I lean into Cole and Mrs. Bledsoe. “Stay here.”
Forcing myself to move, I walk toward Cass. Before I can get more than a couple of feet, Valerian and another Imp block my path.
I clear my throat. “Ca … uh … Prefect Thorn? Is everything all right?”
His only response is the raising of his hand, signaling me to stay back. Valerian sidles up to him and whispers in his ear.
Movement on the jumbotrons distracts me. There seems to be some commotion going on in the plaza. Someone screams. The camera swoops around and zooms into the alcove underneath the sentinel gargoyle where I’d met with Digory. Bystanders swarm the spot. Through the pall cast by the gargoyle’s shadow, a pale hand on the ground weeps a trail of darkness which forms into a murky puddle on the cobblestones. The feed flickers and cuts to black, replaced by the official government seal.
“We should go now,” Mrs. Bledsoe whispers, behind me.
I can’t take my eyes off Cassius. Valerian is doing all the talking and he’s just nodding. Finally, she clicks her boots together, salutes, and exits the balcony. The aides move in for few more minutes of conferring before they, too, fade into the background.
Cassius leans into the podium, raising his arms. “Citizens of the Parish, it appears an unfortunate situation has arisen. It has come to my attention that our final candidate will be unable to perform her obligation as a Recruit. Regrettably, she has exhibited a deficiency of character and has decided to take the coward’s way out, rather than accept the penalty for not fulfilling her responsibilities.”
Coward’s way out? The hand lying in that pool of blood …
Desiree Morningside ended her own life, rather than take part in the Recruitment.
Or did she?
Cassius clears his throat. “As Parish Prefect, it now falls to me to delegate a replacement candidate to assume the vacated slot.” He lowers his head. “Believe me when I say this is a decision that I do not make lightly. Since coming back to the Parish, the place where I grew up and experienced my fondest memories, I’ve had the opportunity to reconnect with old friends, friends who have been more like family to me over the years.”
Hearing him speak this way, I can almost believe his aloof recounting of Desiree’s tragic demise is all for the benefit of his superiors. It has to be. The Cassius that I know would never be so cold and indifferent to the loss of an innocent girl’s life. But is this all just a memory I’m desperately holding on to?
Cassius finally turns to me. There’s a trace of a smile on his face, but it’s tainted by the glistening reflections in his eyes. The last time he looked at me like this was when he left two years ago to join the Service.
When he thought we’d never see each other again.
He stretches out his hand, beckoning me. “Perhaps my dearest friends of all are here today with me now … Lucian Spark and his family.”
I’m stunned, frozen in place. Government officials in particular are discouraged from fraternizing with the rest of us common folk. For Cassius, a newly appointed Prefect, to recognize our relationship publicly like this, and risk damaging his fragile reputation, is a bold move.
Too bold.
As he motions me forward again, his hand hangs in the air, palm open …
… just like Desiree Morningside’s.
I lock my joints against the tremors.
Stop it. This is Cassius.
Before I lose my nerve, I stride over to him, Mrs. Bledsoe and I holding Cole’s hands between us. Cassius edges up to me and places an arm around my shoulders. I catch a glimpse of the Recruits’ faces still plastered on the screens. All but Digory are staring up at Cassius.
“Lucian and I have been friends, best friends, since we were children. We always told each other everything, shared all our secrets, as children do.” He gives my shoulder a hard squeeze.
Cole points to one of the screens. “Look, Lucky! That’s us!”
“Sssh!” His hand feels warm against my icy one.
“Upon returning to the Parish,” Cassius continues, “ I made the sad discovery that as children do indeed grow up, regrettably, so do the magnitude of their secrets, stretching the bonds of friendship tighter than they were meant to without inevitably tearing.”
My eyes open wide. The thumping in my chest tries to drown out his words, but can’t stop each one from puncturing my heart. “Cass, what are you doing?” I whisper through stone lips.
His eyes turn to cold glass mirrors. “Imagine my utter devastation when I discovered that the person whom I loved most in the entire world is in league with the insurrectionists threatening to unweave the very fabric of our entire society.” He whips out Digory’s poster and unfurls it in one quick motion, displaying its message for all the Parish to see:
RECRUITMENT IS FEAR.
RECRUITMENT IS CONTROL.
DOWN WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT.
PROTECT YOUR FAMILIES.
Gasps and murmurs erupt from the crowd, and from right beside me.
“What’s he talking about, Lucian? What have you done?” Mrs. Bledsoe’s questions are more of a plea.
I open my mouth to speak, but the words can’t seem to make it past the heart lodged in my throat.
Setting the flyer aside, Cassius resumes the dismantling of our friendship. “I tried pleading with him, tried to make him see the error of his ways, appealed to the sacredness of our duty to the Establishment, but it was all for naught. The poison injected into him by those infidels amongst us is quite virulent, infecting the love for country until all is destroyed … unless we, as One People, can seek it out and crush it before it can spread!”
There is a smattering of applause that multiplies exponentially, drowning everything else, including my sanity, in its wake.
On the jumbotrons, Digory’s eyes seem to penetrate mine across the vast chasm that separates us. Any trace of cockiness is gone, crowded out with concern and fear. He’s been right all along. He warned me against trusting Cassius, and I didn’t listen.
All I want to do is crawl into a hole, away from Cassius and Digory both. Away from their causes, their rebellions, the Establishment … none of that matters to me. The only thing that does is standing right beside me looking afraid. My little brother. I tried to protect him from all of this. Now I’ve only succeeded in thrusting him right into the middle of this nightmare.
I stoop and bury him in my arms. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“Can we all go home now?” Cole asks.
Cassius sighs. “Don’t let this touching little scene fool you.”
Glancing up, I’m shocked to see a close-up of Cole and me on every single screen. The numbness I’ve been feeling simmers and heats to anger. How dare they intrude on such a personal moment? I hate them. I hate them all.
Cassius points to us. “The truth is, this is a terrifying example of how our children are being indoctrinated into the fringe element seeking to corrupt the morals and values that are the cornerstone of our society.”
“I wanna go home, now!” Cole cries into my ear.
I pat his back, whispering, “It’s going to be okay. Don’t be scared.”
“I’ll take him.” Mrs. Bledsoe reaches out for him.
“Thanks.” Our eyes meet for a moment as I hand him over to her. Then I turn and focus my glare on Cassius. “Whatever problem you have with me, leave Cole out of it. He’s only a kid. He doesn’t understand any of this and you’re scaring him. He has nothing to do with whatever you think I did.”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cluster of familiar-looking, yellowed parchment papers.