Whispers in Autumn (27 page)

“Will they be together?” Earth speaks, his black-and-blue eyes pinning Ko with an intense stare.

Ko shakes his head. “No, Pamant. They will not meet. I thought it best to keep them apart. That way, if something happens to one, well, they won’t all be compromised before we can come up with a solution.”

“What about Ben?” Flacara poses the question, voice devoid of hope. She twists her long red curls between her fingers the way I sometimes do when I’m upset. Her eyes are downcast, tears winding over her cheeks. In spite of everything, her sorrow tugs at my heart.

“Ben is dead. So are Na, Gisela, and Sophie. I’m so sorry. The Others executed your Partners this morning. I hoped they would only banish them with the Broken, but the Prime is angry.” Ko’s own voice is full of remorse; tears well up and leak out of his eyes. His voice lowers to a whisper. “The Prime is enraged.”

The words hit my ears and though I understand what they mean it takes a minute for them to soak in. The truth. The Broken might not all be disposed.

Ben must be my father, and he’s dead.

Lucas’s mother is gone. Two additional human lives, parents of our kindred we have never met, were snuffed out because they fell in love with the strange, beautiful people sitting in this room. Heaviness settles in my chest and my heart beats sideways under the weight. My father is dead. I’ll never know him, never see him smile at me or kiss my head the way Mr. Morgan does sometimes. The scene in front of us interrupts my spiraling train of thought as it continues to play out.

“They’re dead because we loved them.” Air, who has been silent for some time and whose real name we don’t know, stands and stalks toward the front window.

Lucas’s father follows him to the front of the room and sits on the small bench behind the strange black piece of wood. Without warning, a haunting and beautiful sound emerges from inside the bulky wood.

My breath eases its way out of my chest and my ears soak up the sound until it fades several minutes later. “What was that?”

“The humans call it music. The instrument is a piano.”

“It’s beautiful.” The echoing strains ache in my heart. In some strange way the sound reflects the thick air of mourning hanging over the room. Shared grief settles in my blood and drags like sediment at the bottom of a stream.

Apa stands from behind the piano and puts his hand on Air’s shoulder. “Come, Vant. There is nothing we can do to bring them back. We loved them. They loved us. We did not lie to them, and we all knew the risk. Let us mourn. Then let us prepare for our own punishment.” He grinds out the words, and the choking quality in his voice tells me he’s holding back tears.

Horror numbed my thoughts upon first learning these people are my family. Still, the fact that they loved their Partners and are scared for us—their children—is obvious. Watching them grieve, comfort one another, and strive to ensure our safety confuses the terror their faces have triggered my entire life.

Without warning, Cadi snaps her fingers and the warm, stately house disappears. We’re in a cold, impersonal building and a new scene. It looks and feels like a Cell, more institutional than anything else. The ceiling stretches out of sight, exactly like the giant black building the Others took me to in the Wilds to be refreshed.

Cadi walks forward with her head bowed. “This happened seven weeks ago.”

She reaches the end of the hall and pushes open a metal door. It protests as it swings inward, hinges squeaking loud enough to make me glance around even though Cadi has promised no one can see us. The room is full of Others, and the urge to turn and run pumps adrenaline into my muscles.

My fears quiet when our approach goes unnoticed. The Others sit in silence on raised platforms, like bleachers, and surround us on three walls. There are six Others on a bench at the front of the room, on the fourth wall, and they’ve restrained Ko in a chair facing them. He doesn’t struggle, but watches them with careful eyes.

The Other in the front and center looks down at him with an unforgiving, infinite black gaze. Three thick obsidian bands ring his neck. I’ve never seen him before, though his position of authority rings loud and clear, not only because of his seat or slightly altered appearance but simply by his countenance. I lean over to Cadi, barely daring to open my lips. “Who’s that?”

“The Prime Other. Their leader.”

The Prime Other.

He leans forward, fixing his prisoner in place with a glittering black glare. “Do you know why you are here, Ko?”

“Yes, sir. You drugged me and probed my memories while I slept last night. You know I helped the Elements almost twelve years ago.” He states this matter-of-factly, no trace of disrespect in his tone.

Cadi’s gaze never leaves the scene, but she addresses us. “The Others’ minds are connected in a series of tunnels and caverns. They speak to one another, give orders, display pictures. They can cause pain. Unimaginable pain.”

