I thought we had an agreement, Linden said.
We do. But I wanted to say goodbye to my friend.
Linden considered the request and then motioned to one of the chairs. Wait your turn.
Hollis sat in the back of the room and checked out the rest of the crowd. People were speaking Polish, German and Spanish. The only people he recognized were a pair of British Free Runnersa pudgy young man named Jugger and his quiet friend, Roland. It was clear that people all over the world had heard about the Traveler.
Back in Los Angeles, Gabriel had long brown hair and wore a stained leather jacket. He had been quick to smile or show anger, a combination of home-schooled innocence and cowboy swagger. During their time in New York City, Hollis had helped Gabriel cook spaghetti and listened to him sing off-key at a karaoke bar. Now everything had changed. These days, Gabriel looked like shipwreck survivor. His face was gaunt, and his shirt hung loosely on his body. There was something strange about his eyesthey were clear and very intense.
After each person had spoken to Gabriel, Linden guided them out of the room and pointed to whoever was next. Gabriel would rise to shake hands, then sit down and listen, focusing on the faces of his followers. After everyone had a chance to express their views, he would lean forward and speak quietlyalmost a whisper. When the meeting was over, he would touch hands a second time, look directly in their eyes and say thank you in their own language.
The two British Free Runners were the last group to meet the Traveler and Hollis could hear every word of conversation. Apparently, someone named Sebastian had traveled to France to organize resistance to the Tabula, and Jugger felt that he wasnt following orders.
When we started this movement, we came up with a few rules. Not a lot of them
Six, exactly, Roland said.
Thats right. Six rules. And one of them was that each crew would plan their own strategy. My friends in Paris say that Sebastian is talking about organizing a steering committee
Gabriel kept quiet until Jugger had finished his oration. Once again, the Traveler spoke with such a soft voice that the two Free Runners had to lean forward to hear every word. Gradually, they began to relax, and they both nodded their heads.
So we all agree? Gabriel asked.
I guess so. Jugger glanced at his friend. You got anything to say, Roland?
The big man shrugged a shoulder. No worries.
The Free Runners stood up like chastened schoolboys and shook Gabriels hand. When they left the room, Linden jerked his head in Holliss direction. Your turn. Then he clomped down the staircase to the falafel shop.
Hollis threaded his way through the tables and sat down opposite Gabriel. I came here to say goodbye.
Yes. Linden told me what happened.
Youre still my friend, Gabe. I would never do anything to put you in danger.
I realize that.
But someone has to be punished for Vickis death. I cant forget what they did to her. I found her body and dug the grave.
The Traveler got up from the table, walked over to the window and gazed down at the canal. When we act like our enemies, we run the risk of becoming just like them.
Im not here for a lecture. Understand?
Im talking about the Resistance, Hollis. Did you see those two women from Seattle? Theyve accessed all the surveillance cameras that are outside the buildings used by the Evergreen Foundation. For the first time, were using the Vast Machine to watch the Vast Machine. Its a well-organized plan that doesnt put anyone in danger, but it still bothers me. It feels like Im building a house, but I dont know what its going to look like when its finished.
Is that nun also part of the Resistance?
Not really. Thats a different problem. The Poor Claires on Skellig Columba think that Alice Chen is turning into a wild childcompletely out of control. In the next few weeks, theyre going to bring her to London, and we have to find a safe place for her to live. I wish Maya was here. Shed know what to do.
Can Maya ever return to our world?
Gabriel returned to the table and poured himself a cup of tea. I could cross over again to the First Realm, but I wouldnt be able to bring her back. Simon Lumbroso is searching through old manuscripts and history books. He needs to find another access pointa place where an ordinary person can cross over and then return. Thousands of years ago, people knew where these sites were. They built temples around them. Now that knowledge is lost.
And what happens if Simon finds one of these access points?
Then Ill go find her.
Linden wont like itand your new followers wont be too happy either.
Why do you think that?
Those people you just talked to are taking risks and changing their lives because of you. If you go back to the First Realm, youre basically telling them: The Resistance isnt that important. Im going to put this one person above your problems and maybe Ill never come back.
Its a particular person, Hollis.
Maya wouldnt want you to take the risk. Youre a Traveler, Gabe. You have a larger responsibility.
I need her. Gabriels voice was filled with emotion. When you first met me in Los Angeles, I didnt know who I was or what I was supposed to do with my life. Now Ive crossed the barriers and visited two realms. Those places are as real as this table and this room. When youve had experiences like that, it changes you. Nowadays it doesnt feel like I have a connection to anything. Maya is a cord tied to my heart. Without her, Id float away.
You think your brother has the same problem?
I doubt if Michael worries about anyone else. All he can think about is power and control.
Theres nothing wrong with power, Hollis said. Our only problem is that we dont have the power to destroy the Tabula.
We cant just destroy our enemy. We need to an offer an alternative. Linden said youve been crawling around rooftops with a sniper rifle.
