Weavers (The Frost Chronicles) (16 page)

My lungs felt tight as I listened. In my mind’s eye I saw him, trapped in the Aeralian capital of Astralux, the city ironically called light when it was surrounded by darkness and fog. I saw the lights glowing in the perpetual mists that clothed the city from the swamps. I heard the mechanical clocks ticking and the airships whirring overhead and the stamp of soldiers’ boots, and I shivered as a sick feeling crawled over me. A feeling akin to helplessness and panic. I sucked in a deep breath to calm myself.

Gabe clasped and unclasped his hands. “I wouldn’t let that bastard marry my sister to solidify his position. He was a monster. So when revolutionaries approached me—”

“The Thorns?” I asked. My skin tingled.

He shook his head. “I don’t know. I first heard from a member of the old Senate, which had since been turned into a sham. He was not the instigator, simply a messenger. I agreed to help. I agreed to take part. And when the soldiers came for me...” he trailed off and stared into the distance a moment. “They knew what we’d been planning. They knew about me. Someone told them. Someone I trusted.”

The word
who
burned on my lips, but I wouldn’t speak it.

“So I couldn’t tell you,” he said. His eyes finally dragged up to meet mine, and I read the pain and confusion there. “I couldn’t tell anyone. I’d been betrayed. I had no one left who was safe.”

“I understand,” I said, and this time I truly did.

We resumed walking in silence.

“And now my brother, Korr, works with the enemy,” Gabe spat. “According to what you’ve told me. It doesn’t surprise me. He was always a sympathizer. Even when we were children, he couldn’t be trusted for anything. And when the dictator came to power, Korr was the first one to lick his boots in submission.”

I thought of the dark-haired, smirking Korr, and
submission
was not a word that came to mind. Instead, I saw someone willing to do anything he had to do to get what he wanted. Perhaps that was even more dangerous.

The path curved abruptly and revealed a long, low building nestled among the trees. Beyond it stretched a circular clearing of grass and stones. The gray walls and dark roof of the building blended with the shadows, and the low lights that lit it twinkled like tiny stars. Everything seemed designed to blend and disappear.

“The Security Center,” Gabe said with a grimace. “There’s something about this place...”

I nodded slowly. Some indescribable quality that reeked of foreboding clung to the building. Perhaps the way the trees reached over everything like clawed hands, or the lack of windows or visible doors.

“Jake spends most of his time here. He watches out for us all, makes sure we avoid detection if anyone slips up or makes a mistake. He’s done a lot for us. He’s assigned you a job here, too, so he can keep an eye on you.”

There was no door. I stared at the wall in confusion as Gabe stepped up to it.

The ground opened up beneath him, and my heart lurched.

“Gabe—!”

“It’s all right,” he said, flashing me a terse smile. “Just follow me. It’s how we get inside.” He paused. “And remember, I’m Garrett here.”

I approached the gaping hole carefully. Sharp edges disappeared into a pit of blackness. I saw that Gabe stood on a small platform. I stepped onto it, my legs wobbling, and then we dropped into blackness.

WE DESCENDED WITH a thunderous whoosh and a rush of air. My stomach tumbled, and I squeezed my eyes shut, and then Gabe was tugging at my hands and a light was blinding me. I lifted my chin, brushed my fingers down the front of my itchy garment, and pretended I wasn’t terrified as I followed him down a narrow stone corridor. The roof above our heads had shut, closing out the forest and the sky full of stars.

We were underground now.

The sound of our movements echoed through the passage. Lights danced overhead on a string, casting shadows, and I realized they were lanterns. The corridor smelled of metal and dirt. My pulse quickened as we turned a corner and I heard the low shriek of machinery, like the whisper of a nightmare. The metallic squeal almost sounded like the cry of a Watcher, and a shiver darted down my spine.

We turned another corner. A series of doorways lead right and left from the hall, and inside the rooms beyond, employees hunched over boxes with flickering lights or talked quietly. One man lifted his head when he saw us approach, and I recognized him as the man called Jake. He muttered something I couldn’t hear to the person beside him, and then he moved swiftly to greet us outside in the corridor.

