Page 101 of The Verdant Cage
Jarek flicks his hand at Leonidas. “Find David.”
We hold our collective breath. The pain of my stitches and shackles, even the rawness of my broken heart is suspended. Our society teeters on the brink. If we fall over the edge, there’s no coming back, but the habit of listening to the Record Keeper is ingrained so deeply in us that maybe,maybe, if David can find his courage, we can rebuild.
It’s our last chance.
Leo leads David into the square. He drags his injured foot but otherwise appears surprisingly bright-eyed, his hair combed, red clothes immaculate. I feel a bubble of hope that I’m too afraid to trust as David limps up the stairs, his eyes trained on me.
“Please,” I cry. “Tell them the truth.”
He nods encouragingly as he limps over to me, the picture of vulnerability. When he reaches my side, he puts his face so close to my ear that even Gryphon cannot hear. “The truth?” His caterpillar mustache brushes my flesh. “The truth is that it’s the sneaky leader that you have to watch out for.”
His chuckle makes my blood run cold.
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With David at his appointed place, Jarek has gone back to addressing the crowd, roaring at them to get them fired up for the ceremony, talking about how blessed our village is, how wonderful our system.
David continues to whisper in my ear. “You can’t possibly believe Jarek had the vision to pull this off on his own?” My brain has locked up, but David keeps talking. “I’m sorry about Henrietta, but she stood in the way of our advancement. When I caught Albert spying on Marina after his family supposedly self-Harvested, he was easy enough to convince to take care of my problem. All it took was a piece of the hover panel, plus Marina’s hand in marriage, and the boy was mine. We all have our price.”
“How could you?” I spit. I suppose I should stop being surprised. The leadership of this place is rotten at its core.
One of David’s shoulders lifts as his eyes travel to the center of the stage. The people of Noah’s Valley are staring up at Jarek as if he’s a god, hanging onto his every word.
“How could I not?” David asks. “Mealworm porridge is only fine until you know better. The future is coming, Rose, and it’ll be so much nicer than what we have now. Canned food, books on every subject—gold, even.”
We’ve learned of gold in our books. It has no value, not really. You can’t eat it, can’t create tools from it. His mention of it scratches something in my memories, though. I don’t pursue it, because nothing matters anymore. I am a shell, light as a leaf, empty as a pocket. “Everything you said to me was a lie.”
Gryphon glances over at me, gives my waist a gentle squeeze, then returns his attention to his father. To the outside world, it must look like David is sharing some knowledge from his House with me, a standard wedding day gift. They don’t know he’s pouring poison into my ear.
David shakes his head dismissively. “On the contrary. Idoregret telling Jarek the truth of our founding, and he really isn’t very smart. He runs everything by me and still manages to think he’s the one in charge. Fortunately, that works for me. Less risk, more reward.” He’s speaking low but conversationally, like we’re neighbors enjoying midday tea. “Do you know what else? Korr was telling the truth in that article about there being a door inside the Valley that’ll open tonight.” He coughs into his hand. “I found Hayes’s journal confirming it, though she writes that it’s small, an afterthought, really. The descendants of the prisoners were never meant to escape. I don’t think Korr would have bothered building it at all if not for a required safety inspection before prisoners could be transferred inside.”
“You’re going to lead Jarek and the Guardians out through the tunnel?” I ask, my voice flat. “So he doesn’t have to blow up the Wall?” That, at least, is something.
David’s making a wheezing sound, and I realize he’s chuckling. “I’ve already shared more than enough with Jarek. He doesn’t even know thereisa tunnel. Whatever is beyond it is mine, including a rapid exit should one be necessary.” His chuckling stops. “Unfortunately, Hayes was too paranoid to write down its exact location for fear the prisoners would find it, but where else could it be but in the basement of what was her home? And when it pops open tonight—a hundred and twenty years to the day from our official founding—I’ll be the only one there to see it. Can you imagine the riches on the other side, given what we’ve seen in her stash?” He sweeps his hand, indicating the entire village gathered for my wedding. “Which is why your ceremony had to be this evening. I don’t want anyone stumbling in while I’m taking inventory.”
I’d strangle him if my hands weren’t shackled. “Jarek blowing open the Wall will put everyone in danger, even you.”
“That, or it’ll kill the Verdant Beast and clear the path to more wealth. You haven’t seen what some of the weapons we discovered can do, Rose.”
He’s as evil as Jarek. Worse. Jarek might be the blade, but David is the hand that guides it. “I’ll tell Jarek that you’re manipulating him.”
David pets his mustache with the side of his pointer finger. “Does he seem like a man who could be convinced he’s not running the show?”
I follow David’s gaze. Jarek appears completely in his element as he tells the villagers that he and the Record Keeper have an exciting plan to care for everyone, that tonight is going to be a night they’ll never forget, beginning with the wedding.
Gryphon glances down at me again, this time flicking his glance to David.
David steps away from me.
“But I almost forgot,” Jarek finishes, his booming voice reaching the far corners of the square, “that first we have three criminals on the whipping post to deal with.”
“No!” The scream cuts through the crisp air, coming from the rear of the crowd, near the chapel. The village parts to reveal Reatha. Her face is gaunt, gray, her hair wild. She looks like she hasn’t slept since I last saw her. She stumbles toward the stage. Her hand flies to her mouth when she spots Oscar, Eero, and Meryl tied up. She runs to them, making it all the way to their whipping posts.
The Guardians stand frozen in surprise. To them, she’s risen from the dead.
She yells at the crowd. “How can you all stand there like sheep? These are our children!”
She’s turning back to untie my friends, but the Guardians finally wake up and pull her away, looking to Jarek for guidance. He holds up a hand but says nothing, his birdlike face studying Reatha as the Guardians release her.