Thats my choice.
Im just trying to understand your actions.
You dont have the right to judge me. Youve been protected by the Harlequins for the last year. Theyll kill anyone.
Youve studied The Way of the Sword. The Harlequins are controlled and disciplined. They only defend themselves and the Travelers. Theyre not looking for revenge.
Im not a Harlequin, so I dont follow their rules. The Tabula killed Vicki, and Im going to destroy every last one of them.
You still care about her?
Of course!
And you remember what kind of person she was?
Yeah
Do you really think shed want you to do this?
Gabriel raised his eyes and Hollis was sensed the full power of the Traveler. He felt like child at that moment. Embrace me. Comfort me. But then he remembered the stone inside his body and he covered his chest with his arms.
There isnt a single thing you can say that will make me change my mind.
All right. Dont listen to me. But why dont you ask Vicki? What if you could speak to her one last time?
Hollis felt as if Gabriel had leaned forward and slapped him. Was this possible? Could a Traveler make this happen? Of course not. Furious, he slammed his fist on the table. I dont want to hear any of that spiritual shit. Vicki is dead. I buried her on the island. Shes not coming back.
I didnt say she was coming back. When a person dies, the Light leaves their body forever. But in certain circumstancesa suicide, a violent deaththe Light remains for awhile in this world. A small group of people have the ability to channel this energy. In the past, theyve been called shamans or mediums.
I know what youre talking about. Ghosts and goblins. Gypsies and crystal balls. Its all fake.
Most of the time,
youre right. But some people really can speak to the dead.
You?
Gabriel shook his head. No. I dont have that gift. But Simon Lumbroso told me about another possibility. When Sparrow was the last Harlequin left in Japan, Mayas father visited Tokyo to see him. Sparrow took Thorn to see a traditional spirit reader who lived on the northern coast of the main island. Thorn said that the woman was very powerfulthe real thing.
It was probably some kind of trick.
You no longer have a home, Hollis. You cant go back to Los Angeles. If youre leaving London, then why not fly to Tokyo?
Youre manipulating me
Im offering you a different kind of journey. Any one of us can dedicate our lives to hate. It happens every day. This is your moment to consider an alternative. Go to Japan. Look for this spirit woman. Perhaps you wouldnt find her. Maybe youll come back and tell me: Weve got to be like our enemies if we want to defeat them. If you say that, if you believe that, Ill listen to you.
Footsteps on the stairs. Hollis glanced over his shoulder and saw Linden return to the room with a cup of coffee in his massive hand.
Ill think it over, Hollis said. But I still dont believe you can talk to the dead.
5
M aya reached the fourth floor of the abandoned office building and passed slowly down the central hallway, checking for new footprints in the dust. When she was sure that no one had visited the building since her last visit, she scattered broken glass on the hallway floor, then approached a suite of rooms once occupied by an insurance company. Her hand touched the handle of her sword and she got ready to attack.
Moving as quietly as possible, she slipped into the reception area. Stop. Listen.
No one was there. Maya pushed a desk against the entrance door and opened a hallway air vent so that she could hear anyone approaching. There was no electricity on the island and the only light in the room came from a gas flare out in the street. The flame wavered back and forth, burning with a dirty orange light. Shadows touched the old-fashioned office furniture and the wall of rusty file cabinets. During one of her earlier visits, Maya had searched through the cabinets and found water-stained files filled with insurance contracts and payment stubs.
She entered one of the offices, found an executive chair, and brushed off the dust. Something moved in the next room and she drew her sword. The inhabitants on the island could be divided into two categories: the cockroaches were weak, frightened men who tried to survive by hiding in the ruins; the wolves were much more aggressive, roaming through the city in groups looking for prey.
The sound came again. Maya peered through a crack in the door and saw a rat scurry across the floor and disappear into the wall. There were rats all over the island as well as gray animals resembling ferrets that darted through the undergrowth of the abandoned parks. No danger, Maya thought. I can rest here. She returned the sword to its scabbard and pushed the padded chair into the reception room. After checking the door one last time, she sat down and tried to relax. On the floor near her feet were a steel-tipped club and a shoulder bag that held a bottle of water. No food.
This dark world had many names: the First Realm, Hades, Sheol or Hell. It had been described in many myths and legends, but one rule was always the same: a visitor like herself should never eat anything while she was hereeven an elaborate meal offered on gold plates. Travelers left their real bodies in the Fourth Realm and could escape this danger, but if an ordinary person swallowed a crust of bread, they could be held here for eternity. Maya felt like one of the fires that burned in the rubble, a bright point of flame that was slowly consuming itself. Most of the citys mirrors had been destroyed, but she had seen herself in a sliver of window glass near the citys abandoned museum. Her hair was matted and her eyes were dead.
