Saven Deception (29 page)

The king smiles down on us. Dante sulks in
the corner, quieter than a mouse. His eyes flit to mine, and for once, he isn’t
sneering or scowling. If anything he looks … lost, wounded, like he’s in pain.

Logan walks around the side of the table
and retrieves a small black case from the floor. Opening it, he extracts two
thin needles filled with shimmery bronze-colored liquid and two other needles
with empty vials. Jarod and I trade worried looks. Haydn secures Jarod as Logan
sticks the first needle into his neck. Jarod’s eyes flutter open and shut and
then he slumps forward, totally unconscious. Logan takes a blood sample and
hands two tubes to Haydn. “Apply the healing salve to his face.”

My heart pounds in protest as he walks
toward me. “You’ll only feel a tiny pinch and then you’ll sleep. Be brave, my
love.”

I close my eyes as Logan sweeps my hair
back and smooths a hand over the delicate skin at my neck. My flesh tingles at
the contact, and the usual wave of electricity weaves through the air.

“Incredible,” the king says.

There is a small, sharp twinge and my
eyelids grow heavy. Then the world fades out.

                                                       ***

When I come to, I’m seated beside Logan on the moving
Subvee. His arm is fitted securely around me, and my head is slumped against
him. I shift slightly and he flinches. “
You shouldn’t be awake so soon
.
You
need to pretend you’re asleep at least as long as Jarod is
.” Logan strains
his head forward. “
He’s still unconscious
.”

“
Okay. What was all that stuff back
there? What’s an Eterno
?”

Logan stiffens underneath me. “
You
remember that
?”

I almost nod until I remember I’m supposed
to be asleep. “
Yes. And we also overheard the conversation before we were
captured. What’s going on in Sector Twenty, and what do they have planned for
the Outer Circle residents
?”

Logan holds himself tensely. “
This is
insane, Sadie
.”

“
Our ability to telepathically
communicate?
”

“
Not that. That’s standard where
there’s an Eterno connection. I’ve sensed the ability in you for weeks. I meant
you being resistant to the memory serum. That’s never happened before. My
father can’t find out, Sadie. This has got to be our secret. You can’t tell
Jarod, and you’ll have to be careful what you say around him because he won’t
remember the last twenty-four hours. You cannot let anything slip out or both
of you are in grave danger. Tell me you understand
.”

“
Logan, I don’t understand. I don’t
have a frigging clue what’s going on.
” I shift anxiously in my seat, and he
drops his other hand to my lower spine, gripping me in place.

“
Don’t move! Dante is watching us like
a hawk
.”

“
Sorry. I’m scared
.”

“
Don’t be. I’ll protect you. Always
.”
His lips brush my cheek and heat replaces the chill in my bones. “
We should
stop talking in case we give ourselves away. Try and go back to sleep.
”

I try but it’s futile. I’m so wired from
the events of the last few hours that I don’t think I’ll be sleeping anytime
soon.

Jarod is still out for the count when we
arrive back in Thalassic City so I pretend the same. Logan scoops me up into
his arms, and I let my head loll flimsily. He carries me to the waiting
vehicle. “Son,” the king says once Logan has secured my harness. “I sense the
strength of the bond you share with this girl, and I’m genuinely pleased for
you. However, this is unprecedented, and I don’t know how our people will
respond to the news that their crown prince has Eterno connected with a human.
We need to tread carefully.”

“Of course, Father.”

“I’ll talk to my advisors and update you
thereafter.”

“As you wish, my king.”

“Dante appears to be making good progress
with his preferred earthen. He tells me it’s only a matter of time before the
transfer is complete. This could well be the makings of your brother.”

Logan coughs but makes no comment.

“We will confer tomorrow. Goodnight, son.”

“Goodnight, Father.” Logan slides in
beside me.

Horrific pain explodes in my stomach.
“Was
he talking about Jen?”

“Yes.”

