The Poet Heroic (The Kota Series) (3 page)

Vale’s head was spinning. “You became a rebel?”

Guown scoffed. “Come on, lad. You’re smarter than that.”

Now Vale understood. “You’ve always been a rebel.”

Guown nodded. “A friend and I’ve helped Youth kids escape for years. The Dominion killed him a few days ago during a mission. Now I’m all these kids have left. As soon as I escaped your brother, I flew to their hideout on the Mainland. But now we’ve come back for you.”

Ignoring his last bit, Vale shook his head in amazement. “How did you hide it from me? We have a mind link!” Then he understood and looked at Nocturna. “Guown, you told her I’m a telepath?”

“Yes,” the big man answered bluntly. “As for how I hid things from you, your father actually helped with that. There’s a telepath called Counterstrike who taught your instructors how to block telepathy. Your father was afraid of you digging around in our minds where you didn’t belong.”

Vale thought back. “That’s why I couldn’t always see in Dad’s mind. He was blocking me.”

“Yeah. That old bastard had a lot of secrets. When you became a telepath, I think it freaked him out for all kinds of reasons.”

Vale felt his heart breaking. “This Counterstrike guy trained Cruelthor too, didn’t he?”

“I’m sorry, lad. I’m afraid so. Your brother’s been keeping things from you for a long time.”

Nocturna cleared her throat.

Guown nodded at her and rested his bandaged hand on Vale’s shoulder. “We don’t have a lot of time. Nocturna’s shown you a bit of how the Dominion abuses its power and hides the truth. And they do much, much worse. I know you think you can change things as Cruelthor’s brother, but he won’t let you. Cruelthor doesn’t want to make the Dominion less oppressive – he wants to make it worse. You need to understand that. And you need to make a decision. Are you with us or the Dominion?”

“With you or my brother, you mean? I’m sorry, Guown, but I have to believe I can talk sense into Cruelthor. Together, we could fix-”

“How can you be so blind?” Nocturna apparently couldn’t stay quiet any longer. “Don’t you know your brother is dancing in your father’s footsteps? He could be the worst Olander yet!”

“I have to try!” Vale shouted back. He looked at Guown. “Please, you have to let me try. Even if I can’t get through to Cruelthor, maybe
I
can fix some of the corruption from the inside.” He thought of Nocturna’s proposal. “But without killing my brother.”

Guown sighed and shook his head. “This is a bad idea. But okay.”

Nocturna gaped. “Sir!”

“We can’t force him to join us,” the big man argued. He looked at Vale again. “Okay, lad. Better run back to your fallen bodyguards. We ran off the Underground assassins, so you’ll be safe. Dominion reinforcements should be here soon to rescue you.”

Vale let out a breath. “Thank you.”

“And please,” added Guown, “don’t tell them we met.”

Vale’s thoughts were impossible to sort out just yet, but… “I’ll just say that I ran here to hide and went back when the shooting stopped.”

“Thank you, lad.”

Then Vale remembered why he was out here in the wilderness in the first place. “Oh, do you have any idea where my mom or sister are?”

“No. Sorry. But maybe you’re beginning to understand that Vedanleé is hiding from the Dominion for good reason.”

Vale thought on this but could only nod. He turned for the door. It was stuck, but he tugged and shoved a few times before the old wood gave way.

“I’ll keep an eye out for you,” Guown called after him. “If you need anything…”

“Yeah,” said Vale. “Thanks.”

With that, he hurried out of the cabin and down the steps. The cold air iced his lungs as he took off running back the way he’d come.

3

Capital City

“I want to see my brother,” Vale demanded.

The drone soldiers, mindless and programmed, ignored him. They stood with their backs to him outside his holding cell’s force field gate.

Upon his return to the Capitol House, Vale had learned from Commander Rilen’s mind that Cruelthor had indeed ordered him to kill Guown. Vale hadn’t had time for further investigation, however. Cruelthor had summoned him to Capital City, where they’d begun construction of a new compound, and the Dominion seat of government had already shifted north, to this new location. Flown into Capital City by private jet, Vale had only arrived that morning. He’d already seen enough to worry his brother would drain the bank of kronar with his construction plans.

But that was before Dominion solders had arrested Vale and taken him to this prison cell.

What is going on? he thought.

Vale sat in his cell for some time before he heard the door at the end of the hall open. Footsteps marched down the corridor, and at last Cruelthor came to stand outside his cell. Vale examined his brother’s fine clothes and suspected that he’d just arrived from his coronation ceremony.

“Cruelthor, what’s going on?” Vale rose from his bench and stood as close to the force field as he dared. “I was on my way to your ceremony when Troubogaust-”

“I ordered Troubogaust to arrest you and hold you here for your protection,” said Cruelthor. He stood with his hands clasped. His hair was slicked back, and his chiseled face looked quite stern as he looked down his nose at Vale.

