Chapter 23
It wasn’t hard for Ren to understand why the Sisterhood would hide such an intricate piece of technology at first, but now? Now felt like a time to get moving, to create a plan to get the device fixed rather than just sit around and pretend everything was fine.
Ren hated how they’d kept it hidden from her for so long, because it was the only thing she could think of that might help get Novae out from under the Monarchy’s thumb. It was the only way the people of Novae would be able to return to their lives before Elian had found the planet, and the Monarchy had made up the ruse that it belonged to their family based on a tiny piece of barely legible paper.
Of course, they only said that because Maks was their loyal Admiral, and they thought they could control him and his family. They learned the hard way that they couldn’t, and Ren was going to make sure they knew that about the Argents.
Before she could give the Monarchy a piece of her mind, she had to give it to Enn and Tansy. They were the ones hiding the “problem” as Abetha referred to it, and refused to get help. The Sisterhood seemed to cause more problems than they fixed.
Ren found them in the Undercurrent, in the cave filled with crystals and gems of all colours. They were just leaving a hidden room, another secret door at least seven feet off the ground; nobody would find that by accident. Ren watched as they jumped down, leaving behind the shimmering field to protect it.
“Is that where it is then?” Ren called out. Tansy startled while Enn merely turned. Neither of them said a word, too surprised by her presence. Or maybe it was also because Sheridan had caught up with her, and refused to leave her alone again no matter how many times Ren claimed she was fine. It was obvious she was furious.
They met in the middle of the room, rainbows shining all around them from an unknown light source. Ren didn’t bother looking for it this time.
“What are you doing here?” Enn asked, staring down Sheridan. “Tans?”
“I know,” Tansy replied. “Ren you know better than to bring her here.” There was a hint of venom in her tone, even at her own niece. “Only members—”
Ren sneered. “I don’t care about your politics Tansy, I care about this.” She pulled the schematics of the device from her pocket and unfolded it, shoving it in their faces. “How long has the Sisterhood known about this? How long have you been hiding it here rather than using it?”
“Where did you get this?” Enn shouted. She ripped the paper from Ren’s hands, her eyes hungrily reading the equations. “This is incredible.”
Tansy took a glance at the diagram but didn’t answer.
“Aunt Tans,” Sheridan said.
She sighed and rolled her head back, as if stretching. “If we had not hidden it then somebody else would have used it.”
“Maybe someone should,” Ren said. “If it can cloak the planet like it did when the Absolution crashed, then maybe it can again. Did it turn off when you found it? Did you not think to leave it alone so the Monarchy wouldn’t find you?”
Enn huffed. Tansy said, “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Princess.”
“I know damn well what I’m talking about!” Ren shouted. Her hands were in fists, her anger unraveling. “You could have—”
“We were keeping it alive,” Tansy interrupted. “The Sisterhood has been looking after the Husher device for centuries to ensure Novae was never found again. While all the citizens were worried about the Beginning and the End we watched over it. We were the ones repairing it, finding ways to keep it powered. So don’t you dare accuse us of turning it off.”
Ren flinched back and Sheridan set a hand on her shoulder. After a moment of stunned silence Ren shook it off. “Why isn’t it working then? Why was Novae found?”
Enn pursed her lips together. “It broke.”
Ren’s thoughts whirled. Sheridan questioned, “How can a device that worked for hundreds of years just break?”
“Gee, maybe because it’s hundreds of years old?” Enn suggested the obvious. “It seems fine, it just won’t turn on. The power source is…gone. It won’t take in any more power.”
“Those are two different things,” Ren stated.
“Before the Monarchy first arrived the power source seemed to be dwindling,” Tansy explained. “And eventually it shut off altogether. We had backups, and we tried to use them but…it just isn’t working.” She sighed.
“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Ren asked, although she knew why. They didn’t trust her, not completely. They might have led her to believe that they did, and done a very convincing show when they let her Rush the Sisterhood, but in the end she was part of the Monarchy. “Elian could help.”
