Dominion Rising: 23 Brand New Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels

by White, Gwynn

  Ehli chuckled. "So helpful." She climbed up on a rock with Cullen's hand to help her up. The new vantage offered a lookout over a swamp rising over tree roots, and a river beyond. A dry path to the left looked to be a possible long way around.

  Cullen held his compass up. "It says we go that way." He pointed straight through the swamp. "So that's a happy nugget to take with for dinner."

  He turned to the left. "Maybe Emmit will be this way. And we can say, thank you Mr. Swamp. Don't listen to what Mr. Tree says. Your musty smell is actually quite becoming."

  "I never liked Mr. Tree anyway." Ehli continued holding Cullen's hand as they navigated the sloping levels of the rocks back down to the grass.

  "Mom? I need you!"

  The urgent suddenness of Emmit's voice in her head was as loud and frightening as if he'd shouted from right behind her. As her momentum shifted forward, her foot slipped and she started falling. Cullen twisted and threw his hand up under her other arm, clutching her chest to chest. Then he slipped and fell backwards, inadvertently taking her with him over the side of the rocks.

  Cullen grunted as her weight drove him harder into the earth, and his pack crunched beneath him. The impact bounced her over his shoulder and onto her back. Her leg slid in mud and soaked her calf and upper sock.

  Cullen was still moaning.

  She rolled over. He was arched up, holding his side. "Are you okay?"

  "Lost... breath." He rolled onto his stomach and pushed up on his elbows. "Deep muscle." His words broke between deep breaths. "Don't think anything broke."

  "I'm so sorry."

  "No. You're fine. I'm the idiot who fell."

  She crawled over and rubbed his side where his hand was pressing. "You were helping me. I heard my son."

  He shot a hopeful look up at her—one strained in obvious pain. "Really? What'd he say?"

  "Mom. I need you."

  "Mom? Is that you?"

  Cullen's eyes opened wide. "I hear him, too."

  "Who's that?"

  It's me, Cullen.

  "Are you guys okay?" Emmit asked. "Can you come get us?"

  Where are you? Ehli asked.

  "Underground. A tunnel I took off the river. It's like a base built inside the hills."

  Ehli and Cullen both looked back at the rising slope they'd come down. How'd you get in? Ehli asked.

  "A moss covering hid a hole I crawled into. Inside, it was tall enough to walk. Adi and I are locked in a room. I think Dad did this. He wants me to move some bug hunter to a fisherman in his backwoods village."

  What? Ehli searched the hillside for any moss coverings. The only moss she saw was on the side of some of the trees. Schaefer. Are you out there? What are you doing to my son?

  "Darling. I was wondering when you'd reach out. Sounds like our treatments have worked nicely."

  Ehli couldn't believe it was him. Schaefer. First surprise, then anger. Where's our son?

  "He's fine. Would you like to see him?"

  Yes. Ehli helped Cullen to his feet.

  He let go to smear off some of the clumps of mud from his vest.

  Ehli waited for Schaefer to tell her where Emmit was, but a lighter, more lonely feeling had separated them. Schaefer?

  Cullen looked her in the eye, concern washing over him. "Is he still talking?"

  "No. You can't hear him either?"

  "No. Nothing," he said.

  Ehli's anger grew. Schaefer. Don't play games with me. She looked around, hoping someone might have been spying on them and would come out now that the secret was out. But only the chirping birds flying between trees greeted her.

  "Come." Cullen's hand pressed into the small of her back. "We'll—"

  "...trees with an orange vine," Schaefer said.

  Ehli and Cullen froze.

  Schaefer?

  "Yeah? Did you hear me?"

  Just something about an orange vine.

  "I said, we have access points at some of the trees with an orange vine. It's hard to—"

  Cullen lifted his hand and held it out as though making a pledge, then grabbed Ehli's wrist.

  "...so you'll just have to keep looking for one with a covered entrance," Schaefer said.

  Weird, Ehli thought.

  "Weird? I thought it was clever," Schaefer said.

  You always did, Ehli 'pathed, but I wasn't talking to you.

