The Deep (20 page)

“Oh yeah?” I seize him by the arm and force
him to slow down. “Are you saying
you
’ve never incited your
boys to do things they didn’t want? Did Ben do all those terrible
things under your command because he wanted it himself? Would you
blame
him
for doing them?”

He glances aside, the fire in his eyes slowly
cooling off. “Fine,” he says softly. “But we take out the leader.
No matter what.”

“Okay.” I let out a sigh of relief when Saul
turns around to supply his makeshift army with new instructions.
This whole thing is bad enough as it is – I don’t want any more
people to die.

Avoiding the main road, we storm into the
village from the north. Shouting and wielding their weapons, the
youngsters pour into the square. A shiver runs down my spine when I
see a small boy waving a club tear past me. He can’t be a day older
than eleven. What a strange world this is, and yet it is so close
to my home town.

Suddenly, the cries die in the children’s’
throats. The entire army stops dead. Phileas is standing in the
middle of the square, holding the Eldest in a death grip. Our
religious fanatic is pressing a sharp dagger against the Newexter
leader’s throat, his face a taut mask of rage. Behind him is
Nathan, rooted at the spot. They probably just returned from the
harbor.

“One more step and he dies!” he screams, an
anxious look in his eyes.

Oh, no. This is not going according to plan
at all.

“Why have you come here?” Saul calls out. The
slight tremor in his voice betrays his insecurity. He doesn’t come
any closer, but his whole stance radiates power, and Phileas seems
to sense that. He pales.

“Your village is in cahoots with blasphemers
from Hope Harbor,” he says angrily. “We demand you destroy the
ships and stop insulting our Goddess. She protects our world, and
we will wait. That’s how it’s supposed to be. That is the world as
we know it.”

Saul blinks. The corner of his mouth trembles
faintly, and I know what that means. He’s trying to suppress his
emotions. I wonder why Phileas’s words seem to have such an impact
on him.

“Fear won’t help you to preserve the world,”
he says roughly. “And you’re scared. Scared of the unknown. Afraid
to find out you’ve put your faith in the wrong things all your
life. Terrified of losing control.”

All the people gathered seem to hold their
breaths. A peculiar smile tugs at the Eldest’s mouth. It almost
looks as though he’s –
proud
of Saul.

“How would you know?” Phileas yells. “You’ve
never even heard of our Goddess.”

“I think your Goddess goes by many names,”
Saul replies. “I think we are all looking for her, in a way. But
your way won’t work.” His voice cracks.

“Shut up, you Unbeliever!” Phileas edges the
blade of his dagger so close to the Eldest’s exposed throat now
that the leader of Newexter closes his eyes and starts to tremble.
“You are all errant Fools. You should never have crossed the
Wall.”

And then, an arrow zips through the air out
of nowhere. It confidently plunges into Phileas’s chest, straight
through the heart. Without making another sound, the cult leader
tumbles to the ground, his glassy eyes unseeingly staring up at the
skies. The knife he was holding scrapes the Eldest’s neck, but it
doesn’t cause any lethal damage. Just a scratch.

My mouth agape, I stare at the dead man lying
on the square. The Bookkeeper lets out a near-inaudible cry.

Mia, the girl with the bow and arrow, turns
around and triumphantly looks up at Saul. “In the meantime, I’ve
gotten better than Pete and Han,” she says breezily, a blush on her
cheeks.

Some ten minutes later, we are gathered in
the village hall. A group of men from Newexter has offered to
assist the Bookkeeper in marching the rebels back to Hope Harbor.
The dissenters didn’t need much convincing. The death of their
leader rendered them speechless and seemingly completely harmless.
Their anxious eyes were riveted on the clubs and spears the
Newexter guard were carrying as they took off along the Scilly
Way.

I am still speechless, too. I don’t know what
rattled me most – the reality that Phileas is dead, or the fact
that Saul actually seemed to be willing to talk to him, despite his
previous murderous talk. And in the end, Phileas was shot by a girl
not yet sixteen years old.

Saul is sitting next to me and talking to the
Eldest, who still looks terribly upset. On the other side of the
table is Mia, proudly looking around her. She seems to be happy
about stopping the assault on the village.

