Sovereign Hope (37 page)

“
Hello, Daniel.”

The voice
startled me. A surge of energy burst from me before I had time to
think, before I could see who I was attacking. It didn’t matter,
though. I had no friends down here.

The burst of
light hit Tobin full force. He was launched back in the flash of an
eye, flying through the air before landing with a bone-crunching
thud on the sandstone. My heart pounded around my body like a
freight train. Were there more? I waited for the rush of footfall,
but empty corridor faced me on the left and on the right.

“
That…is no way to treat your host.” Tobin picked himself up
off the floor and straightened his suit jacket.

“
Where are my friends?” I hissed. The whisperers urged me to
attack again.

Tobin paused
from swiping the dust off his suit pants and fixed me with narrow,
impossibly dark eyes. He was still as arrogant as ever.

“
Well, now…I can’t seem to think who you could possibly mean.”
He stepped towards the mouth of the entranceway, and I raised my
hand, ready to defend myself.

“
Oh, there’s plenty of time for that. First, I think you and I
ought to have a little conversation.”

“
I have nothing to say to you.”

“
Well, you can be stoic and look surly whilst I speak, then.
It’ll be rather one sided, I suppose, but your responses are of
little import either way. So….” He stepped closer, and I held my
ground, never taking my eyes off the man. “Perhaps we do have some
guests with us at the moment. We’ve thankfully had one of our own
returned to us. We’re kindly offering our hospitality to those he
traveled with. I hear that they will be joining my family in the
Great Room shortly. We would be delighted to have your company,
too.”

Tobin stepped
into the bright corridor and ran his hand through his dark hair. I
was shocked to see the flecks of grey at his temples. I laughed
scathingly. “You’re getting old, Tobin. Seems the years haven’t
been so kind to you.”

Tobin
shrugged, wiping some imaginary dust from his hands. “A minor
annoyance. Some things just cost more to achieve than others. It’s
nice that you’re concerned about my wellbeing, though, Daniel.
Thank you.”

“
Not concerned, just observing you’re not as strong as you
used to be.”

“
Oh, that’s not true. I just temporarily exhausted a portion
of my reserves on a pet project of mine.” Tobin’s eyes glinted as
he paced along the wall, enjoying his own rhetoric. “I heard you
may have actually had occasion to meet her recently?”

Realization
flooded through my mind, and I glared at Tobin with disgust. “So
you made the whyte. You killed Farley’s mother.”

“
And you thought Elliott did it, I suppose? Unfortunately my
son is incapable of cleaning up his own messes. Yes, I killed her.
It was fun, too. Rather poetic, don’t you think? That it was the
girl’s mother?”

The energy
inside me twisted and stormed. The man continued to smile at me,
though he stopped his pacing to ponder me for a moment. “I’m
curious, Daniel. What did you envision happening here?”

“
Well, I guess I hadn’t really thought that far ahead,” I
snapped. Tobin’s presumption irked me. This wasn’t over
yet.

“
Okay. I can see you’re in a bad mood so I’ll make this quick.
I’m giving you the option.” He smiled, anticipating my reaction.
“It seems I’ve been in a very giving mood of late. You have to die.
But Farley…I’m leaving her fate in your hands. What I’m proposing
is this: you can turn yourself over to me now with no more bravado
or showmanship, and I will allow her to live. She can be, say,
Elliot’s servant girl or something. She was his problem in the
first place. I suppose she could remain so.

“
Alternatively, if you decide that you wish to continue down
this path, then you will die, I assure you of that much. But before
you do, I will allow you the pleasure of watching me turn Farley
into one of my little pet projects first.”

I leapt forward before Tobin could finish his
sentence.
“You will not harm
her.”

“
I’m afraid it may already be a little too late for that, boy.
My people can get carried away sometimes. You know how it is. I’m
told she doesn’t have any broken bones, so that’s a small
blessing.”

My vision
swam. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just tear your head
off right now. You’re here all alone.”

