Defiance (Significance #3)(41)

When the burn ended he looked around, but knew he wasn't going to find anything to wipe my blood on. So he took the corner of his perfectly good shirt and wiped all traces of my injury away. I looked up at him from under my lashes. His eyes stayed on me as he spoke. "Rodney, can you get Ruth a cab?"
"Mmhmm," he hummed and went to the street. I turned to Ruth to apologize once more, but she was crying. I felt even worse.
"I'm so sorry-" I tried, but she stopped me.
  
"You set me free."
"What?"
"You set me free. I'm not upset with you," she assured me and took my hands. She looked at the hand where she'd just cut me and then back to my eyes. "If you hadn't done what you did, whatever it was, to let Marla know that I had betrayed them, then I'd still be bound to them and still be under their thumbs." She held the vial with my blood in her grasp as though it was most precious. "This will change everything for me."
I didn't know what to say so I just hugged her to me.
What strange turns and twists our relationship had made. First she helped kidnap me and take my blood against my will, then she took my blood again kind of sort of against my will, but completely made it clear she was on my side. And now she'd taken my blood again, but this time is was a gift.
She squeezed me and then picked up her one suitcase. She smiled, gladly taking the credit card that Caleb gave her from his wallet, and went to the cab that Rodney was holding for her. Caleb hugged me from behind as we watched her go.
"Come on, guys," Rodney beckoned with a swing of his arm. "Let's walk. I'm in no hurry to get back to the palace."
"Good idea," Caleb said and left his arm slung over my shoulder. "We're already out. Let's grab some lunch before the hike back up." He smiled down at me. "We know where all the good places are."
"I don't doubt that," I said remembering that he knew all of those places in California and Tennessee. "Are they going to know your name, too?"
"Nah. It's been too long," he scoffed as he held open the door for me. As soon as we walked through the door and Caleb waved to the lady behind the counter, she beamed and lifted her hands in the air.
"You Jacobson boys no come see me!"
I rolled my eyes in humor. Gosh, Caleb knew every person on the planet.
He jerked his head to the side for me to look. Inside the deli glass was every kind of cinnamon roll, croissant and danish known to man. I bit my lip and he laughed at me.
We finished our lunch, and freshly made cinnamon honey buns, and walked slowly and leisurely around the small shops and streets. Caleb jerked me into this little jewelry shop where everything was handmade. We looked at the intricate and extravagant designs of the rings and necklaces. Rodney looked at belt buckles. I smiled at him and shook my head. We didn't buy anything, but moved on to the next store. I did let Caleb buy me a scarf there, a gorgeous black and silver thin scarf. I left it wrapped loosely from my neck and looked around the tall buildings as we dallied and tried to find excuses not to go back.
Then we walked down the streets back to the well hidden lift. I wanted to shop more or sightsee, but we needed to get back and I wasn't really in the mood for much else with the nagging that was growing within me. I needed to show everyone my vision so that they would know what happened and why things had to change, but every time I tried, something stopped me. I had to figure it out.
"Beam me up, Scotty," Rodney said grinning and stood back to let Caleb do all the work since he was the one who brought us down.
Caleb yanked and pulled on the pulley, his muscles straining and stretching. The tattoo on his upper arm danced as he used the muscles. I bit my lip as I watched him.
We emerged from the lift and I felt good. We found Ruth and stopped her from being tortured forever by the Watsons. Now, if we could just kick their butts over the edge of the balcony, things would be easier for everyone.Caleb stopped to use the phone since it was our last chance at cell service. Rodney went on inside after I thanked him for helping us. Caleb called his office for the tutoring service to see how things were going. It had been weeks since he'd been in any of the facilities and he missed it. He loved the work. Teaching and being around kids all day was definitely something he could see himself doing.
The lady who answered the phone told him that all was well, but he was missed. He hung up and then texted Vic a quick lie, 'We're still in California. Come see you soon.' Then he handed the phone to me. I quirked a brow at him in question and he quirked one right back at me in jest. "I know you want to call Beck."
I grinned and dialed her number, but before she could answer I heard the thoughts of others. I peeked around the edge of the greenhouse to see Donald, Paulo and Haddock.
