Kingdom of Tomorrow (Book of Arden), page 2
Tears stung my eyes. I wouldn’t see my mother, my best friend, for three years. If I even survived the academy.
Chapter Two
I tell you now: consider your ways.
—The Book of Soal 1.37.1.5
I burst outside, entering the bustling cityscape. People from every spectrum of society rushed about. Across the street, a man invited pedestrians to try his “asylum experience.” Near an enormous sculpture of a winged woman with crab claws, three knights and two lords in full protective gear arrested a group of people who were shouting, “Soal is life, Cured is death! The Kingdom of Yesterday comes!”
Soalians. Those on the cusp of infection. I shuddered. They believed a god named Soal lived in a magical library and he instructed them to destroy Cured, the only entity capable of protecting the rest of us. Anyone sane recognized how ridiculous it all sounded . . . but Soalians weren’t sane.
Citizens for Unified Reform, Education, and Defense made mistakes, but who didn’t? Cured ensured we survived in a world gone mad.
Tomorrow, I would join its ranks.
Say your goodbyes tonight.
My next breath emerged as a short, rasping pant. No matter how fast I traveled along the sidewalk, maneuvering through the crowd, I couldn’t escape a growing sense of doom. I’d only ever fought one maddened, and only to defend myself after she broke. I’d never come closer to dying.
Sizzling sunlight failed to warm my chilled skin. I tried to focus on my surroundings. Buildings of varying sizes and shapes lined the busy streets. A blend of sleek new constructions, old barns, and lavish crystal palaces that bisected different apartments, shops, and offices. Oddly shaped structures made from a shiny golden alloy fused with those made from ordinary brick.
As I turned a corner, an intoxicating floral fragrance hit my nose. Familiar. Despised. Icy fingers of dread crept down my spine, and my racing thoughts fragmented until a lone mantra remained. Ignore the Rock, ignore the Rock, ignore the Rock.
But I couldn’t. A section of it stretched along my right, and as always, I felt as if a thousand eyes were upon me, observing me with x-ray vision. Maybe they were. Small metal dogs patrolled the top of the stone, their eyes recording everything that happened, allowing operators to monitor the feed twenty-four seven.
Slinging my arms around my middle, I attempted to make myself smaller. Pieces of the Rock occupied every province in every nation. Truly, there was nowhere you could go without bumping into a seven-foot-long, seven-foot-high section. They were impossible to miss, move, or destroy. Not even explosives affected them. And yet, with their translucent, mirror-esque stone and intricate web of internal veins filled with a bloodlike liquid, every inch appeared fragile. On the outside, strange round symbols contained disjointed lines. No matter the weather or season, the most exquisite foliage bloomed along the upper edges. A cruel development, considering the Rock was also the source of the Madness.
Ahead of me, a woman knelt before the structure, reverently tracing her fingertips around a circle. Another Soalian. I huffed with disgust. She wasn’t the least bit worried about infection or her coming arrest. And she would be arrested, then placed in a treatment facility with the others.
When I passed her and cleared the last of the stone, I expelled a sigh of relief. I would go home and—
“Arden Roosa!”
The unfamiliar voice halted me in my tracks. Hoping against hope someone from the Department of Edification and Labor had come to tell me there’d been a mistake, my mother owed nothing, and I should report to the Center ASAP, I pivoted. Surprise jolted me when I spotted the speaker. Mr. Smiles, the guy from the waiting room.
“Yes?” I said when he stopped in front of me. Oh, wow. Sunlight adored the symmetrical perfection of his features, turning him into a work of art come to life. He was far more handsome than I’d realized. And tall. Around six two, with broad shoulders and lean strength packed inside a blue shirt and a pair of dark slacks.
“Hi.” He peered down at me with sparkling eyes. A grin teased the corners of his mouth. “I’m Shiloh Cruz. I thought you should know my name since I learned yours. Gotta keep the scale between us balanced.”
As people passed by, I remained rooted in place, my brain train veering onto a fresh track. He’d chased me down to . . . flirt?
