Naomi Grim: Complete Novel (Parts 1-4) (The Silver Scythe Chronicles) (4 page)

I
wanted desperately to check on my friends and family, but I knew Nowhere would
be under heavy surveillance following yesterday's attack.

     Odessa
and I sat in her home, waiting. Something strange was in the air. Dunningham
and the other Grims had to be stunned. Nothing like this had ever happened
before. After we'd eaten a meager breakfast of plain white rice, Colden
appeared.

     "Hey,"
he said, startling us as he entered the shack.

     "Hey,
yourself," Odessa said. "Where've you been?"

     "Here.
I stayed with Felina last night. Her tent is the closest to the opening, and I
couldn't risk being seen in case the Watcher's came here."

     "Where's
Nigel?" Odessa sounded like she was afraid to ask that question.

     Colden
sat in front of us. "He was captured. He's in Gattica, if they
didn't—"

     "Dammit!"
Odessa said under her breath.

     "It's
okay. If he's in Gattica, he'll be out in a few days."

     "What's
going to happen in a few days?" I asked. Maybe now people would start
answering my questions.

     Surprisingly,
Colden didn't look as annoyed as he usually did when I asked him something.
"What happened today was designed to get them to let their guard down.
Dunningham and his Grims think we're weak and insufficient. They're not
expecting much from us. They're going to think that this was some pathetic
attempt at an attack and go on about their business."

     He
stopped, but he hadn't given me the full story. "Yeah? And?"

     "We
have an army. The hybrids. The Grims of Litropolis. The prisoners in Gattica.
The workers in the Mill. Doyle. Farrington and the Upper Estates won't know
what hit them. Dunstan will take care of his brother."

     "What
are you going to do with the Grims there?"

     Colden
narrowed his eyes at me. "The same thing they've done to us. Throw them in
Gattica. Make them work the Mill. Banish them to the Outskirts where they'll
shrivel up and die in that heat."

     I
understood their anger and the injustices they'd been dealt, but they should
limit their revenge to Dunningham, not the Grims. It wasn't their fault.

     "You
can't do that. I have family—"

     "
They're
not your family
!" Colden screeched at the top of his lungs, causing
both me and Odessa to jump.

     "Colden,
stop it," Odessa said gently.

     Colden
took a deep breath, but his face stayed the same, twisted in anger. "I'm
tired of hearing you whine about your precious family. You need to realize that
you're not one of them anymore. You're one of us. Everybody is paying a price
here. My brother is in Gattica. My mother only has a few years left. What we're
fighting for comes with a price."

     I
wanted to go back to Farrington, to at least warn my family, but I knew that
was impossible.

     "We
need to get back to the Outskirts," Colden said. "Dunstan wants
you."

     "What
does he want me for?"

     Colden
didn't answer, he'd already left the shack.

     I
turned to Odessa and thanked her again. She gave me a sympathetic smile.
"I know this is hard for you, and Colden's tough, but listen to him."

     I
nodded and followed Colden because I didn't have a choice. I couldn't stay in
Nowhere in Odessa's shack forever, and I couldn't risk being caught again.

* * *

     Back
in the Outskirts, the women carried on with their daily lives as if nothing had
happened. Most of the men were in Nowhere, either in Gattica or hiding
somewhere, waiting.

     Colden
had been quiet the entire way. He didn't even yell at me for not climbing the
wall fast enough and for falling behind during the walk back. I had stopped to
remove my cloak, cursing that blasted heat.

     We
went straight to Dunstan's cottage. Jax let us in. Dunstan sat at his kitchen
table, which was covered with maps and diagrams. Colden and I stood, waiting to
be recognized.

     "Well?"
Dunstan asked, not even looking up.

     "Well,
what?" I demanded impatiently.

     "Aren’t
you even going to say thank you? I mean, we did stop your execution
yesterday."

     I
took a deep breath. “Thank you,” I mumbled.

     It
wasn't that I wasn't grateful, I just knew what had happened hadn't been done
to save my life. I didn't think any of them cared whether or not I lived or
died.

     "I'm
going to need you for a project," Dunstan said, finally meeting my eyes.
"It's experimental, but the doctors and I have been doing some research
and it should work."

     I
looked at Colden. There was no concern in his eyes. He must have known already.
I wasn't sure I wanted to know. "What kind of project?"

      A
knock at the door prevented Dunstan from answering.

     We
waited a second and Jax appeared, looking worried. "It's Grims. They said
they need to see you and Naomi."

     My
heart skipped a beat. Dunningham had sent his men to capture me. Did he know
that full-blooded Grims could  survive here for a very brief time period?

