Twell and the Rebellion (3 page)

Despite the fact I was a
complete moga to him, he took a shine to my snippy attitude and
delight
ed in chipping away at my
prejudice until he shattered my perception of him. Behind the
façade, there was an incredibly warm, caring, and brave person.
Someone who had a heart and someone who soon wanted mine. I
couldn’t help falling for his irresistible charms and naturally, I
did find him somewhat endearing when he came to my defence when I
was attacked, and the last breath was about to squeeze from my
lungs. Don’t worry though, I saved his life too so we could be
even. I am no damsel in distress.

Jonaz was a healer, yet he was
also more than that. Not only could he lay his hands on a person to
heal a wound, or save a life, he could also inflict pain greater
than you could imagine. His past was troubled for this very reason,
but I’d only ever seen him hurt someone when he had no choice. I
wouldn’t be alive myself if he hadn’t used his powers in that
way.

By the time I’d admitted
my feelings for Jonaz, I was facing a future with some poor,
unsuspecting guy who was most likely as reluctant as myself to be
matched to a stranger. Now I’d met my match, Avin, and it was even
worse. He wanted to
accept
the match. He wanted
to
try
. He wanted me to try. But I didn’t know how I could bring
myself to do it. Not when Jonaz and I had other plans. Life was
complicated, but at least it wasn’t boring.

I was just bending over my bag
with one knee braced against it to keep everything I’d crammed in
from popping back out, when a slight noise sounded behind me. I
froze as my eyes were covered by a pair of smooth warm hands.

“
Boo,” a deep, husky voice
whispered in my ear.

I shrieked like a swamp
maiden, whirling around to glare into wickedly, dark eyes that
danced with sheer amusement. “Don’t
do that!”
My heart skittered in
my chest, but it wasn’t from fright. His hands rested lightly on my
hips, and a shivery thrill rippled down my spine at his
touch.

“
Darn you,” I muttered,
forgetting all about the lecture. Chuckling low in his throat he
wound his arms tighter around the small of my waist, pressing me
closer to him. My breathing hitched as I inhaled his scent, an
earthy, musky sort of smell I thought I might be addicted to. I
tried to think of something intelligent to say but nothing came, my
thoughts trailing off as I became caught up in his gaze.

“It’s hard, trying to hide
this,” Jonaz growled softly. His lips brushed my forehead and my
heart fluttered pathetically. It really didn’t help my own level of
self-control. We were supposed to accept and support the partnering
out of respect for our Governing Body, but that was easier said
than done when it came to something as potentially heart-breaking
as trusting science to pick your life-long partner. What the heart
wanted couldn’t be rationalized by a logical decision; thus the
sudden appearance of my non-matchy, secret boyfriend in my bedroom.
Very
very
taboo. Shay would totally flip if she found out. Not to
mention the Governing Body. Reluctantly, yet wisely, I disentangled
myself and stepped out of his reach.

“
Hmmm.” Jonaz ran one hand
through his dark hair, gazing ruefully at me while I resisted the
urge to take another step forward.

“
Have you said your
goodbyes to your family?” I asked as a distraction. A moment later
I slapped a hand over my mouth. Stupid.

“
It’s okay.” Jonaz
chuckled warmly at my horror, but his eyes became slightly cooler,
his jaw tightening fractionally.

“Are you packed then? I
mumbled. Lame maybe, but safe? Definitely. Jonaz’s mouth curved up
in a way that totally distracted me and he rolled his eyes. I found
that pretty amusing. Eye rolling was supposed to be
my
thing.

“
It took me no time at
all.” Jonaz’s tone implied packing was the least of his concerns.
That was fair, like I’d said; there were much bigger things to
worry about.

“
You really shouldn’t be
here,” I said without conviction. “I don’t want you to get caught
and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“
Yes, but it will be an
even longer night before that without you,” Jonaz teased. Stepping
closer, he pulled me back into his arms.

“
Oh geez. I just threw up
in my mouth a little,” I joked to cover my sudden nerves, because
the look in his eyes was making me nervous. His hips pressed
lightly against mine and my heart thrummed faster.

