Duplicities (Imaginations Book 2) Read online

  It was something to think about, for sure. I just didn't know if I could handle living without a building again so soon after not having a roof over my head. When I got home Nan was waiting for me. She had walked over from the stables and was looking rather annoyed. “What took so long?”

  I shrugged. “Just getting them all settled in.” I gave her a look. “Is what he said about this place true?”

  She wriggled her lips. “Well, it wasn't not true. But I would never let anything happen to you or your family. You know that?” She looked around. “He’s right about one thing: It isn’t much better here than The Last Cities. There is corruption and evil, just the same.”

  “Why didn't you say something before?”

  “My parents are both on the council.”

  I realized then the full scope of her parents turning down her request to go after Angelina. They were on the council that denied her.

  “What do you think about what Murphy said?”

  “That, no matter what, I didn't want you to leave.” She bit her lip. “I like you. You’re different and you don't care that I’m me. You’re the first friend I have ever had.”

  I didn't even know what she was referring to. “I like that you’re you. You’re harsh and abrasive and you suit the world we live in. I strive to be more like you.”

  “Harsh and abrasive aren’t compliments.”

  “If you love me as a friend, then you have to trust me when I say the kingdom is a great place and the king is not as foolish as you think.”

  She chuckled, snorting the way she did. “Well, I don't know about that.”

  “Murphy says the baby isn’t safe here.”

  “He would know better than anyone. The Brothers are not to be trifled with.”

  I cocked an eyebrow. “What should we do?”

  “If that’s the case, and the baby is in danger, which doesn't even make sense, we should go.” She sighed heavily. “I don't understand what they do with the baby boys. If they need them to rebuild and balance the population, how are they not safe here?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe they don't let the moms stay, just the babies. Less women. Maybe the moms go to the slavers.”

  She nodded. “I could see that. I guess, if you go, I go.”

  “And Angelina?”

  “She comes. Her and Maria. We all come. My parents will never leave.”

  I cocked an eyebrow doubtfully. “Will Maria and Rodin want to leave?”

  She nodded. “Maria will be the hard one but Angelina will go where I go.” She glanced over her shoulder, scanning the area. “You should tell Amber to go soon. If the council has some devious baby plot, they won’t like her leaving with a healthy droid boy and I don't want to gamble with it.”

  I sighed, hating that word more than ever. It made her laugh. “I have to go see my dad. You coming?”

  She shrugged. “I got nothing better to do.”

  We hurried to where he worked in the city council building. He didn't like visitors at work, but I knew he would be glad to get this news. Nan took me right to his desk where he was looking over large sheets of paper. He lifted his face, scowling behind his reading glasses. “Back already? Is she all right?”

  I smiled wide. “Better than all right.”

  His gaze narrowed for a moment before his eyes softened with his smile. “Really?”

  Nan nodded at the door. “We found something in the desert. Something you will want to see.”

  He stood instantly, giving me a look. I grinned wider, turning and leaving the building. When we got to the street, he grabbed my arm. “What is it?”

  I walked fast, trying not to draw too much attention to us. “We found something I cannot describe. You have to see it to believe it.”

  His face was dubious. “What is it?”

  I struggled for the right word until I thought about the king and his beliefs. “A miracle.”

  His look worsened but it made me laugh. He had no idea. He would never be able to guess even. I had never given him a surprise before. He nearly ran to the inn, keeping up with Nan and me. When we got inside of the building I led him to where my mother was sitting in a large chair holding the sleeping baby.

  My father stopped, scowling at first. It took him a second to see it but when he did he stumbled to them, dropping to his knees and sobbing. He leaned over her lap, burying his face in the two of them.

  Amber started crying again.

  I didn't. I was grateful for the mend my brother had managed to bring to our parents. Even dead he was fixing things still and taking care of me.

  Nan gave me a weird look, nodding her head to the side but only with a twitch. Her eyes darted in the direction she was twitching. I followed her stare to a girl dusting furniture in the other room. Her eyes were fixed on my parents embracing. She didn't actually look to be cleaning at all.

  I glanced back, seeing Murphy’s eyes already locked on her. I stepped back, slowly sauntering into the other room. I pretended to stand with the fire at my back to warm me, but instead I watched how her gaze never left my family.

  When I looked at Murphy again his gaze had drifted back to the man behind the desk with the paper. I followed, feeling my blood start to boil.

  The fat man’s menacing gaze drifted across the room every time he peeked over the side of the paper. His eyes landing on my family made everything inside of me tighten.

  The girl who had learned to survive in the Dustlands—the one who wore the leathers and blades on her legs—that girl was slowly creeping back inside of me. I had lost her for a time but the menacing stare of the stranger, the threatening interest she had in my loved ones, brought her back fast. I slipped a knife from my pocket, palming it and sliding it up my sleeve. I didn't go for the girl, I knew where the problem lay.

  I walked casually back to the desk where the fat-faced owner sat, perched on a stool, pretending to read the paper.