“No,” Tansy stated. “He is not to be involved in this. You weren’t even supposed to know. How did you find out?” Ren saw her try not to look at Enn, but it was there, that small flick of her eyes.
“And this,” Enn said. “Where did you find this? And why is it wet?”
Ren didn’t want to tell them about the ship. She didn’t know what they would do with the information, even though she couldn’t think of anything too bad that could be done. “On the Absolution,” she eventually admitted.
Enn’s eyes widened. “Our ancestors ship?”
Ren nodded. “It was in a room with a few other diagrams—I couldn’t make sense of them but this one seemed most important. It was the only one hanging on the wall.”
“I’ve never seen these equations before,” Enn said. “Maybe they’ll help us figure it out.” She turned without another word and headed towards the secret room. Ren and Sheridan watched her as she climbed atop a couple of larger crystals and jumped through the field, one that gave no resistance. It was simply an illusion.
Tansy stayed, but she didn’t seem interested in the schematics. Ren said, “Elian could help—he’s brilliant.”
Tansy’s lips pursed. There was no way she was going to allow Elian to look at the Husher device, and maybe all of the Sisterhood thought that way.
“He is preparing for war,” Tansy said, “if he finds this we don’t know what he’ll do.”
“He’ll help,” begged Ren. “I know he will.”
“Like he helped Ross by imprisoning him, or by strapping tracking bracelets onto every Novaean?” Tansy held up her wrist, her watch a bright white. “He is one of them. The only reason we’re able to be here is because Enn managed to block the signal for a short while.”
Ren wanted to slap her. She wanted Tansy to admit she was wrong for hiding so much, and for her to try to work towards solving the problem rather than making it worse. Sheridan put her hand on Ren’s shoulder again, as if sensing her feelings. Her nails dug in, and that’s when Ren realized it was a warning to be careful.
“I believe Elian would be willing to hide the planet again,” Sheridan said. “He is not like the Monarchy.”
Tansy stood strong against her niece. “My answer is no.”
“Why not let everyone decide?”
The three turned towards the entrance to find Keturah coming inside with Abetha. They each had their own watches on and it worried Ren that they did; if the Monarchy was tracking their every move, hers included, would they notice that they disappeared under a field? She needed to ask Naomi.
“I think I speak well enough for everyone,” Tansy said. “Unless you want to allow the King and the Monarchy inside the Sisterhood as well?”
“I do not,” Keturah said. “I would, however, allow Elian Argent.”
“He is the King,” Tansy growled. The lines on her forehead deepened as she furrowed her brow.
“He is a boy trying to make his father proud,” Keturah replied. “And I believe that he would understand exactly how to do that. By fixing the Husher device. Maks might have been a soldier, a misguided man in an unfamiliar situation, but he was not a monster. I believe he tried to do good with his final actions.”
Ren’s heart swelled at the kind words for her father and she nodded her head at Keturah in thanks.
Tansy’s lips formed a thin line as her world began to crumble. After years of keeping men out, after believing for decades that the Sisterhood would always know the answer, and fix the problems, it had to be hard to accept help from the outside. Especially when the outside was so closely related to the enemy.
“Tans,” Sheridan said, her voice low so that only Tansy and Ren could hear. “It’s the only way.”
“We can find a way to uncover his loyalties,” Keturah assured her partner. She looked to Ren. “Don’t you agree?”
“Yes,” Ren breathed. Her heart was starting to calm down, but her hands wouldn’t stop shaking from the anger and adrenaline. She hadn’t thought she would actually slap Tansy, but she was getting close to her boiling point. And if it overflowed it wouldn’t be just a slap.
Keturah looked to Tansy. “Continue working on the Husher while Ren works on ensuring Elian will keep it from the Monarchy.”
Ren could see the words running through Tansy’s mind. He is the Monarchy. But with elegance she lifted her nose into the air and turned towards the secret room, maybe ready to try a little harder. Ren hoped the schematics she’d found would help, but it made her think of something else.
