Prodigy (26 page)

I
’M DREAMING AGAIN.
I
’M SURE OF IT BECAUSE
M
ETIAS
is here, and I know he’s supposed to be dead. This time I’m ready for it, and I keep
a tight rein on my emotions.

Metias and I are walking in the streets of Pierra. All around us, Republic soldiers
run around rubble and explosions, but to the two of us, everything seems quiet and
slow, like we’re watching a movie in extreme slow motion. Showers of dirt and shrapnel
from grenades bounce harmlessly off of us. I feel invincible, or invisible. One or
the other, maybe both.

“Something’s just not right here,” I say to my brother. My eyes go up to the roofs,
then back down to the chaotic streets. Where is Anden?

Metias gives me a thoughtful frown. He walks with his hands behind his back, graceful
as any captain ought to be, and the gold tassels on his uniform clink softly together
as he goes. “I can tell this scene is bothering you,” he replies, scratching at the
faint scruff on his chin. Unlike Thomas, he’d always been a bit lax about the military’s
grooming rules. “Talk to me.”

“This scene,” I say, pointing around us. “This whole plan. Something’s off.”

Metias steps over a pile of concrete rubble. “What’s off?”

“Him.” I point up to the roof. For some reason, Razor is standing there in plain sight,
watching everything happen. His arms are crossed. “Something’s not right about
him.
”

“Well, Junebug, reason it out,” Metias says.

I count off on my fingers. “When I got into the jeep behind the Elector’s, the drivers’
instructions were clear. The Elector told them to take me to the hospital.”

“And then?”

“And then Razor ordered the drivers to take the assassination route anyway. He completely
ignored the Elector’s command. He must’ve told Anden that
I
insisted on the assassination route. It’s the only way Anden would’ve gone with it.”

Metias shrugs. “What does it mean? That Razor simply wanted to force the assassination
through?”

“No. If the assassination happened, everyone would know who ignored the Elector’s
order. Everyone would know that Razor was the one who ordered the jeeps forward.”
I grab Metias’s arm. “The Republic would
know
that Razor tried to kill Anden.”

Metias tightens his lips. “Why would Razor put himself in such obvious danger? What
else was strange?”

I turn back to the street’s slow-moving chaos. “Well, right from the beginning, he
was able to bring Patriots into his Vegas officer quarters so easily. He got his Patriots
on and off that airship as if it were nothing. It’s like he has superhuman abilities
to hide out.”

“Maybe he does,” Metias says. “After all, he has the Colonies sponsoring him, doesn’t
he?”

“That’s true.” I run a hand through my hair in frustration. In this dream state, my
fingers are numb and I can’t feel the strands running against my skin. “It doesn’t
make sense. They should have called off the assassination. Razor shouldn’t have gone
through with it at all, not after I disrupted it. They would’ve gone back to their
quarters, thought things through again, and then attempted another strike. Maybe in
a month or two. Why would Razor put his position at risk if the assassination was
in danger of failing?”

Metias watches as a Republic soldier runs past us. The soldier tilts his head up at
Razor standing on the roof and salutes.

“If the Colonies are behind the Patriots,” my brother says, “and they know who Day
is, shouldn’t you both have been taken straight to talk with whomever is in charge?”

I shrug. I think back on the time I spent with Anden. His radical new laws, his new
way of thinking. Then I remember his tension with Congress and the Senators.

And that’s when the dream breaks apart. My eyes snap open. I’ve figured out why Razor
bothers me so much.

The Colonies aren’t sponsoring Razor—in fact, the Colonies have no idea what the Patriots
are up to. That’s why Razor went ahead with the plan—of course he had no fear of the
Republic finding out that he worked for the Patriots.

The Republic had hired Razor to assassinate Anden.

AFTER THE SOLDIER AND I LEFT THE BALCONY AND the throng of people outside our hospital
room, I made sure guards stood outside our door (“In case any fans come barging in,”
the soldier said before she left), then requested extra blankets and medicine for
June. I didn’t want to get up and see Kaede still standing below the balcony. Gradually,
the shouts outside started to die down. Eventually, everything sank into silence.
Now we’re completely alone, except for the guards standing outside our door.

Everything’s ready to go, but I stand unmoving at June’s bedside. There’s nothing
in here I can make into a weapon, so if we really do need to make a run for it tonight,
all we can hope for is that we won’t have to fight anyone. That no one will notice
we’re gone until morning.

I get up and walk to the balcony. The snow on the ground below is completely trampled
and dark with the dirt of boots. Kaede isn’t there anymore, of course. I soak in the
Colonies landscape for a while, puzzling once again over Kaede’s sign.

Why would Kaede tell me to return to the Republic? Is she trying to trap me or warn
me? Then again—if she wanted to hurt us, why did she hit Baxter and let us go in Pierra?
She’d even urged us to escape before the other Patriots could get to us. I turn to
June, who’s still sleeping. Her breathing is more even now, and the flush on her cheeks
is less pronounced than it was several hours ago. Still, I don’t dare disturb her.

