Hope (Book 2, Harvester of Light Trilogy; Young Adult Science Fiction) (8 page)

My words broke
through his manufactured composure.  I saw the hurt enter his eyes and twist
his face in anguish.

“Skye, you don’t
understand…”  He reached a hand out to me but I pulled away and turned to walk
back to our transporter.

No explanation
could make me understand the man he had become. 

My friends joined
me in the transporter.  None of them tried to console me or pretend they
understood what I was feeling.  I sat staring at the seats Collin, Flash and
Jack had occupied only minutes before.  I was sure if I touched their seats
they would still be warm.  For some reason I felt guilty over their fates even
though I had nothing to do with the decision to bring them to the harvesters. 
But I was part of the reason they had been traded to the real-life monsters of
our world.

I wondered if
Margaret regretted her moment of inhumanity when she agreed to go along with
the terms of Lucena’s truce.  Now she was the one being traded for others
safety.  Perhaps it was just a perversion of fate she would most likely find
herself in a harvester breeding camp now after willingly sacrificing so many
lives to finally be allowed into paradise.  My mother always said what you give
to the world is what you receive back.  I guess she was right.

I’m not sure how
much time passed as we waited for the caravan of transporters to start their
procession to the second Southern Kingdom.  It was probably close to an hour.  I
had pretty much zoned out by then becoming lost in my own little world
remembering happier times with my family trying to recapture the father I once
knew, unable to reconcile my memories with the father I had now.

My father’s angry
voice could be heard outside the transporter just before the door was pulled
off its hinges causing us all to jump in our seats.  Only one thing could display
such an incredible act of strength, a harvester.

When he stepped
through the door, I thought maybe I had fallen asleep and was having a
nightmare or at the very least hallucinating.

Freddy, dressed in
a black harvester uniform, stood in the doorway of the transporter.  Blue
barked at Freddy and made to attack him, but Kirk tugged on his leash
preventing him from rushing forward.

“Long time, no see,
Skye my love,” he said.

Ian made to get up
but was quickly forced to sit back down by Freddy’s stun baton.

“Don’t push me,
Ian.  Any excuse to kill you will work for me.”

“What do you want,
Freddy?” I asked, fearing I already knew the answer.

“The Queen said it
was time for you to come home, love.  She’s grown impatient.  She told me if
you try to fight, I should kill as many people as needed to gain your
cooperation,” Freddy looked around at my friends like he was trying to decide
which one of them would die first.

I stood up.

“Skye, no,” Ash
said, grabbing hold of my arm.

I looked down at
him.  “It’s no use, Ash.  Don’t you see that?  I might not agree with the
things my father has done but I can’t say for sure I wouldn’t have done them to
protect you guys.  Besides, what Lucena wants she always gets, eventually.  I
refuse to have your blood on my hands.”

“Ah, so you’re
Ash,” Freddy said.  “The Queen said to bring you and Zoe along too.  She has
some plans for the two of you from what I gather.”

“No!” I surprised
even myself with the force I put behind the word.  Freddy even jumped
slightly.  “Leave them alone.”

Freddy shrugged. 
“Like you said, love:  what the Queen wants she gets one way or the other.  If
you want me to start killing people to win your complete cooperation, I will.  Kirk
first perhaps?  Or maybe little mute Teegan?  She shouldn’t make much noise
while I squeeze the life out of her.”

Ash and Zoe both
stood at my sides, sacrificing themselves to save the others.

“Then you should
take me too,” Ian said standing to his feet.

Freddy punched him
in the gut with his stun baton forcing him to sit back down.

“Now why would I
take a git like you to see the Queen?  I don’t figure you’ve used sweet Skye’s
blood to cure yourself yet since you’re still with the bleeding heart humans.”

“Leave him alone
Freddy,” the words sounded like an order when I had actually meant them as a
plea.

“Or what?”

“You may still
think of me as the little girl you tried to auction off,” I said.  “But I’m the
Queen’s daughter.  Do you honestly think she wouldn’t give me your head if I
asked for it on a shiny silver stake?  If I were you, I would watch what you
say and what you do to the people I care about.  If you’re smart, you won’t
make me into more of an enemy.”

