Green Jack (21 page)

Livia dropped
her gaze, turned it on Jane. She smiled insincerely, an animal show
of teeth. “Oops,” she said, dumping her bowl of hot soup on Jane.
Jane leapt back, too late to stop the burning spatter from hitting
her arms. The bowl clattered to the floor, bouncing off her foot.
She calmly wiped her arms dry. Livia was annoying, but she was no
Asher. The worst part was the sudden silence, the weight of the
stares.

“Damn it,
Livia,” Nico said, disgusted. “Why are you such a bitch?”

“Watch
yourself,” she spat at Jane, before marching away.

“Welcome to the
Grove,” Nico told Jane with an ironic smile.

Kristoff added
a strawberry tart to Jane’s plate. “You get double dessert,
darling.”

She smiled
shyly. “Thank you.”

He shook his
head. “Those Enclave manners will get you into trouble.”

She couldn’t
understand why, but it was clear he was right.

“Come on,” Nico
said, guiding her to a table of his friends. They nodded to Jane
with quiet curiosity but no one threw any soup at her head.
Progress. She suddenly felt like she was back at the first day of
the Collegium, trying to disappear in the crowd. How had the
Collegium explained her absence? Or her mother? She hoped,
fiercely, that her gift for being overlooked had made them forget
her already. Either way, her mother would have come up with a good
story.

“Thinking that
hard will give you indigestion,” Nico poked her with his fork. “Why
do you think Caradoc looks so serious all the time?”

He was sitting
at a large table in the corner with three others. He was magnetic,
holding everyone’s peripheral attention even as they ate their
soup. There were as many hunting knives at his table as butter
knives. She wondered how long he had been here, if he knew what
they said about him in the City. He didn’t look like a deranged
killer.

Nico sighed.
“Not you too. Everyone falls for Caradoc.”

Jane turned
away. “I’m not – I don’t even know him. He stabbed me!”

He grinned.
“Doesn’t matter. He’s a good guy, a leader, and nearly as handsome
as me. Hell, I’m half in love with him too.”

One of his
friends snorted. He had blond hair and a metal stud in one eyebrow.
“You’re so in love with yourself, there’s no room for anyone
else.”

“Don’t listen
to him,” Nico said. “Will is just jealous because I turned him
down.”

Will rolled his
eyes. “I have better taste.”

“No such
thing.”

Their easy
banter put Jane at ease. The tension in her belly released enough
that she could eat. “Hey, you’re an Oracle,” Nico said her
suddenly. “Can you read the omens for me?”

“Sure.” This at
least she understood. It was familiar.

“I want to know
if Freya likes me.”

“Life and death
all around us; raids, this bloody heat, Directorate army constantly
circling and he wants to know about his love life.” Will said,
drily.

“Everyone
always does,” Jane replied. The girl in question had long hair in a
tidy braid and wore leather pants. She was pretty in a petite pixie
sort of way. “I don’t need to read the omens,” Jane added. “She
likes you.”

“How do you
know?”

“She’s glaring
at me like I kicked her puppy.”

Nico beamed at
Jane. “Yeah?”

Jane reached
for the runestones in one of her many pockets. She didn’t have
enough anise seeds to give out as a blessing, but at least this was
a way she could thank him. Nico was like Kiri, the force of his
personality had already acted as a shield and a map.

Everyone at the
table eased closer, watching her undo the ties to the leather bag.
It wasn’t decorated with gold embroidery or painted with the
all-seeing eye like the one she used for formal readings, but it
had survived Red Dust, Ferals, and the Badlands. And so had
she.

Feeling more
confident, she scattered salt on the table before pouring the runes
into her hand. The smooth flat stones were marked in white paint
mixed with powdered quartz crystal and crushed mistletoe berries.
She couldn’t tell if there was the familiar tingle on the back of
her neck, not through the burning ache in the raw flesh in the
centre of the eye.

She tossed the
stones and the way they landed told her as much as the symbols did.
Small personal treasures passed around the table as wagers were
made. “What do you see?” Nico pressed.