“You have to save her!
”

He hauls me protectively into his side. “
There’s
nothing I can do. It’s too late to save Jenna. Her fate is already sealed.”

Jarod wakes up halfway through the journey, utterly
confused. I pretend to wake too and follow his lead, frowning and scratching my
head. Logan convinces Jarod we’re on our way back from the movie theater and
both of us had fallen asleep. It doesn’t look like he buys it, and he slants
suspicious glances at Logan the entire trip.

Jarod drags me out of the elevator on his
floor. “Be careful, Sadie. I don’t trust him.”

Of course, he doesn’t remember that he’s
already shared what he knows. “I’ll be fine. He won’t hurt me. We’ll talk
tomorrow.” I smile reassuringly at him, but he still shoots daggers at Logan
before walking away.

I attempt to engage Logan in conversation
once we’re back in my apartment, but he rejects it outright. Apparently, it’s
too dangerous to openly discuss stuff.

“We can talk in our heads.”

“Look, Sadie, I know you’re
scared, and I understand that you need to know the truth. But I can’t tell you
like this. We’ll go to the cave in the morning and I’ll fill you in.”

“Promise? For real this time?”
I stifle a yawn.

“You can ask me anything you
want, and I’ll answer honestly. But for now, you need to sleep.”

“I don’t want to be on my own.
Will you stay?”
I look at him anxiously.

“You’re not afraid of me?”
He looks incredulous.

“No.”
I should be afraid of him. Terrified, even. But I’m not. After all that’s gone
down tonight, I figure he’s the least thing to be concerned about.

“You’re amazing.” He holds his arms out
for me in open invitation. I like that he’s left the choice up to me, and I
willingly step into his embrace, nuzzling into him like a cat. His arms loop my
waist and he holds me tight.

We don’t speak but there is no need for
words.

Tiredness sweeps through me and I yawn.
Taking that as his cue, Logan moves me gently toward the bathroom.

When I emerge a few minutes later, he’s
already tucked up on his side of the bed.
We have sides?
The concept
cheers me up more than it probably should considering I’ve just found out that
he’s buddies with E.T. I’m waiting for the screaming and shrieking and freaking
out; however, inexplicable acceptance is the most that I’m feeling.

I slip into the bed and Logan draws me to
him, wrapping his arms around me. His soothing comfort lulls me into silent
slumber.

***

The tantalizing aroma of bacon wakes me bright and early
the next morning. Rubbing my eyes, I climb out of bed and pad into the small
kitchen.

Logan is humming quietly to himself as he
transfers food from the pan to plates.  It’s such a human thing to do and I
can’t help smiling. His hair is unkempt and he looks adorably ruffled. He
smiles cautiously when he spots me approaching. I figure he’s still waiting for
the freaking out malarkey. “I hope you’re hungry.”

“Famished.” My stomach gurgles in
confirmation. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to. I like cooking. It relaxes
me.” He shakes off his embarrassment.

A huge smile curves up the corners of my
mouth.

“What?”

“It’s such a human thing to say.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No!” I reassure him. “I’m surprised,
that’s all. You sure you don’t have some human DNA running through your veins
somewhere?” I’m only half-teasing. Either Logan is the best actor ever or
there’s something inherently human buried within his makeup. I ponder the
thought, wondering if I’ve hit the nail on the head. Is that how he appears so
human?

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Walking
toward the table, he looks on edge. He places the plates down and faces me.
“Come here.” He holds his arms out, and I all but hop, skip, and jump into his
embrace. Burying his head in my hair, he relaxes.

The delicious aroma breaks the spell. “We
should eat before it gets cold.”

We make quick, quiet work of breakfast.

Aftewards, I take a bath while Logan
cleans up.

We’re preparing to leave when I’m waylaid
by the neglected flashing message on my D-pad. Shoot, I’d forgotten about that.
“Hang on a minute,” I say, as his hand curls around the door handle. “I need to
check this message.”

