“The Defiance is in its infancy,” he’d said, pacing the stage of the museum’s amphitheater, hundreds of eyes locked on him. “But that doesn’t make us weak. We were not born to kneel. You are here today, which means you remember a time when unity did not mean uniformity, when diversity did not divide us. The time has come to dissolve ties to the NAO and the hate they represent, because we still hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. You are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You are standing when it would be easier to fall, fighting when it would be safer to stay silent. You are our future. You will fight and sacrifice for what is right, what is just, what isyours.”
My life had been nothing but fight and sacrifice since the moment those words left his mouth. He’d been so passionate, and I believed him when he said this was a fight worth dying for. But watching people die for a cause was easy. Keeping them alive to fight for it was harder. Theo’s zeal had faded long ago, sacrificed to the gods of war alongside his optimism, his morals, and me.
Finally, the silence between us reached a breaking point.
“Can I go?” I asked. He dipped his chin, and I excused myself in a hurry.
That night, sleep played hide-and-seek with me. As soon as my mind drifted, my subconscious would throw out the image ofLucas Scott, swathed in Hunter black so dark he was like a void of nothing, his catlike steps carrying him closer to me in that gritty alleyway. Half of me bathed in terror at that image. The other half sighed in relief.
I tossed to my other side, punching my pillow in hopes of comfort, trying not to think of the shrinking amount of time before I saw him again.
He’d killed people for me.
What was I supposed to do with that? How much risk had he undertaken, leaving his own soldiers dead in the street? What if he was caught, and I showed up at the Evanston house on Thursday only to find it empty?
I flopped onto my back and threw my arms over my face.
I didn’t want to return to his house, despite that he’d saved my life. The idea of facing him now, knowing the last time he saw me I was fleeing into the night at his command, made my body break into a cold sweat. I was alive thanks only to the mercy of a heartless killer. Pondering why made my head hurt, and I writhed in the misery of curiosity and sleeplessness.
They hurt my sister.
Why was it so difficult for me to believe his motivation? If I had a sister, wouldn’t I be angry she’d been hurt? But would I betray the Defiance for a slight against her? Would I abandon my entire belief system for it?
No, there had to be another reason, and I would likely never learn it.
Finally, I drifted to sleep.
As Thursday drew closer,dread sank dirty claws into me. I assumed he’d lead us to the slaughter, and I’d never have to see him again, but instead, he’d saved hundreds of lives.
Including mine.
It should have made me happy, but it left no recourse to refuse my assignment, knowing the potential advantage he’d provide. What if he helped me find Tekqua? No justification existed to renege on our agreement, and I became a twisted, muddled wreck as Thursday arrived.
What did he want from us? From me? Why wouldn’t he just tell me?
Was it worse towonderwhen he’d cash in, or for it to actually happen?
Hands shaking, I walked the mile to his meeting point, glancing over my shoulder every minute to find nothing but budding maple trees on abandoned neighborhood streets. When I reached the cement stairs to the front porch, I dragged my feet. The door wasn’t open, so I knocked.
No answer.
I turned the knob.
Locked.
Um…
Uncertain what to do, I tried the knob again. Funny enough,stilllocked.
Maybe I’d been right about his getting caught. Maybe the NAO had uncovered his duplicity and put him to death. Perhaps I’d never have to see him again. I stared at the locked door, calculating how long I needed to wait before I could consider him a no-show.
Was it utter villainy to hope another person was dead?
As I dithered, an icy presence slinked over my consciousness and hovered at my back. Fear wrapped around me like handssliding over my waist, pulling me backward, leaning down to whisper in my ear.
“Do you routinely wait at locked doors out in the open where anyone could see you?”
I froze at his voice, as smooth and dark as it had been the night he’d saved me.
