Archon (21 page)

Da stepped back and held Taemon’s shoulders. “And you brought him back. I can never thank you enough. I heard the rumor that they’d taken Fierre over the mountain. I hoped it wasn’t true.”

“I heard it was you they’d taken. Mam said they took her darling.”

“Fierre was Darling Houser, not me. That’s what they used to call him back when he was a psiball player. The best one on the Emerald team. ‘Darling’ was his nickname; all the girls used to call him that.” Da chuckled.

“I . . . I never heard that story.”

“It was long before your time. Eons ago, it seems. So much has changed.”

Taemon rubbed his hands. “Da, I need to tell you something. A lot of somethings, actually. . . . I’m not really sure where to begin. . . .”

“Perhaps you can begin by introducing me to your friend.” Da smiled down at Amma.

“Oh! Right!” Taemon said. How could he have forgotten Amma? “This is Amma Parvel. She’s from the colony. She’s my friend.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Houser,” Amma said, extending her hand.

Da hesitated briefly before shaking her hand. He laughed. “That still takes a bit of getting used to for me! But please, call me Wiljamen. It suits me better than Mr. Houser — or Free Will, for that matter!”

Taemon gawped. “
You’re
Free Will?”

Da waved dismissively. “Somebody came up with that name for me in the asylum. I was always spouting off about the right to make your own choices. You know me.” Da chuckled. “I guess the name stuck.”

“But Free Will is a thief and a murderer!” Taemon said, still aghast.

“Rumors, all of them. Ones that
we
started, too. We knew we needed to strike a bit of fear into the hearts of the curious just to be sure we were left alone. And it was imperative that we be left alone. Most of these people were in the asylums for years. They’re just learning how to take care of themselves. They’re not ready for society — especially a society that’s fallen to pieces.

“I’m trying to teach them how to live at peace with the planet, with the Heart of the Earth. The need for peace in your heart doesn’t change, psi or no psi. That’s what the priests never understood.”

Someone spoke from outside the tent. “Ahoy, Free Will!”

“Enter,” Taemon’s da called.

A man carrying a large tray of food entered the tent. He laid it out on the table before Taemon and Amma. Wild turkey with onions. Sweet tubers. And dandelion greens, which made Amma and Taemon glance at each other and smile.

“What about Gevri? Did you take him food?” Taemon asked.

“Is that his name?” Da asked. “It’s more than he told us. But yes, of course, we’ll see that he’s fed. Whatever possessed you to bring a Republikite across the mountain, though, Taemon?”

It was as good an opening as any. They spent the next two hours talking. Taemon told Da all about his time in the powerless colony and about meeting his aunt Challis, who’d been sent there when she was just a child. Amma told him about the library and her family’s charge to protect the books, and explained that the books had been stolen by Elder Naseph and were now in the hands of a Republikite general.

Da listened in awe as Taemon confessed to being the True Son and to speaking with the Heart of the Earth. Before the Fall, Da had been a religion teacher, and Taemon could see how amazed and humbled his da was by this news.

Then, of course, Taemon had to confess to making the decision to take away psi.

“You did the right thing,” Da said. “Only the True Son could have done it. Who else knows what you’ve done?”

“Only Amma and Challis, and now you.”

Da nodded. “Perhaps we keep it that way for now. You should think carefully before deciding how and when to tell people that you’re the True Son.”

“But everyone is so
angry,
” Taemon said. “I thought we would all come together, the colonists and the city dwellers alike, and learn to live a simpler, truer kind of life. But people refuse to give up hope that the old ways will return. And now we’re defenseless, and a whole army of archons might be headed this way!”

“An army of what?” Da asked.

And so Taemon launched into a recap of the last few weeks, of his and Amma’s perilous trip to the Republik and everything that had happened there. He told Da and Amma all about General Sarin, Captain Dehue, and the archon soldiers.

“They know about the tunnel,” Taemon said. “At least the general does. What’s to stop them from following us here and attacking Deliverance while it’s defenseless?”

Da sat back and crossed his arms. It was a thoughtful pose that Taemon knew well.

“Does the general actually know that the city is defenseless? Does he know that you did away with psi?”

