Intermix Nation (22 page)

Cato’s mother Juliya rushes downstairs, also
in her bathrobe and fuzzy slippers. Nazirah can tell from Juliya’s
unusually tight ringlets that she’s removed her hair rollers in a
hurry. It reminds Nazirah of something Riva would have done. Riva
used empty cans, though, because the Nations could never afford
anything else. Juliya squashes Nazirah against her chest, hugging
her tightly. “Oh Nazirah!” she cries, “let me look at you!” She
sniffles and grabs Nazirah’s shoulders. Nazirah awkwardly pulls off
Cato’s cap, stuffing it into her back pocket. “You’ve always been
so beautiful,” Juliya says, and Nazirah doesn’t quite believe her.
“But you’ve grown up so much.” That, Nazirah believes.

“Not any taller though.”

Cander haughtily enters the room. Whereas
Cato shares Cameron’s medium build, Cander is surprisingly tall for
an Eridian. Nazirah wants to tell him off, but holds her tongue in
front of his parents. Luckily, Juliya does it for her. “Cander,
quiet,” she hisses. “Honestly, you act younger than Caria.”

Nazirah smirks at him cheekily before Juliya
turns back to her. Juliya’s hands shake slightly.

“Nazirah, please,” she says, “Let me make
you something to eat. You’re all skin and bones. Don’t the rebels
feed you?”

“They do, but the food is awful,” Nazirah
replies. “It’s nothing like how you cook.”

Juliya kisses Nazirah on the cheek and
hurries into the kitchen. Nazirah’s eyes dart between Cander and
Cameron. The two of them seem to be having a silent argument, which
Cameron appears to win for the time being. He gestures for Nazirah
to take a seat on the couch, which she does. Cameron settles beside
her, while Cander sits in a nearby armchair.

Cameron pats her knee kindly. “Nazirah,
there’s been so much left unsaid between us. We wanted to see you
again, after everything that happened, but the rebels whisked you
away so quickly.”

“I remember,” she mumbles, looking at her
hands. “At the funeral.”

“They wouldn’t let us approach you,” Cameron
says, shaking his head. “It devastated us, not being able to say
goodbye.”

“It’s okay,” she says feebly. “I wasn’t
really in a great state that day.”

Cameron gently takes her hands in his, which
are calloused and weathered from the ocean. “Not a day goes by
where I don’t think of them,” he says earnestly. “Not a day passes
when I forget their kindness, their joy, their ceaseless optimism.
Not a day do I lose sight of their love, the enthusiasm your mother
brought to her students, the dedication your father had for his
work. I miss them all the time, Nazirah, as if they were my own
flesh and blood. All of Rafu misses them, and you.”

“Thank you,” she says. It’s all she can get
out without splitting into pieces.

“Nazirah,” Cander interrupts and Cameron
looks at him sharply. “Tell us what’s happening with the rebellion.
We hear whispers here and there, especially on the boardwalk, but
we don’t know much.”

“I wish I could tell you,” she sighs. “But I
probably know less than you do. Niko barely tells me anything,
unless he wants something from me.” Nazirah traces a small circle
in the floor with her shoe. “All he asked me to do was gain
intermix and territory support. But as you saw from this afternoon,
I’m not particularly good at it.”

Cander snorts. “You can say that again.”

“Thanks,” she snaps.

“To be perfectly honest,” Cander scoffs,
“you don’t need to do much. You said a total of about ten words
today, two of them your own name, and Eridians are already singing
your praises around town.”

“How is that even possible?” she asks,
stunned. “I completely messed up at the end! Thanks for that, by
the way.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Cander says. “All of
what, fifty people, were there to see it happen? And they don’t
even know what they saw. What’s important is how it all spreads
across Eridies by word of mouth. And you should hear how your
mentor – or whatever – Aldrik, is twisting your silence
around.”

Nazirah is worried now. “What’s he
saying?”

“You really want to know?” Cander asks
mischievously.

“Yes!”

“He’s telling everyone you and Adamek Morgen
are secret lovers. And that your silence was you refusing to
publicly admit it. The Eridians are eating it up like candy.”

“He said what?!” she screeches. “But that’s
ridiculous! That excuse doesn’t even make sense! Who would believe
that?”

Cander shrugs. “People believe what they
want to believe,” he says. “Everyone loves a fantasy, Nazirah,
especially when reality is so bleak.”

“No,” she argues belligerently. “I refuse to
accept that.”