I responded with blunt honesty. “You shouldn’t miss an appointment with your life adviser to speak with me.” I wasn’t worth it. No one was.
“I met with him earlier. I was—okay, please don’t be creeped out, but I was leaving when I spotted you. I decided to hang around.” His grin developed a bashful tinge. “I seized my chance to introduce myself.”
Heat seared my cheeks. “Let’s back up a minute. There’s a scale between us?”
“I really hope so.” He punctuated the words with an earnest nod.
A big, toothy smile threatened to bud. “You’re the first person I’ve ever met who considers a scale a good thing.”
“Because it is. I’ll reveal a fact about myself to you, then you’ll reveal a fact of equal value about yourself to me.”
Ah. “A tit-for-tat situation.”
“Exactly.” He winked, and it was the cutest thing. “Walk with me?”
Tomorrow, my life would slip off its axis; I should enjoy my freedom while I could. Also, he smelled like sandalwood, a man musk that should be classified as a mind-altering drug. “Yes. I’d like that.”
We moved along the sidewalk at a leisurely pace. “I’ll start,” he said. “I have an older half sister and brother. They’re twins. As children, we were as obnoxious as you might imagine. Not that I’ll ever complain. They taught me physical combat, psychological warfare, and how to sense suspicious activity.”
I snorted. “They sound fun.”
“They are. Mostly.” He nudged me with his shoulder. “Now it’s your turn. Enlighten me, please. Tell me all about Arden Roosa.”
“It’s just my mom and me.” Once, though, there’d been four of us. My chest squeezed. Soon after the death of my sister, Amelia, my dad took off. “Mom is my best friend.”
“I love that.” Shiloh beamed, as if I’d given him a long-awaited gift. “I’m twenty-three years old, and I’m working as a medic.”
Oh, how interesting. “What field?”
“Nope.” He shook his head, a lock of hair falling over his brow. “Give me my tat. Age and vocation or subject of study.”
Silly, charming man. “I’m twenty. I’ve worked a ton of odd jobs the past two years.” Everything from calling citizens to inform them of delinquent tax payments to manning an assembly line of meal bars. The world’s most tasteless but affordable staple. I’d even monitored the robot-dog camera feed for a time. “My passion is agriculture.” I offered no more, merely arched a brow, demanding a response to my previous query.
He braced, as if expecting a blow. “I specialize in . . . the Madness.”
Clearly, he expected me to freak out. Maybe run from him. Many medical professionals avoided anything related to the Rock, too afraid of becoming infected themselves. “That’s an interesting choice.”
At my lack of dismay, he sighed with relief. “My grandparents were killed during the Great Regret. I’ve made it my mission to find out why and how to prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again.”
“That’s awful. Not your mission,” I clarified, “but your loss.” The Great Regret was a terrible stain in our history. A time when a myriad of infected broke at once, murdering thousands of innocents in a very short period.
“It really is. I have so many questions. Why does the infection incubate faster in certain hosts? What causes people to ultimately break? Is there a way to make treatment more humane?”
His enthusiasm warmed my heart. And, since he’d clarified for me, I did the same for him. Leaning closer as we walked, I said, “I’m determined to solve the Soil and Seed Anomaly. For me, there’s nothing more satisfying than watching tiny seeds mature into a big crop. When my hands are in the dirt, I’m single minded.” Unwavering. “There’s no world outside of what I’m doing.” Little frightened me. I tasted a measure of genuine peace, and oh, it was divine.
“I know I only just met you,” he said, his words heartfelt, “but I have a feeling you’ll succeed.”
Pleasure gave my steps a little extra pep. “Agriculture fascinates me. Have you ever seen an apple? A tiny seed contains everything needed to produce an entire orchard. And nature isn’t the only one to experience such a miracle. Honestly, I see seedtime and harvest in everything now. A thought ripens into words, then actions, then character. Even human beings start with—” Oh, no, no, no. I did not just go there. “I’ll stop babbling now.”
“Please don’t.” He looked at me as if I’d threatened to trash his new favorite toy. “Have a food with me and tell me more. Tell me everything.”
“A food?” I laughed outright.