Busted again.
Caleb pulled me to his side, slipping his phone into his back pocket. "Councilors. And Donald," he addressed, making sure Donald understood that we no longer saw him as our authority. He was Champion of his clan now, and Haddock was the councilor.
"Caleb and…Visionary," Donald said in a menacing voice. "The roof is off limits."
Caleb answered. "I was just letting Maggie call her friend so she wouldn't be worried about her."
"Our Visionary needs to learn that some things are more important that friends and keeping up with the latest human gossip. She is not a human any longer. You can't continue to humor her human past, Caleb."
I huffed a breath, but Caleb went on.
"And you're not a councilor any longer, so I wonder what it is you're doing up here. You're not my Champion, so this doesn't concern you anymore."
"I'm the one who told the council that you'd taken our Visionary from her duties."
I bristled again. "And what duties are those?"
"To learn to become one of us and to discuss your coming to live at the palace."
"That won't be happening," I told him.
"Foolish child," he growled low.
"Donald," Paulo scolded. "Caleb is right, after all. You're not a member of the council and though you told us where to find them, this no longer concerns you. Haddock and I can take it from here."
Donald turned slowly to look at Paulo. I had an overwhelming urge hit me to touch Donald's skin. It was more like an afterthought because my body was already moving. When I touched his arm, the vision of him scolding Marla and Marcus for letting me manipulate Ruth played out. After he got through all the details of having her denounced, he ordered Marcus to slit her tattoo to shame her, but Marcus refused. He cowered into the wall and shook his head 'no'. 
Donald, enraged, moved to the ones holding Ruth down and did it himself. He threw the knife down with a clank and made his way to the door. He stopped in front of Marla and Marcus. He moved swiftly and punched Marcus in the stomach. Marcus doubled over in a silent scream as he fell to his knees. Then he reached up and grabbed Marla's jaw with his hand. She shook and then was still. More still than was humanly possible. He'd frozen her with his ability, but not with ice. It was like she was stone, but wasn't.
"I will turn you all to stone and leave you in a cell if you fail me again."
Then he stalked out and Marla gasped as she crumpled beside her brother. Marcus pulled her to him in a move uncharacteristic for him. He hugged her as they both glared at the path that Donald had just made.
Then I came back to myself and jerked back as the spot where I touched Donald stung and shocked me. He hissed too and reared back. We locked our eyes, him knowing that I had seen it all. Paulo was aghast at the mark on my hand and automatically went to accuse Donald of wanting to cause me harm, but Donald was clever.
"She gave me an offense mark," Donald said, as if hurt and covered his arm. He turned his eyes to Paulo and then back to me. "Why would you want to hurt me?"
"I don't want to hurt you, you hurt me!"
"Ok," Paulo soothed us, "alright. Let's just all take a step back. I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding." He flipped his gaze to Caleb. "Now, Caleb. You know you can't come up here, let alone bring the Visionary up here. It's dangerous."
"Yeah, we might get crapped on by a pigeon," Caleb rebutted sarcastically. "Come on, Paulo, there's nothing up here. We just needed to get away for minute, that's all."
"I'm afraid that that's the exact opposite of what you need." He sighed as if delivering sad news to a dying patient. "We've decided that the Visionary needs to spread herself out a little bit. She needs to be more than just your significant, she needs to be the Visionary for all."
"I've been trying," I argued. "I've made sure to speak to other clans and even sit with them at lunch. You know that, I sat with your family."
"I know, and while it was a good effort, it needs to be more. So," he clapped his hands together and smiled as if thoroughly proud of himself, "we've orchestrated a ball in your honor. Many balls, in fact. Every night for the rest of our stay here, you'll be escorted by a different member of each clan. We've already gotten your room prepared with everything you need."
"You were in my room?"
"Winifred was," he corrected. "She picked out all of the dresses."
Dresses…and I saw in his mind exactly what they had in store. Each clan supplied a necklace. I chose a necklace each night, not knowing who it belonged to, and whoever was the lucky winner was my escort for that night. That way there could be no biases and no cheating. It would be fair and everyone had to adhere to the rules.