Passion (14 page)

“I
can’t believe you're here.  What are you doing here?”

Before
I could answer her, she looked past me and saw Liam.  “Liam, I’m so happy to
see you guys together.  You guys look good.” 

“Is
there somewhere we can talk?” Liam said as he gestured to the people who’d
stopped their activities in order to listen to the exchange.

“Yes,”
she said, getting a hold of her excitement.  She patted her large belly and
spoke down to it.  “Sorry, baby.  Mommy just got a little excited.”  She looked
up at us.  “Matthew and Jocelyn are over there.  They’ll be thrilled to see you
again.”

Melanie,
Liam and I entered the small tent, and Torrid and Rowan followed in but kept
their distance.

Smiling,
Jocelyn looked up at us, serene and wise.  “I knew I’d see you again,” she
said.  She gave me a warm embrace and offered me a seat.  “Matthew and I
finally feel somewhat normal after that ordeal at the Coliseum.  It was hard,
but thanks to all the djinns, we’re settled in now.  How are you doing?”

“I’m
recovered, but I don’t have time to settle down yet, not yet. Sanz and his Rogues
are still out there. Djinns and Arcadia won’t be safe until he’s defeated. We’re
headed out of Arcadia.  We want to find rebel forces, join forces, build a
strong army.  We want to fight the rogue Magical Ones, the Catchers and all the
armies Sanz can conjure up.”

“How
powerful are you djinns?” Jocelyn asked as she glanced at Torrid.

Torrid
grunted. “Under the right conditions, very powerful.  Why?”

“Our
first aid treatments are minimal.  We can bandage cuts and we’ve been able to
find several medicinal plants that help fight infections and fevers, but we
have a few people who are hurt beyond our capabilities of healing.”

Torrid
and Rowan glanced at one another.  “We can bring you to a djinn healer,” Torrid
said.  “Come with us.”  He looked at Melanie.  “We’ll take you along as well. 
That baby appears to be ready to make an appearance any time now.”

“I
certainly hope so,” Melanie said with a chuckle.  “He’s three days late
already.”

They
took a hold of Melanie’s arms and we all followed Rowan out.

With
Liam at my side, we ran into Sarah, who had joined the rebels, helping people find
shelter. She ran up to me and hugged me. “Kama! I never thought I’d see you
again. We have so much to catch up on… so much has happened.” I hugged my once
fashionable best friend from the Diamond District back. She now wore a pair of torn
jeans with a stained blouse, her brown hair pulled back into an utilitarian
ponytail. Our exchanges were warm but filled with dread and sorrow.  The weight
of war was heavy and everyone felt it.  She’d visibly aged since I’d last seen
her.  She fell in line and followed us to the djinn camp.  For a long while,
few words were spoken.

“Did
I hear correctly?” she finally said.  “You guys are headed out of Arcadia?”

“We’re
looking for the old city; the city my father fashioned Arcadia after,” Liam
said.

“You
think it’s out there?” Sarah asked.

Liam
pulled out his map.  “Yes, and I think my father is preparing for the second
round of this war.”

“I
wish you the best of luck.”

We
reached the djinn camp.

I
looked at Sarah, who appeared so wise and calm compared to the girl I’d always
known.  “Before we leave, I hope we have a chance to be alone.  I want to know
how you came to be a part of the rebellion.”

Barely
twenty minutes later, Rowan turned to address us all…Melanie, Jocelyn, Matthew,
Sarah, Liam, Torrid, and I.  “Welcome to our encampment.  Feel free to roam and
explore.  Feel welcomed and secure.”  He looked at me and Torrid.  “We’ll stay
for dinner, sleep here and prepare to leave at first light.”

Sarah
grabbed my arm and smiled.  “Perfect.  We have a lot to talk about and we can
catch up on everything tonight.  After dinner, we’ll get together and talk more
about what happened to me.” 

After
a modest dinner that had the whole clan together, the men went off to a hut
assigned to them while I followed Sarah to hers.

“How
have you been handling all this?” I said as I entered the one room hut with a
dirt floor and cut out window opening.  “Being on the run… looking for shelter where
you can find it.  Hardly what you're used to at home.”

