Forbidden Read Online Free PDF Page B

back, her face a white slate.
    “I dropped my bag,” Rom said. “They know who I am.”
    For several long seconds, they stared at each other, speaking with their eyes what was now painfully obvious. In this one simple act, Rom had done the unthinkable. He had forever altered not only his life, but hers.
    “So they know where you live,” his mother said.
    “Yes.”
    He felt powerless to stop the fear slicing through his mind. If such a wise and reasoning person as his mother was afraid for her life upon hearing what he’d done, how much more should he fear for his own?
    “You should not have run.”
    “I know.”
    The words hung between them.
    “Don’t fear, Mother. I’m going. When they come, there will be nothing here to cast suspicion on you. They won’t hurt you.”
    “Yes, you should go.”
    He carried the greatest respect for her. He honored her in the way the Order prescribed. And although her living or dying was really none of his concern, he felt obligated to show his commitment by removing her from suspicion when they came for him. He had no business affecting her journey with his own mistakes. Her request that he leave was her way of saying he must take his own journey—with its consequences—without affecting her own.
    “But before I leave, I need to know. Did anyone ever call Father a keeper  ?”
    “A keeper? What is that? I’ve never heard the term.”
    “Then he hid himself from you as well?”
    “Your father’s path was his path. Whether he was killed or whether he died—what concern is it really to either of us? Our responsibility right now is to love one another enough to do what is best. To keep Order and ensure our own proper passing. Perhaps to meet in the afterlife.”
    Love. Truly, Mother and he loved each other, for what was love but the obligation of loyalty?
    “I’ll get the box and go.”
    She went very still. “You still have this box.”
    “Yes.”
    “You brought it to our home?”
    “It’s in the workshop.”
    “You must report it immediately! Give it to them and tell them your having it was a mistake.”
    “They’ll never believe me. The time for that is past. I ran , Mother. They chased me for a long time.”
    She averted her eyes, stepped to a chair, and sat carefully, staring off toward the window.
    “I’ll leave now,” Rom said.
    “No.” She looked at him. “It’s too late. Go get the box. We’re both at risk now. We’ll take it to the Citadel together.”
    She pushed up from her chair, looked around her, and then started to untie her apron. “We’ll go. We’ll take it to the Citadel and clear this up.”
    She seemed sure of herself. In the face of her confident loyalty to Order, her unquestioning regard for compliance, his fear eased. She was right. It was the right thing to do. It was what he should have done from the beginning.
    “I’ll get my coat,” she said. “Go get the box.”
    Rom went out the back, not bothering to shut the door behind him. Inside the workshop, he dug the box from the waste bin.
    It was the box that had determined his father’s fate and would now determine his own. His fingers tingled at the thought and he wondered if he would ever know its meaning. The question was cut short by a scream.
    Rom’s heart seized. It had come from the direction of the house.
    Another scream cut through the night air. His mother’s. Raised, muffled voices followed in its wake.
    He dropped the box and spun toward the door. What Rom did next did not come from a place of reason or wisdom or even honor. He simply reacted, without thought, tearing for the house before he knew that his legs were even moving.
    He flew up the steps to the back porch, crashed through the open doorway into the kitchen, and then pulled up sharply. There in the entrance to the dining room stood a guardsman with his back to Rom. A knife was in his fist, pointed at the floor.
    It was the second time that day he’d seen such a sight, and this time it struck him as