“The scow was powered on,” she said. “Could that be why there’s no power going to the device?”
Keturah narrowed her eyes. “I would need to see it myself to know exactly what is powering it. Did you find the source?”
If she had, Ren hadn’t noticed it. After hearing the recording of the crash she couldn’t stomach to do anything else, and she just wanted off the scow. She shook her head.
Keturah thought a moment then sighed. “I cannot go now, I have a meeting in Mahendra that cannot be missed.” Her eyes fell to the bracelet around her wrist—even without the meeting she wouldn’t have been able to go.
“Then I can go,” Ren suggested. “Sheridan and I can try to find the source, and come back to you.”
There was a moment of hesitation before Keturah replied. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Soon Keturah nodded. “Whatever you find, don’t touch it. I don’t want to risk damaging it by bringing it here.”
“Of course,” Sheridan agreed. As they left Ren wanted to ask what Enn might be able to do with the schematics, but there wasn’t much time before sunset and she didn’t want to be in the forest overnight again. When she stepped into the dwindling sunlight it occurred to her that she hadn’t asked if Sheridan actually wanted to go.
“You don’t have to come,” Ren said, knowing she would go no matter what Ren said.
“I want to,” she replied.
They started walking into the forest, and Ren found she was starting to recognize certain landmarks. There were notches on the trees that were all unique, and certain fallen branches that reminded her of how to get back to Mahendra. From that, she now had a map in her head, telling her exactly where to go to find the Absolution.
The further they walked the more she questioned Sheridan’s motivations. It didn’t feel like she was staying with Ren because of the original order from Maks, but she didn’t seem as determined to help Novae as the rest of the people did. She didn’t speak negatively about the Monarchy, nor did she seem in line with the rebels.
“Is something wrong?” Sheridan asked. They were walking side-by-side, no longer having one trail after the other.
“I was just thinking about whose side you’re on,” Ren admitted. She stuck her hands into her pants pockets, finding something she hadn’t noticed before. Pulling out a piece of string attached to the arenthrope tooth. A long, savage necklace.
“There are no sides here,” Sheridan said. “Only beliefs.”
She looked at the tooth rather than Sheridan, knowing that she would have that same blank expression she always did. It was confusing to look at Sheridan sometimes; she always made Ren question everything.
“Did you do this?” Ren asked, ignoring their previous conversation.
“Lt. Bauer,” Sheridan stated.
“Naomi? When?” Ren inspected the newly cleaned tooth, and the tiny holes that had been drilled into it to ensure it wouldn’t fall from the string.
“Lt. Bauer often brings your clothes for cleaning,” he said, “she found it and asked what it was. Abetha explained it to her.”
So much happened when Ren wasn’t looking, it was unnerving. She’d had no idea that Naomi was the one that brought out her clothes to be cleaned, and probably returned them to her room. Naomi’s words resonated in her head and she still thought Naomi was wrong. Ren didn’t think there was ever a time when fighting was okay.
She put the necklace on anyway. It wasn’t going to be a symbol of her fighting abilities, or an agreement that fighting was the right thing to do, but of the fact that Ren now knew what she was capable of. She wasn’t the mousy bookworm that people always seemed to think; she could hold her own when necessary, but only when necessary. Now was necessary.
“How come you never told me Kian was your brother?”
Sheridan halted. “Did Tansy tell you that?”
“No,” Ren replied, stopping. They stared at each other beneath the heavy leaves, a single streak of light shining across Sheridan’s eyes to make them glow.
“It’s not something I thought was necessary.”
“Seriously?” Ren gawked. “He was one of my suitors—the only one I actually…” She couldn’t think of the right words.
“Could stand?” Sheridan suggested. “It would have only complicated things; you would have tried to make us talk.”
“I—probably would have.” Ren crossed her arms. “I just thought…I thought you could talk to me. I thought you knew that.”
