Tides of Maritinia (21 page)

 

CHAPTER 27

“I wasa killer myself. The ruthless murdrer of dozens. If anybdy could understnd the darkest chambers insde teh human heart, it hsould've been me.”

–
J
AKOB
B
RYCE

I
watched the whole thing. I watched the confused conversations among the Jebyl once the Kwuba had been plucked from their ranks. I watched the most boisterous among them shout over the din.
How long do we have to stay here? When can we start bleeding the Empire's soldiers?

I watched a pair of black sashes open a crate just a few feet away from me. I saw them pull green-­striped fish from the box. I'd seen the same fish once before. In the admiral's torture chamber. My clothes had been piled under an aquarium teeming with them.

One at a time, the soldiers pulled fish from the box and drove bone blades through the fish heads. Why would they do that? The fish were already dead.

I watched them throw fish over the railing to the ­people standing in the pool below. One fish after another. Other groups of black sashes did the same all around the cistern. Dozens of crates worth of fish dumped down into the pool below like flocks of birds suddenly struck dead.

I thought the Jebyl would appreciate the meal. It was time for breakfast.

I couldn't understand why they tried so hard to stop the fish from landing in the water. I couldn't understand why they ran. Why they trampled the weak and unlucky in a surge for the exits. Couldn't they see they were drowning their comrades?

I didn't know the fish had sacs of poison inside their skulls.

I didn't know.

S
ome of the soldiers and black sashes congratulated each other on a job well-­done. A few laughed. But most silently stared.

Like me.

With an anguished cry, one jumped the railing, perhaps in a misguided attempt to rescue somebody he knew. He splashed into the water below and swam through the bodies, nudging them aside like logs until the toxins soaked through his pores and took control. He shook, arms and legs seizing in splashing spasms. And then he went still.

Like the others.

I backed away from the railing until I bumped the cistern wall. Mnoba knelt on the floor and bent his head so low his forehead pressed against the stone.

Mmuro stood stiff as the column behind him, his face wiped of all emotion. He lifted the firerod strap off his neck, dropped the weapon, and simply wandered away.

I leaned down and pulled on Mnoba's uniform, telling him we had to go. He raised himself, and we headed for the spiral staircase that led down and out to the salt road. I heard shouts behind me but didn't turn back. I had to leave. Nothing else mattered.

We passed the spot where I'd left the lieutenant, but he was gone, and I had no idea where he'd disappeared to. Following Mnoba down the stairs, I picked my steps carefully to avoid tripping over attempted escapees.

Mnoba reached the floor at the bottom of the stairs, the pool sitting to his right. Looking at the exit to his left, he threw his hands in frustration at the sight of all the Jebyl on the ground, blocking the way. “How are we supposed to get out?”

I didn't let myself think about it. Brushing past him, I lifted my left leg and pressed the sole of my boot onto a prone hip. With my hands spread wide for balance, I placed my other foot on a bare shoulder blade.

Making slow progress, I stuck to stepping on those who had died facedown. Those who couldn't witness their own desecration.

A thigh twisted under my weight, and I started to fall. Knowing the poison could soak through skin, I couldn't let my bare hands touch wet clothes. I had no choice but to keep my hands raised as I let my tipping body crash. The back of my shoulder impacted with such force that I thought I heard the snap of a bone somewhere inside the pile.

They hadn't tried to roll out of the way. Hadn't groaned or winced. Not even a flinch.

I struggled upright and continued my slow, unsteady journey out the cistern doors, where the spread of bodies formed a fan shape like the flow of silt from a collapsed pipe.

Mnoba hightailed it past me, feet hopping like he was sprinting across hot coals, and skidded to a stop on the salt road. I reached the road myself shortly after and only managed a few steps before dropping to my hands and knees.

I had to labor for breath, as if the weight of the city above had come down on my back. I tried to understand. Tried to find reason in the unfathomable depths. But my unmoored thoughts couldn't find anchor, as if the ocean bottom itself had been set adrift.

Mnoba's hand landed on my shoulder. “Come, Colonel, let's keep moving.”

I dug my fingers into the salt, pushing aside white crystals to reveal a layer of oily grit that gathered under my fingernails. To my right, bodies floated on the waves. To my left, crabs scrabbled from the water and marched with raised claws toward the pile of bodies, but stopped short and clicked their claws in frustration at smell of the poison-­spoiled feast.

The road was almost deserted, just a few soldiers and black sashes holding guard. The others must have had the good sense to run, including the Kwuba who had been spared by being pulled from the cistern before the mass killing.

Mnoba grasped my arm and lifted me up. I walked alongside him, the return trek to the staircase seeming so much longer than I remembered.

