Chapter Twenty-Five
Vivian awoke to darkness, a heaviness pressed against her back. Where was she? Sumter, sleeping beside her sister? No. The memories came in a rush.
Delilah missing. A ship to Catena.
A hostel with one bed.
Vivian rolled over to face Xavier, and he slipped an arm around her waist. His warm body melded into hers. In sleep, his austere face was relaxed. Without thinking, she reached out one hand to touch his stubbled cheek.
He opened his deep brown eyes, and the hand that had been around her waist grabbed her wrist. She felt an unexpected thrill of excitement run through her.
He released her and pulled backward abruptly.
“I do beg your pardon.” In one swift movement, he pulled himself out of the bed and padded to the bathroom.
His absence left the bed cold and empty. Vivian rubbed her wrist. It didn’t hurt—his grip was not particularly strong. But she felt the pressure of his touch linger.
When they were both dressed, they gathered their meager belongings into the duffel bag and left the room.
Xavier pulled a burner credit chit from his front pocket to purchase warm pastries and black coffee from a vendor outside the lodging house.
Regularly dining with Arcadian oligarchs had refined Vivian’s palette, and the pastry tasted stale and the coffee bitter.
Still, she tried to let the hot food and drink comfort her as they threaded their way through the densely packed streets of Catena.
Today, they would find Delilah and bring her home.
All would be well.
“Here.” Xavier gestured to a nondescript one-story building with an icon of two glasses clinking mounted at the top. They pushed the door open and stepped inside.
In the mid-morning, the shadowy room’s simple black tables were empty. Vivian didn’t see anything like the server robots that had run the tavern she’d gone to with Silas. A single older Martian woman with stringy gray hair stood behind a long bar, wiping a glass with a towel.
The woman widened her eyes at their appearance and dropped her cloth. “Well now, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”
“Yvonne.” Xavier held out a hand.
The woman took his hand and pulled him into an embrace.
She turned to two men nursing drinks at the far corner of the bar and barked, “We’re closed.
” Grumbling, they heaved off their stools and shuffled to the door.
Yvonne shut and locked it behind them before returning behind the bar.
“You shouldn’t be here, X. You know they’ll tear you apart if they realize who you are. ”
Vivian blanched and looked searchingly at Xavier. Hadn’t he told her they would be fine here?
Xavier’s calm face didn’t change as he sat on a stool opposite Yvonne. “Then help shorten my stay. I’m here to find Silas.”
“Silas,” Yvonne snarled. “The last I heard that wastrel was racking up gambling debts in the Arcadian military.”
“He has my sister,” Vivian burst out, hands gripping the back of one of the stools. “Please, we must find her.”
Yvonne’s eyes narrowed. “And who might you be?”
Xavier inclined his head in Vivian’s direction. “Yvonne, I am pleased to introduce you to Miss Vivian Bowen.”
Yvonne’s entire body jerked back. “You’re one of the Red Mothers, aren’t you?
” she whispered with awe. “Here to change the future of Mars.” Shaking off her serious expression, she snapped her towel in Xavier’s direction.
“X, I wouldn’t have expected this from you of all people.
Naughty boy.” She smirked at Vivian. “Are you carrying the next Dorsey heir, then?”
Xavier scowled. “I am merely helping Miss Bowen locate her sister. I know of your correspondence with Zuri. You’ve kept track of Silas for her sake.”
“I may know something,” Yvonne admitted.
“You once told me you owed Zuri a debt you could never repay, for failing to protect her from Silas.”
“You are not Zuri. I was never a big enough fool to think I could protect you from Silas. Not when the two of you were so codependent in your youth.” Yvonne bent her head and scrubbed an invisible stain on the countertop. “These days, Silas is a man I would not want to cross.”
Codependent? Vivian wondered. I thought they were boyhood rivals.
Xavier didn’t object to Yvonne’s characterization of his relationship with Silas. Without comment, he pulled two sparkling jeweled cufflinks out of his pocket and laid them on the worn bar.
Yvonne picked up one of the cufflinks and squinted at it. “You know this has no value here.”
“Melt it down for parts.”
The cufflinks disappeared into Yvonne’s palm.
She looked to the side and scratched her head.
Vivian bit the inside of her cheek to keep from begging.
Finally, Yvonne said, “Silas is well-liked by the separatist militia here. They maintain a barracks on the northern outskirts of the dome near the terraforming facility.” Yvonne crouched behind the bar and pulled out a hand-drawn map from a folio.
She pointed. “Take the rail here and walk straight north the rest of the way. If Silas is in Catena, that’ll be where you’ll find him. ”
Xavier took Yvonne’s hand and bowed over it. “My thanks.”
“None of that.” Yvonne snatched her hand away. “Remember where you are.”
As they turned to go, Yvonne called after him, “You should know—the Catena militia is not like that absurd soldier caste in Arcadia.”
“What do you mean?” Xavier asked warily.
“Don’t be daft. You know exactly what I mean.
Everyone knows in Arcadia that soldiering is a way to occupy the many Martians unable to find an Earther partner willing to procreate.
” Yvonne nodded at Vivian’s confused expression.
“That’s right. The soldiers burn off their energy with drills and low-stakes skirmishes and are convinced that their lives have meaning even without children.
But they have seen no true action.” She raised a finger at Xavier.
“Catena is different. They’re building an army here, X.
A real army. And I’ve heard the pace is accelerating since the election. ”
Xavier crossed his arms and frowned at her. “To what end?”
“Hell if I know.” Yvonne turned back to the bar and placed a stack of glasses on a high shelf. “But I would think twice about crossing the Catena militia.”
“I appreciate the warning.” Xavier opened the door and held it for Vivian. “Thank you, Yvonne.”
