The Lost City: The Palumbra Chronicles: Book Two Read online

  Gray kissed the top of her head and stepped back, still holding her hand. "We're working on that. Tristan and I have some connections. We'll work it out."

  She studied Gray's face. "Why do you want to do this? We could do anything we want. Cleo would make sure we got whatever kind of training we need for whatever we want to do. You could quit being a soldier. They would probably even let you study art." She squeezed his hand. "I know why I need to see what's out there, but what about you?"

  Gray ran a hand through his hair and pulled her closer to the building on his left so other people could get around them. "I've discovered I like being a soldier, most of the time. I'm good at it. I can see strategy and tactics. I love art but mostly as a hobby."

  "But why do you want to go out there?" Maeve waved her hand in the direction of The River.

  "Part of it is curiosity. Part of it is not completely trusting the people in charge." He shrugged. "I think our recent experience has made us more wary of authority than other people, but..." He captured her face in his hands, and Maeve swore she could feel his gaze penetrate all the way to her soul. "The biggest reason is because you need to go."

  "You would go just because I feel I need to go?"

  Gray dropped his hands from her face and held both of hers between them, reminiscent of the way Emma had done the night before. "Do you really need to ask? We're in this together, remember?"

  Maeve looked at their clasped hands and thought about Emma's words. "Emma said I needed to remember that the small things are what matters. What if I'm wrong and going out there doesn't accomplish anything?"

  "Then we'll have had another big adventure, and we'll know what the government knows. And you..." He squeezed her hands. "Will have the answers you seem to need about what's really out there."

  CHAPTER FIVE

  "Get up, Maeve." Emma shook her shoulder.

  Maeve opened one eye. "Huh?" Her eyes focused on Emma, and she sat up in alarm. "What's going on? Are you OK?"

  "Shh," Emma said. "I'm fine, but you need to go."

  Maeve shook her head. "Go where? It's the middle of the night."

  Emma handed Maeve her pants and a shirt. Maeve rubbed her eyes and noted that the lamp on the table was unlit. The room was illuminated by the single candle that Emma held in her hand. While their home had electricity for appliances, it was not wired for lighting.

  "The government search party is leaving. You need to be right behind them."

  Maeve slipped on her clothes as she tried to make sense of Emma's words. She tied her shoes in the dim light, and said, "I really don't know what you're talking about."

  Emma held out Maeve's coat, then shoved an apple and a protein paste bar into one of Maeve's hands and motioned toward a backpack in the corner. "You're all packed. Eat that on the way."

  Maeve grabbed the backpack, sticking the apple into the outside pocket. She nibbled on the protein paste bar as Emma opened the door and looked carefully up and down the street. While there was a lot more freedom in Palumbra now than when the WG was in charge, being out late at night was still a cause for questions. "Where are we going?" Maeve whispered.

  "Your friends are waiting for you." Emma glanced over her shoulder as she hurried down the street. Maeve, in her sleep-disoriented state, struggled to keep up with the 86-year-old woman. "This is nuts. Why are they waiting for me?"

  Emma stopped abruptly and stepped back into the shadow of a building entrance. Maeve heard footsteps and followed suit. Two men that Maeve recognized as members of Cleo's advisory committee walked by. Absorbed in conversation, they didn't notice Emma and Maeve.

  "What do you think they'll find out there?" one man said. Maeve strained to hear the rest of the conversation.

  "I'm hoping a few people and not much else," the other man replied. "We might be in trouble if there's a whole city of people out there. What if there are more of them than there are of us?"

  Maeve leaned over to Emma and whispered, "Are they talking about The Hub?"

  Emma held up a finger to her lips.

  "What will we do if there are more people outside Palumbra?" the first man asked.

  Maeve could barely hear the reply. "I don't know, but I hope they’re friendly. The last thing we need is another battle. We’re just rebuilding from the destruction of the World Government."

  Maeve's eyes widened. Hadn't they just avoided war with people outside of Palumbra, and now the government, Cleo's government, was talking about it again? She turned to Emma, who was shaking her head.