Taemon shook his head slowly. “No. I don’t think so. There have been no messages from the city since the Fall, and I certainly didn’t tell him. Not even Gevri knows the truth.”

Amma harrumphed a bit at that, but Da was nodding.

“Then there’s no reason to believe that the general would strike anytime soon. He’s expecting to meet powerful resistance. My guess is that he’ll sit tight and plot his next move carefully. But if what he feels for Gevri is even a fraction of what I feel for you and Yens, he’ll come after his son. I can guarantee that.”

Taemon frowned. “I think he thinks of Gevri more as his property than as his son. He experimented on him, for Skies’ sake!”

“Well,” Da said sadly, “he may want him back for that reason, then.”

They picked at the rest of the food, and Da filled Taemon in on what he’d missed since he’d been sent to the colony. Not long after Yens had been declared the True Son, Da and Mam had been sent to asylums on suspicion of insubordination. “They separate family members,” Da said bitterly. “Makes the patients more pliable.”

Apparently Da had been his usual outspoken self, even after his own son had been put forward as the chosen one. Elder Naseph had locked them away to keep them from spreading their “perfidious lies.” But Da had organized an escape and had gone looking for Mam. He had nearly been caught a dozen times, but he and his fellow inmates were wily and had gotten away each time. Their antics led to Free Will’s reputation as a leader of a marauding group of madmen, which Da used to his advantage, stockpiling gear from terrified citizens and forcing information from others.

“You never found her?” Taemon asked, fearing the moment when he would have to explain to his da what had happened to Mam.

Da stared at the scarred surface of the table. “Oh, I found her all right.” He took a shuddering breath. “But her condition was . . . They’d filled her with so many drugs that she didn’t recognize me. She didn’t even know her own name, for Skies’ sake!” He blinked back tears. “I tried to get her out, son. I swear to Holy Mother Earth. I did! But she panicked — and why wouldn’t she? I was a stranger as far as she knew. She started causing such a scene. . . .” He trailed off, and Taemon only had to look at his da’s face to know that he was leaving out the worst of it. “In the end, I thought it best to leave her behind. I didn’t know what effect a sudden withdrawal of the drugs might have on her, if she could survive it. At least there were trained healers in the asylum, which was more than I could say for my ragged band at the time. I posted some of my best men to watch over her. And then I left her.”

His voice broke, and he had to look away. Taemon remembered the asylum where he’d found Mam, hidden away in her room with all those brooms and mops. Whatever healers had once worked at the asylum were long gone by the time Taemon had gotten there.

“I thought you might come looking for me or your mother, so I instructed my men to bring you to me the minute you showed your face,” Da said. “But you proved to be just as wily as your old man.”

They shared a sad smile, then Taemon asked, “So you know about Mam? That she’s in the colony, I mean? And she hasn’t woken up?”

Da nodded. “I have a woman posted at the colony who’s been keeping me informed of your mam’s condition. The good news is that it hasn’t worsened.”

Da was trying to be reassuring, Taemon knew, but a part of him had hoped to hear that Mam was awake and talking after all this time.

A quiet moment passed as Taemon thought about Mam and prayed she would be all right. “We already lost Yens,” Taemon whispered, blinking back tears. “We can’t lose Mam, too.”

Amma reached out and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

Da hesitated. “Skies, no one’s told you, have they?”

Taemon’s blood chilled, expecting the worst. “Told me what?”

“Yens is alive.”

Amma gasped.

“What?” A strange mix of emotions coursed through Taemon.

“It’s true,” Da said. “Yens and Naseph and all the priests survived the earthquake. Apparently the temple had secret underground passages.”

“Why didn’t they show themselves right away, let everyone know they were okay?” Taemon asked.
Let me know I hadn’t inadvertently caused my own brother’s death,
he thought.

“They said they were praying for the True Son’s psi to come back and didn’t want to return to power until their prayers were answered.” Da made a scoffing noise. “I think they’ve been waiting for people to be desperate enough to believe their lies and tricks.”

Taemon shook his head slowly and tried to make sense of it. It was good news. Of course it was. But it meant that he would have to resolve things with his brother. It was good to have a chance to do that, he reminded himself. But was it even possible?