Tobin wagged
an index finger, propping himself against the wall. “You raise a
good point. At this stage in the proceedings, I’m counting on the
truth behind a hideous rumor. I’ve been told that you love this
girl. It can’t be true, can it?”

I clenched my
jaw and a disbelieving smile twisted Tobin’s face. “Well, who would
have thought it? In that case, I have every confidence that I am
quite safe. If you harm me or the guards hear any disturbance in
the halls, then they’ll kill your little love interest quicker than
you can blink.” He caught the pained expression that flashed over
my face and nodded with satisfaction. “You know, it’s ironic. I
didn’t think this girl would mean so much to you. You were always
such a smart boy. Who knew you would let yourself fall in love and
become as weak as any of the rest of them.” He gestured to the city
overhead. “It’s a shame, really. You could’ve been so much more. We
learned a long time ago that emotions like that particular one only
serve to make you soft. Careless and easily overcome.”

I remained
silent. There was nothing I could do. If I tried to kill him, then
Farley died. She wasn’t supposed to be here. This was exactly what
I knew would happen if she were involved. I cursed myself for not
making sure she was far, far away when all this came to pass. I
didn’t trust Tobin as far as I could throw him. They would kill her
as soon as I was disposed of and no mistake. She was an affront in
their eyes. Tobin wouldn’t tolerate her existence anywhere on the
face of the planet, let alone here in their fastness.

“
I want to see her.”

“
As a guarantee to an agreement?”

I nodded.

“
Excellent. In that case, you may see the girl. She’ll
probably be with the others in the Great Room by now. Let us go and
see.” Tobin indicated toward the staircase and I reluctantly
descended, the man following close behind. At the first landing, I
left the stairs and entered the high vaulted anteroom to be greeted
by eight heavily armed Immundus. Their guns were aimed and ready
when we emerged from the stairwell.

“
The boy has shown sense. He’s handing himself over,” Tobin
told the men. The news didn’t affect their hard looks or the
determination with which they pointed their guns at my head,
however. I allowed myself a hard smile of my own.

I could kill
you all in an instant and your fat fingers wouldn’t have a chance
to pull the triggers.

The Great Room
was so called because of its size and grandeur. Even its huge
mahogany doors were majestic and imposing. They were inlaid with
lapis lazuli, and the rich wood bore a host of beautifully carved
animals: a lion bringing down a springbok; a tiger crouching in
wait, its eyes piercing through the polished wood; snakes; a ram; a
hundred different kinds of tiny birds scattered to the sky depicted
overhead. They were a masterpiece in themselves. Very few people
got to walk through those doors. Even fewer walked out. As the two
nearest Immundus turned the weighty iron handles, my heart began to
quicken.

The round room
was cavernous and cold despite being filled with close to eighty
bodies. On the dais at the head of the room were the three seats of
judgment, the lesser two of which were occupied by Elliot and
Jacob, who observed me with smug superiority. The largest, most
impressive chair sat in the middle, empty, awaiting Tobin as he
strolled in casually behind me.

The sea of
people turned in unison as we entered. All eyes were suddenly on
me, eyes filled with distaste or confusion, some with curiosity and
intrigue, yet it was the eyes filled with fear I noticed the
most.

There were
men, women, and children from the quarters mingled in amongst the
stern-looking Immundus, and it was clear they didn’t want to be
there. They talked in hurried, hushed tones and averted their eyes
from mine as I swept the room, looking for Farley and the
others.

Oliver stood
stiffly at the base of the platform beneath Elliot’s feet with an
Immundus guard on either side of him. He looked alarmed and washed
out, so pale that the stark purple and blue of the swollen bruise
below his left eye stood out like fresh ink. His bottom lip was
badly split, and a small line of blood had trickled down his chin
and dried there. I noted with unease that they had already forced
him into an expensive-looking suit, and the fine cut and color of
the material was almost identical to the one that Elliot wore.

