate and had planned to someday be able to depose the Sovereign and rescue all in GateWide from his oppression.
They had only needed the Old Tech that he’d asked his wife to hide for him. Only it was powerful enough to render the Sovereign helpless, to take away the power of the Old Tech that the Sovereign used. When he’d left the Sovereign to do his bidding, Gregory had never once suspected that he wouldn’t be returning. He hadn’t known that he’d never see his wife alive again, or that his son would have to go so long without the guidance of a father and eventually become one of the abused Strays.
Gregory had only left the Old Tech with his wife because it had been too powerful to reveal to the Sovereign. Instead, he’d kept its powers a secret, and had told the Sovereign that he needed more time to figure out its mysteries. In reality, he’d known what the device was capable of, and even then, he’d known that it couldn’t fall into the hands of the Sovereign.
Being a secret Believer and one of the Sovereign’s most trusted advisors had been extremely difficult. But he’d managed to pull it off until that fateful day when the Enforcers had discovered his true purpose in joining them on the foray was not to complete the Sovereign’s task for him, but instead to secretly search for the Narrow Gate while they were beyond the walls of GateWide. Once his secret purpose had been discovered, he’d barely escaped with his life.
And he’d spent nearly every day since then agonizing over his decision to flee, and plotting how he would return to retrieve his family. It had seemed an impossible task. He knew that the Sovereign wouldn’t hesitate to kill his son and his wife if he ever were brave or foolish enough to show his face in GateWide again.
The only hope he’d had was in somehow reacquiring possession of the Old Tech that he’d left there. And, when Mathew had found the bravery to flee GateWide after becoming a Stray, Gregory had known that his chance would soon come.
All he’d had to do was wait for Mathew to join him at the Narrow Gate and together they’d have been able to use the Old Tech to defeat the Sovereign. Many days, he’d waited at the end of the Narrow Road, expecting his son to finish the journey soon, but Mathew had not.
This had not gone according to his plan. And Mathew and Kara had taken matters into their own hands, rather than continuing their search for the Narrow Gate. And then . . . Then Gregory had been unable to contact his son again, and unable to find him inside the abandoned city when they had returned there.
His small group had been able to collect some information from snippets of other conversation that they had overheard using the Old Tech that they possessed. But the information that they’d heard had come from devices that the Enforcers possessed, and the Enforcers, thankfully, had never been able to find Mathew, either. Only one valuable bit of information had been gleaned from these overheard conversations, and that had been that there was a traitor hidden among those who had fled GateWide wit
h Mathew and Kara.
Gregory wondered where Mathew was.
He pulled a device from his pocket and activated it as he rode. He pressed the series of symbols on the glowing face that would connect him to Mathew’s device, but the Old Tech displayed a “no connection” message.
Gregory sighed and stuffed the device back into his pocket.
He would much rather enter GateWide knowing that he had Mathew’s device in his pocket. It was the only way that their plan would ever succeed.
When they were nearing the edge of the Old Forest, he called a halt.
“Everyone dismount and help the Enforcers off of their horses. Then you’ll need to help them disrobe. We’re going to require their uniforms, and possibly their weapons, too.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
The Enforcers thundered out of the Old Forest, keeping to the grueling pace that they’d held ever since leaving the camp.
Jack knew that they’d hoped to outrun any Fidgets, or other dangerous things, that were out in the darkness of the wilderness. And so far, their plan had worked. They’d met no resistance at all on their journey from the Old Forest.
Jouncing upside down on the horse, his hands and feet tied together and his ribs aching from the kick he’d received, he’d had a hard time staying conscious. Only by sheer force of will had he not given in to the blood pounding in his head and allowed himself to fall into the blissful release of oblivion.
As they emerged from the last thick stand of Old Forest trees near the meadow’s edge, he was grateful that he’d fought so hard to stay awake.
The sight that greeted his eyes was truly astounding.
“The gate is on fire!” an Enforcer shouted, shock and confusion clear in his tone.
Jack was just as stunned. The gate had always been a symbol of impenetrable safety and a representation of the Sovereign’s law. It had kept the wild creatures out, and the Strays and citizens in. No one had ever thought to use fire to breach it. None would have dared. And Jack realized quite suddenly that fire was probably its only weakness.
The flames were like a beacon in the night, bright orange tongues of fire leaping high into the air. Even from his awkward position, Jack could see that the gate was almost entirely engulfed in flames. The gate reached nearly fifteen feet of vertical height, and only a few feet of the top remained untouched by the fire.
And in the conflagration’s bright light, two figures, mounted atop horses that were very familiar to Jack, stood off to the side of the gate, watching it burn.
“Someone is attacking GateWide!” an Enforcer yelled, seeming to be even more shocked by this development than in seeing the invincible gate set aflame.
The Enforcers around him kicked their horses into motion, thundering toward the gate, their pace increasing as their group flowed out of the trees of the forest and into the meadow that surrounded GateWide.
Jack’s ears rang with pressure as he jounced upon the horse, but he did not tear his gaze away from the two figures near the flaming gate.
Suddenly, the massive gates began to swing open and Jack could hear the sound of a commotion inside GateWide. The gate opened slowly, groaning, almost as if it were a beast in pain, being burned alive.
A single Enforcer rushed out, both hands full of an oversized bucket. He flung the contents of the bucket against one half of the flaming gate, but such a small amount did little good against such a glorious blaze.
As they drew closer, Jack could see others running out of the gate. Citizens, armed with buckets and pails and washtubs full of water, frantically threw too little water on the blaze.