I wasn’t sure
where the words were coming from but they had the desired effect on Freddy.  I
had knocked him off balance.  He wasn’t as sure about himself anymore.  If
nothing else, the harvesters feared the Queen more than death.  They knew she
was the most heartless of them all and nothing could be put past her. 

“We need to be
leaving,” Freddy said.  “There’s a helicopter waiting to take us to the Queen’s
residence.”

I took a deep
breath and felt Zoe grab hold of my hand.  I squeezed it reassuringly even
though I had no idea what was in store for us. 

When we stepped
out of the transporter, I saw my father’s body lying face down on the ground. 
I ran to him and turned him over looking for any signs of life.   He was
breathing but a large red lump was forming on his right temple.  I lifted my
hand to heal the wound.

“Maybe you should
just let it be,” Doc Riley said, coming to stand on the other side my father.

I looked up at
her.  “Why?”

“It’ll keep him
unconscious until we reach the second facility.  It might be easier for him if
he doesn’t have to see you go, child.”  Doc Riley pointedly looked around at
the other harvesters standing nearby.

I knew what she
was getting at.  She knew if my father were awake he would do whatever he could
to keep me with him.  Such a foolish act would probably lead to his death or
the death of others.

I pulled my hand
away and leaned down to kiss his forehead.

“Tell him I love
him,” I said to Doc Riley.

“He knows that,
child.”

“Tell him anyway”

“Can I tell him
you forgive him?”

“You can tell him
I understand why he’s done the things he’s done.”

I couldn’t say I
forgave him of his decisions, but I knew the burden of being responsible for so
many innocent lives was the reason he agreed to sacrifice others to keep the
ones he cared about safe.

“Let’s go,” I
turned away just in time to see the President standing with a harvester near
the base of the mountain laughing like they were old friends enjoying an inside
joke.  I just stared at him trying to control the rage I felt.  He was worse
than the harvesters.  At least they had a reason for being the way they were. 
He didn’t have the luxury of that excuse.  Supposedly he still had a soul, but
I guess that wasn’t the only requirement to be classified as a human anymore. 
Somewhere along the way, the line had been blurred.

“Where’s the helicopter?”
I asked Freddy.

He started to walk
in the opposite direction of the transporters.  I grabbed Zoe and Ash’s hands
leading them towards the next stage of our journey together.  I didn’t know
what awaited us, but I did know one thing.

I had found my way
back to Jace.

Chapter 8

We rode in a cable
car to the top of the mountain where Freddy said a black hawk helicopter was
waiting for us.

“Why do you think
she wants me and Zoe to come?” Ash asked me as we sat on the bench in the
middle of the car.

“Probably to keep
me in line,” I answered.  “She knows I’ll take the first opportunity to get
away from her.  But if she keeps you and Zoe hostage, I can’t do anything
unless I know we can all go together.  It’s the same way she blackmailed Jace
into staying.”

“Do you think
she’ll let us see Jace again?” Zoe asked hopefully.

“You can bet on
it,” Ash answered for me.  “She’ll use whatever leverage she has to make Skye
want to stay.”

I could hear the
jealousy in Ash’s voice but chose to ignore it.  We had more important things
to think about than a silly romantic rivalry.

“I sort of doubt
you see Jace anytime soon,” Freddy said as he looked out the window watching
the ground beneath us slip away.  “The Queen’s been keeping him busy.”

“Doing what?” I
asked.

“Finding more
freaks like you.  He’s brought in at least three since you’ve been gone.”

“What’s Lucena
been doing with them?” I asked.

Freddy shrugged. 
“Don’t know.  She keeps them caged in her little laboratory like rats.  Guess
she’s running experiments on them or something.  Can’t say I care what she’s
doing as long as it keeps her busy.”

“Why do you say
that?”

“Because love,
when the Queen gets bored she gets nasty.  If you think the little games I
played in Alliance were bad, you haven’t seen what a truly depraved mind can
come up with.”

I shivered.  Not
so much from the thought of what Lucena was capable of but of what I might
become.  Was I seeing a glimpse of my future self?  I had half her DNA after
all.  Her blood coursed through my veins.  And my father, well, I knew what he
was willing to do even if it was to save lives.  How close was I to becoming a
monster?  Would I be able to turn away from my legacy and forge my own path? 

