Defiance Rising (23 page)

“It won’t.
 
Not if you let me help you,” Kyan says.
 

“And you think
you
can help her?”
 
Bastien scoffs.

I glare at him and he wipes the smirk from his face.
 
I turn to face Kyan full on.
 
“How do you propose to help me?”

“By training you to control your emotions and harness your will.
 
It will take time and no small amount of effort on your part.
 
I can’t say it will be easy, because there’s never been anyone like you before, but I’m willing to try if you are.”

Bastien throws up his hands in the air with irritation.
 
“That’s just great.
 
We’ve got a traitor Caldonian who’s willing to ‘train’ you but doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing.
 
This doesn’t feel right, Illyria.”

“I know.”
 
And I do.
 
I rub my hands along my arms, willing the goosebumps to disappear.
 
The memory of that presence in my mind terrifies me, as do the images burned into my thoughts.
 
“Kyan is the best shot I have.
 
You thought so yourself, didn’t you?”

“Semantics.”
 
His face darkens with anger.
 

Kyan appears at my shoulder.
 
I stiffen but don’t back away for fear of the ensuing fight Bastien is sure to initiate.
 
“I can help her, Bastien, but it’s going to take trust.”

“Trust,” Bastien scoffs again, rolling his eyes.
 
“Yeah, like she’s going to trust scum like you.”

“I’m not talking about Illyria.”
 
His pointed gaze makes Bastien stiffen.

“Me?”

“You are her protector, are you not?”
 
I can hear the lilt of barely restrained laughter on his voice.
 
Such show of chivalry must not be common among Kyan’s people.

“I am.”
 
Bastien raises his chin in defiance.
 

“Then you are going to have to bring her to me each day for training and trust that no matter what I ask of her, I’m doing it for her benefit.”

“I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”
 
Bastien’s hesitation comes through loud and strong.
 
I place a warning hand on his arm.

“I understand, but this is the way it must be. Commander Drakon is aching to get his hands on Illyria.
 
That much is obvious by Joce’s presence.
 
He’s getting desperate.
 
We can’t let Illyria be captured before she has learned control.
 
The effects would be devastating.”

“Not to mention it would totally ruin my day,” I grumble, thinking about the greedy glint I saw in the commander’s eyes the night he watched me take out his men.
 
He’s power hungry, that much is for sure.

“So what’s your plan then?” Bastien asks.

“It’s simple.
 
There is a rock formation about an hour south of your cave.
 
Do you know it, Illyria?”

I scrunch up my nose, thinking of the landscape.
 
It’s a densely populated area with gnarled brambles and overgrowth of trees.
 
As such, we have avoided that area for the most part.
 
I’m not a fan of digging thorns out of my legs for hours on end, but I know of the place he speaks.
 
There is a small arena in the middle of the brambles, about half the size of the Temple, which is surrounded by tall rounded boulders that create a nearly perfect enclosed circle.
 

Eamon and I discovered it about a year ago when we were out hunting.
 
A young doe managed to get herself trapped inside, her leg snapped in three places.
 
I don’t like killing young animals but, upon Eamon’s assurance that the deer wouldn’t last the night with the wolves moving into our area, I made the shot.
 
My only condolence is that she didn’t suffer.

“I know it.”

“Meet me there when the sun is high each day.
 
I will be waiting.”

“I can’t.
 
Bastien and I are heading into the City.”

“Why?”
 
Kyan’s question comes out like a bark.

“We’re hunting the Diggers.”

“You won’t find them there.”
 
Kyan glances between us.
 
“It’s a waste of a trip and highly dangerous.
 
It’s best for you to head back to camp.”

“I’m not taking orders from you,” Bastien says as he steps between us.
 

“It’s not an order.
 
It’s a suggestion.” Kyan says.
 
“You want to keep her safe, right?”
 

Bastien’s jaw clamps down as he nods.
 
“Of course I do.”

“Good.
 
Then take her back home and meet me tomorrow.”

Kyan turns to leave but I call out.
 
“How will you make it from the City each day?
 
That’s at least a four hour walk.”

“Who said I live in the City?”
 
He turns and winks.

Cocking his head to the side, Bastien scrutinizes the alien.
 
“I’ve got one more question.”

Kyan’s eyes narrow at Bastien and I can’t help but wonder if he already knows exactly what Bastien is going to ask.
 
“Why do you care so much about Illyria?”