“Ah, the new swabber,” he said loud enough that anyone curious would overhear and be satisfied. His gaze flicked over me curiously, and I had the impression that he never missed a single detail when he looked at something. I felt naked. “Garrett, isn’t it?” Jake asked, as if he barely knew us. “And you are called Lila, yes?”

I nodded. My new name sounded so strange.

“Here,” he said, throwing a glance over his shoulder at the room behind him. “I’ll show you where the supply closets are.”

We stepped down the hallway and descended a set of stairs. Lights flickered overhead and made our shadows leap. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Jake opened a door and led us through another corridor. A massive steel door stood at the end of the hall, outlined in red. A sign above the door proclaimed CAUTION: AUTHORIZED ENTRANCE ONLY in bold white letters. Jake checked a device on his wrist and then led us to the door. It hissed open when he laid a hand against the side, and we stepped after him into a dark room. I heard echoes reverberate through the air and smelled dust and the faint scent of oil and leather. I could see nothing beyond the faces of my companions and a sliver of stone floor that vanished into the darkness looming above and around us. But wherever we were, it was cavernous.

“We can talk safely here,” he said, rubbing a hand across his face, and then he dropped it and looked at me. “Garrett said you had something important to tell me,” he said. “A message.”

“Yes,” I said, moistening my lips with my tongue. “From Atticus.”

Jake didn’t change expressions when he heard the name, but his shoulders stiffened slightly, and he shifted his weight. “Go on.”

I drew in a deep breath. “First, your place of origin?”

His expression never wavered. “I’m from Eos, originally.”

It was Jacob, then. Relief flowed through my veins. I reached into my pocket and produced the envelope. I handed it to him. “I’ve brought the PLD,” I whispered. “And this letter. It’s a list of names...”

“PLD?” His forehead wrinkled as he accepted the envelope and turned it over in his hands.

“Portable Locomotion Device...a means to return home.”

“Return home?” His mouth fell open, and he stared at me and then at Gabe as if for confirmation.

“To our time,” Gabe said.

“You can’t be serious. That’s impossible. The gate doesn’t yet possess the capabilities to return us to our own time; they haven’t yet been invented...”

“That’s why I brought the PLD,” I interrupted. “It is from the future, so it does have the capabilities. It will work when the other gate won’t. It will take those who are needed back to our time.”

“And you’re sure this is even possible?” He laughed in disbelief, but I saw the way his eyes narrowed and his mouth thinned. He was thinking about it now. The possibilities. The realities. What it would mean for him, for the fugitives.

“It’s possible,” I assured him.

He hesitated, remembering a detail. His eyes narrowed an almost imperceptible amount as he faced me. “You said ‘those who are needed’ will return?”

I licked my lips. “That is my message. That is what Atticus instructed me to say...what I came to deliver to you.”

He took the envelope I’d given him and ripped it open. He scanned the list.

“Atticus says only those are to return, and you are to ensure that it is so.”

I could see Jacob was turning the facts over in his head—who he would have to leave behind. A muscle in his jaw twitched, and then his eyes shuttered, and he nodded. “I see. Yes. Of course.”

Beside me, Gabe was stiff and unreadable, but I could tell he didn’t like it either. I felt miserable.

“Tell me what must be done,” Jacob said.

“We must wait until the right time,” I explained. “Two weeks. Then, we’ll be able to make the jump back.”

“Does anyone else know about this?”

“No one,” I said. “Except me and...Garrett.” I looked at Gabe and then away. “And he can be trusted.”

Jacob nodded. “Where is the PLD now?” he asked.

“Safe.” I said the word firmly, to signal that I wasn’t yet ready to hand it over.

He seemed to accept this answer, and the understanding that I was not going to give it to him—not yet. “Good. Keep out of trouble, and try to avoid attracting too much attention to yourself. I’ll keep an eye on you and speak to the others.”

A clatter in the passageway just beyond startled us all. Jacob stepped back, putting a little distance between us. He raised his voice slightly. “This room is off-limits during the evening and morning shifts, do you understand? It’s very important.”

“I understand, sir,” I said just as loudly.