  His eyes met mine when I got close enough and he lowered the paper. “Can I help you with something?”

  I smiled sweetly. “I don't know if you realize who you are dealing with.”

  He scowled, suddenly confused but I reached forward fast, slicing the paper with the knife I had sharpened in my room before we left. The tip of the blade hit him in the throat, poking into the lump that men always had on their throats that women didn't.

  He tried to sit back but he became uneasy on the stool. I grabbed the collar of his shirt and steadied him with one hand while stabbing him with the other. He swallowed forcing the blade into the lump. A trickle of blood dripped down his ruddy skin.

  “Like I said, I don't think you understand who it is you are dealing with.”

  A warm body was suddenly behind me, pressing me into the counter. “She’s right, friend. You have no idea who we are or what lengths we have already gone to survive.” Murphy flashed his wrists.

  The man stammered. “W-we haven’t reported anything yet. I swear. A bulletin just went out to the council members, saying that we needed to be on the lookout for droid babies and children. The city is filled with droids—we don't need as many women, but we need the children and the men. It’s for the good of humanity, can’t you see that?”

  His answer made me sick. They would take Gregory and kill Amber? I pushed the blade in farther, slicing him a little more. “The first person I ever killed was a slaver a lot meaner than you. It was in the middle of their city in the middle of the day and I walked out, still alive. Do you think you scare me?”

  He shook his had without really moving for fear of the blade.

  “Good. We will be leaving now. If we stumble upon a single roadblock or issue, I will hold you personally responsible. I will come back for you after I have killed whatever it is that is in my way.”

  A second blade slowly sliced through the paper with precision. It landed against his throat also. “You want to listen to the lady.” Nan grinned.

  A tear trickled down his cheek as he started to tremble and the groin of
his pants grew dark. The sickening smell of his urine burned my eyes but I stayed, watching the man relieve himself on his chair.

  His blubbering grew as he realized how much trouble the three of us could bring down on him.

  I pulled my knife back through the paper and walked to the maid. I grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the back room. I slit along her arm, making her shriek and knocked her out, cutting off the scream. He would think I had killed her. When I walked back to the main foyer his eyes were wild as I wiped my blade on my pants. I nodded at the doorway. “Your Highness, we have a situation.”

  He frowned, his eyes darting from the innkeeper to me.

  “We have to leave now.”

  “But—but the inn isn’t ready. We won’t have anywhere to sleep.”

  I glanced back at the man who was fully sobbing. “And yet, we will be safer there than here.”

  Amber grabbed the baby, panic filling her eyes. “Is it me?”

  “And the other children.” I nodded. My mom and dad instantly jumped up. My father’s eyes lowered to the blade in my hand. “We’ll leave now,” he said.

  Nan was already out the front door, no doubt fetching her family members. I knew Rodin and Maria wouldn't come and I hoped she would be able to walk away without them because I would have to walk away without her if she did not.

  We hurried to the rooms, packing everyone’s things. It was remarkable how much they still had after the invasion. We scurried about, stuffing things and shouting at people. The king had Murphy and a few others guard the doors, watching the streets for any type of movement that would be deemed suspicious.

  When I came down the stairs with the sack a lady had crammed into my arms while shouting at other people, I noticed my mother and father standing in the window. They were meant to be watching the street but instead were kissing in a way I had never seen them do, not that I could recall.

  The light shone in on them, blessing them almost.

  The king and his people readied in the entrance, drawing my parents’ attention and bringing them over to where everyone was.

  We snuck to the back of the inn, following Murphy. I stayed at the back, in case Nan came. When we got to the alley behind the inn, we headed for the gate we had only come back through hours before.

  We walked to the gate as a horde, surrounding the baby and the other little kids. People watched us from the windows in their homes and the sides of the buildings. There was just no way to sneak a hundred people out of a city, even if the sun was going down.

  When we got to the gate, the guards gave a frightened look but Nan stepped out, waving us through. She hugged a man in uniform as he let us go by. To my surprise, Rodin and Maria were there, waiting with Angelina. She smiled when she saw me, pointing and waving.

  The moment we were out of the gate I breathed again.

  Nan gave me a look. “Took you guys long enough. I was scared the guards would form the blockade and not let us through. My friend said the rumors had only just hit the guard’s watch that a horde was leaving the city. They didn't have time to get to the gate. You nearly gave them enough time though, I think.”

  I nudged her. “Those women packed like they were going to have horses to carry everything. I’m certain we will see them leaving things behind once they realize no one can carry their stuff for days over the desert and through the woods.”

  She snorted and scratched her hair that had grown a little, though it was still uneven. “I doubt it. They seem a bit self-important.”

  I nodded. “I believe they mean well but they truly believe their belief in their God makes them our superiors.”

  Rodin walked beside me and rolled his dark eyes. “It is enough to make you crazy, listening to the nonsense that comes from them. They thank God for everything and blame every bad quality in themselves on the devil.”

  “I can’t mock the whole thing too much.” I shrugged. “I witnessed a miracle.”

