“Hey! Thanks for calling me back.”
“I wasn’t aware you’d tried to contact me.” I nearly dropped the phone at the dry sound of my cousin Rylan’s voice. “Maybe you sent me a note to explain why you recklessly endangered yourself on the Firegate Bridge today?”
“You have got to be kidding me,” I exploded, the initial pleasure at hearing the sound of my cousin’s voice evaporating as he reminded me of the terrorist attack Iannis and I had thwarted. “You’re scolding me for saving hundreds of people today after you put them all in danger just to make a political statement? How fucking dare you!”
“I didn’t organize the attack on the bridge!” Rylan protested sharply. “If I had, I would have made sure to keep civilians out of harm’s way. Believe it or not, I don’t actually have a hand in everything the Resistance does.”
“Maybe not, but you knew about it, didn’t you?” I charged bitterly. “You could have sent out a warning or something, instead of keeping me in the dark about a potential mass murder.”
“I’m a soldier in this army, Naya,” Rylan said defensively. “It’s my job to follow orders, not make up my own. And you’re making my job really difficult by throwing yourself in harm’s way.
“Oh, well I’m so sorry about that,” I spat. “I’ll be more considerate the next time I have to evacuate several hundred civilians from a bridge that’s about to explode.”
“Naya –”
“Save it,” I snapped. “I don’t need to hear another lecture about your noble and glorious cause. How about you tell me something useful for once? Have you found out anything about the Benefactor like I asked you to?”
“I’ve had bigger things to worry about recently,” Rylan snapped back, “and so do you, Naya.”
“Why?” I demanded. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“All I’m going to say is that you need to watch your back. You’re painting a big target on it every time you interfere with the Resistance’s plans.”
“Gee, thanks. I’ll make sure to grow a second pair of eyes out of the back of my head.”
“Are you planning on accompanying the Chief Mage to the Convention this year?” Rylan asked, ignoring my sarcasm.
“No.” I blinked at the change of subject. “Why?’
“I highly suggest you don’t, if you value your life.”
“And just what is that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. And trust me Naya, if you warn the Chief Mage about this, the Resistance will definitely consider you an enemy of the people and treat you accordingly.”
“This is unbelievable! Rylan, just tell me what’s going on –”
“Goodbye, little cousin. I hope you make the right choice.”
The phone went dead, and I had a feeling Rylan wouldn’t be calling me again. By Magorah, but what had happened to him? Of all my family, he was the only one I’d been truly close with, mainly because we both shared a rebellious streak. But the Rylan who’d run off to join the Resistance had still believed in the idea of true justice, and would never have put his support behind an organization that condoned terrorist attacks and senseless destruction. Bombing the Firegate Bridge was both, and I just couldn’t understand how Rylan could possibly be okay with killing all those people.
I set the receiver back down in its cradle, then stared at it, wondering if I should call the Palace to warn the Chief Mage, or tell him in person. There was no way I could leave Iannis in the dark about something like this. On the one hand, Rylan’s warning had been vague – he could have simply meant that if I came along and interfered in whatever the Resistance had planned that they would kill me. But now that I knew what the Resistance was capable of, the Chief Mage’s life might be in some kind of danger.
It’s probably better not to call, I thought. I didn’t know if the Resistance had a way of monitoring my phone calls, but considering their resources were growing, I couldn’t discount the possibility. No, it was better for me to go in person.
But just as I was reaching for my jacket, someone started pounding at my door.
“Sunaya!” A familiar voice shrieked, and I froze – it was my cousin Melantha, Mafiela’s oldest and most favored child. “Sunaya Baine, open this door right now!”
Annoyed and alarmed all at once, I strode over to the door and glared through the peephole. Sure enough, Melantha stood there, dressed in a dark blouse and a pair of jeans, her blonde hair perfectly curled around the diamond-shaped face that was so very much like her mother’s. And like her mother, we hated each other passionately, something that distance and time clearly hadn’t lessened, as her yellow eyes were burning with rage.