“I do.” Sheridan ran her fingers lightly through her hair. “You’re the first friend I’ve had on Novae that didn’t try so hard to make me talk.” She shrugged. “I didn’t want to ruin that.”
Ren snorted a laugh. “You like me because I don’t make you talk?”
“You accept silence,” Sheridan replied. “Not many people can do that.”
There was a small smile on Ren’s lips. “You aren’t close with him, are you?”
“No.”
Ren nodded. “Okay…I can understand that.”
There was a lot of history that Ren didn’t know yet. Things must have happened between Sheridan and Kian that didn’t necessarily involve their father abandoning her. Ren had a hint about what could have happened, but she wasn’t going to ask, not now. Not yet. She gestured to the invisible pathway they followed and the girls continued their journey.
Within the hour they made it to the Absolution. It was still powered on, resonating more heat than when Ren had been there earlier. She pressed her hands against the hull, debating on where to start. She didn’t want to Transport in because she knew that most of the scow was underwater by now. There was a low chance of getting lucky again and landing in a less waterlogged area.
“What could be charging the ship if it used to charge the Husher device?” she wondered aloud. Racking her brain she didn’t think scows were powered by anything other than the batteries installed on the scow, and those didn’t last for centuries.
“Perhaps it’s wireless,” Sheridan suggested. “Before the Monarchy came we would often charge smaller devices that way.”
Ren shook her head. “There would be a huge heat production for something this size. There’s no way it could—wait. The water!”
“The water?” Sheridan repeated. They looked to the top of the waterfall, where the water sparkled in the setting sun. It was creating an orange glow, making the water look like liquid fire as it poured over the cliff.
“When I was on the scow the water was warm,” Ren said. “But it shouldn’t have been. It should have been cool, or at least the same temperature as the air yet i
t was warm. If there’s an inductive charging device nearby it must be in the water, or at least nearby to make the entire ship heat up like this. It could be what’s keeping the ship on, and drawing power away from the Husher device.” She pressed her hands flat against the metal. “Does the Undercurrent connect to anywhere near here?”
Sheridan glanced around. “There could be an entrance behind the waterfall—many of the caverns in the Undercurrent connect to different entrances. Not all of them have been explored.”
“Great,” Ren said excitedly. She started walking to the back of the ship, trying to find a way to climb up and hopefully into a hidden cavern. Sheridan followed behind, her eyes watchful of any nearby movement. So far it was only a few birds that flew by, but Ren was listening for anything else. It was hard to hear over the crashing water.
When they made it to the cliff Ren saw there was only one way in past the ship, and it was through an almost impossibly small sliver. There was just enough space that Ren thought she could squeeze through but Sheridan was another story.
“I’ll go in,” Ren suggested. Water poured over the opening, and as she stepped into the warm river water Sheridan grabbed onto her hand. Not her wrist or shoulder, but her hand; it was a grasp of desperation.
Sheridan faced her. “You shouldn’t go in alone.”
“I’m just looking for something that might power the Husher device,” she replied. “If we can find it then maybe we can avoid a war.”
That made Sheridan drop her hand, but it still took a moment. She turned back to the opening and took a deep breath.
Ren didn’t plan on finding much on the other side, but she pulled the jade dagger she’d gotten as a rejection from her boot and twisted her body to get through the water. It was tight, and the rocks scraped against her back while the ship pressed against her stomach and thighs. Her head turned so she wouldn’t smack her nose against the metal, and after a bit of maneuvering she fell forward. Her hands splashed down on the water, the knife skidded away into the darkness. It was pitch black in the cavern.
“Ren,” Sheridan called. “Are you—”
“I’m okay,” she said back. She took a breath and nearly gagged on the smell of the algae. It was so strong in the small area. Suddenly she was grateful she’d decided to wear her watch, even if it did give Elian the ability to track her every movement. She clicked on her built in flashlight. The cavern she stood in didn’t look much different than the rest of the Undercurrent, with algae dripping along the walls and shining rocks coating the floor. Careful as she walked, Ren searched for her fallen blade.
