“Gentlemen, gentlemen, please! She is not for sale! I wished only to grace you with her brilliant beauty. She is far more precious than any of your ores. Now, please go about your business as I have my own to conduct.”
Rounding the carriage, he waved his fingers twice as a signal. “Children, please, come.”
“What are you doing?” Alel demanded, starting to rise.
A footman reached out, pressing her back into her seat.
Sir Jax gave her no answer, ushering the children forward as another footman held the door for them and another guided them out. Alel cared not how the townspeople reacted to them, as she was far more worried about Sir Jax’s intentions.
“Wait!” Her pleas were ignored as he led her charges into the Capital Exchange. “Please,” Alel begged, grabbing a footman’s shoulder. “What is he doing with them?”
The robots gave her no indication they heard and it was impossible to shake their hold on her.
People milled about, unconcerned with her distress as they clamored for her attention. They tried to get closer, talking amongst themselves as though she could not hear them.
“Where do you think she came from?”
“I must have her.”
“He has finally done it then. Created his own perfect woman. Look at her face! Her arm and her neck! What else do you think he’s done to her?”
She barely heard them. Later, their words would return to her, but for now she remembered Sir Javon’s warning. The necklace was stowed away in the back of a drawer. If she had it now, would he come? Would he save the children?
A tear slid down her cheek. The crowd exclaimed at how real she was. Fleetingly, Alel thought them ridiculous. Had Sir Jax allowed her to love the children only to take them away? Was he so cruel? She had no doubt A76 and B33 had told him all she had done. Of their rooms and toys and clothing.
Tears fell more freely, from relief, when Sir Jax exited the building with all of the children and she reached out for them even though she could not go to them. They looked frightened.
“That was horribly cruel!” Alel exploded when Sir Jax had climbed back up beside her.
“Perhaps it will remind you of your place. Look around, Alel.”
Swiping away the wetness below her eyes, Alel did as he asked, hating the greedy gazes on her.
“Her eyes are so green!”
“Where do you think he found her?”
“I could have anything I wanted if I owned her!”
Sir Jax leaned close. “Do you see, my dear?” He murmured low enough for only her to hear. “They all want you as their own. But you are mine.”
Chapter 15
The World in Your Mind
His words were not worthy of an answer. “Did you take the children in with you to torture me?”
“Of course not, my dear. I am not a monster.”
She knew now he was, but did not contradict him. Sir Jax had just made it clear he would use the children to hurt her. The carriage rolled forward with a burst of steam. Just behind her shoulder a footman stood on the running board near the front rather than at the back. Now that she had been paraded around, she did not mind the presence.
The day would not bode well to her future peace of mind. Sir Jax had a purpose for bringing her and the children, she was certain. Alel doubted it would be long before some of it came to light.
Lost in her thoughts she barely noticed they had stopped again until Sir Jax was getting down from the carriage and a man approached, coming close to stare at her.
“She is magnificent, isn’t she!” Sir Jax exclaimed proudly, clapping the well-dressed man on the shoulder.
The man was older, his hair streaked with white, a loupe extending from one side of the goggles he wore. He was without a top hat, which she had noticed was quite universal on the White Streets.
“On the contrary, Sir Jax, you have destroyed her! Why would you do such a thing to a Relic face?” Cold eyes swept over her, the one behind the loupe oversized, examining her far too closely for her comfort and angering her.
Alel refused to squirm in her seat or lift a hand to cover the mechanical section of her face. The man had no right to be so rude.
“It couldn’t be helped, Archais. The rats had gotten to her before I could.” Pursing his lips, Sir Jax regarded her through narrow eyes, as though he sought the same perspective as the man beside him. Finally, he shook his head. “I’d say it enhances her beauty. Makes her even more special than any other Relic. More valuable. She has the stamp of her creator.”
“Marked. Like all your other beasts. You cannot remove it?” The man’s lip was curled with disgust as he said it. Alel fisted the fingers of the hand he could not see at her side. She did not spend her time looking into mirrors and assessing her reflection to know otherwise, but his words hurt, though she knew they should not matter.
Shaking his head, the man stepped back. “She is a flawed jewel and I’ll have no part of her. I desire a true Relic, not one you have brought back from the dead as a freak.”
Alel’s lips parted in shock. She shrank back and looked around, seeing eyes on her everywhere. She could see it now. They whispered to each other, tossing furtive glances her way. Many a nose was wrinkled in disdain. This was not the awe Sir Jax wanted. Alel lifted a hand, touched the cold metal on her cheek. A group of women gasped and hid their mouths behind their hands.
She would be unwelcome on the White Streets just as she had been on the Black. The children he wanted to integrate would be ridiculed, mocked and seen the same way.
“Sir Jax, may we please go?” Alel hid both her hands in her skirts, knowing they shook and wanting no one to see them. She hated him then, her appointed creator who had wanted one thing and gotten another. They would all hate her, even if they wanted to have her for their own. Because she was different.
