Believe: The Complete Channie Series (177 page)

Jonathan

T
HE
NEXT
MORNING
, R
IVER
WOKE
Jonathan up an hour before the rooster crowed. He groaned as he rolled over onto his stomach. Hours of archery practice, on top of daily horseback rides and chores had taken a toll on Jonathan’s body. He’d never been so tired and sore in his life. Martial arts tournaments and boot camp paled in comparison.

As the fog of sleep cleared from his mind, Jonathan remembered that Gabriel was out searching for the goat herd. They had the room to themselves. He grabbed River’s wrist and pulled her onto the bed. He was under the quilt and she was on top of it, but she still refused to let him kiss her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Reuben’s in his office next door.”

Damn
. “What’s he doing up so early?”

“He says he couldn’t sleep.” River gave Jonathan a quick peck on the lips then opened his door. “Get dressed, grab your bow and meet me in the stable.”

“The stable?” The archery range was only a ten minute hike from the house.

“We’re going hunting.” River grinned then stepped into the hall, pulling the door shut behind her.

When Jonathan entered the stable ten minutes later, he was surprised to find Eli’s horse, Old Red, with a wooden frame strapped to his back. Sugar and Hot Sauce were tacked up and ready to go.

River nodded at two leather-bound bundles on the ground. “Can you get the packs on Red for me? They’re a little heavy.”

She wasn’t kidding. Jonathan grunted as he hefted one of the packs and swung it onto the frame attached to Red’s back. “Good grief, River. When you said we were going hunting, I thought you meant for the day. How long are we going to be gone?”

“We’re not coming home until we have what we need. It could take weeks.”

“Just the two of us?”

“Yes.” River averted her gaze and checked Sugar’s left front hoof for the second time.

“Are you sure that’s okay with Reuben?”

“It was his idea.”

Jonathan scratched the stubble on the side of his face. Shaving with a straight razor was too nerve-racking to do it every day. “What about Eli? He’s going to be pissed off if he finds out.”

River guided Sugar’s foot back to the ground then dusted her hands off on the seat of her pants. She turned around and folded her arms over her chest. “Since when do you care what Eli thinks?”

“Since never.” Hope warmed Jonathan’s chest. “What all did you pack?”

“Food, blankets, buffalo hides, extra clothes, a dutch oven, skillet, hunting knives, bows, arrows…” 

Not only did they have everything they needed to survive in the wilderness, they had an excuse in case they ran into a patrol of enforcers.

“What about the quarantine?”

“It’s still in effect, but we’ll stay away from the settlements.” River handed him a red bandanna then tied one around her own neck. “Wear this. It’ll warn anyone we meet to stay away.”

Awesome.
Jonathan couldn’t have planned it better himself. They were going to escape.

The
sound of Gabriel’s off-key singing snapped Jonathan out of his reverie.

“The moon is full, the wild wolf calls, oh bring my love to me…”

Gabriel continued to sing, as he dismounted and led Lightning through the open stable doors. “The seasons turn, the fever burns, oh bring my love to—”

Gabriel stopped short when he looked up and spotted River and Jonathan trying not to laugh. “I didn’t see you guys.”

River snorted and rolled her eyes. “Obviously.”

“What’s going on?” Gabriel’s cheeks flamed as he grinned back at them.

“Jonathan and I are going hunting.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened. “Alone?”

River jammed her fists on her hips. “It’s part of Jonathan’s training.”

Gabriel frowned, pulling his eyebrows together. “Does Pa know?”

River’s eyes flashed purple. “Why don’t you go ask him?”

She wasn’t answering the question, but whether or not she’d actually gotten Reuben’s permission didn’t matter. They weren’t coming back.

“Why are you so angry?”

“Did you find the goats?”

Gabriel lowered his gaze—obviously and wisely—deciding to abandon his interrogation of River. He led Lightning into his stall then slid a feed bag over his nose. “I picked up the herd’s trail near the pass, but an avalanche blocked half the canyon, including the tunnel.”

Jonathan felt the blood drain from his face. “What does that mean?”

River handed Gabriel one of the scraps of buffalo hide they used to groom the horses then turned around and leaned against the stall door. “The last time this happened, the pass was closed until the middle of June. No one could get in or out. We’re going to have to rely on venison and elk to get us through the winter. It’s a good thing we’re going hunting.”

Jonathan closed his eyes for a moment and swore under his breath. When he opened them, he noticed that not only were River’s eyes purple; they were glowing. In broad daylight. Not a speck of brown remained in her irises.

She fisted her hands and locked her elbows against her body. She shouldered her way past Jonathan, stomping out of the stable with long, jerky strides.

“River, wait.”

She ducked her chin and ran.

Damn it.

Gabriel slowed his rhythmic swipes over Lightning's back and looked at Jonathan with wide eyes. “What’s her problem?”

“I wish I knew.” Jonathan was pretty sure his reaction to the closed pass had tipped her off; but he wasn’t going to confess that to Gabriel.

“Even if you don’t know what you did, you still need to go apologize. River can hold a grudge forever.”

“Most women can.” Jonathan rested his hand on Saucy’s rump as he walked behind him. “Wish me luck.”

Jonathan caught up with River halfway between the stable and the house. The look of betrayal on her face broke his heart. “I wasn’t going to leave without you.”