Across the cavern it glinted in the beam of light. She stepped over and went to pick it up, only to notice a much larger opening on the other side of the cave; one that Sheridan could fit through. Ren told her about it.
“Wait there,” Sheridan said.
She picked up her knife and noticed an impression in the algae; a footprint. It was at least three sizes larger than hers. A shock of light blinded her, and Ren heard something rush through the air. As she fell backwards she dropped the knife, and another blade went soaring through the opening behind her.
Blinking through the dots in her vision she only recognized one thing in the darkness; long, white hair. “Kian!” she cried.
“Princess,” he replied coolly. “I would say I’m pleased to see you, but this is quite the inconvenience for me. I was hoping you wouldn’t come back here after last time. Were the schematics not enough for you?” He sneered.
“What are you doing?” Ren questioned. He moved forward and when she tried to stand he held up another knife. She froze.
“I’m ensuring Novae gets what it deserves,” he said. He pocketed a small black box, but before he did Ren saw the word “Husher” written on the side in old English.
“The inductive charger,” she whispered. Her eyes met Kian’s. “Where did you get that?”
“On the ship,” he stated, “about—oh, I’d say about four months ago.” He grinned.
Ren began to crawl back, wondering what was taking Sheridan so long to arrive. “If you have the power source why not give it to the Sisterhood?”
Kian rolled his eyes. Ren didn’t bother shutting hers as she crawled onto the rocks outside of the cave. She stood slowly, watching Kian walk through the water. He pushed his hair back, letting the water drip down his face without a care. “That wouldn’t do me any good.”
Ren glanced at the ship for only a moment. “You sabotaged the Husher device.”
“That’s an ugly word,” Kian retorted. “I’m trying to do what’s best for Novae. We’ve always known about the Monarchy but they’ve never known about us. I thought it was time for a change, and if there’s one thing the Sisterhood hates it’s change. They wanted to continue pulling the strings from behind the curtains—it got old.”
Looking over her shoulder Ren saw that Sheridan still hadn’t found her way over. Something must have been wrong, because there was no way Sheridan would take that long to run around the ship, no matter how big it was. “Who else is here?”
“Just me,” Kian said. “The others would never follow me if they knew what I’d done. They have an old way of thinking, too.” He wrinkled his nose.
“So now what?” Ren prepared herself for a fight she knew she couldn’t win. One she’d like very much to avoid. “You kill me and take over Novae?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said. “I plan on taking over the Monarchy.” He looked up to the sky, as if he could see the scow that flew over the planet. “They have things I’ve only been allowed to dream of here; with one of those scows my opportunities will be endless.”
“You uncovered Novae because you want off of it?” Ren winced. People were dying all because Kian wanted a road trip.
“I want away from this pathetic matriarchy.” He shifted the blade between his fingers, preparing for another throw. “I had hoped that my father would be put in charge, and we could eliminate the Sisterhood once and for all, but then the Monarchy put your father in charge, so I had to improvise.”
His features twisted in cruelty, and his hand rose in the air to throw the dagger directly at Ren’s throat when a bolt of light shot over her shoulder. It blasted Kian in the chest, his eyes bulging as the knife fell into the water below. The smoking wound smelled of burned flesh, and Kian fell forward, no longer moving or breathing.
Ren stared at him in shock a moment before turning to see who had saved her.
“Garret?” she breathed. He stood there with a Monarchy issued gun, the kind that could easily be set to stun or kill. Unable to look back at Kian, Ren knew that Garret hadn’t even considered setting it to stun. In a single flash Sheridan’s brother was dead.
“Princess,” Garret said, holstering the weapon beneath his jacket. “Your brother will be so pleased you found the Absolution without him.” Ren nodded absently as Garret approached. “And you discovered a traitor in our midst.” He smiled, that fake smile that was always pasted on his lips. Ren only nodded again.
Garret moved past her and flipped Kian onto his back. With one hand he pulled out the power source, knowing exactly what it was. “Wait,” Ren said.
