True Son (10 page)

In the fourth cell, he found Berliott. She wasn’t chained to the wall, but she was huddled in the corner, looking thin and pale. He must have looked worse, because she squinted and frowned at him. “Sir?”

“Come on.” He waved her out of the cell, and she ran with him to the next. He found three more archons: Pik, Mirtala, and Wendomer.

“Do we have a plan?” Pik whispered.

“Yeah,” Gevri said. “The plan is to get everyone out of here.”

“Why aren’t they coming?” Mirtala asked. “Why aren’t the alarms sounding?”

“I don’t know,” Gevri said. “Just follow the plan.”

The door to the next cell opened. Neeza was inside. She turned to the door, her mouth open wide with surprise.

That was the last thing Gevri saw before every light turned an ominous red. All the doors they had opened shut with a synchronized automatic motion, the locks of every door clicking at once.

“Oh, gods,” one of the archons whispered behind him. “Now what?”

Gevri turned one way, then the other. There was no place to hide, just one long, empty corridor. No furniture, no nooks or crannies or cover of any kind. No windows, no ladders, nothing.

A line of Nau soldiers poured in from each side. There was nothing to do. Gevri pushed himself in front of the archons, who were pressed against the wall. He spread his arms and tried to cover them. Then he saw the guns.

Desperate, he tried to exercise dominion to disassemble the guns, but even with all the adrenaline rushing through him, he couldn’t clear his mind enough to manage it. His brain was still overburdened with pain.

Then he knew what he had to do. If they shot him, he didn’t want the archons in the line of fire. He stepped away from the archons until he reached the middle of the hallway. “It’s me you want!” he yelled. “You’ve got me.”

There was a moment when Gevri froze and made himself into a perfect target.
If you’re going to be something, be the best
, his father had always said. It was gallows humor. This was the end.

As Gevri froze in place with his hands held high and his feet planted wide, the soldiers took their positions. Gevri picked one soldier with an oddly shaped weapon and stared directly at him.
I will not look away. I will not flinch
.

The soldier fired his weapon, but it wasn’t a bullet. Time seemed to slow down as Gevri saw a steel rod spinning horizontally toward his legs. They had fired a leveler at him.
Blast it, they’re not going to kill me
.

That was his last thought before the rod slammed into his legs just below the knees. Gevri went down in a heap and felt darkness closing over him.

Blessed, blessed darkness.

Taemon spent the evening before the trip helping Drigg. First they installed benches along the inside walls of the hauler. Then they removed some of the upper panels on the sides of the hauler and replaced them with wire mesh, for better air circulation.

He and Drigg worked late into the night. The work would have gone much faster with psi, but not once did Drigg bring it up. Taemon was grateful. Spending time with Drigg, working side by side on the hauler, was exactly what he needed to calm his nerves.

The delegation left before sunup. Everyone was supposed to meet at Drigg’s place, which was where the hauler was parked. Amma and Mr. Parvel were the first to arrive.

“Where are your brothers?” Taemon asked. “Aren’t they coming, too?”

Amma nodded. “They left yesterday, on horseback. They’re checking the trail to make sure there aren’t any surprises. We’ll meet up with them at the end of the day.”

Mr. Parvel stepped to the back of the hauler and looked inside. “Interesting work you’ve done there, Drigg. Is it safe?”

“Of course it’s safe,” Drigg said. “What do you take me for?”

While Drigg and Mr. Parvel discussed the seating arrangement, Amma pulled Taemon aside.

“Did you read the book?” she asked.

“Cha, I read it.” Taemon shook his head slowly. “You were right: the truth seems to lie somewhere between our version of history and the Republik’s. But do you really think the general would believe us if we told him what we know? Or that it would be enough to end a centuries-long feud?”

“I don’t know,” Amma whispered. “But we have to try. If there’s even the slightest chance it would help, we have to try.”

A hand clasped his shoulder and squeezed. Taemon knew it was Da even before he turned to look.