     Dunstan
didn't seem bothered at all, as if he had been expecting this. "Let them
in," he said, actually sounding bored.

     Jax
went back to the front door. A moment later, Bram, Keira and Chase entered the
kitchen.

     A
swell of relief washed over me. I ran to hug Keira and Chase. "I'm so glad
you guys are all right."

     "We're
fine," Chase said. "What about you?"

     I
let go of them. "I'm good," I answered. "I still feel a little
weak."

     I
glanced at Bram.

     "Hey,"
he muttered

     "Hi,
Bram. Mother, Father, and Dorian, are they okay?"

     "Everybody's
fine."

     Colden
took a seat at the kitchen table, glaring at my friends and brother.

     Dunstan
stood and folded his arms across his chest. "What are you children doing
here?"

     I
was curious too. "Yeah, how'd you guys get out of Farrington without being
seen?"

     "Your
brother sent us," Bram said to Dunstan. "He has a couple of requests,
demands, really."

     Dunstan
chuckled to himself and sat back down. "Is that so? Please do tell, what
are my brother's
demands
?"

     "First,
he wants doctors. Some of our people are hurt and wounded. He wants supplies
and medicine that he knows you have."

     Dunstan
appeared to be thinking about it. "What's in it for me?"

     "Ten
lifestones," Chase answered. "We know you need them."

     Dunstan
laughed heartily that time. "Ten lifestones? My brother must really think I'm
an imbecile. We'll send you our doctors, but for no less than one thousand
lifestones."

     Bram
and Chase looked at each other. Bram opened his mouth to speak.

     "That's
not negotiable," Dunstan said before my brother could get a word out.

     Bram
was about to argue, but Keira put her hand on his chest. "Fine," she
said to Dunstan. "We'll bring that back to him and see what he says."

     "What's
the next thing?" Colden asked impatiently. Bram shot him a look. The two
of them were so much alike, I imagined they would hate each other.

     Keira
took a deep breath and looked at me. "We have to bring Naomi back."

  
"What?"
I looked at the three of them, not believing they were actually standing there
saying they had come to return me to the man who wanted to kill me.

     "I'm
sorry, Nay," Bram said. "He said he'll kill all of us and our
families if we don't bring you back to him." Then he coughed.

     They
would have to leave soon. There wasn't much time for an argument, not that I
was about to resist. There was no doubt in my mind that Dunningham would kill
my family and friends if I didn't go back. I would never let that happen.

     I
looked at Dunstan.

     "Go.
Go with them," he told me. "Colden, you too. Send him back with the
lifestones, and I'll send my doctors and medical equipment." Dunstan went
back to looking at his maps.

     I
grabbed my cloak from the chair and followed the others outside.

     Colden
walked ahead of us while I lagged behind with Chase.

     "So
what's the deal with him?" Chase asked, nodding in his direction.

     "He's
a jerk. He hates me and all Grims."

     "He
looks kind of like that pretty boy you fell in love with at Kennedy High,"
Bram said over his shoulder.

     I
couldn't believe he was bringing that up again. "Really, Bram?"

     "What
boy?" Chase demanded.

     "Nobody,"
I answered curtly.

     "Not
nobody," Bram said. "He's the reason Naomi botched the job. She
risked her life for that kid. She wouldn't do that for nobody."

     Chase
searched my face for answers.

     I
sighed. "Okay, he was a guy and I liked him, but I wasn't in love with
him. And he wasn't the sole reason I blew that job. It wasn't that
serious."

     Chase
didn't answer me, but I did catch him stealing a glance at Colden. Bram was
wrong, Colden and Hunter were nothing alike. Hunter was sweet and gentle.
Colden was mean and abrasive.

     As
we neared the wall, Chase was wheezing, Bram was coughing nonstop, and Keira
was having trouble breathing. They needed to get over the wall and soon.

     Everyone
was better at wall climbing than me, even though I had climbed the wall a lot
more times than they had, but I was still weak. We walked through Litropolis,
looking and talking to no one.

     "So
have you thought about it?" Keira asked Bram.

     "Yeah,"
he answered shortly.

     "Thought
about what?" I asked.

     Bram
said nothing, so Keira answered for him. "Dunningham needs more Watchers.
A lot of them were injured, and there weren't that many to begin with."

     That
was true. Nowhere had always been peaceful. Except for the occasional Forager intrusion,
there was nothing to worry about. The Watchers mostly spied on us and turned us
in when we broke the rules.

     "You
can't be a Watcher. You haven't been confirmed yet," I reminded him.

     Bram
looked at me from the corner of his eye. "I know. All I have to do is get
engaged. That's being arranged."

     "Yeah?
With who?" A lump formed in my throat and I hoped he didn't say Keira.

