“If we do come from you,” I finally say, “how is it that we’ve never known about you before?”
This time, Straton’s look is stern. “Once the original settlement started to grow, they resented Sanctum’s intrusion into their lives. They felt they had taken all the risks, and why should we reap the rewards? They cut off all ties with Sanctum and became their own entity—the Establishment, as you said. Their leader was consumed by that same greed and lust for power that led to humanity’s downfall to begin with. Everything we’d been through and survived—nothing was learned from it. Any documentation of Sanctum was destroyed, along with all communication links. As the younger generations were born, our existence was omitted from their histories. The experiment was a failure.”
My anger is stoked. “Experiment? You make it sound like we were all a bunch of laboratory rats.”
Straton purses his lips. “In essence, your forebearers were just that. Besides seeing if it was possible for human beings to return to the surface after the apocalypse, the mission was also a way of ascertaining whether we could effectively rebuild our race, or whether we’d be doomed to failure yet again. Unfortunately, the latter proved to be true.”
He looks away from me. “We’ve been sending scouts out for years now.” He places a hand on the shoulder of the Flesher beside him, who doesn’t react at all. “Everything we’ve seen confirms that our former brethren have become a race of deplorable barbarians, feeding off the lives of those they subjugate for power. Any notions of welcoming them back into the fold would seem to be doomed to failure.”
In spite of the harshness of his words, I can’t say I disagree with anything he’s said about the Establishment. If anything, he’s being too kind.
Straton locks eyes with me. “While the odds of success are low, we owe it to the Begetter to try to rejoin with our misguided brethren one last time. That is why we invited Prime Minister Talon to our city on a mission of peace. Following our talks here in Sanctum, a retinue from our city shall accompany the Prime Minister back to the Parish to continue negotiations.”
“It must have taken an awful lot of persuasion to get Talon to leave the safety of the Parish and venture here,” I say.
Cassius smiles. “It’s amazing what the prospect of advanced tech and increased food resources can accomplish.”
“Of course. Power and greed. The language of politicians.” My eyes meet Cassius’s. “And you, the poster-boy Prefect for the Establishment, are okay with this?”
“I told you once before that I have plans to beat them at their own game. Nothing’s changed.”
I cross my arms. “Hmmm. Neither has my opinion of you, especially considering how you’re responsible for so much pain—not only to Cole and me, but to the people we care about.” I look into Digory’s eyes and he kisses me on the forehead. When I look back at Cassius, he seems pained. “From where I’m sitting, you judging the Establishment makes you the biggest hypocrite on the entire planet.”
“I did what I had to do to get to this point. I was on my way to Sanctum with Talon to begin peace negotiations when we crashed and you found us. But you’ll understand everything soon enough.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He leans toward me and Digory squeezes his bulk between us, shoving Cassius back into his seat. Their eyes are deadlocked—Digory’s filled with that savage fury, Cassius’s widen with fear.
“Relax, Tycho,” Cassius grunts. “I’m not going to hurt your precious little Lucky.”
Part of me wouldn’t mind one bit watching Digory throttle Cassius. Hell, I’ve been resisting doing much worse ever since we first ran into him. But now’s not the time for that.
I touch Digory’s arm, feeling the hot blood pounding underneath the rock-hard muscle. “Digory, let it go. I’m okay.”
Slowly, he settles back down into his chair. But his eyes target Cassius’s face like ice-blue daggers.
The glider transport starts to slow down as it approaches a series of silver towers surrounding a circular courtyard. Cassius takes a deep breath, rubs his chest where Digory’s palm hit, and shakes his head at us as if he’s disappointed. “I would have thought you two, of all people, would be thrilled by the prospect of the Establishment’s downfall.”
My eyes grow wide.
“Just what do you mean?” I ask. “You don’t expect Talon and the Establishment to just throw down their weapons and make nice, do you?”
He shakes his head. “Get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow is going to be an eventful day.”
Before I can respond, we’ve stopped at the entrance to a housing facility and are escorted by silent Fleshers to our quarters.
With all the distance between Sanctum and the surface, I can’t help feeling more trapped than ever.
THIRTY-TWO
I can’t sleep. Even curled up against the warm contours of Digory’s bare chest and listening to the rhythmic lull of his heart, all I can think about is what tomorrow may bring.
What did Cassius mean?
If by some miracle the Establishment can be persuaded to rejoin the fold and the people of Sanctum are willing to share their knowledge and resources with the Parish, it will mean a whole different life for all of us—one free of fear and suffering. No more rebellions. No more war. We can finally have a life where we can dare to hope, knowing that our dreams are within our grasp.
We’ll be able to live together as families and grow old together—Digory and I can raise Cole. I feel excited, almost giddy, as I imagine this future. It’s an emotion I’ve never really felt before, and one I never imagined I ever would.
I look up at Digory. Even in the dim light, I take in that perfectly handsome face, my finger lightly tracing the angle of his jaw. He looks so peaceful in sleep. It’s as if the underlying pain that now simmers just beneath his eyes has been wiped clean, leaving a fresh canvas full of possibilities.
My lips brush against his and I feel myself getting even more excited. But as much as I want him, I fight the urge to wake him. He’s been through so much. Let him enjoy a restful sleep.
Sliding my body from his arms takes every ounce of willpower I can muster, and once I’m free I slip on some clothes and pad out of the room as quickly as I can before I change my mind.
I spend a few hours using a tool kit I found in one of the closets to repair the tiny transceiver I’ve kept hidden in the lining of my pants. Not sure it’ll work, but at least there’s a chance I might be able to contact Cage and Arrah now.
Then I trot up the carpeted steps of the penthouse suite we’ve been assigned and open the door leading out onto the roof.
I still haven’t gotten used to seeing the four different horizons, but the cool, artificially created winds tingling my skin invigorate me. Though we’re not housed in the tallest building in Sanctum, we’re high enough that I have a bird’s-eye view of most of the city.
The streets seem utterly deserted, a stark contrast from the hustle and bustle when we first arrived. Maybe they’re all sleeping, but I’d have guessed with the upcoming peace talks, followed by a diplomatic mission to the Parish, there’d be a lot more activity going on.
I shrug and am just about to turn around and go back inside when I spot movement in the night quadrant—what appears to be a procession of white-clad personnel leading a line of gleaming steel cargo containers toward a processing plant. They disappear inside.