  Nan tilted her head. “We witnessed a miracle.”

  A slow smile crossed my lips. “When you see my mom you’ll understand.”

  Rodin didn't look like he believed me; he looked confused.

  “I think leaving the city with all of us in one piece is a miracle too,” I added.

  “We left before they could mount any kind of defense. And we are such a large crowd, how would they justify forcing people to stay in the city, the free city?”

  I nodded. “True.” I grinned. “Okay, you coming to the kingdom is a miracle.”

  He shook his head, chuckling. “Common sense. The kingdom is the freest place in this world. A man can live there and choose his life. No one makes rules for him. I don't agree with the religious views but I agree with everything else.”

  “You haven’t lost someone so important you wake to the feeling of your heart dying every day. You haven’t ever been so grieved that you whispered every kind of bargain and prayer to their God in desperation and madness. When that happens, you might change your mind about their crazy religion.”

  “Touché.”

  I didn't know what he meant so I just walked on.

  The love I didn’t expect

  We made it farther than I expected us to and made camp. The night was half over by the time we lit fires and warmed ourselves. The layers of clothes didn't seem to keep the cold out and the flames of the fire only warmed our faces and hands. Rodin couldn't believe the difference in my mother. After she had gone to sleep lying near Amber and Gregory, he came and sat next to me, grinning like a fool. “I might believe in miracles.”

  I smiled wide. “I told you.”

  “You did indeed and I doubted you and now I will never again.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Don't go getting ahead of yourself. I still will get a few things wrong.”

  Beth laughed as she sat next to me. “A few?”

  “Quiet you.” I swatted her.

  She sighed and looked up at the clear sky. “I hope this works and we can just stay wherever we are going. I am tired of moving and traveling and walking.”

  Rodin gave her a look. “You remember things now?”

  She nodded. “I took the memory maker after Murphy saved us. I remember everything from the moment we were saved. Before that I remember the things I was made to remember.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “How horrid to not know the details of your life.”

  She shook her head. “I think it’s the reason I’m still alive. I believe my time in the camp with the slavers is something I am grateful not to recall. Many of the other girls ended their own lives.”

  He looked like he might gag. “That's a very good point.”

  She stared at the fire and I was thankful for the reset. It protected her, Clary, Anna, Amber, and Brooke.

  Looking at Brooke across the fire I wondered at her memories. Her face was gaunt and thin, tired looking no matter the time of day. She looked haunted. I had seen the description of a ghost in the library and it suited her perfectly.

  “I am just grateful I remember now and I am here.” Beth leaned against me and I her.

  Across the fire, Brooke caught me staring at her and got up. I figured she would walk away but she strolled over to us, sitting next to me without making a sound. She stared at the fire blankly.

  Rodin’s eyes filled with sorrow when he looked at her. I knew that's how I looked when I saw her too. I couldn't fight it. She was so sad and broken and I didn't know how to fix her. I imagined Rodin struggled with that as well, the desire to help someone who was so damaged they had no path back to sanity.

  We fell asleep together, keeping each other warm. Brooke moaned in her sleep, tossing and turning. I wrapped an arm around her, cuddling her and hoping it would calm her. It seemed to work. She relaxed and we fell back to sleep.

  The next day the walking got treacherous. The people became whiny and I recalled the many times I complained before the river people broke that habit for me. Staying with them had toughened me in so many ways. Ways I had f
orgotten about.

  Murphy pushed the people on, encouraging with a shout you weren’t certain was entirely friendly. He carried more than his share and never slowed until it grew dark again. He let us eat in silence with fires again. People slept instantly. But again I ended up between Brooke and Beth, snuggled by the fire.

  The third day was the worst. A man stopped walking, crying and complaining of the bleeding and blisters. He protested and begged, hoping we would stop walking. He seemed convinced his crying would soften Murphy but all it did was harden him. He nodded at the man. “You can die here or live there. That's your choice.” He pointed at Angelina and a few of the other kids. “They aren’t complaining. Be a man.” He turned and started walking again, leaving the man to cry there. The man looked to the king, but he had turned his back and followed Murphy.

  I wanted to run to the fallen man the way Greg had done once with a man in the desert, but I knew it was a method of survival, forcing him to choose life. He had to want it.

  At the end of the day I started to recognize the path we were on. I had hiked it. It was partially the way back to The Last City. The fork in the road that took you to our Last City of Men was just down the path.

  I walked faster, something pulling me to get to the head of the herd of humans. Murphy was at the very front. He glanced at me sideways. “You think I’m too cruel, don't you?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  He scoffed. “Of course you don't. You killed that poor maid.”

  “No, I didn't. I stabbed her in the arm to make her scream and then smacked her head off a banister on the stairs and knocked her out.”

  He grinned. “Are you kidding me?”

  “No.”

  He laughed harder. “You are full of surprises.”

  “As are you.” I glanced down at his wrist. “I’m pretty sure that never came up in the months we pretended to be paired.”