“Ew. Perhaps I’d better
not kiss you then.”
Jonaz made to push me away but I leeched
onto him, making loud sucking noises into his neck. Throwing his
head back he laughed loudly. A little too loudly.
I heard her footsteps just moments before Shay stuck her
head around my door.

“
Were you just on your
wristband?” Shay’s eyebrows drew together as she scanned my
room.

“
Yeah. I was just talking
to, um… Avin.” I blushed at the lie, but Shay must have seen it
differently because her expression changed to one of approval and
relief.

“
I’m glad to hear that,
Twell. There’s a lot you will have to talk about I’m
sure.”

Hmph
. As if she’d know. Her
generation had been spared genetic matching and she was old enough
now to be exempt. I tried not to resent her for it as she gazed at
me expectantly.

“
Yeah, you’re right,” I
replied instead, hoping my strangled pitch wasn’t too betraying. I
tried not to shake as I applied a little more pressure with my
brain, glad the humming inside my mind wasn’t audible. It would
have given me right away.

Satisfied with my answer Shay
nodded at me. “Goodnight, Twell, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night, Shay,” I squeaked
in relief as she shut the door behind her. I looked up and grinned.
Jonaz was flattened against the ceiling directly above where Shay’s
head had just been, and he did not look impressed.

“
Warn me next time you’re
going to do that,” he scowled.

Snickering unapologetically, I
relaxed my powers and lowered him back down to the floor. “You
really better go now.”

“Talking to Avin, huh?”
His tone was light, but there was no amusement in his gaze. I
couldn’t blame him. He’d already met Avin twice. The first time was
at Aran, and suffice to say, they hadn’t hit it off. The second
time was at the partnering ceremony. I tried not to think about how
stunning Stelli had looked that night, dazzling in silver and
draped in Jonaz’s arms. Drop-dead gorgeous, amazing figure, kind,
smart…
oh stop!
With effort, I shook the memory off and returned
to the conversation at hand.

“
You know I’m just telling
her what she wants to hear.” I frowned.

“Yeah, I know,” he
admitted. “But that doesn’t make it any easier.”

I tried not to dwell on it as I
pushed Jonaz out onto the balcony adjoining my bedroom. He’d scaled
quite a height to sneak in and I had to admit I was impressed.
Climbing over the railing, he held on with one hand and grabbed my
waist with the other, pulling me closer as he balanced precariously
on the edge.

“I want to kiss you.” His
voice was quiet and low, his words simple. But his eyes told a more
complicated story. Yearning, mixed with wariness and
uncertainty.

My body leaned impulsively
towards him, while my mind screamed with warning. “We can’t risk
it,” I whispered as paranoia turned my eyes to the sky. Anger
flashed over Jonaz’s face in a violent suddenness. It was such a
shocking contrast to the usual warmth of his features I flinched
and pulled back.

“
One day soon I won’t care
anymore,” he retorted. “I won’t care how they punish
me.”

“
Or me?” I asked quietly.
It had the intended effect, sobering his rebellious
expression.

“
I’d never let them punish
you.” His reply was soft, but his hand curled harder around my
waist, his fingers grazing the small of my back. Despite the fire
in his gaze, I shivered. I knew he mightn’t be able to keep such a
promise. How could we fight a Government no one else dared to
challenge? We were nothing, two tiny, insignificant stars in a
galaxy of intricately controlled precision. How could we make a
difference, or shine bright enough to change the order of
things?

“
When the time is right
and we can take our time, I will kiss you again, Twell.”

My cheeks grew warm under his
gaze, while my heart pulsed with hope, longing, and fear. Not
needing to have the last word for a change, I smiled shyly back.
Releasing me with a sigh, Jonaz pulled back into the shadows and
disappeared from view.

After, he’d scaled back down to
the street, I stared out into the darkness, listening to his
footsteps fading and then his pod starting, and lifting into the
night. It was a strange sensation that whenever he left me now, I
felt unsettled and anxious, until he was with me again.

