The Lotus Effect (Rise Of The Ardent) (36 page)

Xander glanced at me, his jaw tense in disapproval and his eyes pleading me to tread cautiously.

“Watch your tongue woman, that’s my father to whom you speak,” Scottie whispered coldly, glaring over at me. Xander matched his stare tenfold, making Scottie rethink a confrontation.

Briggins cleared his throat, embarrassed to have been thrown asunder. “Yes, the Magistrate has unfortunately taken ill.” He continued, “And has asked me personally to claim the role of overlooking the Barrage until his health has improved.”

“Taken ill?” I clucked my tongue with fake surprise. “Taken ill like
my
mother
?” My anger was threatening to consume, resenting the fact I was made to stand and speak cordially to Mrs. Fawnsworth’s and my mother’s killer. All I really wanted to do was lunge from the platform and strangle Briggins for what he did.
No, I must be better than that
. I took a shuttering breath. “And how is it that you can remain impartial while in this newly acquired position? With you being the only person who knows of the exact location of the Key and when your own son fights for the Council’s behalf?”

Briggin’s face blanched from across the length of the Stadium. I had struck a blow and he knew it. Briggins managed to retain a straight face though I could tell he wanted nothing more than to kill me. Right here, and now.

He grasped the amplifier tightly and smiled to the crowd seated around him. Sweat glistened from the corners of his mouth as he smoothed down his mutton-chop sideburns with his fingers.

“I send my deepest condolences to you, Lily, regarding your mother’s death. I assure that we are taking
every
precaution to make certain what happened to the former Mistress Emerson will not happen to the Magistrate—or to your father. Never fear, we have the best healers at their bedsides even now as we speak.” He spoke slowly, his tone laced with venom. Briggins moved his head from side to side, cracking his neck before he continued. “As for the Key, I can see your reservations of mistrust. I shall in turn inform
everyone
now . . . both the citizens and the remaining fighters that the Key resides atop the highest of structures in the location of the final round.”

He paused, making sure he held my full attention. “I would also like to congratulate you on your new role despite the
unfortunate
circumstances in which you came by it Lily Emerson.”

My nostrils flared. Xander reached for my arm, warning me.

“Well now, how ‘bout we give a warm round of applause to the newest Mistress? Lady Lily Emerson!” Bubbles McGee suddenly bellowed out from below. “May her bravery and mercy be the hearthstone to us leadin’ even more Prosperous lives!” Anyone who had any sense at all could tell he was trying to disperse the tension between Briggins and I.

I took a deep breath and silently thanked him for stepping in for me. The words of anger that floated around in my head would’ve most certainly started a war.

Who knows, maybe they already did.

The crowd stood and cheered, some more hesitant at first, but soon joined in after seeing the others. The entire stadium was visibly vibrating from the chanting of ‘Li
-ly
, Li
-ly,
Li
-ly
!’

Their smiles were genuine, ones of approval and warmth, not the usual placating ones that were there to solely appease the Council. They feared the Council. They feared the punishment they’d evoke should they be caught out of line. As the people stomped their feet and roared their support, my heart swelled away from my anger and transformed to pride.

It was time for someone to stand up. To prove to the citizens that they didn’t always have to tread in the Council’s—and now Briggin’s—threatening shadow. They needed someone to thoroughly and one hundred percent defect against the Law.

Luckily I was one such person with the right amount of power to do so.

Briggin’s sinister smile changed to one of almost madness as he gestured towards the crowd behind him, clearing his throat roughly into the amplifier. With the slight flicker of his fingers, the Sector 7 guards shifted near each of the exits, making their presence known.

The people, sharing grim looks of mistrust and fear, quieted and took to their seats.

Briggin’s smile returned.

“Now before we get too far ahead of ourselves, I’d like to remind everyone that tomorrow will be the most
eventful
of the rounds, rife with much danger. I cannot guarantee the safety of Mistress Emerson. And in an attempt to not show favor of any one participant, let us hope that
every
fighter involved will come out unscathed.

“I also, cannot and will not divulge all that will take place, but I
can
share with you a little secret—a riddle in fact of the location of the final round. You can guess of the possible locales as you walk to your homes tonight.” Briggins paused and scanned the Stadium, making sure he held each and every citizen’s full attention, from the eldest of men to the smallest of children.

His eyes narrowed, a thin smile stretching across his face.

“What is dark? What is brown? What is trodden?” His voice deepened. “What has been
burned
down
?”

The swarming mass of energy that moved throughout the crowd moments before, evaporated and reformed into an almost palpable fear at Briggin’s words.

He wouldn’t.

Reveling in the now somber mood, Briggins continued cheerfully, “Do you think you know of it? This place? Well if you
do
. . .”
He raised his finger to his mouth, tapping it against his smile in a gesture to keep quiet. He lowered his hand. “Get to the Requiem early enough to find if you’re right!” He paused. “Take care of yourselves Prosper,” he said quieter this time, a lingering threat hidden within his tone.

Spinning on his heels, he snapped his fingers. Three guards flanked him suddenly, escorting him from the Stadium through the Council’s viewing stand.