“Ready for the big trip, are we?” Da said. “I’m pleased with you, son. You’re becoming a real leader.”

The praise caught him off guard, and he had to blink and look away. When Taemon was growing up, Da had always placed a big emphasis on humility, and praise still made him squirm a bit.

He longed to talk to Da about the new information about Nathan. Had he ever heard that part of the story? Was it true? But Mam and Challis had come to see them off, and the other delegates were arriving as well. There was no time for a private conversation.

Stepping close to him, Mam smoothed his shirt and straightened his collar — fussing seemed to come as naturally to her without psi as it had with psi. “Be careful.” She gave him a thin smile, her nervousness showing in the small, stiff movements of her fingers.

Challis patted his back. “You’re going to do great things. It may not seem like it at first, but this trip will be a success.”

Taemon smiled and nodded. Even Challis’s words of encouragement sounded like a prophecy. Some things never changed — and for that, he was grateful.

“Everybody in,” Drigg called out. “Take a seat.”

Amma and Taemon made their way toward the hauler.

“Yens isn’t here yet,” Da said.

Amma leaned toward Taemon. “Maybe we can leave without him.”

They couldn’t possibly be so lucky, could they? Taemon was just about to climb into the hauler when a flash of color caught his eye. He turned to see Yens riding toward them on a magnificent dappled gray horse.

When had Yens learned to ride a horse? And so competently, too? He looked at ease on the horse, with perfect posture and his usual graceful air.

With a shock, Taemon noticed that Yens had shaved his head. In Deliverance, the look was bizarre, but in the Republikite army, it was a sign of power; Gevri had shaved his head after he’d made his first kills. In addition, Yens wore a burgundy sleeveless tunic and matching pants, the collar and shoulders trimmed with orange. It was exactly the kind of clothing Taemon had seen in the Republik. Not on the soldiers, of course, who wore uniforms, but on civilians. Yens’s tunic was a bit more elegant, but Taemon was certain his brother would make a strong impression with the Republikites. He looked older and wise and prestigious. He looked like a leader.

Taemon couldn’t stop himself from looking down at his own dark woolen pants, his best pair, and his cleanest shirt made from blue linen. In all the preparations, the delegation had never discussed what to wear.

Yens brought his horse to a stop and dismounted with a flourish. “Good morning, everyone!”

There was a slight pause as the group took in his appearance. Yens had a pleased look on his face as he removed his bag from the saddle. A young boy, about eight years old, ran up — where had he come from?— and took the reins. Yens gave him a coin, and the boy led the horse away.

“Shall we be off?” Yens said. And everyone started moving again.

Taemon climbed into the hauler and took a seat in the corner, next to a box of food and camping supplies. Amma followed. She let out a disapproving sigh. “How does he do that?”

“He’s always been that way.”

The hauler quickly filled with the members of the delegation: Hannova sat next to Amma. On the other side of the hauler sat Solovar, Da, and Yens. Mr. Parvel rode next to Drigg in the front. Taemon felt the engine come to life, and the truck began to move.

Everyone in the back of the hauler seemed nervous, and Taemon knew they were thinking about the upcoming negotiations. Hannova had said that peaceful coexistence was the main issue that had to be discussed, and everyone agreed, for the most part. Amma had pushed for bringing up the books, but Hannova felt that this was at the bottom of the list. “We can bring up the stolen library only if the negotiations are going well,” she’d said.

Yens, on the other hand, had wanted to emphasize commerce and trade between the two countries. He felt that the only assets Deliverance had to offer had to do with trade and natural resources. Da had objected to the idea of the Republikites cutting down the trees in Deliverance, and the two of them had argued for ages. No one wanted to get into that argument again.

The trip was much quicker and easier than when Amma and Taemon had done it last winter, especially now that they knew where the tunnel was. They ate sandwiches for lunch and took only a very short bathroom break. Soon enough they were back on the road for another long stretch, chatting about anything but the coming negotiations.