Her voice cracks and falls silent as the Other stands, looming over the heavy table. “Your sympathy to the plight of the humans concerns us more than your allegiance to the Elements. They have been dealt with.”

Ko shrugs. “Separating them was wise.”

Cadi whispers again, her head angled toward us but her anguished eyes glued to the scene. “Together, the Elements are more powerful than the remaining Others combined. After the Prime learned of their treason, he separated them physically.”

The Other settles back into his chair with a disgruntled snort. “I am not interested in your opinion on the Elements. I am now aware offspring resulted from these abominable Partnerships. I want them.”

“You cannot have them. Their exact whereabouts are not known to me or anyone else, and it shall remain that way. Pardon me for saying so, but your probes are no match for my mental abilities in this area. You are powerful, but the secrets surrounding those children are too well protected for you to—” He breaks off with a gasp, writhing in agony as his head snaps back and pounds against the chair over and over again.

An eerie wail slips from his lips, the sound stabbing me in the heart until I can’t stand it for another moment. My hands cover my ears but the piercing noise only softens. The screams of the Other boy Deshi knocked to the floor with a simple glance ring in my memory, mingling with Ko’s as they grow louder.

Cadi turns her back on the scene, shoulders shaking as it goes on for several minutes. Finally Ko goes limp, liquid trickling from his bottom lip where he bit it. It should be blood, but it’s a golden color instead of red. Dark amber circles that weren’t there a moment ago ring his eyes and the midnight blue of them is shot through with deep yellow veins. Another rivulet of golden blood trickles from his nose. His head lolls off to one side and he makes no effort to right himself. Lucas’s hand finds mine and we both squeeze.

We figured they could enter one another’s minds, but seeing the torture confirmed firsthand shakes me. The thought of the presence that prodded my mind the night Mrs. Morgan Broke swirls dizzying nausea in my gut.

I hear Fire’s voice so often, proffering comfort and urging me forward. If she can get inside my mind, all the Others can.

“Now, Ko. Are you going to tell us where to find the children, or are we going to have to pick their location out of your dying brain? In case you’ve forgotten, all we need from you Spritans is your genes. Your bodies are disposable.” The Prime Other’s voice is soft and laden with menace. The subtle hint of glee sickens me. Lucas’s hand rubs the small of my back but offers no comfort.

The Prime’s voice leaves no room for doubt. If Ko keeps our secret, it won’t be without great personal cost. I doubt it’s possible to withstand the kind of abuse the Others are capable of dishing out. Not for long.

Not forever.

Cadi snaps her fingers. I blink several times, adjusting to the candlelit kitchen in the building in the Wilds. I put my arms around myself, trying to hold it together. A short while ago it felt safe here. Now, no place will ever feel safe again. Lucas’s eyes meet mine, full of all the distress, confusion, and guilt fighting for prominence in my own heart.

Cadi tries speaking but her voice breaks and she pauses, blinking rapidly. After a deep breath she finds the strength to continue. “I’m not sure how much he’s revealed about your enchantments—protections—or your possible talents. Their means of torture are…convincing. He is strong, but no one can hold out indefinitely. They might know everything. At the very least, they are searching for you. Quietly, at the moment.”

Responsibility for Ko’s predicament has the substance and weight of a giant lead ball tied to my heart, pulling against each beat. My entire life his name, his note, has anchored me. His name was my promise that someday life will make sense. To see him imprisoned, suffering over the knowledge of my existence, makes a lump settle in my throat and my eyes burn.

“They know how we smell.” Lucas’s voice sounds hard, dead.

Cadi’s head snaps up. “Are you sure?”

Lucas tells her about Deshi and dismay streaks her features.

“They will stop at nothing to find you. Nothing.”

“But why? Why do they care about us at all?” The obnoxious, high-pitched whining of my own voice makes me want to slap myself, so I focus on calming down.

“The Others are seekers of knowledge, for one thing, and are scholars in the area of gene manipulation. They want to answer the simple question of what you might be capable of, given your parentage. Also because they can’t run the risk that you possess a hidden ability that could undermine them. Your planet is apparently rich in the resource they need to survive. They aren’t ready to go. Last, the Elements humiliated the Prime by deliberately disobeying him. He’ll make an example of them by killing you.”