For the first time, Kyan drops his gaze.
 
“I have my reasons.”

Bastien cross his arms over his chest, creating a rather imposing figure.
 
“I look forward to hearing them.”

Nineteen

I lead as we hike back toward the caves.
 
I shove thick branches out of our way as Bastien lets out an exaggerated sigh.
 
I’ve known he’s been ready to blow for the last thirty minutes, but hoped he would simmer down before we made it back to the cave.
 
Obviously, that’s not going to happen.

I release a branch and let it swing back, slapping Bastien right across the chest.
 
“Hey!” he shouts, rubbing his bruised flesh.

“Well, I had to do something to distract you from your grumpiness.”
 
I turn and face him, holding the strap of my bag tightly across my chest.
 
I don’t want him to see the tremor that continues to ripple through my fingers after our encounter with Kyan an hour ago.

“I’m not grumpy.
 
I’m worried.”

“About what?”

He rolls his eyes.
 
“Don’t you find it the least bit odd that Kyan just happened to be waiting to see how you handled yourself back there?”

I offer an indifferent shrug, but even a blind man wouldn’t have been fooled by my pathetic attempt.
 
“I don’t know.
 
Kyan is…mysterious.”

“That’s one word for it.
 
I’ve got a few more if you’d like to hear them.”

I laugh.
 
“You’ve got some serious trust issues, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.
 
He seems too invested in you.
 
Too…protective.”

“Hmm,” I scratch my chin, as if in deep thought.
 
“I wonder if that might describe another near complete stranger that I’ve run across this week.”

Bastien scowls.
 
“That’s not funny.”

“Didn’t intend for it to be.”
 
I close the gap between us and place my hand on his forearm.
 
I try not to think of how wonderful it felt to be wrapped in his embrace.
 
“I don’t think Kyan means to hurt me.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“Simple.”
 
I release his arm and reattach my grip on my pack.
 
“He’s let me walk away twice now and I’m still alive.”

I turn away and adopt a determined march.
 
Bastien rushes to catch up to me.
 
“So what do you think about this whole training thing?”

“I don’t know.
 
It could be good.”

His grasps my shoulder and forces me to stop, turning me to face him.
 
“I may still be sort of a stranger, but I know you Illyria.
 
You’re freaking out, but are too darn stubborn to admit it.”

I look down at the ground, unable to meet his gaze.
 
A ring of mud clings to the edge of my boots.
 
“So what?
 
Wouldn’t you be scared if you were me?”

Bastien gently lifts my chin with his finger.
 
“Of course I would be, but not for the reasons you think.”

I purse my lips as he continues.
 
“I think we’ve pretty much established that I’m not a fan of the Caldonians.
 
You know that my parents were killed by the aliens a while back, which is why you found me sewer diving with the rats in those subway tunnels, but I never really told you
how
they died.”

His face clouds over and he frowns.
 
“My dad was weak, malnourished, at the end.
 
Mom worried for weeks before they were captured that he was coming down with some sort of respiratory illness.”

My forehead furrows with confusion.
 
I’ve never heard that word before.
 

Bastien continues, staring blankly into the woods.
 
“He started coughing first.
 
Deep and kind of chunky sounding.
 
Then the wheezing began.
 
He couldn’t catch his breath.
 
Mom tried everything she could to ease his suffering, but he developed a fever and it burned right through him.”

“Nighttime was the worst.
 
He would cough until he was red in the face and then empty his stomach all over the floor.
 
He couldn’t keep anything down.
 
On that last day, his lips were starting to turn blue and mom got real quiet.
 
I knew something was wrong but was too afraid to ask.”

“So what happened?” I ask in a whisper.

Bastien closes his eyes to the memory.
 
“I went out in search of medicine.
 
Mom warned me to be careful not to be seen.
 
Guess I didn’t do such a great job.
 
The Squaddies waited for me to slip in the back door before they came in through the front.
 
I never even made it to my bedroom before my mom started screaming at me to run.”

“What did you do?”

He turns so I can only see his profile, but even that is enough to betray the pain etched on his face.
 
“I ran.”

My throat constricts at the sob that rises in his throat.
 
“I just left her there, defenseless.
 
I should have stayed.
 
I could have fought.”

“No,” I argue softly, placing my hand on his shoulder.
 
“You would have been taken too.”

“I know,” he whispers.
 
He wipes his nose with the back of his sleeve before he turns to look at me.
 