“Why not?” asks Cander. “It sets the stage
perfectly. The intermix orphan falls in love with the reformed Medi
who ruined her life. It showcases the both of you in the best
possible light. And it makes the rebellion seem like a dreamland …
allowing people to hope for things they never imagined could
exist.”

“Because –”

“Oh right,” he interrupts snidely, “because
you don’t want to fuck over my little brother any more than you
already have.”

Nazirah sucks in her breath, repressing the
urge to slam his face against the coffee table. “That was so
uncalled for,” she says.

“But entirely true!”

“Cander, enough!” shouts Cameron.

“No! It’s not enough! Cato should be home
with us right now, not off gallivanting, risking his life with
these foolish rebels!”

“Foolish rebels?” Nazirah exclaims. “That’s
all you think we are?”

“Did I stutter?”

“Foolish for what, exactly?” she asks, “For
wanting the same rights as everyone else? For standing up to the
Medis, in Eridian defense, for people too afraid to defend
themselves?”

“Don’t put words in my mouth!” he barks. “So
much has been going on here lately, Nazirah. So much you don’t
know.”

“What do you mean?” she asks. “What’s been
going on?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Cander
says, “but Rafu has changed since you’ve been away. Intermix are
restless, poverty has multiplied, violence is incredible. Life here
is drastically deteriorating.”

“I’ve seen it,” Nazirah says.

“Seeing it doesn’t mean you understand it,”
he says. “We barely get any resources from Mediah anymore. Our
quotas have tripled. We’re forced to send them almost everything we
catch, tons and tons of seafood daily. The Medis don’t even consume
it all; the Chancellor throws most of it away. Mediah is punishing
Eridies for housing the rebels. I’m worried this campaign is the
final straw.”

“Poor Cander,” she mocks. “You don’t get any
resources from Mediah? Welcome to my life for the past eighteen
years! And besides, this is a good thing! We need this unrest to
fuel the rebellion!”

“So that what?” he cries. “So that your
brother can ship mine off to war? To certain death? It’s a suicide
mission, Nazirah! You have no shot against the capital. Don’t
delude yourself into thinking otherwise. Your intermix revolution
ties a noose around Cato’s neck. And I want no part of it.”

“It’s not an intermix revolution, Cander!”
Nazirah screams. “It’s to the benefit of every territory-born as
well! You should follow your little brother’s lead and stop acting
like a spineless coward!”

Cander slams his fist on the coffee table,
making the glass rattle. “I am no coward!”

“Could have fooled me!”

“You think I don’t see the poverty around
us?” he yells, infuriated. “I help extinguish Medi fires all the
time in the slums! You think it doesn’t eat me up inside, watching
human beings burn and die? You think I like being a pawn in their
sick game? I’m just trying to protect my family, Nazirah! Because
no one else will. Especially not my little brother. You’re the only
thing Cato cares about. It’s always been that way. It’s always been
all about Nazirah fucking Nation, and fuck anyone who dares get in
the way!”

“Nazzy!”

A small voice cries from the top of the
staircase, interrupting them. Cato’s seven-year-old sister bolts
down the stairs and into Nazirah’s arms. Nazirah scoops her up into
a hug. Nazirah fondly remembers the day Caria was born; she has
always thought of her as a little sister.

“Caria!” Nazirah wipes away a tear. “You’ve
grown up! You’ve lost your front tooth!” Nazirah scoots over,
making room for Caria on the couch.

Caria sits down, bouncing happily, sticking
her tongue in the empty gap. “Last week,” she says, grinning.

Cameron tries to sound stern. “You’re
supposed to be sleeping, sweetie.”

“Daddy, please,” Caria says, rolling her
eyes. “Nazzy, what are you doing here? Is Cato back?” She looks
around the room excitedly. Cander and Cameron stiffen in their
seats.

“No Caria,” Nazirah says. “It’s only me. I’m
… visiting.”

“Oh,” Caria sighs, a bit put out. “Well, I’m
happy to see you!”

Nazirah smiles slightly. She looks at
Cander, who nods. They make a silent pact not to argue in front of
the smallest, most powerful Caal.

Juliya comes out with a steaming mug of tea
and some homemade cookies. She hands the plate to Nazirah and Caria
eyes the cookies longingly. Nazirah happily shares them with
her.

“She’s got you wrapped around her little
finger,” Cander says to Nazirah. Caria sticks her tongue out at
him, fingers sticky with jam.

