The Starborn Saga (Books 1, 2, & 3) (11 page)

“I agree,” Connor says.

The front gates of the colony open up as twenty or more Screven vehicles ride out to meet the greyskins before they reach the walls. The vehicles form a circular path around them, kicking up dust, stopping the greyskins in their tracks at the new commotion. Then, they open fire. The popping of guns makes me jump at first, but I can’t help but be in awe of what I see: the quickness, the unwavering protection.

The alarms stop and all we can hear is the distant popping of gunfire. A look through the binoculars shows a close up of the gore as the greyskins drop one-by-one. I’ve seen enough bloodletting for today, and I let the binoculars drop to the floor. 

Connor looks at me as I watch the guards in the distance. Too often have I seen herds just like this one come for my village. Too often has it ripped me forever from the friends and family that I’ve loved. 

As I watch the Screven guards display their mastery of protection, I have no choice but to go to Jeremiah. I don’t care about what the people of Salem want to do. I don’t care about an uprising. I don’t even care much about there being more people who have supernatural powers like me. 

All I care about is my village, my grandma, and my little brother, Jake. Screven can make sure they aren’t torn from me like my parents were. 

The task of destroying the herd only takes about five minutes. No one is even injured in the entire massacre except for the greyskins.

Connor and I watch together as the guards gather the bodies of the undead to a pile. With precious fuel and a match, the bodies are burned to ashes there in the open, dusty field.

I look at Connor, and then back at the rising flames and smoke in the distance. I don’t care how much food my village has to give up. Protection like this is invaluable.

CHAPTER SEVEN

It’s not even an hour before Krindle and Rob come knocking on the door of the shack after Connor has returned from the market with food for lunch. Connor opens the door as I shovel some corn and bell peppers into my mouth. Krindle and Rob both step into the shack without being asked. 

“Come right in,” Connor says with a frown. 

Krindle ignores him. “Mora, I’ve come to inform you that I have spoken with Jeremiah on your behalf.”

I stand from the table, my heart beating quickly. “And?”

“And he has agreed to meet with you and discuss the conditions.”

I breathe out in relief. This is such good news. 

“Rob will escort you and Aaron to Screven.”

Rob stays motionless.

“What?” Connor asks. “Why is Aaron going?”

“As you know,” Krindle says, “Aaron and Mora have both displayed special…abilities. Jeremiah is interested in discussing them.”

I instantly think of early this morning when Evelyn snuck me into the house to see the meeting between Aaron and Heinrich. Aaron had predicted that this was going to happen. He had even wondered aloud about my allegiance. Obviously I want to ally with Jeremiah. This has been my goal from the beginning. Even though I want to be careful about my decision, after I saw the kind of protection Jeremiah can offer Springhill, I have no doubt I want to align myself with him. 

“When will we leave?” I ask.

“Within the hour,” Krindle answers. “You will arrive in Screven later tonight and will meet with Jeremiah tomorrow morning. How does that sound?” he asks with a smile.

“Good,” I answer. This is the first time I have seen Krindle be somewhat nice. 

“I’m going too,” Connor blurts out. 

“Jeremiah has no interest in you,” Krindle says. 

“Just let me go, Krindle. It’s my brother and if it weren’t for me, Mora wouldn’t be at Salem.” He looks at me with a half grin. “Besides, I kind of feel responsible for Mora’s safety.”

“I assure you, her well-being is in good hands,” Krindle motions to Rob. Connor glares as Rob stands just a little bit taller. Krindle looks back at me. “Please be at the front gate in an hour, Mora.”

“I’ll be there,” I tell him as he turns to the door to leave.

It’s difficult for me to conceal my excitement. For the past few days, I haven’t really known whether I would be able to get help for Springhill at all. Now it seems that help is falling in my lap. 

Connor doesn’t say much as we finish our meal. I know he wants to go, but the final command has been spoken.

I can’t help but wonder how Connor truly feels about the Screven guards. Obviously his brother is all-out against them and ready to take them down. Connor seems to think they are necessary, though he doesn’t seem to get along with them.  

We finish our meal in a tense silence and Connor tells me he’ll walk me to the gate. I glance at Evelyn’s shack, suddenly remembering that she wanted to talk to me about something before going to see Jeremiah. 

