Fall of grace variant se.., p.21
Fall of Grace: Variant Series Book 1, page 21
“If I didn’t, you’d be dead by now.”
He gave me a weary smile and held out his arms for a hug. “I promise to tell you everything. There’s a lot you’re not going to like, but I wouldn’t take back anything I’ve done. You’ve proved to be as amazing and strong as I knew you would be.”
I walked into his arms and allowed the embrace.
“Ah, Naomi, I’ve worried so much.” He kissed the top of my head, the stubble on his chin brushing against my nose. His face was thinner, and he looked more worn since I’d seen him last. Putting his hands on either side of my face, he lifted my eyes to his. “You look even more beautiful than I remember.”
With the greetings out of the way, we sat underneath a huge tree. The sky faded, and pink light broke though the large leaves, their shadows grazing the ground. Randall started a small fire and passed out pieces of beef jerky and water. There was small talk here and there. I tapped my foot on the ground, waiting. After a few minutes, I grew impatient and blurted out the question that I’d been wondering for months.
“Who did my mother have an affair with?”
Everybody became silent. Jamison stood and crossed the circle. He sat in front of me and took my hands in his. “This is going to come as a bit of a shock to you. I know you and Grace, along with everyone else, believes your mother cheated on your father. I’m one of the few who knows that’s not true. You were brought to them because they needed a second child for the monarchy to continue.”
“What?” The words fell out with a whoosh. My parents weren’t my parents? Grace wasn’t my sister? “I don’t understand.”
“Let me explain. I was young when I became your father’s advisor. He was a very paranoid man. He sent others on raids to gather information about the Metonians. He didn’t read the reports himself. That part was left to me. Unless he asked for certain information, I never brought anything to his notice. One of those reports would shape the future of everyone here but I’ll get back to that in a few minutes.”
“Your mother, father, and I were discussing business over dinner, when your mother screamed. She stood, and the back of her dress was covered in blood. She was five months pregnant. It was the three of us and her handmaiden. She tried to run for help, but your father yelled for her to stop.” Jamison sighed. “The baby, a little boy, ended up being delivered by the handmaiden. He was stillborn.”
“That’s awful,” I whispered, tears running down my face. “Why did he yell for the handmaiden to stop. They could’ve gotten help.”
Jamison shook his head. “It’s very unlikely the child would have lived. Your father knew that. Can you not think of any reason he wouldn’t want anyone to know about the child’s death? Any at all?”
I gasped. I could, but I really hoped I was wrong. “Because the rule of lineage?”
“Yes.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“It’s true. Your father knew if he didn’t have two children, then to protect the parliament, the kingdom would revert to the closest relative with two children, your uncle Saron.”
“Wait a minute,” Micah chipped in. “Why didn’t the king just tell the truth and have another child?”
“Because the rule states that after the second child is conceived, the king must undergo a surgical procedure where he can no longer bear children. Only two children per monarchy. It’s so the monarchy doesn’t gain too much power. Two, no more, no less. If you fail to conceive and birth two children, you are considered weak and the title will be passed off. It’s a stupid and old rule,” I said. “Which means, my father couldn’t have any more children.”
I looked Jamison in the eyes. “Are you saying they stole me from someone and pretended I was theirs?”
“Naomi, I want you to know that you are like a daughter to me.” He squeezed my hand and gave me a slight smile. “I was young and stupid. Loyal. Dreaming of making my way into the top regiment. I hope you can forgive me for what I did next but even if you can’t, I have no regrets. You are more special than you know.”
He let go of my hand and began pacing. “We sent your mother away. Said she was ill and needed some time in the countryside to relax. The baby was buried in the gardens. The two of us that knew were sworn to secrecy. Do you remember those reports I was talking about earlier?”
“Yes.”
“One report detailed the location of a certain scientist. He’d been cast out by the Metonian government because he was, to put it frankly, quite insane. I suggested it to your father.”
He stopped pacing, his eyes landing on my face. Jamison bit his lip as if afraid to go on.
“Suggested what?” I asked, even though I knew with all my heart what he was about to say.
“Even though all the documentation and equipment were destroyed centuries ago, he’d found a way to make variants. Naomi, you were created in a lab. As far as I know, you are the only full-blood variant in centuries.”
For a moment, I couldn’t find my voice. Jared came and sat beside me, placed his arm around me, but I remained speechless. I wasn’t born. Not like Jared, not like any other variants in recent history. I was created in the lab. Created using technology which had long since been banned. For me to breathing was a crime in itself.
Jamison continued through the silence. “It takes three months to create a variant. Not nine, but three. The timing was just right. Your father and mother’s DNA were given. Your father demanded a boy. He got a girl. I think the scientist did it to spite your father. He was quite mad. We were promised that you would not have the traits of a variant, such as eyesight, strength, abilities. Apparently, he’d figured out a way to breed those traits out. Which makes you wonder how many others like you were created. We never found out. He took his payoff and disappeared before we could have him questioned.”
At the mention of abilities, every eye in the camp turned to me. Jamison looked around the group, then back to me. “Did I miss something?”
