Impulse (30 page)

‘I don't care. I want a child.'

‘You want a child; I get it. But you can't have my sister's. I won't let you.'

She stared me down, but I held her gaze.

‘I've come to ask for your help; to bargain with you. I need you to talk her into giving it to me, or else Marko will be banished and you will be forced to stay behind here, locked up in the dungeons.'

‘Says who?' Goosebumps prickled my arms.

‘Me, of course. Whose orders do you think the guards follow, Damir's or mine? It's always been me in charge, even when Marko ruled. And before we all existed, Kraja ruled—it's always the female.'

‘So why don't you just make yourself queen?'

‘Because the people of Marin, thanks to my grandfather's brainwashing, are backward and traditional, and like to know a man is in charge. I'm happy to provide that illusion for them while I rule incognito.'

I stared into the darkness that surrounded us, trying to think of a way around her demands.

‘What if you free Marko first? So I can be certain he's okay.'

She smirked and her green eyes crinkled up at the corners. ‘No, that wouldn't work. Damir cannot show an ounce of cowardice, or else they'll deem him a failed leader,
like Marko.
'

I opened my mouth to speak in defence of Marko, but she shushed me.

‘However, if you stop talking and listen for one minute I'll tell you what I'm going to tell the people of Marin.'

‘Okay, I'm listening.'

‘We'll tell them Lauren and Marko are secret lovers. She breaks Damir's heart and, after leaving her baby behind, runs away with Marko to the mainland. I'm left with the rejected baby to bring up in Marin as my own. Your sister will be safe at home again, where she belongs.'

I shook my head. I could feel the blood boiling in my veins.

‘Anybody who knows Marko knows he wouldn't leave Marin.'
Plus, he loves me,
I wanted to add but didn't.

She smiled. ‘The baby will distract them. The entire city will fall in love with it. And after a few weeks, I'll send a shuttle for Marko and he will return. By then everything will be forgotten and you both may live happily ever after somewhere in the city.'

‘What about Damir?'

She shrugged. ‘Damir has certain'—she smirked—‘weaknesses. I know how to keep him quiet.'

My stomach churned as I imagined the mangled bodies of the women he'd already murdered.

‘Lauren thinks he loves her, despite everything.'

‘Well, she's wrong. Damir has never loved anyone, not even himself.'

‘But none of this solves Marin's big issue. This whole civilisation will die out if something isn't done.'

‘Like what? Your ridiculous moon idea?'

‘At least I tried.' I looked up at the black ocean-sky. ‘What about allowing women to visit the mainland, like they did in your grandfather's time.'

She shook her head. ‘No. Because of that practice Marin came close to being discovered and destroyed. We can't risk it.'

‘So you'd rather your people slowly died out.'

‘There's time for saving Marin. Light crystal fights against old age. People live longer here than on land. Some of our citizens are one-hundred-and-fifty years old.'

‘But when the last generation of women reach menopausal age, then what?'

‘I didn't come here to discuss Marin's fertility crisis. I came to discuss your sister's baby's future—
my
baby's future—and Marko's life.' She sighed. ‘So do you agree?'

‘No. I can't give you that baby. She or he is my niece or nephew, and I'd rather stick my head in a blender than let
you
bring the child up.'

She shrugged. ‘Then I'll send Marko away and make sure he never returns.'

‘Damir is doing that anyway,' I said, pushing past her to head back to the cottage.

‘Fine—what if I said we'd have to
kill
Marko? Throw him to the sharks?'

I spun around.

‘You'd kill your own brother? He thinks of you as his mother, you know.'

She sucked in a deep, shaky breath through her nose and her eyes glittered with tears.

‘No. I won't need to, because I know that you won't let me do it.'

I said nothing in response. Of course I didn't want Marko dead.

‘I'll give you twenty-four hours to decide. And don't even think of charging the castle—my guards have orders. If they see a mob approaching, news will reach the dungeons and Marko will be killed instantly.'

‘But you just said you wouldn't kill your own brother.'

‘Not if you do as I ask.' She cleared her throat. ‘Come only with Lauren. Oh, and Robbie. We need him to
operate the chutes.
And
I need to speak with him about moving back into the castle. I've missed him, and I'm sure I can put those strong hands of his to good use.'

‘He'll never move back into the castle—unless Marko asks him to.'

‘We'll see.'

She left me in the dark, joining her guards at the base of the hill. I watched them until they disappeared out of sight, and then made my way back to the cottage.

Tears burned my eyes.

Marko was going to be killed or sent away, Lauren was going to be stripped of her baby, and there was nothing I could do about any of it. My only option was to tell the waiting crowd and see what they thought—call a vote.

They stood in clusters at the front of the cottage. There must have been more than a hundred; decent numbers, really, if you didn't count the twenty or so people who looked around two hundred years old. I was about to tell them everything and let them voice their opinions when I saw Lauren and her miniscule baby bump from the corner of my eye. I couldn't do this to her. Make her give up her baby. There had to be another way.

So instead I explained to the crowd that Sylvia had threatened to kill Marko instantly if we tried to mob the castle. I lied and told them I had twenty-four hours to enter the castle, with Lauren and Robbie by my side, and give myself up. The bit about giving up Lauren's baby I left out. Because that just wasn't going to happen.

‘Robbie won't be up and about for days,' somebody called out.

‘Not necessarily.' Robbie stepped out the cottage door, dressed in a fresh set of guard clothes, with Lily by his side.
‘I'm fine.' He smiled, but it looked more like a grimace. He was anything but fine.

‘I'm ready now, too, so we may as well get this over with,' said Lauren, but then she frowned. ‘What do you mean by giving yourself up?'