Jane noticed
Freya glancing their way. She noticed the scatter of stones, the
lone rune rolling to stop at Nico’s elbow, well outside the casting
circle, symbolizing patience. “Luck is on your side,” she said. He
leaned back, looking smug. “As things are now. Brag about this, and
it all falls apart,” she felt compelled to add. “Omens are
prediction of patterns – they’re not necessarily a guarantee.”

He shrugged,
not the least bit daunted. “When?”

“Three weeks,
maybe more.”

His friends
exchanged wager winnings but she wasn’t sure what outcome they had
bet on. She leaned forward, lowered her voice. “Don’t charm
her.”

“How can I help
that?” He drawled.

“If you treat
her like the other girls, that’s all she’ll ever be.”

He raised an
eyebrow. “Are you speaking as an Oracle?”

She shook her
head. “Just as a girl.”

Will shoved
Nico right off the bench. “My turn.”

Chapter
33

Saffron

The first thing
Saffron saw on her return to the camp was Jane silhouetted at the
window of the hall, surrounded by Greencoats begging for omens.
Saffron pushed through the crowd, noting exits, suspicious glares,
weapons. Jane was flushed, but happy enough.

Nico stood up
smiling. “Ladies, let me take you to bed.”

Saffron
daggered him with her eyes. Jane just looked amused, as if he was a
little brother, even though he towered over them and carried
himself like a fighter. “That’s Nico.” Jane said.

He bowed at
Saffron. “I’m yours to command, Green Jill.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Outside, the
stars clustered together like candles on a feast table. Lanterns
guided them down the gravel walk to the cabins. Nico pushed the
door open with a flourish, and hit the switch on the wall. The
solar lamps flicked on instantly. “Only the best for a Green Jill,”
he said. “Although there are no commtabs. Too hard to get a decent
signal and we can’t take juice away from Caradoc’s surveillance of
the Directorate.”

“Should you be
telling us that?” Saffron asked.

He didn’t look
concerned. “Not a secret. And we’ve got Beatrix. You’ll see her
around. She spends her time researching and practicing pioneer
techniques.”

“Why?”

“Worse times
are coming. Everyone knows it, even out here. You can only
repurpose technology for so long. And there wasn’t much out here to
begin with.”

The cabin had a
sitting room with a worn couch and chairs and a low table. A
bookcase with old paperback novels and vintage clutter stood in one
corner, under a truly ugly painting of what looked like a giant
shaggy cow about to cry. Saffron shuddered.

“It’s a moose,”
Nico said. “They weigh more than a truck, but they’re gentle enough
if you don’t get in their way. No need to worry.”

“It’s not
that,” Saffron said. “It’s the artwork.” She was offended.

“It’s not that
bad,” Nico just shrugged. Clearly his eyeballs were broken. He
leaned in the doorjamb. “I’d be happy to sleep over, ladies, in
case you need… anything. Anything at all.”

“Go away now,”
Saffron said cheerfully, even as she shoved him out onto the porch
and shut the door.

Jane shook her
head. “You’re terrible.”

“Saves time.”
She circled the cabin. “This place is huge.” It seemed decadent,
with only the two of them. There was a bathroom with a functioning
earth toilet. The beds were saggy but serviceable, with blankets
striped with red, green, yellow and black. Saffron lay down,
suddenly exhausted.

The springs
creaked when Jane lay on the other bed. “I still feel like were on
the run,” she said. “I can’t convince my body that were safe.”

“I know,”
Saffron agreed. She yawned hugely but her fingers drummed on the
itchy blanket. “This place seems too good to be true.”

“I did get
stabbed,” Jane pointed out

“True.”

“That actually
makes you feel better, doesn’t it?”

“A little.”

“Glad to
help.”

“I’m too wired
to sleep,” Saffron said on another yawn.

“Me too,” Jane
agreed. “We could…”

They were both
asleep before she could finish her sentence.

Still, Saffron
wasn’t so tired that she didn’t wake up the moment the floorboard
by her bed creaked. She bolted upright, dagger in hand.

“It’s me,” Nico
said, turning off his flashlight when she recognized him. She
didn’t lower the knife.

“What’s going
on?” Jane asked groggily.

“A very good
question,” Saffron said, sliding out of bed.

“Come with
me.”

She glared at
him, disgusted. “Look, I don’t know what you’re used to, but we’re
not interested.” She glanced at Jane. “Are you interested in seeing
him naked?”