I have a lot of questions about my powers, but they must wait. It’s time to finish what I have set out to do. Besides, she probably only wants to tell me more about how terrible a leader Jeremiah is. That’s not what I need to hear right now. 

We make our way to the front [to erriblegate. Even though we’re about thirty minutes early, Aaron is already waiting next to the outer wall and Rob is servicing a truck to make sure it’s ready to go. 

“I didn’t know you’d be coming too,” Aaron says to Connor. He flashes the same devious grin that I’m used to seeing from Connor. Perhaps they really are brothers. 

“I’m not. Just wanted to see Mora off is all.” He walks up next to Aaron and lets out a deep breath. “I don’t know if you know this yet, but Jeremiah is asking you to go to Screven to talk about your powers.”

“Yeah, I know,” Aaron says. “Why else would he ask to meet with me?”

“So, what is it, Aaron?” Connor asks. “When did you find out you can shoot lightning out of your hands?”

“Well, that’s not exactly what happens,” Aaron says. “But it’s been a little while. A few years.”

Connor turns on him sharply. “A few years? You’ve been able to do this for a few years, and I’m finding out about it along with everyone else?”

It comes as a surprise to me too. I don’t know how close they are in their relationship, but even if they hate each other, I find it hard to believe that Aaron could have kept it a secret for so long. I can’t help but wonder why. 

By his red cheeks and angry glare, I can tell that Connor is upset. “I didn’t want to take any chances,” Aaron says.

This just makes Connor angrier. He begins to storm away. Aaron rolls his eyes.

“Connor wait,” I call out. He stops and looks back at me. “I don’t know if I’ll see you after this. If all goes well, I’m hoping Jeremiah will send me back to Springhill.”

Connor looks away from me for a moment, then back. “Mora, I truly hope everything works out for you. Good luck with your village.”

“Thank you for saving my life,” I say. 

He smiles at me, but there is no light in his eyes. He almost has a defeated expression on his face. “Knowing what I know now, it seems you didn’t need me after all. Good luck, Mora.”

He turns and walks away from us. I can’t help but feel like I’ve betrayed him somehow. To leave here without him seems wrong. I know he truly wants to help, but I’m not so sure there is anything for him to do. His company would be welcome except that it could be awkward having brothers with two opposing views on Jeremiah and his guards from Screven.

I force the guilt down as I turn and stand next to Aaron. I feel a bit awkward having listened in on one of his secret conversations. I know I’m going to have to keep a close watch on him because he wants me to join up with these other people. What did Evelyn call them? Starborn? I’ve got to keep my guard up because I’m not sure if I can trust anyone here. The only people I can trust are my family. My brother’s face is a constant in my mind. I’m doing all of this for him. For my grandma. For all of Springhill.

“You could have been nicer to him,” I say to Aaron. “He really does want to help.”

“That’s the problem,” Aaron says, not looking at me. “He always wants to help, but with Connor comes trouble. He’s like a magnet that attracts it. I don’t need him to screw anything up.”

“That’s why you never told him about your powers?”

Aaron nods. 

“He seems hurt that you didn’t tell him.”

“He’ll get over it.”

There’s a long silence for a minute or so. I don’t really know what to say. I’m not usually the kind of person to feel weird with long silences, but for some reason, this one is very uncomfortable. 

“So, a few years, huh?”

“Six actually.”

“That’s a pretty impressive power,” I say.

“Not a power,” he says. “It’s a gift. You and I are both gifted.”

“What’s the difference?” I ask. “It’s an ability, a gift, a power. Why does it matter what I call it?”

“Did you do anything to gain your ability?” he asks. 

“Well, no, but…”

“That’s right, it’s been given to you,” he says. “It’s a gift. You have been gifted.”

I guess I see his point, but I still don’t see why it matters. I don’t express this, but instead I walk over to the truck, disappointed that I’ll be taking a long trip with Aaron. The more I’m around him, the less I like him. 

“Rob, are we about ready to go?” I ask.

He looks up at me with a curious expression and then wipes the sweat from his eyes. 

“A little early,” he says. He looks the truck up and down. “But I suppose we could go ahead and leave.”