Just when they had told every riddle and played every campy guessing game, Drigg stopped the hauler. When they climbed out, Taemon saw Amma’s brothers on their horses, waiting for them. He’d met them once or twice before but had never talked to them very much. They were adults now and didn’t live at home anymore. One of them was married.

“Abson! Rhody!” Amma called.

“Hoy there, Pidge,” Abson answered. “How was the ride? Butt a little sore?”

“Never mind about my butt,” Amma said. “How are things here? Have you seen anything?”

“Everything looks fine,” Rhody said. “So far, no signs that the Republikites have gone past the tunnel.”

Taemon went back to help unload the camping equipment. This was as far as the hauler could take them. They would have to spend the night here, then walk the rest of the way tomorrow.

When the camping gear was unloaded, Da and Solovar started preparing the food. Taemon and Amma had been given the job of assembling one of the two tents.

“ ‘Pidge’?” Taemon said. “I’ve never heard anyone call you that before.”

Amma’s cheeks reddened a bit. It looked good on her. “It started off as Amma Pajama. Then somehow it ended up just Pidge.”

Taemon smiled. “I get it. Pidge-Amma.”

Amma reached into the bag for another stake. “Cha, something like that. But don’t get any ideas. If you start calling me that, I’ll think of something worse to call you.” She jabbed his shoulder with the blunt end of the stake.

“I wouldn’t dare,” Taemon said.

The evening, night, and morning passed uneventfully. Everyone was on edge, and there was very little talking or joking. They packed up and left everything in a neat pile for Drigg to pick up the next day. Then they set off toward the tunnel.

When the sun was high above them, the trees were sparse and boulders were close together. They had to take a meandering path around the bigger ones. Mr. Parvel was leading the way, and he seemed to know where he was going, because this part looked very familiar to Taemon, even though the last time he was here, everything had been covered with snow.

“Not too much farther,” Amma said. “The entrance to the tunnel is just up ahead.”

Taemon did a slow spin and took in his surroundings. She was right. They should be very near the tunnel. Another half mile at the most. As he turned to face forward again, his ears began to ring. A throbbing beat started up in his head, his heartbeat pounding at his temples. In a few more steps, he felt so disoriented that he had to stop and double over.

“Stop!” Amma called to the group. Her hand was on his back.

“What’s wrong, son?” Da asked.

Taemon tried to clear his head enough to stand up straight. He’d experienced this before, the last time he was in the Republik. “They’re blocking my psi. They have devices that can do that by emitting sounds. There must be some of those devices hidden somewhere nearby.”

Yens scoffed. “I don’t hear anything.”

“It’s not something you can hear,” Taemon said. “I’m not exactly sure how it works.”

“Right,” said Yens. “Sounds that you can’t hear. That makes a lot of sense.”

Da glared at Yens, then turned back to Taemon. “So you can’t use psi at all?”

Taemon shook his head, which was a mistake. The throbbing got worse. He took a couple of short breaths and tried to maintain his composure.

“This is not acceptable,” Mr. Parvel said. “We should consider turning back. Without psi as a last resort, I’m not feeling good about this at all.”

“No,” said Taemon. “We have to go through with this. It might be our only chance for peace.”

Mr. Parvel scowled. “I’m guessing that this psi-blocking device will not prevent the Republikites from using psi, am I right?”

As much as he hated to admit it, Mr. Parvel was right. “Yes, they put something in their ears so that the device doesn’t bother them.”

“Which means we are no longer on equal footing. They have a huge advantage over us.” He turned to Hannova with a stern look. “What would be the first step in an attack? To eliminate the leaders. They have created the perfect situation to do exactly that. I strongly recommend we turn back.”

“We have to take this chance,” Taemon said. “We might not get another one.”

Hannova had a grim look on her face, but her voice was strong and calm. “We’re going to step back out of the range of the devices while we make this decision.” She led the group back along the trail. “Are we out of range?” she asked Taemon.