“I don’t
th---.”

“She’s not
interested.”

“Come with me
now,” Nico insisted grimly enough that she registered that he was
serious. She lowered her knife, frowning.

“What is it?”
she asked, slipping on her boots. Jane was already dressed and
waiting. Those Enclave school drills were good for something at
least.

“Helicopters,”
Nico said, just as she heard the low thrumming. They crossed
through the sitting room, Saffron banging her elbow on the corner
of the table. They eased onto the porch.

“Wouldn’t we be
safer inside?” Jane asked, as bright lights stabbed at the cabins
and the violent winds from the blades pressed down on the treetops.
There was a whining sounds and something fell onto a nearby
building, detonating. Fire and roof shingles flew like bullets.

“Guess not,”
Saffron muttered.

“This way,”
Nico led them along the side of the cabin, and into the thick
trees. Smoke and dirt whirled around them, stinging their eyes. The
helicopter lights were too bright, the darkness too dark. Bullets
ricocheted off the ground, smashed through windows. A ladder
dangled from a helicopter, a Protectorate soldier clinging to the
rungs. Caradoc shot him through the leg with an arrow, and then
through the chest. He fell into the lake, screaming. Roarke was on
another rooftop, also firing arrows. The soldiers outgunned them by
far but he didn’t seem particularly fazed.

A girl tripped,
falling hard. There was a soldier on the ground behind her, running
her down. She landed too hard; choking, trying to find her breath.
Saffron flung her dagger. It hit him in the shoulder, not enough
stop him, just enough to make him drop his gun. Saffron slid
through the dirt, scrabbling for the knife on the girl’s belt. This
time she got him in the throat. He toppled, gurgling and scratching
at the hilt. More blood blossomed, like roses in a tea garden.

Saffron stared
at him, everything sharp and everything numb fighting inside her
head at once. She’d never killed a man before. She’d broken bones
and left a girl with a severe limp but she’d never seen that look
of shock, not aimed at her. The whirling lights seemed very far
away.

The girl,
finally able to breathe, hauled Saffron to her feet. Nico was
there, yelling something she couldn’t hear. The soldier was very
still, staring blankly. Greencoats raced passed him to form
protective walls around a frail looking Green Jill and a Green
Jack. And Saffron.

They were
pushing her up a ladder and suddenly she was back in Elysium,
running the rope bridges. The familiar dangerous sway snapped her
back to her body, away from the whirling thoughts. Her hands were
shaking but at least she was running. Jane looked nauseous but
determined, an unintentional mirror. They paused on a wooden
platform, breathing heavily. Saffron concentrated on the burn in
her lungs, the smell of smoke.

The helicopters
circled the camp like deadly metal insects, gleaming blades and
glass like eyes, bullets and bombs for stingers. Someone screamed.
“I thought his place was protected,” Saffron shouted.

“It is,” Nico
said, a stolen Protectorate gun at the ready. “The Directorate
can’t get in on the ground. They’re too scared to damage the forest
and the source of the Green Jacks, but too scared not to try. And
mostly the forest doesn’t want them here.”

Smoke bombs
were being launched by Greencoats to cover them, but the shots were
already ringing out. A man lay dead, blood pooling in the hole in
his chest. Jane’s eyelids began to flutter rapidly, the whites of
her eyes rolling, “We have to move,” she barked suddenly.

Nico looked
confused. The others stayed where they were. Saffron grabbed Jane’s
hand and pulled her up. “Let’s go.”

Jane’s distant
gaze snapped into abrupt, intense focus. One of the Greencoats
instinctively cringed. “That way,” she ordered, pointing back to
where they’d come from. There was nothing polite or apologetic
about her now. She looked slightly crazy, as one of the girls
pointed out. Gunshots peppered the camp.

“She’s an
Oracle,” Saffron reminded the others. “She says run, you jacking
well run.” She took off after Jane, pausing only briefly to glance
at Nico. “Well? Are you coming to protect me, or what?”

It galvanized
him into movement, shoving at the others until they abandoned the
sturdy platform for the unsteady rope bridges and ladders. When the
explosive hit the tree, everything shattered. A deadly shrapnel of
broken branches and wood and rusty nails filled the air.