I glanced at Xander for confirmation. The ruthlessness in his eyes told me he knew exactly of this place we were to fight tomorrow.

We were to fight in Sector 9, the deteriorating and ghostly scene of The Purge.

Chapter 38

Declarations ~ Forbidden Friendships

That night as Xander hurried us out of the Stadium and back into the Compound, we saw two dark shadows looming in front of our hut—two more, hesitantly coming around the side.

I reflectively reached to my hip but remembered I didn’t carry my axes outside the Barrage. To my relief Xander stilled my hand and nodded for me to look closer.

As the shadows neared, I recognized the huge build of Bubbles McGee and the smaller one of Afina walking into frame, the fog of the night wisping out around them.

“What’s going on?” I asked in a hushed whisper.

Afina looked behind her to the other shadows that stood hesitant next to the hut. “Are you with us or not?” she asked in her melodic, exotic accent.

The shadow grumbled, but gestured for the other to step closer, both remaining a few feet behind Bubbles and Afina. As the pair of shadows stepped forward, I was shocked to recognize the large builds of both Margie and Damaris. Damaris looked bored; Margie looked skeptical, but otherwise desperate. They stood a few feet behind the others, but close enough so they could hear what was to be said.

“Why are you here?” Xander asked, his face unreadable.

Bubbles looked down at Afina. “You sure we can trust those two to not go pipe’n about? I’d rather not wake with a knife stuck in me back.”

Afina looked at Margie for confirmation who quickly averted her eyes, but nodded. Afina directed her attention back to Xander. “Are you sure all recording devices were removed from this area?”

“Quite positive.”

“Good,” Afina responded, looking back to me.

“Lily, we’re here tonight because we want to make you aware that we fight on your behalf. There have been too many rumblings in the Council since you’ve taken up this fight of yours. You’ve made them nervous. Made them weary of opposition from within. A threat they never considered since before—”

“—my grandmother,” I finished for her.

Afina nodded, her dark hair glistening as she spoke. “Our spies tell us that Briggins has the Council on lockdown. He’s already taken over all operations of the Warehouse and will deny access to any and all who oppose him.”

I stood and clenched my jaw, chafed raw by her sudden confession. “And my father? He’s allowing this to happen?”

She shook her head. “Your father has not been seen since your mother’s death. We believe he’s being held against his will.”

I remembered Briggin’s words in the stadium, ‘
I assure that we are taking every precaution to make certain what happened to the former Mistress Emerson will not happen to the Magistrate—or to your father.
’ I knew she was right. They had my father.

“Our people already starve,” Margie said suddenly from behind the others, taking the risk to step closer. “You can’t allow that to happen.” Her voice was hardened with fear.

“What is it that you need us to do, Lily?” Bubble’s deep voice added, urging me for action.

“I . . . I,” I stumbled to respond to their wants and declarations. I was thrown off balance by their deep and overwhelming trust and admiration. They were coming to me for leadership? Not Xander, the seemingly perfect military strategist, but
me
.

The inferior thought shamed me. I was Mistress now and it was my duty to fix this.

“
We
do nothing. Tomorrow Xander and I will fight in the final round. We will face all challenges that Briggins throws at us
alone
. You will not unnecessarily risk your lives for us.”

“Guardin’ you is never an unnecessary risk,” Bubbles said, taking a small step forward.

“He’s right. Now as Mistress, your life is worth more than any of ours combined,” Xander added beside me. “I will protect you with my own, but I cannot make any guarantees of your safety. We may need their help.”

I shook my head, unsatisfied. “Xander, we have to finish this fight on our own. I don’t want to give Briggins the satisfaction, believing we may have schemed our way to the Key. I will
not
have him use that against us.”

“After the Barrage then.” Afina shifted on her feet. “You will need our help if you’re to defeat Briggins and the Council. Tensions are too high for him to simply allow you to—”

“—to continue breathing?” I finished for her.

She lifted her soft eyes to mine. “You have the support of the citizens, and he doesn’t. He knows this.”

I nodded in agreement. Biting at my lip in thought, I directed my attention to the four who stood before me. “Then prepare yourselves. If situations become dire, we’ll meet at the guard’s post behind the Estate. It’s been abandoned for years now. I know of this place well enough—I would sneak there as a child.” I looked at each pointedly. “If we should survive tomorrow’s round, I’m going to find my father. I may then, require your assistance. We have plans . . .” I glanced behind me, hoping we were truly secured in this area. “Plans of a future that will start with a bang.” I risked saying, thinking of the necklace and its use as a distraction. Xander and I had discussed earlier that after the Barrage—if we survived, we’d blow the walls. Give back what had been taken from the citizens.

Bubbles nodded his large closely-shaven head and bowed, winking as he did so. “So be it Mistress. I hav’ to find some way to make up for what I did to that face of yers’. Show ‘em no mercy,” he added before stepping away in the direction of his own hut.

Margie and Damaris each nodded slightly before Margie turned and shoved Darmaris from behind. He snarled at her before getting out of her way.

