Traitor (13 page)

Roslin laughed. “Ah, just think about where you want to be. It’ll get you there. Later I’ll show you how to get to Adaire. Get going. I think your dad has the whole Fairborn police department looking for you. Just act like you were taking a break in the tool shed. Like I said, I have my ways to keep you out of trouble. I’ll explain all my tricks later, but when I’m finished, your dad will think you were gone for an hour or two, not two days. Just leave it to me.”

She winked and disappeared. She really sucked as a teacher. Guess it was time for me to try to do the disappearing magic trick she had down pat.

W
E’D BEEN WALKING
through dank catacombs forever when Dalbach finally came to a stop. The wet ground seemed to writhe beneath us, even though I knew that was impossible. It was as though everything pulsed around us in slimy green embodiments. Like even the walls were alive with evil infused in them. Inside little alcoves were the floating balls of light, which did little to assuage the foreboding feeling that came from the grime that covered everything. Instead, the light threw relief on some of the more unsettling things that lived in the grotto.

A bat-like creature hung from the ceiling, its massive claws digging directly into the thick scum that carpeted the ceiling. It ruffled its wings in its sleep and let out a low whistle. Tiny needlelike teeth glinted in the low light, and I ducked lower to be as far away from the varmint as possible. It gave me the creeps.

Dalbach scrunched his forehead, giving his papery skin an even more weathered look. His eyes were indecipherable. “Are you sure you want to attempt saving the boy? He’s in the heart of Neamar and I can’t promise we’ll get be able to get far enough out of the center to open a crack,” Dalbach said, nervously looking around the empty hallway.

I rolled my eyes in an attempt to hide my growing fear. It felt like snakes had taken up residence in my stomach. I pushed the impulse to throw up away as best I could. “What, are you saying we can’t open up a crack in there? How come? And you didn’t bother to tell me this until now because…?” I let the question hang in the air.

“We can’t open a crack in there because Ankou has laid down very complex magic to keep anyone from coming and going directly into or out of the heart of Neamar. It’s his defense. I hadn’t told you that because you wouldn’t have come this far if I had.”

False, but I wouldn’t argue with Dalbach right now. I needed him on my side. Instead I just ignored the minor jab. “Uh, thanks. Well since we’re ’this far’, why don’t we just finish the job? What’s your plan?”

Dalbach shuffled his feet. If a Changeling could look embarrassed, Dalbach definitely looked the part. “I was hoping you might have thought one through by the time we got here.”

Well, this was going to get interesting. Taking in a deep breath, I kicked a rock near my foot. It yelped, sprouted legs and ran away. As if on cue, three more rocks lifted themselves up on tiny legs and scuttled toward their retreating comrade. The bat thing I’d seen made a reproachful noise overhead. Dalbach hissed under his breath. “Will you quit drawing attention to yourself?”

“What were those things? By the way, if you haven’t noticed, we’re alone down here.”

Dalbach’s eyes darted once more. “Those were what humans refer to as bugs. The electronic kind for you, but ours are living. They report back to Ankou with anything they hear. As you can see, we’re not alone. Follow me. We’re not far away.”

We reached a set of stairs not long after. A thin streak of light pierced through the darkness and made my eyes water. It was blinding after being underground for so long. I covered my eyes to allow them to adjust, but just then we emerged. I pulled my hand from shielding my eyes, but I wished I hadn’t. The sight was horrible.

People were everywhere. Humans. They were in heavy black leather collars doing yard work, tilling the ground, picking up after other Changelings. Chains that were connected to a central spike in the ground kept them from straying too far from their jobs. A few of the humans had sores on their necks from the collars rubbing them raw, while others bore genuine scars in the same place. They must have been here for a very long time to garner such abuse.

All their eyes were downcast and they didn’t acknowledge our arrival. The sound of shovels and pickaxes tilling the ground rang out, and the smell of freshly upturned earth filled my nostrils. This wasn’t the work of willing laborers, though. These people were slaves.

The saddest thing of all was that none of them were past my age. Fifteen or sixteen had to be the max for most of them. There were even four and five year olds replanting dead plants in a garden of wilted geraniums. All the while, Changelings looked on and ordered them around. None of the humans looked happy. Actually, they all looked like they’d rather be dead than here.