“I slipped through my window into the apartment next door.
 
I used to hate how close together the buildings were, but for once, I was grateful.
 
I snuck up to the roof and covered myself with a tarp so the Sky Ships wouldn’t see me when they arrived.”

“I saw them drag my father out into the street.
 
He was so weak he could barely hold up his head.”
 
He scuffs his toe into the dirt, digging a crater as he fights the emotions released by his admission.
 
“He tried to push them away, but they put their laser to his chest and pulled the trigger.”
 

“He fell to the ground, a huge charred hole where his heart had been only seconds before.
 
I can still hear my mother wailing as two men drug her behind a dumpster at the end of the street.
 
I buried my head and tried to cover my ears, but I could still hear them laughing as they abused her over and over again.”

“Oh god.”
 
I cup my hands over my mouth, horrified.
 

Bastien clears his throat and shoves his hands in his pocket.
 
“When they were done they just left her there, on the ground, and I knew she was gone.
 
I could see her hand sticking out from the dumpster.
 
It never moved.”

My fingers tremble as my hand falls from my mouth.
 
“What did you do?”

I’ve never seen such anger in a man before.
 
His beautiful eyes look as hard as ice.
 
“I waited for them to leave before I stood up.
 
When I did, I saw
him
on the rooftop across from me.
 
He was alone, unmoving.”

“Who?”

“Kyan,” he grinds out the alien’s name.

“But surely it was dark.
 
You can’t possibly know it was him,” I protest.

“I know,” he snaps.
 
“I’ve seen my fair share of aliens over the past few years and never have I seen one with his eye color.
 
He recognized me today.
 
I know it.
 
That’s why he was mocking me about being your protector.”

“No.” I shake my head, struggling to wrap my head around it.
 
“Even if it was him, why would he just let you go that night?”

“Honestly?
 
I think he’s been following me.
 
Following us.
 
I think he’s known all along this would happen.
 
My bet is he’s been waiting for us to find him.”

I fall silent and let his words sink in.
  
Is it possible that he could be right?
 
Kyan can read minds from long distances.
 
Maybe he really did plan all of this.
 

“You have to tell your friends, Illyria.
 
They have a right to know.”

I sigh, knowing he is right and despising him all the more for it.
 
“I’ll tell them.
 
I just need time.”

Bastien grabs my hand to stop me as I try to turn away.
 
“You’re supposed to start meeting with Kyan tomorrow.
 
There’s no more time left.”

To say that my friends took my coming out party well would be the understatement of the century.
 
Zahra was predictable in her fierce protests about my continuing to live within the confines of the cave.
 
For once, I think I might actually agree with her.
 
I’m like a ticking time bomb buried under hundreds of feet of sediment and rock.
 

Aminah was quiet but her turmoil was evident on her face.
 
I could tell she was trying to dig into my brain but, with each attempt, I threw up a block that only frustrated her more.
 
I don’t know how I managed to keep her out, maybe it was just instinct.

Toren was livid.
 
His face went through more shades of red than a ripening tomato.
 
He yelled a lot, but that was to be expected.
 
By the end of his tirade, he hit me with the ‘I’m really disappointed in you’ speech and stormed off with Aminah tucked firmly under his arm.
 
I can’t blame him.
 
I did technically place the entire commune in danger.

Eamon was the hardest to face.
 
His pain staked me right through the heart.
 
Even though I know he’s not angry at me for my actions, I’ve wounded him by hiding the truth…and sharing it with Bastien.
 

That night I went to the Cascades, needing the solitude and continuity of the rushing water to ease my guilt.
 
The cold spray of the water felt amazing against my skin.

I stayed for a long time after everyone else went to bed.
 
Even Bastien knew I needed to be alone and gave me some time to myself.

When I wake, curled into a tiny damp ball with my back pressed against the low row of stone near the falls, I groan and stretch to ease the pain in my lower back.
 
I welcome the pain as penance, but I know it’s not enough.
 
My friends feel betrayed and rightfully so.

“You should have told me,” a deep voice calls from the shadows.

I narrow my eyes and try to peer through the haze of mist that hangs in the air around me.
 
“Eamon?
 
How long have you been there?”

“Most of the night.
 
I figured I’d find you here.
 
You always did like to come to this spot to think.”

My laugh is forced.
 
I suck in a breath and try to pass if off as a cough but the silence between us is ripe with discomfort.
 
“You obviously have something on your mind.”