Anna (Book 2, The Redemption Series) (9 page)

“Sorry about that,” he tells me. “They know I keep supplies here. I’m guessing the new black marketer in town thought he could come in and take what he wanted without asking. Next time, he’ll think twice about it.”

“
Next time?” I ask. “You don’t think this taught them a lesson?”

“
Probably not,” Brutus tells me. “It usually takes them two or three times before they understand not to interfere with my business.”

“
Are they that desperate for alcohol?” I ask.

“
No…my other business,” Brutus says, looking a little uncomfortable all of a sudden.

“
Which is?” I ask, trying to prod him for a clearer explanation.

“
I guess you could call me a barterer. I acquire things from people and trade these items to others for certain supplies.”

“
Brutus,” I say putting two and two together for myself, “are you a thief?”

“
I wouldn’t necessarily call it
stealing
,” Brutus says, apparently not liking the connotation of the term I used. “Think of it as taking from people who have too much. I use those items of luxury to help people who can’t survive without the food and other supplies I trade them for. Anyway, it makes me a target for those who want the things I can acquire. Speaking of which, have you been to Daniel’s yet?”

“
No,” Jered tells him. “I thought we would go there last.”

“
Good, I have some medicine I need you to take to him.”

Brutus motions
for us to follow him, and he takes us to the room behind the bar.

The room is small and rather ordinary
with shelves built into the walls holding miscellaneous items such as glasses and more bottles of alcohol. Brutus closes the door behind us and pushes a recessed button in the wall by the door. I wouldn’t have even known it was there it was hidden so well in the knots of the wood panel. I jump slightly because I suddenly feel as though I'm freefalling, but my feet stay firmly planted on the floor as it drops a good ten feet.

“
A warning would have been nice,” I grouse, feeling a bit disoriented by our descent.

Brutus
smiles. “But then I wouldn’t have gotten to see the surprised expression on your face. It was absolutely priceless.”

I just shake my head in exasperation at Brutus and look around at the
hidden room I find myself in. Beneath Brutus’ bar is a virtual treasure trove of plunder. Jewels, paintings, and other precious artifacts are all neatly displayed on gray metal shelves within a cement room so big you could fit a good size house into it. Brutus walks off the wood platform we’re standing on and goes directly to one of the shelves. He pulls off a medium sized blue box marked with a white cross indicating it contains medicine. He walks back over to Jered and hands him the box.

“
You’ll get it to him a lot faster than my smuggler can. Daniel told me the kids needed it when I saw him in Cirrus.”

“
We’ll make sure he gets it,” Jered assures Brutus.

Brutus walks over to me and gives me another bear hug.

When he pulls back, he says, “And don’t you worry. We’ll get all of them away from Levi safely.”

I nod.
“I know. I just wish it was sooner rather than later. I think waiting for the meeting to happen is likely to kill me.”

“
Oh, I wouldn’t count on that,” Brutus says. “I have a feeling Linn and Daniel will be able to find things to keep your mind busy, for a little while at least.”

“
How so?”

Brutus looks over to Jered.
“You didn’t warn her?”

Jered shrugs.
“I thought it would be more fun to watch her expression.”

“
What is it with you guys and watching my reaction to things?” I ask, completely mystified by why they keep wanting to do that.

“
I guess it’s because we had to miss so much of you growing up,” Brutus tells me, a melancholy smile on his face. “Andre was the one chosen to raise you. He got to watch you experience all the day to day surprises in your life. We loved you just as much as he did, but we weren’t able to share in those little moments. They may seem inconsequential to some people, but it’s those moments that shape you into the person you will become. Don’t think poorly of us for trying to make up for lost time.”

Now I feel bad.

I place a hand on one of Brutus’ arms.

“
No, I understand. I just didn’t realize you all felt that way about me.”

“
You’re a part of our family,” Jered tells me. “And we knew it was better for you if we didn’t confuse you with our presence. Now that you’re a grown woman, we can get to know you which is all we ever wanted to do.”