Her appearance didnt bother her as much as the deterioration of her memory; sometimes it felt like entire periods of her life were melting away. She guarded the vivid images that still remained. A long time ago, she had spent a winters day in the New Forest watching a herd of wild horses run across a snow-covered pasture. Within her mind, she saw stocky legs and tangled manes, hooves kicking up the snow as white breath lingered in the air.
She could recall scattered moments with her father and mother, Linden, Mother Blessing and the other Harlequins, but Gabriel was the only voice she could still hear, the only face she could still see. So far, her love had protected these memories, but it was becoming more difficult to bring them back. Was Gabriel fading away like a photograph exposed to sunlight, the colors less vivid, the shapes less distinct? If she lost him a second time, then she would become just like the others on the islanddead within, but still alive.
* * *
Maya heard a scraping noise in the hallway and opened her eyes. She only had a few seconds to draw her sword before the door opened an inch or so and hit the desk. She grabbed her shoulder bag, slung the strap over her left shoulder, and stood listening. The intruder knocked on the door.
Are you there? asked a soft voice. Its Pickering. Mr. Pickering. Im Gabriels friend.
There arent any friends on this island.
But its true, Pickering said. I swear that its true. I helped Gabriel when he first came here and then the wolves captured us. Open the door. Please. Ive been looking for you.
She vaguely recalled a man in rags. He had been chained to a pipe in the abandoned school used as headquarters by the wolves. As Maya wandered alone through the city, she had encountered a few of the human cockroaches that hid themselves within walls or beneath floors. They always seemed frightened and talked rapidly, as if the constant flow of words would prove they were still alive. The cockroaches were the intellectuals of Hellfilled with grand schemes and lengthy explanations.
Maya returned the sword to its leather scabbard, walked over to the door and pulled the desk a few inches toward her. Pickering must have heard the desk legs squeaking across the tile floor because he immediately turned the knob. This time the door opened wide enough for him to stick his head inside the room. Its Mr. Pickering, at your service. I had a tailors shop before the trouble started. The finest ladies clothing. He took a deep breath. And whom I have the honor of meeting?
Maya.
Maya He savored the word. Such a beautiful name.
Pickering had a ferrets ability to squeeze through any gap as large as his head. Before Maya could react, he passed through the crack in the doorway and was suddenly inside the room. He was a skinny, trembling man with a long hair and a beard. A shred of green silk wrapped around his neck looked like a hangmans noose, but Maya realized that it was an even more unlikely objecta necktie.
So how did you find me?
I know all the hiding places on this island. I came here once and saw a footprint on the stairs.
Did you tell anyone?
I was tempted. Anyone would have been tempted. Pickering showed his yellow teeth. The new Commissioner of Patrols has offered one hundred food units to whoever kills you.
If he really wants me dead, he should double the reward.
Most of the wolves are scared of you. Some say youre a ghost or a demon. You cant be killed because youre already dead.
Maya sat back down on the chair. Maybe thats true.
Youre alive. Im quite sure of that. Gabriel wasnt a ghost, and you came here to rescue him. But now youre trapped here like the rest of us.
And thats why you tracked me down? To tell me that Im trapped?
Im here to save you. And save myself, of course. But first we have to go to the library. Ive searched the entire building and I finally found the map room. The door to the room is still locked. I dont think its been looted.
The people here dont care about maps. They want foodand weapons.
Yes. Quite true. Thats all they want. Bu
t I believe that a map of the island is in the library. There have always been rumors about a tunnel beneath the river. A map might show us how to find the tunnel entrance.
Mayas fingers tapped nervously on the sword handle. Her passageway back to the Fourth Realm was in the middle of the river. On two occasions, she swam out and attempted to find it, but the current was too strong and she barely had enough strength to return to the shore. She had no idea what existed in the shadow lands on the other side of the water, but she couldnt remain on the island. As time passed, her body grew weaker. Eventually, the wolves would hunt her down.
So why havent you taken this map and escaped? she asked.
I need your help. Pickering looked down at his ragged pants and mismatched shoes. Its not easy to get into the room.
One part of his story was true: there was a library in the city. Maya had walked past the ruins several times, but had never gone inside. As she wandered around the island, she kept finding little bits of reality in the rubble; if shopping lists and school report cards had survived, then there might be a map that showed a way out.
This sudden feeling of hope was so powerful, so unexpected, that she was unable to speak or move. It was like finding a red ember in a cold fireplace, a speck of warmth and light that could grow and fill a room.
All right, Pickering. Lets go to the library.
Id be happy to guide you there. And if we find the right kind of map
Then well leave the island together.
I hoped you would say that. The little man grinned. No one else on this island will keep a promise, except you.
Maya shoved the desk back against the wall and followed Pickering out of the office. They climbed down the buildings circular staircase and stepped onto a street littered with rubble and the blackened shells of torched cars. Pickerings head jerked back and forth. He was like a small animal that had just left its burrow.
The Golden City Page 4