A little girl, no older than eight, walked up to a Changeling who was holding a whip. “Sir, I need to go to the bathroom.”

The Changeling glared at her. “You had a break four hours ago. Hold it.”

“Sir, I really need to go. Now. Please,” she insisted as she hopped up and down, trying hard to not wet herself. Her eyes became pleading and I saw the desperation that she felt.

“How bad is it?” The Changeling jeered. He was getting off on watching her pleas become frantic.

After another five minutes of the Changeling making fun of her passed, a wet spot began to spread down the girl’s leg. The Changeling cackled. “Lookie here everyone, this little one can’t hold it in!”

Other Changelings surrounded the girl and laughed at her. She cowered in the middle, attempting not to cry. Finally, she pushed through the swarm of Changelings and ran back to the group of kids waiting for her twenty yards away. Her chain didn’t make it that far.

She ran as fast as possible, not realizing the issue until too late. The chain snapped tightly as she ran out of lead, and the collar bit into her little neck. She fell backward and landed hard on the ground. Tears of pain and embarrassment flowed freely from her eyes and down her petite face.

The group of kids ran as close as they could to her, and a few of their chains made it the length needed to embrace her. Those four or five older children took her in and wrapped their arms around her. None of them dared to look in our direction.

Tears of fury began to sting my eyes. Dalbach noticed. “Don’t react. You’ll tip them off. Act as though it doesn’t bother you.”

“But it
does
bother me,” I hissed. “These are someone’s children!”

“It doesn’t affect you. Leave it be. Find Aiden and leave. That’s our job. Stick to it, because as soon as we find him, we’ll need to go.”

His callousness grated on me. I knew he was right, that now wasn’t the time to try to liberate everyone in the compound, but it still angered me that he acted as though he didn’t care. We didn’t have time to start a debate on whether these people mattered. I knew they did. We would find a way to end this suffering, but it would have to come in a second trip.

“There,” Dalbach breathed, barely raising his hand to point. “That’s him.”

In the direction that Dalbach had gestured, a young man my age stood in a shoulder-deep hole. His resemblance to Tess was uncanny. Flaming red hair, tall and muscular, Aiden was exactly what I had imagined after seeing Tess’s picture, only a few years older. He shoveled a pile of dirt into a heaping mound he was making. It looked like he was digging a grave.

Dalbach sidled up to him and kicked a portion of the dirt back into the hole Aiden was digging. “You missed some, human.”

Aiden’s eyes never met Dalbach’s, but the fire behind his green eyes flared in anger. He waited a moment before responding, and I guessed it was probably the time he needed to swallow his anger. His lips were tight and barely moved as he acknowledged Dalbach’s comment. “My apologies, sir.”

As he shoveled the dirt out, Dalbach kicked more in. Chunks of dirt and large rocks tumbled down around Aiden’s feet and a few flecks ended up in his hair. Aiden wiped them out of his hair and off his face as Dalbach cackled mercilessly. “You’d think the dirt would stay out, wouldn’t you?”

Aiden didn’t respond. Instead, he shoveled that back out and continued on. His shovel hit gravel and the stones grinded against the metal, setting my teeth on edge. Finally, Dalbach spit at him. Aiden wiped the spit off his cheek and never even glanced at Dalbach. His arms just continued to move in a mechanical fashion as he upturned more earth and dug himself deeper into the hole.

It was clear Aiden was also digging himself a grave with Dalbach from his lack of reaction to Dalbach’s goading.

Dalbach got annoyed. His face purpled a bit and his eyes narrowed to slits. “You don’t anger easily, human. We can change that. Your mother angered much quicker when we took you from her.”

That was all it took. Aiden slammed the shovel into the ground and hurled himself out of the hole. Dalbach put his gnarled hands out and stopped Aiden in mid-flight. Tiny red rays of light extended from Dalbach’s palms and held Aiden at bay. Aiden thrashed against the magic and cursed at us, but nothing he did could break Dalbach’s magical hold on him. After a few minutes of fighting the magic to no avail, Aiden let out a deep sigh and went limp. He still floated in the air, but he just looked at us with disdain and seemed resigned to wait out Dalbach’s enchantments.

Dalbach nodded his head toward me. “Go, talk to him now. Make it look believable.”