Juliya adjusts her robe, sitting down on the
armrest next to Cameron. She asks, “How did you get here? We were
sure Nikolaus wouldn’t let you out of his sight.”

Nazirah snorts. “Yeah, right.”

“He’s okay with you wandering off?”

“Niko isn’t on the campaign with us,”
Nazirah says, unsure of how to proceed. “He’s staying at
headquarters.” She bites into a large cookie, trying to avoid
answering the question.

“You didn’t sneak out, did you?” asks
Juliya, concerned.

“Sneak … no,” Nazirah says, chewing. “Walk …
maybe.”

“Girl hasn’t changed at all, Juliya,”
Cameron chuckles. “Remember when she and Cato ransacked the house,
making off with all the homebrewed tequilux we’d been saving for
the family reunion?”

Nazirah coughs up cookie crumbs, blushing
furiously. “I don’t remember that,” she claims.

Juliya looks bemused. “I do,” she says.
Then, as only a mother can, Juliya broaches the subject everyone
has been dancing around. “Speaking of Cato,” she says. “Is he
well?”

Nazirah sees the deep concern in her eyes,
the worry she hides as she tries to remain strong for her family.
Juliya and Riva are so alike it hurt. “He is,” Nazirah replies.
“Really well, actually.”

Nazirah proceeds to tell them everything
about Cato. She tells them about how happy he is, how he feels like
he’s finally found his place doing something meaningful in the
world. How he lights up the rebel headquarters with his smile, how
he is friends with everyone he meets. How he has been stationed for
a few weeks in the Red West and how excited he was to go. His
family listens, rapt, smiles and tears on every face.

Juliya affectionately grabs Cameron’s hand.
“That’s wonderful to hear,” she says, face shining.

“He misses you.” Nazirah smiles. “Just this
morning, he asked me to tell you he loves you.”

Juliya sobs into Cameron’s shoulder, making
Nazirah feel enormously uncomfortable. She stands up, ready to
leave, wanting to give them privacy. They’ve lost a son, Nazirah
realizes, and a brother. Because of her.

Juliya sees the guilt on Nazirah’s face,
rises to embrace her. “Nazirah,” she says firmly, like a mother
would speak to her own child. “We are so incredibly proud of you,
and of Cato. Please don’t think we hold anything against you. None
of this is your fault.”

But Nazirah doesn’t believe her, not for a
second. She should have stopped Cato from coming with her. But she
didn’t, because she wanted him for herself. Adamek is right. She is
a selfish bitch.

“I should probably get back,” she says.
“Before anyone realizes I’m gone.”

Juliya and Cameron share a concerned look.
“Cander will walk you,” Juliya says. “You can’t roam these streets
alone at night anymore.”

“I’ll be fine,” Nazirah replies.

“It’s not a suggestion,” Juliya says
sharply.

“Nazirah,” Cameron says, “with all the
turmoil around here lately, some of the Eridian gangs have taken it
upon themselves to … place blame.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re lynching intermix,” Cander answers
abruptly. “They round up the beggars on the street every night and
hang them in the square.”

Nazirah inhales, clenching her fists. She
looks away for a moment, collecting herself, before nodding
silently. She pulls out Cato’s cap. Instead of putting it on, she
gently fits it over Caria’s head. It falls into Caria’s eyes and
she holds it up with one hand. “Something to remember Cato by,”
Nazirah says. “While he’s away.”

“Wait!” Caria shouts, remembering something.
She bounds upstairs, banging loudly, and then storms back down
again. She holds something small in her hand, thrusts it shyly to
Nazirah. “This is for Cato … when you see him.”

Nazirah gently takes the heart-shaped locket
she knows contains a photo of Cato and Caria. “I’ll make sure he
gets it,” she says.

“Promise?”

“Cross my heart.”

“Take care, Nazirah,” Juliya says, tightly
hugging her at the door. Nazirah imagines this particular hug is
meant for someone else.

Cander and Nazirah walk back in
uncomfortable silence. They soon reach the entrance of the inn.
Even though it’s late, there are a few stragglers drinking casually
outside. Nazirah covers her face with her hand. Cander glances
suspiciously around the tables. He wraps his hands around her
waist, embracing Nazirah as if they were lovers.

“Are we okay?” she asks him quietly.

“Everyone here is drunk,” he whispers in her
ear. “No one will recognize you. And if they do, they won’t
remember it come tomorrow anyway.”