We started up the stairs to the city platform. The rectangular opening at the top was surrounded by Kwuba onlookers. Unable to see the cistern from where they stood, they fussed and whispered and wrung their hands. Curiosity got the better of one woman, who started down the steps, her back hunched like she was ducking for cover. She crept slowly from stair to stair until she could see the spill of bodies outside the cistern. A hand went to her forehead, and she started back up the stairs, only to stop for another look to verify that the horror was real.

A uniformed man broke through the crowd and started down the stairs, his stomach round as his face. “Colonel,” said Dugu.

Meeting him close to the top, I snatched hold of his sleeve. “Don't go down there.”

“I have to.” He waved his comm unit. “The admiral wants pictures for the skyscreens.”

“Go be with your family.”

Dugu tilted his head to see around me. He sucked in a breath and slumped to a seat on one of the steps.

I leaned down to block his view, my eyes in front of his. “Go be with your family.”

His mouth opened and closed and opened again. “I c-­can't go home. Admiral's orders.”

“Fuck the admiral. You hear me? Fuck him.”

He slid his sleeve out of my fingers. “Let me go, Colonel.” His voice softened so only I could hear. “If I defy him, he'll have me kill-­ed. And then he'll kill my family.”

“Please,” said Dugu.

“Ten minutes,” I relented. “Use the lens as your shield, understand? See without seeing.”

I waited for him to nod.

“See without seeing,” I repeated before continuing up the last three stairs. The crowd cleaved a path, and they watched my every step, all of them expecting me to say something, to be the voice of authority in a time of need.

But I marched straight past their disappointed expectations. I marched past the stalled waterwheels into the city, where everything had fallen silent except for the hollow echo of our heels.

The crackle of skyscreen speakers shocked my nerves. I refused to look up. I didn't want to see his face.

­Peoples of Maritinia, do not drink the water. I repeat, do not drink the water. The Empire has attack-­ed. They've struck a terrible blow, but not with their ships. No, they've done something much more sinister. By enlisting the support of the traitors among us, the oppressors have poison-­ed our cisterns.

I kept my head bowed, the booming voice pounding my eardrums.

We'd recruit-­ed an army of fierce warriors from all around this world. It was an army that would've been the envy of the Sire's own personal regiment. Now look at our fallen brothers.

A quick glance at the sky confirmed Dugu had gotten his footage.

They've been robb-­ed of their right to defend their home. Robb-­ed of the right to fight. They've been murder-­ed, and now we have no way to defend ourselves. Free Maritinia is finish-­ed.

I picked up my pace, my footsteps clapping on the rock floor. I had to get to Sali. Only she could convince her father to stop this madness.

Yes, my friends, Free Maritinia is no more. Soon, the Empire's soldiers will eliminate what's left of our military. Their new contingent will take over for our administration. The Empire's governor will take control, and the shackles of oppression will take the place of freedom.

But there is one more thing they have plann-­ed.
His voice lowered like he was whispering a secret.
Listen to me closely. They plan to have the Jebyl take the Kwuba's rightful place.

Striding even faster now, my scalp started to itch with sweat. I braved a look up at the closest screen. His face filled the entire frame.

The Jebyl resistance is working with the Empire. They've made a secret deal to betray their sisters and brothers in exchange for replacing the Kwuba as this world's privileged class.
He leaned even closer to the screen and snarled his next words.
The Jebyl have kill-­ed our warriors.

I knew better. I'd seen the soldiers and the black sashes poisoning the water. And I knew the Jebyl had no interest in supplanting the Kwuba as the new aristocracy. Only a madman's paranoid fantasy could imagine the Jebyl conspiring with the Empire.

The screen cut to a view of the bamboo cuda I'd carved.

The Jebyl left this cuda fish when they destroy-­ed our missile system. With this symbol of the resistance, they claim-­ed responsibility for the attack.

But the Jebyl hadn't attacked the missile system. That was me. To save myself from suspicion, I was the one who planted the cuda fish. I should've known it could lead to this.

I was the one who turned the admiral's outlandish theory of a Jebyl plot into fact.

And now, thousands had already lost their lives. Thousands.

I stopped walking to cough and gag, the number impossible to swallow.

The skyscreen zoomed in on the fish's bite, its sharp teeth shaped with my own hands just like the hideous events unfolding all over this word.

You all know, I'm a kindheart-­ed man. At first, I refuse-­ed to believe we had traitors among us. I couldn't believe that Maritinians could be so treacherous.