I shrugged and shook my head wearily. ‘I don't really know. I just want Marko safe.'

There were grumbles from the crowd. They had obviously prepared themselves for a bloodbath, and were disappointed.

‘I say we storm the castle anyway!' someone shouted. Others cheered.

‘Didn't you hear what she said?' Jonathan shouted. ‘If they see a mob approach the castle, there will be orders for Marko to be
killed
.'

The crowd simmered into silence.

‘I promise, one of us will return or send a message for help when the time's right.'

‘What sort of message?'

‘We'll just send someone? Agreed?'

‘My brother, Jordon,' said Henrietta, standing proud in her tight dolphin T-shirt. ‘They don't know he's on our side. My fiancé, who is soon to be my ex-fiancé, doesn't suspect a thing.' She turned to her brother. ‘You can slip back into the castle and spy, can't you?'

Jordon, who was standing beside Jonathan, nodded, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

‘I'll go now, before you do, so as not to arouse suspicion.'

A torturously slow hour after Jordon left, Robbie, Lauren and I said our goodbyes to the edgy, grumbling crowd and headed towards the castle.

‘Lauren,' I said, as we rode the gondola, loud enough for Robbie to hear. ‘Sylvia wants me to convince you to give her your baby.'

‘As if!' she said firmly.

I kept my eyes on the castle before us. ‘Good. But we have to pretend that you've agreed.'

‘So what's the plan?' asked Robbie.

‘Well, Sylvia said she'd kill Marko if I don't convince Lauren to promise her baby. She also said she'd let Marko be banished, instead of killed,
if
she gets the baby. I'm going to ask that I be sent to the mainland with Marko; but, at the last minute, we'll swap me for Lauren.' I reached out and squeezed her hand. ‘That way you and the baby will be out of harm's way.'

Lauren drew her head back like I'd punched her in the nose.

‘What? No, I don't want to leave. Nana and Pop are here now. This is where I want to have the baby.'

‘Listen. You'll be safe with Marko on land and, hopefully, before long, we'll send for you both, when it's safe.'

‘But what about you? How will I know you're not dead?' she shrieked.

‘Marko will never stand for this; you know that, Miranda,' said Robbie. ‘He'd never leave Marin.'

Tears thickened my throat. ‘I know. But he's got no other choice. It's either be banished or killed.'

‘The Marko I know would rather fight and die. You'll see.'

‘Well, you'll have to give him a tablet or something. Knock him out.'

Robbie shook his head. ‘I don't like this at all.'

I groaned to myself. I didn't like the idea of sending Marko and Lauren away, but it was better than seeing them
die. I screwed my eyes shut to block out the horrid picture in my head, and opened them again when the gondola glided to a stop and tapped the edge of the bank.

Before us the castle loomed, pale, magnificent and lit up with crystals.

‘Okay, so are we agreed?' I asked under my breath as we walked the castle steps.

They both mumbled half-hearted replies.

After only six steps guards seized us roughly by our arms, their brutish fingers digging into the soft underside of my skin. Like this they dragged us, up the stairs, into the castle and all the way to Sylvia's room.

She was freshly dressed, but looked as if she hadn't slept for a year. The dark circles under her eyes reminded me of the way Marko had looked the last time I'd seen him. How would he look now? Would he be covered with bloody bruises? Would he even be conscious?

‘Good. You've agreed to my terms.'

‘Yes. You can have my baby,' said Lauren, brilliant actress that she was. ‘Under one condition…'

‘Which is?' Sylvia's eyes gleamed with eagerness.

‘Miranda is to be allowed to go live with Marko on land.'

Sylvia contemplated this, just as Damir joined her side. He was freshly showered, his hair still wet, and too handsome for someone so rotten inside.

‘No. She stays,' said Sylvia.

‘Why?' said Lauren. ‘We don't need her.' She sucked in a deep breath and smiled at Damir, taking his outstretched hand. He stroked her rounded belly and whispered something in her ear, and she smiled up into his face. She was so believable I wasn't sure if she was still acting or not.

‘Send her away. She's like Marko; a pest,' said Lauren with a smirk.

Damir smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. ‘God, I love you.'

‘Me too,' she said and kissed him on the mouth before turning to Sylvia. ‘Let's do this, then. I want her out of my hair for good.'

Lauren's acting was so good a dull ache started to spread across my chest. It hurt to hear her say those things about me. I searched her eyes for some kind of signal, but she wouldn't look at me.

‘Show me Marko,' I said. ‘He has to be alive and well. It was part of the deal.'

Sylvia nodded to the guards, and after a few minutes they dragged Marko in. He was coated in sweat and had dirt smeared across his face, mixed in with the blood on his cheek, but other than that he seemed okay and was able to stand when they let him go. His blue eyes widened and exploded with light when he saw me.

‘Miranda,' he rasped, ‘don't agree to anything.'

I wanted to run to him and hold him. He was going to hate hearing of his banishment.

Sylvia stroked Marko's cheek and kissed him there, right on the bloody bruise.

‘Lauren is happy to hand her baby over. The deal is done. Your banishment begins as of now.'

‘What? No!' Marko said, his voice loaded with rage. ‘I'd rather die than be banished. You know this,' he added, his eyes burning into me. ‘You should never have promised her anything, Miranda.'

‘Don't fret, Marko,' said Sylvia, ‘Miranda is going with you.'

He stopped fighting for a second. ‘Is this true?'

‘Yes,' I said, through my tears. It hurt to lie. But it was the only way.

‘Lauren, are you at least going to say goodbye to me?' I said, indicating the doorway to the travel chutes.

She groaned theatrically but agreed.

‘Robbie, too,' I said and he visibly tensed up beside me.