A man poked his head in and spotted us. “Jake,” he said to Jacob. “We need you upstairs. There’s a situation.” His gaze drifted over me absently. Beside me, Gabe reached out and touched my arm. It was an unconscious movement, but a protective one. A curious tingle shot through me, and I looked at him sharply. But he wasn’t looking at me.

“You’ll have access to the Security Center from now on,” Jacob said to me after the dark-haired man had vanished. “So I can keep an eye on you and so you can pass any further information to me if needed. Your security clearance has been increased to allow it. I saw to that earlier. But we can’t appear to be too close, to be friends. We can’t have anyone linking us together. So I won’t speak with you unless necessary.”

“I understand,” I said.

“Good. Now, I must go.” He ushered us toward the door, and it hissed shut behind us, closing away that strange cavernous room of darkness and dust from sight and leaving us alone in the corridor once more. He slipped away, leaving Gabe and me alone. Suddenly, my mouth was dry of words, and I couldn’t quite meet his eyes. The memory of the way he’d touched me moments before lingered like the slightly bitter aftertaste of sugar, and I crossed my arms and rallied my emotions into a center of focus and calm.

I had more important things to do than worry about my feelings for this boy.

“Come on,” he said. “I’ll show you the supply closets.”

~

We left the Security Center under the hush of darkness. The moon had moved higher in the sky, and silver light painted the path the color of ice so it looked like a frozen river weaving through the forest. Gabe and I followed it silently, walking side by side and breathing the same air as we each occupied our own thoughts. I was very aware of his shoulder, his arm, his dangling hand only inches from mine. He didn’t look at me, and I didn’t look at him, and I cursed the effect he had on me. But I couldn’t deny the truth of it, either.

When we reached the top of the hill that looked down on the workers’ village that would someday be Iceliss, my village, he finally spoke.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t trust you with my secret before,” he said. “But I hope you can trust me now.”

I turned to look at him. My breath snagged in my lungs. My palms tingled.

“There are dangers here,” Gabe said. “You’ve walked into something tangled.”

“Dangers?”

“I don’t know who to trust,” he said. “I think I trust Jake, and there are a few others, but...there are many people who want many things, Lia. Be careful. That device you’ve brought—many people could want to get their hands on it. Keep it safe.”

“I will,” I said.

He finally raised his eyes to mine. An arrow of feeling shot through me, from my stomach to my toes, and I shivered. He lifted one hand and brushed my cheek, a caress so light it felt almost like wind. I sighed. He dropped his hand left me, heading for the men’s quarters.

I continued on alone, moving through the warm, starlit blackness, listening to the whisper of wind through the trees behind me and smelling the scent of earth and mushrooms and sun-warmed flowers cooling in the night. A swirl of emotions simmered in my chest. Confusion, concern, apprehension...anticipation. I could still feel the place on my cheek where Gabe had touched me. It reminded me of Adam, and a similar touch on my face, and there was a throb of something in my heart—the cousin of pain, perhaps, but not quite pain itself.

I stopped before the barracks. I needed to think. I needed to plan before I faced anyone else, before I went into that strange, cold, brightly lit place and tried to shut out thoughts of my family and coax my body into sleeping. I found a moss-covered boulder at the edge of the building that faced the forest, and I sat on it and pulled my knees up to my chin.

Gabe and Jacob both had warned of danger, of people who could not be trusted. But neither of them had alluded to who these people might be. I could feel the threads of suspicion that ran through the whole compound tightening around me like invisible nets. My mind ran through the only people I had met. Claire? Juniper?

Gabe, at least, seemed to suspect that there might be trouble.

I needed to be very cautious.

Fatigue tugged at my eyelids and made my arms and legs feel heavy as stones. I was about to slip from the rock and head toward the door when a faint sound met my ears.

A shriek like knives against stone.

I froze.

At the edge of the tree line, a flicker of movement as faint as the flutter of an eyelash caught my attention. I held still, not breathing, not lifting a finger from the rock. I strained against the darkness, searching every shadow as my heart tumbled. My pulse beat a desperate rhythm in my head.

Nothing.

I sighed, sagged. I pushed myself from the rock.

And then—

The sound came again, a screech that made every hair on my body rise.