  "Oh? Who were you talking to? The fearless Captain Re? Would you tell him I said Hi and welcome? I do look forward to meeting him and thanking him for returning my family."

  "I'm right here, Schaefer," Cullen thought. "It seems whenever I touch your wife, I share her telepathic abilities."

  Ehli shared a look with Cullen as he moved his hold from her wrist to her hand, then nodded for her to follow him.

  "That's fascinating," Schaefer said, "though I'm not sure I like your tone in referring to touching my wife."

  Oh, Schaefer. Always the jealous one.

  "When your wife is mentioned more than anyone else once the ales are sloshing over and men start thinking of the sack, you tend to develop an ear for when other men are lusting after your wife."

  I don't know who's supposed to be the jealous one right now, Ehli started.

  Cullen shared a halting look with her and mouthed, no.

  "No, what?" Schaefer asked.

  Cullen let go.

  Schaefer's presence disappeared, as though sweat out from her skin.

  "Don't tell him about...."

  Ehli exhaled, then nodded. "Right."

  Cullen took her hand again and pointed up the slope. She didn't see any orange vines, but branches hung thick enough that you couldn't see many trees behind each other.

  "Are you guys there?" Schaefer asked.

  "We'll look for your clever trees," Cullen said.

  "What did you mean, who's supposed to be the jealous one," Schaefer asked.

  I've been in a prison for six years, Ehli said, and you've been here? Did you find a girlfriend or two to keep you company? We saw plenty of cute ones back at the building with the nurses.

  "There." Cullen pointed and pulled her along faster.

  "I don't know what you're talking about," Schaefer said. "And really, you haven't even given me a chance to explain what happened."

  Oh, I look forward to that. How about explaining first off why our son thinks you've locked him up and is asking for our help?

  "Our son is doing just fine. He's just a little confused, which is understandable, but not entirely within my control. We have a group who're bent on disrupting our progress, and because of them, we're not having this conversation in person, and I'm forced to train my beloved son and wife at a distance, as best as I can."

  Your beloved. How precious.

  "Ehlin Rose. Please. Don't assume the worst. Give me a chance to explain."

  Cullen led Ehli to a tree with an orange vine growing in lattice work up from the trunk.

  Whatever you think will help your case, start talking. We found your entrance and are on our way in.

  18

  Adi, I'm so sorry."

  Adi turned from the door, terror on his face. "What do you mean?"

  "I should have known."

  "Known what?"

  "My dad, or whomever. He—they—I don't know who, wanted me to move someone with my mind."

  "And..." Adi started to point to himself.

  "In the net, it was a boy playing with bugs. They wanted me to convince him to go to a pond."

  "What? Why? What does that have to do with us?"

  "I don't know. I mean...." Emmit knew. It had to do with him. They wanted his ability. They wanted it stronger, and they wanted it now. "Ocia wasn't lying when he said I have abilities."

  "I know. I've seen."

  "Yeah, well, what you may not have known is, ever since we met Sprinkles, I have developed... well I guess it didn't start right then, but in the tunnels, I heard my first thoughts."

  "Your...what thoughts?"

  "O
ther people's thoughts. At the time, it was Cullen's. Then it kind of went away, and now it comes and goes."

  "Can he hear me?"

  The sound of Adi's voice coming out so clear while his lips remained still unnerved Emmit. This isn't natural.

  Adi stepped back and palmed the wall behind him.

  "It's okay. It won't hurt you. I mean, I'm scared too, but you know I wouldn't hurt you."

  Adi took a second, his stare locked on Emmit's. "Right," he said, and looked around. "But someone else might, and you don't seem to know how to stop them."

  Part of that was true, but the other part of their situation was that his power was needed. "Hey Daaaad? You got us here. Now what do you want?"

  The neuronet compartment opened and the pole rose, whirring with slow progress.

  "No." Emmit held his hand out to block the pole's eye, even though it was still closed. "If you want to talk, we do it in person. I don't know for sure that it was you in the net, or just something I was supposed to see to make me more willing to comply."