“It’s
funny how quickly you can get accustomed to a new situation.  If you’d told me
months ago that I’d be living like this, I would have told you I’d rather die
first, but now… This is my life.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a tough life. 
Little time is wasted on leisure since the war broke out.  There’s always
something to do and that something isn’t often fun.  We do manage to find ways
of amusing ourselves from time to time, but the greater effort is simply put
into surviving.”

“Why
did you join the Rebellion? I’d never think you would be the kind of girl who
would.”

She
looked at her dirty fingernails.  “Even before you got your Life’s Plan I knew
something wasn’t right.  I can’t put my finger on it; maybe it’s something I
overheard my parents say; maybe it’s one of the many documents I often found
lying around.”  She shrugged and looked at me.  “I guess tidbits of information
I picked up here and there began to gnaw at my consciousness.  The perils of
being the daughter of two Committee members, I guess.”

“Sarah…”
I gasped, unable to believe my prissy friend with the perfect Life’s Plan had a
double life. “You were in the rebellion before the sky started falling, before
the war broke out in Arcadia?”

Sarah
nodded. “I sensed something big was going to happen.  Of course, I knew about
you, I learned a bit of what Matthew and Jocelyn had gone through and… well, my
parents were becoming more and more agitated.  Things weren’t running smoothly
and they refused to give me any information.  They basically patted me on the
head and told me not to worry; that everything would work out.”

She
sat down on the mat that would serve as her bed and patted the spot beside
her.  “I should’ve told you, but you were so worried about your Life’s Plan at
the time, and I was getting caught up in helping the Rebels get back into
Arcadia. What about you?  What’s with Liam and this Torrid guy?”

“We’re
fighting together.  Liam wants to find his father and I need to find my mother. 
We think Pim might have taken her to the old city.”

“I
know you’ll find her, Kama.  I think in finding her you’ll also find the love
you're looking for.”

I
shot her a questioning glare.  “What do you mean?  I’m not…”

“You're
lost between Torrid and Liam, and it shows.  I can understand.  I know Liam is
a fine young man, and Torrid appears to be incredibly in love with you.  It’s
not an easy decision to make.”

“No,”
I said with a solemn shake of my head.  “It’s not.”

“You’ll
find out soon enough.  The hard times you’ll face will be a true test.  The man
who loves you beyond all else will give everything and anything for you.”  I
patted her hand and gave her a big hug.  The war had changed all of us. In less
than a couple of weeks, we had all grown up.

***

I
did my best to hide my fears as we crossed the threshold of Arcadia.  I was
well surrounded with Torrid leading the way, his brother at his side and Liam
at mine.

But
the moment we left Arcadia, everything felt different.  The air was hot and
dry.  A strange but constant droning sound followed us though we were unable to
find its source.  The plants that grew in the Outskirts seemed on the verge of
death and there was nothing even remotely beautiful about it.

“We’ve
only walked a few yards outside the boundaries of Arcadia and already I hate
it,” I said.

“Imagine
what it must be like for those who’ve been banished.”

Dust
floated up around my feet with every step.  “I don’t even want to think about
it.  Sending young adults out here simply because they don’t agree with the
Life’s Plan they received is pure lunacy.  It’s cruel and vindictive.  How on
earth can someone be so ruthless?”

Liam
remained silent during my rant.

“Everyone
who’s been sent here is someone’s child, someone’s sibling, someone’s friend. 
It’s not only the one who’s been banished who has to suffer, but everyone left
behind in the fabricated perfection of Arcadia who has to go to bed at night
knowing their loved one is cold or hungry or in pain.”

“There’s
strength in numbers,” Liam said.

I
turned to him, too engulfed in my grief to grasp his words.

“I
don’t know how many citizens of Arcadia were banished and sent to this desolate
outskirt,” he said, “but if there’s an established settlement, an encampment,
it means they're grouping together and working as one.  It may be of little
consolation, but at least they're not out here suffering alone.”

I
cocked my head and grinned.  “Power in numbers, huh.  I hope you're right.  I
saw Melanie when she came back to Arcadia after her exile and she didn’t look
too powerful.  She was thin, gaunt, emaciated.  It’s still painful just
thinking about it, but now at least she’s doing well back at the djinn
encampment.”