And then I see her looking at Saul. She
catches his gaze and her eyes look at him triumphantly and a bit
challengingly. Seductively, even. I swallow down the bitter taste
in my mouth. Could it be Mia was one of his former ‘girlfriends’?
Did she kill Phileas to impress Saul? If so, I think it’s sick. If
she really thinks she can get Saul to admire her like this, she’s
wrong.

Or is she? After all, Saul told me during our
very first meeting that I should toughen up a bit more. I furtively
look aside to gauge what he thinks of the stunt Mia pulled.

He is no longer looking at her. He’s staring
straight into my eyes, smiling faintly as he reaches for my hand.
“Come outside for a bit,” he says.

I nod my head in silent consent and follow
him out into the square. Once there, he fumbles with his leaves to
roll a cigarette and take a few drags before holding it out to me.
I decline.

“Why did Mia do that?” I ask, more sharply
than I was aiming for.

Saul cocks an eyebrow. “I told everybody that
stopping the leader was our priority. And besides, he was holding
the Eldest hostage.”

“But you were talking to him!” I object. “You
– you were trying to make him step down.”

He looks away. “I doubt I would have gotten
through to him,” he mumbles. “And Mia would literally kill for a
bit of attention.”

“From you,” I conclude in a monotone.

The corner of his mouth trembles. “Yes, from
me.” His eyes bore into me, challenging me to pick a fight over
this.

“Was she one of your girlfriends?” I blurt
out.

Saul lets out an irritated huff. “I didn’t
have girlfriends,” he says gruffly. “I told you that. Those girls
knew what I was inviting them for. But Mia chose to ignore that.
She wanted to turn it into something it wasn’t.”

My eyes blur with tears. “You think that’s
normal, to treat people like that?”

“No, of course it’s not normal,” he replies
softly. “I didn’t exactly have a normal life. Listen…” He takes a
step toward me and rests his hand on my shoulder before gently
kissing my forehead. “You have no reason to be jealous of Mia. She
and I were never friends. She was part of a life I have left behind
now. Or I’m trying to leave behind. And believe me, I’m well aware
of the fact that I’ll never turn into a good and gentle man. But
when I’m with you, I could almost believe I can.”

When Saul wipes away my tears it only makes
me cry harder. All the day’s events crash down on me, beating me
senseless. Finn’s death, Saul kissing me, Phileas’s attack and his
tragic end. “Why is life so difficult?” I sob.

Saul pulls me into his arms. “I don’t know.
But I do know it’s more bearable if you’re not alone.”

It feels like we remain there for the longest
time, in the middle of the square, holding on to each other. I open
my eyes only when I hear the sound of hooves leaping up from the
cobblestones of the Scilly Way. To my surprise it turns out to be
Daryl. He slides out of the saddle and runs toward me.

“Alisa,” he pants. “They’re back.”

“Who are you talking about?” I ask
wonderingly as I slip out of Saul’s embrace.

“Our adventurers.” He wipes the sweat off his
brow. “Walt, William, Leia. We’ve seen the
Explorer
at the
horizon. And there’s another ship with them.”

As soon as I open my eyes, I know I’m not
doing well. I have a horrible, throbbing headache and a bad taste
in my mouth. Could it be the Exeter disease has struck at last?

I turn my head to look around the room where
my bed is. And then, I remember – I was sedated by those men with
needles. They took me prisoner.

Coughing, I sit up, my eyes flitting across
the room. Am I all alone?

My heart skips a beat when I spot Walt on the
bed on the other side of the room. They got him too. I should have
run when I had the chance. I could have gotten help from Tony and
the others. And now we’re both back in Dartmoor, and that’s my
fault. I should have listened to Walt. I shouldn’t have gone to
Exeter in the first place, and I definitely shouldn’t have dragged
Walt into this with my stupid sense of adventure. We have broken
the rules of this society, and now we’re paying for it.

Will the president apply the same law to us,
ignorant outsiders? I don’t get it.

“Walt,” I croak out, stumbling toward him on
unsteady feet. “Wake up.”

I gently shake his shoulder. He moans
plaintively, trying to twist out of my grip. I run my hand over his
forehead. “Please wake up,” I repeat. “We’re locked in here.”

Actually, I haven’t checked, but I can’t
imagine the door would just open if I tried the handle.

“Leia.” He sits up with a start, banging his
head against mine. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” I whisper desperately. “They
took us both. I bet it’s because we visited their forbidden city.
I’m so sorry.”

