Son of Sun, page 6
Nola dug her fingers through her curls. “No, he really isn’t. My mom is still in the domes, but I know she’s not hurting anyone. His dad is still in the domes, but he could have given the order to drop the fire packs. We need to find Gentry, but I have no idea how. He wants to protect me and keep me safe, but I can’t protect him.”
Kieran laid both his hands out flat on his worktable. “Loving you got him out of the domes. He’s here because of you. He’s out of reach of the Incorporation because of you. None of us are strong enough to protect the people we love from the nightmares of this world. But he loves you, and you love him. That’s a lot.”
“Kieran—”
“You should get down to the field.” Kieran placed a new slide under his microscope.
“I’ll bring some samples back in a bit.” The weight of a broken heart pulled against her as she left the lab.
The vials clinked against each other as her bag bounced on her hip. She didn’t want to go farther underground. She wanted to be in the fresh air. To stand on top of the mountain under the stars and pretend the human race had never touched the valley below. There would be no city of ash and bones waiting to be found by future generations. No illness, no pollution, no want. Just a rock drifting through space with sparkling stars as its traveling companions.
Nola reached the entrance to the low cave. The door blocking the path had been carved to fit the natural curvature of the stone, leaving gentle waves around the edges.
Just work. The best thing you can do is work.
The door creaked as she opened it, almost as though protesting the existence of the person who had dared to close it.
Nola took one last deep breath and stepped into the narrow tunnel.
The architects who had built the caves had spent years carving out the corridors and rooms that made up the bulk of Nightland. No one seemed to know if the architects had gone looking for the caves toward the base of the mountain, or if they had just stumbled on the path that cut deep into the earth by chance.
Most of the passage had been left in its original state, the floor uneven as the walls bent and twisted to the mountain’s will. In places where the tunnel had gotten too tight for a person to pass, the architects had left their mark on the stone, carving out smooth sections to guide the traveler in the right direction, ever downward to the root of the mountain itself.
Nola kept her pace steady, fighting the urge to sprint through the passage and dive into the wide space below.
“I’ve faced worse than stone. I’m not afraid of you.” Even as she said the words, the thumping in her chest beat its disagreement.
At last, the tunnel opened up into a wide cave. Only a few lights had been hung in odd corners, but Graylock gave her the ability to see in the dim shadows. The scent of stone and water filled Nola’s lungs, breaking through the hum of her fear. The massive lake at the back of the cavern kept the air moist, allowing Kieran’s crops to flourish.
He had carefully placed different types of mushrooms throughout the cave. Some grew by the water constantly dripping down the face of the rock. Others peeped out of crevices where the stone had cracked long ago. But the long mushroom beds built of tarred wood were the real prize for Nightland, even if a few of the residents weren’t overjoyed by the thought of anyone feeding them more fungus.
Nola walked the edge of the wide cavern, letting her fingers trail along the cold stone wall. The stalagmites hid troves of mushrooms behind them, but they also provided places for a person to lurk unseen.
Since when am I afraid of people?
She shook her head, trying to fling aside the question.
But the nagging thought remained. If she lined up the evil against the innocent, she didn’t know which tally would be higher.
“Maybe the world is right to try and kill us all.” Her voice carried around the cavern, but there was no one in the shadows to answer her.
She stopped at the edge of the lake, kneeling down and dipping her hands into the chill water.
Goose bumps crawled up her arms, but the temperature didn’t hurt her fingers. Graylock protected her from the cold, as Vamp protected the vampires.
They’d all had to change to fight the disease and contamination that had taken over the outside world.
The domes had locked their people behind glass, relying on technology to filter the air and water and block the worst of the sun’s rays.
Nightland had dug deep, relying on the weight of the earth for protection.
“It doesn’t make sense.” Nola took off her bag and kicked her shoes aside. She stepped out into the water, letting the cold seep through the legs of her pants. She sloshed farther out into the lake. She didn’t shiver as the water reached her knees. Her nerves didn’t set fire to her skin, warning her to get out of the cold. “It’s not right.”
She took another step. The ground beneath her disappeared. She plummeted down, falling deeper into the water than she had imagined the lake could reach. The dim light overhead faded, leaving her surrounded by crushing darkness.
Even as her lungs screamed for air, her body cared nothing for the cold.
Graylock protects me.
She kicked up toward the surface, fighting to find the open air above. She kicked again as the horrible thought that she had somehow swum the wrong way pinched her lungs.
A hand reached out, seizing her wrist. Arms she would recognize even after a thousand years wrapped around her, dragging her up. Her head broke through the surface, and she gasped, sucking in wonderful air.
“Nola.” Jeremy dragged her onto the edge of the rocks. “Are you okay?” He pushed her mop of sopping curls away from her face.
“I’m fine,” Nola coughed. “What are you doing down here?”
“What the hell were you thinking? You can barely swim.”
“Of course I can’t. We’re from the domes. We’re lucky they teach kids to tread water in a tank.” Nola tried to stand, but Jeremy gripped her shoulders, keeping her sitting in the waist-high water.
“You could’ve drowned.”