I get in the passenger side of the truck. Rob says nothing as he gets behind the wheel. Aaron sits in the back seat of the extended cab behind Rob.

Though I don’t look forward to the hours of riding with a group that has no desire to talk to one another, I’m ready to get to Screven.

The drive is exactly as I predicted. Silent and boring. I try to sleep along the way, but for some reason I can’t. I haven’t had any deep rest in a couple of days, but I think I’m too excited at the idea of finally finishing this journey. If the meeting goes well tomorrow, I’ll be done. I will have accomplished everything that I’ve set out to do. By tomorrow afternoon, I will have no need to worry about Aaron, or even whatever Evelyn had wanted to talk to me about. These people will no longer be in my life and will become a distant memory. 

Though, I’m not sure I’ll forget Connor and how kind he has been to me. Unfortunately, I’m not going to forget a lot of the things that have taken place over the past few days.

As we drive on and on, I wonder how Salem can be so rich with farm growth when the land around it is so dead. The terrain we drive on turns from dusty, barren land to subtle grassy plains. That subtlety dies and the grass becomes greener, and then there are forests. 

An hour or two after night has overtaken the sky, I can see the outline of the magnificent city of Screven. My heart beats faster as we come nearer to it. I’m glad the darkness hides my amazement. I’m sure it’s even greater during the day. 

“It’s dark so it doesn’t attract the greyskins,” Rob says. It’s the first thing he has said the entire trip.

About a mile or two out, Rob turns off the headlights and follows the road by moonlight. Because of this, I can see the city even more clearly, or at least the walls surrounding it. The perimeter wall is at least three times taller than Salem’s, and probably twice as thick. 

“How many people live here?” I ask. 

“Over a hundred thousand,” Rob says. 

“Wow,” I mutter quietly. No wonder Screven is able to offer so much protection to so many other places. It’s huge. I can tell that there aren’t very many tall buildings, and I’m guessing that’s so the lights will stay below the wall’s edge. As I scan the skyline, I do see a few buildings that reach far above the others, but their lights are out, or at least the windows are blackened. 

As we come closer to the front gate of the city, Rob flashes his headlights a few times in a very specific pattern that I don’t understand. A loud, deep voice sounds out from h [ds then thereis wristband.

“Screven vehicle, you have given the proper lighting signal, please give us your identification number.”

“0-1-1-8-1-9-8-7,” he says. 

“Good evening, Sir. Please stand by for Scan-Tech and we will open the gate for you promptly.”

“Acknowledged,” Rob says. 

“Scan-Tech?” I ask. 

Aaron unexpectedly answers from the back seat. “Long-range laser scan,” he says. “Checks the area for greyskins to make sure it’s safe to open the gate.”

I’m impressed. I didn’t know people had technology like this anymore. My grandma told me that when she was a child, technology was so advanced that many people had a machine to tell them where to go while driving a vehicle; they could hear about news from around the world in a matter of seconds; one could even carry an entire collection of books in a pocket. She always says that with the greyskins came the death of advanced technology. Thinking about the Scan-Tech, I suppose that not all advanced technology is dead. 

“You are clear to drive through,” the voice sounds out. “Welcome to Screven.”

Rob pulls forward as the gates open slowly and we move into the depths of the city. Rob flips on the headlights and I can see hundreds of buildings. These aren’t shacks like in my village or even Salem. These are houses, long buildings, tall buildings. It looks like there are even stores and shops throughout. It seems so well-off compared to anything I’ve ever seen before. 

We drive through the eastern edge of the city, passing people who are on foot. Some of them are laughing with friends; others are in serious conversation. None of them seem tired or worried. They especially don’t look ill-fed. Almost everyone I see is so much bigger than the people I know. They look as if they must eat five meals a day at least. There are the occasional fit-looking individuals, but for the most part, these people are fat and happy. I can’t help but feel a little jealous as we pass through. 

What would it be like to live in such a place? To know that my next meal will be there for me without a doubt? To know that it would take a thousand years for greyskins to get through the walls of my city?

I shake my head at the thoughts. These people probably have no idea how lucky they are. My grandma is the only person I know to have ever experienced these joys and pleasures. But they were ripped from her in one cruel second.