I plop down on the couch and click on the
link.

From: 
LOwens

To:
SOwens

Sadie.
Please stop submitting Videocon requests to your father. It’s pointless. The
dead can’t respond.

I shriek in horror, dropping the D-pad on
the ground. Logan comes rushing over. “What’s wrong?”

“My mom. She said … my father …” Logan
retrieves the D-pad and sits beside me. His worried expression meets mine.

“I need to read the rest of it.”

Gently, he eases us into the back of the
couch and wraps his arms around me. I reopen the D-pad and read the rest of the
message.

Your
father registered for the government’s Good Death program before he was aware
you’d signed up for Thalassic City. If you’d shared your plans, then perhaps he
wouldn’t have made such a drastic choice. He did it for all of us … to secure
our future. Didn’t he explain this to you the day of your video chat? He’s
gone, and he’s not coming back. I’ll see you in a few months. Your mother.

I bang the lid closed and toss it away. I snuggle
into Logan and squeeze my eyes shut.

“I’m so sorry, Sadie.”

“There you go again,” I mumble numbly.
“Such a human response.”

He doesn’t reply. I’m not sure how I feel
or how I
should
feel. I’m an emotionless vacuum on the inside. My hands
scramble around his neck as I bury my face in his shoulder, inhaling his
grounding scent.

“Why did he do it?” he asks.

“For the currency.”

“I don’t understand.”

Opening my eyes, I stare numbly at him. “I
guess you grew up in some mansion without wanting for anything, but that wasn’t
my life. All six of us worked, but we barely scraped by. This program offered a
substantial lump sum in compensation for death. Still, I can’t believe he
willingly signed up to die. We discussed it when the government first announced
the initiative five years ago, but my mother was steadfastly opposed to it.”

Logan looks perplexed. “Are you saying
your government pays people to sign their own death warrant? Why would they do
that? I thought they needed workers?”

“They do, but they only want them healthy
and young. Older workers succumb more easily to illness and disease, they are
less productive, and they’re basically considered a drain on precious
resources. Or that’s what they’d like us to believe.”

I shake my head in exasperation. “The
overpopulation crisis is deemed strictly a lower-class issue—apparently there
are far too many of us hence why they’ve curtailed our ability to marry and
start families. They choose ten percent each year for exemption, but that’s
only to ensure the flow of future workers is to the level of their estimated
demand. They’ve been trialing solutions to deal with the overpopulation issue
the last few years and they introduced the ‘Good Death’ policy as part of their
efforts. Anyone in the Outer Circle can apply once they reach age fifty-five.
If you agree to voluntary death, then your family receives a currency lump sum.
It’s a disgustingly attractive incentive, designed specifically to prey on our
weakness. Most of the Outer Circle residents are poor so they really couldn’t
offer anything more enticing. Of course, they present it as the best way you
can support society into the future, but we all know that’s bull. It’s a
cheaper way of dealing with the issues that plague our society, but it’s so
wrong! It’s sick.”

I hold my face in my hands and concentrate
on breathing in and out.

“Your father did this for his family?”
Logan asks quietly.

“Yes. He thinks he let us down,” I
acknowledge, recalling his words the last time we spoke. “And even if he did,
no amount of currency is worth a life. I know Mom didn’t want him to do this.
They really loved each other once upon a time …” Sadness consumes me. I crush
my lips between my teeth, breaking the skin. Logan reaches out, releasing my
mouth. His fingers brush my lips sparking a delicious shivery feeling. I close
my eyes and immerse myself in the sensation.

“Angel?”

“I’m okay,” I whisper. “Honestly, I am.” I
dab my lip, blotting the tiny slick of red. I walk to the bathroom and grab
some tissues.

Logan stands hesitantly in the center of
the living room.

“I don’t want to be late for my
appointment. Let’s go.” I extend my hand to him.

“I can rearrange things. We can stay
here,” he suggests.