Shocked, I gimped forward. “Aiden, I’m here to save you. Even though I look like a Changeling, I’m really a human, like you. I know your mother, Tess, and I’m dating your brother, Liam. We’re going to get you out of here.”

Shock crossed Aiden’s face, but he was still unable to move. I continued to explain, sure he could still hear what was being said. “I’m a Bridger, like your mother. My name is Ashlyn McVean. We’re here to take you back to Ireland. If Dalbach releases you, will you follow us?”

Aiden blinked his eyes, so I took that for a yes. I nodded to Dalbach and he dropped his hands to his sides. The minute he did, the enchantment broke connection and Aiden to hit the ground hard. Dalbach cackled gleefully. “Dirty humans.”

I gave him a hateful glance, which caused the evil smile to wipe off his face. He looked away from Aiden and me and kicked a nearby rock angrily. It yelped, sprouted legs and sprinted off, just like the ones in the grotto had done. It made me nervous. I leaned down to Aiden once more and hoped that there weren’t any other bugs nearby. “I’m going to pretend I’m kicking you. Act like it hurts. Follow me. When we’re out of here, I’ll explain everything.”

He played his part well. Dalbach rushed forward and grabbed him by his hair, dragging him a couple feet before Aiden threw him off. “Bloody hell, you nasty Changeling, are you trying to rip my brains out through my hair?”

Dalbach cackled once again. It was obvious he was enjoying this a little too much. “I might be – if there were any brains to pull out, that is.”

Aiden shoved off the ground angrily, pushing Dalbach aside and striding up to me. He glared down contemptuously. “Why am I following you?”

My fingers nimbly unlatched Aiden’s collar so that we could get out of here. When I was finished, I stepped back and shrugged my shoulders. “Apparently you want to leave this place.”

“And how do I know you’re not just taking me back to Ankou to be whipped?”

Dalbach chimed in. “Trust me, I’d love to do that, you ungrateful little brat —”

I cut him off mid-sentence. It seemed like the longer we were in Neamar, the worse Dalbach became. We needed to leave, and fast. Moving at a pace that was brisk but not fast enough to incite questions, one of my least favorite people appeared out of nowhere.

Jamie’s voice cut through me like a knife. “Where do you think you’re going, Aiden? Is Dalbach taking you off duty early for something special?”

It took everything in me to not strangle her right then. Dalbach coolly crossed the space, putting both Aiden and I behind him. “I figured he might like to spend some time with Peter. You know, with Aneas. Perhaps that would change his ungrateful tune.”

Jamie smiled hatefully, her moss-laden teeth bared with wicked glee. “Ah yes, that sounds nice. And who is your little tagalong friend?” She gestured curiously to me. Her nails were still long like they were when she tried to kidnap me in Ireland over winter break. I tried not to shiver from inadvertently drudging up the memory.

“A simpleton who got into trouble earlier. I thought a minor visit with Aneas could relieve the desire to cause problems again.”

Jamie nodded, placated for the time being. “Don’t be long, Dalbach. I need you in my quarters this evening. We need to convene about the McVean issue.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, bowing so low to the ground I thought he might not make it back up. “I will be there.”

Jamie continued on her way. I turned to watch her as she sidled away, only to see her catch my eye. She waved and revealed her pointed teeth in an evil sneer. I could only imagine how much she enjoyed the horrors that this place held. The girl was seriously demented.

Once we were out of the main crater of Neamar, Dalbach sped up. “We need to leave now. Once we get into the forest, I’m going to cause a diversion. I have to stay here. You’re going to have to make a crack on your own. Do you understand me?”

This was not okay. I stopped, yanking him to a halt beside me. “Uh, no. I didn’t come with you under the assumption you’d stay here. You could rat us all out. That won’t work, now will it?”

“How long do you think it’ll take for them to realize Aiden is gone? And how much longer before they put two and two together if I’m gone?”

Dalbach had a point. I sighed and shuffled my chimp-like feet in the dead grass. “What’s your idea for a diversion?”

He smiled. “To tell them you’re here.”

Aiden didn’t respond well to this. “Are you barking mad? We’ll be killed immediately! Who
are
you, you
things
? How can I possibly trust either one of you? You’re Changelings!”