  "We never learn," Emma said. "Come on. Getting you on your way is more important now than it was before." Emma started to step back onto the street, but Maeve gently pulled her back and turned to face her.

  "Emma, you need to tell me what is going on before we go any farther."

  Emma glanced up and down the street. She nodded. "John and I are sending you, Gray, Tristan and Ginger out to follow the government team meeting the 'survivors' from The Hub."

  "No Emery? I'm sure that didn't make her happy."

  Emma shrugged. "She's too young. She's going to stay with me while you guys are gone."

  Maeve nodded and mulled Emma's words over. "Wait, you and John? I didn't even know you two knew each other." The light from a lantern hanging on the other side of the street illuminated Emma's face just enough that Maeve could see her sheepish grin.

  "Well, we've been spending some time together." Emma averted her gaze.

  Maeve smiled. "That's great! You deserve someone, Emma, after all you've been through." Emma waved off Maeve's exuberance.

  "Not the point right now. John got wind of when the team was leaving. After thinking it through, we decided you four need to go with them or at least follow them. John isn't convinced that everyone in the new government wants to make friends with people outside Palumbra."

  Maeve chewed her lower lip. "But Cleo knows how hard we worked to avoid war with anyone who is out there."

  Emma waved her hand as if swatting Maeve's argument away. "Oh, it's not Cleo, but there are people who wanted the WG gone so they could have power, not necessarily so everyone else could have freedom."

  Emma took Maeve by the shoulders. "Listen, Maeve, we agreed that this would be the best way to keep an eye on the team heading out to meet the group from the Hub. No one is going to be surprised that the four of you went off on your own. You've done it before, and everyone knows you wanted to go from the beginning. Now, come on. We have to go."

  Maeve followed Emma with her mind turning over everything Emma had said. It was true that she and Gray had decided yesterday to go on their own to see what was going on, so she shouldn't have been surprised that Emma, the ultimate rebel, had taken things into her own hands. However, it was still surprising that she had orchestrated everything so quickly. And with John. He was kind and gentle, nearly 10 years younger than Emma. The thought of him and Emma together made Maeve smile. After everything Emma had lived through, she deserved to find some happiness.

  Lost in her own thoughts, Maeve bumped into Emma when she stopped in the shadow of a tree on the outskirts of town. Emma whistled three low notes spaced evenly apart. A moment passed in silence then Maeve heard a return whistle. Emma stepped out of the shadows, and Maeve watched another shadow, whom she assumed was John, move out from under the branches of a tree about 20 feet away. The two met halfway between the trees and whispered together before motioning to Maeve to follow.

  As Maeve drew closer to the second tree, she saw other shadows beside Emma and John. When her eyes could finally make out features, she found the faces of her friends -- all four of them.

  "Emery, what are you doing here?"

  "I'm going too." Emery settled her hands on her hips as if daring anyone to argue with her.

  "I thought you were going to stay with Emma," Maeve said, looking from Ginger to Emma.

  "Please. You guys need me. I helped you save the world once." Emery hoisted the pack at her feet and slipped it on her back. "I'm not goi
ng to sit at home while you do it again."

  Emma and Ginger exchanged a look, and Ginger shrugged. "She makes a compelling argument."

  "It's your call," Emma said. "I think it would be safer if she stayed with me, but it's your decision."

  Emery anxiously looked from Ginger to Emma and shifted back and forth. She opened her mouth to speak, then clamped it shut as she fixed her sister with a pleading stare.

  Ginger placed an arm around Emery and said, "You can go, but you have to do what we tell you to."

  Emery smiled in victory. "When do I ever not do what you say?"

  Ginger just rolled her eyes.

  While Emery and Ginger were sorting things out, Gray had moved to stand next to Maeve. "Did Emma fill you in?"

  "Did you know about this?" Maeve swept her hand to encompass the group.

  Gray nodded. "John found me yesterday after I dropped you off at the hospital. He and Emma had it all figured out."

