Free Inside the Palisade by K C Maguire

so much, you see. She joined the Protectorate and did quite well. She’s a commander now.”
    It can’t be.
    A commander who hates my mother, accuses her of loving monsters, who can’t bear to look at me. My voice cracks on my final question. I know what the answer will be, but I have to ask. “Do you remember her name?”
    “I believe it was Theta.”
    My vision goes dark. This can’t be happening. That woman, that commander was my mother’s partner? It’s my fault. I turned her into that wild animal that hurts the people she’s supposed to protect, and my mother is out there with no idea. What if Theta goes looking for her?
    “Omega?” Gamma is staring at me. “What is it?”
    “Nothing,” I stammer, depositing my mug on the table with a clink as I rise to my feet. “It’s just a lot to take in.”
    “Of course it is,” Ma Temple says as she stands beside me, concern blossoming across her face as she reaches for my elbow.
    “I’m sorry. I have to process all this.” I move to the door. I should get back to my quarters. Call Upsilon with that emergency signal. What if my mother comes back, and the Protectors are looking for her? What if Theta comes looking for me and finds me
here?
I’m putting the Temples in danger by being with them. Without my communicator there’s no record I came in here, but might they have tracked Gamma’s visit to my quarters?
    “Wait.” Gamma catches up to me. “Please, don’t rush away.”
    “No!” My voice is harsher than I intend. “Truly, thank youboth. Thank you for telling me what I needed to know. Only I need some time. Please.”
    Ma Temple pulls her daughter back. “You need time to think it all through. I understand your mother is still away. You’re welcome to stay here. We can give you some privacy.”
    I want to stay here, to tell them everything that’s happened to me in the last few days, but I can’t. There’s no way I can drag my friends into this mess with Theta and that
deman.
It’s too dangerous. Struggling to keep my voice level, I say, “I appreciate it so much, Ma Temple. You’ll never understand how much, but I need to go.”
    Gamma breaks away from her mother and rushes over to hug me so tight it makes my bruises flare. I bite down on my lower lip. “Promise you’ll call if you need to talk?”
    “I promise.”
    “And if you don’t call, I’ll come looking for you.”
    I know she will, but I hope she doesn’t. Not until I can talk to Upsilon. I can’t guarantee Gamma will be safe with me. Not now.

Chapter 10
    Unable to face the stairs, I chance the elevator. I jab my index finger over and over into the button for the ground floor. The grinding gears hurt my ears. The engineers should probably look at them as well. When the doors finally open at my landing, I shuffle out and head for my quarters. The door is still snibbed open, but the lights are off. Another power shortage? I press the panel but nothing happens. Maybe it’s a blown fuse. Pulling the door closed, I head for the kitchen, arms outstretched against the darkness, to locate the emergency candles. The lock clicks behind me. I head back for the door wondering how that happened.
    “Don’t bother. I deactivated the lights and rigged the door.” A disembodied voice rumbles from the living area. I whirl around barely able to make out the figure silhouetted against the sofa, bulky with squared shoulders.
    The deman.
    “It’s only us, Daughter Wye,” he says. His voice is deep and detached, hardly the way I remember it from the garden. He hasn’t moved a muscle. If he hadn’t spoken, I might have thought he was a mannequin placed there as a practical joke. The kind of thing Gamma might do as a prank. A flashlight blinds me. I try to avoid it, but the beam keeps moving, catching me full in the face.
    “How do you know my name?”
    “I almost had myself convinced I could trust you.” He trains the light at my feet. “Why don’t you have a seat, Daughter Wye? Right