“Any food. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert. Or a drink. Coffee. Water. All of it at the same time.”
I snuck a glance at him through my lashes, a wee bit befuddled by his enthusiasm but also soaring. The few guys I’d dated had played it cool from start to finish or propositioned me outright. There’d been nothing in between. “Like, an official date with you? Today?”
“Very much an official date,” he confirmed with an emphatic nod. “Now. Please.”
I mean, I’d probably never see him again. But it wouldn’t hurt to—
A guttural scream pierced the air. Everyone paused, including us. I didn’t dare to breathe as my insides twisted into sickening knots and the scope of my world constricted.
Someone had just broken with Madness.
Another scream preceded a series of grunts and groans. The crowd surged into action. Bicyclists sped away. Citizens with enough extra trills to rent a motorized vehicle burned rubber, some swerving to avoid pedestrians, others crashing into people and parked cars. People on foot hurried to the nearest light stand—a steel pole stationed at select street corners, topped by a cluster of pritis stones, the only thing capable of repelling a maddened.
Right now, the golden light projected by the pritis offered the only safe haven, but available spots were filling up fast. I tried and failed to force my legs into motion. Gurgling sounds left me.
Thankfully, Shiloh understood my dilemma, swept me off my feet, and sprinted to a luminous sphere. He scored us a spot in front of the crowd, standing me up to ensure both our bodies fit within the glow of illumination.
I clutched his hand, my gaze darting. Air hitched in my lungs when I spotted the infected. A teenager with wild eyes, a manic expression, and torn, blood-soaked clothing. He scaled the Rock with ease, displaying unnatural strength, incredible speed, and a strange, otherworldly mix of fluid grace and human awkwardness. Every few seconds, he paused to lick the stone and shout “Look at Soal. Love Soal!”
A lord and lady lay unmoving on the ground beneath him, crimson rivers pouring from beneath each piece of armor. A pool of death formed at the base of the Rock, and I cringed. The Madness turned even the most docile of citizens into gleeful killers.
The boy stilled, sniffed the air, and swung his eyes to me. His lids narrowed while his lips curved up, and I had to fight back a tide of vomit. Fear was their favorite meal, and I’d just become his next appetizer.
He zoomed my way at a pace I could barely track. My lungs ossified, and I lost the ability to breathe. To move.
Shiloh yanked me against his side, pressing us both against the people who huddled behind us.
The maddened paused where the light of day met the unnatural pritis glow, a mere inch from my face. Shaking, I pressed deeper into Shiloh’s chest.
“Love Soal, destroy Cured,” the boy hissed at me. “You are Cured.”
A hot tear rolled down my cheek.
“Hey, hey. Concentrate on me, Arden.” Shiloh cupped my jaw and lifted my head without breaching the dividing line, seizing my gaze. His tender, unafraid expression made the situation slightly less terrifying. “I’m here, and I won’t let anything happen to you. Okay? Since we’re not budging from this spot, there’s nothing the maddened can do to hurt us, which means there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Y-yeah. Okay,” I rasped. His words made sense. And yet the infected was right there.
“My turn to balance the scale and share something about myself.” Shiloh brushed the pads of his thumbs over my cheekbones, so gentle. “Anytime I was scared as a little boy, my mom told me to hold on to her and together we would squeeze lemonade out of lemons.”
“Did you?” I’d longed to taste a lemon for years. And a strawberry. A peach. An apple. Most of all a fig. Fruit only the incredibly wealthy could afford, and then only in limited quantities. “Make lemonade, I mean.” Whatever that was.
A bemused light flickered in his eyes. “I’m not actually sure. But it always helped me feel better. So you just hold on to me, and together we’ll make lemonade.”
The maddened continued to prowl before us, agitated and desperate to get his hands on me but unwilling to penetrate the light.
“Yeah, okay,” I repeated, a bit calmer. My breathing slowed until Shiloh’s sandalwood scent registered. I inhaled slowly, rational thought returning. I’d come across many of the infected throughout my life. Witnessed horrific deeds and savage attacks. But I’d survived every encounter. I would survive again.
