The Starborn Saga (Books 1, 2, & 3) (16 page)

Connor is something else, though. 

I walk down the street until I see Evelyn’s shack on the left. I don’t see her, but I remember again that she had wanted to talk to me before I’d left. With a mental shrug, I turn to my right facing Connor’s shack. When I get to the door, I raise my fist to knock, but hesitate. If Connor hasn’t come out to greet me, then maybe he doesn’t really feel like seeing me. For some reason, I thought he would be excited to see me again. We haven’t known each other long by any stretch of the imagination, but in all reality, he seems to be my only ally in Salem. 

With a deep breath, I knock on the wooden door anyway. It doesn’t take long for him to answer, and he does so with a welcome smile.

“I wasn’t sure you were coming back,” he says, motioning me to come inside. As I step through the door, a scented cloud from a pan of sautéing vegetables hits me and my stomach instantly starts to rumble. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Anything interesting happening from the crow’s nest?” I ask as I take my seat on the couch. 

He shakes his head. “Just that you’re here. I have to say it’s a pleasant surprise.”

“It’s a surprise for me too,” I say. “I got my deal with Jeremiah.”

“That’s great!” he says. 

“There are conditions.” I then explain those conditions as he listens without interruption, preparing the food. As I’m talking, he motions me to the table in the small kitchen and sets a plate of vegetables in front of me. I don’t even acknowledge the gesture except by shoving the food in my mouth while I keep talking. I tell him everything about the trip. The meeting, Jeremiah’s clothing and smell, the wonderful room I stayed in. The only thing I leave out is talking to Aaron on the balcony. I don’t feel right about sharing that because Aaron talked to me in confidence. I do, however, tell him how Aaron has been quiet and maybe even secretive. I want to say something about seeing his meeting with Heinrich, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.

“Aaron isn’t the most open person,” Connor says. “Obviously even I have a lot to learn about him.” He looks down at my clean plate. “You want more? I’ve got plenty.”

I shake my head, embarrassed. “Thank you.”

He stares at the vegetables on his own plate, slapping a fork against a piece of broccoli. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I wasn’t the most pleasant person. I just…it’s just hard to believe that Aaron has had these powers for so long and never told me. I’m over it, I guess. I don’t know. I just feel like I don’t even know my own brother anymore.”

“Aaron may have had the right idea keeping it from you though,” I say. 

“Why’s that?”

“Jeremiah jumped at the chance to use him as soon as he found out,” I tell him. “He’s already named Aaron the leader of the Screven Coalition. I know for a fact that Aaron doesn’t plan on being a part of it.”

“You’re right about that. But what is he going to do? He can’t just ignore Jeremiah.”

“Then maybe this is the start of something,” I say. “Maybe this is where Aaron is forced to rebel against him.”

Connor shakes his head. “The people of Salem aren’t ready for that. I’m not the biggest fan of Jeremiah either, but I’m not going to fight him. People won’t soon forget what the Screven guards have done for us. You remember the herd incident the other day. That could have claimed colonists’ lives. But it didn’t.”

“You don’t have to tell me, Connor. Why do you think I’ve agreed to Jeremiah’s deal?”

“What if Aaron doesn’t go along with you?”

“Then I suppose I’ll be named the leader of the Screven Coalition. Maybe Aaron will be punished. I really don’t know how things work with Jeremiah.”

“Well, we’ve never really had this situation before, so I don’t know either. It’s rare that he gets involved with the lives of the colonists. We only hear from him when he introduces new rules or policies over the loudspeaker.”

“So what about you?” I ask. “Why do you go along with it all? Everyone else here wants me to reject Jeremiah and Screven, but you don’t.”

Connor shrugs, still playing with his uneaten food. “I have enough food to eat. I sleep at night, knowing I won’t be attacked. I don’t have a grand house or nice clothes or anything, but who needs that stuff? Screven keeps us safe.”

“Aaron seems to think there’s another way to protect the colonies and villages,” I say. “He said there are more people like me called the Starborn.”

Connor lifts an eyebrow to this. 

“That’s all I really know,” I continue. “He said he wants me to meet with his leader.”

“His leader? The only other person I see him around is Evelyn.”