  The pole reached eye level with Emmit. He side-stepped and the head rotated, whirring, and then silenced when Emmit stopped moving and it had locked on his location.

  Emmit cupped his hand over the pole. "Did you hear me?"

  A sharp burst of static energy bit his hand. He drew it back. A bright white light flashed into the room, and then he and Adi were in the tower office where his dad had shown him the village.

  Except this time, the village had dead bodies with fresh blood and dirtied clothes as they lay in the path between huts. One man, an older guy with glasses, had his hand over his shirt where a red stain blossomed. He slid down the wooden doorway.

  A blue laser drove into his chest, scorching his shirt and sending out a puff of red, stole the remainder of his resistance. He rocked to his side, and his face planted in the mud, his hand releasing the earlier wound.

  "Do you see why we might not have the luxury of waiting to meet in person before we speak?" Emmit's father asked as he walked through the doorway behind them.

  "How do we know that's even happening?" Emmit asked.

  "Dammit, Son. We're going nowhere until you trust me."

  "Says the guy who just tricked me into luring my friend into a locked cell."

  "You... do you understand what that meant for your growth? It wasn't working, for whatever reason, with the fisherman's son—who's dead, by the way."

  Emmit's breath caught in his throat.

  His dad shook his head. "I'm sorry. This is the enemy we're facing."

  What if they'd died while I was in their heads?

  His father's face lit up. "Good! You're getting stronger. But don't worry, I would have stopped you as soon as the rejects invaded."

  "Rejects?" Emmit remembered that word being whispered in fear back in the cafeteria.

  "They're the ones who didn't take well to the treatments, and want to destroy me. I don't want to scare you, but we're at war. A second of indecision, or a refusal to follow your commander's direction, can and more than likely will cost lives. Lives like the boy and his family."

  "Who is responsible?" Emmit asked, wondering if his father would point the finger back at him. "I thought the war was stopping the Osuna from finding Vijil."

  His father smirked. "That's what I thought, too. Unfortunately, when you rescue so many without screening their history first, you end up with a camp where insidious types can hide and wait for your trust to be misplaced. In our case, one of those types made it pretty high up the ladder before she showed her teeth."

  His father's attention shifted to Adi as he sat on the desk, his demeanor as calm as if Emmit had brought his friend in from playing to have a fresh batch of cookies. "I'm truly sorry you had to get involved in this, Adi. Though, I suppose languishing in Setuk's prison camp for the rest of your life wasn't a great alternative."

  His father paused, watching Adi.

  Emmit checked on his friend. The boy looked bashful, as though willing to remain silent as long as necessary until the attention passed to someone else.

  "Your last name Brinoway?" his father asked Adi.

  The boy shared a surprised look with Emmit before returning his gaze to Emmit's father, then reluctantly nodded.

  "You lose your voice in those tunnels?" his father asked.

  Adi shook his head.

  "Oh, well, if you say so." His father sounded on the brink of laughter. He checked on Emmit. "Come on, guys. Okay, sorry about the dead bodies." The screens went black behind him. "But I had to get your attention."

  He popped off the desk and stood with one shoulder to Adi, the other pointing at the screens above the desk. "The reason I asked your last name, Adi, wasn't because I didn't know it. I know more about you than you do."

  "Don't you want to know what I'm—Adi, you're gonna have to speak to me if you want me to share."

  Adi started to nod, then said, "Yes, sir." His tone said the boy cared more about obedience than curiosity about what Emmit's father planned to share.

  Emmit's father rolled his eyes. "Okay. That's a start, I guess. But, oh well, I understand. You've both been through a lot in the last hour... to six or so years. Without further delay." He snapped his fingers and pointed at the screen.

  A man in an Osuna maroon hopper uniform sat at the controls of a space ship. His square monocle rested over his left eye, the sign of a hopper pilot ready to enter the bubble.

  Emmit knew who the man was just as Adi cried out, "Dad?"

  Emmit's father clapped. "Hopper Colonel Seewick Brinoway. Wouldn't you know, he is one of the pilots leading the search for Vijil?"

