Boundary (24 page)

Now I have his attention. He straightens. “That can’t be true.”

“It is. I can take you back to the Hall of Archons and show you.” I consider which of the many nightmarish facts to tell him. “Listen to me, and listen well: The Healing was no act of retribution by the Gods. The Founders themselves flooded the earth.”

“Come on, Eva. Do you think a preposterous lie—”

“It’s true!” I shout. “If you find what I’m saying to be a lie, then I will go to the gallows willingly. The Founders perverted the truth! They took Tech, and they took the Bible, and they took—”

“Stop.” Now it’s his turn to interrupt. He moves closer to the door. “That one word. Say it again.”

I know the one he means. “Bible.”

“Yes. Where did you learn that word?”

“Lukas and … I found parts of the Bible stored in the Tech and elsewhere and compared them to The Lex.” I almost mention Jasper’s name, but if I am to die, I want to spare him. He never asked for this. “Several sections are nearly identical.”

“What is the Bible?” Theo asks.

The question catches me off guard. He honestly doesn’t know; he’s asking me because he’s curious. “It’s the religious document from before the Healing.”

He shifts on his feet. “I’ve seen that word mentioned in certain Relics. I’ve kept private tabs on it over the years. But I’ve never heard anyone mention it before; it doesn’t seem to be on the Triad’s mind.” He moves away from the door. “Okay. I sense truth within you, and I will consider letting you go for now, Eva—if you answer one question for me.”

“Anything.”

“Why did you break all these laws, Eva? What made you do it?”

“Because my brother was seeking the truth about New North when he …” I can’t bring myself to finish the sentence. I wipe my eyes and plow forward. “I wanted to finish what he started. Becoming a Testor was only part of that; finding the facts about the pre-Healing world, the creation of New North and the writing of The Lex were the other parts. Now that I’ve pieced together the past, I believe that he would want me to share that truth with New North.”

“You are planning on making your revelation tomorrow, then?” He understands now.

“Yes. At the Founders’ Day celebration.”

His brow furrows. “Eva, what is an
Angakkuq
?” He butchers the word, but I know what he’s asking.

I take a deep breath and answer, “The Boundary believe that the
Angakkuq
is a spiritual person, a sort of shaman who can serve the higher powers by bringing about order to the world.”

“Your friend Lukas … the Boundary people … they believe you are this
Angakkuq
?”

I feel sick. “I’ve explained that I’m only a Maiden in search of the answers.”

He pauses for a long tick. “I won’t turn you over to the guards. If you do not get the reaction you seek after you speak tomorrow, the Triad will exact punishment enough.”

Without thinking, I leap forward and sweep him into an embrace. “Thank you,” I breathe.

He’s clearly uncomfortable being so close to me. As he wriggles free, he asks, “Where can I find you to report on Lukas? You deserve to know when we find him.”

“At Jasper’s home. I need to tell him everything, too. Before tomorrow.”

“His parents will let you in at this bell?”

“I’ll scale the walls to talk with him privately.”

“Your skill with climbing comes as much in handy as your skill with words, it seems.” His tone is lighter now. Perhaps he, too, is relieved—or at least relieved at having an excuse not to send me to my death.

I try to smile at him, but tears course down my cheeks instead. The kindness and trust he’s granted me, contrasted with the evil and deception perpetrated by Lukas, are a welcome gift. “Thank you, Theo.”

He grants me a guarded smile, then turns toward the door. “I’ll handle the guards. You go your own way. And Eva? Tighten that sash around your cloak. It’s frigid out there.”

XXXXIII
.

I tap Jasper on the shoulder. He doesn’t even move, he’s so deeply asleep. A sliver of moonlight illuminates his face—the only part of him I can see, given that he’s laden with the bedcovers of a high-ranking Gallant and Lexor—and I realize that I’ve never seen him sleep before. This is the sight to which I will awaken every morning after our Union.

Our Union
.

Will that even happen after I give my speech tomorrow? Will this be the only time I’ll ever see him this way? I know my brother made the ultimate sacrifice for New North. If I must make a sacrifice, too, so be it. My only regret is that I wasted any ticks or feelings on my brother’s killer.

