Page 8 of The Flame

My shoulders straightened and my resolve firmed.

I don’t regret any of it.

I would do it all again.

But now that I was here, in the aftermath, I was just as committed to fixing what had gone wrong as I’d been to the path that had brought me here.

Starting with Daniel.

3

The town square was a hive of activity. Teams of workers were cleaning up after last night’s Foundation Day celebrations—and the revolution, of course—sweeping the cobblestones and taking down the popup stalls. The restaurants and shops were open, although given the weather, most patrons were inside rather than milling about on the square.

I could have cut through the alley on the other side directly to Berkley House, but I’d wanted to see what was happening in town. Two things pulled my eye as I wheeled my bicycle through the square.

The screen on the clock tower was still playing, although the footage looked new with Geneva addressing the population. She wore a different outfit, but the sincere, concerned expression was the same. She looked like a woman promising to sacrifice her firstborn for the good of Capra. Maybe she would, I didn’t really know her that well, but she certainly wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice mine.

More importantly, I spotted my mother. She was sitting with two other women behind a table on the bandstand. Temporary canvas had been wrapped around the wooden pillars to provide shelter from the elements and a makeshift banner across the top readInformation.

Three short lines of people waited to file up the bandstand steps to the information table, mainly women but a few men as well.

It was all very orderly.

But then, that was our way.

Last night, the Sisters of Capra had seized power from the ruling council. Today everyone was back to work. New regime, same old citizens. That’s how the council, and as little as sixty guards, had controlled Capra. We weren’t rebellious. Wewantedto work toward the greater good of mankind. We did what we were told, in the simple belief that everyone had the world’s best interests at heart.

We still believed it.

Hell, even I still believed it…with a few notable exceptions.

We weren’t weak people.

We were just desperate people. We didn’t want the human race to end on our watch.

My mom saw me and indicated that she’d be with me in a minute, as soon as she’d dealt with the woman in front of her.

I strolled closer to the screen, to hear what Geneva was saying.

“…sacrificed so much, and now is not the time to throw it all away. The Sisters of Capra stand for every woman, man and child. We will build on the foundation on which the Eastern Coalition was born, not break it down. That is our pledge,my promise, to you.”

She smiled with just the right amount of gravity, then the feed appeared to loop back to the beginning of her message.

“Citizens of Capra, welcome to the dawning of a brighter, better future for everyone. We have been blind. We have been deaf. We have been mute. But we have not been misguided. The Eastern Coalition was founded on the fundamental principles of securing the future of mankind and that has not changed.”

Geneva clasped her hands together on the table she sat behind and cocked her head, taking a few seconds to stare into the camera, to stare out on the handful of people gathered around me beneath the clock tower.

“All our efforts are beginning to bear fruit. We can see it, and now we need patience and renewed commitment to stay the course, to keep on this road, and we will succeed. I urge everyone to go about their days as normal. We cannot allow Capra to falter. We are what is left of civilization, and we will triumph.”

“Georga.” My mom tugged on my arm, pulling my attention from the screen. “How are you holding up, darling? Did you sort everything out with Roman?”

Not in the least. But that’s not what she was referring to. “Yes, Geneva released him last night.”

Mom smiled. “That’s excellent.”

“What about dad?” I asked. “I stopped by the house. Did he really go off to work today, like it’s just a normal day?”

“Geneva sent out a message this morning. Everyone with an iComm would have received it.” She clapped her hands together. “Business as usual. Your father’s fine, and yes, he left for work this morning, the same as every morning.”

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