“No.” I shake my head emphatically. “Let’s
stick with our plans. I need the distraction.”

“Are you sure?” He pulls me to him and
cups my face.

“Yeah. Come on.” 

We stop by Jarod’s apartment on the way to
my weekly doctor’s appointment. I need to ensure he’s okay. He opens the door
with a yawn. Still in his pajamas, he looks exhausted. Dismissing my concern,
he makes me promise to drop by later for a “chat.” He glances circumspectly at
Logan.

I want to call in on Jenna too, but Logan
doesn’t want to see Dante yet. He’s fearful things could get out of hand before
he’s had a chance to explain, so I concur.

The doctor conducts the usual tests before
fixing my injured wrist. She peers strangely at the medical chip on my other wrist.
“How long have you had that rash?”

“A few days,” I admit, scratching the
reddish skin circling the black chip. It’s as if the itch has reappeared to
remind me. “Is it some kind of allergic reaction?”

“I’m not sure. Apply this morning and
night and see if it helps.” She hands me a long silver tube. I pocket it and
head out to the waiting area to collect Logan, and then we’re on our way.

Logan appears nervous on the journey to
the waterfall. I’ve never known him to fidget but he can’t sit still. “Relax.”
I bring his hand to my mouth. “I told you I’d keep an open mind.” I sweep my
lips over his hand and he trembles. I can’t help smiling. I love that my touch
affects him as much as his touch affects me.

Perhaps there’s something wrong with me,
but I feel oddly calm. Though I’ve received shocking news and I know without a
shadow of a doubt that today is going to be a game-changer, I don’t feel sad,
anxious, or scared. I’m
excited
.

I’m ready for the truth.

When we arrive at the cave, Logan switches
on the lights and grabs two bottles of water. Tossing one to me, he says, “I
probably should’ve brought something stronger.”

With the memory of my drunken humiliation
fresh in my mind, I fervently disagree. “Nuh-uh. Alcohol and Sadie aren’t a
good mix, remember?” He grins and I’m pleased that I’ve managed to bring a
smile to his face.

“So, um, how do you want to do this?” He
sits on the beanbag in front of me, fretfully fisting tufts of his hair.

“Why don’t we start with some of the basic
stuff first? You’re really an alien?”

“Yes,” he confirms.

“Where are you from?”

“I’m from Saven. It’s a terrestrial planet
located just outside your solar system. We share many similar qualities with
your world, although we are three times your size, further away from the sun,
and time works slightly differently there.”

I add a few questions to my mental
checklist for later. “How did you get here?”

“I teleported.”

I stare at him open-mouthed, and he
laughs. “You should see the look on your face!” Becoming serious again, he
continues. “We also have an advanced form of transportation based on hyperdrive
technology, which enables us to journey quickly through space without losing
time. Individuals usually teleport when traveling alone or in small groups, and
larger teams tend to use the SSTS.”

My mind reels and I try to organize my
scattered thoughts. “How old are you really?” I ask, continuing my rapid-fire
questioning.

“I’m eighteen. Though our developmental
process is slightly different.”

I lean toward him, intrigued. “In what
way?”

“We mature, both physically and mentally,
at a relatively young age. I’ve been in this form”—he gestures with his hands—“since
I was ten.”

My eyes are out on stalks. Then another
question pops into my mind. “How come you look human? Is that your true form?”

He shakes his head. “Our true form is a
lot less mobile than the human form. We are multicellular organisms with an
electrochemical structure that enables us to communicate through our minds.
Also, we, um, float instead of walking. However, we’ve the ability to take on
any form we choose, and because lack of mobility was deemed a barrier to
evolution of our race, successive rulers spent considerable time researching
options. They experimented with different life forms over the years until they
discovered the human race. The human body gives us the greatest degree of
freedom, and it’s why we’ve adopted this form for the last one hundred years.
However, it has its drawbacks too.” His brow puckers.