Feeling the Fire

Chapter Eleven

"Bellamy?" I asked.

"I told you not to leave," Bellamy whispered quietly enough that Niylah couldn't hear, "You are not about to get yourself killed in that conclave."

Not having enough energy to argue, I said, "Niylah's skinning the panther I caught if you want any."

"We need to get Raven in before she wakes up," Clarke commanded, "Niylah, you need to stay out here. Tie her to the bed."

"Did she also try something that was too risky?" I asked, letting the irritation and arrogance slip into my voice.

Bellamy glared at me, but Monty interrupted, "You don't know?"

"I'm asking, so no," I growled.

"When Jaha came back to camp, he brought an AI with him. Artificial Intelligence, basically a chip that when you eat it, it takes away your memories of pain and allows a robot invisible to anyone without the chip called A.L.I.E. to talk to you," Monty said, "But everyone has one now, and they're forcing the chip on people."

Frowning, I asked, "So we need to get it out of Raven before they can force it on the rest of you?"

"Exactly," Monty smiled.

"Sounds like a you problem," I stood up, "I need to get to Polis."

Clarke shook her head, "Ontari is the new commander. She murdered the other nightbloods while they slept, but I have the AI chip they call the Flame. Titus, the old flamekeeper, gave it to me to find the last remaining nightblood." Before I could smile or say anything, she continued, "A girl called Luna. One of Lincoln's friends."

"There are two nightbloods left," I sighed, "Unless there are more in hiding."

Bellamy shook his head, "No."

"It isn't your call," I snapped, "I am going to Polis to challenge Ontari."

"We just need to find this Luna girl," Clarke said, "Titus said she would definitely have won the conclave had she not run away."

I frowned, "I am a nightblood. Give me the Flame, and then I'm the commander. I won't even have to challenge Ontari if you give it to me now."

"No," Clarke said, "We find Luna."

"You would force the Flame on a girl you've never met," I said, "Rather than give it to a volunteer who is on your side?"

Clarke shook her head, "No. This is not up for discussion."

"If you won't give me the Flame, I'll just challenge Ontari without it," I walked out the door.

"The caravan arrives tomorrow morning with the horses," Niylah reminded me.

I shrugged, "Then I'll find them on the way."

"Just stay until we can fix Raven," Bellamy pleaded.

"Because you need my help with electronics?" I asked.

Bellamy shook his head, "Because I need more time to convince you not to march into Polis and get yourself killed."

"If anyone chains me up in a cave again," I stated, "You'll never see me again."

Kane had left to go to Polis to talk to the new commander. If it was Ontari, he'd end up dead. But he'd never been particularly kind to me or other grounders until Pike slaughtered them, so I only cared because he was a friend of a friend.

We took turns watching Raven when Monty went to grab a device for an EMP that would fry the chip, removing A.L.I.E. from her brain.

The reason we changed turns so frequently was because she kept finding ways to scare or anger us.