Sweet Jasper. I study the curve of his jaw and his angular cheek bones. His lashes are surprisingly long, almost like
a Maiden’s. Without the usual Gallant styling, his hair is curly and longer than I thought, nearly to his shoulder. I stroke a lock that loops around his collarbone. He is beautiful.

Jasper would have never hurt Eamon. How could I have ever suspected him? How could I have ever betrayed him by kissing Lukas, my brother’s killer?

I run my fingers along Jasper’s cheek. He makes a small noise, almost like a moan. Although his eyelids are still closed, his fingers creep out from the bedcovers and cover mine. He pulls me down onto the bed, and his eyes flutter open.

“Eva!” He looks so shocked that I realize he must have been dreaming when he reached for me. “What in the Gods are you doing here?”

“Shhh.” I place a single finger over his lips. “I’m sorry to frighten you.”

“I’m happy to see you,” he says underneath my finger. “This is just unorthodox.”

“I wish this was a simple visit.”

“What’s wrong? You wouldn’t scale the walls unless it was serious.” He grins mischievously. “Even though I am irresistible.”

“I’m here to tell you the truth.”

Jasper’s eyebrows knit in concern, and his smile vanishes. “About what?”

Does he worry that my revelation has something to do with our Union? I wouldn’t be surprised, given how strangely our Betrothal path began. I reach for his hand to reassure him, squeeze it tightly.

“Not about us, Jasper. About everything else.”

I’m not certain how to begin, but once I start, the words
pour out of me in torrents. I tell him nearly everything I’ve uncovered, starting with the Testing. Elizabet’s Relics and Lukas’s ability to read her Tech. The reality of the Boundary lands and people. The origins of The Lex in the pre-Healing Bible. The actual nature of Tech and Apple. Madeline’s journal and the
Genesis
. Even the secret found on the
Genesis
about the Founders’ intentional flooding of the earth. The only thing I don’t share is Eamon’s murder and Lukas’s betrayal. Not yet, and I’m not sure why.

I grow quiet, and so does Jasper. His hands slide out of mine.

I wonder what he’s thinking. Can he ever trust me again after all the secrets I’ve kept from him? After all this time that I’ve spent alone with another man, a Boundary at that. A dark shadow falls over his golden profile. I could ascribe it to the moon’s movement, but I know well its source. The horror of the truth. Maybe the horror of my involvement in unearthing that truth, too.

And yet, amidst it all, I see a spark of hope on his face. A glimmer of Jasper the Gallant returns. “The Triad. We’ve got to report this to the Triad.”

At first, I’m just thrilled that his initial reaction isn’t akin to Theo’s: confusion, then anger, then resignation. But still I realize that I face enormous problems with his suggestion. He thinks that the Triad can fix this problem. I only have a few ticks to explain why going to the Triad isn’t possible. And to make him understand why it’s so important to challenge everything he’s held dear about the Aerie.

“What if I told you that I think the Triad already knows? Some of them, anyway. And that they’ve intentionally kept the truth from the New North people to make sure we stay in the roles they’ve prescribed for us?” I speak with
confidence, even though I don’t have actual proof of the Triad’s awareness; my belief has always been more intuitive than that.

He recoils. I knew this would be hard for him. He has family members and friends in the Triad. Just like me.

“No, Eva. The Triad? Maybe the early Triad members who were also Founders, but not the Triad members today. Why would you ever think that?”

Since I don’t have proof, I explain to him about the acts of hatred toward me, about the violent and unambiguous warnings. And Eamon. I know that the animosity toward me can be justified by the dislike of a Maiden in an Archon’s role, but the same can’t be said for Eamon. I tell him about Eamon’s death, although I leave out the part about Lukas. Why I am protecting my brother’s killer? Part of me loathes myself for the omission, but another part is starting to understand that I have to keep Lukas’s image clean, or Jasper might challenge our discoveries.

“No, Eva. Not Eamon.”

“Yes, Jasper. Eamon. And even if the Triad doesn’t know, and even if they’re not responsible for Eamon’s death, my gut tells me that they will block me from trying to share the truth with the people of New North. It will jeopardize the Triad’s control.”

“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
.