  His question turned with a dagger's gaze on Adi. "And like I said, indecision or failure to obey can lead to lost lives like that." He snapped his fingers between his face and Adi's. "Are you listening, young man?"

  Adi nodded and said, "Yes, sir."

  "You know, I've never met your father, but I have met a few hoppers who made a good case for why they serve the Osuna. In many cases, they are hard to argue. Their families live peacefully in some of the most pollutant-free zones of the empire. Their families might go their whole lives without learning of, let alone seeing, the atrocities the Osuna are capable of. Your father is one of those good men—he's lost his way a little since you disappeared, and thinks the Osuna are testing him. He thinks they have you, and are holding you as a reward for his faithfulness and execution of service to find a clue that leads them to Vijil."

  "Can I talk to him?" Adi asked.

  Emmit's father shrugged. "Maybe. Not that I mean to be cruel, but you are quite the chip to play, and if I use you at the wrong time, it could mean folding my hand... and I just can't allow that to happen."

  Adi didn't look like he was following.

  Emmit's father raised a finger. "In time, yes, I want you to speak to your father. Tell him you are all right, and ask him for a favor for me."

  "What favor?" Emmit asked, willing to stand between his friend and his father if the latter tried to take advantage.

  "Are you interested in playing along now?" his father asked.

  "What favor?"

  "You're demanding what from me, exactly?" his father stepped closer to Emmit, using his height advantage to a demeaning effect. Or maybe just as a reminder of who the father was in their relationship.

  "You need me. And if you want me to trust you, which I don't see how when all of this could be make-believe to serve some other purpose you're not telling us about—then you'll have to keep giving us answers."

  "In time." His father turned back to Adi. "Are you willing to trust me long enough to earn the right time to talk to your father? I know he's dying to see you."

  Adi checked Emmit, his face reflecting fear and guilt for what Emmit knew he would do. Then he looked at the screen where his father focused on his flying, and his composure cracked. "I'm sorry, Emmit. Dad! I'm here!" he blurted out, lunging for the desk, and leaning toward the screen as though doing so would make it eas
ier for his father to see him. "That's him." He turned to Emmit. "He looks just like I remember."

  Then back to the screen. The boy's shoulders rose and fell with his sobs. He collapsed in the chair, but didn't sever eye contact with his father.

  Emmit's father stepped up and set a soft hand on Adi's shoulder. "It's okay, Adi. I'm sure your dad would exhibit the same reaction." He looked at Emmit. "I know I did."

  Emmit paced away from them. It was impossible to determine with the clues from the situation so far. He stopped, and turned back to his father. "Okay. We're leaving. Show us how to get to Fel Or'an. I need to see you and your village before I can fully believe anything you say."

  His father watched him for a second, then said, "All right. But one more test."

  Emmit opened his mouth to protest—

  His father lifted a finger and smiled. "You do want to see your mom, don't you?"

  Emmit wasn't sure, based on unknown conditions. He thought back to how he saw Adi and the trap that was lain. "I won't bring her to my cell."

  His father's smile widened to show teeth. "Clever boy. No, you won't have to. You're both leaving, right?"

  "And then I can talk to my dad?" Adi piped up.

  "You'll be closer to," Emmit's father said. "The technology is in my ship at Fel Or'an, so yeah, you won't be able to speak to him without getting there."

  Adi popped out of his seat and made a bee-line for Emmit. "Come on, Em. Let's get out of here. I believe him. I know that's my dad," he said, pointing at the screen behind him. "We have to."

  Again, even with Emmit's suspicion, he had no choice but to play along until he gathered more information. He really hoped this was his father, and that the story of Adi and his father would end in joy equal to the hope shining in the boy's eyes. "Okay, Dad," he said with a sarcastic tone. If this guy wasn't who he claimed, Emmit would make him pay. "What's the next test?"

  19

  Cullen's foot fell through a hole wide and deep enough to swallow half his leg before his grip on the tree and Ehli's hand locked in his stopped his fall. "Thanks."

  She helped him get back up on the ledge. Beneath him, a ladder led into a tunnel deep enough he figured he'd choose the ladder.