Before I went back inside,
I glanced apprehensively up at the sky once more. There were no
government crafts spying down on me that I could see. There was
nothing but the endless canvas of night and the twinkling stars
framing the planet of Abrwarz as the centrepiece. It glowed blood
red in warning of its deadly inhabitants, yet it wasn’t the reason
my chest had grown tight with anxiety. I realized I had no idea how
far my own people would go to make sure I obeyed their rules. The
quickening pace of my heartbeat told me it might not be long until
I found out.

Chapter
Two

I was roused by the soft
light of dawn filtering through my glass ceiling, touching my skin
with warmth. Also, Shay was rapping not-so-lightly on my door. I
was
not
a morning person and frequently used my telekinesis to
fight with my alarm clock. I couldn’t turn Shay’s knocking off
though (as she well knew) so I was forced to get up without a
fuss.

After a shower, I fixed my hair
into a no nonsense braid that fell down to my waist, then dressed
rather grumpily in the black army uniform I’d been instructed to
wear. Black unisex pants matched the short-sleeved black shirt. It
was plain, except for the Comian army emblem, which was positioned
over my heart. The gold circle held three gold wavy lines
representing water. In the centre, splitting the lines was a gold
figure in a protective crouching stance, arms spread wide in
defence. It represented a soldier, a protector of Como. Someone
like me.

I stared at the emblem feeling
slightly detached as I tried to connect the figure with myself. The
fabric of the uniform was flexible and easy to move around in, or
kick, tumble, fall…you get the idea. Boring and it did nothing for
my pale complexion. The chunky calf-high, black boots were even
more of a fashion fail, way too hideous to describe further.

Before I had a chance to get
worked up, Shay was shoving a vial of energy juice into my hands
and hustling me into her pod. Then we were lifting off and on our
way to Caran army base, from where I’d be departing. Shay kept up a
light chatter, engaging me enough to distract me from my nerves
until we were there. Then I found myself standing on a huge landing
for official army pods and unattractively gawking at a humongous
aircraft. Several dozen freaked out cadets were milling in front of
it. Some were from Caran, like me, but I guessed the rest had
already been picked up from our neighbouring districts and
cities.

As I scanned the unfamiliar
faces, I easily picked out my friend Sazika. Her sunset red hair
whipped around in the breeze as she darted in and out of hugs with
each member of her family in farewell. She had a real genetic
mother and father and even more rare, siblings. Three older
brothers, (whom she assured me made her gift of invisibility a
valuable asset of survival when growing up) were taking turns
poking, pushing, and generally providing her with annoying forms of
brotherly affection.

“There’s Sazika,” I said to
Shay, because now was the awkward part where we said goodbye. I
wasn’t too worried about her reaction because, as I’d said before,
she wasn’t the emotional scene making type. I however, was feeling
a little misty myself. I didn’t know if or when I’d see Shay again,
or how long the war might last. Plus, I’d never actually been away
from her more than a night or two let alone several moons. I
reminded myself I was graduated and old enough to be partnered…and
to suck it up.

Shay stretched out her arm and
pressed her hand to my cheek. I raised my own hand in turn and
mirrored her, so we stood connected for a moment. Our eyes met and
held, and in that way we were able to say goodbye without needing
to put it into words.

“I’ll be up at S3 for the next
few moons, if you need to contact me,” Shay said. I knew she meant
one of the remote outer space stations. She travelled there
frequently to collect intelligence from other planets, including
and especially Abwarz. I nodded and smiled and then without further
ado, Shay was getting back into her pod and leaving, not even
hanging around to wave me off. Bless her. I turned automatically to
look for Sazika again and she popped up right in front of me.

“Twell!” Sazika cried in a
little voice that matched her tiny frame. Small and lithe with big
wide-eyes, Sazika’s timid appearance definitely disguised her skill
and bravery. She’d attacked Raze without hesitation to defend me in
the caves and we’d become closer friends as an inevitable
result.