“I didn’t know there was a ledge.” Nola took Jeremy’s face in her hands.
“What the hell were you doing in the water?” He pressed his forehead to Nola’s. “If Kieran hadn’t told me to come down here—”
“Kieran gave you permission?”
“I could’ve lost you,” Jeremy said.
“I needed to see if I would get cold.” Nola pressed her lips to Jeremy’s cheek.
Even as they sat dripping in the cold water, his skin held onto its warmth. She pressed her lips to his, breathing in his heat.
“Nola,” he whispered.
She pulled herself closer, reveling in the faint thumping of the blood pounding through his veins. She wrapped her legs around him, keeping herself pressed to him as her fingers found the bottom his shirt.
He started to speak, but she silenced him, deepening their kiss, only stopping to drag his shirt over his head. His lips found her neck, trailing kisses out to her shoulder as he unfastened the buttons of her shirt.
Flesh met flesh, and the world disappeared.
Chapter Eight
“We’ve been thinking about it all wrong.” Nola sat at the table in Emanuel’s kitchen, Jeremy by her side. “All of us. Nightland, the domes, everyone.”
Emanuel leaned back in his chair, but did nothing to silence her.
“In the domes”—Nola looked to Kieran, Julian, and Dr. Wynne—“we always assumed the only way people would be able to survive long term was to lock themselves away from danger.”
“It has been a very effective, if morally unsound, solution,” Dr. Wynne said.
“The vampires turned to drugs.” Nola looked to Raina. “You found a way to change your bodies to survive.”
“And it’s been grand.” Raina raised her tumbler of blood. “Cheers to surviving.”
“You copied the domes, Emanuel,” Nola pressed on. “You saw them build a home and hide away, and you created your own version here in the mountain. And the domes saw how strong Vamp made you, and they made Graylock to mimic you.”
“And now we have two strong opponents pitted against each other,” Emanuel said. “The survival of the domes puts us in danger.”
“But see what you just did?” Nola said. “You left out the people to the north.”
“I’m not too worried about the people with sticks,” Raina said.
“I agree they’re not the largest of our concerns, but I must say being shot was wholly unpleasant,” Julian said.
“I’m not talking about them attacking.” Nola gripped the edge of the table. “I’m talking about them surviving. Emanuel, you made the same mistake as the domes.”
“I prefer to think of myself as different from those monsters,” Emanuel said.
Nola took a deep breath. “But you’re both cocky. I’m sorry, but you are.”
Jeremy laid his hand on her thigh.
“You were all so busy thinking you’d found the one path to surviving, you didn’t think about there being another way,” Nola said. “The way the people up north have been surviving on the outside.”
“It’s an interesting point,” Dr. Wynne said. “In mirroring our enemy, we’ve been neglecting to look away from our own reflection.”
“But you’re assuming the people up north are actually living a reasonable life and not starving in a ditch,” Raina said.
“If they have enough people to let arrows rain down, there’s got to be a good number of them,” Jeremy said. “If it were only a few archers, it would be easy for people fleeing north to slip past them.”
“The person I fought after Julian was shot was human,” Kieran said. “No extra strength, nothing like that.”
“Which is why you killed him,” Raina said. “He’s dead, you’re alive, so I feel pretty good about our odds of beating the Northerners.”
“You don’t get it.” Nola made herself let go of the edge of the table. She folded her hands in front of her. Just like Mom. “I’m not talking about who might come up the mountain to attack us. I’m talking about pure humans surviving on the outside.”
“Careful, little girl,” Raina said. “Every person in this room would be dead if they had been left as pure human. Don’t make me think you regret surviving.”
“No, no.” Dr. Wynne tapped the tip of his nose. “I see what Nola means.”
“I’m not sure I do,” Emanuel said.
“They’ve found a way to build some kind of community,” Nola said.
“That’s got nothing to do with us unless they want to attack,” Raina said.
“It has everything to do with us if we don’t want to be like the domes.” Nola’s words echoed around the kitchen. “We can’t bring all the people who survived the fire in the city here, I understand that. All our humans would starve if we tried to feed hundreds of extra people. But if we could find out how the people in the north are surviving, we might be able to help the people from the city find a way to provide for themselves.”
Kieran pushed away from the wall to pace behind Emanuel.
“I have a thousand people here,” Emanuel said. “One thousand lives are depending on my ability to keep them safe.”
“I thought Nightland was bigger than that,” Nola said. “Do you remember the first time I came to Nightland?”
Kieran froze behind Emanuel.
“You said the domes want to preserve human DNA,” Nola said, “but you wanted to protect what it means to be human. Being human means learning and helping. If we ignore the fact that a group of people might be doing what we’d assumed impossible, if we don’t take the opportunity to find out if there’s a chance to save hundreds of innocent lives, we’re no better than the domes.”
“The people living on the highway are already as good as dead,” Raina said.
“If we accept that, then we’re no better than the Teachers,” Kieran said. “Giving up on the present and assuming there’s nothing left but death.”
Nola let a small smile curve her lips. “The second we decide there’s nothing we can do to change things, we’re nothing more than dust and bones for future generations to find.”