     "Senka."

     Senka
lived a few streets over from us. I didn't know much about her, but she seemed
nice enough. She was much prettier than Rosaleen, a homely girl my parents had
attempted to set Bram up with.

     "Oh,"
I answered, looking at Keira.  She looked straight ahead, her face emotionless.

     Keira
and Bram loved each other, although they'd never admit it. Keira would be
seventeen very soon. Even if Bram waited a year, there was no chance Keira's
father would let her marry him. My brother was a troublemaker. Keira had
already gotten years subtracted from her life because of him.

     I
looked at my brother. He never looked happy, but I could tell something was
really bothering him. "You're going to have to be at Dunningham's beck and
call all the time. Watchers have no lives. Do you really want to be a one,
Bram?"  

     "Sure.
I love having authority."

     I
didn't think that was a good enough reason to want to be a Watcher at all, but
whatever.

     We
crawled through the wall that separated Farrington and Litropolis and crossed
the stream. The whole time we walked, I wondered where the Foragers were
hiding, and if they were watching us from secret places.

     "Dunningham
will be coming to the house," Bram announced.

     "Super,"
I mumbled under my breath.

     At
the back door I gave Keira a final hug. Chase hung back, probably angry about
the Hunter situation.

     Keira
pushed him toward me. "You may never see her again, Chase."

     His
face softened. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me toward him.
"Bye, Nay."

     "Bye,
Chase."

     "Can
we move this along?" Colden asked.

     Bram
shot him a dirty look, but Colden didn't seem to notice. The last thing I
needed was someone else who acted like Bram.

     Keira
and Chase went their separate ways and Colden, Bram, and I entered the house.
Unfortunately, Dunningham was already sitting on the couch of our living room,
with my parents and little brother. I'd been hoping for at least a moment to
spend with them alone.

     Dunningham
sat in Father's special chair, cracking his knuckles. Doyle stood behind him.

     "Sit,
child," Dunningham ordered.

     I
sat on the couch next to Dorian. Bram sat on the other side of me. Mother and
Father sat on the loveseat. I could tell by Mother's red, puffy eyes that she
had been crying. My parents had definitely been on an emotional roller coaster
those past few days. Colden stood off to the side.

     Dunningham
glared at me. "You were granted a nice little extension, weren't you?"
I said nothing. "I've been doing some thinking, Naomi—" Then he was
distracted by Colden, like he had just noticed him. "What is
that
doing here?" Dunningham asked Bram.

     "Your
brother said the only way he would send doctors and medical supplies would be
if you gave him one thousand lifestones." He pointed at Colden.
"Dunstan sent him to take them back."

     Dunningham
clenched his jaw. I could tell he was furious. He hadn't expected his brother
to counter his commands, but simply to comply.

     Colden
stared back at him, eyes full of hatred.

     "Sorry,
sir, he wouldn't negotiate," Bram answered.

     "Fine,
we’ll arrange something," Dunningham said. But I didn't believe him. That
was a lot of lifestones and he had given in too easily.

     Dunningham
focused his attention on me once more. "As I was saying, I've been doing
some thinking about you, and I think an execution is not the way to go."

     I
looked at my parents. Mother exhaled and Father squeezed her hand. They looked
relieved, but I wasn't.

     Dunningham
pointed to Doyle. "Thank him. He vouched for you and changed my
mind."

     I
glanced at Doyle, but I wouldn’t thank him. There was some reason he wanted me
alive, probably for the project Dunstan had mentioned.

     "So,
what will happen to Naomi?" Mother asked.

     Dunningham
never took his gaze from me. I shuddered like something was crawling up my leg.
He smiled with only one side of his mouth. "Naomi will come work for
me."

     I
shot up from the couch. "No, I won't!"

     "Naomi!"
Mother shouted.

     "I
won't, Mother! I'd rather die than work for him the rest of my life. Kill me.
Just kill me."

     Dunningham
didn't look surprised by my reaction. He was amused. "Young Grim, calm
yourself. This is not up for discussion. The decision has been made."

     I
looked at Doyle. "What did you do? Why did you do this?"

     "When
can I get those lifestones?" Colden asked before Doyle could answer.

     I
walked over and pushed him out of frustration. "Thanks for your
concern!" Then I proceeded to hit him repeatedly. Colden raised his arms
to shield himself.

     Father
came over and pulled me away.

     "Nay,
you're making a fool out of yourself," Bram said from the couch.

      I
tried to kick him, but Father was holding me too tight.

     "Darkness,
stop it," he whispered in my ear. "There's nothing any of us can do
about this. It's better than death."

     But
Father was wrong. This was much, much worse.