  "Why did they wait to tell me until the middle of the night?"

  "I was the only one that knew. We sneaked Tristan, Ginger and Emery out, too. It was easier to keep it a secret that way."

  Maeve looked doubtful, but she nodded. "I guess. I just hope Emma packed everything I need."

  Emma looked up from the conversation she was having with Emery. "I didn't survive in the caves for 70 years without knowing what you need to survive, young lady."

  "She has a point," Gray whispered. "I think you'll be fine."

  A twig snapped from the direction of the tree Emma and Maeve had stood under, and everyone whirled around to look. Technically, they weren't breaking any rules, but there would be a lot of explaining to do if they were caught out in the middle of the night ready to travel. The group waited in silence, no one daring to move or even breathe. After a few minutes with no other sounds, their shoulders relaxed, and they began to talk again.

  "So, what's the plan?" Tristan asked. "I assume we have one."

  John stepped forward and laid out a map. "Is everyone up to speed?" he asked, the soft burr in his voice washing over them. John's grandad had come from a land far away, and the accent had been filtered down through the generations. "I filled this crew in on our suspicions while we were waitin' for you two." He turned to Maeve. "Lass, did Emma talk to you?" Maeve nodded and John turned his attention to the map. In the dim light from the moon, she could see it was similar to the map she and Gray had used when they had found Emma and the energy weapon machine many months earlier. She stepped closer.

  "This is the caves." John pointed to a spot on the map next to a smudge.

  "Wait," Maeve said. "Is that our map? The one we found in the time capsule?"

  John nodded. "I may have liberated it from its hiding spot in the government headquarters." He shrugged. "You guys found it. I figure you should be the ones to use it."

  Emma sent John a slight smile.

  "Anyway, the government team is heading out into the desert to meet with The Hub survivors." He drew an imaginary line with his finger to a part of the map that none of them had been to. "But their final destination is the caves. You lot will have to decide whether to follow them into the desert or to just head to the caves. The group has about a three-hour head start."

  "I vote we go to the caves," Ginger said. "It's safer, and we know how to get there."

  "True, but we won't know what the group finds in the desert," Gray said. "It might be important to know what's out there."

  Emery nodded. "I'm with Gray. If we don't follow them into the desert, we won't know what they know."

  Ginger elbowed Tristan who glanced at her before speaking. "I think if Emery is going, we need to head for the caves. We don't know what it's like out there or how far behind the government team we'll be. What if we end up in trouble and need help? Tactically, the caves are a better choice since it's known territory for at least some of us."

  Everyone turned their eyes to Maeve. "You get the deciding vote," Gray said.

  Maeve mulled her choices. She didn't want to disappoint Gray by voting for the caves, but she was concerned about Emery. The caves were a known quantity since she and Gray had spent time with Emma there, but something about going out into the desert and getting as close to The Hub as they could called to her. She couldn't pass up the chance to get some of her questions answered.

  "We should go into the desert," she said with a nod of her head. "I want us all to be as safe as possible, but we need to know what the government team is going to know."

  Maeve and Gray stood next to John and Emma as Emery, Ginger and Tristan gathered their packs and hoisted them to their shoulders.

  "You ready?" Tristan asked.

  "Not yet," John said as he stepped behind a tree. He returned with four rifles and a knife. "You might need these."

  Gray shot a hasty look at Maeve who was stepping slowly away from John and shaking her head. She held her hands up in front of her. "No. Never again."

  Gray stepped in front of her and took her hands. "Maeve, we can't go out into the desert without some protection. At a minimum there could be animals out there."

  Maeve looked into his concerned eyes and continued shaking her head like a wounded animal. "I can't, Gray. I can't carry a gun again."

  Gray gave her a long look. Maeve lifted her chin resolutely as a tear leaked out of the corner of her eye. Finally, Gray squeezed her hands and turned back to John. "Do you have another knife?"

  John nodded and handed Gray a sheathed knife like the one he had given Emery. Ginger and Tristan had already shouldered their guns and watched as Gray held the knife out to Maeve. "You have to have something to protect yourself with. If it's not going to be a gun, at least take the knife."