When they had talked themselves out, Da led the way across the tent city, which looked surprisingly organized. Taemon noticed that as they walked by, everyone watched them and nodded deferentially to Da.

“How’s Uncle Fierre?” Taemon asked.

“He’s in rough shape, but I think our healers can fix the worst of it. It may be a few days before he’s back on his feet, though. He’s resting now. I can take you to see him later.”

They wandered over toward the outskirts of the clearing, where they found Gevri crouched over one of his kite’s wings, inspecting the joint.

“What are you doing?” Taemon said.

Gevri turned to Taemon with a fiery look in his eye. “What does it look like? As soon as I repair this kite, I’m leaving.”

“What?” Taemon said. “You’re the one who wanted to get to Deliverance so badly.”

Gevri rose and stepped up to Taemon until he was only an inch from his face. “I wanted to get to the place where archons live together in peace. A community of equals where everyone has dominion — or
psi.
” Gevri spat the word out as if it were a bug that had crawled into his mouth. “I finally get here, and I find out that no one, with one notable exception, has any power at all.” Gevri was shouting now. Curious onlookers began gathering around.

“I spent my whole life hearing about Nathan and his people. How they lied. How they pretended to be allies, then turned on the Republik. How the people in Nathan’s City are the same way. Liars. Selfish. Proud. But I never believed it. Nathan must have had his reasons, I figured. There are two sides to every story. And even if Nathan himself had done terrible things, surely his descendants were different. After all, hundreds of years had passed, and dominion would have become a way of life. Surely the people would be happy and free.”

“Gevri,” Taemon began, “I’m sorry I withheld information from you. I didn’t know if I could trust you —”

“Trust me?” Gevri yelled. “I did everything you asked! I led you back to the outpost even though I was risking my life by doing so. I waited around and came to rescue you when you got in over your head. And I let Jix —” Gevri’s voice broke, and his eyes filled with tears.

“Gevri,” Amma said gently, “I understand why you feel betrayed. But let’s go somewhere and talk. Let us explain.”

“How can I trust anything you say? Everything you’ve told me from the moment I met you has been a lie!” Anger contorted Gevri’s features. “There is no more psi in Deliverance. You weren’t sneaking into the Republik to rescue your father; your father is the leader of a band of outlaws! And you’re the mythical True Son that I read about in my father’s books.” Gevri shook his head, and suddenly his expression shifted from anger to sadness. “But you never said a word. It’s just as bad as lying outright.”

He took a shuddering breath, then pointed an accusing finger at Taemon. “Only this True Son is not noble and good, like the books said. He is a liar, just like Nathan! My father was right. I can see that now. And when he hears what I have to tell him, this land will be wiped clean of Nathan’s cursed people once and for all!”

Gevri spat on the ground by Taemon’s feet.

“Gevri, please,” Taemon began. He took a step forward, but Gevri quickly held up a hand. Taemon stumbled back. Gevri had pushed him away with psi.

Before anyone could react, Gevri turned back to the kite and lifted it with psi. In seconds, he had strapped himself in with the ropes.

From the corner of his eye, Taemon saw that a few of Da’s archers had nocked arrows in their bows. He didn’t need telepathy to know that they would kill Gevri before they let him return to the Republik with everything he knew.

“No!”

Acting almost without thinking, Taemon used his psi to disarm the archers. His left leg gave out from under him, but he managed to stay upright.

Gevri spun at the sound of Taemon’s voice. The look on Gevri’s face, as he realized what had nearly happened, was one of pure vengeance. He squared his shoulders, then nodded at the archers, who were reaching for more arrows. Instantly, the three men dropped to the ground.

The crowd was stunned into silence.

Taemon stared at the felled archers.
He hasn’t killed them,
he thought.
Gevri doesn’t kill people. He takes pride in that.

Taemon looked up in time to see Gevri begin running toward the edge of the clearing. No one made a move to stop him. Quickly, he became airborne. Above their heads, he banked the kite in a wide curve toward the mountain, his long hair rippling in the wind.

At first, it looked like Gevri’s hair was getting longer, but then Taemon realized that it was separating from his head, leaving a trail behind him that looked like smoke.