More minutes drag by. I wait to see if Kaede will try again. After the dizzying speed
of everything that’s happened to us, I’m not used to being stuck here like this. Suddenly
there’s too much time.

A thud sounds out against the balcony doors. I jump to my feet. Maybe a branch broke
off a tree, or a shingle fell from the roof. I wait now, alert. Nothing happens for
a while. Then there’s another thud against the glass.

I get up from June’s bed, walk over to the balcony doors, and carefully peek out through
the glass. No one’s there. My eyes skip to the balcony floor. There, in plain sight,
are two small rocks—one with a note tied to it.

I unlock the balcony door, slide it open a little, and grab the note from the rock.
Then I lock the door again and open the note up. The words are hastily scrawled.

Come outside. I’m alone. Emergency. Here to help. We have to talk.—K

Emergency.
I crumple the note in my hand. What does she think is an emergency? Isn’t everything
an emergency right now? She
had
helped us escape—but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to trust her.

Not a minute has passed before a third rock hits the door. This time, its message
reads:

If you don’t talk to me now, you’re gonna regret it.—K

My temper rises at the threat. Kaede does have the power to turn us in for messing
up the Patriots’ plans. I stay where I am, rereading the note in my hands.
Maybe just for a few minutes,
I tell myself.
That’s it. Just long enough to see what Kaede wants. Then I’m coming back inside.

I grab my coat, take a deep breath, and step back over to the balcony doors. My fingers
quietly undo the latch. A cold wind hits my face as I sneak out onto the balcony,
crouch low, lock the balcony doors, and push them closed. If anyone’s going to break
in to hurt June, they’re going to have to make enough noise to alert the guards outside.
I leap down the side of the balcony, twist around, and grab on to the ledge with my
hands. I lower myself down until I’m dangling halfway between the first and second
floors. Then I let go.

My boots land in powdered snow with a soft crunch. I take a last look at the second
floor ledge, memorize where this hospital building is on the street, then tuck my
hair into my coat and flatten myself against the wall.

The streets are empty and silent at this hour. I wait against the side of the building
for a minute before I step out.
Come on, Kaede.
My breath comes out in short bursts of steam. My eyes scour the nooks and crannies
around me, checking for danger. But I’m all alone.
You wanted me to meet you out here? Well, I’m here.

“Talk to me,” I whisper under my breath as I walk alongside the building. My eyes
search for street patrols, but no one’s out here.

Suddenly I pause. There’s a subtle shadow crouched in one of the nearby alleys. I
tense up. “Come out,” I whisper loud enough for the person to hear me. “I know you’re
there.”

Kaede materializes out of the shadows, then waves me over. “Walk with me,” she whispers
back. “Hurry.” She scurries off into a narrow alley hidden behind a row of snow-laden
bushes. We go down the alleyway until it crosses a wider street, which Kaede turns
onto sharply. I hurry after her. My eyes search every corner. I gauge all the spots
where I can shimmy up to a higher floor in case anyone tries to take me by surprise.
Every hair on my neck stands on end, rigid with tension.

Kaede gradually slows her walk until we’re side by side. She’s wearing the same pants
and boots that she had on during the attempt earlier in the day, but has switched
out her military jacket for a wool cloak and scarf. Her face is scrubbed clean of
the black stripe.

“All right, be fast about this,” I say to her. “I don’t want to leave June for too
long. What are you doing here?” I make sure to keep a good distance between us, just
in case she decides to get happy with a knife or something. We do seem to be alone,
I’ll give her that much, but I still make sure we stay on a main street where I can
get away if I need to. A few Colonies workers hurry past us, aglow from the lights
of building ads. Kaede’s eyes glitter with near-frantic anxiety, a look that’s completely
foreign on her face.

“I couldn’t climb up to your room,” she says. The scarf around her mouth muffles her
words, and she pushes it down impatiently. “Damn guards would hear me. That’s why
you’re the Runner, not me. I swear that I’m not here to harm your precious June. If
she’s just by herself up there, she’s gonna be fine. We’ll be quick.”

“Did you follow us down through the tunnel?”

Kaede nods. “Managed to clear enough rubble away to squeeze through.”

“Where are the others?”

She pulls her gloves on tighter, blows warm air on her hands, and mutters in disgust
about the weather. “They’re not here. Just me. I needed to warn you.”

A sick feeling rises in my stomach. “About what? Is it Tess?”

Kaede stops what she’s doing to poke me hard in the ribs. “Assassination was botched.”
She holds up two hands before I can interrupt. “Yeah, yeah, I know
you’re
already aware of this. A lot of Patriots have been arrested. Some of them got away
too—our Tess did, at least. She ran with a few of our Pilots and Runners. Pascao and
Baxter too.” I spit out a curse. Tess. I feel a sudden compulsion to chase her, to
make sure she’s safe—and then I remember the last thing she said to me. Kaede plunges
on as we continue to walk. “I don’t know where they are now. But here’s what you don’t
know.
I
didn’t even know, until you and June stopped the assassination. Jordan—the Runner
girl, you remember, right?—uncovered all this info from a comp drive and handed it
off to one of our Hackers.” She takes a deep breath, stops, and turns her head down
to the ground. Her voice’s usual strength fades. “Day, Razor played all of us. He
lied to the Patriots, then handed them over to the Republic.”

