Tumbledown

Chapter 19

After arriving at the town of Kalen Maddie had been joined by hundreds more Imps and knowing this was where she had first arrived wanted nothing more than to find Tumbledown and get back home.

"They just keep on coming Dylan, where are they coming from?"

"Once the story of how we walked out of Juvi spread and that we were heading for the Capital it was inevitable that they would come."

"This is where I met Lana; I hope that she is ok?"

"We have to work out a route to the City I propose that we go through Mulan, Trood, Roana, and Hillda then Diverton that should give us maximum exposure and allow many more Imps to join us."

"How far from the Capital is Diverton?"

"Just a day's march and Jerome's village of Fermar is not that far away so it will give him an opportunity to join us if he so desires."

"Why would he not want to join us Dylan?"

"Because I think this may have gotten a lot bigger than he expected and him being a politician he will join whichever side he thinks will gain him the most advantage."

"You have a very low opinion of a man that you met for such a brief time."

"Jerome maybe an Imp but he is no different than my father and those that surround him. I recognise his ambition and believe me when I say that his goal is not to help the Imps but to help himself."

Maddie could not really argue as she had not really warmed to Jerome after he had wanted to leave Lana to die in the woods but she also knew that Dylan would have probably made the same decision.

"You know this place and I don't so if that is the route you think best then we will take it. Do you think we will meet much resistance?"

"Not until we get to the Capital my father let us walk out of Juvi and I cannot think that he would set the StatePol on us. I think he will want a showdown between the Imps and Cadets on the streets of the City to show the superiority of the Academies over the rejects descending on the Capital."

"You think of all these people as rejects and yet we have come this far together, surely you cannot deny their courage and commitment at this stage?"

"Rejects, outcasts, Imps it doesn't matter what you call them and I have never denied their courage but I do know that unless we have the numbers when we get to the Capital then we will be defeated by the Cadets."

"If we do increase our army to the numbers we need and beat the Cads what do you think will happen then?"

Dylan looked a little lost after Maddie asked this question but tried to answer it honestly.

"My father can be a very ruthless man and if he feels cornered then he might just utilise the StatePol who are well trained and heavily armed."

"He would order the slaughter of thousands of innocent children?"

There was a long pause from Dylan before he reluctantly gave Maddie her answer.

"To preserve the present order my father would give that order and he will not consider us innocent children but enemies of the State and he will have no problem in executing us as such."

Maddie was beginning to think this march to the Capital to be a futile gesture that would get them all killed.

"It doesn't sound like there is a good outcome here for us maybe we should think again about going up against the Cads?"

"It is too late there is no turning back now and there is also a small chance that the Chancellor will intervene, she is the only one with the power to stop my father."