Sir Jax graciously bid the man good-bye, despite the direction the exchange had gone. Back in the driver’s seat, he shifted the carriage into gear and relaxed back as it began its path down the road again. “I would say the day was a success, wouldn’t you, my dear?”
“You cannot be serious! You’re delusional! That man did not see me as you wanted him to! The people in this town are not ready for the children to walk among them. They will never view any of us the way you wish them to.”
“Do you think when I released the first bird onto these streets it was welcomed?”
White flowers waved from a balcony. Blue gauzy curtains billowed from the open window. A woman stood looking down on them. Her hair was a pale shade of pink, her skin beautifully tan, and her eyes gold. She did not smile, but nor did she seem disturbed by Alel beside Sir Jax. She looked on calmly as they passed, with a different kind of interest than the others.
“Who is that woman?”
Sir Jax lifted his eyes, but gave the object of Alel’s interest no more than a quick look. “She doesn’t matter. You haven’t answered my question.”
“The bird?” The woman reminded Alel of the pink bird that visited her so often. The architecture all around her reminded her of the fanciful feathers and rainbow of colors Sir Jax used on his prized creatures. “I would think it fit right in. All the curving lines and swirls. The blending of colors and levels gracing the skyline.”
“The world fears what it does not know. It has always been that way and although many men have tried to change such things, it is a truth that remains. The bird was not accepted. However, the people could not reach it as it soared above them with its watchful eye. Eventually, the sight of it became common and the people forgot the bird was there at all. It is the way of things.”
“So you mean to parade us around until they stop staring at us and whispering amongst themselves?”
The carriage passed under the arch leading out of the town, the gate closing behind them. “If it is what it takes, yes. I need the children to be invisible. You, of course, will never be that. It will not matter how many times I grace the people with your presen
ce; they will still stare and wonder about you. Fear, awe, disdain, desire, greed, passion; you shall inspire it all. Those emotions will not dissipate, my dear. Do not expect them to.”
Her anger simmering, Alel kept her eyes averted. Lines of trees ran alongside another road off to the right, their branches arching in a canopy over the settled bricks below. It was beautiful and then she noticed the birds. Hundreds of them. Scattered among the branches watching them with mechanical eyes.
She held back an exclamation. What was the need for so many? “Where does that road lead?”
“To the Black Streets, of course. The birds guard it. No one passes unless I deem it so.”
It was not the only way. She had seen the town from another path.
“We do all we can to contain and keep the Field lines separated from us. You must have wondered how you were allowed to come so close?“
“There is a trail alongside one of the mines. I had heard of it, but I ignored the tales thinking them not to be true.” The tales had spoken of death and tortured souls being lost to strange creatures. Suddenly she understood them to be true. Sucking in a breath, she looked at the man beside her.
He nodded. “I do so appreciate the moments your mind finds truth. None are allowed to pass, just as I said.”
“You knew I came the first time?”
“Yes. It was how I learned of your existence. Don’t you think if I had known of you before I would have taken you from your life then? A Relic, living on the Black Streets.” He shook his head in disgust. “It is a travesty. Your mother should have sold you. She could have lived happily, in wealth, for her entire life.”
“I was hers,” Alel snapped. More things were beginning to make sense. Why she had always felt not only love, but a sense of possession by her mother. Had her mother taken pride in knowing she held onto such a coveted bounty? There had often been a gleam sparking from her mother’s faded eyes Alel had not been able to comprehend as her mother had stroked her hair and told the riddles of her stories.
“Exactly. She kept you from so much, my dear. A life of wonder and privilege.”
“Is that what you think you have given me?” Alel was glad Sir Jax’s estate was before them on the horizon. She wanted to escape his presence, to sit with the children and pretend they were safe again.
“Fighting your destiny only does you harm. It would be easier if you were to accept what I have done for you as the precious gift it was. Ponder it, my dear! A life of comfort and extravagance. I could lavish you with so much more! The finest fabrics, luxe furnishings, opulent jewels, distinguished suitors, and your own army of servants to fulfill your every command. The world in your mind could be attained.”
“The world in my mind is not the same as yours.”
“Yet.” He patted her hand. “I am making allowances for your lack of exposure to such things. I am sure your mother has filled your mind with many lies.”
“How do you even know about my mother? You can make no assumptions of my life!”
“On the contrary, I have spent considerable time and credit on learning all I could of your past. I’m sure I know things even you do not.”
The carriage passed through the gates of his estate and Alel held her tongue as they traversed along the track to the front door. How dare he delve into her life and state veiled insinuations of knowledge? Whoever her mother had been, whatever she had known, she had still done all she could to keep her daughter safe and protected from the perils outside their door. There had been enough love to fill Alel’s heart.
As soon as they rolled to a stop, Alel climbed down. A footman offered a hand to help her. There was no warmth in the fingers that grasped hers or the eyes following her movements. Releasing the metal hand, Alel joined the children as they exited, huddling together until they were all together.
“I should have warned you not to get attached, I see.” Sir Jax frowned at them. “It is odd... Your capacity to view things as you do. I thought it nothing more than a fancy.” He took a few steps toward them, reaching out to take Euro’s face and lift it for perusal. “You perhaps, I could understand.”