He’d haul her ass out of there, kicking and screaming if he had to. He gripped her shoulder and leaned over to capture her gaze. “I’d never do anything to put you in danger. You know me better than that.”

“I don’t know you at all.” She jerked away from him. “I thought you liked it here. I thought you liked me.”

“I do like you. I more than like you, but I’m barely surviving here. Do you have any idea how hard it is to mount a horse or wash dishes or even get dressed with this thing?” He held up his claw. “I appreciate the thoughtfulness and all the effort that went into creating this, but it can’t compete with my myoelectric prosthesis.”

River narrowed her eyes. “I’m sorry we can’t compete with all your pollution-spewing, world-killing gadgets.”

“My prosthesis is not a gadget and it runs on rechargeable batteries. It doesn’t pollute anything.” Jonathan’s emotions had hit too many extremes in too short a time. Learning he was trapped until spring was bad enough, but getting the news half an hour after the high of thinking he was going home was devastating. And now River was criticizing him because he missed his prosthesis?

“You’ve never had real shampoo or toothpaste or electricity or toilet paper so you don’t know what you’re missing. I do. I miss movies and television and computers. I miss jeans with zippers and t-shirts and underwear.”

River’s eyes flashed. Normally, her glowing, purple eyes made Jonathan horny as hell. Not this time.

Her lips parted, but only for a moment. She slammed her mouth shut and flared her nostrils. The clouds of steam billowing out her nose into the frigid air reminded Jonathan of a raging bull in a Saturday morning cartoon. If he weren’t so upset, the sight would have made him laugh; but it only added fuel to his anger.

“I miss salads and fresh fruit and vegetables that don’t come out of a glass jar. I miss milk and orange juice and Lucky Charms and peanut butter. I miss Red Bull and Skittles and Midnight Milky Ways. I dream about food every, single night.” Jonathan tilted his head back and yelled at the sky. “What I wouldn’t give for just one lousy apple!”

He could have continued his litany of everything he missed for another ten minutes, but when he glanced at River and saw her eyes sparkling with unshed tears, his anger evaporated.

He lowered his voice. “I miss my family. My parents have already lost one son. Do they have to lose another?”

“At least you’re alive.” River blinked. A single tear leaked out of the corner of her eye. “If you run away, the council will kill me.”

“Not if you come with me.”

River lunged towards him.

Jonathan braced himself, expecting her to shove him or pummel him with her fists. But instead of attacking him, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his shoulder. Her warm body, pressed so intimately against his, tightened his abs.

“I’d go with you if I could. But I can’t.”

Jonathan cupped the back of River’s head in his hand. “Why not?”

“Reuben’s responsible for everything I do.”

“You’re his recruit?”

“No. It’s worse.” River clenched her fists in Jonathan’s shirt. “If I ran away, the council would rule that Reuben’s failure to control me is proof that his sons aren’t being raised properly. They might foster Paul with another family since he’s young enough to be retrained, but Gabriel is too close to adulthood. They would put him to death.” 

“Someone needs to clean out this den of vipers.”

“That someone is you.”

“Me?” Jonathan had expected River to rip him a new one for breathing such treasonous blasphemy; not volunteer him for the job.

River licked her lips and took a shuddering breath. Her whole body trembled.

Jonathan recognized her mixed emotions. He’d seen the same look of quiet desperation warring with pride and hope in Dad’s eyes the day he and Franklin deployed.

She lifted her gaze to Jonathan’s and cupped his cheek in her palm. “You’re a son of Ephraim.”

Jonathan shook his head. “I don’t know what Gabriel told you, but it’s not true.”

“Gabriel didn’t tell me anything. Reuben did.”

Jonathan felt betrayed, but didn’t hold it against the kid for sharing his theory with his father. Jonathan would have done the same at his age. “Just because some guy at church declares I belong to the tribe of Ephraim doesn’t mean I’m the savior of New Eden.”

“You’re a descendant of Charles Ephraim McKnight.”

“That doesn’t prove—whoa. Who told you that?” Jonathan hadn’t mentioned anything about his great-great-grandfather.

“Reuben.”

“How the hell did he know?”

“He knew him.”

“That’s not possible. Charles Ephraim McKnight died over a hundred years ago.”

River pressed her fingers against her temples. “I’m supposed to guide you to the truth, step by step. But I’m messing everything up. It’s all out of order.”

Curiosity was killing Jonathan, but River was shaking like a leaf. He didn’t want to cause her any more stress. He wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest. “It’s okay. You can tell me as much or as little as you want.”

“Zebulon is our leader. Everyone’s afraid of him. Even the high-council answers to him. My people have suffered under his rule for too long. It’s time for a change.”

“If we can find a way out of here before they open the mountain, we could notify the authorities about what’s going on. They could rescue everyone before Zebulon and the council even know we’re gone. They won’t have a chance to pass judgment on Reuben or Gabriel.”

River pushed away from Jonathan. “And you think Reuben and Gabriel are going to welcome government invaders into New Eden with open arms?”

“If they knew that they were trying to save them…then yeah, I think they would.”

“You’re wrong. We don’t tolerate outside interference from your government.” River’s eyes glowed purple. She lifted her chin and pulled her shoulders back. “Reuben and Gabriel would fight until their last breath. So would Paul. So would every man, woman and child. There’d be no one left to rescue.”