The crowd
parted as we neared, giving us a wide path to the judgment seats.
As soon as we arrived at the base of the platform, Tobin stepped up
and turned to face the room, taking his seat with an air of regal
pomp. He looked down on me and gave a false smile.

“
Where is she?” I hissed.

The room
erupted in a low rumble of chatter. I ignored them and focused on
Tobin, who stared down on me with disapproval. Eventually, he broke
his gaze to nod at a guard standing to the side of the room. The
Immundus walked back towards the door, the sound of his footsteps
echoing through the chamber. The giant wooden doors were pulled
back once more and he disappeared from sight, leaving the people
present in the room waiting in uncomfortable silence. I examined
each man upon the platform critically, imagining all of the ways
I’d like to kill them.

“
A penny for your thoughts,” Tobin commented.

“
You don’t want to know.”

“
Oh, please…enlighten us.” My eyes flashed, and Tobin’s
sneering smile faded a little. “On second thoughts, don’t bother.
Instead, let me take this opportunity to offer my condolences. I
hear Aldan is dead.”

“
Yes. The first of your kind to die, I believe. Unfortunate.
Just proves you’re not as invincible as you think.”

“
Oh, come, now. I heard Aldan gave his own life. More of a
suicide than anything else. I doubt he could have died at someone
else’s hand. Just as I doubt that any of us could die at
yours.”

“
Aldan thought differently. He thought I could kill you, and I
think I can, too,” I hissed.

Elliot rolled
his eyes. “You can’t seriously think we’re concerned about the
ramblings of a crazy old man.”

Tobin agreed.
“Yes, Aldan was never a concern of ours. You, on the other hand…”
He stopped short as the doors swung open again and two guards
entered, carrying with them the limp figure of a girl.

Her head
lolled lifelessly and her feet dragged behind her as she was hauled
through the Great Room. Her clothes were filthy and damp. Her hair
hung down over her face so that it was almost impossible to see her
face, but I knew immediately. It was Farley.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Unity, Deadly Unity

Tess
screaming.

Oliver
shaking.

My mother,
face down, dead, in the water.

Fumbling
hands—mine—bleached white against a steering wheel.

Lights, so
many lights.

Streetlights
tracing by in a blur.

A cell phone,
lit against a dark interior.

Red and blue
in the rearview.

Red and
blue.

Red and
blue…

but not for
us.

My mother,
face down, dead, in the water

A hospital
approaching.

Oliver:
Get her out of the
car!

A black
SUV.

Two

My mother,
face down, dead, in the water.

Hands, rough
hands,

pulling and
pulling.

Concrete.

Dirt.

Silence.

My mother…face
down…

My head was
ringing. There was an actual sound, too high pitched to be
associated with real pain, which cut through my consciousness.
Adrift, it seemed as though my thoughts would never consolidate
into cohesive memories. Perhaps it was just my body taking its time
to ease me back into the world. But a distant version of me, one
who was privy to the events of the last four hours, was observing
my struggle with some interest. That distant version of me warned
not to prod too much at the fragments that came flashing back, or I
might be in real danger of piecing it all back together. The
distant me didn’t think I would like that.

The cycle started over with the look of horror on Tess’ face.
Why did she look so scared? Something… something had happened. Tess
was… bitten. Tess was
bitten
.

I coughed,
sending a shooting spasm of pain through my whole body. Before I
could respond to the all-consuming depths of the pain, hands were
on me, lifting me from the floor.

It was a
sensation so familiar, so safe, that part of me crumpled in on
itself instantly, and I abandoned all attempts to piece myself back
together. I was in his arms, after all, and there couldn’t be a
safer place in the world to fall apart. For the second time in my
life, I buried my face into Daniel’s chest and cried.

“
Shhh. It’s okay. It’s okay,” he whispered into my hair. I
could feel the pressure of his lips on my head, on the skin of my
temple. I clung to him, refusing to let go. There was nothing in
the realms of my imagination that could ever make me let him
go.