Once we were
seated in the helicopter, Freddy instructed the pilot to take us to the castle.

“Castle?” I asked.

“Don’t worry your
pretty little head about it, princess.  We’ll be there in a little over an
hour.  Now shut the hell up so I can have a little peace and quiet before we
have to meet her.”

The Queen had a
castle?  This I had to see.

I didn’t think it
was possible but the world looked even bleaker from the sky.  Miles of dead
earth surrounded us.  Trees looked like white skeletons against a sea of brown
and gray.  It was like a still life portrait of a wasteland.

A little over an
hour later, we arrived at the Queen’s castle.  I recognized it instantly with
its towering turrets decorated with gargoyles and tall water fountain sitting
in what once was a large grassy front lawn.

It was the
Biltmore Estate.  I’d read about it in a book once.

The helicopter
landed on the south side of the fountain.  Freddy instructed us to follow him. 
As we walked across the stone gravel towards the front door, it opened but I
couldn’t see anyone standing in the entry.

“And of course
she’ll want to make a dramatic entrance,” Freddy mumbled.

We followed Freddy
into the main foyer of the mansion.  As we entered, a circular arboretum
directly to our right caught my eyes.  It was the only other place besides the
Southern Kingdom I had seen healthy growing plants. The bright greens, reds,
yellows and blues of the ornamental vegetation seemed obscene for a woman like
Lucena Day to be nurturing if you considered how they contrasted with the gray
world she helped create.

“Welcome home,
Skye.”

To the left of us
was a grand granite spiral staircase.  Lucena walked down it with the erect
posture and grace of a true Queen.  She wore a short, elegant black sheath
dress with horizontal pleats and sheer short sleeves.

I didn’t reply to
my biological mother, mostly because I was having trouble breathing.  Lucena
looked so similar to my mom.  I wondered why I never realized it before that
night by the barrier.  It was no wonder I always assumed I resembled my
mother.  The physical resemblance unnerved me more than realizing I was coming
face to face with true evil. 

Lucena came to
stand in front of us never taking her eyes off of me which compounded the
effect she was having on me.  A pleasant smile was plastered on her face like
any good hostess, but considering whom she was it looked more sinister than
welcoming.

“Leave, Freddy,”
Lucena said dismissively, without even looking in Freddy’s direction. Freddy
bowed to Lucena and went back out the door behind us with quick strides.  I
remembered Freddy once looking forward to being in the Queen’s favor.  Now it
seemed like he couldn’t wait to get away from her.  Perhaps he got more than he
bargained for and now regretted ever meeting me.

“Won’t you all
come join me in the arboretum?  I had the cook prepare some snacks for you. 
After everything you’ve been through today, I’m sure you’re hungry.”

“Why are we here?”
I asked, finally finding my voice.  If she wanted to kill us, she would have
done it by now.  I needed to know what her real motives for ‘rescuing’ the three
of us were.

Lucena’s smile
faltered.  “Come and have some refreshments first and we can talk while you
eat.”

“Thanks,” Ash
said, cutting me off before I could argue for more information.  “I am kinda
hungry.”

Lucena looked at
Ash for the first time, sizing him up in one sweeping glance.  “You’ve grown
quite a bit, Ash.  I think you were ten the last time I laid eyes on you.” 
Lucena’s gaze slid over to Zoe.  “And you seem to have grown overnight, Zoe.” 
Lucena extended her arm out in the direction of the arboretum.  “Please, let’s
sit and talk.”

Ash took me by the
arm and led me to the arboretum.

“What are you
doing?  We’re not going to pretend things are normal,” I hissed at him.

“We’re in her
home,” he replied.

He didn’t have to
say more than that.  I got the hint.  This was her turf.  If I pissed her off
too much, there was no telling what she might do to us or at least to Ash and
Zoe.  Me she seemed to want to keep safe for whatever reason.  So in his own
subtle way, Ash was asking me to behave myself and not lose my temper.  My life
might not be in jeopardy here but his and Zoe’s were.  One or both of them were
disposable pawns in Lucena’s game.