Page 24 of Inceptive (Ingenious #3)

24

WILL

W ill sat on the bed, dressed in overalls and a gray undershirt. The ponies had rested overnight, and the second caravan would be leaving at noon.

He had to decide whether to leave with Zach or stay behind, locked in this room with enough food to last ten days. Eventually, Islanders would scale the rampart, and they’d find him safe, but scared, and take him to his father. What if the lab had found a cure and didn’t need blood donors? What if there was never a planned invasion to capture blood slaves? Will would have to send Zach a message through Belle that the mayor must return immediately with a generous land treaty to appease the Islanders, or they’d claim everything and enslave his people as field workers.

Yesterday, the gatekeeper calculated several days before the fog thinned enough to see if the bridge was passable, and the wagons needed those days to reach the tunnel.

Will heard Zach’s heavy footsteps in the hall and then the key turned in the lock. Zach wanted his answer before the wagons set out.

The answer shriveled in his throat when Will opened the door. The smiling man who’d left their rumpled bed and snuck across the hall at dawn was grim. The color had leached from his cheeks and lips. “What’s wrong?” Will gasped.

“The council wants to speak to you. The bridge cleared last night, but the tunnel’s still closed.”

Will strapped his backpack on. He inspected himself in the mirror for love bites, but Zach had been careful. His short brown hair had grown below his ears, and the months had sharpened his cheekbones and jawline.

The councilwomen wore aprons over plain skirts and blouses. Sunbonnets tied with scarves covered their heads, and their ankle boots were for hard travel. None had set foot in the basin, though the land was what had given them their rank. They rested clenched hands on the table.

Zach led Will to the dais at the side of the table for questioning, then sat in his chair before speaking to him as the mayor, not as a friend and lover. “A messenger demanded your safe return before they freed Riley and the other patients and resumed trading agreements. He left without mentioning an outbreak or asking to speak to you. Your thoughts, please.”

Will massaged above his ears. “Riley’s dead. There’s a bad outbreak on the Island. Leave now. Drop everything. Leave. They’ll launch the long-range grenades if you don’t open the gate. They don’t want to kill you. They’ll give the gas an hour, then soldiers will scale the gate expecting to harvest you like fish in the water. They’ll track the wagons with binoculars and use long-range stunners if the gas fails. You’ll have to keep a day ahead of them. They don’t have powered carts or the means to hoist the few ponies we have over the rampart. They’ll be chasing you on foot.”

Zach nodded. “We need four days to reach the tunnel. We can’t drive the wagons through until farmers have cleared out what was unloaded on the first trip. We need you to stall the chase by telling your father we’ll donate our blood. Promise him anything to give us time to stay ahead of the stunners and get inside the basin. We need four days. Nothing less. Can you give my people four days, Will?”

Zach stood, and for a moment, Will cherished the hope he would beg him to come with them. “After we’re inside the basin, we’ll lock the gate for two years, as we won’t know how many are alive on the Island, and Belle can’t cross the bridge, or her chip will corrupt. We don’t know how long it’ll be before a message from the other sanctuary will awaken Dante. You’ll need an excuse to go inside the rampart to communicate messages with me. Easiest excuse is using the steam lodge. Look under the bench in the first changing stall for written messages.”

Will’s thoughts jumbled, then coalesced. Unless the wagons reached the basin, both sides faced annihilation. The future depended on Will gaining the wagons extra days before an invasion commenced.

“I’ll negotiate with my father,” Will promised. When his father discovered the trick, he’d marry him to Elliston to secure the succession of the next viceroy, then bow to public outrage and execute his son for treason.

Will gripped the straps of his backpack as Zach punched the code for the gate to open. He shuffled his feet, clenching and unclenching his fists. They’d said goodbye in the meeting hall after the women had filed out.

Astrid had been the last to leave the meeting hall. “Zach, wear your gas mask. Don’t dawdle. Catch up to us as fast as you can.” She’d placed a hand on Will’s shoulder. “Thank you, Will.” She’d closed the door, leaving the two men alone to say goodbye.

The wagons had left a dusty trail before Zach and Will could stop clinging to each other. They’d choked out goodbyes, then composed themselves and rode the pony cart to the rampart.

The gatekeeper climbed down the rampart. “A farmer in overalls and hat has crossed over about halfway and stopped, waiting for Will. Can’t tell if it’s Riley.”

Will stared at Zach. “Crap. I’ve never met Riley. He could be a soldier carrying a sonic grenade. Dante told me about them. He could wait for the gate to open, then toss it through and disorient everyone. Then an army could swarm through. The wagons aren’t out of range of stunners yet.”

Zach said, “Tell him that his Angela is waiting for him. If he looks happy, tell him to wave at the gate.”

“Who’s Angela?”

“No one named Angela lives in Fort Hope. If he waves and doesn’t look confused, don’t look back. Keep walking. I’ll lock the gate before he knows he’s caught.”

Will suspected the imposter would be killed. “On the slight chance he’s Riley, what do I do?”

“Continue walking and delay an invasion for four days.”

They were star-crossed lovers. “Remember my ballad about the mermaid and merman?”

Zach nodded. “The men threw coins for a happy ending.”

“There’s no happy ending for us.” Every fiber of his being resisted a final hug. He shook hands, squeezing, remembering last night’s endearments.

While the gate was pulled open, Zach whispered, “Somehow, someway, if you need to hide inside the basin, I’ll make it happen.”

“Have you seen Belle?”

“She’s delivering a message to the settlements that the wagons are on the road, and it’s their last chance to join us.”

“I wish… I wish it was a different world.”

“It will be for my children.”

And didn’t that hurt. The connecting deck creaked as it rolled forward and allowed him to leave.

The man approaching him was young and bearded like a proper bachelor. His pockets bulged.

“Are you Riley?”

“You must be Will. Is Zach angry with me?” Blue eyes looked behind Will, assessing the gate.

“He is. But Angela’s waiting for you. Wave at her. Prepare to have your beard shaved tonight.”

He grinned. “I was hoping she wouldn’t make me wait.” He waved at the rampart.

Will faked a stumble as he stepped around him, his hand sliding over a pocket as he regained his balance. He’d felt the shape of a grenade. “Congratulations. Hope you have a fruitful marriage.”

“Good luck with the welcome committee,” murmured the imposter, and then he loped to the gate.

Will slowed his steps. At first, he thought the curses from the guards pouring out of the building at the end of the bridge were directed at him. Twisting around, he saw a river of white mud falling on the connecting deck and burying the imposter. The red flag waved that the gate was closed to all visitors.

Zach’s trap had bought his people extra hours.

Will stepped off the bridge onto the boardwalk of the Trading Post, where piles of garbage lay uncollected. Guards, wearing blue armbands and berets, immediately handcuffed and arrested him for deception, imposture, and disregard for emotional damage to his fiancé and his father.

“Warrants aren’t recognized on the Trading Post,” he protested. Take me to my father.”

Elliston walked from the Wild Pony Saloon wearing a green armband and a beret with a gold star. His face appeared puffier, with crow’s feet at the corners of his bloodshot eyes. Young security guards, wearing orange armbands, flanked him. One of them confiscated Will’s backpack.

“Hello, Will.” Elliston lifted the cuffs and examined Will’s fingernails. “Come with me. I’ll take you to your father.”