“What exactly do you propose we do?” Emanuel asked.
“I want to go north,” Nola said.
Jeremy gripped her leg.
“I want to try and talk to the people there.” She placed her hand on top of Jeremy’s. “See how they’ve been able to live and see if they’ll take in anyone from the highway. They might know something more about the domes, too.”
“And when arrows start flying?” Raina asked.
“I’ll protect her,” Jeremy said.
“How romantic.” Raina rolled her eyes.
“What about the Teachers?” Dr. Wynne said. “From what Kieran described, they all appeared to be in relatively good health, and they seem to have been around for a good long while.”
“The only direction the Teachers could have come from is south. We can try going south after we’re done in the north,” Jeremy said.
More chances to find Gentry.
“And how long would that take?” Emanuel asked. “I can’t have you away from Nightland that long.”
“I…” Nola looked around the room.
Trust them. I have to trust them.
“What if the domes go north and kill the people there before we can learn from them?” Kieran said. “You thought it wasn’t possible to have a garden in the city before I built one. We won’t know what we could learn unless we try.”
Emanuel sat still as a stone for a long moment, his gaze locked on Nola’s face.
She held her breath, waiting for his judgment.
“I don’t want what my daughter learns from my bones to be that I ignored those who suffered, or dismissed the opportunity to learn when it came,” Emanuel said. “One group goes north and one south. You have three nights to gather information and come back.”
Three nights.
It was longer than Nola had dared hope for.
“Nola, Jeremy, and Julian go north,” Emanuel said. “Raina choose one and go south.”
“I’ll go,” Kieran said.
“No,” Emanuel said. “I was foolish to let you go to the city before. I’ve spent so long building and fighting, I forget it’s not only the doctor who does the most good by staying in his lab.”
Kieran turned to Nola. She could read the look in his eyes, the words balanced on his tongue. Then Nola should be left in the lab, too.
Nola gave a tiny shake of her head.
Kieran hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll stay and keep working on the plants. We need to be ready for when the weather warms.”
I could help him. I’m better trained in botany. But the tiny voice in the back of her mind, the voice that questioned why she didn’t get cold, needed to go north.
“How many sun suits do you have?” Jeremy asked.
“Not enough to spare any more to this venture.” Emanuel stood. “Take what supplies you need.”
“What if it takes us longer than three nights?” Nola asked.
“You have three nights.” Emanuel strode out into the hall, leaving the kitchen in silence.
Dr. Wynne nodded to himself for a moment before wandering out after Emanuel.
“I suppose I should eat a bigger snack before I leave.” Raina downed the rest of her blood. “I’m guessing the Teachers won’t be very generous hosts. If I even find them while stomping around through the wild.” She shot one last glare at Nola before sauntering into the hall.
“We should leave as soon as possible.” Julian sat in Emanuel’s chair. “Nightfall is in a few short hours. We could cover a good bit of distance tonight, then search for them during the daylight.”
“It depends on if we want the element of surprise or don’t want to spook them,” Jeremy said. “I honestly don’t know which would be best.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to debate the benefits of either course on our journey,” Julian said. “I should find nourishment before we leave, and I suggest the two of you see Bea for food to pack. Changed or not, you’re going to need to eat a significant amount to run at the pace we’ll have to maintain.”
“Right.” Nola stood, keeping Jeremy’s hand in hers. “Let’s hope Bea is in a good mood.”
Julian laughed as Nola and Jeremy went into the hall. Rooms lined the corridor behind them, but in front, one door blocked the path. Jeremy opened the door with his free hand, ushering Nola into Emanuel’s library.
“Why didn’t—” Jeremy stopped at the thumping of footsteps behind them.
Kieran stepped into the library and closed the door before speaking. “I can go instead of you.”
Both Jeremy and Kieran looked to Nola.
“I’m going.” Nola squared her shoulders. “This was my idea, and I’m going.”
“You know more about plants than I do,” Kieran said. “You run the lab, and I’ll go north.”
“Emanuel can’t spare the sun suit,” Nola said.
“Then Julian can stay and just Jeremy and I will go,” Kieran said.
“No,” Nola said. “Absolutely not.”
“We can play nice, Nola,” Jeremy said. “It’s a good idea.”
“I can help him look for Gentry as well as you can,” Kieran said.
Jeremy’s head snapped up, his eyes narrowing at Kieran.
“I know that’s part of why you both want to go,” Kieran said. “It’s not that hard to see. I like Gentry. She was always decent to me when I lived in the domes.”
Nola let go of Jeremy’s hand and hugged Kieran. “I know what you’re trying to do. But I need to see what’s there for myself.”
Kieran held her close. “Be careful, Nola. We can’t lose you.”
“I’m just going for a long walk,” Nola said. “Don’t let the lab get too messy while I’m gone.”
Kieran laughed, but the sound came out forced and wrong. “I won’t touch your corner.”
“I’ll keep her safe,” Jeremy said.
“Good.” Kieran stepped back. “Nightland needs both of you.”
“Keep the path open,” Jeremy said.
“See you soon.” A lump pressed on Nola’s throat. “We should go to Bea.”