As Afina turned to go, I reached for her slight wrist, stopping her. “I’m so sorry. I heard what happened to Affery. How is he?”

Afina looked at me sadly with her green eyes. She attempted a smile. “It will take some time before he is well again. His spirit remains high. That is what counts.”

“He’s relieved he saved you from a horrible death,” Xander reassured. “He’s your brother. There was no other choice.”

Afina swallowed the pain that shone in her eyes. “Perhaps you are right.” She turned and began to walk away, her footsteps so light I could hardly make out her position in the dark. “Good luck to you both. May you define the worth of a true leader of Prosper,” she said softly over her shoulder before disappearing completely.

And with that, Xander and I were left standing alone in the darkness before our hut, thoughts left running rampant of alliances and forbidden friendships.

~

That night I sat on my cot and brushed out the tangles caused by the unruly ringlets in my hair. Xander lay on his own bed, his feet crossed casually and his fingers intertwined across his chest. He stared up at the ceiling; he too, lost in his own thoughts.

I thought back to Sector 9. Making us fight in the abandoned Sector was irreverently a low blow, the threat behind the location directed not only at myself, but towards the citizens also. Briggins wanted to prove something by sending us there. To remind us of just how much power the Council
really
had if they sought to utilize it.

The thought disgusted me to the core. To be fighting on the soil in which so many innocent lives had been lost . . . had been
taken
in the name of Prosperity.

I swallowed the injustice and took a determined breath.

So be it Briggins.

I paused with the brush’s bristles caught halfway through the length of my hair. I eyed Xander.
Fighting in Sector 9 would be the hardest for him.

 
“What’s wrong? What troubles you?” I managed to ask, filling the quiet void of tension that lingered between us in the small space of the hut.
 

Xander thumped his forefinger on his hand absently, the only indication that he had heard me.

I blinked away the disappointment of his continued silence and began combing through my hair again though the tangles had long disappeared. The act of brushing my hair was one luxury I would never want to forfeit. Any anxiety I ever had was always soothed away by the rhythmic motions of the bristles as they massaged my aching head.

If Xander had something to say, it wasn’t my right to force it from him.
Laying my brush on the nightstand, I lowered myself onto my side, staring into the empty space between us.

Was he troubled that I hadn’t yet expressed my feelings for him? That I’d not made a verbal noting of it? I knew my feelings for Xander were strong—I just wasn’t prepared to admit to it. That if I did, fortune and luck would undoubtedly try their best to ruin it for us.

With heavy lids, I gave up the hope of trying to tinker at the locked door that shielded his thoughts. My eyes however, opened to life when he took in a shuddering breath and began to speak, the deep tenor of his voice somehow more soothing than the bristles of my comb.

“My father found the Key that day, thirteen years ago and yet never had the chance to open the Vault. The Council denied it to him on the accusation of . . . conning the system.” Xander sighed sadly and with resentment. I heard him shift his head on the rough fabric of his pillow. “Lily, even if we retrieve the Key, you know they’ll not allow us to open the Vault. We have to be prepared. We’ll be
lucky
if they choose to dispose of us into the Outlands as they did with my parents. I fear Briggins has something much worse planned for you.”

“Briggins doesn’t frighten me,” I said quietly from across the room. My voice wavered and sounded strange even to myself from being long unused. “What I do fear, is the length he’ll go to hurt the ones I love.” I paused. “And no matter what Briggins has planned for us tomorrow, I must find my father.” I swallowed and bit at my lip. “I never had a relationship with him, but he was never cruel to me. And for that I must give him a chance. I owe him that much.”

“Your father may already be dead. Afina’s information could be outdated. Is he worth the risk?” Xander said suddenly, his voice sharp.

I repositioned myself and sat up slightly. “I’m not sure if he’s worth it, but what kind of person . . .
leader
, would I be if I didn’t try to save my own father’s life?”

“You have already proven your worth, Lily. You cannot keep risking your life to justify that you’re up for the task.”

An angry resistance flooded my chest at his words. “It’s not about proving my worth, it’s about saving a
life
. There’s nothing more important than that,” I said, sitting up completely now. “Being a leader cannot mean I only have to prove my worth one time and be satisfied. It’s a process, a process which must never cease.”

Even in the shadows of the hut, I could see Xander’s all too knowing smile. “I completely agree. I just wanted to hear you say it. And of course I’ll help find your father,” he said, resting his weight onto his elbows. “And I promise to not try to kill him this time too.”

I scowled at him for his trickery and threw my pillow in his direction. He dogged it effortlessly and grinned. Reaching down he tossed it back to me. He sighed before blowing out the small candle between us and stretched out comfortably across his cot.

“Sweet dreams,
deadly
flower
,” he said as he turned his back to me.

I rolled my eyes in the darkness before shimmying under my own covers. “Goodnight, Xander.”

After Xander had made me voice my intentions as being a leader, I realized I was now content. A calm awareness washed over me, soothing my worry despite the inevitable danger that was to come tomorrow.
 

Thanks to Xander—I now understood what I must do.