  Maeve looked at the knife as if it was a snake that might bite her, but she blew out a long breath before reaching for it. "I'm not using this on a person," she said defiantly.

  Gray nodded and stroked her arm. "Hopefully, you won't have to make that decision."

  Maeve's eyes shot daggers at Gray. "The decision is made. I'm not hurting anyone else."

  Gray said nothing, just nodded and turned back to take his own rifle and ammunition from John. Gray looked at Tristan who was shifting from foot to foot, clearly ready to go. "The government team has a big head start on us," Tristan said. "We need to get moving."

  Gray nodded. "Give us a minute."

  Maeve tucked the knife away in her pack and turned to embrace Emma. "Thank you for making sure we could do this."

  Emma smiled slightly and nodded at John. "He was the one that decided there were good reasons for you five to follow the government team." Emma took Maeve's hands in hers and gave them a little shake. "Remember what we talked about. We make sacrifices for love, and those sacrifices change us. Focus on the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves."

  Maeve looked down at their clasped hands and remembered all the nights that Emma had sat awake with her the past three months, nights when Maeve was afraid to go back to sleep and afraid to be awake alone. As she gazed at Emma's liver spotted and wrinkled hands, she wondered if she was wasting precious time on this trip that she could be spending with Emma. She looked up and caught Emma's gaze. "Am I doing the right thing? Will you be OK?"

  Emma gave a short laugh. "Maeve, I lived for 70 years in a cave. I think I can handle a week or so without you."

  Maeve grinned. "I guess you'll be fine."

  Emma squeezed Maeve's hands again. "As for your other question, dear. Only you can decide if you're doing the right thing, and you might not know until after you've done it."

  Maeve thought about that for a minute. She wasn't at all sure that this was the right thing to do; she only knew that right now, she needed to do it. She nodded and pulled her hand away from Emma's so she could embrace her. "Take care of yourself while I'm gone."

  "I'll be fine. Get going. Your friends are getting anxious."

  Maeve and Gray hoisted their packs and headed toward where Ginger and Tristan were
huddled together over the map John had given them.

  Gray tapped Tristan on the shoulder and said, "We're ready. Do you want to lead?"

  Tristan folded the map and nodded. "Based on this map, I have a pretty good idea of the route the government team will take."

  Gray clapped him on the shoulder and said, "That's why they put you on the scout team." He fell into step next to Maeve. They walked silently through the woods, the miles passing quickly as they traveled through the darkness. Tristan led with a sure step, stopping periodically to consult the map and Maeve and Gray since they had traveled part of this area before.

  "He's really taken to being a soldier," Maeve said, gesturing toward Tristan.

  Gray nodded. "It suits him. He learned a lot about leadership in The Resistance, and he loves the strategy and planning involved."

  "Do you?" Maeve asked quietly so the others couldn't overhear.

  Gray shrugged. "It's OK. Right now, it's what I need to do. I feel like I'm making a difference, but if I'm honest, all that strategy and planning that Tristan likes aren't really my favorite. Sometimes it's a lot of sitting around and waiting. I prefer to be doing something."

  "Yeah, you're not really one to sit around," Maeve said with a smile, thinking of all the times Gray had pulled her out of a chair to go "do something." "I definitely do more when you're around."

  Gray grinned at her. "You would be so bored without me."

  Maeve was so involved in her conversation with Gray that she didn't notice the others had stopped until she stumbled into Emery. Maeve furrowed her brows. Emery had been leading the way with Tristan, happily chattering about her newest school project. When had she dropped back behind Ginger? Maeve's hand crept toward her backpack, searching for her knife as she saw Tristan reach for his gun.

  "Gray?" Tristan said quietly.

  "I'm here." Gray stepped around Maeve, Ginger and Emery.

  "I think we've got trouble." Tristan never took his eyes off whatever was in front of him. "Ginger, keep Emery between you and Maeve and find a tree to cover your backs."