Jared answered for me since I was yet to find my voice. “The part about her not having abilities was either a lie or mistake. Show him Naomi.”
Still in a state of shock, I lay my palm on the ground and incinerated a bush five feet away. Jamison clapped and giggled like a child. I could already see the wheels in his head turning, so could Jared, because his mood seemed to decline. He whispered in my ear, “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I whispered back. “I think so, at least. It’s a lot to take in. Why don’t you catch Jamison up? I need to think.”
“Of course.”
I half listened to their conversation with Jamison. The other half of me processed what I’d just learned. To my surprise, I was calm. Finally knowing the truth, knowing that Grace really was my sister, that I was variant, but different; it all just seemed to fit.
When the guys finished catching Jamison up, he said, “I was positive you knew where the cure was. Still, this has been very helpful. There has been some doubt Grace really has it. Now we have proof. Did Terrance save a sample of your blood?”
“Yes, but he only did it because he knew you would ask. He doesn’t think it will give them enough information, though. Why is Grace holding the cure? Why hasn’t she given it out to the Metonians?” I asked.
Jamison looked out towards the shadowy night. “We’re not sure yet. Whatever it is, it’s big. She’s been hush-hush with her meetings with the Metonian government. That’s why we had Jared get the transcripts, why I have been working to hack into the class A1 plans. This cure could be leverage for either providence, depending on how they use it. The Mice want to take away that leverage, to distribute it freely.”
“When Grace came, she said there were more attacks, that the Eirenian Providence was struggling. What did she mean?”
“Honestly, Naomi, if I had any idea how much of that temper of hers you kept in check, I would have found another way around the blood test. She’s been livid since you left. It’s been a miserable time for the rest of us.”
I considered apologizing and then laughed at myself for the thought.
Jamison didn’t notice. “The Mice have been mounting small raids here and there along the wall. It’s a scare tactic. They don’t want Grace to know what they are looking for. They want her to think they are preparing to mount a war. People are nervous, beginning to doubt her.”
“Do you know what her plans are for us?” Micah asked.
“Right now, your camp is safe. She truly believes Naomi will get the information for her but knows it would look strange to check in too often.”
“Naomi believes if she doesn’t give Grace information the next time she sees her, that she will either come after her or the entire camp. What do you think?” Jared asked.
The fire popped, starting us all. Beneath the stars, we sat in our circle, worried about the future, each of us hoping Jamison would give us good news.
“I don’t know. I thought Naomi knew where the cure was, and we could use it as a bartering tool for the Mice to allow us to join them. Now, we are back to square one. Grace is not going to accept no for an answer and she’s not going to leave Naomi alone. One way or another, she’ll finish this. If she feels Naomi has betrayed her, I fear for the worst.”
“So, you pretty much dropped a ticking time bomb on us,” Randall spat.
“I didn’t mean to. I know that doesn’t help but that’s the best I have.”
Everyone spoke at once. I had to yell over them to be heard. “Jamison, where are their headquarters located?”
“I don’t know.”
“You must have some idea.”
“All I know is that it’s a facility, large enough to house thousands, with capabilities of a medical lab. It can’t be too far off either because they have met me within a day of requesting a meeting. It would have to be less than a day’s drive, but Grace had these woods combed with drones and we’ve seen nothing.”
I allowed the others to ask questions, tuning them out why I thought. First and most importantly, Grace still trusted me. That would be useful if I needed to go back, to find the cure. Secondly, the Mice were hiding somewhere close by, but where?
The facility would have to be underground, somewhere they could draw their own power.
I knew that after the wall was built, the Metonian’s built underground military bunkers on their side in the case we ever went to war again. Our side found out and followed suit. Still, we were aware of the locations of all bunkers, regardless of which side they were on.
Even if we didn’t know about one, surely their own government would. How would they travel? By foot? By trucks? They would be eaten alive by the Inferti.
Unless…
My mouth popped open and I muttered, “It’s brilliant.”
“What did you say?” Jared asked.
Breathlessly, I replied, “We’ve been looking on the wrong side of the wall.”
“What?”
I stood, my mind reeling with a thousand thoughts. “I know where the Mice are.”
Everybody stared at me in confusion except for Jamison, whose eyes were widening by the second.
“Is it possible?” he asked.
“It has to be. I’ve been signing off on the electric withdraws since I got there. It explains the rolling blackouts. They’re drawing energy from the palace.”
“Can somebody please explain what is going on?” Randall asked.
“It’s simple, so simple it’s brilliant.” I began to pace. “We’ve always assumed the Mice are hiding on this side of the wall but that doesn’t make sense. We’ve been out there, it’s covered with hordes of the Inferti. When the wall was built, both the Metonian Providence and the Eirenian Providence built military bunkers underground. Most of them on the side of the Metonian Providence are no longer used because of the plague. All of the ones in the Eirenian Providence are used, except for one. It was built on the side of a large cliff, ninety percent of it underground. It was supposed to be state of the art, large and impressive, built for a monarch. Not only did it have generators and food to last for decades in the case of a nuclear fallout, but it had a medical facility and labs. Right before completion, there was an earthquake, a small one, no bigger than a six, but one of the nuclear generators exploded. To contain the radiation, the bunker was sealed off. Explosives were set off, collapsing thousands of pounds of rock on top of it. The building was supposed to be airtight.”