“
In a strange way, I feel like I already know you,” I tell them. “You’re so much like my papa. I can see bits and pieces of him in all of you.”

“
We’ll get Andre back,” Brutus promises me. “I’m not sure how yet, but we will.”

“
I know we will,” I tell them both. “I have faith that we’ll be reunited soon.”

Brutus kisses me first
on one cheek and then the other.

“
And if Malcolm ever gives you any grief,” he tells me. “You have four uncles who will knock him into tomorrow to teach him a lesson.”

I giggle at the promise.

“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” I tell him. “I just want to get him back, and make Levi pay for what he’s done.”

“
Oh, don’t worry,” Brutus says with a look of certainty. “That pompous ass will get what’s coming to him. People like him always do in the end.”

“
Well, we should be going,” Jered tells Brutus almost apologetically for having to cut our visit with him short.

Brutus hugs me one more time and
then reluctantly lets me go.

“
I’ll see you soon,” he tells me. “And don’t worry. We’ll get your family back together.”

As
I look at Brutus, I realize that my family has just grown with the addition of four very overprotective uncles.

Chapter 7

When Jered and I phase back to the teleporter terminal above Barlow’s hideout, we’re met by an unexpected welcoming party of one.

Christopher
, one of the two guards who always escorted me to my lessons with Empress Catherine, is standing there waiting for us. He’s holding a medium sized black box tied with a silky red ribbon secured into a bow on top.

“
What are you doing here?” I ask. I know he isn’t really the Christopher I knew anymore. He’s one of Levi’s minions now, and his presence can’t bode well.

“
Emperor Augustus sends his regards,” Christopher says to me, handing over the box. “He asked me to bring this to you as an added incentive to do what he wants.”

I take the box and feel its weight. It
has some weight to it, making me wonder what sort of present Levi has sent. I stare down at it worried over what I might find inside.

“
I’m supposed to wait here until you open it,” Christopher says. “He wants me to report your…reaction.”

I look back up at
Christopher and note the concerned expression on his face. It’s a fleeting look, and one I probably wasn’t supposed to notice. It makes me wonder why he would bother to worry over how the contents of the box will affect me.

“
I can open it for you,” Jered offers, tucking the box of medicine Brutus gave him for Daniel under one arm and holding out his hands to take the box from me.

“
No,” I say, pulling on one end of the red ribbon and letting it fall to the snow covered sidewalk at my feet, mimicking a trail of blood against the white.

I lift the lid and look
inside the box. I find a piece of black velvet material covering something lumpy. There is a hand written note on a white card lying on top.

In case you are thinking of double crossing me, I thought you might need a little reminder of what I can do to the ones you love…

             
                                                       
L

I lift the piece of fabric and almost drop the box on the ground because my whole body goes completely numb.

Lying inside the box
, like a broken doll, is Vala. Her head has been ripped from her body and the milky white nutrient which cycles through her system is pooled around her, matting her fur. I have no doubt in my mind that Levi performed the deed himself. Why wouldn’t he? His greatest pleasure in life seems to be causing pain. What haunts my thoughts the most is the knowledge that Vala’s last memories would have been filled with fear. She would have fully understood what was happening to her, and I feel an immense sense of guilt over not being there to protect her when she needed me the most. I just hope Levi didn’t do it in front of Lucas. But knowing him, he probably made Millie and Lucas watch his cruel act against Vala. He wouldn’t have missed an opportunity to teach them what might happen if they tried to cause trouble.

It was a gruesome reminder
to me that he could do the same thing to both Millie and Lucas at any time. I’m not sure what Levi truly hoped to accomplish by decapitating Vala and sending me her remains. He probably expected it to frighten me. If that was his goal, he failed miserably.