“My protection?”

“Yes. Well, yours and mine. It seems a rebel team of assassins was discovered trying to get past security at my coronation ceremony. Commander Rilen interrogated one of the rebels, and for the past few hours security has been scanning everyone in the city. They assure me we’re safe for now.”

This actually made sense. Vale allowed himself a sigh of relief. “So can I go now?”

“No.”

Vale looked at his brother’s cold expression and tried to see into his mind. But he couldn’t.

He’s blocking me, thought Vale. It’s like Guown said…

“I’ve been in meetings with my advisors all week.” Cruelthor started pacing outside the prison cell. “Several of them brought to my attention the danger you represent to my rule. I have nothing against you, brother, but this is just the nature of things.”

“What are you talking about? You think I’d challenge your rule?”

Oh, no, he thought fleetingly.
Am
I to be the man in the iron mask?

“Vidar, I’m your brother,” he tried.

Cruelthor winced at the name. “You always were like our mother.” He stopped pacing and looked at Vale, almost sadly. “And that’s exactly what dad was afraid of. That’s what I’m afraid of, truth be told. I can’t risk having you around. I think you’ve figured out by now that you can’t get in here-” He tapped his forehead with a smirk “-but there’s still plenty of trouble you could stir up. And I can’t let anything disrupt my plans. I just made several big announcements at my coronation, and people expect me to deliver. I can’t constantly be watching my back, so you have to go.”

Vale swallowed. “Go?”

Cruelthor rolled his eyes. “No, I’m not going to slay you. You’re to be exiled from the Northern Continent. After today, if you ever set foot on this continent again, your punishment will be swift and final.”

Shocked, Vale felt his heart racing. “But why? Cruelthor, this isn’t fair! Where am I supposed to go? I’m not going to turn on-”

“It’s done.” Cruelthor smoothed out the sleeves of his jacket.

How did this happen? thought Vale. How did everything fall apart so fast? Was that girl right – have I been blind this whole time? If I’d listened to Guown…

“But,” Cruelthor added, “lest you ever get any ideas, I’m first going to make sure people never mistake you for me.” He smirked and took a step back from the cell.

Three soldiers arrived and deactivated the force field. Vale uselessly retreated farther into the cell, but the soldiers grabbed him by the arms and dragged him out. They pulled him up the hall, and Vale looked back at his brother, who turned and walked away casually toward the far exit.

“Cruelthor! Cruelthor, you can’t do this! You’re my brother!” Panic had him now, and Vale fought not to cry as he struggled against the soldiers.

“Goodbye, good twin,” Cruelthor called back.

Vale fought against his guards, but they pulled him through the door and into a dark room.

4

Madrid

Vale stepped out of the international airport for the first time without a Dominion escort. However, Cruelthor’s global proclamation about Vale’s exile let everyone know he was coming, and crowds of shouting Euro citizens had gathered. They mostly stood on the far side of the security fence that lined the airport entrance. A few drone soldiers were posted for security along the fence, but Vale knew they’d do nothing to protect him.

They’re just the standard security of the airport, he thought. If given orders,
they
would kill me. I’m on my own… Will a taxi even be willing to take me to a hotel? Will a hotel even admit me?

Other new arrivals exiting the airport glanced at Vale and gave him a wide berth. He heard the sounds of departing planes and jets in the air behind him, but it did nothing to dull the roar of the crowd.

“Traitor!” some yelled.

“Get the bastard!”

Some from the other persuasion shouted, “Never trust an Olander!”

I’m dead, he thought as he tried to decide which way to run. Cruelthor could change his mind at any time and order me slain. Dominion loyalists will try to kill me because they think I’m a traitor. Rebels have already tried to kill me! I’m…

He held his lone bag against his shoulder and started to panic. Even the air brushing against his freshly shaved scalp made him uneasy, and he reached up to touch his head only to accidentally bump the raw skin of his brother’s final gift – a Dominion sign tattoo on his left temple. Bumping this with his hand also brought fresh pain from his bandaged hand where the soldiers had removed his ID tag. All this pain was enough to distract him from keeping up his usual shield.

Immediately he was hit with sensations from the crowd.
Anger. Fear. Hatred. Sadness.

Someone threw an empty bottle. Vale ducked just in time. It hit the glass door behind him.

“Hey!” a man who’d just emerged from the door looked around angrily. Then he spotted Vale. The man dropped his luggage and grabbed Vale by the back of his coat. “You filthy little brat! I oughtta ring your neck! Do the world a favor!”

The crowd cheered the man on.