The maddened spotted a woman and her child at the other end of the street, the pair trying to sneak to a light stand. With an inhuman growl, he flew over, tackling both. Laughing, he pummeled the mother with his fists.
“Look at Soal. Look! You are Cured.” He dragged her by the hair and lifted her face to the Rock. The most sickening sounds spewed from his mouth before he licked her face and purred, “Love Soal.”
Shiloh didn’t hesitate. He released me and bounded over. A new flood of fear engulfed my being as he ripped the mom free from her crazed captor and tossed the teen onto the road.
A moving vehicle slammed into the infected. He rolled over the ground but quickly jumped to his feet. Despite a plethora of broken bones, he walked, jogged, then sprinted toward the unconscious, bleeding woman the medic now guarded with his life. The two males crashed together, and a ferocious battle ensued.
Though I quaked, I couldn’t tear my gaze away. Shiloh held his own, but he was no match for someone unfazed by any wound. Soon, my new friend would be overpowered. He was already slowing, his strength dwindling. He needed help or a weapon, but for the good of all, only those in the military were allowed to carry guns and blades.
Realization slapped me harder than before. I, the girl who didn’t like handling a knife in the kitchen, was to be one of those soldiers.
I whimpered for a thousand different reasons.
An echoing whimper came from the woman’s daughter. Oh, dear goodness. The little girl struggled to her feet while moving forward, intending to reach her loved one, no matter the consequences. No, no, no. I couldn’t let her succeed. She would put herself and Shiloh in worse danger.
Before my brain comprehended what I intended, I followed Shiloh’s path, grabbed the girl, and hustled her toward the light. She fought me, and I stumbled, almost losing my hold on her.
The infected noticed us and forgot the medic. “Love Soal, destroy Cured.”
A surge of adrenaline quickened my pace. Almost there . . .
The maddened raced over and swiped out his arm. His fingers snagged in my hair, pulling me back. I began to fall but—
Shiloh tackled him, allowing me to dive into the light with the girl. We huddled with the others, her struggles over. I attempted to slow my breathing as I’d been taught. In, out. In, out.
I’d done it. I’d helped the child. A sense of accomplishment straightened my spine.
Three heavily armed lords and a knight rounded a corner and rushed to take charge. I watched, transfixed, as the knight slammed into the combatants, who were grappling each other for dominance. Shiloh stopped fighting, allowing a lord to press the end of a weapon to the back of his head while the knight immobilized the maddened with a metal net. I imagined myself among their ranks, capable and confident in my ability . . . and okay, yes, I kinda liked it. Hardly seemed possible, though.
A voice rang out over a speaker. “You have been exposed to the Madness. As mandated by Ourland law, you are remanded into custody to undergo immediate testing for the safety and well-being of the public. Until you are cleared, you have no rights. Say you understand your lack of choice as I have explained it.”
“I understand,” Shiloh responded, calm.
I closed my eyes for a moment. Poor guy. I’d been there, done that.
The little girl vaulted from my arms and raced toward her fallen mama, only to be snatched by a lord. I didn’t move, my gaze on Shiloh, who peered in my direction. His calm never wavered, his eyes seeming to say I’m good. There’s nothing to worry about. I wish our date had a better ending.
I wished the same. For a little while, I’d enjoyed the peace I usually only found in gardening. All because of a sweet, brave medic who might spend the next year of his life withering away as he combated a disease he’d acquired while aiding a helpless woman.
Life wasn’t fair.
“If you had no physical contact with the infected, leave,” the cold, commanding voice declared. “If you had contact, stay where you are and wait for a lord to speak with you. Be advised, security footage is being reviewed now, and we will hunt you down if you lie.”
I hung around to inform a soldier the maddened had touched my hair, but I was quickly dismissed. With no other choice, I walked away. I kept my gaze on Shiloh until the last possible second. He no longer had a weapon pointed at his head, but he was kept seated on the ground, with his arms cuffed behind his back.
If only I could tell him I wished our date had ended better too. That I prayed he was right and we bumped into each other again someday.
When I turned a corner, he vanished from sight. Saddened, I set a course for home.