“Hm?” Garret looked up at her. “You couldn’t possibly want this, could you? After all, you’re on the Monarchy’s side, correct? It would be a shame if Elian had to lose another family member to the rebels.” Garret’s fingers were dancing along the buttons of his silver shirt, prepared to grab the gun again.
“You know what it is,” Ren stated.
“Of course I do,” Garret replied. “I know everything that goes on on this planet. The rebels, the Sisterhood. The Monarchy has friends everywhere, you know.” He smirked, his cruelty coming through clear. “And I’m sure you want to make sure they aren’t a threat anymore.”
Swallowing her fear Ren agreed with him. He had the gun, what else was she going to do?
“E
xcellent,” Garret said. “I’ve only knocked your Sotarian out; why don’t we head back to Mahendra and get this to Naomi? I’m sure the Monarchy would be very interested in such a powerful piece of technology.” As he passed by her he patted her shoulder.
“Of course,” she whispered. Just as he let go of her shoulder her bracelet beeped in unison with Garret’s, in close enough proximity to the transporter on the Absolution to easily get in. She looked at Kian, and then Garret. He hadn’t noticed the connection yet.
Ren didn’t know what overtook her then. It didn’t feel like bravery, and it certainly didn’t feel like she was protecting herself. It felt like anger, fury, even. It was a horrible, sickening sensation inside her that infected her thoughts and everything she knew she was. Everything she thought she was.
She grabbed onto Garret’s wrist, catching him off guard as she slapped the box out of his hand. Before she let go of him she clicked the button on his watch and it beeped again. In a bright flash Garret was transported onto the scow. There was no way it wasn’t all under water now that the shield failed.
Her heart was thumping, smashing against her ribcage as her breathing became more and more uneven. After a few minutes she managed to shake herself out of her haze and pick up the little black box. Its latch was broken, so she opened it to see what this inductive power source really looked like.
It was two metal rings, with small circular crystals wrapped around them at four points. They lit up slightly, but Ren thought they might have been dying down. In the centre of the rings sat another crystal, one that seemed out of place. She snapped the lid shut.
A grunt came from around the corner, and when Ren looked up she saw Sheridan limping towards her. She hurried to Sheridan, seeing the scorching black mark where she’d been shot run up her side. “Are you okay?”
“What happened?” she asked. “I didn’t see anything.”
“Garret was here.”
Sheridan’s eyes fell on Kian.
“Sheridan,” Ren whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Her eyelids low, Sheridan looked towards her feet, unable to lift her eyes to look back at Ren. She shook her head. “I knew this was coming for a long time; he was always so…angry. Nothing was ever quite enough—I should have known he would do something like this…he had the power source all along, didn’t he?”
Ren explained what had happened, leaving out the part where she sent Garret to die on the scow. With each mention of Kian’s name Sheridan’s jaw tensed and Ren knew she was holding back a scream.
“And where’s Garret now?” Sheridan questioned, swallowing each individual shout that threatened to reach out of her throat. Her eyes were digging into Ren’s, and she thought she was begging her not to say what she’d done.
“I…he’s on the ship,” she whispered. Her free hand clutched at the necklace so hard she thought the tooth might cut into her skin. It stung her palm as she thought of what must have happened when Garret Transported inside.
Sheridan nodded. “I’m sorry you had to do that.”
Ren let out a huff through her nose. Sheridan’s brother had just died, his body was still warm behind them, and she was telling Ren she was sorry.
“I didn’t have a choice,” she said, trying to make her voice stronger than she felt. It was the one excuse she always hated hearing; there was always a choice, no matter how hopeless everything felt. There must have been something else she could have done.
But like with Maks, there was no time to mourn right now. She gripped the black box in her hand. “We need to get this to Enn; and warn the Sisterhood.”
“Warn them of what?” She held her stomach, her injuries worse than Ren first thought.
“There’s a spy in the Sisterhood.”