I nod. “I don’t really know anything else. He said the Starborn have been around for thousands of years.”

“Sounds like a load of crap to me,” Connor says, pushing his plate aside. 

“Well, a week ago I would have told you it was a load of crap that a person can move a ton of metal with her mind, but
I
can. Your brother can absorb electricity and shoot it from his fingertips. It all sounds crazy, but it’s true.”

“I guess,” he says. 

As we sit in silence for a moment, I can’t help but wonder why he and his brother are so different. Their looks, their opposing views on Screven, everything about them is opposite of the other. 

On the balcony in Screven, Aaron had eluded to the fact that their parents had died, but gave no other information. Had they been killed by greyskins? I’m almost afraid to ask. I shake the thoughts from my head when Connor says something to me.

“What did you say?” I ask.

“I said the couch is open for you again tonight if you want. I figure you don’t have a place. shavyou say?”

Aaron had offered to let me stay at his place, but I can’t really imagine doing that. I feel way more comfortable around Connor than I do Aaron. 

“Sure,” I say. 

I help him clean the plates and actually finish the rest of his vegetables before setting the pan in the sink. I can tell that something is really bothering him, but I don’t press it.

After cleaning the plates, we go to the crow’s nest for no good reason other than to spy on people in the colony. This seems to get Connor’s mind off of Aaron, and it helps me to forget about my own problems for a little bit. 

We look to the horizon and all is quiet. For long moments we don’t say anything, but it isn’t uncomfortable like it was in the vehicle with Rob and Aaron.

Soon, it’s sunset and the red and orange hues paint the darkening sky across the entire horizon. I ask Connor what time it is and he tells me. I sigh, knowing I have to go meet Krindle and Aaron. I don’t really know what it’s supposed to be about. Krindle said something about discussing what happens next, but I thought we already knew what we had to do. 

“I won’t wait up for you,” Connor says with a grin as I make my way to the ladder. “Hey Mora.”

I stop my descent. 

“Don’t let them bully you into something you don’t want to do – Krindle or Aaron. You’re allowed to make your own decisions.”

I’m not so sure that I really am at liberty to make my own decisions. One wrong move could leave my family without protection. I don’t particularly like Jeremiah or the Screven guards, but I’m not so sure about Aaron either. 

“I’ll be okay,” I assure him.

He grins at this and turns back to the orange skyline as I climb down. At the front gate, I see both Aaron and Krindle waiting for me. I know I’m not late, but they both look at me with slight irritation in their eyes. 

“Shall we get started?” Krindle asks, motioning to a door behind him.

I nod and follow Aaron. The door is actually imbedded into the outer wall of the colony and on the inside is a flight of stairs. Four flights actually, and they lead up to a short hallway to Krindle’s office at the end. When I step in, I see a meeting table where Aaron and I both sit. The fading light shines in through the windows that overlook the outside of the colony. I can’t help but feel saddened by the bleak sight of dust and lack of plant life. 

Krindle walks to another desk in the room and turns on a flat television screen. I’ve never seen a working one before. The clear, crisp brightness of the words scrolling up and down the screen at Krindle’s command is stunning. He reads the screen for a few moments as Aaron and I sit in silence. 

“The orders say that the two of you will be providing a presentation to the colony tomorrow at noon,” Krindle says, swiping his finger up and down the screen. “Jeremiah says he’s giving you free reign on what to say, just so long as you cover a few certain topics.”

“Such as?” I ask.

“First, he wants you to talk about how great the Screven guards have been for the colonies,” Krindle smiles at this, then looks up at me. “Maybe you can talk about how much you’ve wanted your village to become a part of Screven.” Looking back at his screen, he continues. “Aaron, he wants you to talk about your family history. Your story.”

“Absolutely not,” Aaron says. 

Krindle’s head jerks up at this. “Excuse me?”

“I don’t have to do anything of the sort. I’m not going to use my parents as a recruiting tool.”

“The people need dramatic examples to prep them for the true heart of your message,” Krindle says. “It’s essential.”

“Essential for what exactly?” I ask. “What are we getting in front of the people to talk about?”