But now the Jebyl resistance has kill-­ed our army. They are so desperate to raise their station that they've slaughter-­ed thousands of their own in order to keep me from defending our world. They've made it clear what they want. The leeches are no longer content to suck Kwuba blood. The bottom-­feeders want to enslave the Kwuba and suck directly from the Empire's rich veins.

I ran, breath huffing in and out of my lungs. Somewhere behind me, I could hear Mnoba trying to keep up.

The Empire will kill me soon. But I won't allow my clan to become slaves to traitors. The Jebyl menace must be destroyed. Now, before their comrades in space arrive. Because what do you do when a leech takes too much blood?
The admiral had moved so close to the screen that only bared teeth and flared nostrils were visible.
You rip it off, and you grind it under your heel.

 

CHAPTER 28

“The Empre was my womb, bt I wass born on Maritinia.”

–
J
AKOB
B
RYCE

I
raced down the street and tore through the curtain into our home. The living space was empty. Calling Sali's name, I sprinted through the kitchen to the bathroom, but she wasn't there. Shooting up the stairs, I found a vacant bedroom.

Desperate to talk to her, I rushed onto the balcony, then forced my weary legs to carry me to the roof.

Pol repeated.

I put my hands on my knees and sucked air in and out of my lungs. A quick swipe of my sleeve wiped the sweat from my face.

Where was she? A terrifying thought knifed into my mind. Had she drunk the water?

No, I told myself. The admiral ordered the waterwheels stopped before poisoning the cistern. Had that water been allowed to flow through the city, the Kwuba would've died, too. His first strike was targeted at only the Jebyl who were willing and capable of fighting back.

I went to the wall, pressed my stomach against the barnacle shells, and leaned over to look for Sali on the street below. Mnoba stood by the entrance. His body was bent at the waist, his torso bobbing with heavy breaths.

Other than Mnoba, the street was deserted. An abandoned cart sat at the corner, its catch of fish and eel baking in the sun. A breeze rustled down the boulevard, the air reeking of salt water and spoiled seafood.

The skyscreens came back to life. This time it was Mmirehl's angular face that bisected the screen.
The Jebyl traitors have cleared the way for the Empire's return. The Empire will arrive any minute to impose their new order. The Jebyl can't wait to take your place. They will steal everything you hold dear. They have no honor. No respect. They will take your wives in their filthy hands. They will slit your children's throats and feed them to the angry souls. The Jebyl are leeches who will suck you dry and kick your desiccate-­ed corpse into the sea. They must be exterminate-­ed.

Mmirehl's voice slithered into my ears.
The Jebyl are ungrateful backstabbers. They are a plague. They will put leashes around your necks and make you lick their feet clean.

said Pol,

I tilted my head.

The seriousness in his tone made me light-­headed with shock.

His voice was cold. Emotionless.

I felt a sharp pinch and looked down to see a pair of crab claws clamping at my stomach. I took a step back from the wall. Refusing to let go, the creature pulled out of its shell and dangled harmlessly from my shirt.

I pulled the crab from my shirt and held it in my hand. Eyestalks rose from its head and mouthparts and silently moved up and down.

A single word crept up from the depths of the rabbit hole and instantly exploded upon making contact with my mind.

My entire body went weak. I steadied myself by reaching to the wall with my free hand. Mmirehl's shouts assaulted my reeling senses.
Exterminate them now! Now! The Empire is coming!

I squeezed the crab tight to keep it from slipping out of my fingers and saw myself mirrored in the way it kicked its helplessly unmoored legs back and forth.

I heard shouts and looked down to see nobody but Mnoba on the street. Scanning left and right, I saw eerily still homes and businesses. A woman's screams echoed from some hidden place, and I searched neighboring windows in an effort to spot her. Loud enough to compete with Mmirehl's relentless hate speech, the screams seemed to swirl all around me before falling silent.

I took one last look at the crab before setting the hapless creature down.

I stared up at the broad, blue sky, knowing my home world was out there somewhere. Korda, capital of the Empire, an amazing world of boundless industry and wealth. A planet completely encased by sprawling structures of glass and steel. An architectural marvel that flowered with sculptures and fountains and glorious monuments.

I'd grown up believing Korda was a wonder of such incredible grandeur that it served as absolute proof of the Empire's divinity.

But I couldn't believe that anymore. Where was the divinity in denying your subjects the freedom to pursue their own hopes and dreams? Where was the divinity in denying them the technology that could extend their lives? Where was the divinity in allowing a half million of your subjects to be murdered for a piece of propaganda?

The Empire was wrong. And the Falali Mother was right. I had a role to play in this world's future. A destiny to fulfill.

And this was my moment.