“Hey.” He flings an arm around me. “That’s
nonsense. If we want to see our ancestors’ birthplace, we should be
allowed to. Let’s just wait until someone shows up to explain it to
us.”

“I wish we had something to drink.” I look
around, but I don’t see any water or fruits for us. One quick
glance through the window is enough to show me that we are being
held on the top floor of the palace. Far below, I can see the
square where Sam was Purged. Escaping from here is impossible.

Fortunately, we don’t have to wait for very
long before somebody pays us a visit. We both stare at the door
expectantly when someone pushes down the handle. When the door
swings open, William and Tony turn out to be on the threshold.

“Dad!” Walt is on his feet in one second and
bridges the distance between him and his father. William hugs him
tightly. Tony puts an arm around my shoulders and gives me an
impenetrable gaze before putting down a bottle of fruit juice on
the table.

“Tony,” I say, my voice uneven. “What’s going
on?”

“You went to Exeter,” he begins. “You could
have told me, you know.”

“Sorry.” I cast my gaze to the floor,
embarrassed by his disappointment in me. I would have loved to
share our trip with Tony, but he’d been so insistent it wasn’t
possible to visit the place. And after what happened to Victor, I
wasn’t sure I should tell anyone at all.

“President Jacob wants to keep you both
here,” William continues, sounding tortured.

“But why?” I burst out. “I didn’t do
anything, and neither did Walt.”

Tony clears his throat. “Well, you didn’t get
sick.”

I gape at him, my mouth open. “Yeah, so?”

He shakes his head. “That’s a miracle, Leia.
It’s just not possible.
Everyone
who goes there, gets sick
sooner or later. That’s why we only send terminal patients to the
cathedral, or people who are supposed to be Purged anyway. People
come down with symptoms within the hour. There is no escape from
the disease that destroyed our old world.”

“But we weren’t affected,” Walt says
flatly.

“Exactly.”

I slump down onto the chair in the corner of
the room. “So what does that mean?”

“It means you are immune to the war disease.
And President Jacob happens to have a daughter who is dying of the
sickness. He will do anything to find a miracle cure that will heal
her. That’s why he wants to keep you here. For research.”

“But…” Walt clenches his hands into fists.
“Why has he taken us prisoner? We can help him with his medical
study once we return, can’t we?”

“He doesn’t want to run the risk you won’t
come back,” Tony explains, his gaze trailing down to the floor.
“And it’s possible the tests he’ll subject you to will be painful.
Or fatal, even.”

Right at that moment, the president himself
steps through the door. Immediately, I notice his eyes are
different. They no longer look warm and gentle, but determined.
“Visiting hours are over,” he nevertheless says in a friendly, calm
tone. “You will be allowed another visit in two days’ time.”

“But…” I dazedly look on as William and Tony
are steered out of the room by three guards who have come in after
Jacob. “Wait!”

“We’ll wait here in Dartmoor,” William calls
out before the door closes behind them. “The others have gone to
Penzance.”

And then, the president positions himself in
front of us, his posture rigid. The generous host suddenly turned
into our jailor, and he’s holding all the keys.

“You can’t do this to us!” I explode. “You
can’t take our freedom.”

“A noble task awaits you,” Jacob says
soothingly. His mealy-mouthed words send a shiver down my back. If
you ask me, this man has completely lost it. Fell of the Wall and
hit his head too hard. “The two of you hold an important key
position in the endeavor to better our world and our lives.”

Walt takes a step forward. “Then please just
keep
me
here,” he begs. “But let Leia go. You only need one
of us.”

I want to debate his stupid proposal, but the
president beats me to it. He shakes his head. “I need a boy and a
girl for my medical tests. You two are perfect. You were destined
to go to Exeter together.” He folds his hands into a steeple and
smiles. “Don’t you understand how special your people are? How
extraordinary
you
are? The children who fled to Tresco a
long time ago were all healthy when they left the mainland. None of
them suffered from the disease that had affected the adults and
some other children. And the children who died of the poisonous
rains some time later never had children of their own. The others,
whose immune systems were strong enough to make them survive the
radiation-polluted rains, survived – and they became your
ancestors. You have survivor genes. And now that you’ve been in
Exeter, our doctors can study the antibodies in your blood. Finally
find a cure for the disease that still casts its shadow over our
lives.” He draws a deep breath and his eyes start to sparkle
feverishly. “And my daughter will live. No one will die of the war
disease anymore.”