He let go and pierced Alel with his eyes. “They are not yours to keep. It would be best for you to see them exactly as they are: machines meant to do my bidding. For that is what they will do.”
Chapter 16
The Taunt of Loss
Back in the room Alel paced. The children gathered in the sitting area, three of them close together on the sofa and Dys and Alum in the chairs closest.
Sir Jax had made his intent clear. He would take them from her. Afraid he listened but needing to know all she could, she perched on one of the seats and regarded the small faces. “Tell me what happened in the Capital Exchange?”
“We don’t know,” Alum answered. “He left us with a man while he went into a private room with several others. We heard nothing.”
Frustrated, Alel stood and resumed her agitated trail over the floor. “I do not know what to do,” she admitted.
“You could send the birds,” Dys suggested. “Perhaps they could find out.”
“I don’t see how they can help. I know nothing of their capabilities. Even if they would be willing to go out and learn of the exchange, how would they tell me?”
“B33 might know,” Copper offered hopefully.
Alel shook her head. “B33 would notify Sir Jax. They all report to him.” Frowning, she looked around at the scatter of machines still in the room. Finishing their homes would reduce the possibility of being recorded and watched.
Dys came to her, taking her arm. “You needn’t worry, Alel. None in here will say anything to Sir Jax. They follow my command, not his.”
“How can you be sure, Dys? I know they are your pets, but you did not create them.”
The boy grinned. “I reprogrammed them! I’m quite handy with tools myself. B33 too. He won’t tell Sir Jax nothing.”
“Anything,” Alel corrected automatically. This was good news. It meant the room was safe, B33 was as sweet as he seemed and Dys had skills that could prove to be useful. “How does Sir Jax not realize what you have done?”
“He doesn’t care none about anything in here. They are more prototype than successful attempts. He sticks stuff in here he isn’t happy with.”
Alel ran her hand over Dys’s brown hair, feeling the smoothness of his scalp beneath. Curious, she lifted a section, surprised to see a seam along his hairline. He didn’t shy away from her examination, his blue eye trusting.
“You’re an exceptional young man,” she told him softly. She watched gratification bloom on his face and he surprised her with a hug. Alel returned the embrace, feeling the fierceness of protectiveness. She would not allow Sir Jax to harm Dys, or any of the others. Her eyes slid over the assembled creatures. She had just discovered an army at her disposal, if need be, and their general was loyal to her.
“Do you have a way to communicate with them, Dys?”
He shook his head. “I don’t have access to one of his computers he uses for that. I only stopped them from passing on anything other than the general stuff, if he was to download their databases.”
“If he tried, he would realize then.” If the machines gave him only partial information, Sir Jax would deduce something was wrong. “What about B33? He interacts with Sir Jax, doesn’t he?”
“B33 is smart. He’s not all machine. He’s an early attempt of one of us. He says only what he has to and leaves the rest out. B33 likes you not treating him like a disposable robot. He can fabricate what he needs to so he doesn’t arouse suspicion. He doesn’t record through his eyes and ears like most of the machines because he has a brain like us.”
Another cruelty to pin on the man. He had taken a human being and made it almost unrecognizable as one. She hadn’t been aware of B33’s level of humanity, not really.
Determined to avoid Sir Jax, Alel asked for their meals to be brought to the room instead of fetching them herself. Her anger fueled scheme afte
r scheme, quickly rejected, on ways to free herself and the children from the clutches of slavery binding them.
She could not be content whiling away her days with projects when one loomed full of loss and grief. She worried now what Sir Jax worked on in his laboratory. She had been considering the possibility of how many children had suffered a second agonizing death at his hand. The five with her had been successful; not to Sir Jax, but they lived and breathed. How many others had not found such a fate?
Alone in her room once the sun had faded from the sky, Alel prepared for bed and stood at a window, staring out over the pretty beckoning of the landscape bathed in moonlight. If she had known nothing of the two worlds and so little of the White Streets, what else was out there to discover?
She wanted to find out. If she could find a way to take the children and escape, perhaps they could find freedom and happiness on their own, far from the collide of judgment and power ruling the two streets beyond the visible horizon.
Tomorrow she would ask Dys if he had any birds who could fly out far enough to see what else was out there. She would ask B33 if he could help them find a way to access the collected information. She would find a way.
Unbidden, she thought of Sir Javon and his declaration to offer for her. Remembering the necklace, she retrieved it from the drawer, sliding her thumb over the smooth gold. It was warm. Turning it over she examined it closely, looking for a button or a latch. There was nothing. The body was solid. Only the eyes broke the level sweep of metal. Running her finger over a small jeweled eye, she felt it give, pushing down slightly into the body. The other did the same.
Unsure if she had just sent some form of signal to Sir Javon, Alel started to replace the necklace to its spot. She hesitated, remembering the sea of eyes narrowed at her, gleaming with opinion and superiority. She lifted the chain and secured it around her neck. It was possible Sir Javon could prove useful after all.
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