“But if it’s full of radiation then how could the Mice hide there?”
“It’s not. That’s the thing. The radiation did escape, we just don’t know how or where. We’ve done readings everywhere around the building but have found the radiation levels to be low. Still, it’s too much of a risk to do anything but keep tabs on the radiation level.”
Micah stood and stretched. “This is all well and good, Naomi, but I don’t see your point. Why does it matter where the Mice are? They may or may not be in a radiation filled bunker, one in which we have no idea of how they entered. Except for the fact we might now give away their location if any one of us is tortured, what gives?”
“A hiding place, a safe place for the people of this camp. That’s why it matters,” I said.
“How would even move them? There are over eighty people here,” Jared argued.
“We use the corridors, make several trips.”
Jamison shook his head. “Naomi, I appreciate your efforts. You’re a brilliant woman for even thinking of this, but you don’t know the Mice. They will not take an entire camp of refugees in just because you’re in danger. They are focused on their purpose.”
“Yes, finding the cure, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Then we’ll make a trade, the protection of this camp for the cure.”
“You can’t make a promise to get the cure when they haven’t been able to find it, when you don’t know where it is. How would you even pull this off?”
“I’ll go back to Grace, say I escaped, tell them everything except for the whereabouts of the Mice. Everyone at the camp will already be in hiding, including you, Jamison. When they send the troops out, it’ll look like they left in a hurry when they discovered me missing. She’ll have no reason but to trust me and she will know I know about the cure because I was bitten. Once Grace tells me where it is, I’ll find a way to get it to the Mice.”
Jared stood and grabbed me by the shoulders. “No, Naomi. This isn’t going to happen. Get the idea out of your head.”
“What else are we going to do? Wait here until she kills us?”
Randall shook his head. “I agree with Jared. This whole idea is based on a lot of what ifs. Finding the hideout, then getting them to agree, getting the camp moved, Jamison going missing, you convincing the Queen, finding the cure, getting it to us…it’s impossible. If anyone of those things goes wrong, then we are done for.”
“Jamison, what do you think?”
“It might just work. You’re the only one who can get to Grace. I for one am willing to give up my career, my life for the chance.”
Jared put both his hands on my cheeks. “Look at me. I’m serious about this. I will not let you do this.”
“Micah?”
I hoped that Micah could talk some sense into him, explain to him this was our best chance for survival.
He was standing at the edge of the fire, listening quietly. When I called his name, he walked over to me and looked me in the eyes. “No.”
“What?” I couldn’t keep the shock out of my voice.
“No.”
“But, don’t you see…”
“I don’t care, Naomi. As far as I’m concerned, this meeting is done. I’ll see you all back at camp.” He turned and strolled off through the darkness.
There was nothing more to be said. Against Jared’s wishes, Jamison agreed to look over the blueprints and geographical map to see if he could find another entryway to the bunker. He also agreed to find out what Grace’s plan for us was if I didn’t find the information she needed and meet us back here in a week.
The seed was planted, whether anyone was willing to agree with it yet or not.
Chapter 24
My brain was on overdrive. The terms ‘lab-born’ and ‘created’ kept playing through my head. Every time I thought about the fact I was created to hide the death of another child, I felt like vomiting. If I detested my parents before, or DNA givers as I’d started thinking of them as, I most certainly hated them now. My only consolation was that Grace was, for the most part, was my real sister. I feared rejection from her, from my own sister who I planned to betray. I was going to be lucky not to end up in a mental facility by the time this was all said and done.
The next week went by in a blur. Although I kept running through the scenario through my head, trying to plan on the best way to get the camp to the Mice, and how to convince Grace to trust me enough with the cure, I said not a word about it to anyone. I sat through every meeting, every discussion on what needed to be done to secure the fate of the people here, but remained quiet. I went about my day to day business, working the gardens, training, helping out when needed, the same as I had done before. I knew Jared was upset with me that first night, but after a few days, he relaxed. When he asked why I was being so malleable, I told him I promised I wouldn’t do anything without his agreement.
That was technically not a lie. The truth was—I knew there was no other option. The others just needed time to come to terms with it. I think Jamison knew it, too. That’s why he was finding the blueprints, talking to Grace about her plans. We were just going through the motions.
Only Micah was suspicious.
After we returned to camp, I smiled at him, acting like nothing happened. During training sessions, and anytime I saw him in between, I laughed and joked as if there was not this looming issue standing between us. He made it four days like this before breaking. I was weeding out the garden when he tracked me down.
“Hey, do you have a minute?”
“Sure.”
I dusted off my hands and pointed to an alcove of trees where we could be in the shade. On the way, he made small talk, but I knew that wasn’t why he was there. Hot and tired, I took a seat and leaned against the tree. Micah paced back and forth.