“You’re trying to get the other…uh…people like you, to come forward. We have to come up with a better name than just saying
people like you
.” Krindle scratches his chin in thought. “Power People? No, that’s not good. Super Humans?” He smirks at his own suggestions. 

“What about Starborn?” I say.

Aaron gives me a sharp glare at the mention of the word. 

Krindle’s eyebrows rise at this. “I like it!” he says. He instantly types some kind of note on his personal wristband. It’s bigger and fancier looking than what the colonists wear; the screen spanning his entire wrist allows plenty of room for whatever he needs to type into it. “Starborn,” he repeats. “It’s magical, yet mysterious. Good.”

Aaron is still staring daggers into me. “What?” I ask, but he just turns his head back to Krindle, stone-faced.

Krindle looks back up to Aaron. “If you won’t use your family history, then I suggest you come up with something that will be just as good. “

I can tell Aaron is angry. I just don’t know who he’s angrier with – Krindle or me. 

“Fine,” Aaron says. “I’ll come up with something.” 

“Okay,” Krindle says. “Better make it good. Lie if you have to. I want all these…Starborns to
want
to come forward. They have to trust you. I’m telling you this because the next thing Jeremiah instructs is very important. You’re going to have to show them your powers and call on them to do the same.”

“Whatever you want,” Aaron says. 

Krindle turns his head slightly. “Really? I expected a little more resistance from you.”

“You’ll get nothing but cooperation from me,” Aaron says. 

The second I look in his direction, I know he is lying. He’s only saying what Krindle wants to hear. 

Krindle types something into the television screen, mumbling to himself. “Very good then,” he finally says. “Hopefully, tomorrow we’ll have a lot more Starborns to help us out.”

“You realize, with Jeremiah’s plan, he’s driving you and the other guards out of work,” Aaron says. “That doesn’t bother you?”

Krindle looks down and laughs lightly. “That’s hardly the case, and something you don’t have to worry about.” He looks at us both with sobering eyes. “The two of you will meet me here at eleven forty-five. The colony will be waiting for you. 

Before we’re dismissed, Aaron is already out the door. I look back at Krindle, smile, and follow Aaron. 

Outside, Aaron is walking fast and I almost have to jog to keep up with him. I check to see if there are guards around before I call out to him. It’s clear. 

“What’s your problem?” I ask loudly. 

He turns on me sharply, a movement I’m not expecting. I come to an abrupt stop. 

“My problem is that you are blind to what these people are doing,” he says. “My problem is that you are following them willingly, but you refuse to see that these men are evil. All they want is power.”

“I get it that they are running a business,” I say. 

“No, no, no. They are much more than that, I promise you.”

“Then tell me about it. What are they?”

He steps closer to me, lowe sr tn and lring his voice when he speaks. “Tomorrow, when it comes time for us to be on the stage, announcing to the entire colony that we have special gifts, I will be far away from here. I suggest you do the same.”

“You’re leaving me to do this by myself?”

“If you decide to stay here, yes.”

“You are so selfish,” I say. “You refuse to see that I’m only agreeing to all of this to help my family.”

“There are other ways!”

“Then show me!” I say this too loudly. A few people in the distance look our way, but choose to ignore us. “Then show me,” I repeat with my voice lowered. “You said you wanted me to meet with your leader. If you don’t want me to speak in front of Salem tomorrow, then you’re going to have to convince me real fast. Otherwise, I’m doing the only thing I know to do.”

“Tomorrow,” he says. “I will show you to my leader tomorrow.”

“It’ll have to be early,” I say.

“Where have you decided to stay tonight?” he asks. 

For some reason I almost feel embarrassed by the answer I have to give, but I decide to just say it. “At Connor’s. He’s been generous enough to give me a couch before. I’m comfortable there.” 

Aaron’s eyebrows lower slightly at this. “Five in the morning,” he says. “I’ll meet you outside Connor’s place. You give me three hours, I guarantee you, you won’t get on stage tomorrow.”

I don’t know what to say to this. What if he does convince me? According to Jerem
iah, guards are already on their way to Springhill. My family is so close to finally getting the protection they need. If I back out of the plan, would Jeremiah harm them? Would he use them against me? But I know I just can’t sit by and ignore another alternative that is being presented to me.