Vale summoned every bit of courage he had left and tried to think. He knew he had better training than the man. The man had left himself exposed, holding Vale with one arm while waving to the crowd with other. Quickly, Vale punched the man in the gut. The man grunted and let go of Vale to steady himself.

Without another thought, Vale took off running along the road out of the airport. Those along the fence on the far side shouted and called after him, some giving chase along the fence. Vale’s legs were flying by the time the road met the main street, but he held onto his bag and continued running, pushing his way through a group of people on the sidewalk. Crowds filled the streets here, and Vale was sure they’d stop him, but he ran on and on through the middle of the street, avoiding vehicles secured to the track system. A few angry civilians continued to chase him around the traffic, but most stuck to the clogged sidewalks.

After a few blocks, Vale saw that he’d lost the mob from the airport, and now only the usual city life surrounded him.

Madrid is a huge city, he thought. If I can get out of the street, I might have a chance of disappearing in the crowds.

He veered onto a sidewalk and stepped into a crowd. These people were staring up at a screen with a sports game. The crowd was so invested in the game that they didn’t notice him, and the shouts and cheers were so loud no one noticed him fighting to catch his breath. Since shaved heads were the fashion statement of the times, he hoped he could blend in.

But then the man next to him turned to high-five him. Their eyes met. The man took a step back and opened his mouth to shout.

Vale didn’t wait, and he pushed back through the crowd and took off running again.

“That was Beathabane! Holy-”

A new mob started shouting behind Vale, and he ran through the streets. More and more heads turned to see what all the commotion was about, and these bystanders pointed and shouted encouragement to his pursuers. Vale rounded a street corner and looked back to see about ten large locals hot on his tail, and he hurried to cross this new street and found himself in the busiest part of downtown. Here, tall skyscrapers lined streets running in every direction. He was lost.

“He went this way!” a loud male voice shouted.

Vale looked across the street and saw a dark-skinned youth about his age. The young man was pointing down a side street that ran in the opposite direction. Vale quickly knelt behind a parked car and watched as a trio of angry pursuers turned and followed the young man as he guided them away.

“He’s over here!” another male voice boomed from the far street corner.

Vale watched as this blond teen waved for the attention of other pursuers, and they followed this young man in another wrong direction.

What? Vale thought as he remained crouched behind the parked car.

“Beathabane,” a female voice whispered.

Vale spun around and saw a young woman with curly, dark hair. She wore stylish civilian clothes fit for a party girl, and she had a stud diamond in her nose. She leaned casually against the building behind him and sucked on a straw that ran down into a fluorescent blue drink. She stopped drinking to smile at Vale.

He looked in her mind and heard,
“He looks so freaked out. Poor Little Lord Fauntleroy.”

He gasped. “Do you know Noctur-”

She put a finger to her lips, then motioned for him to follow her. She turned and walked to the corner of the building, then disappeared into the narrow alley.

Vale hesitated a moment, but what choice did he have? He took one more look around for danger, then darted across the sidewalk to the alley. The girl was waiting for him, and she smiled again before leading him farther down the narrow alley. Vale tried not to scrape his arms against the buildings, the space was so narrow. Eventually the girl reached a door, and she opened it and stood aside to let him enter.

Once inside, Vale’s eyes adjusted to the faint light. This light came through the only window at the front of the building, and the open room appeared to be some kind of workshop. Shelves of wood stood right in front of him, benches and work stations dotted the middle of the room, and then a storefront was up by the window. It smelled of wood and dust. And metal.

The door slammed shut behind him, and Vale jumped. He turned and saw the girl grimace from the sound, but she appeared unconcerned and sucked on her drink before walking ahead of him to sit on a bench.

“Who are you and why did you bring me here?”

She smiled. “I’m Tat. No worries. We’re here to rescue you.”

“Who-”

The door opened again, and Vale spun to see Guown enter with Nocturna. A dark-skinned guy and a blond guy entered next, and this last arrival closed the door and locked it. Then the whole group moved to stand around him.

Vale felt uncomfortable, but he faced his old teacher. “Guown? What-”

“Good to see you’re okay.” Guown reached gently for Vale’s head and tilted it to look at the tattoo. He made a face. “Ouch. That sore?”

“Yeah.” Vale sighed. He felt like crying. He’d felt like crying all day. “Thank you for coming after me. And thank you.” He looked at the two guys, knowing now they’d purposefully led the angry locals off his trail.

The dark-skinned teen shook Vale’s hand. “It was a pleasure. Lost ‘em three streets over. Name’s Evant, by the way.” His voice carried a pleasant Euro accent.

Vale smiled, liking Evant immediately.

He’s not staring, thought Vale. When was the last time I met anyone who didn’t stare?

The other guy, however, didn’t look pleased. “I’m Dynk,” was all he said. Up close, he was tall and muscular with cropped, blond hair and kind of an ugly face.

