I’d die for just five minutes of steam and shampoo, and I was tired of wearing the pajamas Jazmine had brought me.
Plus, I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d learned from Penelope. The main hallway was quiet tonight; someone had set up a large projector that was playing an old movie against a large white screen. Kids were eating popcorn and honeyed sweet potatoes on sticks.
I stopped near the back and found Beatrice, braiding a young girl’s hair.
“Have you seen Jacob, or the others?”
“In the conference room I think.”
I headed upstairs near the entrance, but the wide windows of the office room were dark. So instead I retraced my steps down to the lower levels, until I heard voices. Soft lights from above and a pair of standing lamps illuminated the small island sanctuary I’d been taken when I arrived, reflecting off the bright orange fish below the surface of the dark water.
I was about to step over the stone path across the water, but something about their hushed voices made me pause. Jacob, and some of the elder leaders, Trevor, even father Marcus gathered around the center table. All men, at least a dozen, their faces solemn and hidden in shadow. I could catch fragments of their conversation.
“We should start with Gostras first, maybe Algrave... those are the closest. Without access to the blood the elite will have to leave the city where they’ll be more exposed.”
“We don’t know enough about the mechanics.”
“You don’t need to know how something works to turn it off. A well planned explosive should knock it out. Engineers will be sent to fix the problem so we’ll have to take them out, too.”
“Hold the whole compound for ransom if we have to,” Steve nodded.
“It’s too dangerous, they’ll send an army.”
“So we don’t stay. We just destroy the purification engines and leave. It’ll take weeks to repair or rebuild, by that time the compound will be buried in ash.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
I crossed the rocky bridge, my legs trembling in anger as I stepped into the light. They looked up at me sharply.
“This is a private meeting,” Jacob said, rising to his feet. “It doesn’t concern you. Besides you should be resting.”
“The hell it doesn’t,” I said. “Is this why you wanted me out of the way, for this madness? If you destroy the purification engines you’ll turn the compounds against us.”
“Something has to change. This is war.”
“Not for them.”
“They are complicit, with their continued subservience to the elite. They’ve chosen their side.”
“They had no choice. They never did. They didn’t know resistance was even an option.”
“So we’ll show them.”
I glared at Trevor, my eyes stinging. That’s when I noticed the sketch of the purification engines I’d found in Damien’s study, flattened on the table in front of him.
“You went through my stuff?” I asked, clenching my jaw as rage and betrayal flooded through me.
“I was just going to help with your laundry,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I thought it would be nice for you to have some clean clothes.”
“Good thing you checked the pockets thoroughly,” I said, crossing my arms. Then my eyes softened and I took a step closer. “How can you be on board with this? What about all the people we grew up with in Algrave – you’d really sign their death certificates, without any warning? You’ve seen Quandom. The king did that. If you do this, you’ll be just as bad as him.”
“They don’t have to die,” Trevor said, avoiding my eyes. “They can stay inside, or we can find masks. And even if they breathe too much poisoned ash, we know now that the death doesn’t have to be final. They can come back, like I did.”
“That should be a choice, not a curse.” I snapped. “What happened to the antidote, and going after the king alone, I thought that was our plan?”
“We tried that,” Jacob said. “We let you track down the box. Miss Liu tried to make the formula. We tested it, it failed. I’m not sure what else you think we can achieve. She will keep working on a cure, but in the meantime…”
“There might be another way,” I said quickly. I had to make them see reason.
“Penelope told me where Damien grew up, I just need a map of the compounds, it’s called Fanno Creek. It was where King Richard developed the elixir. There’s more there, I know it.”