Our odd talents will be the death of us. The heat, the cold, the undoing of the human veils. Lucas’s hand squeezes my knee, hard. It feels like a warning. I keep my mouth shut about our abilities.

Lucas keeps his hand on me, chilling through my jeans. “What’s the resource they need? How do they choose their host planets?”

Cadi keeps her eyes on her cold cocoa and bites her lower lip. She passes a hand absentmindedly over the top and it steams again. “I can’t answer that. It’s a secret the Others guard with single-minded tenacity. Only they know the source of their survival. From the moment of birth each Other mind is constrained, to a certain extent. The part of their brains harboring the secrets of their people is cut off from their ability to communicate.” She shakes her head, looking frustrated. “I’m sorry. It’s not easy to explain. But this restricted area in their brain is impenetrable, as far as we know.”

“So, they’re good at the mind-control thing and erecting these veils that make people believe they’re happy with the way things are. How did they do it, though? Take over Earth? There are so many more humans than Others.” My teeth clack together as late autumn wind rattles the windows.

“You’re cold. Let me help.”

Cadi snaps her fingers again and the kitchen goes black.

Nothingness surrounds me, and in the moments before my vision returns, the smell of jasmine, fresh and in bloom, wafts beneath my nose. Honeysuckle. Roses. Next, a warm, satisfying breeze tickles my cheek. Water laps gently, rhythmically. Tension unwinds from my neck and back as comfort and calm envelops me.

A small hand presses down on my arm. “You can open your eyes.”

The scene that greets me nearly knocks me out of my chair.

Wait.

I’m no longer sitting in a chair, but a boat. The floor is greenish blue water, and in front of me the sun sinks toward the horizon. The foliage is in bloom; the yellows, reds, pinks, purples, and blues dazzle me. The trees are green and lush like the grass covering the ground underneath them. Small pricks of light blink in the dusk.

Lucas gasps in amazement beside me, looking around in every direction. Cadi reclines in the bow of the boat with us, wearing shorts and a tank top. Her tiny feet are bare. She’s adjusted other small details as well. Instead of long pants, Lucas wears tan shorts and a short-sleeved polo shirt the same color of blue as the one he had on before. Instead of sneakers, he has on flip-flops.

Looking down at my own clothes, I feel a bit naked. The modest jeans and sweater have been replaced with a light pink dress. Small embroidered white flowers adorn the flowing skirt, which lands a bit shorter than Mrs. Morgan would have approved of. The top of the dress exposes a fair amount of my chest, and is supported by skinny straps. I’ve heard of these—sundresses. Never had an occasion to wear one, though. My feet are still stuck in my dirty white sneakers, but she’s stolen my socks.

I’m not cold, despite the generous amount of exposed skin. The hot breeze moves through the trees, floating the intoxicating aroma of the flowers out to the boat. A force—powerful, foreign, yet somehow recognizable—blossoms in my center. It flows through my organs, spills out my pores. I feel like I can do anything.

This is so strange. And awesome. Definitely awesome.

Lucas regains his powers of speech but doesn’t stop staring at me. “What is this place?”

“It’s not an actual place. It’s summer. I thought Althea might like to see it.”

She was right. “How did we get here?”

“Just a trick of the imagination. A rather simple one, honestly. We aren’t physically here, we are still sitting in the kitchen.”

“I belong here,” I breathe out.

Cadi studies me with a sorrowful stare. “Yes, you do.”

Lucas grimaces and wipes his forehead, already beading with sweat. “Little warm, don’t you think?”

Cadi laughs, the sound lilting and dreamlike. “For you, Lucas. If we get another chance, I would be happy to show you winter, though I much prefer summer myself. No offense.” She leans back on her elbows and dangles her bare feet over the edge of the boat. Her toes make little circles in the water. “I’ll answer your question now that you’re comfortable. First of all, the Others don’t control minds but emotions. Their veil separates beings from powerful feeling, anything that might inspire one to act out. Love. Anger. Affection. Jealousy. Protectiveness. Your species has more than most, a factor they did not expect and that gave them trouble at the beginning. They Broke many thousands before figuring out they have to purge the pent-up emotions.”