“Thank you,” Vale said again.

“We don’t have all day,” said Nocturna to Guown.

The big man nodded and faced Vale. “I know your life’s turned upside-down, lad, but come with me and we might find a way to make it all worth it. Your brother has to be stopped. I respect you for trying your way, but you know now it’ll never work. If you still want to change the world, now you’ll have to do it from outside the Dominion. Come with us.”

Dynk muttered something.

Vale looked around at the group but didn’t let himself inspect their thoughts. He was quite sure most of them didn’t like him. Dynk was obvious. Evant he wasn’t sure. Nocturna still looked like she thought he was a spoiled idiot. Tat seemed nice, but…

“Beathabane?” Guown squeezed his shoulder. “We have to go, lad. I’m sorry, but decide now if-”

“Okay. I’ll come with you.” The words were out before Vale realized he’d made up his mind. But he felt right about it immediately.

Guown slapped Vale on the arm. “Good. Good.” He looked at Evant. “Let’s get to the truck. Babbitt?”

They all grew silent, and Vale was about to ask what was up when Guown touched his ear and said, “Copy. We’ll be there in five.”

The whole group took this cue and returned to the door.

Vale nervously stepped beside Nocturna. “Babbitt?”

“He’s our tech expert. He’s monitoring Dominion movements from our truck.” She forced a smile. “Hi, by the way.”

Dynk rolled his eyes. “Flirt with the tyrant twin later, Nocturna. Let’s go.” He pushed past them to the door.

Nocturna’s eyes narrowed at the back of Dynk’s head, but she didn’t say anything and followed after her group, Vale in tow.

What am I getting myself into? he thought.

A few hours later, he walked with Guown on a tour of their hideout. They were in a suburb of Madrid, for Guown explained that most rebels had to stay close to the metropolises in order to stay within range of supplies. Their hideout was in the sublevel of a luxury vehicle dealership, the owner of which had rebel sympathies.

“We divided the basement so there’s a private section for the girls,” Guown was saying as he walked down the hall made of scrap metal. He tapped a sliding door, which was painted pink to make things clear.

Vale looked across the wide, makeshift hall and saw a blue door of matching scrap metal on the other side. “Boys’ quarters?” he asked.

“Yes.” Guown’s deep voice echoed off the metal, and his boots tapped on the concrete floor.

The sublevel was basically a big, empty basement divided into sections by salvaged junk.

But it is big, thought Vale. It’s impressive that they’ve managed to cobble together. …And it’s admirable how many kids they’ve saved.

He’d learned that Guown’s former partner – dead now – had gathered about twenty ex-Dominion Youth and hidden them here. Some, like Tat, had pure genes and so had been kicked out of the Youth program when their instructors found them lacking any mutate-genetic abilities. Some, like Evant, had defected during their final stages of training because they’d refused to advance in the Dominion system. Others, like Nocturna, had been rescued when they’d wanted out but couldn’t escape otherwise. Dynk had been badly injured during an assignment and left for dead in the field. That had changed his loyalties somewhat.

“And here’s what little tech we’ve acquired,” said Guown.

They entered a kind of cubicle room made of standing shelves and wrapped wires. Electronic devices Vale didn’t recognize covered the shelves, and various lights and beeping sounds drew his attention this way and that. On the far wall hung ten screens with video surveillance or newsfeeds shining light into the room.

Babbitt, whom Vale had met earlier, turned from his seat under the screens. He removed his gigantic goggles – the use for which Vale had yet to hear – and blinked at Guown. “Oh, hey. Nothing new to report, boss.”

Guown grunted acknowledgement and told Vale, “We’ve been monitoring leads from Dominion informants. I know this is hard to hear, but your brother really is planning to make the Dominion a worse tyranny than ever before. We’re working on ways to stop him.”

Vale read one of the rebel’s hacked newsfeeds. “New Dominion DRK lab to open in Berlin.”

Oh, Cruelthor, he thought. What are you doing?

He looked at Guown. “What do you think I can do? I thought you wanted me to overthrow my brother, but that’s not going to happen now.” He pointed at his itching tattoo.

“That was more Nocturna’s idea. But now, I think you can help us in other ways.”

“Like what?”

Guown looked back at him with a sympathetic frown. “We’ll talk about that later. You need rest. And I’m guessing something to eat?”

Exhausted, Vale nodded. Then one of the videos onscreen caught his eye. It was surveillance of Copenhagen. In fact, it showed the exterior of the very mansion Vale had grown up in.

“What-”

“Shit.” Guown stepped to deactivate that screen. He looked back at Vale. “You weren’t supposed to see that.”

“Why are you watching our old house?” Then he saw a flash of Guown’s mind. “You think my mom and sister might go there?”