I halt in my walk. “What?”

“Razor told us that the Colonies hired us to kill the Elector and start a revolution,”
Kaede says. “But that’s not true. Found out on the day of the assassination that the
Republic’s
Senate
is sponsoring the Patriots.” She shakes her head. “Do you believe that?
The Republic hired the Patriots to assassinate Anden.
”

I’m silent. Stunned. June’s words echo in my mind, how she’d told me that Congress
dislikes their new Elector, how she thought Razor was lying.
The things he’s told us don’t add up,
she’d said.

“Blindsided all of us—except for Razor,” Kaede says when I don’t respond. We start
walking again. “The Senators want Anden dead. They figured they could use us and pin
the blame on us too.”

My blood is racing so fast I can barely hear myself speak. “Why would Razor sell out
the Patriots like that? Hasn’t he been with them for a decade? And I thought Congress
was trying
not
to cause a revolution.”

Kaede slumps her shoulders and lets out a breath of steam. “He got caught working
for the Patriots a couple of years ago. So he made a deal with Congress: He leads
the Patriots into killing Anden, the young revolutionary spitfire, and Congress forgets
about his traitorous ties. At the end of it all,
Razor
gets to be the new Elector—and with you and June working for him, he comes off like
the people’s hero or something. The public would think that the Patriots took over
the government, when it’s really only the Republic all over again. Razor doesn’t want
the United States to be restored—he just wants to preserve himself. And he’ll join
whatever side’s most convenient to achieve that.”

I close my eyes. My world is spinning. Hadn’t June warned me about Razor? All this
time, I’ve been working for the Republic’s Senators. They’re the ones who want Anden
dead. No wonder the Colonies don’t seem to have any idea what the Patriots are up
to. Then I open my eyes. “But they failed,” I say. “Anden is still alive.”

“Anden is still alive,” Kaede repeats. “Thankfully.”

I should have trusted June all along. My anger toward the young Elector shudders and
trembles, grows weak. Does this mean . . . that he actually
did
release Eden? Is my brother free and safe? I study Kaede. “You came all the way here
to tell me that?” I whisper.

“Yup. Know why?” She leans closer, until her nose is almost touching mine. “Anden
is about to lose his grip on the country. The people are
this
close to revolting against him.” She holds two fingers close together. “If he falls,
we’re gonna have a lot of trouble stopping Razor from taking over the Republic. Right
now, Anden’s fighting for control of the military while Razor and Commander Jameson
are trying to wrestle it away from him. The government’s about to split in two.”

“Wait—Commander Jameson?” I ask.

“There was a chat transcript recorded between her and Razor on that comp drive. Remember
how we ran into her on board the RS
Dynasty
?” Kaede replies. “Razor made it sound like he had no idea she’d be there. But
I
think she totally recognized you. She must’ve wanted to see you with her own eyes.
To know that you were truly a part of Razor’s plans.” Kaede grimaces. “I should’ve
sensed something off about Razor. I was wrong about Anden too.”

“Why do you care what happens to the Republic?” I say. The wind whips snow flurries
up from the street, echoing the coldness in my words. “And why now?”

“I was in it for the money—I admit that.” Kaede shakes her head and sets her mouth
in a tight line. “But first of all—I didn’t get paid, because the plan didn’t go off.
Second, I didn’t sign up to destroy the country, to hand all the Republic’s civilians
right back to another goddy Elector.” Then she trails off a little, and her eyes go
misty. “I don’t know . . . maybe I was hoping that the Patriots could give me a nobler
goal than making money. Joining these two cracked nations back together. That would’ve
been nice.”

The winter wind stings my face. Kaede doesn’t need to tell me why she came all the
way here to get me. After hearing this, I know why. I remember what Tess said to me
back in Lamar.
They’re all looking to you, Day. They’re waiting for your next move.
I might be the only person who can save Anden now. I am the only person that the
Republic’s people will listen to.

We fall silent and sink farther into the shadows as a pair of Colonies police guards
rush by. Snow flies underneath their boots. I watch until they disappear down the
last alley we’d come through. Where are they going?

When Kaede just continues walking with her scarf covering her mouth again, I say,
“What about the Colonies?”

“What
about
them?” she mutters through fabric.

“What about letting the Republic collapse and the Colonies take over? What about that
idea?”

“It was never about letting the Colonies
win.
The Patriots are about re-creating the United States. However that can be accomplished.”
Kaede pauses, then motions for us to turn down a different street. We walk two more
blocks before she stops us in front of an enormous row of dilapidated buildings.

“What’s this?” I ask Kaede, but she doesn’t respond. I turn back to the building in
front of me. It’s about thirty or so stories tall, but stretches unbroken for several
city blocks. Every few dozen yards, tiny, dark entrances are carved into the compound’s
bottom floor. Water drips from the sides, from windows and decaying balconies, carving
ugly lines of fungus into the walls. The structure stretches on down the street from
where we stand—from the sky it must look like a gigantic black cinder block.