“
I have a message for you to take back to him,” I tell Christopher, looking up from Vala to stare straight into his eyes to make sure he doesn’t misunderstand a word I say. “Tell Levi that one day in the near future this will be his own fate. Tell him that his
wife
makes a vow to him that his death won’t be an easy or a pleasant one. In fact, I plan to make it as painful as I possibly can. Do you think you can remember all of that?”

Christopher
bows to me. “Yes, Empress Annalise. I will relay your message.”

Christopher
phases back to Cirrus to deliver my promise to the monster masquerading as the emperor.

I look back down at Vala and feel the first tears of
grief threaten. Memories of my life with her flash through my mind. I can still remember the very first time I ever met my little sentient robotic friend. I was six years old, and she was a birthday present from my papa. Being betrothed to the prince of Cirrus meant I wasn’t allowed to have many friends. I was forced to stay mostly to myself for the majority of my life, only being allowed to play with Auggie. My papa knew I needed a friend so he bought me the best one money could buy. Vala had served as a confidante, someone I could share my hopes and dreams with. She knew me as well as anyone in this world, better than most. And now she was gone.

“
Come on,” Jered says, an urgent quality to his voice. He hastily puts the lid back on the box and takes it from me. “We might be able to save her.”

I look up at Jered through my tears and see his
face set with grim determination.

“
How?” I ask. “Her brain is organic.”

“
Exactly,” Jered says grabbing my arm and phasing us.

We’re instantly s
tanding in the middle of what looks like a warehouse full of junk. Cables and metal parts of various items are stacked on and hanging above rows and rows of tables surrounding us. There’s a stench in the air that reminds me of burning plasma, but there is also a distinct metallic scent attached to it that irritates my nostrils. The tech surrounding us looks old, nothing as sophisticated as the technology in Cirrus where everything operates on cold fusion. The items around me look like things that might run on old fashioned electricity.

“
Won’t Levi know where we are?” I ask Jered, wondering why we phased directly to this location.

“
This is one of the few places on the planet where Levi can’t track our phasing.”

“
Why?”

“
The owner has a jamming device that keeps him completely off the grid.”

“
Who’s the owner?”

“
You can meet him for yourself.” Jered lifts his head a notch and yells, “Travis! It’s Jered. Where are you?”

“
Jered?” I hear a startled male voice say from somewhere in the depths of the chaos surrounding us. “One sec!”

T
he sound of small wheels running along a hard surface can be heard approaching our location. A young man soon emerges out of nowhere. He’s wearing a blue and grey plaid shirt and a pair of jeans. Tennis shoes cover his feet, but apparently they have wheels hidden within the soles because he rolls up to us. He isn’t tall, maybe five foot seven. His eyes are hazel and he has shaggy, short blonde hair. He looks to be in his mid-twenties, but there is an intelligence behind his eyes that makes him appear much older and wiser.

“
What’s up, Jered?” Travis asks, a friendly smile on his face. “Long time no see, dude.”

Jered hands Travis the black box with Vala’s
corpse. That’s the way I think of what’s left of her anyway. There’s no telling how long she’s been dead. He could have killed her right after I phased from Cirrus or he could have done it a few minutes ago. All I know is her brain can’t function very long after being starved of the synthetic nutrients she needs to survive.

“
Can you fix her?” Jered asks.

Travis looks confused
but takes the lid off the box. I see his eyes light up when he sees Vala.

“
Oh
…
my
…G
od
…,” Travis says in complete awe, taking Vala’s head out of the box. “Is this what I think it is? I’ve never had the chance to play with a senti before.”

“
She isn’t a toy,” I tell him, trying to control my annoyance. I know Travis isn’t the one who did this to Vala, but neither am I in the mood for a stranger to treat her like she’s an object. “She’s one of my best friends. Can you fix her or not!”

Travis looks startled
by my outburst.

He stares at me for a moment before asking,
“Are you who I think you are?”

“
Travis Stokes, I would like to introduce you to Empress Annalise of Cirrus,” Jered says by way of introduction.

