His eyes darken in anger. “Minister Telek can’t be here now. He’s having part of his intestines removed. Did you know that as well? They’re imaging his replacement parts now. They won’t be ready for a few rotations.”
“We can’t wait a few rotations! We have to speak now!”
“He has holes in his esophagus now,” the soldier says drily.
“Minister Telek killed Defense Minister Vallen so that he could assume his post on Skye Council. Please let me speak to the council,” I beg.
Rutledge appears unimpressed with my story. He shakes his head. “You only get to talk to us. We’re aware of your priestess ability to influence your adversaries.”
“My ability to do what?” I ask after I close my gaping mouth.
“We have proof of your trait,” he counters.
“Oh! You’ve proof?” I scoff with rising eyebrows. “What’s your proof?”
He walks across the metal grate catwalk to the adjacent rows of stacked honeycomb-like cells that go up as far as I can see. Hundreds of catwalks like the one that he’s standing on service the levels above. He touches a control panel on the wall, illuminating several of the cells in front of me. Inside one, Wayra stands watching my encounter with these soldiers. He, like Trey, has been interrogated, as the bruises and scrapes on his face and bare chest attest. Next to Wayra’s cell is Jax’s cell. Above him in individual cells are all my Cavar bodyguards from the palace: Drex, Hollis, Gibon, Dylan, and Fenton. Their cells are all clumped together.
I put both my hands flat against the invisible barrier in front of me, smearing it with my blood. “Let them go! They’re not your enemies.”
“They all refuse to answer any questions about you. Don’t you find that strange? Their loyalty is to you and not to Rafe.”
“They’re more than loyal to Rafe! They’re decent men. They believe that I saved Cavars when I reported an attack by the Alameeda! They were assigned to protect me, and that’s what they’re doing—protecting me is part of their duty.”
This takes him aback for a second. “We’re the authority here.”
I make a derisive sound. “They’re Cavars. They don’t see Brigadets as authority—just as you’d scoff at their authority. They were answering to Minister Vallen until he was murdered. They’re intelligent men. They understand motives, and no one had a better motive to kill Defense Minister Vallen than Minister Telek.”
“You’re accusing Defense Minister Telek of murdering Minister Vallen?”
“I know he killed him. He told me he did it. He wants me to take the blame for it.”
“So you admit that you poisoned him!”
“Oh, for sure. Wouldn’t you? He murdered your defense minister! He wants to kill me to cover it up. Why do you think I poisoned him?” I ask.
“I think you poisoned him because you’re a spy and you were under orders to kill him.”
“Under orders from whom?” I ask with a cold stare.
“The Brotherhood.”
I frown. “I wouldn’t walk across the street if they ordered me to,” I reply honestly. “Listen to me: I could’ve killed Minister Telek, but I didn’t. That’s not important now. What’s important is what you plan to do to intercept the Alameeda invasion coming on Fitzmartin.” My tone becomes harsher as I speak.
He looks uncertain. “This is your influence, isn’t it? I’m not falling for your skills.”
“What do you think I’m doing to you? I’m just being reasonable. If you believe nothing else other than there’s an imminent attack planned, then we’re good. Everything else we can sort out later. At least check into it. Go over whatever protocols you use to defend this place and see if there are any holes. They come in with an air strike—big bombs. The shields will be ineffective because they’ll already be inside,” I ramble. He turns the intercom off so that we can no longer hear each other while he discusses something with his fellow soldiers. I pound on the barrier between us, yelling, “It starts at sixteen parts on Fitzmartin—sixteen parts! Do you understand?”
They turn their backs on me and walk away. I panic, beating on the wall between us. “They’re coming on Fitzmartin! They’ll kill us all! Please listen to me!”
Losing sight of them, I turn to look at Trey. He’s watching me, taking in everything about me. I look down at myself; I’m a complete mess. My hands are abraded from my fight with Giffen. The black jacket Trey gave me this morning is torn and missing several buttons.
Quickly, I go to the wall that separates us. I wring my hands as I say, “We have to get out of here! The Alameeda are going to be here soon.”
Trey mouths the words: Slow down. I can’t understand you.
I cringe and put my hands to my head. “I don’t know what time it is!” I say to myself, as fear overwhelms me. I try to take a deep breath to calm down before I lose it. I touch the wall between us, using the blood on my fingers. I smear a picture of the Ship of Skye among the clouds. Then I add flying ships dropping bombs on it. Next to it, I write in backward letters: NITRAMZTIF NO STRAP 61.
Trey’s hand touches my drawing of the Ship of Skye. He moves his hand to mine as I lean against the wall. I know he can’t hear me, but I say, “It’ll happen in about 48 parts from now! They get inside the shields! They bomb everything! It’s like the Hindenburg—ahh, you wouldn’t know what that is!” I scold myself as I thrust my hands in my hair, pulling it back from my face. “It’s like the whole place is on fire!”
His expression is grim. He nods in understanding. Turning away from me, he goes to his sink, to the soap dispenser. He takes the soap to the entrance of his cell, to the invisible barrier.
He uses the soap to write on the barrier: STRAP 84 NI TLUASSA LAIREA ADEEMALA.
Wayra leaves his post at the entrance to his cell for a moment. When he returns, he writes in soap on his wall: BAW-DA-BAW. Jax and the rest of the Cavars do the same.
I sit down on the metal cot and rest my cheek against the cool transparency of the wall.
“I have to think,” I murmur as I look around at the cell. It’s a nightmare in terms of escape. If I were to somehow break through a wall, I’d only find myself in the next cell. The only way out is through the front wall, and my nose still hurts from running into it. I glance at Giffen in the cell next to mine. He hasn’t moved yet. I wonder if he’s dead, but I see his chest rise and fall, and I know he still lives. I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing, or a bad thing. On one hand, he might be able to free himself once he wakes up, but on the other hand, a free Giffen may not be healthy for me. He might decide to kill me once he figures out I’m here too. Either way, the odds are looking like I’m going to die in here.