The dry wood of the gate began to pop under the heat of the fire, the sound like the repeat of the Enforcers’ guns being fired all at once, and Jack heard some of the citizens scream in terror as they scrambled away from burning embers leaping from the flames.
Smoke, still hot from the fire and filled with burning bits of ash, began to haze the meadow, curling off of the gate like fog on an autumn morning. Jack’s eyes teared up as his group entered the sweltering haze, but through his tears he saw the two figures on horseback dart through the confusion at the gate and enter GateWide.
Tears flooded his eyes and coursed down his cheeks, but he could not tell whether they were from the burning smoke or whether they were tears of joy.
Kara and Mathew had come to rescue them once again.
There were shouts behind them, and Jack wrenched his neck around, staring into the smoke‑shrouded darkness behind them.
Another group of Enforcers was galloping toward the gate at a fast clip, yelling and screaming and making a terrible din as they thundered toward GateWide.
And behind them, a horde of Fidgets followed.
Seeing the sheer number of them, Jack’s eyes goggled. He’d never seen a single Fidget until one had tried to attack him that day in the stable. Never had he thought that so many existed, and especially not in such a large group.
The Fidgets looked to be out for blood, their eyes gleaming orange with murderous rage in the reflection of the fire at the Gate. Teeth bared, dripping with saliva, claws extended before them as they ran, they were ready to rip, shred, and tear their prey.
Jack shuddered, gulped in a huge breath of smoke‑filled air, and felt the contents of his stomach rise up to choke him as fear sizzled up his spine.
Kara and Mathew were no match for two troops of Enforcers and Fidgets so numerous.
And the flaming gate, flung wide open, would offer no protection at all against the wild beasts that night.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Kara peered through the smoke and crowding bodies of the citizens at the gate, and, despite the heat of the flames, her blood seemed to freeze in her veins. The horde of Fidgets, which she’d thought they’d lost back in the Old Forest, had found them. And they were headed straight for the gate, which was wide open, thanks to her efforts to get inside.
She pivoted her filly to head back to the gate, to warn the people there, to help them, but Mathew’s own warning shout stopped her.
She turned to look and saw a huge conveyance barreling down upon them. Ten horses pulled the massive structure, and atop the carriage, a burly man whom she’d never seen before held the reins and a long whip that he was cracking repeatedly over the heads of the horses, urging them to faster speeds. The lead horses, eyes rolling in terror, were almost upon Kara.
She wheeled the filly to the side, nearly trampling a couple of citizens who were running toward the gate, arms full of buckets.
As the carriage rushed by, Kara caught a glimpse of the Sovereign through the open window. He was grinning maniacally, his mechanical hands clutching two young servants. They anchored him in place inside the rocking carriage, holding him firmly against the plush seat that they all sat upon.
Kara sat atop the filly in stunned indecision for a second, and then she kicked the horse into action and followed the carriage as it thundered toward the gate.
Just one look at the Sovereign’s face had told her all that she needed to know. The crazed glee on his face had said everything. He was leaving GateWide so that he would not be caught in the blast.
“He’s going to set off the Old Tech,” Kara yelled to Mathew as she thundered after the carriage. “He’s going to do it now!”
She had only a glimpse of Mathew’s stunned face as she passed him by.
Ahead of the carriage, people screamed as they leapt out of the way. Water splashed everywhere but where it was needed against the fire at the gate.
Drawing abreast of the carriage, Kara flung herself from the filly’s back and onto the side of the carriage, releasing the reins of the filly just as she grasped the bar that ran around the driver’s bench with the other hand.
The carriage was going so fast that as soon as she got a firm hold on the bar, she was ripped from the horse and carried along with the carriage. The filly shot off to the side and out of harm’s way.
The jouncing of the carriage flung her aroun
d as she dangled by one arm. Without enough body weight to anchor her down, she was tossed around like a rag toy in a careless child’s hand.
They neared the flaming gate at a frantic pace, going much too fast for a vehicle of that size. Totally aflame, the gate rose up before them and Kara feared that the driver meant to scrape her off against the burning wood as they passed.
She kicked her feet to reorient herself, smacking belly first against the carriage with enough force to knock some of the air from her lungs. She managed to get a grip on the bar with her other hand, coughing as she gasped in a large lungful of stinging smoke.
Kicking again for leverage and pulling with every ounce of strength that she possessed, she levered herself up onto the driver’s seat beside the burly man just as they passed through the gate. The carriage passed so close to the side that she felt heat scorch her cheeks as they blew by.
Ahead of them, the other troop of Enforcers was bearing down on them. As a group, they parted like the water beneath a boat’s prow, leaving only the horde of Fidgets and the wide‑open meadow directly in the path of the carriage.
The Fidgets tried to leap out of the way as the carriage bore down on them, but their tight grouping and huge numbers prevented those in the middle of the horde from getting out of the way. Kara heard the Sovereign laugh with glee as the carriage began to bounce over the creatures, bones crunching beneath the wheels with gruesome, stomach‑wrenching clarity. The shrill screams of dying Fidgets joined the cacophony of sound and madness near the gate.
The driver gave no thought to the welfare of the horses as they barreled forward. He drove them on furiously through the night, over the Fidgets and uneven ground, cracking the whip repeatedly, and yelling loudly.
“Run, you beasts. Run!”
Kara scooted across the seat as one of the Fidgets leapt up onto the side of the carriage. She reached over to try to wrest the reins from the burly man, but before she could even try, he elbowed her hard in the face, knocking her sideways.