Sali was the only person who could stop the atrocities about to unfold. And I was the only person who could convince her to do what was necessary.

Me.

Jakob.

I wouldn't let Maritinia fall into murderous chaos. Maritinia was a part of me, and I was a part of her. We'd been joined from the moment I'd been blessed by the cuda. That was when Maritinia's oceans began to wash the Empire from my heart. That was when her corals had taken root on my soul.

I smiled into the sun and felt the spirit of Falal surge through me. She and I would rise against the Sire and spend eternity dancing to the gentle sway of kelp. Together, we'd flow and mingle like the tides.

I was Maritinian.

“There you are,” said Sali.

I turned around to face her. Seeing the worry lines around her eyes, I allowed my smile to fade into concern. “Where were you?”

“I went out to find you.”

I took her in my arms wanting to tell her everything would be okay. But the Jebyl needed her help. “You have to stop your father.”

“I can't.”

“Yes, you can. You're the only one who can. His soldiers won't stop you from entering the Ministry.”

She pulled from my embrace just far enough to look into my eyes. “And then what?”

I swept Pol's comments out of my mind and pressed my forehead against Sali's. “You have to convince your father to stop. You can't let him murder the Jebyl.”

“He won't listen to me.”

I narrowed my focus to Sali and only Sali. “You have to try.”

She closed her eyes. “And what if I fail?”

I rested my hands on her cheeks. “Then you'll have to kill him.”

She took a slow step back, her face pulling free of my hands. Her eyes were open now, but distant. “I can't do that.”

“Listen to Mmirehl, Sali.” I pointed in the direction of the skyscreens.

A plague. The Jebyl are germs, worthless parasites. The leeches must be squash-­ed before they. . .

I watched Sali's eyes, watched them drown under the torrent of sewage spilling from Mmirehl's mouth. Taking her hand, I told her the truth. “Mmirehl and your father have already eliminated the Jebyl who could fight. All over this world, they lured the young and willing to the cisterns, and they poisoned them.”

Her voice was a whisper. “That was the resistance who poisoned them.”

“You know there is no resistance. Why would the resistance murder their own? Your father did that. I was there. I watched his soldiers and black sashes. I saw them poisoning the water. He's going to kill a half million defenseless ­people, Sali. You're the only one who can save them.”

“I'm not the only one. The Empire is already descending from orbit. They'll end this before it goes any further.”

“No, they wo—­”

Pol's voice burst from deep inside my head with a volume I didn't know was possible.

I terminated the question with a dismissive chuckle.

Sali stared at me, waiting for me to finish my thought. I dropped her hand and took hold of her shoulders. “The Empire will arrive too late to stop this. They're three weeks away.”

Her dazed eyes sharpened to pinpoints. “How could you possibly know that?”

A wry grin pushed at the corners of my mouth. Even under total duress, she missed nothing.

His voice dropped to a low growl.

Sali's brows hovered over confused eyes. “The ships are in orbit, Drake. I've seen the pictures. They'll be landing any minute.”

Mmirehl's face loomed in the sky, his tongue sharp and deadly as any machete. More screams rang from the street below. It had begun. The storm was upon us.

But what I felt was total peace.

Destiny was all around me. I could feel it in the sunlight heating my skin. I could taste it on the air.

This was
my
time. I touched the scars on my cheek, felt the mark of Falal, and like a fledgling cuda daring to swim with the school for the first time, I dove into my future.

“Those pictures were fakes. The Empire is still weeks away.”

“How do you know?”

“I'm done with the lies, Sali. From now on, I will only tell you the truth, but first I need you to know that I love you. I never meant to hurt you.”

“What are you saying, Drake? You're scaring me.”

“I'm not Drake. I'm Jakob Bryce. I'm the Empire's spy. I took Drake's place.”

Her jaw dropped, and her brows twisted into confusion. “What are you talking about?”

I waited for Pol to do something, say something. But he didn't. He was as impotent as I thought.

I pushed forward. “I killed him, Sali. I killed Drake, and I took his place. That wasn't my brother they found in the ocean. That was the colonel.”

She pushed me away. “That's impossible.”

“You knew I wasn't him. I look like him, and I sound like him, but you knew I was different. You knew that right from the beginning.”

She covered her face with her hands.

“I've been in contact with the Empire. They're still three weeks away.”

“This can't be.”

“It is. I destroyed the missile system. Remember how I told you I'd cut my feet on the wreckage? That was a lie. I cut my feet on barnacles when I climbed out of the water to set the timer.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you need to know the Empire can't save the Jebyl. Only you can save them, Sali. If your father won't listen to reason, you have to kill him. ”