In the street, Vivian hurried in Xavier’s wake as he walked unerringly toward the nearest train station.
On the side of the station, an enormous mural of River Hawk’s face stared down at her, their elegant cheekbones drawn in slashes of dark blue.
Xavier handled the transaction with his credit chit, and they were soon seated on a swaying caterpillar train that hung from an elevated track.
Vivian vibrated with tension, afraid to speak and give herself away.
They were in real danger, Yvonne had made that clear enough.
She thought of Delilah held in a separatist soldiers’ barracks, pregnant, with only Silas for protection.
Vivian took a deep breath and stole a glance at Xavier’s calm profile. She could be strong, for her sister.
Finally, they came to the right stop and rose together without a word.
Outside, the area felt different than the bustling neighborhood near the shuttleport.
The empty, narrow streets were lined with tall storage facilities with no shops, restaurants, or bars to be seen.
After walking a few moments, the few other passengers had fallen away, and they were alone among the plain multi-story buildings.
“You’re different here,” Vivian remarked in a soft voice.
“How so?”
“Not so proper. Less focused on projecting the act of a gentleman.” Vivian rather liked this side of him.
Xavier rubbed the back of his neck. “It is not an act, Vivian. Not for me.”
“Ivey told me it was a game.” Vivian laughed. “You must admit it’s a little ridiculous—this fantasy of elaborate costumes and balls.” She touched her shiny black pants and missed, for a moment, the luxurious fabric of her Arcadian dresses.
“It’s how I was raised,” Xavier said. “I understand what you mean, of course. We are one of the oldest Martian families. But the women who marry into the Dorsey line were all born on Earth and see our culture as feigned, at least in part.” He shifted the duffel bag to his other shoulder.
“Perhaps, for some, it’s playacting. Not for my father.
And not for me. Even if he abandoned me, I cannot unlearn what he taught me.
Emulating a time of refined manners, poetry, art, and progress gives our lives here on Mars a deeper purpose.
We aren’t simply scrambling to survive on a harsh world.
We’re elevating our culture to a higher standard. ”
“What do you mean, he abandoned you?”
“He took his own life.” Xavier’s voice dropped. “After my mother …”
“Oh.” Vivian reached out a hand and touched his arm. “Xavier, that’s terrible.”
“My parents loved each other once. I do believe that. But my father was a difficult man. Controlling.”
“You said she signed a prenup?”
“Yes. I found it in my father’s office after he died.
If she ever left him, she would be giving us up, too.
So, she stayed. Even though she was unhappy.
And one day … One day she drank a bottle of wine, climbed on top of the roof of Dorsey Estate, and …
fell. Hit her head and died.” He blew out a breath.
“And my father … He followed her into death.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“The whole thing made me a bit wild. Nihilistic. I did some things I’m not proud of.
” He looked away from her. “My father left the majority of his holdings in my aunt’s safekeeping, until she deemed me ready to inherit.
After the way I behaved after his death, she decided to hold the purse strings a little longer.
And then … she never gave them up.” He looked down at her and grimaced.
“What must I sound like to you? Complaining about an inheritance.”
“You lost so much. How old were you when all this happened?”
“Eighteen. Zuri was only nine.” He passed a hand over his face.
“Is this why you’ve been fighting so hard against the Red Mothers initiative? For your own mother?”
“Maybe. In part.” He turned to her. “Vivian—” he started, then paused. “What is it you desire? Out of life?”
“To find my sister,” Vivian said promptly.
Simple enough. One clear goal to focus on. No point in looking too far ahead.
“After that.”
Vivian flashed to the law library. How she’d felt reading the original Charter of the Planet Mars. Are you interested in law, dear? No, that could never be her life.
She was a Red Mother. And she’d signed a contract.
Vivian gave the only possible answer. “To bring my sister back to safety. To send my parents enough money to continue to live independently outside of a camp.” There, a realistic long-term goal.
“Nothing for yourself?”
“There’s nothing I desire for myself,” she said quickly. What would be the point?
Among the creeping thyme, reading his prologue, she’d allowed herself a moment to dream of more.
But now? All she wanted, desperately, was for things to be as they were.
For her sister to be with Mitzi King, able to send more payments to her parents.
For her to choose … someone. Ren? She didn’t want Ren.
Xavier stopped in the street and faced her. His dark eyes were serious as he beheld her. “You should want, for yourself. You should dream big dreams.”
Vivian looked away from the intensity of his regard and continued walking. “I don’t see the point. I’m grateful for what I have.” What would it be like to break free from the cramped smallness of her life?
She pushed the question aside. She was here to find her sister.
“Take life in both hands, Vivian. And I’ll be there to support you.”
Vivian shivered, her bare arms suddenly cold. How could she ask anything more of him after they’d found Delilah?
Xavier raised one hand and pointed. “I believe we’re here.”
They stood in front of a five-story structure with boarded up windows and a steel door. Vivian tried to ignore the queasy feeling in her stomach.
“If we find them here, let me do the talking,” Xavier instructed. “Silas will be looking for money—a bribe. If I must, I’ll even persuade my aunt to renew his access to my father’s inheritance. Whatever it takes.” His lip curled. “I know how to stoop to his level.”
Vivian nodded, her stomach in knots.
The door squealed as Xavier pushed it open. They stepped into a dark, cavernous room, the click of their shoes echoing in the empty space.
“Hello?” Xavier called. “Is anyone here?”
Vivian bumped into Xavier in the darkness. Then, bright lights assaulted them from all directions. A group of uniformed Martians surrounded them. Swords drawn. Vivian’s gasp radiated around the room.
“Counselor Dorsey and Miss Bowen, so nice of you to join us,” Silas drawled, stepping into the light.
A pale-faced Delilah stood right behind him.