“
Stokes?” I ask, remembering that I know someone else with the same last name. “Are you related to Barlow?”

“
Half-brother,” Travis says like it pains him to admit such a relationship with Barlow. “We don’t really stay in touch that much.”

Travis
looks back down at Vala. “How long has she been like this?”

“
We don’t know,” Jered tells him. “A couple of hours at most. Do you think you can do something for her?”

Travis sighs.
“I’ll try. But, I can’t make any promises. It’s all going to depend on how long ago this happened. Give me a little while so I can see if there's anything I can do.”

“
Her brain is organic,” I tell him, on the verge of tears. “It can’t survive very long without being fed the nutrient solution.”

Travis nods.
“Yes, I know. I understand the tech used to make a senti like this. I’ve just never been able to work with one before. Sentient robots are super rare and expensive. If I can help her, I promise you I will.”

“
That’s all we ask,” Jered tells him. “Do what you can to save her, Travis. We’ll make sure you’re well compensated for your efforts.”

“
I would also be in your debt,” I tell him, making sure he understands how important getting Vala back is to me. Having the Empress of Cirrus owe you a favor was not a small thing in our society.

“
Sure thing,” Travis says with a shy grin. “I’ll do everything I can to fix her for you, Empress. You have my word.”

I nod, satisfied with his answer.
It’s all I can ask or hope for.

“
We’ll come back soon,” Jered tells him. “If you figure out whether or not you can fix her before we do, let Barlow know. He can get a message to us quickly.”

Travis nods.

Jered places his hand on my shoulder and phases us back to the teleport station.

I just stand there when Jered makes to move to the alley by the building. He notices
when I don’t follow him and turns back to face me.

“
Anna,” he says, trying to gain my attention. “Don’t let him win.”

I look
up to meet Jered’s gaze.

“
I have no intention of letting him win,” I tell him. “He seems to think the things he does will tear me down. What he doesn’t realize is that it just makes me more determined to see him pay for what he’s done. I don’t just want to kill him now, Jered. I want to make him suffer as much as I can for all the pain he’s caused the people I love.”

Jered looks troubled by my words and walks back to me.

“Be careful with your hate,” Jered advises me. “It can damage you in ways you don’t even realize. It can twist you into something that you don’t want to become, Anna. Remember who you are. Remember the values Andre taught you. He wouldn’t want to see you turn into someone you aren’t because of Levi.”

“
And he wouldn’t want me to just sit back and let Levi get away with the harm he's caused others either.”

“
Levi will get what’s coming to him,” Jered promises me. “The bad guys always do. Evil will never win over good, Anna. It’s not the way the universe is wired to work. At heart, most people yearn to live in peace, not chaos. They almost always choose the noble path in the end.”

“
But that’s not true,” I argue. “Look at the princes. They chose to disobey God. They
still
choose to disobey Him. Not everyone wants to be good. Sometimes people just want to be evil because it gives them pleasure to see others suffer. “

“
And because of their bad choices they will eventually pay the price.”

I stare at Jered for a moment because I’m about to voice something I haven’t talked to anyone about yet. It’s something we all know
, but no one has dared to say what I might ultimately have to do in order to retrieve all the seals.

“
If killing the princes is the only way to take the seals from them,” I say. “That means I’ll have to kill Lucifer at some point, doesn’t it?”

Jered’s gaze lowers to the ground for a moment
. I can see he has been waiting for me to ask this question. When he looks back up at me, he nods.

“
Yes, you will, Anna. I don't think there's any way around that eventuality.”

“
What if I can’t?” I ask, thinking it morbid for God to send me down just to kill my own father.

“
Maybe you won’t have to,” Jered says. “Maybe just taking the other six seals will be enough.”

I shake my head.
“I don’t think so, Jered. I think God wants them all back.”

Jered stuffs his hands into the pockets of his coat
, and I can see this isn't something he wants to be talking about right now.