“Maybe
while she was in the Outskirts, she had been unable to find the other exiles
and the Rebel Camps,” Liam said. “Sarah did mention most of the ones whom she
had helped sneak back into Arcadia, were from Rebel Camps.”

“I
know,” I said. “So, of course, there must be a few of them out here.”

As
a crack of thunder sounded in the distance, a thin mist of cool rain fell on
us.  At first the droplets were refreshing, bringing much needed moisture to
the dry air and cracked earth, but soon the refreshing droplets became cold
pellets that left us shivering, and left the earth slippery to walk on.  The
thickening mud hindered our progress and left us increasingly agitated.

Torrid
stopped walking.  “Take my jacket,” he said as he pulled it off his shoulders. 
“It’s thick and warm.  It’ll keep you dry.”

Liam
kicked the mud off his shoes and shrugged.  With only a thin shirt on, he had
nothing to offer me.

“Should
we fly in?” Rowan suggested.

Torrid
shook his head and Liam followed suit.

“I
wouldn’t mind flying in,” I said as my teeth chattered.

“Too
risky,” Torrid said.  “With the threat of General Adar finding them, they’ll be
looking toward the skies.  It’s better if they don’t see us arriving.”

Liam
nodded.  “That’s exactly what I was thinking.  I was also hoping for a chance
to run into the Rebellion.  Their location was approximate and I’m sure they’ve
found a setting off the beaten path with little chance of being seen, but we’re
sure to miss them if we’re flying overhead.”

Hugging
Torrid’s jacket around me, I looked down at my damp feet.  “Well this beaten
path is looking more and more like a river.”

Liam
looked to the sky, analyzing the drifting clouds.  “It’s strange.  It was so
dry when we first arrived out here.  Everything was parched.  Dried and
yellowed leaves dangled on tree branches as if they’d not seen a drop in
months.”

“Then
we come over and we have a veritable storm,” I added.

A
loud clap of thunder emphasized my words.

“Think
it’s a sign?” I wondered aloud.

“Yes,”
Rowan said.  “But from whom?”

The
question hung in the air and remained unanswered.  We trudged through the mud,
each taking our turn slipping, kneeling, falling and stumbling.  At times our
shoes were heavy with caked on mud making every step a struggle.

“Can’t
we whip up a little magic and just get there?” I asked.

Torrid
and Rowan exchanged troubled glances.

“What’s
wrong?”  I pointed to Liam.  “Is it because of him?  He knows about the magical
powers.”

“No,”
Torrid said.  “It’s not that.”

“I
sensed it the moment we stepped out of Arcadia,” Rowan said.  “Our magical
powers are greatly diminished out here.”

“So
we probably couldn’t have flown there even if we’d wanted to,” I said.

Rowan
nodded.  “We’ll have to rely on our human powers for now.”

After
three hours of slow progress, Liam walked off the path, climbed a small mound
and sheltered under an old pine.

“What
are you doing?” Torrid snapped.  “We’ve yet to find the Rebellion encampment or
Pim Seer’s settlement.

“We
need to rest, to dry off a bit and to eat.”  Liam cast his gaze at me.

I
had remained silent throughout the long and endless hours.  I had said nothing
as I’d slipped and fell, slipped and fell, and slipped and fell again.  I was
wet.  I was cold.  I was hungry. 

“She
needs to rest.”

Not
wanting to be held responsible for holding the entire group back, I opened my
mouth to argue, but then shut up.  I knew it would be of no use.  Liam knew me
too well.  Though I didn’t want to complain, didn’t want to be the whiny girl,
he knew everything about how I felt.

“She’s
strong,” he said, “and she won’t say anything, but she needs to rest.  We all
do.”

I
looked at his drenched shirt.  The fabric clung to him, detailing every
muscle.  His hands, strong and capable, were clasped together before him, and
while he controlled himself well, I too could see that he was cold.

I
hurried under the sparse branches of the pine, hoping the few needles that
remained attached would be enough to keep us dry.

Though
Torrid and Rowan seemed determined to continue, they joined us under the tree.

The
pine needles at our feet were dry and I sat at the base of the tree, leaning
back against the thick trunk.

“Hungry?”
Liam joined me and pulled out a few sticks of licorice and several energy bars.

“More
than I thought, yes.”  I greedily took a stick of licorice and a couple of bars.