BLUEMANTLE by Karen Langston (if you give a mouse a cookie read aloud TXT) 📕

agree,” said Pale Dexter. “That’s why we need to send your drummer back to get her.”

Bend Sinister flushed in alarm. “What?” he said. “A merciless proposition. Absolutely out of the question.”

“He’s spent the last quarter century working for the Authority. Assuming they still think he’s on side, he will hardly draw attention if he’s seen in the vicinity of her cell. She was arrested for attending the Contest, along with so many others; they’ve no cause to regard her as of notable value. I’m sure he has the wherewithal to devise a scheme to extract her. That’s if he’s to be trusted, of course. The man has a great deal to prove. This presents a fitting opportunity to test his newly recovered loyalty, wouldn’t you agree?”

“No,” said Bend Sinister, struggling to keep his voice down. “It’s insane. He can’t just walk out with her. The risks. It’s impossible. They’ll kill him if he’s caught. Besides, you’ve seen the state he’s in. He can barely walk. It’d take him a week to crawl back to Wydeye.”

“We’ll give him one of our horses.”

Bend Sinister turned to Chief, desperate. “Second me, Chief, please. He’s proposing a suicide mission – for Ursel, as well as for my drummer.”

Chief hesitated, tugging at a silver dreadlock. “I’m thinking of Ursel,” she began. “If there is any way of saving her, bearing in mind what she may be able to achieve for us all, then…”

“Chief, I implore you. We don’t even know if she’s still alive. If we send my drummer in, we’re sure to lose them both.”

“I don’t deny the risk. But think what it could mean if he succeeds. The potential for Bluemantle. The potential for us all.”

Pale Dexter grasped the sway of favour. “With a point to prove and an opportunity to save the day, I propose we put the plan to your man. With conviction, mind. We must stand united before our troupe. Since Saltire and the absence of a leader, that’s what we agreed. Bend Sinister, you always champion the merits of democracy. I say we put it to a vote, between the three of us. Do we send the drummer back?”

Chapter Thirty-One

It was the first day in over a fortnight that the dust cloud choking Wydeye had begun to clear. Citizens were able to see beyond arms’ reach, could risk breathing without the protection of a mask.

Naylor had relished the relief during the short walk from his apartment in the Wallace Estates to the Rader Tenements. Now, sat inside the hot, airless hide, the relief felt like a mirage that had tricked his senses.

Despite her resistance, Chase had managed to persuade Wella to bring Naylor to the hide. “I have to speak to him,” he had insisted. “And you know I can’t leave here.”

“I can explain the plan to him.”

“I need you to explain it to Tinashe. And to your friends, work colleagues, fellow followers. Anyone you can trust.”

“So why not add Naylor to the list?”

“Because he’s my closest friend, a man for whom I have deep respect. And when the time comes for me to tell him the truth, I want it to be in the context of the actions I’ve taken since to put things right.”

They had argued about Chase coming clean with Naylor and Tinashe. “It’s not another test,” Wella had said. “It’s about honesty. And besides, I don’t want to be complicit in your deceit.”

“Look. If I tell Naylor now, he won’t be on board. I know him. It’ll take him weeks to process. I’m not saying I blame him. He has every right to hate me for what I’ve done. And I’m prepared for that. But right now, we need him on side. That makes it sound like I’m using him. I’m not. At least, I don’t mean to. I just know he’d want to help Ursel. And he’d want to make a difference to how things are, with the A and all that. But if I tell him now, he won’t be able to get past it.”

So, Wella had reluctantly agreed, on the condition the confession came after. “Apart from Ursel,” she had added. “Crow help us, if she survives and we see her again, you have to tell her. Up front. No stalling. Promise?”

The prospect of telling Ursel made Chase feel sick. The mere thought of her at all, the horror she would be going through, was unbearable. He believed she was still alive. He knew she’d never talk and the Authority would take care to spare her life because she was too valuable. The consequence of the stalemate was unthinkable. He wrapped up the thought of her and carefully tucked it away. “I promise,” he’d replied, both dreading the moment and praying it would, one day, come.

When Wella had brought Naylor to the hide, she left them alone, heading back out to recruit Tinashe.

Naylor sat opposite Chase at the small wooden table, looking around the dim, cramped room. “I don’t get it,” he said. “What have they got on you?”

“I don’t know. I just know they’ve eyes on me. Maybe someone’s grassed about me going underground.” His stomach turned at the irony.

“So, how long are you going to stay here? What about your job?”

“That depends. You see, I’ve come up with a plan. To help Ursel, but also to go further than that. To change things, for everyone. That’s why I asked Wella to bring you here. We need your help.”

“I’ll do anything I can to help Ursel. She’s a kind person. I can’t bear to think…” He trailed off, shaking his head.

“I know.”

“And if the wider angle is to do with the A, well then, you know my feelings on that score. But how? You don’t mess with the A. That’s why we are where we are.”

“But that’s exactly what got me thinking.” He sat forward, hands splayed on the table. “I thought to myself, they must have a weakness. A chink in their armour. Something to aim for. And I’ve