"The Celestulus have ruled over humans for hundreds of years, as I'm sure you know," Imani began. "But something you probably don't know, is that for hundreds of years a group of humans have been working together against the Celestulus. They call us Defiants."
Eris was stunned. "Freedom fighters!" Just like in Mother's book!
Imani looked amused. "Something like that. I'm surprised you even know those words." She leaned back in her chair. "The Defiants spend most of their time doing research, learning, training, and growing. We are not strong enough to wage war against the Celestulus, but we can cause them lots of little problems, like thorns in their feet."
Eris smirked ever so slightly at the thought of a Celestulus with a thorn in his foot.
"One of the ways we do that is by helping other humans in tough situations," Imani continued. "Do you have a brother or a sister at home?"
"A brother."
Imani nodded grimly. "Yes. Well a lot of families like yours can't afford proper birth control and end up having more than one child. So we have this secret system in place to protect children from being taken by the Celestulus."
Eris swallowed uneasily. She'd known about the law but . . . a secret system? How had Java known the Celestulus were coming?
"We got spies everywhere," Imani continued as if reading her mind. "We get alerts whenever the Celestulus are about to make a move. Whichever Defiant agent is closest does what we call an extraction; that means they go in and grab all but one child--usually leaving the youngest, and take them into hiding before the Celestulus show up."
Eris felt like she was going to be sick. "I saw the Celestulus flying toward the farm as we left . . . My family will be alright, won't they?"
"Yes, and I'll tell you why." The dark-skinned woman took a moment to take a sip from her own mug of hot chocolate. "When parents have their first child, they are given one free birth certificate from the Celestulus court in their district. If they want to have a second or third child, they are supposed to pay a large sum of money for each extra certificate. They also get charged extra taxes for each additional family member. But of course that's more than most can afford." Imani leaned back in her chair. "Now that you're here, your parents only have one child at home, and one birth certificate. So the Celestulus won't suspect a thing."
It made sense, Eris mused reluctantly as she sipped her hot chocolate. She now understood why Mother and Father had let Java take her. But there was still a problem. "What about the people who have seen me with my family? People in the village and all our neighbors?"
"I doubt the Celestulus would bother to ask around." Imani smiled. "They don't pay close attention to seemingly obedient humans. We are to them what cows and horses are to us. Believe me, this happens every day all over the world." She leaned over and patted Eris's hand. "Don't worry. We'll just wait a couple days for things to settle down and--"
The door to the room swung open, startling Eris. The redheaded woman strode in followed by a smaller woman carrying a large pack. This stranger had sleek black hair and oddly slanted almond-shaped dark eyes that immediately clamped onto Eris.
"This is the patient, yes?" Without waiting for an answer she rushed over and slid off her pack, kneeling in front of the girl. "I am sorry to rush. But I only have a minute."
Eris wasn't sure if the woman was talking to her or not.
"Doctor Witty," the woman said, tapping her chest briefly as she began to examine Eris's ankles.
"I'm Er--"
The woman abruptly put a finger to her mouth, interrupting her. "Shh. Don't tell me your real name. Too dangerous."
YOU ARE READING
Starling Rise
FantasyA master race. An invaded planet. A struggle for freedom. And a girl who just won't give up.
